Sunday, May 18, 2008

Police corruption and cover-up against Cayman Net News



Deputy Commissioner Rudolph Dixon and former Inspector Burmon Scott were arrested on Thursday as London’s Metropolitan Police widened their investigation into corruption in the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (RCIPS). At a 15 May press conference, H.E. the Governor Stuart Jack, flanked by Acting Commissioner David George and Senior Investigating Officer Martin Bridger, announced that Commissioner Stuart Kernohan and Detective Chief Superintendent John Jones are being formally investigated for “misconduct in public office”.

Mr Bridger said that Mr Dixon had been arrested for “other criminal acts completely unrelated” to the current investigation involving Mr Kernohan, Mr Jones and Mr Dixon. On Thursday afternoon Mr Dixon was granted bail. "We have now reached a stage where, again supported by legal advice, we have reasonable grounds to suspect Mr Dixon of being involved in other criminal acts,” Mr Bridger said..

“In this regard he was arrested this morning. A former RCIPS officer has also been arrested this morning in connection with the matters connected to Mr Dixon. Mr Bridger declined to identify the former officer referred to at the press briefing on Thursday but Cayman Net News has since identified the unnamed officer as Mr Burmon Scott, a now retired 28-year veteran of the RCIPS.

For the first time since the suspension of the top cops, Mr Bridger said Mr Dixon was being investigated for his role in the events surrounding the 3 September 2007 break-in at the office of Net News Publisher Desmond Seales by former staffers Lyndon Martin and John Evans. Pressed by reporters for details on the nature of the alleged crimes under investigation, Mr Bridger said it was too early to go public. Mr Jack said the decision to widen the Kernohan-Jones-Dixon investigation followed fresh allegations of police corruption.

On Thursday, 27 March, Mr Jack had announced the suspension of the three commanders to facilitate a probe into alleged wrongdoing. The move came in the wake of an earlier Metropolitan Police investigation into an alleged “corrupt relationship” between Deputy Police Commissioner Anthony Ennis and Mr Seales. Both Mr Ennis and Mr Seales were exonerated of any wrongdoing by the officers, who subsequently charged Mr Martin for his role in the Ennis/Seales investigation, which lasted six months. “While conducting the investigation involving Mr Seales, Mr Ennis and Mr Martin, it became clear to my team that both Commissioner Stuart Kernohan and Detective Chief Inspector John Jones were involved in developing matters from the time Mr Martin made the original allegations about Mr Seales and Mr Ennis,” Mr Bridger said.

“Seeking corroboration of what Mr Martin was saying, Mr Kernohan, subsequently supported by Mr Jones, conducted certain enquiries, which led to a Cayman Net News employee entering the newspaper’s offices on the night of 3 September 2007.” Mr Jack said that the three officers would continue to receive full pay. He said he had given Mr Kernohan permission to visit the United Kingdom on “compassionate grounds”.

The Governor urged the public to have confidence in the RCIPS, saying the majority of officers were honest and hardworking. “The fact that we are taking the received information seriously is not an indication that we have a wholesale lack of integrity in our police service,” Mr Jack said. “Rather, it means that we in the Cayman Islands want a police service above reproach, and if this means further investigations, we are willing to commit to it. This entire process gives us all an unprecedented opportunity to review and adjust our police system to deter those who may be tempted to behave inappropriately. We are looking at both creating stronger internal processes within the RCIPS and considering an independent complaints mechanism.”

Acting Commissioner George said he would ensure that systems are in place to deliver a robust and transparent complaint and discipline policy, and customer-centred processes at the RCIPS.

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Perplexing Construction Costs, Expensive Housing

Editorial: Construction costs

Published on Monday, May 12, 2008

The recent award of contracts for the construction of the new schools reveals an astonishing differential between the lowest (and successful) bid and the tender submitted by another well-known local construction firm. In fact, the losing bid was half as much again as the winning one.

If we were just talking about a few thousand dollars, perhaps the discrepancy would not be worth commenting on, but in this case the sums involved amount to several tens of millions.

If one can safely assume that the bid specifications were exactly the same in each case, the government must be congratulated on some effective value engineering.

However, if the successful bidder is going into this project in the hope that the inevitable change orders can be padded to compensate for a low bid, then clearly the situation is not so rosy.

