Black Immigrant Daily News

El secretario del Departamento de Educación, Eliezer Ramos Parés, anunció que la Oficina de Infraestructura de la agencia ha asignado 96 millones de dólares para trabajos de rehabilitación en 240 planteles que tienen condiciones críticas en su planta física.

Esto representa una inversión de más de 400 mil dólares, por cada escuela que forma parte del grupo de estructuras que serán impactadas en la segunda fase del plan de estabilización y rehabilitación, que ya ha impactado más de 400 escuelas con trabajos de otras iniciativas.

“Es la primera vez, en décadas, que se hará una inversión adicional a la asignación típica que se hace para los trabajos del inicio del año escolar. Por años, el Departamento apenas había podido asignar cerca de 40 mil dólares por escuela para trabajos cosméticos, como era pintar parcialmente, las estructuras. Este año, además de los trabajos de limpieza, fumigación y ornato, se estarán realizando tareas de remoción de pintura vieja, remoción de hongos, tratamiento con primer y pintura, con garantía de tres años. Esta es la encomienda que nos ha dado el gobernador Pedro Pierluisi de agilizar los trabajos de rehabilitación y reconstrucción de los planteles escolares”, indicó Ramos Parés en declaraciones escritas.

“Desde que comenzó mi administración, dimos prioridad a la reparación de columnas cortas y a la rehabilitación de planteles, pues nuestros niños, niñas y jóvenes merecen contar con escuelas seguras y deben tener todas las herramientas necesarias que garanticen una educación adecuada. Estos avances en infraestructura representan un gran paso en el camino para continuar transformando nuestro sistema, de cara a ofrecer un servicio de primera para nuestros estudiantes”, añadio el gobernador, Pedro Rafael Pierluisi Urrutia.

Por su parte, el director de la Oficina de Infraestructura y Reconstrucción, Ing. Enrique Questell Pereira, explicó que, debido a la cantidad limitada de contratistas y la complicada operación de logística que conllevan estas tareas, sin paralizar los servicios educativos, esta iniciativa de rehabilitación, al igual que otros trabajos, se estará atendiendo por fases. “En una primera fase estaremos impactando 100 escuelas, que es lo que podemos atender, utilizando todos los contratistas que tenemos disponibles, a través de una subasta formal que se realizó por ASG. En esas escuelas, la inversión sobrepasa los $40 millones”, abundó Questell Pereira, quien añadió que hay otras 40 escuelas que se estarán subastando por grupos.

El secretario anticipó que este sería un regreso a clases distinto, pues muchos de estos trabajos estarán en proceso al inicio de clases y durante el semestre.

“Las escuelas se encuentran en tal estado de deterioro que hemos tenido que trabajar por fases, estableciendo prioridades”, añadió el titular de la agencia. Mientras que Questell Pereira especificó que, durante la implementación del plan de estabilización y rehabilitación se han priorizado los aspectos de salud y seguridad. “Estos trabajos incluyen remoción de hongos, mientras que también se ha estado haciendo mitigación y remoción de plomo y asbesto, como parte de las tareas, en las más de 400 escuelas ya impactadas con las distintas iniciativas”, detalló.

Ramos Parés explicó que, mientras tanto, OMEP y AEP se encuentran trabajando intensamente en el acondicionamiento de los planteles, para el retorno a clases. El acondicionamiento incluye, entre otras tareas, el mantenimiento de las áreas verdes, reparaciones de electricidad y plomería, fumigación, recogido de escombros y reemplazo de algunos equipos de baño.

Questell Pereira también brindó una actualización de los arreglos de columnas cortas y confirmó que ya se ha reparado esta vulnerabilidad estructural en 308 escuelas, mientras continúan los trabajos en otros 91 planteles. “Se ha hecho ya una inversión de 276 millones de dólares y solo quedan 27 escuelas que están en etapa de diseño o contratación”, detalló el ingeniero, quien destacó que esta tarea ha sido gerenciada con éxito por el equipo de la Autoridad para el Financiamiento de la Infraestructura (AFI).

El director ejecutivo de esta agencia, Eduardo Rivera Cruz, confirmó que ya se han reparado más del 70 por ciento de los planteles que formaban parte de esta iniciativa prioritaria de la estabilización de la infraestructura escolar, mientras que ya otro 20 por ciento se encuentra en construcción.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

INGEZONDEN De regering doet bewust aan misleiding door elke keer de discussie of te versmallen of te verbreden om makkelijk

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Black Immigrant Daily News

Cayman’s national money laundering and terrorist financing risk assessment (dated March 2022) reported that the inherent money laundering and terrorist financing risk for firms of attorneys-at-law conducting relevant financial business in the Cayman Islands is considered to be medium-high.

The overall, medium-high risk rating was reached after assessing the nature, size, complexity, customer types, transactions, products, services and delivery channels of international and domestic law firms. The risk ratings for each of these categories are set out in the below table.

Factors for inherent risk assessment

As the national risk assessment highlights the legal sector as “a key component of the jurisdiction’s financial services product,” a “major export,” and as “critical to the economy,” it is important that the medium-high risk assessment for law firms and their activities is not taken lightly.

