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GoToCayman.com - News from Cayman (ISSN: 1744-7690)

December 2007

Members of the Overseas Countries and Territories Association (OCTA) have unanimously elected the Cayman Islands to chair and host its annual ministerial meeting in 2008.

The OCTA has 17 members. They are Anguilla; Aruba; British Virgin Islands; Cayman Islands; Falkland Islands; French Polynesia; Greenland; Mayotte; Montserrat; Netherlands Antilles; New Caledonia; Pitcairn; St. Helena and dependencies; St. Pierre and Miquelon; French Southern and Antarctic Territories; Turks and Caicos Islands; Wallis and Futuna. The OCTA has a website at http://www.octassociation.org

November 2007

October 2007

Minister for Education Alden McLaughlin announced that an extra year will be added to the public-school system, to be used for technical and vocational training. At a Chamber of Commerce luncheon he said "No one should leave the high-school system and go straight into work. We are going to add another year to high school so no one leaves without a skill. Some sort of post-secondary training will enable everyone to leave the system with some skill. "We have never had difficulty attracting students to things like law, accounting and business; the difficulty we are having is with 70% of students acquiring the skills, qualifications and interest to allow them to take up some kind of technical and vocational educational training."

He added that the new national curriculum would become mandatory in the Cayman Islands' 19 public schools and among their 4,600 students in September 2008. It aims to shift traditional teaching patterns away from rote blackboard learning to a more dynamic, interactive and flexible style, improving learning and producing better graduates.

Cayman's Christmas stamp issue has been released. They feature images based on stained-glass windows from some of the churches on Grand Cayman. The stamps feature stained-glass windows at Wesleyan Holiness Church (25¢); Elmslie Memorial Church (50¢); St. George's Anglican Church (75¢); East End Seventh-Day Adventist Church (80¢); First Baptist Church of Grand Cayman ($1) and Frank Sound Church of God ($1.50). The image on the First Day Cover, which has all the stamps affixed to it, is a handmade quilt in the Little Cayman Baptist Church. The leaflet which accompanies the First Day Cover offers a brief history of the churches along with an explanation of the windows.

For more information contact the Philatelic Bureau at mailto:cistamps@candw.ky

September 2007

According to a report issued by Hurricanecity.com, Cayman is the worst place in the atlantic basin for tropical storms/hurricanes (see http://www.hurricanecity.com/Rank.htm). Based on data for tropical storms from 1871 to 2006, 61 storms passed Cayman within 60 to 70 miles, putting Cayman top of their list with on average a storm passing every 2.23 years.

Just before Hurricane Felix swept past Cayman, Durty Reids at Red Bay was demolished. It has now been announced that 'Durty' Reid Dennis has signed a two-year lease with the Tourism Attraction Board to operate the café at the historic Pedro St. James and is now open for business.

A new census at Grand Cayman’s stingray interactive sites, Stingray City and the Sandbar in the North Sound, is to be undertaken by the Guy Harvey Research Institute (GHRI) next year. When the last study was undertaken in 2002, they tagged 165 animals in the sandbar, 22 from the stingray city site and 45 wild animals from around Grand Cayman that don’t interact with humans, as a control. The Department of Environment’s Assistant Director – Research and Assessment Tim Austin said that information from the last study was useful and some aspects of it were incorporated into new regulations, now being enforced, which designate both the Sandbar and Stingray City as Wildlife Interaction Zones (WIZ). He added that the study "helped to determine the required size of the various WIZs and allowed the DoE to compromise its stated position of no more additional stingray feeding sites and allow potential sites within the boundaries of the WIZ as these would be the same rays and no new population of rays would be impacted." After the previous study, the GHRI made recommendations that footwear should not be allowed in the shallow sandbar as their studies confirmed an abundance of human induced injuries to rays from footwear. This suggestion has been incorporated into the WIZ regulations.

Boatswain's Beach, the new home of the Cayman Turtle Farm, have announced discounted pricing up the end of 2007.

"We have decided to offer these discounted rates until the end of the year to allow both Residents and Visitors the opportunity to enjoy the park extensively," their representative said. Guests can now enjoy the entire Park for only US$55 for Adults and US$25 for children ages 4-12. Residents (with local identification) can enter the entire park for only CI$10 for adults and CI$4 for children ages 4-12.

Over the last 17 months government has issued over 41,617 work permits. For the period (April 2006 to August 2007) this is broken down into 10,367 annual permits, 20,729 temporary permits and 10,521 renewals.

