Government oversight
Winspear bows out warning of unsustainable finances
(CNS): As Auditor General Sue Winspear prepares to bid farewell to Cayman this weekend after more than eight years scrutinising, but also trying to help with, public finances, she has published one of her most damning reports to date, stressing the long-term unsustainability of government spending and concerns about its ability to meet future financial […]
Ombudsman confirms increasing complaints against CIG
(CNS): Sharon Roulstone, the first ombudsman in the Cayman Islands who is a Caymanian, told MPs on Wednesday about the many challenges her office is dealing with as the workload is growing due in no small part to the increasing complaints about the government. Roustone was appearing before the first ever public meeting of the […]
Housing report to remain secret as crisis worsens
(CNS): The Office of the Ombudsman (OMB) has found in the Cayman Islands Government’s favour and ruled that the report by a ministry task force into the country’s housing crisis can remain secret. Although the work was conducted using public money and the government said it would help them tackle one of Cayman’s major social […]
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.
OAG releases redacted version of leaked ReGen report
(CNS): Auditor General Sue Winspear has released a redacted version of a report conducted in 2021 examining the Cayman Islands Government’s failed ReGen deal with a Dart Consortium to tackle the country’s rubbish. However, an unredacted version of the report was leaked last summer, soon after the CIG announced it was pulling out of the […]
Panton & Turner didn’t break law over loan, CSPL finds
(CNS): A bridging loan made by Wayne Panton while he was still premier to Sabrina Turner, his health minister at the time, to help her buy a new CI$1.6 million home did not breach the requirements for disclosure on the Register of Interests for politicians and senior government officials under the Standards in Public Life […]
OAG: Lack of overall economic plan puts Cayman at risk
(CNS): The failure of successive governments to develop an overall strategic economic plan to finish the much overdue National Development Plan or to manage the country’s population surge is putting its future at risk, the Office of the Auditor General found in a report published Thursday. Even though Cayman’s economy is strong, largely due to […]
Only 27% of construction workers are Caymanian
(CNS): The idea that construction is critically important for local jobs was dispelled by Ministry of Labour Chief Officer Wesley Howell on Thursday when he told the Public Accounts Committee that only around 27% of people working in the sector are Caymanian. Howell was answering questions about a report by the Office of the Auditor […]
CIG made shocking list of errors in $1B waste project
(CNS): From the moment the government began exploring options for a new waste management system, it failed the people of the Cayman Islands with a shocking list of errors on what would have been the most costly infrastructure project embarked on in these islands. A damning leaked report by the Office of the Auditor General […]
WORC bosses to face PAC grilling
(CNS): The Public Accounts Committee will hold a public hearing from today, Thursday, to 20 June regarding the Office of the Auditor General’s latest performance report, Improving Employment Prospects for Caymanians, May 2024, in which the OAG made ten recommendations, primarily to WORC. Ministry of Labour Chief Officer Wesley Howell, WORC Director Jeremy Scott and […]
$144M spent in five years helping locals into work
(CNS): The Cayman Islands Government spent close to CI$144 million over five years (2019 to 2023) on efforts to get Caymanians into work, but a report by the Office of the Auditor General found little evidence that any of the various programmes and attempts to remove barriers have actually impacted the unemployment rate. The report […]
