LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Regional mixed signals

Friday,  March 3, 2006

Dear Sir:

For some time the Cayman Islands has been a non-participating/non voting member of CARICOM and it seems to me more and more that we are being pressured to become a full fledged member. Examples of what I am referring to are presenting themselves more and more to us each day.

Examples of what I am referring to start from the reduction of Caymanians students being offered opportunities to travel abroad to gain international academic qualifications overseas, to the encouragement of introducing our ministers to a Ministerial Technological Program in Jamaica to educate ministers.

This is being passed off as an instrument to share regional ministerial information for regional integration, mentioning a single economy, a single EC currency to serve as the region’s only currency and now talk of a regional government where each island would be accountable to the CARICOM body, which is a backward step and would force us to have less individual autonomy than we have now.

Bahamas, Bermuda and the Cayman Islands are two out of three islands that are British Overseas Territories that do not fall in the economic dismay of the other depressed Caribbean Islands pushing for this regional government, and I strongly suggest that we stay away from these discussions.

What disappoints me is that Montserrat, which is a British Overseas Territory, has already committed themselves in this regional bloc or exercises and is now pretty much being forced to be a part of the CARICOM Regional Government discussion.

An article published on Tuesday, 28th of February 2006 highlighting this information with a photograph of other Caribbean leaders discussing the CARICOM Single Market, clearly leaves Montserrat with little or no self-Government as an Overseas Territory, or not being able to have autonomy in their own country and represent themselves as a government reporting directly to the UK.

However, Cayman, Bahamas and Bermuda are not as pressured at this time as we were before, and I would strongly caution and advise any leader and/or all of our LA representatives against entering into any discussions or arrangements on either of these topics currently on the table at CARICOM.

I would assume that with economies as buoyant as Bahamas, Bermuda and the Cayman Islands, we will still continue to be sought after in the manner that Great Britain was by their neighboring countries when the Euro Dollar was coming into existence, simply because their economic status was and still is as supreme as ours is today.

Guys, one does not have to be a rocket scientist to figure this out.
Despite the small size of this country, and given the limited number of years we’ve participated in the financial world internationally, the Cayman Islands is a resilient country and has produce some of the brightest minds in the region has. This is something for us to be proud of and build on and stop dividing ourselves in the manner which we are being encouraged to do.

I say this without fear or reservation because I firmly believe that the party system has on one hand deteriorated our countrymen to a large degree, but on the other hand it has forced some Caymanians to become stronger and unify in small groups. The question then arises which group really has the best interest of these islands and is everyone in whatever group is fully committed to ensuring that these islands prosper is protected from vicious and malicious attacks.

Therefore, persons from other depressed Caribbean countries that currently hold key positions in vital organizations such as the Monetary Authority, the Cayman Islands Development Bank and the Cayman Islands Stock Exchange etc., that hold work permits must be pressured and replaced by training indigenous Caymanians.

This can easily be done by having Caymanians understudy these managers and senior managers to take up these positions within a specified period of time should an organizational chart be provided to the immigration board with names of employees, their immigration status, qualifications and experience.

Local indigenous Caymanians can fill these positions and must insist that they be filled by a specified period of time if we wish to secure the level of success and prosperity we have been experiencing. This is a very strong message and only applies to anyone who wishes to take up gainful and meaningful occupation in this country, if we wish to properly represent ourselves at home.

I encourage the leaders of the day to employ the local bright minds and ignore the mixed confusing messages that are constantly being sent by other neighboring Caribbean Islands. This is if we the people of this country, who are the real government, wish to ensure that we properly develop vital segments of our government sector and protect our financial industry and our economy.

Our economy is under threat and we run the risk of fallen prey to envious neighbours. Stand up and speak out!

Something for concerned ascending Caymanians to think about.

Tyrone Douglas

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