Government oversight
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 […]
Health ministry takes a year to respond to FOI request
(CNS): The Ministry of Health and Wellness took more than a year to release a heavily redacted single email record in response to a freedom of information request by an individual seeking documents relating to a job application made to the Mosquito Research and Control Unit. Further delays in response to the Office of the […]
OAG reveals Cayman’s lack of sustainability
(CNS): As the Cayman Islands Government embarks on an independent initiative to help it link policy with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, the Office of the Auditor General has revealed the existing lack of sustainability and some major challenges ahead in dealing with climate-related issues in Cayman. The country is generating five times as much […]
CIG gets failing grade on managing public cash
(CNS): It’s now over two years since the Office of the Auditor General, supported by the Public Accounts Committee, made over thirty recommendations to the Cayman Islands Government on how to improve its budgeting process and management of public spending. But only two recommendations have been implemented. The finance ministry has made little progress and […]
Outgoing ombudsman said offices should be separate
(CNS): Sandy Hermiston’s parting recommendation for the government is that the areas within the remit of the Office of the Ombudsman (OMB) should be separated. The outgoing ombudsman, who left the Cayman Islands in February this year, said in the 2021 Ombudsman Annual Report that the merger of the complaints and freedom of information commissioners […]
Complaints about police fall sharply during 2021
(CNS): The number of complaints received about the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service fell significantly in 2021 compared to the previous year, according to the newly released annual report from the Office of the Ombudsman. Complaints decreased to 28 last year compared to 57 in 2020. Only four of the complaints were resolved after a […]
OAG asks for input on government scrutiny
(CNS): The Office of the Auditor General (OAG) is asking people for their opinions on work the office could complete over the next few years from a list of potential areas of public finance where it plans to take a closer look. From affordable housing and the civil service to the George Town revitalisation project […]
Minister urged DG to deal with ‘troubling’ report
(CNS): CNS has received several records in response to a freedom of information request relating to commitments made shortly before the 2021 General Election by the former premier’s ministry to open overseas offices and attend the Dubai World Expo. One record shows how the new PACT minister, André Ebanks, was “troubled” by a report by […]
