Six candidates declare government business
Moses Kirkconnell
(CNS Elections): Moses Kirkconnell has revealed that many of the companies of which he is a shareholder, director or owner do business with government. According to the register of interests, the deputy premierPremier of the Cayman Islands More has by far the most business interests outside of his job as an MLA and minister and many hold government contracts. Pearlina McGaw-Lumsden and Joey Hew also have many government contracts with their companies, while Wayne Panton, Dwayne ‘Jon-Jon’ Seymour and Maxine Moore have also declared business interests with the government.
Kirkconnell, who is running on the PPM ticket in CBWLC, declared that Brac Informatics Centre, of which he is a shareholder and director, has several contracts and agreements with various departments and government companies or authorities for disaster recovery or data services. Kirkconnell Ltd, which operates as a general retailer in Cayman Brac, does not have any specific contracts but he said government entities might purchase products there.
Much more specific is Cayman Brac Power and Light Company, which provides electricity to all government entities on the Sister Islands. He is also a shareholder of Caribbean Utilities Company (CUC), which provides electricity to government on Grand Cayman.
In addition, real estate companies Moses Kirkconnell/Mabry Kirkconnell, Brac Caribbean Ltd/Brac Caribbean Management Ltd and Carib Sands Ltd/Carib Sands Management Ltd all provide rental space to government departments and companies at times.
In contrast, Maxine Moore, who is running as an independent candidate against Kirkconnell, owns MAM’S Island Janitorial Services and has declared just one annual contract with the education department.
Joey Hew, another incumbent PPM candidate who is running in GTN, owns Hew’s Hotel & Restaurant Supplies, which has a long list of government contracts with the Ministry of Education to service and supply kitchen equipment and cleaning products. The company also provides cleaning, paper, laundry products and equipment maintenance services to the Health Services Authority, the prison and the Department of Agriculture, along with other occasional services to other government agencies.
Hew’s Janitorial also has contracts for janitorial services with Department of Employment Services, the Mosquito Research and Control Unit, Cayman Islands Monetary Authority, Cayman Islands Stock Exchange and the Cayman Islands Development Bank. From time to time, the companies do general or post construction cleaning and floor maintenance work. Macdonald’s Restaurant, which is also owned by Hew, regularly provides catering services to several government departments, he declared.
Wayne Panton, who is running in Newlands, is a director of Infinity Broadband Ltd (C3), which supplies the immigration department with free WiFi in the waiting areas, and free TV at the Cayman Islands Hospital in George Town Hospital. But the firm also has paid contracts with the education department and schools, including Red Bay Primary School, Lighthouse School, John Gray High School and CIFEC.
CDP candidate for GTN, Pearlina McGaw-Lumsden, who is a director with National Security Services, also has a list of government contracts. The security firm supplies services to the Department of Community Rehabilitation Centre, most government schools, the courthouse and immigration for the detention centre, as well as the Public Works Department and the Water Authority.
Dwayne Seymour, who owns Airport Professional Services, declared that he has a contract with the government’s airline, Cayman Airways.
Seymour, who is running as an independent candidate for Bodden Town East, was elected to office in 2009 with the then UDP. For that election he forgot to declare his government contracts by the deadline and faced an election challenge as a result. However, the challenge, which was brought by a group of Bodden Town voters, was found to have been out of time. He lost his seat in the 2013 election.
While Seymour did make the gazette deadline to reveal his current government contract this time around, he had not filed his register of interest details with the Legislative Assembly when CNS examined the register on the day after Nomination Day.
We have contacted the LA about that omission on a number of occasions but we have still not received any comment on whether Seymour has since filed that information, why it was late and what, if any, consequences there have been for him and the two other candidates, Kathy Wilks and Dr Frank McField, whose information was also not in the register when CNS viewed its contents.
The details of the six candidates’ business interests have been published in the last two issues of this year’s government gazettes and in two extraordinary gazettes, which can be viewed here on the government’s Gazette page.
Category: Candidates
God forbid we elect a successful business man to help run the business of the Cayman Islands. What we need is professional politicians who have nothing to lose. Just look at Mac…came in as a Gardner and now is a multi-millionaire. He got to be smart to do that off a $12,000/month salary.
Do we stop and realize that when one own so much in the Country , and that one is in a position to protect his /her investment that they will , and in the same time if they see the opportunity to make their investment bigger they will .
So could this be why your light bills and gas bills are so darn high today .
Do you realize that when someone has something to lose then that gives them incentive to work harder? Cayman has had too many that had nothing to lose but were very happy to waste our money.
CNS: Where can voters scrutinize the financial interests over 10% that were to be declared by all candidates by Nomination Day (and ongoing)?
What I don’t understand , why do Politicians own so many big contracts within Government and still be able to run in the Election. What would they do when elected ? Protect their own contracts , and to hell with you the Taxpayers and voters , is how the human mind thinks today .
IT’S better known as CORRUPTION / CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.
Wise up people , this is how you take care of those things , don’t put people in Government to protect their own intrest / contracts , put them there to protect YOURS and the Islands intrest .
Wonderful ideas, let elect people who have nothing to lose and know nothing about making money for themselves or anybody else….. Oh wait we tried that several times in the past, didn’t turn out too well.
As Joey Hew is in the janitorial and cleaning business, and as the dump is in the middle of the George Town North riding where he is running, let’s hope he can apply his skills learned in the janitorial and clean up business to clean up the biggest mess and ticking environmental time bomb on the island.
Mr. Hew what is your plan to move the dump?
People that have millions invested in their own country want to have a say in how it’s being run. Makes sense to me. Why would you want to gamble the value of your holdings on some incompetent MLA.