Leader of Government Business the Hon. Kurt Tibbetts agreed on behalf of Government to consider a mandatory photo identification system to assist law enforcement officers, security officers, school officials and others in carrying out their responsibilities. In a debate on the topic, George Town MLA Alfonso Wright pointed out that at present many under-age individuals are able to gain access into night clubs and other events and similar premises. The motion also noted that with population increase and cultural diversification, it is no longer possible to easily identify individuals. Also, homeland security is of greater importance in today's global situation. Law enforcement officers feel the lack of a proper identification system in the proper execution of their duties. Mr. Wright recalled that there have been three Private Member's Motions seeking such a system in the past, two of which were accepted by the governments of the day but nothing came of them. The motion in 1987 failed, while the ones in 1989 (which called for the voluntary adoption of an identification system) and another in 1994 (which called for compulsory IDs) both passed in the House. The need was for a user-friendly ID system, he recommended, and one which could also include additional information, such as health needs of the person which would prove invaluable in life-threatening situations. Cards were less bulky and safer options than passports. Accepting the motion, Minister Tibbetts noted that a system like the Drivers' Licence which is valid for three years at a time could be installed. However, decisions about age groups and extending the system to embrace all residents would have to be looked at, he said. A national ID system would have to cover all residents, he added.

Cayman Islands’ Annual Economic Report (AER) 2006 has been published and can be downloaded from http://www.eso.ky/UserFiles/File/2006%20AER%20August%202007%20FINAL.pdf (86 pages, 431Kb).

Highlights of the report include:

A slowdown in the pace of economic expansion as gross domestic product (GDP) grew at an estimated rate of 4.6 percent, down from 6.5 percent a year ago.

The estimated mid-year population reached 51,992 growing by 7.5% over the mid-year population in 2005. This population growth being faster than the nominal GDP growth in 2006 resulted in a slight decline in GDP per capita to reach CI$39,137 in 2006.

Economic growth in 2006 was stimulated on the demand side by renewed growth in demand for tourism services, government consumption and government capital spending as demand for investment in capital goods receded with the completion of the post-Ivan reconstruction work and in the midst of a rise in real interest rates. Upward movement of demand indicators include those of consumer imports (up by 24.6%), electricity consumption (up by 14.9%) and water consumption (up by 19.9%).

The year 2006 saw a strong recovery in the tourism sector: visitor arrivals totalled 2.2 million, an increase of 11.7% over 2005. Air arrivals surged by 59.3% to reach 267,257 in 2006.

Construction remained a growth sector in 2006 as building permits reached 1,290 (or 33.3% higher than in 2006) valued at $445.8 million.

The Consumer Price Index moved up throughout 2006. From -0.9% in March 2006, the inflation rate inched up by 0.9% in June, 1.4% in September and 1.6% in December. Nonetheless, the average inflation rate of 0.8% in 2006 represented a sharp decline from the 7.3% in 2005. This can be attributed to the increase in supply of private residences to cause a downward pressure on housing cost.

Total employment as a proportion of the labour force improved to 97.4% in spring 2006 from 96.5% in fall 2005. Hence, the unemployment rate fell to 2.6% compared to 3.5% in fall 2005.

Net domestic credit extended by the commercial banks increased by 9.1% to reach $2.1 billion. This was comprised of net credit to the public sector which rose by 5.5%, and credit to the private sector which rose by 9.4%.

The net foreign asset position of local commercial banks increased by 18.5% to $4.7 billion, mainly as a result of increases in investment and loans to non-residents.

The Legislative Assembly has passed the Freedom Of Information (FOI) Bill into law, which will come into effect in April 2009. Of the new bill, Leader of Government Business, the Hon. Kurt Tibbetts said "As a result of public input, greater emphasis has been placed on the general principles of maximum disclosure and releasing information in the public interest. These principles provide the foundation on which Government can begin building a new culture of openness. For example the scope of the bill ensures that Government ministries, portfolios, and statutory authorities are all defined as public authorities and even Cabinet is not excluded from a FOI request."

After some speculation, it has been confirmed that the Links at SafeHaven, the only full-size golf course on the island, has been purchased by Michael Ryan, the developer of the Ritz-Carlton Grand Cayman, for $80 million with effect from 26th October 2007. It is thought that some of the course will be used to expand the existing 9-hole Ritz-Carlton course to a full 18-hole course. The remaining land would be sold or developed. This has caused some concern amongst residents and visitors as the Links was the only full-size golf course open to the public. Generally Ritz-Carlton facilities are only available to their own guests.

Twenty-five-year-old Rebecca Parchment of West Bay was crowned the new Miss Cayman. 北京自动门 房产纠纷 电缆桥架 电脑回收 有机玻璃制品 陪练 会员卡 机打发票 包装公司 北京货架 礼品盒 再生塑料颗粒机 工商注册 小升初 代开发票 Dell服务器 北京物流 北京家具公司 电缆桥架 碎纸机 贵宾卡 展览公司 不干胶 北京装修公司 展柜 IBM服务器 代开发票 [1] 圣诞树 亚克力 劳保用品 电抗器 五粮液酒 房产律师 北京搬家