Government Finance
Premier misleads public over purchase of Brac beach
(CNS): Premier Juliana O’Connor-Connolly misled the public last week when she told parliament that the Department of Environment had objected to the Cayman Islands Government using the Environmental Protection Fund to purchase Long Beach on Cayman Brac. The DoE is seeking a correction to the record as it has repeatedly advocated on behalf of the […]
Port splurges CI$46k of public cash on Christmas party
(CNS): After spending CI$56,522 on a Christmas party in 2022, which the Office of the Auditor General pointed out was more than eight times the recommended allowance for public sector holiday celebrations, the Port Authority of the Cayman Islands splurged again in 2023, according to its financial report for that year.
Lame-duck Cabinet keeps spending public cash
(CNS): The minority UPM government has shown no signs of letting up on critical decision-making, such as spending and policy, including the drafting of various amendment bills that may not pass, given that the administration lost its mandate to govern back in October. The lame-duck Cabinet, comprising just five ministers, had two meetings in January, […]
Regs posted allowing government to collect new fees
(CNS): Government fees for certain General Registry and Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA) services will come into effect in just over one week on 1 January 2025. With the rules relating to the newly passed legislation and the acts all assented to, the new fees that are expected to contribute millions to the public purse […]
Government pensioners to get $500 Christmas bonus
(CNS): Premier Juliana O’Connor-Connolly said the UPM government had approved a one-off Christmas bonus of CI$500 for all former civil servants receiving a public pension in recognition of the contributions they made to build the country. Speaking on the floor of parliament Wednesday, she said the money for the bonus was coming from savings made […]
Local Christmas travellers to get $1,000 duty-free allowance
(CNS): Cayman residents travelling this Christmas will enjoy double the usual duty-free allowance on their shopping. Last week, Cabinet approved an order under the Customs Tariff Regulations to allow the temporary increase of the duty-free allowance for people returning home by air until 6 January. However, people who can’t afford to travel over Christmas and […]
Saunders calls for tax on foreign-owned property
(CNS): Chris Saunders, the independent opposition MP for Bodden Town West, has filed a private member’s motion asking the government to create a Healthcare Protection Fund through an annual fee of 2% on real estate properties owned by foreigners. In a video message on social media, Saunders and UPM backbench MP McKeeva Bush, who is […]
$135M surplus expected to fall to just $16.5M by year-end
(CNS): At the end of September, the Cayman Islands Government was sitting on a whopping surplus of $148.6 million for the entire public sector and CI$135.7 for core government, but officials have confirmed this will likely dwindle to around $16 million by the end of the year.
JOCC confirms $2,000 bonus for civil servants
(CNS): Public sector employees can look forward to a whopping $2,000 Christmas bonus after Premier Juliana O’Connor-Connolly said on Friday that the government was in a position to make the one-off payment. The bonuses are estimated to add another $9.7 million to the budget, added to a 5% cost of living allowance in the New […]
JOCC calls for financial independence from UK’s ‘big stick’
(CNS): Premier Juliana O’Connor-Connolly has said the Framework for Fiscal Responsibility, which gives the United Kingdom the power to veto the Cayman Islands budget if it falls foul of the strict criteria, should be reviewed. She said that this jurisdiction needs to be more financially independent with “our own internal FFR” and described the UK’s […]
Gov’t takes $1.2M from next year’s budget
(CNS): Having recently voted an extra $51.8 million in supplementary expenditure earlier this month, the Cayman Islands Government has also reached into next year’s spending allocation for another $1.2 million that had been earmarked for spending in 2025 to spend in this year. According to a brief summary of a Cabinet meeting held on 2 […]
