IEyeNews

iLocal News Archives

Cayman: In Parliament Today – Summary for 31 January

Cayman Islands Parliamentarians met for the First Meeting of the Third Sitting of the 2024-2025 Session today, Friday, 31 January 2025.

During the meeting nine reports were tabled and seven Bills  were presented

  1. Report & Recommendation of the Minister Responsible for Lands on the Vesting of Crown Land Block 25B Parcel 470 (part) to Peter Jervis, Rose Ebanks and Maureen Brooks-Jervis.   
  1. Cayman Islands Constitution – Electoral District Boundaries Order, 2025  
  1. Cayman Islands Stamp Duty Act (2019 Revision) – Stamp Duty (Rates of Duty) Regulations, 2025 – (SL 3 of 2025)  
  1. Cayman Turtle Conservation and Education Centre Ltd – Annual Report for the Year ended 31st December 2022  
  1. Cayman Airways – Annual Report 2023 
  1. Cayman Islands Government 2021 and 2022 Annual HR Reports 
  1. The Immigration (Transition) Discussion White Paper – Consultation Overview – (22 January 2025)  
  1. 2023-2024 Annual Report of the Standing Public Accounts Committee  
  1. 2023-2024 Annual Report of the Standing Select Committee to oversee the performance of the Office of the Ombudsman  

Several Ministers rose to address their respective Reports including the Premier Hon. Juliana O’Connor-Connolly who tabled the Cayman Islands Stamp Duty Act (2019 Revision) – Stamp Duty (Rates of Duty) Regulations, 2025 – (SL 3 of 2025). 
During her remarks, Premier O’Connor-Connolly reminded the Members that a previously accepted Private Motion called for the removal of the impediment to the stamp duty concession for Caymanians buying their second or third properties. The revisions included removal of the restrictions placed on certain geographical areas.   

She further stated that the duty of 7.5% is higher than a Caymanian would normally have to pay if they were buying property in another area other than the Seven Mile Strip and Eastern Avenue for example. 

The Regulations have been revised to increase the value of the property being bought by a Caymanian to $550,000 in order to still be eligible for a stamp duty waiver. This is an increase from $400,000 – a value the Premier noted as outdated in the current market.  

The changes to the stamp duty regulations will take affect in 21 days. The Premier concluded by stating that she did not expect any oppostion in the interim as she noted that the revisions benefited the Caymanian people.  

The Honourable Deputy Premier, Minister of Tourism & Ports and Social Development & Innovation Kenneth Bryan rose to to table the Cayman Turtle Conservation and Education Centre Ltd – Annual Report for the Year ended 31st December. He stated that the Centre received an unqualified opinion from the Auditor General and invited Members and the public to review the report. He also thanked the hardworking employees of the Centre for their dedication.  

Deputy Premier Bryan also tabled the Cayman Airways – Annual Report 2023 outlining several key highlights of the national airline, as follows: 

  • 422,189 passengers were transported over 10,041 trips; 
  • Over 2100 tons of cargo transported; 
  • Nonstop services to Panama relaunched, Barbadoes route added and expanded LA services.   

Minister Bryan commented that through participation in the USA TSA precheck programme CAL has enhanced its efficiency and passenger satisfation.  He noted that Cayman Airways aggressively pursued reducing their fuel costs which led to a 27% reduction in fuel consumption since 2019 – saying the House should be proud of the national airline. An unqualified opinion has been issued by the Auditor General to Cayman Airways for the year 2023. 

Deputy Governor Hon. Franz Manderson, ex-officio Member responsible for the Portfolio of the Civil Service, rose to table the Cayman Islands Government 2021 and 2022 Annual HR Reports.  The Deputy Governor shared several trends and statistics found in the report that showed the success of the Service over the period.   

For example, in 2021 there was an over-all increase in the public service. The number of Caymanians employeed withthe service was 5,205, which was 71.25% of the service. Within the core service there was an increase of more than 1%  which equalled 71.8% of the staff being Caymanian.Speaking to diversity he acknowleged that 50% of the Civil Service senior leadership team is made up of women.He also emphasised that much work had been done to uplift salaries between 2021 – 2022 through COLAs and honorariums. The Deputy Governor stated that the average civil servant’s salary was $53,443. This has seen an increase of $3,417 per annum with a new average of $56,857 in 2022.  
 
In his conclusion, the Deputy Governor detailed the successes of the Emerging Talent, internship and Second Chance programmes amongst others that have postively impacted Caymanians and their families. He said that the Portfolio will seek to further enhance benefits, secondments, succession planning and other services to attract and retain Caymanians.  
 

Statements:   

Hon. Dwayne Seymour, Minister for Border Control, Labour & Culture and Sustainability & Climate Resiliency, rose to discuss the difficulties with the National Conservation Act. In his statement, Minister Seymour noted that the National Conservation Act, in its current form, created several difficulties that could only be addressed by Parliament. 

“There is a legal/policy issue as it relates to the proportionate balance to be struck between the powers given to the NCC [National Conservation Council] to override decisions of other public bodies, (potentially including the constitutionally created Cabinet) and the ability of those other public bodies in the exercise of their own statutory functions,” said Minister Seymour. 
 

Bills:  

The Following Bills were deemed to have been read and were set down for a second reading:  
 

 (1) Referendum (Cruise Berthing Infrastructure, Gambling and Cannabis) Bill, 2024  

(2) Customs and Border Control (Amendment) Bill, 2024  

(3) Beneficial Ownership Transparency (Amendment) Bill, 2024  

 (5) Anti-Sexual Harassment Bill, 2025  

(6) Grand Court (Amendment) Bill, 2025  

(7) Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Bill, 2025  

The National Conservation (Amendment) Bill, 2024 was moved to be withdrawn by the Minister for Sustainability & Climate Resiliency, Hon Dwayne Seymour. The withdrawal was unanimously supported. 

Motions:  

Premier Juliana O’Connor-Connolly rose to speak to Government Motion No. 7 of 2024-2025 Recommendations of the 2023 Electoral Boundary Commission.  

The Report’s recommendations for amendments to the current electoral boundaries was rejected, with 16 votes against and 2 abstentions.  

The House then adjourned for the day and will reconvene on Monday, 3 February 2025 at 10AM.  

To watch today’s proceedings, visit: 

First Sitting of the Third Meeting of the 2024-25 Session of Parliament | 31 January 2025 

For further information visit: www.gov.ky/governmentinparliament.   

How to follow: Watch live broadcasts of sittings on CIG YouTube and CIGTV (Logic – Channel 23, C3 – Channel 3, Flow – Channel 106). 

LEAVE A RESPONSE

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *