Policy
DP: Safety net needed to improve national happiness
(CNS): The Cayman Islands needs to invest in a social safety net and policies to improve its “gross national happiness”, Deputy Premier and Finance Minister Chris Saunders has said. Of the six metrics that drive a county’s happiness levels used by the United Nations for its World Happiness Report, the one that counts most is […]
Residential fuel costs capped at 15 cents per kWh
(CNS): The Cayman Islands Government has announced the start of a fuel cost credit to residents across all three islands who use between 101 and 2,000 kilowatt-hours per month capped at $0.15 per kWh, no matter how high fuel factor costs get over the summer months. Anticipating a sharp increase in power costs, the CIG […]
Minister takes ‘fruitful’ scoping trip to Honduras
(CNS): Agriculture Minister Jay Ebanks has said his ministry is looking to establish and promote a direct shipping route between the Cayman Islands and Honduras in order to import fresh fruit and vegetables and other agricultural products from that country. As the government seeks to improve direct trade links in the region to strengthen Cayman’s […]
Health insurance help ends as costs rise
(CNS): The Health Insurance Premium Payment Assistance Programme, the freeze on private pension payments and the tourism stipend programme are all due to come to an end this month. Government has not yet confirmed that employees and workers must start paying into pension funds again next month or what will happen to tourism stipend recipients […]
Non-exec civil servants to get 4.5% COLA by year-end
(CNS): Civil servants on Grade E and below on the salary scale can look forward to three special payments of $150, which they will receive this month and in July and August, to help them navigate the increasing cost of living. This precedes a 2% increase in pay that will be rolled out across the […]
OfReg ‘surprised’ by PACT policy on green energy
(CNS): Heavily redacted minutes from an OfReg extraordinary board meeting on 2 May show that the utilities regulator was caught off guard by the PACT Government’s recent policy announcement to ensure public ownership of future green energy facilities. CNS has learned that OfReg had also failed to tell the Cabinet about its own plans, after […]
PACT preparing new policy on duty waivers
(CNS) The Cayman Islands Government is working on a new policy that is likely to upend the traditional approach to duty waivers and other concessions. Premier Wayne Panton told CNS that past administrations had given up revenue in exchange for jobs or to boost economic activity. But Cayman’s priorities have changed, he said, and PACT […]
QC argues hospital case has no business in court
(CNS): Doctors Hospital has brought an academic question to the court challenging the government’s deals with two medical tourism facilities but it has no standing to bring any legal case, Tom Hickman QC argued on Wednesday. The British lawyer has been hired by the Attorney General’s Chambers to respond to the judicial review brought by […]
Hospital argues that deals can’t fetter tax collection
(CNS): A lawyer representing Doctors Hospital made a comprehensive argument in court on Wednesday that the contracts signed by the UDP government with Health City Cayman Islands in 2010 and by the Unity government with Aster Cayman Medcity weeks before the 2021 election, both of which waived fees, cannot legally bind other administrations’ collection of […]
Four more years before WTE facility opens
(CNS): Cabinet has approved a new negotiation deadline to finalise its deal with Dart for the proposed waste-to-energy facility and a new system to manage the Cayman Islands’ rubbish, including recycling. Government and the islands’ wealthiest investor now have six more months to iron out the details of the ReGen project.
Board chair says bosses are abusing WP process
(CNS): Richard Barton, chair of the Business Staffing Plan Board (BSPB), said in a letter to the labour minister that he had seen clear evidence of employers abusing Cayman’s work permit process and dodging their legal responsibility to recruit and retain Caymanian workers or those with a Residency and Employment Rights Certificate (RERC) before seeking […]
