ADDED: video for the Premier’s New Year’s message https://youtu.be/v4XyK1u4xCA

Happy
New Year fellow Caymanians, residents and visitors!

This
past year has been an eventful one for our Islands.  From
the ongoing Celebrate Cayman events to the popular Kaaboo music
festival and the very successful Royal visit, there has been much to
celebrate this past year. As a country and a people, we also have
much to be thankful for as we say goodbye to 2019 and welcome 2020. 

I
am thankful that we have gone through another year safe from
hurricanes.  Unfortunately, some in our region were not so
lucky.  Hurricane Dorian, a dangerous category 5 storm
caused much devastation in the Bahamas.   As we have done
in previous years, our national carrier Cayman Airways assisted with
flying needed relief medical supplies into Nassau.  We also
assisted with the use of our RCIPS helicopter and crew to help
evacuate victims stranded in remote areas and to deliver food and
supplies to those in need. 

The
resources we have available to us in terms of Cayman Airways, our
helicopters, uniformed officers, and personnel trained in hazard
management are vital to our safety and security but are also valuable
resources for our neighbours in times of need.  This is
proof again of the increasingly important role the Cayman Islands is
now playing in the region and is something that I know all Caymanians
are proud of.

I
believe that the Cayman Islands Regiment, once up and running, will
be another source of pride for Caymanians and an important resource
to our islands and to our neighbours.

We
can also be proud of an economy that is continuing to grow from
strength to strength with businesses, large and small, across all
sectors performing well.  Because of our buoyant economy,
more Caymanians are in work and in 2019 we achieved the lowest
Caymanian unemployment rate 4.8% in over a decade. 

The
economic prosperity that these Cayman Islands have built and enjoyed
over the decades, including during the two Administrations that I
have had the honour to lead, is a great achievement and one that all
of us can be proud of because we built it together through our
willingness to innovate and the entrepreneurial spirit that defines
Caymanians.  

It
is up to us as Government, business and individuals,  to
maintain that economic prosperity. In so doing we will protect our
progress as a country, our political and financial stability, and our
social cohesion that is so important.  All of this has been
hard won over many decades but can be easily lost should we take it
for granted.  

However,
as we have also seen over the decades, a growing economy comes with
challenges - these days that includes traffic woes. In 2020, the
National Roads Authority will continue working to smooth traffic
flows at critical junctions and to increase capacity. These
improvements once completed will help bring relief to commuters as we
reduce congestion. 

In
the New Year work will also begin on determining the best solution
for an improved, fit for purpose, public transport system that will
negate the need for the growing number of cars on our roads.  

Also
to be completed in the New Year are the Constitution reforms approved
by the UK, and debated and passed in the Legislative Assembly in
early December.   I am grateful for the way my colleagues
on the Government and Opposition benches united to pass these
important reforms ahead of the December 12th UK election.  

These
reforms will provide us with increased autonomy and underscore our
right to manage our own affairs without undue interference by the UK.
They also mark the continued acknowledgement by Her Majesty’s
Government that the Cayman Islands has developed as a mature,
self-governing democracy.  

These
constitutional changes come as we continue the celebration of the
60th
Anniversary of our first written Constitution in 2020 when we gather
at Heroes Square at the end of January to celebrate National Heroes
Day. This year we will honour the men and women involved in shaping
that first Constitution. 

There
are other important constitutional matters to be settled in early
2020 when our Legislative Assembly must turn its attention to the
issue of ‘same-sex partnerships’ and our Courts consider the
Judicial Review on the People-Initiated Referendum on the cruise
berthing and cargo port project.  

Both
issues have proven to be divisive ones. I hope that whatever the
outcome on each that we all accept the decisions and come together as
Caymanians and residents and continue the work to build and grow our
Islands for the benefit of all our people -  not just the
privileged.   A more just society is, after all, a better
society.

Regarding
‘same sex partnerships’ as I have said previously it is important
that legislators determine the best way forward for our Islands and
find a solution that works for Caymanians.  If we abrogate
our responsibility to do so, we must accept that the UK will
legislate for these islands as the Court of Appeal has suggested they
do. That would be the worst possible result for these Islands, not
just with regard to same-sex partnerships, but more generally.

