The State Opening of Parliament and the First Sitting of the First Meeting of the 2025-2026 Session commenced on Wednesday, 25 June at approximately 2:00 pm with the inspection of the Guard of Honour by Her Excellency Governor Jane Owen. 

In her address to the Members of Parliament, Governor Owen said, “Today is a good moment to join together with those watching these proceedings, and to celebrate the democratic processes that delivered an exemplary election and our government sitting here today – the National Coalition for Caymanians.”

Governor Owen highlighted the priorities of the new Government, the first being the reform of the immigration system. She stated, “As the Government and the civil service work together to deliver their ambitious agenda, I am confident that they will work in partnership, reaching out to the private sector and civil society for added ideas, talent and resources.”

Following the Governor’s address, Parliamentarians took part in recognising several Caymanians and students from schools across the islands who were in attendance. Bringing the acknowledgements to a close, Speaker of the House, Honourable Ezzard Miller thanked the members for contributing and outlined the importance of recognising Caymanians of all ages for their accomplishments. 

During the Sitting, ten annual reports were tabled. They included, among others, the 2024 Annual Reports for the Ministries of Youth, Sports and Heritage; Home Affairs and Finance and Economic Development. 

In presenting the 2024 Annual Report for the Portfolio of the Civil Service, Deputy Governor Honourable Franz Manderson outlined that a major undertaking was the development and implementation of the Civil Service Strategic Plan. He also noted that according to the Civil Service Engagement Survey for 2024, 90 per cent of civil servants reported they were “proud to be a civil servant”.  

Deputy Governor, Honourable Franz Manderson also tabled the 2024 Annual Report for the Office of the Commissioner of Police. He thanked the Commissioner and team for the outstanding work they continue to do to keep everyone safe. The Deputy Governor highlighted that serious crime levels decreased, adding that it speaks to the abilities and the success of the police service. 

Deputy Governor Manderson also shared statistics, noting there were 34,934 number of incidents reported to the police, 4,218 crimes recorded, 2,398 arrests, 15 guns taken off streets and over 3 million worth of drugs seized or recovered. He further explained there were 3,253 motor vehicle accidents and 281 arrests for driving under the influence. The Deputy Governor added that the Government is keen on looking into this and working with Royal Cayman Islands Police Service to get people to slow down. 

Attorney General, Honourable Samuel Bulgin presented the 2024 Annual Report for the Financial Reporting Authority. He stated that the Authority received 1,395 cases during the reporting period, comprising 1,194 suspicious activity reports from 291 reporting entities. 

The Attorney General further stated that the Authority received 101 requests for information and 43 voluntary disclosures from overseas finance intelligence units, as well as 57 requests for information from local law enforcement agencies. He added that the number of cases decreased by some seven per cent compared to the number of cases received during the 2023 reporting year.

There were six questions to Members of the Government specifically, the Ministers of Finance and Economic Development and Education and Training; Planning, Lands, Agriculture, Housing and Infrastructure; Youth, Sports, Culture and Heritage and Social Development and Innovation. 

In responding to the question of whether the Government is still projected to show a deficit at the end of the current budget year in light of the first quarter surplus recently announced, Minister Rolston Anglin stated, “The first quarter of each year always produces a surplus because the majority of Government’s revenue is received before 31 March due to income earned from financial services and the tourism peak season.” He further outlined that historically, the last months of the year have operated at a deficit, adding that “the possibility of a deficit for 2025 can be significantly attributed to the expansionary fiscal policies that were approved during 2024 and the four-month period ending 30 April 2025.” 

Gloria McField-Nixon took the oath to serve as ex-officio Member of Parliament and was invited to take her seat by the Speaker. 

Under Government business, four Bills were deemed to have been read a first time and set down for second reading. 

Rising to move the adjournment of the House, Premier Honourable André Ebanks thanked the Speaker noting, “It was a moving day.”

The House then adjourned and will reconvene on Thursday, 26 June at 2:00 pm.

To watch Wednesday’s proceedings, visit:

First Sitting of the First Meeting of the 2025-26 Session of Parliament | 25 June | Part 1: State Opening and First Meeting of the 2025-2026 Session of Parliament | 25 June 2025

First Sitting of the First Meeting of the 2025-26 Session of Parliament | 25 June | Part 2: First Meeting of the 2025-2026 Session of Parliament | 25 June 2025 | Pt. 2 

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).