Minister Kirkconnell had “big contracts within Government” long before he was a representative so it wouldn’t appear that he needed to become an MLA to enrich himself. Conflicts of interest do not have to become corruption providing the conflicts are dealt with in a clear and transparent manner.
Cayman Psalm 1:1 PMV (Poor Man’s Version)
Alden McLaughlin is the shepherd I did not want,
He leadeth me beside the high cost of living.
He restoreth my faith in the independents.
He guideth me to the path of unemployment for his party’s sake. Yeah, though I shall bear more hunger, no food is with me.
He anointeth my income with taxes, my expenses runneth over. Surely poverty and hard life shall follow me all the days of my life. And I shall live in my parents’ house forever and ever.
Amen.
All credit to a true Caymanian who sent this to me. I had to send it in.
Talent gone to waste
Tell your doctor friend to put his time to more useful things.
The Alden McLaughlin in your song, is that the same person who so easily outsmarted Kenneth Bryan? The same one who has had a scandal free 4 years? The same person under whom the economy is growing? I think the Cayman Pslam you shared is from the MIV ( Misled Idiots Version).
Outsmarted or Outran….into a hiding spot in Red Bay
Outsmarted but then again that wasn’t too difficult.
This is disgusting to use The Lord’s word to talk nonsense of our leader in this beautiful Island we are privileged to live in, If you are not a true and dedicated Caymanian then I suggest you find somewhere else to live. Politics don’t mix with God’s word. Please ask God to forgive you. Cos I do, you apparently don’t respect the Word of God.
Moses is King of Hill Alden his just his little man servant!
Alden & Moses make a dynamic due leading the PPM. The truth is the PPM have the best team. Alden, Moses, Marco, Wayne etc are all very successful in their chosen fields. So much better than some of the past MLAs and many of the current candidates whose only claim to fame is being loud but with no feasible ideas or accomplishments.
So why has the country gone to shit?
Because of people like you who cannot express their ideas without the use of profanity maybe 🙂
Dynamic Duo?
Which one?
Batman and Robin or
The False Prophet and the Antichrist?
Nice try May 24th will provide the answer.
Alden & Moses are real people unlike your example from the imaginary world. Stop following comics and grow up.
Keep in mind, the candidate disclosure rules state that only current conflicts as of Nomination Day need be disclosed. There is no requirement to scrutinize expired past conflicts, pending bids that have not yet been awarded, or possible future material conflicts whose agreements haven’t yet been finalized. It seems statistically improbable that in a land so small, only 6 candidates out of some 74 would have cross-over (even accidental) of any kind.
Those that take issue with this are your Kenneth Bryan/Ellio Solomon type voters in any event. Entirely irrelevant.
Go fishing the weather is great.
Agreed.
I happy that Minister Kirkconnell has used his business abilities to expand Owen Roberts Airport. For 25 years everyone talked about it but nothing happened.
Which was approved with a eight-figure CIAA receivable owed by CAL – who do you think is going to guarantee cash that when the money comes due? Take a look at JGHS… CIG can’t even afford to build our own roads without brokering a sweetheart land swap and 30yr incentive deal with DART. Ahhh, who cares about the details…
That is a pile of crap[. Cayman Brac Power and Light was subsidized as you call it 5:53 PM long before Mr. KIrconell became a Representative of the Legiskative Assembly. sHUT YA NOUT GO AWAY MAMA LOOK A BOBO DE..
I see the shipmemt landed safely on the Brac
Everybody in the Brac was offered stock in the company at the time it was started. It was a community project. That’s how it worked. There’s no conflict.
Are we honestly surprised about watch going on yet some always crying ohers down about corruption eh! moses you know what time its is???? PPM Time
Corruption that Mr. Kirkconnell listed all of his business interest? It would be corruption if he had not.
Exactly. The way Candidate X declared no interests.
Yep
How can it be a negative that candidates are successful business people? Should candidates only be able to stand for office if they are former civil servants, lawyers, accountants or have no experience at all? At worst if a candidate only wanted to improve the economy to help their own interests it will still be a benefit to the country. Some past and current MLAs have been famous for 4 years of doing nothing. While others only tried to waste government funds or fill their own pockets directly.
Power & Light received “duty free benefits” long before Moses Kirkconnell came along. The government did not have the funds to assist in providing of electricity to Cayman Brac and was happy to try to assist when 200 plus residents started their own company.
Cayman Brac in general is “subsidized” by the government and the argument could be made that anyone doing business or even visiting there is a beneficiary. Really no different than New York state taxes for New York City being used to assist rural areas in upstate New York.
The Caymanian entitlement culture is embodied by the approach taken towards Cayman Brac which is a welfare state.
70% of employed in the Brac rely on the Cayman government for primary employment the rest rely on handouts and government assistance.
How many Brackers are employed by Moses in his businesses?
Many Brackers are employed in Moses business. Many more are employed because of his leadership.
Seems fine to me.
Fine that he did what the law requires. I agree.
As a consumer of electricity in Little Cayman I am glad that the license under which CB Power company operates includes a duty waiver and has for 20+ years. It’s a shame that someone wants to try to fool the public into thinking this is something political.
Not only are your eyes shut but your mind is also closed.Pray tell where does the article state increased profitabilities for anyone?
Current PPM elected members and candidates business interests all benefitted and posted increased profitability during their time in office. Coincidence or Conflict?
Moses Kirkonell’s businesses in the Brac are all subsidized by tax paying public. Look at the duty free benefits Brac Power and Light receives. If an opponent received such favorable status the ppm could be pushing for investigations by the Auditor General’s office and the ACU.
Good to know Mr. Kirkconnell is using his business talent to move the country forward.
Those subsidies benefit all in the Brac. Whether you support Moses or not. He’s a champion for the Brac and this is the thanks he gets? Come on!