Tag: Chris Saunders

Select committee created to examine fuel sector

Select committee created to examine fuel sector

| 29/02/2024 | 43 Comments

(CNS): Planning Minister Jay Ebanks will be chairing a new committee that was established in parliament this week to look at the cost of fuel in the Cayman Islands as a result of years of erratic and, more often than not, increasing fuel costs at the sockets at home and at the pumps. Successive governments […]

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MPs back law restricting evidence access over security

MPs back law restricting evidence access over security

| 28/02/2024 | 29 Comments

(CNS): None of the Cayman Islands’ political representatives objected to a new piece of legislation presented to parliament by Attorney General Sam Bulgin on Monday that restricts access to important evidence or information in civil or human rights proceedings as well as judicial reviews if the authorities say it cannot be disclosed for security or […]

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MPs mislead the country about conservation law

MPs mislead the country about conservation law

| 19/12/2023 | 123 Comments

(CNS): The National Conservation Act was targeted by several MPs in parliament over the course of the Finance Committee hearings last week, some of whom misled the public and other members of the House by suggesting, incorrectly, that it has hampered development. Some MPs, including McKeeva Bush (WBW) and Chris Saunders (BTW), as well as […]

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Locals get more access to pensions to buy property

Locals get more access to pensions to buy property

| 24/11/2023 | 104 Comments

(CNS): Caymanians with private sector pensions can now gain access to more of their funds in order to pay down mortgages, raise deposits to buy a home or land, or pay off strata debts, after an amendment to the National Pensions Act was steered through parliament Thursday. Minister Dwayne Seymour, who has returned to the […]

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MPs to grill fuel suppliers on price

MPs to grill fuel suppliers on price

| 03/10/2023 | 46 Comments

(CNS): Chris Saunders MP (BTW) successfully steered a motion through parliament last month to establish a select committee to determine how the price of fuel is arrived at here in the Cayman Islands. He said there is at least $2 charged on every gallon sold that, to date, has never been explained. Although this was […]

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Notorious healthcare bills climb to new high

Notorious healthcare bills climb to new high

| 28/09/2023 | 83 Comments

(CNS): The public purse will be picking up a record-breaking tab by the end of this year to cover the hospital bills both at home and abroad for people who are either under- or uninsured. Although the 2021 Census suggested that 93% of Cayman Islands residents have health insurance, in 2023 the government is expecting […]

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Parliament votes for review of electricity bills

Parliament votes for review of electricity bills

| 21/09/2023 | 67 Comments

(CNS): How CUC and Island Energy, the power company for the Sister Islands, calculate the cost of electricity bills and work out fuel charges as well as the accuracy of meter readings could be the subjects of an independent investigation after the government accepted a private member’s motion Thursday, tabled by McKeeva Bush. The debate […]

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Bill to allow more pension raids goes public

Bill to allow more pension raids goes public

| 20/09/2023 | 41 Comments

(CNS): The National Pensions (Amendment) Bill, 2023 has been published and is now open for public consultation. The legislation provides for more people to take out more cash from their pensions in relation to buying a home. It increases the maximum amount of withdrawals from plans for deposits on buying or building a house, or […]

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Premier seeks 8.5% cut to this year’s budget

Premier seeks 8.5% cut to this year’s budget

| 23/08/2023 | 90 Comments

(CNS): Civil service bosses have been told to cut spending by around $47 million before the end of the year. With just four months left of 2023, Premier Wayne Panton, wearing his finance minister hat, has called on public servants to save cash as operational expenditure climbs toward $1 billion. He told CNS this wasn’t […]

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Public cash pays for failed health insurance system

Public cash pays for failed health insurance system

| 17/07/2023 | 47 Comments

(CNS): With many local people still either uninsured or under-insured, the government’s healthcare bill is climbing while the local health insurance sector continues to make a profit as companies cherrypick their customers. Earlier this month, Cabinet approved another CI$13.5 million of public cash to cover healthcare costs this year for indigents and for those with […]

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New pension raid justified by poor performance

New pension raid justified by poor performance

| 13/06/2023 | 132 Comments

(CNS): A proposal to allow people to use their pensions to pay down mortgages or for a deposit to buy their first property is justified because of the poor performance of private pension funds that non-government workers are forced to pay into each month, Chris Saunders MP said in parliament last Friday. Despite some reservations, […]

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