MEDIA VETERANS ASSESS TOP PRIORITIES FACING CAYMAN’S NEW GOVERNMENT

As Cayman settles into the reality of a new government era, the pressure is on the National Coalition for Caymanians(NCFC) administration to hit the ground running.

That’s one of the main takeaways coming out of a discussion between two media veterans on the Radio Cayman programme business buzz this past Tuesday.

Guest host, Orrett ‘OC’ Connor - regular host of the long-running popular morning talk show For The Record, and Ralph Lewis - publisher of Caymanian Times newspaper engaged in a thought-provoking postmortem of some of the key election issues.

Asked what should be prioritised by the NCFC administration, Lewis ranked the cost of living as top of the list.

“The number-one challenge, and it is very widely known, is the cost of living is too high. The cost of living has to be addressed,” the former banker and financial advisor stressed. “Yes, we are living in an affluent society  but there are many who are not affluent unfortunately, and there are people with good jobs but are just not making enough because the cost of living is just tremendously high, one of the highest in the world.”

The cost of living was one of the main issues that dominated the election campaign with many candidates putting forward ideas - and promises - on how they would alleviate it.

With Cayman largely at the mercy of global trends and external policies such as the spin-off impact of trade and tariff policies elsewhere, Caymanian Times publisher Lewis urges the new government to focus their attention on this.

“How is it going to happen? The government needs to sit down and figure that one out,” he stated underlining the scale and impact of the challenge for Cayman which is heavily reliant on imports.

Another pressing matter which was at the forefront of the election campaign is immigration reform, especially linked to concerns in some circles of a feeling of displacement by some Caymanians.

An indication of how seriously the new administration is taking this is reflected in the name it has adopted; ‘The National Coalition For Caymanians’, and the specific relabelling of the employment portfolio as the Ministry of Caymanian Employment and Immigration.

The immigration reform issue also came in for close attention on the Business Buzz exchange between Connor and Lewis. They agreed that it now needs to find its way into the policy priorities of the new NCFC government.

Balance is key, opined Lewis, reflecting on the nature of Cayman’s economic success story especially in the financial and tourism services sectors.

“Based on the voters, it is clear that they require some sort of change to the immigration. The government is selected by the voters, so that has to be addressed. The way the Cayman Islands developed was with the help of expats,” he observed, recalling his own experience of moving to the Cayman Islands over 40 years ago from Montserrat.

However, the newspaper publisher noted, “There has to be a balance.”

“We can’t just say, ‘leave it as it is’. There needs to be some serious changes and it has to be communicated…We can’t sideline our people.”

It’s a point on which talk show host Orrett ‘OC’ Connor concurs. “As we see, our population continues to grow, placing enormous pressure on our infrastructure, our schools, our medical services and everything else, so it’s not going to remain stagnant.”

Noting that previously the pushback on immigration reform has come mainly from the business community, former senior civil servant Connor said that has now shifted. “Now, it’s the voters who have been pushing for immigration reform. They have been promised it by the candidates, many of whom have been successful in the elections. So, what we have to look at now is their ability to deliver and their ability to stand up to that pushback that is going to come from the business community.”

Well-known for ‘having his fingers on the pulse of the community’, OC Connor  also observed a dichotomy between the profit motive within the business sector and preservation of Cayman culture and identity with a growing chorus of persons feeling that they are at risk of being marginalised.

“Immigration is going to be a big challenge and the promise was made that it is going to be addressed like yesterday,” the veteran talk show show host observed.

It’s a concern shared by Caymanian Times publisher Lewis: “That’s why the government has a serious task on its hands,” he said, again emphasising that “there has to be a balance” between the business model of the companies, the structure of Cayman’s economy while at the same time, prioritising and preserving the unique qualities of Cayman’s society and culture.

He said that balance must be struck between “keeping businesses here and looking after our people”.

“Given the name - National Coalition for Caymanians(NCFC) - that’s what they have said, I’m watching them. Everyone’s watching them. They have to now live up to that.”