Black Immigrant Daily News

Despite a few delays in recent weeks, Governor John Rankin said yesterday that he has “no major concerns” with the government’s progress toward its commitment to implement a series of reforms recommended by the Commission of Inquiry report.

“As I’ve said before, as long as the failure to meet a deadline is for genuine reasons, and not for any unnecessary delay or frustration in implementation, then this is something we can manage,” Mr. Rankin said during a joint press conference with Premier Dr. Natalio “Sowande” Wheatley.“Some report progress has been made in a number of areas. At the same time, there is still much to be done, more changes to be made, and difficult decisions to be taken.”

More details, he said, will be provided next month in his first quarterly review on the implementation of the COI recommendations. That report — which he said will be made public — will review “the overall assessment of progress and political culture exhibited in the day-to-day operations of the government,” he said.

Recent progress

Also during the press conference, the governor and premier touted recent progress toward several promised reforms.

This progress, they said, includes an arrest in the ongoing criminal investigation of the Elmore Stoutt High School wall project; appointments to lead a review into election officials’ discretionary powers; legislative amendments to give government auditors more teeth; a proposed new Jury Act, and many more.

Meanwhile, the governor added, the auditor general and her team continue to investigate Covid-19 grants, assistance grants, and the disposal of crown lands, among other areas.

The auditor general was recently granted more power to get that job done, Dr. Wheatley said, explaining that his government.

has amended the Audit Act to include penalties for public officers who impede her investigations.

“For a first-time misconduct, the penalties are up to 30 days suspension or demotion,” he said. “For a second time and subsequent misconduct, the penalty is dismissal.”

Welfare system

Also underway — with the help of an expert team provided by UNICEF — is a wholesale review of the territory’s welfare, benefits and grants system, according to the governor.

Dr. Wheatley provided further updates on this process, noting that a transitional grant programme was implemented last month after legislators gave up their power to disburse assistance grants. Now, such aid will be distributed instead through the Social Development Department’s Public Assistance Programme.

“The department dispatched social workers into communities, including sister islands, and commenced the use of a digital system to capture information needed for registration and enrollment of beneficiaries into the Public Assistance Programme,” the premier said. “The electronic registration tool developed with assistance from the World Food Programme is being piloted among transitioning beneficiaries.”

Register of Interests

Despite the largely positive updates, the governor also expressed concern about recent amendments to the Register of Interests Act 2006, which he said came to his desk yesterday morning.

Legislators said last month when publicly debating the Register of Interests (Amendment) Act 2022 that it would open the register to the public — thereby meeting one of the government’s reform commitments.

But yesterday Mr. Rankin raised questions about changes to the act made in a closed-door committee session in the House of Assembly.

“I am concerned that the effect of the amendments is to significantly restrict public access to the register, and, if so, that would run counter to a new culture of transparency and accountability towards which we are working,” the governor said.

Asked later to provide specifics about his concerns, the governor said the committee amendments restrict “what people can do with the information in the register.”

“Further steps are required in terms of greater transparency,” he added.

Later in the press conference, however, Dr. Wheatley said the amendments came as a result of high-level feedback and “robust debate” in the HOA. He also argued that the amended act is within the framework of the government’s proposal to implement the COI recommendations.

The register is not public yet, and the act awaits the governor’s assent.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

The Ministry of Youth, Sports, Culture and Heritage (MYSCH) held a meet & greet of the newly-appointed National Youth Commission in the presence of several Caucus members on Monday, August 8, 2022.

Regarding the new Commission’s membership, this is comprised of 13 people, being Dr. Ruthlyn Pomares (Chairperson) – Registered Medical Practitioner, Cottrell Ellis – Psychologist, Dajsha Samuels-McLean – Attorney-at-Law, Monina Thompson – Youth Representative, Reon Porter – Youth Representative, Tashell Dawson – Youth Representative (Sister Islands), Natasja Levy – Layperson, Stephen Price – Finance Representative, Laila Shim – National Drug Council Representative, Camila Ferreira – Ministry of Education Representative, Mehr Petkovsek – Ministry of Social Development Representative, Alanis Linwood – Amor – Ministry of Youth Representative and Mellony Bryan – Waugh – Youth Services Unit.

