None of us should have been privy to the minutes from the OfReg recent special board meeting. However, they were leaked.

And they made very interesting reading. So much so that OfReg decided to release their own statement on the extraordinary happenings that went on at that meeting.

Talk about damage control.

If there is ever an ineffectual government agency it is OfReg.

I have to agree with leader of the Opposition, Ezzard Miller, where he is quoted as saying the utility regulator has failed to do anything and has allowed prices to increase and spend public money.

It isn’t even forcing the numerous television cable providers to comply with the law. They even put out a survey asking everyone to fill in and supplied the answers they wanted. The answers they gave were actually designed to allow the government television channel to supply our local news programming. There was no need now to force the cable channels to provide their own over the air free local programming or even carry the only free local station Cayman27. The station my wife, Joan and I started under the name CITN. The persons who got the kudos from government for doing this were two of our employees from the USA!

The minutes recorded a heated debate where Chairman of OfReg, former MLA Linford Pierson, threatened to punch the deputy chair! Pierson obviously watches the UFC MMA (mixed martial arts)!!

Also recorded in these minutes is where Pierson appeared to want to make himself CEO of OfReg.

The list of complaints from the public concerning OfReg’s inability to address major issues we have include:
regulating fuel prices,
lack of any urgency in forcing the telecommunication firms to implement fibre roll-out in the Eastern Districts,
and allowing them to charge high prices for Internet speeds when only a fraction of that speed is actually provided.

The big joke is that the Water Authority that has done a good job in its self regulation is now going to be regulated by OfReg!

Can we now expect that all future minutes recorded will be “watered down”?

OfReg itself feel they are doing an excellent job.

In the aforementioned OfReg statement to the happenings described in the leaked minutes they gave themselves a pat on the back:

[OfReg] “would like to provide the assurance that it is working towards continuing the excellent work of the employees of OfReg to move the Cayman Islands forward in terms of providing a high level of consumer protection.”

With water now coming under their ‘excellent’ protection ‘ everything will now leak.