Government oversight
NAU challenged by ministry action and client numbers
(CNS): Tamara Hurlston, the director of the Needs Assessment Unit, revealed that her department is helping more than 1,800 families but the number of people in need is growing. Painting a picture of a department challenged by the increase in people seeking help on one hand and a lack of direction from the ministry on […]
Novice MLA walks out of PAC
(CNS): The newly elected opposition member for Bodden Town West, Chris Saunders, was clearly frustrated during Wednesday’s Public Accounts Committee when he realised that the proceedings were not going to offer any immediate solutions for his constituents in need and walked out. Saunders said he needed to help a family who had been made homeless […]
Land list published with PAC report
(CNS): Following a meeting of the Public Accounts Committee earlier this month, PAC Chair Ezzard Miller was able to secure a copy of what has, until now, been the secret list of land parcels that the government plans to sell off. The fact that the government had not revealed the potential sales to the public […]
CIG’s proposed land sell-off remains secret
(CNS): Government’s plans to sell off crown land, even though the public purse is no longer in the red, raised concerns for the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) recently because the list of proposed sites that may be sold remains under wraps. Members asked why the list hasn’t been made public and who would be buying […]
Canadian secures job as supra-ombudsman
(CNS): Sandy Hermiston, the General Counsel for the Ombudsman and Public Interest Commissioner in Alberta, Canada, will be the Cayman Islands’ first-ever supra-ombudsman created under the Ombudsman Law, 2017. The Canadian lawyer beat out four other people who were shortlisted for the job, one of which, officials have confirmed, was a Caymanian.
Report on social welfare reform waiting Cabinet nod
(CNS): An outline business case (OBC) completed by KPMG on the reform of social welfare in the Cayman Islands has been completed and is awaiting Cabinet approval before it will be released to the public. Speaking to the Public Accounts Committee, Wednesday, the chief officer in the community affairs ministry spoke about the work that […]
PAC challenges planning over enforcement
(CNS): The chair of the Public Accounts Committee, and opposition leader, Ezzard Miller warned government officials that people are choosing to press ahead with development projects without planning permission because they believe they can get after-the-fact approval once something is built, rather than trying to get permission in the first place. The issue of planning […]
Booze board’s gas station decision faces audit
(CNS): A decision by the Liquor Licensing Board to grant Gary Rutty, the owner of the Peanuts convenience store and Rubis gas station in Red Bay, a licence to sell liquor seven days per week is to be reviewed by the government’s Internal Audit Unit. Commerce Minister Joey Hew, who now has responsibility for the […]
MLAs get lessons in democracy
(CNS): A number of the country’s novice MLAs and some new Cabinet ministers spent two days learning about parliamentary democracy and how the Legislative Assembly works in a post-election seminar conducted by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, last week. Speaker and veteran politician, McKeeva Bush, former minister Rolston Anglin and Mary J Lawrence a one term speaker […]
CS has no time to improve cash collection
(CNS): A recent review by the auditor general’s office of its 2015 report on the risks government faced when it comes to collecting revenue has shown that very little progress has been made to improve the systems surrounding the collection of public cash. Collecting Government Revenues was made public in 2015 but almost two years […]
CIG dragging feet over audit results
(CNS): Government departments have made slow progress addressing recommendations made by the Public Accounts Committee following hearings last year on eight auditor general audits and reports that highlighted weaknesses and concerns over public money. The chair of the PAC, Ezzard Miller, said it will be meeting later this month and warned that questions will be […]
