Tuesday, June 27, 2006

Leader of Government Business, Hon Kurt Tibbetts, suggested at a public meeting on Cayman Brac that the Cayman Islands Investment Bureau (CIIB) take on the responsibility of coordinating and facilitating the establishment of back-office jobs on the Brac.

The issue was brought up by Sister Islands MLA Moses Kirkconnell at a meeting held at the Aston Rutty Civic Centre and facilitated by CIIB Executive Director Dax Basdeo, to discuss results of the recent CIIB Investment Climate Bureau.

Mr Tibbetts said that the issue of back-office work on Cayman Brac had been talked about for some time, and he had gone as far as to speak to several Government agencies, the Chief Secretary and the Financial Secretary concerning specific tasks that could be done on the Brac.

If there were some agency to put all together the logistics needed to plan for back-office work and, at the same time, to do everything possible to have the young people of the Island know what is happening and know what training they need.

He then suggested to Mr Basdeo and Minister of Tourism, Environment, Investment and Commerce, the Hon Charles Clifford, that the CIIB could be the agency to do this.

Mr Tibbetts suggested that if people wanted to bring back office work to the Brac in the next six months and they knew where to go to facilitate this (the CIIB), "I honestly believe that Brackers could handle it."

He believed it could work "once the left hand knows what the right hand is doing," he said. The situation was like the chicken and the egg:

"People own land and are quite happy to invest in the medium and long term. Their fear is the possibility of building something and, six months later, it's still locked up."

As far as the Government's situation was concerned, they look at what is possible, but everyone has their hands full with a million other things to do every day.

Which was why he suggested this initiative be driven by the Ministry with responsibility for Investment and Commerce via the CIIB. They could research the potential for back-office work among the various agencies and departments, and coordinate efforts.

Mr Tibbetts also suggested that there were two groups of people who would benefit - the young Brackers leaving school, and older Brackers who had moved by necessity to Grand Cayman, but "desperately wish to come back here".

"We wouldn't have a problem with the labour pool. The problem is creating the job pool," he thought.

Mr Clifford said that clearly they would be prepared to assist. He believed there was real potential in the creation of this initiative and suggested that there would be signs of it starting soon in the private sector.

"There is a real opportunity for Government to take the lead on this issue," he said. However, local businessman Audley Scott brought in a note of skepticism when he noted that the issue of back-office employment on the Brac had been talked about for many years.

"We've had a lot of promises, but all we ever got was like a big squall - a lot of talk and then it all blows over," he said.

nicky@caymannetnews.com

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