Government oversight
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 […]
PAC to quiz CAL and ministry execs over OAG report
(CNS): The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) will hold a public hearing this Thursday at 10:00am to examine the Office of the Auditor General’s recent performance report, The Efficiency and Effectiveness of Cayman Airways Limited. President and CEO of CAL Fabian Whorms will attend as a witness alongside CAL Board Chair John-Paul Clarke and Ministry 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 […]
Members reappointed to Labour Appeals Tribunal
(CNS): Robert Jones, one of several members who have all been reappointed to the Labour Appeals Tribunal (LAT), has taken up the chairmanship after serving previously as the deputy. Trisha McElroy and Ryan Charles have been appointed as deputies, while Isidora Eden, Dorthy Davis, Garth Clarke, Betty Baraud, Richard Lewis and Janet James have all […]
Ex Pirates Week boss heads Commissions Secretariat
(CNS): Melanie McField has taken over as manager of the Commissions Secretariat, which is responsible for the provision of strategic and operational support to the six independent commissions established under the Cayman Islands Constitution. McField is a Caymanian with over 20 years of experience in marketing, communications and event management and ten years at senior […]
UPM failure to appoint member stalls PAC’s work
(CNS): The Public Accounts Committee was supposed to review the latest report by the Office of the Auditor General on Thursday. However, the meeting was adjourned until March because the five-member committee did not have a quorum (three members plus the chairman), not least because it is currently one member short. The OAG report to […]
CI$8 million spent by CIG outside of rules
(CNS): Although all public bodies must comply with the law when procuring goods and services, Auditor General Sue Winspear revealed in a report made public last week that government departments and public authorities spent more than CI$8 million last year outside of the rules. There were more than fifteen cases where significant amounts of money […]
Procedure still an issue 15 years after FOI law passed
(CNS): As Cayman marks Right To Know Day, Ombudsman Sharon Roulestone has said that last year, the number of freedom of information requests was above pre-pandemic levels after 452 were made to the government, the most in one year since 2018. As the public continues to make use of the law, managers are releasing more […]
DoT drip feed disclosure unacceptable, says Ombudsman
(CNS): The Office of the Ombudsman (OMB) has ordered the Department of Tourism to release details of the partnerships and sponsorship agreements it made with various overseas entities to promote the Cayman Islands to potential visitors between 2020 and 2022. More than 18 months after a local reporter made an FOI request for the records, […]
Chairmen appointed to NRA and OfReg boards
(CNS): Mark Parchment, a local financial and development consultant, has been appointed as the National Roads Authority chairperson, and attorney Samuel Jackson is the new chairperson of the OfReg board. The NRA seat has been vacant since Gilbert McLean was appointed but declined to take up the job in February. Rudy Ebanks, the former OfReg […]
