Government Finance
Budget forecasts can improve, Jefferson admits
(CNS): Government’s tendency to underestimate how much revenue it expects to collect is the result of “human nature” and a deliberate desire on the part of successive administrations in recent years to avoid the risk of a deficit and to take a conservative approach to spending ahead of the budget, only to spend the extra […]
COVID has cost public purse over CI$333 million
(CNS): Government has spent at least $202M and missed out on revenue of more than $131M as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic over the last two years, but it could be considerably more, the Office of the Auditor General has found. In a new report looking at the impact of the pandemic on the […]
CIG rakes in near $447 million in just the first quarter
(CNS): The Cayman Islands Government earned a record $446,906,000 in the first three months of this year, the most it has ever collected, surpassing budget predictions and resulting in a whopping first-quarter surplus of almost $221 million. CIG collected over $73M more at the start of 2022 than in pre-pandemic 2019. As well as the […]
OAG stands by report on Dubai and o’seas office failings
(CNS): Deputy Governor Franz Manderson has found no breach of the Public Management and Finance Act (PMFA) following an investigation into a report by the Office of the Auditor General (OAG). But Sue Winspear told CNS she stands by the special audit she was asked to conduct on how the former administration and civil servants […]
Payments to CPA members increased by Cabinet
(CNS): The Central Planning Authority members will now be getting more money for attending their fortnightly meetings, according to a summary of the Cabinet meeting held on Tuesday, 12 April. There was no indication as to what the members were receiving before this increase but the ministers agreed to up the stipend so that the […]
Hospital argues that deals can’t fetter tax collection
(CNS): A lawyer representing Doctors Hospital made a comprehensive argument in court on Wednesday that the contracts signed by the UDP government with Health City Cayman Islands in 2010 and by the Unity government with Aster Cayman Medcity weeks before the 2021 election, both of which waived fees, cannot legally bind other administrations’ collection of […]
Ministry secured fair price for waterfront land
(CNS): The Ministry of Tourism’s response to a freedom of information request shows that government secured a reasonable price for the property it recently acquired on the George Town waterfront. The land, purchased last year from Cayman Falls, cost the public purse CI$5.6 million, which was $550,000 less than the asking price of CI$6.15M and […]
Public finances remain solid despite COVID costs
(CNS): The unaudited financial report for the first two months of this year reveal that the Cayman Islands Government has remained in the black, despite the continued economic uncertainties, reduced earnings from tourism and increased spending due to the COVID pandemic. The CIG earned CI$2.7 million more than expected and spent CI$9 million less than […]
Finance Committee to meet to clear stipends
(CNS): A Finance Committee hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, when MPs will approve funds for the March payments to people on the Displaced Tourism Employees Stipend Programme and the Tourism Recovery Grant Programme, officials have said.
2021 deficit expected to be CI$10 million
(CNS): The government is now expecting its spending gap for 2021 to be around CI$5 million less than it had predicted during the recent budget presentations. The public sector year-end figures are expected to be released shortly, but in the meantime, Finance Minister Chris Saunders has revealed that the deficit is more likely to be […]
Opposition challenges bond but mum on o’seas offices
(CNS): Opposition Leader Roy McTaggart has released yet another video criticising the government over plans for a 30-year bullet bond as a method of financing new and existing borrowing. But the PPM leader is keeping mum over allegations that the previous administration, in which he was finance minister, misspent some $6 million and mishandled the […]
