Black Immigrant Daily News

The Ministry for Investment, Innovation and Social Development said that, on Monday, October 10, 2022, the Cayman Islands Parliament passed the Financial Assistance Bill, 2022.

According to the Ministry, the bill was heralded by numerous members of Parliament as being a “landmark” piece of modern legislation that will be a foundational cornerstone of reimaging social development in the Cayman Islands.

Commenting on the Financial Assistance Bill, 2022, the Minister for Investment, Innovation and Social Development, the Hon. Andr? Ebanks, said:

The Financial Assistance Bill 2022 represents a significant accomplishment in advancing Government’s social development agenda and priorities. It provides a 21st century legislation for eligible Caymanians who are in need of Government’s financial assistance, while building in accountability and legal recourse.

When commenced, the Financial Assistance Bill 2022 will repeal the 1964 “Poor Persons Relief Act”, which effectively remained unchanged for the past 58 years. It will also (among other things):

Re-name the relevant Department – currently called the “Needs Assessment Unit” – to the “Department of Financial Assistance”. The Bill likewise defines the functions of the Department and its duties – which is a standard feature of legislationClearly outline and define, for the first time in legislation, who is eligible for Government’s financial assistance, namely: Caymanians, spouses of a Caymanian or guardians of a Caymanian dependent, all of whom must be resident on island during the time of the application and at least eight of the twelve months preceding the applicationAllow the introduction of conditions that can be attached to financial assistance, in particular for households with adult members who are able to work, so that they may be enabled to lead productive, stable livesCreate transparency and accountability for decisions, including dealing with grievances and a new appeals tribunal, as well as the protection of personal information.

Ms. Tamara Ebanks, Acting Chief Officer of the Ministry of Investment, Innovation and Social Development, also remarked on the work done to get the Bill to this stage.

Ms Ebanks said:

After extensive policy and consultative work, preceded by work in the Ministry of Community Affairs, I am delighted that the Financial Assistance Bill, 2022 has been passed by the Parliament,” she said. “The Bill addresses numerous concerns brought to light in 2015 by the Office of the Auditor General. It fundamentally aligns with the Civil Service principle of improving the lives of those we serve in the Cayman Islands.

The next steps over the coming months will be the implementation of the Bill by the Ministry and the new Department of Financial Assistance (see below), to prepare for intended commencement of the Bill in Q1 2023. The Bill enables Cabinet to create accompanying regulations to govern the procedures of the Appeals Tribunal and to govern operational and practical matters such as:

The number of working days in which the Department will process complete applicationsExemptions for emergency circumstancesConsideration for transitional services (i.e. during the transitional period after employment has been obtained); andSpecific provisions with respect to varying household sizes, as well as issues related to household composition (such as older persons living with their adult children; people with disabilities) to align with the Cayman Islands Older Persons Policy and Disability Policy.

Deputy Premier the Hon. Chris Saunders was emphatic in noting that the Bill is underpinned by the principle of human dignity, and that it is “a promise made, and a promise kept.”

Parliamentary Secretary for Social Development, Ms. Heather Bodden, said, “This long overdue Bill will bring comfort to anyone who has had an issue obtaining Government’s financial assistance. It defines eligibility for the first time in law, builds in good governance, and creates transparency in the process.”

Parliamentary Secretary Katherine Ebanks-Wilks said, “We must do our part to level up our people. I commend the holistic approach to removing setbacks that prevent people from obtaining and maintaining steady employment. At the same time, the Bill will provide better value to the Government purse, by ensuring that support is not abused and creating accountability on the part of the recipients.”

Deputy Governor, the Hon. Franz Manderson, also expressed his support, stating “The Financial Assistance Bill has the potential to break the cycle of multi-generational reliance on Government’s financial assistance, giving the ability to attach conditions to financial assistance that will enable people to obtain skills and employment. I have every confidence in the continued dedication and commitment of the Civil Service leadership to enacting the Bill and making it operational, for the benefit of all of our people.”

(Source: Ministry for Investment, Innovation and Social Development)

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by Anicia Antoine

The agriculture sector has been dealing with a number of persistent issues, such as its legal and policy framework, disorganized market structures, and an increase in food imports, which is further exacerbated by climate change, high input costs, and decreased investments in production and marketing.

To address these issues, the Saint Lucia Marketing Board, in collaboration with the “WUSC (World University Service of Canada) Caribbean” and the Taiwan Technical Mission, recently hosted a national consultation on food security dubbed “Can Helen Feed Herself?”

The consultation sought to reduce the high level of fragmentation and homogeneity in production and marketing within the agricultural sector.

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Ambassador of the Republic of China, Taiwan to Saint Lucia, H.E. Peter Chia-yen Chen says access to sufficient amounts of safe and nutritious food remains key to sustainable livelihoods and the promotion of good health, remaining adamant that his government will continue to work with the Government of Saint Lucia and all partners to support food security initiatives on the island.

Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security, and Rural Development, Hon. Alfred Prospere says that this latest intervention by the Saint Lucia Marketing Board, WUSC and the Taiwan ICDF bringing together all stakeholders of the agri-food industry in a national consultation on food security is timely as the Agriculture Ministry continues to move discourse in the direction of establishing and implementing agreed-upon production action plans, while also enhancing strategic linkages between agriculture and other sectors.

Minister Prospere continues to underscore the importance of food security to Saint Lucia saying that increased consumption of locally produced crops is contingent on  greater local production.

The Ministry of Agriculture is at the juncture of realigning institutional, legal, and policy frameworks that shape the sector, and continues to forge connections between industry stakeholders.

SOURCE: Ministry of Agriculture

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Finance Minister Colm Imbert

FINANCE Minister Colm Imbert did not understand why some people do not see anything beneficial in the 2022/2023 budget. He addressed this as he opened the budget debate in the Senate on Wednesday.

The House of Representatives passed the budget on Wednesday by a vote of 21 to 19.

Imbert reminded senators there were 23 fiscal measures in the budget.

“If I’m going to be dispassionate about it, of the 23 fiscal measures, two involve the increase in fines for certain things…three actually…which I think no one would want to contradict.”

He listed these as illegal quarrying, theft of scrap metal and theft of timber from state plantations. Imbert said Government is looking at increasing the fines for illegal quarrying, illegal state timbering and theft of scrap iron.

“All of the other measures are benefits, and somehow, in the discourse on the 2022/2023 budget, all the benefits that are in the budget seem to have been clothed in a lot of contentious debate.”

On this basis, Imbert felt it important to remind the population of some benefits.

The first was increasing the personal income-tax exemption limit from $84,000 to $90,000 a year. Imbert reminded senators this means all individuals earning $7,500 a month or less will now be exempt from income tax.

This meant they would have an additional $1,500 a year in disposable income in their pockets.

“Therefore the multiplier effect comes into play.”

While these measures will result in a decline in government revenue of $450 million, Imbert said, “We expect the effect on GDP (Gross Domestic Product) could be as much as double that.”

But he added this was theory. “You have to see how these things work out in practice.”

To combat climate change and boost domestic agriculture production, Imbert said the budget offers rebates of up to $25,000 for implementing renewable energy, such as solar and wind energy, for approved agricultural holdings.

“To encourage farmers and other agricultural producers, agro-processors and so on, to use solar energy for lighting and maybe energy for the machinery and so on, they were given a rebate of $25,000.”

Imbert said the subsidy for the Housing and Village Improvement Programme could improve the quality of housing for many people. The subsidy ranges from $145,000 to $175,000 for housing improvement work in different geographical areas.

Imbert also said the budget places significant emphasis on infrastructure in fiscal 2023. The newly formed Secondary Road Improvement Company, under the Rural Development and Local Government Ministry, will be one of the entities undertaking infrastructural work in the next fiscal year.

Imbert recalled a similar entity existed in the 1970s.

“We thought there should be a focus on secondary roads and local roads. So we created this secondary roads company with a specific mandate to think, to focus on local roads and secondary roads.”

The company has been allocated $200 million for fiscal 2023.

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The Chief Executive Officers of Facebook and Twitter have been written to in light of a renewed orchestrated disinformation campaign being waged against Guyana by a number of Spanish-language social media accounts claiming Guyana’s territory by publishing illegal maps.

In his letters to Facebook and Twitter CEOs, Foreign Secretary Robert M. Persaud highlighted that those social media operatives have been utilising Facebook and Twitter platform, to propagate a false narrative regarding the extant matter of the controversy between Guyana and Venezuela about the validity of the 1899 Arbitral Award which settled the land boundary between Guyana and Venezuela.

Mr. Persaud stated, “I wish to point out that Facebook (and Twitter) posts and the subsequent comments surrounding the particular posts, have the potential to permanently damage relations between States, incite violence against the territory and people of Guyana, and derail the current adjudication of the matter before the International Court of Justice (ICJ).’’

The Foreign Secretary informed that the land boundary between Guyana and Venezuela was settled by a legal process of International Arbitration on October 3, 1899, pursuant to an 1897 Treaty of Washington by which both parties agreed to respect the results of the arbitration as a full, perfect and final settlement of the boundary.

At that time, Guyana was British Guiana, a colony of Great Britain.

As required by the 1897 Treaty of Washington and the 1899 Arbitral Award, the boundary as determined by the Award was demarcated on the ground between 1900 and 1904 by Commissioners appointed by Britain and Venezuela.

On January 7, 1905, the official boundary map delineating the boundary as awarded and demarcated, was drawn up and signed by the Commissioners of both Britain and Venezuela and promulgated in Georgetown, at the Combined Court.

That boundary and the corresponding territory of Guyana are internationally recognised, including by the United Nations, Mr. Persaud pointed out in the letter.

“In this regard, I am requesting that these types of Facebook posts (and Twitter) which violate the basic tenet of international relations between States, the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana and incite a threat of use of force against Guyana, be removed forthwith and more stringent measure be taken against their publications,’’ the Foreign Secretary’s letter urged.

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