Premier Hon. Alden McLaughlin, MBE, JP, MLA

2014 New Year’s message

GRAND CAYMAN, Cayman Islands – I trust that, as it did for me, the past Christmas season has given each of you an opportunity to pause in the midst of the rush and press of your busy lives, to relax a bit and to reflect; to spend some time with family and friends and to consider God’s goodness to each of us and to these Islands over the course of the past year.  Now, as we stand on the threshold of a New Year we have stretched before us, like a blank canvas, 365 days of opportunity and promise. This is always a time for optimism, for regardless of the failures, disappointments and grief of the past year – the advent of the New Year brings with it hope and the prospect of success and better times. So whether your aim is to lose weight, go back to school, save more money, get that promotion or achieve some other goal, now is the time to commit to doing what is necessary to make it happen. Now is the time for resolutions.  Now is the time for fresh starts.

As a country, the Cayman Islands made a fresh start following the elections in May of last year with a new government. Given the experiences of the past decade of Caymanian politics, I was convinced that what the country needed was a government that represented the widest possible cross-section of the Cayman community and that utilized, to the greatest extent possible, the education, skills and experience of all those that were elected, regardless of whether or not they belonged to my party. The result has been an inclusive government made up of an extraordinarily talented team of Caymanians whom I have the honour and privilege to lead. Although many of my team were new to politics and the business of government – and the learning curve has been steep – our government has settled in well.  Indeed, as the past seven months have borne out, our government has tackled and successfully dealt with a number of difficult issues that had remained unresolved for many years. Today, as we welcome a New Year, we can look back with some satisfaction and pride at the achievements of the first months of our term.

From the outset we worked hard to restore confidence in government and in the Cayman Islands as a whole because we understand that confidence is the currency of investment. Investors want a business environment that is fair, honest, transparent and predictable and where the principles of good governance are practiced.

We have striven to repair the relationship with the United Kingdom.  I see nothing to be gained and much to be lost in an adversarial relationship with the mother country. Contrary to the views currently being espoused by some other politicians, I do not believe that talk of independence is what the Cayman Islands wants or needs at this juncture.

We were able to get both our interim budget and our full year budget approved on first submission to the United Kingdom, something that had not been achieved in the previous three years. We also reached agreement with the UK on a four year financial plan for the entire term, which will put Cayman back in compliance with all the requirements of the Public Management and Finance Law by 2016.

This year’s budget provides for a further reduction in government expenditure, the paying down of a significant amount of government debt, no new borrowings and projects an operating surplus of more than $100M.

While there remains much to be done, we are confident that we are well on the way to getting government finances back on track.

We have been keenly conscious from the very start of the need to get the economy moving again and to get more of our people back to work. The measures we have taken so far have improved the economy and more Caymanians are being employed.

We have succeeded in making important amendments to the Immigration Law, which have had the effect of making Cayman a more attractive and competitive jurisdiction in which to do business as well as streamlining the process by which Permanent Residence is granted to desirable persons who have resided here long-term and have made the necessary commitment to the Cayman Islands.

We have continued to protect and promote our financial services industry notably by enhancing the Cayman Islands’ reputation for transparency by signing Tax Information Exchange Agreements with three new countries including the UK and the FATCA agreement with the United States.

We believe that investment in infrastructure such as the proposed new cruise berthing and the expansion of our airports is critical to the continued development of the Cayman Islands and our key industries. And that is why we have already started work to move these projects forward. All indications are that the number of cruise ship visitors is set to increase to more than 2 million per year over the course of the next few years. We must take the necessary measures to accommodate this expected increase and this means significant improvements to the city centre of George Town, including the road infrastructure. The Owen Roberts airport can no longer comfortably accommodate the number of arrivals at peak times and the quality of the visitor experience is unsatisfactory. Both the Charles Kirkconnell International Airport in Cayman Brac and the Little Cayman airstrip are in need of upgrades. Government is not in a position to borrow for these projects and we are therefore pursuing the development of public-private partnerships in order to deliver these important infrastructure projects.

There has been a great deal of interest in Cayman by investors since the elections and there are exciting prospects for the commencement of a number of new projects in 2014 ranging from three new hotels to a golf course and complete golfing community. In addition, the Government will continue to support and promote key private sector developments such as the Dart hotel and Cayman Enterprise City and we look forward with great anticipation to the completion and opening of Phase 1 of Dr. Shetty’s Health City in February.

The interest we are seeing in investment in Cayman is both a reflection of the renewed confidence in Cayman as well as positive global outlook. The economies of Europe, the UK and the United States are now clearly on the rebound and all stock markets the world over have finished the year with significant gains. As we start 2014 the prospects for the world economy are much brighter than they were a year ago and Cayman too is poised for significant economic growth and development, bringing with it more economic and employment opportunities for the people of these Islands.

I truly believe that the future of these Islands is bright. There is a sense of optimism about Cayman this New Year; a feeling that the worst is behind us and that 2014 will be a good year. There is a new spirit of unity, a sense that all of us – Caymanians and residents, visitors and investors, government and private sector, government and opposition – can and will work together in pursuit of what is best for Cayman.

Never was this more evident than just before Christmas when all members of the Legislative Assembly were able to come together, despite differences of opinion, and vote unanimously to pass the National Conservation Law, a critically important piece of legislation that has been necessary and talked about for more than a decade. This was indeed a triumph for our democratic process and a testament to what I hope is a new spirit of cooperation and compromise among the elected members of the House.

There is much to be done in this New Year and I am fully cognizant that the government will have significant challenges to meet. But meet them we will, just as we have done these past seven months, with courage, conviction and a willingness to listen and compromise. Working together, all things are possible. On behalf of the Government, I wish for each of you a Happy and Prosperous 2014. May God continue to bless these Islands for with his grace I am certain the best is yet to come.