EMBARGOED UNTIL 6 P.M. SUNDAY, 31 DECEMBER, 2017
2018 New Year’s Message
By Premier Hon. Alden McLaughlin, MBE, JP, MLA
Fellow Caymanians and residents, as wecome to the end of another year I wish you and your loved ones a blessed New Year filled with good health and much happiness.
This past year has certainly been an eventful one.
The early part of the year was filled with the sights, sounds and excitement of the election year. I suspect that with 63 candidates vying for your attention, by the time Election Day came around, you were probably as relieved asthe Candidates were that it would all soon be over.
Indeed, this past election was historic for several reasons.
It was the first General Election based on single member constituencies and the principle of ‘one person one vote’. This was a major change in our electoral process and one that has had, and will continue to have, a significant impact on the outcome of our General Elections as well as on the way voters and politicians approach local politics.
Important to me was the record number of female candidates vying for election in 2017. I am hopeful that we will continue to see more women not only stand for election but to also be elected to serve as Members of the Legislative Assembly.
A better gender balance in the Legislative Assembly would serve our Islands well.
Following the election, whilst candidates linked to political parties won the majority of seats, no political party came out as the clear winner. So,the country was left nervously waiting to see who would form the new Government.
In the end, I am happy that I, along with the Honourable Speaker and our other colleagues, were able to come together and find common ground to form a Government of National Unity.
From the feed-back I have received the vast majority of the country ishappy, and relieved, with the Government we formed.
I am honored to once again have the privilege to serve as a representative of the people of Red Bay in the Legislative Assembly as well to serve again as your Premier. I am also privileged to serve, for almost seven years now, as the Political Leader of the Progressives.
I thank you the electorate, and I thank the members of the Progressives, for the confidence you continue to display in me over these many years.
As you will have seen, your Government has been working hard over the past seven months on plans to move Cayman forward, improve the lot of Caymanians,and to make the Cayman Islands an even better place to live, to work and to raise our families.
And with the passage of our first two-year budget we have ensured that our expenditure matches those plans.
I am happy to report that the future of our Islands remains bright.
We are continuing to build on the solid foundation left by the previous Administration. We have set ambitious goals for this term and along with continuing the major projects of the last administration, we are also undertaking several major initiatives that will change the way Government operates and will move our Islands forward.
I am proud thatthis Government is investing more in education than any previous Government -over $228 million over the next two years, which includes funding for additional teachers and support staff, as well as on improvements to primary schools and to progress the building of John Gray High School.
We have allocated about $180 Million to various other infrastructure projects, such as improved road networks, anew Mental Health Facility, as well as funding the much-anticipatednew Solid Waste Management facility to handle refuse from all three landfills.When complete it will be an achievement that every Caymanian and resident can be proud of. Importantly it will at last solve an environmental concern that has plagued all three Islands for decades.
The New Year will also bring with it the completion of the enhanced Owen Roberts International Airport; another long overdue projectof which every Caymanian and resident can be proud.
The George Town Revitalisation project will also roll into the next phase. The road improvements will continue, and early in the New Year the work on both the Esterly Tibbetts Highway,and Phase 1 ofthe Linford Pierson Highway expansion will be completed.
The New Year will also bring in a dedicated community policing programme and we will also begin development ofa new Coast Guard and Border Protection Agency.
Protecting our borders and preventing the arrival of illegal guns, drugs and people is a key initiative of this Government.
Maintaining a vibrant economy is another key initiative. Investor confidence and optimism in our economy can be seen throughout the Islands with many development projects under way or in the works. Indeed, as the Cayman Compass recently reported:
“After a record year for development, in terms of the number and the value of projects approved by the Central Planning Authority, Cayman looks to be on the brink of another construction boom.”
This optimism and confidence in Cayman does not happen by chance. It is the result of a responsible and responsive government coupled with an innovative private sector and an efficient and effective work force.
It is this optimism in Cayman and our future that is helping drive our economy. And as our economy continues to grow, we have seen tremendous growth in employment opportunities for Caymanians, and Caymanian unemploymentcontinues its downward trend.
A growing economy with a growing job base is a good thing for Cayman and Caymanians. Weare working to ensure that as the economy expands that every Caymanian willing and able to work has an opportunity for employment.
We will continue to support the creation and expansion of small businesses as well as promoting the Cayman Islands tourism and financial services businesses.
Tourism is doing well with a record number of stay-over visitors in 2017, and cruise tourism seeing growth as well. This will continue into the New Year.
Our Financial Services Industry,despite challenges,continues to perform well. But as we all know we need to be vigilant and continue to fight to ensure that we keep this vital part of our economy intact. This is why we have been engaging directly with decision makers in the United Kingdom, the European Union and the United States.
We will soldier on and I am optimistic that we will continue to win the battles to come. I will say this –I and the Government will defend Cayman, our peopleand our economy wherever and whenever we need to.
I spoke earlier of making the lot of Caymanians better. An expanding economy will certainly do this. But there are those for whom a booming economy also may not help sufficiently. So beginning in 2018 our seamen, veterans and those on permanent financial assistance will receive a long-awaited increase in the assistance provided by Government.
Retired Civil Servants with pensions less than that received by poor relief recipients will also receive an additional sum that will allow them to receive a decent pension.
These increases will benefit some 2,179persons -855 seamen, 123 veterans, 901 persons being helped through financial assistance and 300 retired elderly civil servants.
As 2017 closes and 2018 begins there is much that we can be grateful for. Let us also count our blessings and thank God for sparing us during a hurricane season that was so devastating to our region, including our sister Caribbean British Overseas Territories.
I am very thankful that we were in a position to offer them some assistance in their time of need. Providing this assistance was certainly a highlight for me personally and for Cayman as one of the UK’s most successful Overseas Territories.
In the New Year we have plans to celebrate the60-year anniversaries of the Cayman Islands Coat of Arms and our first Constitution.
Her Majesty the Queen approved the Royal Warrant assigning our Coat of Arms in May 1958; and our first Constitution was approved by Order in Council in May 1959 in the run up to the independence of Jamaica. This was a hugely significant event, setting the Cayman Islands on a course of constitutional and economic development, which continues today.
And over the course of 2018 Government will also revive the awarding of the Order of the Cayman Islands to worthy individuals - our intention is to award up to three classes, namely Companion, Officer and Member of the Order of the Cayman Islands. And we will also incorporate medals for bravery as part of the award regime.
While we continue to uplift Caymanians, this Government willremain a good steward of the country’s finances. We will continue to grow the economy in 2018 so that Caymanians can benefit and raise happy and productive families.
And we will continue to ably represent the Cayman Islands overseas and to fightour cause when and where needed.
A New Year is always a hopeful time. While 2017 may have provided personal challenges for some of us, we can look back at the past year with the belief that there are brighter days ahead.
Although our challenges at times can seem great, each of us, with the help of God, can find the courage and the determination to rise up and meet the challenges that life brings our way.
This has always been the Caymanian way. Our resilience and resourcefulness as a people is what enabled our forebearsto eke out a living on these three small rocks in the Caribbean Sea, creating homesteads, raising families and plying the oceans of the world. From humble beginnings we have, over generations, created a modern country that has welcomed people from diverse places of the world; more than 130 nationalities now call these islands home.
Today our Islands remain a wonderful place to live and work,a safe place to raise our children and celebrate family and community. At the end of the day, Caymanians are still a welcoming, caring and loving people.
I hope we as a people never lose those traits.
On behalf of my Government, and from my family to yours, Iagain wish each of you and your families God’s richest blessings and a very Happy, Healthy, Peaceful and Prosperous New Year.
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