Editorial
Long Term Residency- An Extension of Human
Immigrants to these islands whetherthey are on long or short term permits, play an increasingly decisiverole in this country's present and future economy. Their impacthere is likely to be of intense discussion in the eventual Legislativedebate on the report, which will be submitted by the newly appointedConstitutional Review Commission.
Therefore, any hope of the present lacklusterstate of the economy will not stand a chance of picking up unlessthe present Government issues Executive Directives to the ImmigrationBoard to stabilize the exodus of so many residents who are quitefed up with their continuous annual fear of refusal of a permitto continue working and living here.
The fact that the present Elected ExecutiveCouncil has not prioritized or made any public declaration ofits position on Immigration reform is quite a disappointment tomany of the people they had courted for votes, with their electionpromises unfilled.
The Governor, Mr. Peter Smith, indicatedduring a press briefing a few months ago, that it is his hopethat the enactment of a modernized Constitution will be his prioritybefore leaving office. Taking this cue, this is only less thana year away, if he is to fulfill the normal term of three years.
The possibility, that he will be stayingon for at least another year beyond the term will be a sure indicationthe new Constitution will not be in force until the year 2003 the 500th anniversary of the discovery of the Cayman Islands.It is understood that there are plans for a yearlong celebrationof this milestone.
Meanwhile, one of the burning issues, today,surround the economic significance of immigrants' remittancesbeing sent back home, instead of being spent here. This shouldbe considered as a lack of confidence not necessarily in theirown but rather the Cayman Islands' future.
Last year alone, immigrants in the US sentan estimated $20 billion back to relatives in Latin America andthe Caribbean region, typically in installments of a few hundreddollars a month. This amount is expected to total $300 billionover the next decade.
For Cayman, the arithmetic, therefore, isvery simple. If just 50 percent of the 14,000 work permit holders,are sending a mere $100 per week back to their original home,or keeping same in savings for when they leave, this will amountto $36 million not being spent in the local economy. Taking intoconsideration that the higher income bracket worker could be settingaside up to $1,000 or more per month for repatriation, the figureof funds leaving here could be more in the range of $100 million.That's more than a quarter of the Government's entire budget.
The Cayman Islands immigration policy should not be dictated primarilyby a desire to raise revenue. There are established cases wherebyresidents with the right to work, who are parents of childrenborn to a Caymanian spouse must fork out up to $3,000 per yearfor the right to work.
There are certainly more self-interestedreasons for Caymanians to support healthy levels of immigration.It should be used as a valuable vehicle to help finance and stabilisedevelopment.
But whatever the course of that debate,all categories of work permit holders will continue to send capitalaway from Cayman for the foreseeable future, if nothing is doneto encourage them to spend the money they earn locally locally.
Prioritizing an Immigration policy in orderto enhance the econmy will impact as a vehicle for developmentis a laudable goal.
Should this not be done, it ought to notcome as a surprise that in the like manner the UK Government hadto make an order in Council for the Human Rights legislation,which gave homosexuals the right to have sex between consentingadults, it is possible that an extension of these rights may wellhave to be extended to Immigration as well.