Addressing the new Commission, Premier Panton said:

The PACT Government is determined to create a brighter future for Caymanian youth – a future where they are prepared, confident, capable and empowered to thrive in their own country.

The newly-appointed National Youth Commission will help identify and recommend necessary changes to create that brighter future.

In his remarks, Minister for Youth, Hon. Bernie Bush said:

I am encouraged by the interest, willingness to serve and attendance by each of you as we work to ensure that youth-related issues are highlighted and addressed at such a high level. Not only will the Commission help give our young people a voice on matters that affect their lives now, but it will also assist in shaping policies and programmes which directly and indirectly affect our youth going forward.

Chairperson of the Commission, Dr. Ruthlyn Pomares, also offered her remarks.

Dr. Pomares said:

I am very encouraged by the tone and energy of the Meet & Greet. This was the first time that members had met as a body, and it is clear that everyone is as keen as I am to ensure that the work of the Commission is successful in meaningfully impacting Cayman’s youth.

Caucus members attending the event included the Minister for Youth, Sports, Culture and Heritage, Hon. Bernie Bush; was Premier, Hon. G. Wayne Panton; Deputy Premier, Hon. Christopher Saunders; Minister for Health, Wellness and Home Affairs, Hon Sabrina Turner; Minister for Financial Services & Commerce, Investment, Innovation and Social Development, Hon. Andre Ebanks; Minister for Tourism and Transport, Hon. Kenneth Bryan, Parliamentary Secretaries, Mr. Isaac Rankine, Ms Heather Bodden and Mrs. Katherine Ebanks-Wilks.

(Source: Ministry of Youth, Sports, Culture and Heritage)

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Black Immigrant Daily News

The owners of the Harbour Master party boat have broken their silence on a brawl that took place on their vessel on Wednesday night between members of staff and Grenadian athletics star Anderson Peters.

In a statement on Thursday, the Harbour Master’s management said: “The recent violence on our ship involving Anderson Peters is disheartening to both our management and staff.”

“We emphatically declare that we do not condone acts of violence of any kind. We understand the public’s concern and the overall sensitivity of the situation.

“Currently, the full details surrounding the incident are still forthcoming, but we are working with the relevant authorities to gain a clearer understanding of what occurred.”

The Royal Grenada Police Force said on Wednesday night, Peters, 24, sustained minor injuries during an incident on the Harbour Master. The vessel was docked in Grenada for a party.

Police took several crewmen into custody to assist with their investigations. The men in custody are said to be T&T nationals.

Grenadians have expressed their outrage at the treatment of the two-time Javelin World Champion.

The Opposition New National Party (NNP) led by Dr Keith Micthell in a statement said:

“The New National Party registers dismay regarding an incident involving acts of violence meted out to our beloved double World Javelin Champion, Anderson Peters which occurred Wednesday, August 10, 2022.

We strongly denounce all acts of violence and submit that such should not be tolerated. Grenada is marked by its peaceful nature and without a doubt, we subscribe to the rule of law. We anticipate a swift judicial process and justice in accordance with the laws of Grenada.

The New National Party extends best wishes for a speedy recovery to Anderson Peters.”

The Grenada Olympic Committee says it is saddened by the news of what it says was the cowardly actions of some five persons who physically assaulted Grenada’s national sporting hero and icon.

The Committee says it joins with all of Grenada in condemning these barbaric actions and look forward to the relevant authorities taking decisive action against all the perpetrators.

The Grenada Olympic Committee adds that it stands ready to lend support to his recovery and looks forward to an expeditious resolution of the matter.

Prime minister Dickon Mitchell condemned the acts of violence as he wished Anderson a speedy recovery.

“As a Government, we unequivocally condemn violence of any kind and call on all citizens and visitors to maintain a posture of respect to differing perspectives and to opt for rational debate over extreme behaviour,” he said in a statement on Facebook.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

La presidenta de la Federación de Maestros de Puerto Rico, Mercedes Martínez, manifestó en RADIO ISLA que “la perspectiva de género salva vidas” y que “el pueblo tiene que educarse”. 

