Government oversight
Four gov’t entities miss audit deadline
(CNS): Auditor General Sue Winspear said she was “delighted” with this year’s financial reporting by most government entities after giving 36 out of 40 audits for the 2018 fiscal year a clean bill of health. But she has also noted continued failings in her latest report, released Monday. Despite the improvement on the chaos surrounding […]
Ombudsman offers info on data protection
(CNS Local Life): The Office of the Ombudsman will be holding a meet and greet inside the Government Administration Building on Tuesday morning, 28 January, in recognition of International Data Privacy Day, which will be celebrated in the Cayman Islands for the first time, following the commencement of the Data Protection Law (DPL) on 30 […]
Teachers tackle 800 ‘incidents’ at CHHS
(CNS): Clifton Hunter High School failed to impress during its latest follow-through inspection, making only weak progress on recommendations from earlier inspections in the previous academic year. The report by the Office of Education Standards (OES) reveals that the behaviour of students remains a pressing problem, as records show staff handled 800 “major incidents since […]
Watchdogs share experience on public cash oversight
(CNS): As the Public Accounts Committee gears up to review three auditor general reports in the New Year, highlighting government’s ongoing failings when it comes to managing public cash, the major players responsible for oversight made a recent trip to the UK, where they shared experiences with others in the field. PAC Chair Ezzard Miller, […]
MoT gets to keep cruise letters secret
(CNS): With just over five weeks to go before Cayman goes to the polls to decide whether or not the people want the controversial cruise berthing project to go ahead, the ombudsman has sided with government on keeping key correspondence with the cruise lines secret. Sandy Hermiston has come down in favour of the commercial […]
Code of conduct sets standards for procurement
(CNS): The government has published a code of conduct covering the expected behaviour of both public officials and suppliers of government goods and services. Setting standards that both sides must adhere to when it comes to procurement by government, it indicates that civil servants who break the code can be fired and suppliers will be […]
Schools failing despite high spending
(CNS): The government is spending 66% more per student than the global average and the second highest investment per head in OECD countries, but many government schools in Cayman are still under-performing, the Office of the Auditor General found. In a report examining how effective the education ministry is at using its resources to maximise […]
Savannah primary fails another inspection
(CNS): Inspectors found that insufficient progress had been made at Savannah Primary School when they returned for a follow-through inspection this month, after the school was graded ‘weak’ back in February. The inspectors had made six major recommendations to help elevate standards in teaching and students’ achievement in all year groups in English, maths and […]
Primary school makes some progress, say inspectors
(CNS): After the third follow-through inspection at Sir John A. Cumber Primary School in West Bay, inspectors found that the school had finally made satisfactory progress on most of the 16 recommendations made some five years ago. Inspectors said progress was ‘satisfactory’ in most areas but that students’ achievement across all year groups in English […]
Gov’t compliance with procurement rules queried
(CNS): Public Accounts Committee Chair Ezzard Miller remains concerned, following the latest PAC meeting, that government is not complying with its own new rules on procurement. Although new legislation has been implemented and a new more transparent, independent regime created to manage how government buys goods and services, Miller is worried the new rules are […]
Duty waivers still not monitored
(CNS): Four years after the auditor general first recommended that government introduce a duty waiver policy and find ways to manage, monitor and measure the concessions it gives away, a proposed policy is still in the very early stages, the Public Accounts Committee heard Wednesday. As senior civil servants appeared before the committee to answer […]
