Tag: Sharon Roulstone
CUC denies conflict, blames licensing obligation
(CNS): Caribbean Utilities Company (CUC) has claimed it is not conflicted over the bidding process for the generation of renewable power, even though it worked with OfReg to shape the bid. Officials have said that under CUC’s Transmission and Distribution (T&D) Licence, it is obligated to assist the regulator with the facilitation of competitive bids […]
OfReg ordered to release CUC fuel and solar reports
(CNS): The Office of the Ombudsman (OMB) has ordered OfReg to release two reports, in full, that were created by CUC and given to the utility regulator. A freedom of information request in April last year had encompassed the 2014 CUC Cost of Service Study and the Incremental Distributed Solar Study (2023), but both had […]
Ombudsman finds against judicial commission
(CNS): The Judicial and Legal Services Commission‘s failure to update its outdated complaints procedure to bring it in line with the 2016 amendments to the Cayman Islands Constitution amounts to maladministration, Ombudsman Sharon Roulstone found in a ruling delivered last month. The ruling came out of a complaint filed by attorney Bilika Simamba, who has […]
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, […]
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 […]
Bank violated law over vaccine related data
(CNS): In September 2021, CIBC FirstCaribbean Bank (Cayman) informed its staff that they would be required to prove they were vaccinated against COVID-19 and produce a weekly negative PCR test or go on unpaid leave. However, after two employees complained to the Office of the Ombudsman, the OMB conducted an investigation and found that the […]
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 […]
FOI requests pick back up after lockdown decline
(CNS): After a decline in requests during 2020 when the Cayman Islands was locked down and the borders closed, freedom of information applications increased last year from 230 to 426, according to statistics released by the Office of the Ombudsman. The report released yesterday to mark International Right to Know Day on 28 September showed […]
Ombudsman supervising DoA probe into canine death
(CNS) UPDATED: The Department of Agriculture’s investigation into the unexplained death last month of Baron, a Belgian shepherd with the K-9 Unit, while he was in the George Town Police Station kennels is being supervised by the Office of the Ombudsman, CNS has learned, and Ombudsman Sharon Roulstone has said that the findings of the […]
Appeal favours right to know over commercial ‘secrets’
(CNS): A decision by the Office of the Ombudsman has clarified the extent to which records of private sector service providers are exempt from release under the FOI Act weighed against the public’s right to know about deals with the government. The decision related to a freedom of information request to the Cayman Islands Airports […]