We also hope that the country is not headed into a similar situation that some homeowners find themselves in when a contractor has spent all the money agreed on but cannot afford to complete the job, leaving the customer over the proverbial barrel with no option but to find more money.

But, let’s assume that the school projects can indeed be completed for the sums agreed, the sheer scale of the differential still raises some wider-ranging questions about construction costs locally.

Housing costs have always been expensive here and the contrast in the school bids leads us to wonder to what extent construction costs are unnecessarily inflated across the board, to allow the contractors to make more than an acceptable profit.

Indeed, the whole concept of affordable housing in the Cayman Islands has been one plagued with difficulties and controversy.

Concerns were widely expressed in relation to the Affordable Housing Initiative established by the previous United Democratic Party (UDP) administration and the process by which such housing was constructed, focused largely on the disregard for the customary tendering process.

Not only were there wholly unwarranted prepayments for work not done, but serious issues of immigration violations and political favouritism were also raised. And to no one’s surprise, the principal beneficiaries of what the Auditor General subsequently referred to as the “misuse of public funds” turned out to be well-known UDP supporters and activists.

The current People’s Progressive Movement (PPM) government has also not adequately covered itself either in this area.

The issue of housing many unfortunate Caymanians, still essentially homeless after Hurricane Ivan in 2004, remains unresolved after three years in office.

In launching the mortgage guarantee programme last year, the Leader of Government Business, Hon Kurt Tibbetts, admitted that this would not address the needs of many who could not afford to participate. One has to question, therefore, what was the point in the first place.

Mr Tibbetts also negotiated the sale of the affordable housing site in George Town, saying the land was too valuable for the project.

We have observed before that, surely, the country has the resources to solve this problem once and for all, especially with some community involvement augmenting government action instead of inaction.

In the meantime, the need for affordable housing in Cayman, whether it is to rent or own, continues to increase.

For as long as anyone can remember, lip service at one extreme and highly questionable conduct at the other has been outpacing reality when it comes to moving towards affordable housing for this country, which is so quick to boast of the highest income per capita in the Western Hemisphere.

The country has continually been offered shortsighted, band-aid approaches that show a complete misunderstanding of the real issues confronting the people who are willing to sacrifice to become homeowners and the needs of renters in the market.

It is about time that the stakeholders in the area of providing affordable housing – and yes, this includes Government housing – came up with another model than the traditional methods of construction and financing. And a one-third reduction in construction costs, as we have seen in the case of the school contracts, would surely aid this process.

This would allow deserving individuals, along with public and private sector stakeholders, to become partners and make the dream of owning a home an attainable reality.

Joe Anne Cowin claimed overall third in the Natural Caribbean Grand Prix Bodybuilding and Figure Championships




FIGURE competitor Joe Anne Cowin claimed overall third in the Natural Caribbean Grand Prix Bodybuilding and Figure Championships recently, which was this year held in the Cayman Islands.

The The Isle of Man competitor, who has lived in Cayman for the past nine years, exceeded all expectations by recording a top-three result in her very first contest, beating a host of recognized names within the sport in the process.

In front of a packed crowd at the Lion's Centre for the annual WNBF Mr and Ms Universe event, Joe Anne entered the stage with the other contestants parading the Manx flag as one of more than 40 nations represented in the event.

>> Read a report from the event at www.caymennetnews.com

As the final placings in the amateur figure category were called out one by one, the Manx woman was in with a great chance of taking the overall title.

However, a somewhat controversial decision by the judges placed Joe Anne third in what was still a fantastic achievement by the former Nautilus Gym instructor.

Although she has been training for 16 years, the build-up to the show required months of intense workouts and a disciplined diet.

In order to fit in her training around her hectic day as a hairdresser her day begins at 5am with an hour of cardio followed by abs conditioning before beginning work at 8am.

Joe Anne's diet consists of six small meals a day which she has to fit in around her busy schedule, usually in between clients. All of her meals consist of a mix of protein and carbohydrates such as chicken, fish, sweet potatoes, brown rice and green vegetables.

Prior to the Miss Universe show the Manx woman completely eliminated sugar and sodium from her diet in a bid to fine-tune her physique, which means having to cut all fruit from the menu and drinking only distilled sodium-free water.

After work at 5pm it's back to the gym for weight training five times a week, with specific focus on one muscle group each day for maximum results.

Joe Anne generally trains for five consecutive days followed by two days of rest where she admits she allows her usually rigorous diet to stray occasionally!

