Opinion: Bold policy moves needed if Caymanians are to have a future Loop Cayman Islands

Black Immigrant Daily News

Readers are asked to note that Op-eds do not necessarily reflect the opinions or beliefs of Loop Cayman.

by Alric Lindsay

If lower-and-middle income Caymanians are to have a fair chance at realizing their dream of having a stable future in the Cayman Islands or securing for themselves some of the benefits depicted on marketing commercials, then I think that bold policy moves will have to be made soon to protect their interests.

Such measures, in my opinion, would include giving security to Caymanians for jobs and business in certain areas, for example, in watersports, on-land tour guide operations and real estate agency services. In addition, policy makers are encouraged to give some thought to the idea of re-establishing the Caymanian Protection Board.

Watersports

In relation to the watersports industry, while Caymanian watersports operators are still recovering from the decline of their businesses due to the pandemic, I think that any further wildlife interaction zone licences must be issued exclusively to Caymanians for the next five years. This is to ensure that Caymanians who possess wildlife interaction zone licences have a fair chance to get back on their feet and recoup some of their COVID-19 losses.

If this is not done, I fear that some big business overseas may see struggling Caymanian watersports businesses as an opportunity to enter the local market and, perhaps, squeeze some Caymanians out of the watersports business.

Tour Guides

One business connected to watersports and other areas of tourism is the work of tour guides.

Having had excellent first- hand experiences with a Caymanian-owned bike tour in East End, I see that there is great value in having the Cayman experience shared by a local who knows Cayman deeply and whose heart is Cayman. Hearing the local accent on a two-hour tour is also an added plus.

Looking at it this way, it is elementary to understand why tour guide operations should be reserved for Caymanians. In addition, I think it is a ‘win-win’ situation for Caymanians as they will have job security (as long as there is tourism) and the jurisdiction’s image will be helped as it will be able to further its claim that it is promoting a unique product.

Real Estate Agents

Another area which is the subject of some concern is the issuance of Local Companies Control Licences (LCCLs) by the government to persons to operate as real estate developers and real estate agents without the requirement for any Caymanian participation or ownership in the business.

In my opinion, this not only threatens the business model of Caymanian real estate developers and Caymanian real estate agents, but could shut them out of lucrative opportunities.

In terms of a solution, I think that a moratorium should be placed immediately on the issuance of LCCLs to real estate developers and real estate agents.

This will give small Caymanian-owned businesses in these areas a chance to expand and acquire more of a share of the real estate market rather than being substituted and replaced by estate agents coming from overseas looking for specially issued LCCLs to compete with Caymanian real estate professionals.

Caymanian Protection Board

In addition to all of the foregoing suggestions, some members of the public are advocates of the re-establishment of the Caymanian Protection Board by the government.

This comes after some Caymanians have complained over the years about difficulty in securing employment, challenges with job promotions and perceived discrepancies in pay.

It has also been raised as a concern because it appears that, given all of the recent court challenges against the Immigration Appeals Tribunals, there could be a mass permanent residency grant on the horizon, and following that, another mass Caymanian status grant.

If these mass grants occur soon and continue in the future, they could cause Caymanians to worry whether they are simply being replaced by others in their own country.

A properly constituted Caymanian Protection Board would address all of these immigration issues, hopefully leading to a revamped structure where qualified Caymanians would actually be considered first and a fixed number of citizenships (perhaps, based on a “lottery” system) would be considered for grant each year.

In addition, such a board might determine that qualification for permanent residency should no longer be based on an accumulation of points under the points system, but on evidence of real integration in the Caymanian community, a person’s contributions to the country as a whole and, of course, any relevant considerations under the Cayman constitution.

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