The coveted title of Person of the Year 2006 is awarded to Chief Immigration Officer Franz Manderson.

As one of the hardest working people in public service and with one of the most important jobs, Mr Manderson remains dedicated to his country.

Despite holding a powerful position, he is highly regarded as a man who has retained both his integrity and humility.

“People in Cayman view him as fair and honest. They may not always agree with his decisions, but they still respect him,” said Cabinet Secretary and former Chief Immigration Officer (CIO), Orrett Connor.

His dedication to duty was recognised in 1995 when he was awarded the Certificate and Badge of Honour for his work with the sudden arrival and containment of almost 1,200 Cuban refugees.

More recently, and just a couple of short months after taking up the CIO position, he had to deal with the devastation and logistical tragedies of Hurricane Ivan and the many immigration issues that stirred up. His reaction to the ensuing crisis helped jump-start the country into recovery.

Thousands of Caymanians and expatriates were left with no passports, no visas, and desperate to get off the Island.

As people were lining up to leave the day after the storm, Mr Manderson realised immigration work would need a dramatic change to get people to come back and help rebuild the country.

The then Governor, Bruce Dinwiddy invoked his emergency power to run the country, which enabled immigration to issue more than 2,000 free work permits to get people on the ground quickly: insurance adjustors, telephone line people, power line technicians, construction and other essential workers.

Since Ivan, arguably the biggest issue facing these Islands is the new immigration law and, as a qualified lawyer, he was part of the Immigration Review Team that made recommendations on amendments to the law.

This will have a substantial impact and will put an enormous amount of responsibility in the hands of the CIO.

“Giving him additional authority in implementing the Immigration Law speaks volumes in the confidence that Government has in him,” said Mr Connor.

Day to day, Mr Manderson oversees arrivals and departures of people in the Cayman Islands, deportation where necessary, and refugees seeking asylum.

He is frequently the first one to arrive at the Immigration Department and the last one to leave.

The Cayman Islands is part of a globally changing environment in immigration and the CIO plays a vital role in advising the Government on policy.

Turks and Caicos, British Virgin Islands and Bermuda are all dealing with similar immigration issues to those facing the Cayman Islands, and Mr Manderson talks frequently with his counterparts in these territories.

He says that many of the immigration issues within laws and policies that Cayman has already addressed, countries like Turks and Caicos and BVI are just starting to deal with.

He also looks to the UK to see how it is grappling with immigration issues, particularly at how the UK processes work permits.

The system in the Cayman Islands is inefficient and Mr Manderson is proposing that the current system, in which the Work Permit Board and the Business Staffing Boards process all the work permits, be abolished.

Instead, the Immigration Department should take over the responsibility of processing all the work permits.

The Boards’ function would then turn to auditing work permit applications to ensure they are being handled appropriately, rather than reviewing every work permit application.

Mr Manderson actually sits on both these Boards, as well as the Trade and Business Licence, Caymanian Status and the Civil Aviation Boards.

As the CIO, he has raised the level of customer service in immigration. For example, he enhanced the immigration website so that work permit status can be checked electronically.

He also recently implemented a call centre to route standard questions to the right staff.

But the most noticeable change was within the waiting area of the department itself. People would queue up for hours to get anything done. Implementing a new numbering system for walk-in traffic changed all that.

In the past year, Mr Manderson has been in the middle of a firestorm of immigration issues: rollover, the high percentage of Jamaican workers, Cuban and Afghan refugees, and fake work permits.

But in the midst of the sometimes fierce debate, Mr Manderson has risen above the fray.

His image of fairness, honesty and following the letter of the law shines bright - a remarkable feat, considering immigration is one area that is susceptible to corruption.

“In Cayman, it is impossible not to deal with someone you know. But even the perception of corruption in what you are doing is committing character suicide,” he said.

“You need to ensure that what you are doing is the right thing, and you are seen to be doing the right thing. What we do here affects everyone.”

There are 23,000 people on work permits in these Islands, and there is not a single Caymanian family that is not affected in some way.

“The decisions we make should not be influenced by friendship, gifts, or returning a favour. They should be done, because it is the right thing to do and within the law. If we get it wrong, the country suffers. If we get it right the country prospers,” said the CIO.

Mr Manderson is married to Nuvia (nee Myles) and credits much of his success and achievements to her.

“It is important to have a wife that supports you and believes in you. In fact, marrying the wrong person can be detrimental to a career,” believes Mr Manderson.

They have one daughter, Alyssa, 14, and one son, Franz Jr, 9. According to his wife, when Mr Manderson is away from his responsibilities, he is just a big kid - the first one to jump in the pool with the kids.

An honest, hardworking civil servant who is not afraid of controversy or change, and a man dedicated to his family and his country – these are qualities that make Franz Manderson Cayman Net News’ Person of the Year.