With a third place finish in Ms Universe now under her belt, the former Ballakermeen High School student can now set her sights on a possible victory at her next show in New York this November and put the Isle of Man to the fore of the fitness scene once again.

Thursday, May 8, 2008

Gay Kissing in Cayman Not "Illegal", Just Unwise








The Department of Tourism has issued an official apology to the man who was detained by police after publicly kissing his boyfriend at the Royal Palms bar last Wednesday night (30 April).

Meanwhile, Cayman Net News has learned that a full investigation is being launched into the incident, where an off-duty officer took tourist Aaron Chandler to the George Town Police Station after he kissed his boyfriend on the dance floor at the Seven Mile Beach bar.

Director of Tourism Pilar Bush subsequently issued an apology for the incident. "I apologize for your upsetting experience and want to assure you that the Cayman Islands is a welcoming jurisdiction to all people," she wrote to Mr Chandler.

"What happened to you was an isolated incident, and is not representative of Cayman. We know that thousands of gay and lesbian visitors travel to the Cayman Islands every year and enjoy their vacation," she continued, adding: "I am truly sorry to learn of what you went through during your visit."

Mr Chandler has filed a complaint to the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (RCIPS) over the incident, in which he recalled that after dinner at the Reef Grill he, his boyfriend, and his boyfriend's sister and husband moved to the adjacent Royal Palms bar. While at the bar, he and his boyfriend were dancing together and "occasionally kissing", he said.

"At approximately 11 pm, an unidentified woman came up to me and asked me to follow her to meet a 'friend' at the edge of the club. I went, but reluctantly," Mr Chandler said.

The man requested that Mr Chandler walk with him out of the bar where they could speak alone.

"Not knowing him, and having heard numerous accounts of anti-gay violence on Grand Cayman, I refused. He continued to get me to walk out with him, saying that 'I don't want to create a scene here,' but each time I refused."

The man then identified himself as a police officer and, upon Mr Chandler's request, displayed his badge. Then, according to Mr Chandler's statement, the officer told him: "It is against the law for two people of the same sex to show displays of affection in public."

Mr Chandler's boyfriend then came over, and as the couple was about to leave, the men kissed one more time, after which the officer physically restrained Mr Chandler by the wrist.

"This police officer, upon seeing my boyfriend and I kiss, walked up to me, grabbed my arm and told me that I was going to be arrested. My boyfriend, his sister and his brother-in-law pleaded with the officer to let me go since we were on our way home, but the officer refused."

Legal sources have confirmed that the Cayman Islands does not have any law on its books that prohibits same-sex couples from publicly displaying affection.

Mr Chandler also said in the complaint that a crowd of nearly 20 people from the bar pleaded with the officer to release him as he was "dragged" outside.

"I occasionally tried to gently squeeze my arm and hand out of his grip, but each time he told me, 'Do not resist me' and tightened his grip."

Mr Chandler was then placed in a police car called in by the off-duty officer. On the drive to the George Town Police Station, he said the responding officer told him that "the law is stupid and a waste of time, but that he has to enforce it."

Mr Chandler said he spent about an hour at the police station but was not questioned by an inspector and no charges were laid.

Before leaving the station, Mr Chandler said the off-duty police officer who detained him attempted to elicit a promise not to repeat his behaviour while on the island. Mr Chandler refused and was then driven by police back to where he was staying.

Mr Chandler, an active gay and lesbian rights advocate, is the Board President of the National Youth Advocacy Coalition in Washington DC and former Commissioner of the City of Seattle Commission for Sexual Minorities.

Three questions: Just who was this unidentified off duty cop, and why was Chandler's partner not detained as well, and why bother upsetting the "values" of a homophobic island when it is well known you will be mistreated?

UPDATE:
The Ministry of Tourism announced today (Wednesday, 21 May) that Pilar Bush has resigned from the position of Director of Tourism (DoT) effective 30 June 2008. In accepting the resignation, Gloria McField-Nixon, Chief Officer of the Ministry of Tourism, Environment, Investment and Commerce, thanked Ms Bush for her dedicated service. Mr Shomari Scott, will be appointed as Acting Director.

I wonder if she was forced to resign from all the flack she received from the Christians on the island, or maybe she was just a symbolic "firing" from the backlash against Cayman from the world of tourism.