Government Finance
CIG still dodging CI$2.2B CS retirees healthcare liability
(CNS): At a Public Accounts Committee meeting on Thursday, senior officials once again dodged questions on how and when the Cayman Islands Government proposes to place its liability for the future healthcare needs of retired civil servants squarely on its books. This financial liability is currently only included in supporting notes that form part of […]
CAL needs realistic budget to cover losses, says OAG
(CNS): Between 2018 and 2022, the Cayman Islands Government gave Cayman Airways Limited more than $152.5 million in funding, but each year the money was not enough to cover expenses. Over the same period, it received almost $24 million in supplementary appropriations after total losses of $34 million due to unrealistic budgeting. A new report […]
Premier U-turns on luxury property duty increase
(CNS): Plans to increase stamp duty on luxury properties appear to have been dropped just a few weeks after it was suggested by Premier Julianna O’Connor-Connolly. The possibility of increasing stamp duty was raised in parliament in the UPM leader’s budget address in December, with the implication that the new government was considering raising the […]
UPM ‘playing catch-up’ on public project spending
(CNS): Premier Juliana O’Connor-Connolly defended the UPM’s first budget, once again, on Friday when she told the business community that public spending on capital projects over the next two years was about “playing catch-up” with local infrastructure, which is necessary because of the significant population spike over the last few years. The premier, who has […]
Growing debt to cost almost CI$44M in 2024/25
(CNS): The Cayman Islands Government expects to spend around CI$44 million over the next two years financing public debt. At the end of 2023, the public debt stood at CI$453.1 million and is expected to fall to CI$430.2 million this year. However, the forecast for the end of the new budget cycle in 2025 is […]
Opposition unaware of surprise port fee hikes
(CNS): The UPM Government did not share with all MPs its plans to increase fees charged by the Port Authority of the Cayman Islands (PACI) at the start of the New Year. The opposition, like the broader community, was surprised by the fee hikes approved by Cabinet, which Progressives Leader Roy McTaggart has said will […]
Port fees hiked by Cabinet but not on budget list
(CNS): A substantial hike in some of the cargo fees charged by the Port Authority of the Cayman Islands (PACI) could impact the already soaring cost of living, despite claims by Premier Juliana O’Connor-Connolly last month that the government’s new revenue measures would not be inflationary. In her new capacity as finance minister, O’Connor-Connolly outlined […]
All MPs back Cayman’s biggest ever budget
(CNS): All 17 MPs, both government and opposition, who were present in parliament on Friday and able to vote backed the near CI$3 billion budget for the next two years. The UPM Government is expecting to collect around CI$1.46 billion across the Entire Public Sector next year and has plans to spend more than CI$1.41 […]
CAL to increase Miami flights, DoT seeks new routes
(CNS): The Cayman Airways management team is planning to add more flights to Miami to meet demand, and the Department of Tourism is mulling new routes to the United States to attract new visitors from Kansas and Texas. As the parliament’s Finance Committee questioned CAL Executive Vice President Finance and Commercial Affairs Paul Tibbetts about […]
CIG forecast to close the year with $22M surplus
(CNS): After tracking huge surpluses for the best part of 2023, the Cayman Islands Government is set to finish the year with a surplus of $22.7 million, some $5.1 million less than originally forecast and far less than the $116 million it was sitting on at the end of the third quarter in October.
Bryan calls for cruise port vote at next elections
(CNS): Tourism Minister Kenneth Bryan has said he would like to see a referendum on the idea of developing cruise port piers at the same time as people go to the polls for the general election in 2025 “to settle the question” once and for all. During his contribution to the budget debate on Monday, […]