Regarding this, the national risk assessment said:

The inherent vulnerabilities of the legal profession must be seen in the context of the jurisdictional vulnerabilities facing the Cayman Islands. These have been identified as being the risk that the Cayman Islands’ financial system could be used as a conduit for the proceeds of financial crime generally, and fraud, bribery and corruption, tax evasion, and drug trafficking specifically. These threats are usually predicated upon the commission of crimes abroad and the decision to funnel those proceeds through structures, transactions and accounts in the Cayman Islands. The most significant danger for the legal community is the direct participation of firms in that movement of funds through their involvement in such transactions and or the usage of their accounts.

Since the national risk assessment also notes that a “relatively small number of these firms control much of the international legal activity as they are multi-jurisdictional and have great reach in bringing business to the Islands,” common sense dictates that the regulatory, anti-money laundering scope must not only focus on activities locally, but also on international activities connected to local firms. According to the national risk assessment, such activities include a “significant volume of complex cross-border transactions, involvement with unregulated products and entities.”

By taking this approach, the regulator will have a more complete understanding of the risks that global activities might present to the local anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing regime, including whether these risks are exacerbated by some persons advising on Cayman Islands law overseas without ever having being admitted to practice Cayman Islands law in the Cayman Islands and without ever having possessed Cayman Islands legal practice certificates.

Resolutions of money laundering and terrorist financing concerns might also be more straightforward too if the situation was not further complicated by existing cases in the courts of the Cayman Islands challenging the structure of the regulator, the Cayman Attorneys Regulation Authority (CARA), which was not established as a separate legal entity, but as a subcommittee of the board of directors of the Cayman Islands Legal Practitioners Association (CILPA), a private association.

Further exacerbating the issue are provisions of the Legal Services Act which, if brought into force by Cabinet “as is” and without amendments, will establish the Cayman Islands Legal Services Council comprising of the Attorney General, the Chief Justice and political appointees. Unfortunately, some members of the public view this structure as problematic due to the perceived issues of independence and potential conflicts of interest.

Regarding these perceptions, one member of the public said that “if you have the country’s head of judiciary and a person who leads the government’s prosecution office both sitting on the Council, then questions of separation of powers and ability to have a fair trial arise if a lawyer decides to challenge a decision of the Council in relation to the Council’s proposed functions to regulate the practice of law or to act as a supervisory authority for lawyers under Cayman’s anti-money laundering regime.”

From an objective standpoint, it seems better for the jurisdiction to resolve issues of concern with the regulatory, anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing structure now, rather than the Cabinet taking a decision now bring the Legal Services Act in force, unamended, with the concerns unresolved. Objectively speaking, the approach here must be a careful and considered one, as perceived actions or omissions in “doing the right thing” may also impact the confidence that the Financial Action Task Force, the European Union and others have in the local anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing regime.

Whatever the Cabinet decides to do though, it is likely that the Financial Action Task Force, the European Union and others will be paying close attention over the next few months to the concerns raised in the national risk assessment regarding cross-border international transactions, how they are related to local firms and what that means in terms of increasing or reducing money laundering and terrorist financing threats to the jurisdiction.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

Barbados will experience light to moderate showers with a slight chance of isolated thunderstorms today, Sunday, August 7, 2022. This is according to the Barbados Meteorological Services.

Weather Forecast

Morning

A surface to low-level shear line is affecting the island.

General Forecast: Mostly cloudy to overcast with the occasional intermittent scattered light to moderate showers and a very slight chance of isolated thunderstorms.

Tonight

Synopsis: A surface to low-level shear line will continue to affect the island.

General Forecast: Mostly cloudy with clear breaks with the occasional scattered light to moderate showers and a very slight chance of isolated thunderstorms.

Barbados Forecast Max/Min Temps: 30/24.

Weather Discussion

As the tropical wave near 63W continued westwards instability trailing over Barbados and the central section of the region generated cloudy skies and light to moderate scattered showers. Favourable upper-level conditions also allowed for isolated thunderstorm activity across the area. The 12-hour rainfall accumulations from 6pm til 6am here in Barbados ranged from 11.8mm here at Charnocks in Christ Church to a maximum of just over an inch (26.8mm) near Hope land, St. Philip. Other rainfall totals such as 22.6mm, 20.8 and 18.2 were also recorded in Mile and a Quater, St. Peter, Groves, St. Philip and Alleynedale Hall, St. Peter respectively. After midnight Barbados reported a gradual improvement while the islands of the Leewards and northern Windwards remained under similar weather conditions.

Eastern Caribbean Outlook:

Instability generated by moisture and instability trailing the wave at 63W will maintain light to moderate convection across the Leewards and northern Windwards where upper-level conditions will remain conducive for convective enhancement. During the night a shear line is expected to shift southwestwards while a low-level trough approaches the southern Leewards and northern Windwards. Elsewhere, a weak ridge pattern will be the dominant feature with occasionally cloudy skies anticipated.

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