For just over eight years Waide DaCosta has been Chairman of the Caymanian Status and Permanent Residency Board.

Now DaCosta has gone and according to him it was his decision to resign. In a Press Release issued on 8th September he outlines his reasons that mostly shows his frustrations and no blame for the Permanent Residency debacle rests with him nor his board that “are volunteers”.

He states that: “The backlog of PR in 2009 exceeded 4000.

“The board has a full workload each and every week and on many occasions the board has
met for an average of 10 hours on Thursdays in the past year.

“In 2013 the Progressives were elected and it is my opinion that they immediately set about
amending the Immigration Law to revisit the points system and to afford persons referred
to as TLEPs (temporary employment permits) an opportunity to apply for PR. The key
employee component was also removed which acted as a filter for applicants for PR. The
term was increased to 9 years. This opened the category to any and everyone to apply for
PR regardless of contribution to Cayman or ability to provide for themselves whilst
residing in Cayman.

“The PR system was changed October 2013 with the directive being given by the CIO that
the board would no longer deal with PR. The CIO and Administrators would be doing so
from that point forward.

“A new Caymanian Status and Permanent Residency Board was then appointed in or about
July 2014 for 2 years. It was clear that it was intended the board would be phased out by
2016.

“The CIO and the Administrators were not equipped to deal with the PR and in my humble
opinion still do not possess the relevant training and are continuing to train on the job. I
was then approached in 2016 to deal with the “2013 PR” debacle and have waited until
March 2017 to be provided with the necessary amendment to the immigration law to move
forward. Only to be placed in a position where the immigration secretariat is dwindling to
the point that there is no staff to process PR.

“I have met with the acting CIO, The Chief Officer and Director of Boards and have requested
the necessary personnel to be hired to get this PR debacle dealt with. I am powerless to
hire anyone yet I shoulder the blame. This is totally unfair and unjust.

“I wrote to the Premier and the Chief Officer this year and set out my concerns.

“I stated that It is high time that I make a statement to the press to clear my name and as a
courtesy to you I am giving you a heads up as to what I require to get the job done and what
I require for the government to issue to the press as a release to set the record straight.

“This required urgent attention. Additional staff was then recruited.

“A press release was issued but nothing was clarified.

“The CO and the acting CIO requested that I learn the new PR system and train my board
and the Administrators.

“I did so but indicated that training immigration staff is time consuming and was outside my
remit as Chairman. Nevertheless my board continued to do a full workload and were told
that based on the staff available to us and the complex nature of the new PR system only 10
or so PR applications per meeting could be prepared. The CSPR secretariat worked
overtime to prepare these additional PR agenda items. The board dealt with all agenda
items listed that could be processed with a number of agenda items listed being as much as
60 to 70 applications including the PR applications and 10 hour meetings became the
norm.

“The board added extra meetings on Tuesdays in the last month to accommodate the
additional workload.

“I have always been committed to reducing the backlog of the PR applications in a fair and
considered manner. The board had nothing to do with the backlog.

“The board is a voluntary board.

“The administrators are fully paid immigration staff and have been employed since 2014.

“The administrators did not determine PR matters until July 2017. This was after I was
expected to train the immigration staff free of cost.

“The Administrators shadowed the board and when it was felt they had sufficient training
they started to deal with the PR applications.

“The Board continued to hear status applications, residency and employment rights of

“I stated earlier in the year to the CO and the ministry that after my appointment ended in
31st August 2017 I would be retiring from the post as Chairman as I had dedicated 8 years
of my life to this cause and I had to concentrate on my work and family matters.

“My sister was terminally ill yet I continued to serve as chairman so that there would be a
smooth transition to the new board after my retirement on 31st August 2017.

“I have been vilified in the press with respect to the PR issue and frankly it is time I set the
record straight.

“I served the Cayman Islands faithfully for 8 years and to be treated in this manner is
unworthy.

“I have my notes on issues with Immigration law changes including the Lacuna in the law
which places Caymanian children in jeopardy of “being in no man’s land”.

“I was informed by the crafters of the 2013 Immigration amendment that in early 2014
Immigration reform would be made to address the Caymanian children that were unable to
prove they are Caymanian. This continues to be a major problem. This requires urgent
attention by legislators.

“For the avoidance of doubt I was not a proponent of the new PR system and have noted
many issues with it. However once enacted it had to be enforced. It is my view that
notwithstanding the cumbersome PR application process it is easier to obtain PR under the
2013 PR system.

“The facts speak for themselves.

“I never contributed to the backlog in PR applications. In fact the opposite. It is because of
my training and instructing the board and administrators and other government
employees attached to the immigration department that the PR moved ahead.

“Cayman Compass has 6 employees with PR applications pending.

“They have a vested interest, some may say a conflict with this issue.

“I implemented checks and balances. Minutes are signed and filed after each and every
meeting. Certificates are watermarked and serial numbered during my tenure as chairman.
That’s just to name a few of the critical changes that were absent prior to 2009.

“A lot of good work has been undertaken by the many men and women that comprised the
CSPR board over the past 8 years and I publicly thank them for their contributions to the
Cayman Islands.”

END

The “facts do speak for themselves Mr DaCosta”, but I cannot understand with all the frustrations you were suffering from why you stayed in the job.

I fully appreciate anyone involved in Immigration is never going to receive much thanks. However, Permanent Residency (PR) should have been easier than most. The fact that not one PR was granted by your board during your chairmanship certainly does “speak for itself”.

The harsh words from the Chief Justice about the PR debacle does speak for itself.

Instead of sending out your Press Release it would have been much better if you had departed your position [shh] QUIETLY!!! [shh]