I
remain confident that the cruise berthing and enhanced cargo dock
project is supported by most Caymanians and that once the referendum
is over, we can continue the work to move that project forward.  

If
I am wrong and most of the electorate decide at the referendum that
they want to see the cruise berthing and cargo enhancement project
halted then the project will be stopped and the Government will
accept that result.  

But
if I am right that most people support the project, and so the ‘No
vote’ fails to reach the required threshold, then I call on those
opposing the Government’s case to accept the result for the project
to go ahead. 

This
does not mean that the day after the referendum there will be
dredging in George Town Harbour.  Instead, the work to
determine how best to mitigate the environmental concerns will
continue.

What
I hope is that those opposed will work with us on the ambitious
programme of environmental mitigation that the government has from
the start insisted on as part of the project.

Cayman
will get a better result if we can come together to work for the
benefit of our Islands. It is only by continuing to work together
that we can ensure our future success.

As
Cayman continues to grow and to thrive, we must ensure that no
Caymanian is left behind. For that reason, in the new budget, the
government has continued to prioritize help and support for the most
vulnerable members of our community.

This
New Year begins with good news for elderly seafarers, veterans, those
in need of financial assistance, and some long-serving civil service
pensioners who will all again see their monthly income rise in
January from $750 a month to $850 a month. We plan a similar further
increase for January 2021.  In the lifetime of my
Administration, we will have increased the incomes of over 2,000 of
Cayman’s most vulnerable and hard-pressed households by at least
73%.

We
are also providing additional support for Cayman’s seniors by
reducing or waiving duties on a range of items for those aged 65 and
older. Through these measures, many of our seniors will have a little
more money in their pockets at the end of each month.

Also
going into effect in January is a 5% cost-of-living salary increase
for civil servants in well-deserved recognition of their hard work
and dedication to public service. It also recognises that over the
past year food, housing and utilities have gotten more expensive.
This salary increase will benefit the many Caymanian families in our
civil service who work hard to teach our children, nurse our sick,
keep us safe and perform many valued services needed to keep our
country running. 

I
expect that this cost-of-living salary increase should also spur
private sector employers to stimulate wage growth elsewhere in the
economy. If businesses are profiting from this booming economy, then
they should share that benefit with their employees – the backbone
of a business. 

This
coming year will also see the extension of the government’s scheme
to help first-time Caymanian home owners so that the first $400,000
of the purchase price of a new first home will be free of stamp duty.
That amounts to a saving of $30,000 for many young Caymanian
families. This is a start but more work will be done in 2020 to
address the need for affordable housing solutions across all
communities.  

This
unity Government has shown our intention and our ability to complete
the work we promised to do, including completing the key
infrastructure projects we started.  

The
New Year will see 'capping’ begin on the George Town Landfill. This
is an important first step in ending Cayman’s unsustainable
reliance on the existing unlined landfill. Instead, we will see
increased recycling, as well as creating energy from our garbage with
the construction of a modern waste-to-energy plant. 

The
coming year will also see progress being made in East End on the
long-term mental health facility, which we expect to open in the
second quarter of 2021.

Works
will also be visible at John Gray High School, Bodden Town Primary
School and the new Sunrise Adult Training Facility. And work will
also continue on modernising our airport and on the George Town
Revitalisation initiative. 

All
of these are possible because of our strong economy.

I
believe in a strong and prosperous future for Cayman. I have worked
toward that all my political life. I have confidence in the vision,
strength and fortitude of the people of our Islands and in our
ability, if we work together, to build that future.

The
coming year will undoubtedly also bring plenty of
challenges.  However, if we face 2020 with our ambition for
our country renewed; with our support for each other steadfast; and
with our faith in God unswerving, then this will also be a year of
continuing opportunity for Cayman as a nation and for Caymanians as a
people.

On
behalf of my Government, and from my family to yours, I wish each of
you a very Happy, Healthy, Peaceful and Prosperous New Year. May God
continue to find favour with our beloved Cayman Isles.