LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Our rubbish is worth millions, yet US contractor gets paid

Wednesday, November 24, 2004

Dear Sir,

Caymans have enjoyed freedoms any free world country has, e.g., US, UK, Canada, Singapore, Hong Kong, New Zealand by way of expressing personal views, personal freedoms, freedom to compete, protection of person and property, and voluntary exchange. As text books say, the more economic freedom a country’s given, the further it’s liberated from the strangleholds of its government, economic freedom spurs on economic growth, unleashing more dynamism, further unfettering it from its government’s dependence, thereby allowing its people more charge over their future.

A free country has a mix of national income, investment, consumption, economic growth, employment, balance of payments, balance of trade, total goods and services imported and exported, price behaviors and influences, price stability and policies.

Forecasters pool past track records to give an idea what’ll lie ahead each coming year and if a government sees a cliff edge fast arising, it’ll drop interest rates, tweak monetary supply and taxes, kick-starting a lagging economy by spending fast to reenergize it, keeping the funds circulating in its country, thereby bailing it out before a recession.

The forecast for us is glum as Ivan seriously threw a monkey wrench into our usual hum of economic routine, which hovers precariously between going broke and barely making it.

Incomes from tourism, real estate fees, import duty fees, work permit fees, have all declined, coffers are slim. Hotels were trashed, real estate’s gone mute, incoming goods declined.

(There maybe a short-lived spurt in building materials as insurance checks get released, but due to a lesser 20% import fee, this means less trickling into coffers). Work permit fees declined—(many returned home and many were made “Caymanians”). 

At our worst crippling moment, government unconscionably yanks $10.7M to hand to an outside firm? 

We’ve been on the ball, not slow on the draw to warrant this! Cayman firms, individuals sprang into action by:

Bringing in debris-removal vehicles. 

Old firms cleaned and new firms popped up overnight to clean, some converting Ivan-spared vehicles for removal, (some looking as if out of ‘Mad Max’). 

Homes, businesses have spent thousands cleaning.

Northwest Point’s a converted burn site that’s been doing a big job burning.

CUC picked up their own EC-wire (aluminum cables) wires lying around. (This is high-grade recyclable material.)

McKeeva Bush cleaned West Bay, (paying local operators out of the ministry).

Arden McLean cleaned East End, (paying local operators with help of a donor). 

Public Works are almost completed rebuilding roads.

Cars are neatly stockpiled one side.

‘Island Paving’ with a Caterpillar thumb-bucket and three dump trucks worked in tandem with government grabber-trucks cleaning up roadsides and subdivisions. (Each day a subdivision road was cleaned.) 

To date, some participants remain unpaid and with the “National Clean-Up Committee” disbanded, it might be tricky when their invoices are submitted.

But individuals generously continue cleaning, accepting that payment might never come!

In meetings local operators attended, locals confirmed to government they’d be able to lease extra equipment needed.

Government verified to locals they’d get the work, nothing could be put to tender as this was a disaster. Then the next shout the work would be given to an outside firm who’d then employ them! Why the middleman?

What exactly will this US company do? It’s understood they’ll: Move debris off roadsides to the dump, restore beaches and separate the metals.

But roadsides have been cleared. Beaches, hardly any mountains of sand remain. Separation of metals makes sense, (unfortunately Ivan’s washing machines and stoves that lined roads already got dropped into pits then bulldozed over with crushed rock at the dump), but these are ‘white metals’, regarded mostly useless.

The value is in cars, especially aluminum engines. Aluminum’s at an all-time 20 year high! China’s the biggest buyer, then Japan, US, Mexico. It’s a global market, so we can sell to the highest bidder. Shouldn’t we be stripping our own metals, selling it and putting our people to work? Plus, the hectic pace we’ve cleaned, what will this firm come to find to clean? 

If their agreement’s signed, might this be another “Hurlstone-Hospital” contract? Paid, but nothing done? This firm is un-bonded, yet government requires local firms working for them to be 100% bonded.

Like a car accident victim can be shocked into diabetics, radical, nonsensical spending can slam us headlong into having to institute taxes! We’ve already been like an F-16 outmaneuvering heat-seeking missiles to escape taxes pre-Ivan!

Instead it’d be more appropriate for government to: 

Keep funds in our economy. Pay our local operators for past and ongoing work, plus they’re almost done! 

2) Get ‘Pit burners’ (trucks back up and offload material into pits to be burned, sheets of air get shot over the fires allowing smoke to be cut down, not disturbing people downwind).

Spend money internally on our dire needs.

Follow up selling our cars for scrap

Incinerators later.

Rumor’s been this contract’s a sham for ‘someone’ to obtain “kickbacks” ? As the contract was reinstated under an incorporated name at twice the amount! To those who just spent millions helping Cayman kick-start itself, to Islanders who realize just how conservative we’ll need to be for the tight times ahead, it’ll be a galling slap in our faces if rumor turns out to be truth.

According to 8 September edition of the Caymanian Compass: “Our country’s reserves, (ie money put aside for natural disasters), cannot be touched without parliamentary approval.” I pose the question, how can this $10.7 million go through without parliamentary approval?

Goats love rubbish, but frankly I’m one goat fed up of the rubbish government feeds us. 

Pam DaCosta