“La perspectiva de género y la educación con perspectiva de género salvan vidas y es una pena que la gente no conozca de lo que trata. La gente que habla de la perspectiva de género, en su gran mayoría, desconoce totalmente de qué trata la perspectiva y, para mi es lamentable”, expresó Martínez. 

Por su parte, el presidente de la Sociedad Puertorriqueña de Pediatría, Gerardo Tosca, también favoreció la educación con perspectiva de género. “Definitivamente, sí”, contestó Tosca al ser cuestionado sobre si es importante para él que sea educación con perspectiva de género.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

PHILIPSBURG — The role of financial manager Ron Elferink in real estate transactions at the port have remained unclear for a long time. When he was asked about it as a witness in the Zebec case on June 22, 2021, he invoked his right to remain silent. “Answering this question would expose me to criminal prosecution.” he said according to the minutes of this interrogation.

Jeroen Veen, the attorney for real estate developer Zebec asked Elferink at the time how his involvement in real estate transactions came about, citing a letter dated January 25, 2015, from Skylight Real Estate to St. Maarten Harbor Cruise Facilities. Elferink declined to answer, saying that he is a suspect in the Larimar-investigation.

The Larimar-case ended in 2020 in the Court in First Instance with a 5-year sentence for Theo Heyliger, the founder of the United People’s party; Elferink was sentenced to community service for money laundering.

The letter attorney Veen referred to during the witness-interrogation shows Elferink’s involvement in the real estate business. The letter states that Skylight takes over all responsibilities for an agreement Frivol Realty signed on September 30, 2003. This agreement refers to the 10-year lease of a ground floor shop of 160 square meters and office space of the same size at the cruise terminal. Elferink signed this letter as the managing director of Skylight.

Frivol was represented at this deal by a trust company; the agreement lists Diamonds International Watch and Design as the lessee. (See Fig. 1.) Moshe Hakimi is the managing director of this company; brothers Albert and Morris Gad are its shareholders.

The lessee agreed to pay a monthly lease-fee of $22,000 plus turnover tax (at the time 3 percent) for the first five years. Of this fee, $17,000 was to be paid to the Harbor Arcade and $5,000 to Frivol. Harbor Arcade also received a non-refundable franchise-fee of $250,000 and a security deposit of $22,000.

Elferink told the court in 2021 that a company called Skyline was a holding of which he was the ultimate beneficial owner. “I was the only shareholder of Skylight,” he said at the time.

Elferink arrived in 2011 in St. Maarten. Initially he worked in the banking sector for RBC as its Vice President Area Banking for St. Maarten and Saba. Later he became an independent entrepreneur and in 2015 he started working for St. Maarten Shipping & Stevedoring, a company owned by George Pelgrim.

During the witness-interrogation Elferink invoked his right to remain silent several times. He did not want to say which real estate Skylight had taken over from Frivol and whether Skylight paid Frivol for it. He also declined to explain why Skylight had taken over the Frivol-activities and how he came in a position that allowed him to lease real estate at the harbor.

One of the issues during the interrogation was a lease-contract between Skyline and Deliwo, a company controlled by Diamonds International. Elferink said at the time that this contract was never executed.

A copy of the contract dated April 13, 2017, between ODP (Ocean Drive Properties) and Deliwo shows that Skyline and Elferink were not involved in this deal: the contract partners were ODP, represented by Jelle Hamtra, and Deliwo, represented by Moshe Hakimi. Elferink said that he was not aware of this contract. Hamstra is the statutory director of ODP. Its ultimate beneficial owners are Peter Mirpuri (managing director of Ballerina Jewelers) and Danny Ramchandani.

There were other lease-agreements at the port where Elferink was involved. An example is the contract between Skyline and Yaelle (see Fig, 3 above), represented by Baback Hemarian. It was signed on February 16, 2015, for a retail store of 212 square meters at the cruise terminal. The monthly lease was $21,200 and Yaelle had to pay $350,000 to a contractor for finishing the building, as well as a $21,200 security deposit.

Skylight also signed a lease-agreement on January 21, 2015, with Utrima (see Fig, 2 above), represented by Ashok Aswani, for a retail store of 286 square meters at a monthly fee of $19,000. Utrima also agreed to pay a contractor $325,000 “in close consultation with Skylight.”

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