MINISTER FOR FINANCE & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT’S SPEAKING NOTES FOR THE LAYING ON THE TABLE OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY THE ANNUAL REPORT OF THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2019

Mister
Speaker, I Beg to lay on the Table of this Honourable House, the
Annual Report of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development for
the year ended 31 December 2019.

Mister
Speaker, the Office of the Auditor General issued an unqualified
opinion on the financial statements of the Ministry for the year
ended 31 December 2019.

An
unqualified opinion signifies that the information contained in the
financial statements is accurate and can be relied upon.

As
shown on pages 12 to 13 of the Annual Report, during the 12-month
period ended 31 December 2019, the Ministry comprised of 163 staff
members – of which 142 or 87% were Caymanian.

Sixty-seven
percent of staff members were female and the majority of staff was 41
years and older.

Mr
Speaker, some of the Ministry’s key events and achievements, during
the 2019 financial year, included:

1. the
   issuance of the Policy for the Payment of Annual Dividends by
   Statutory Authorities and Government Companies;
   
2. the
   processing of 831 requests for the waiver of stamp and import duties
   with a total value $7.5 million;
   
3. generating
   approximately $18.0 million in incremental revenue from operating
   investments;
   
4. the
   release of the Occupational Wage Survey Report 2017 which provided
   the average wage and benefits for employees within the Cayman
   Islands along with the total compensation by sex, status, economic
   sectors and occupations;
   
5. tabling
   the 2020 Strategic Policy Statement and the 2020-2021 Budget in the
   Legislative Assembly;
   
6. the
   delivery of training to senior civil servants on governance
   frameworks on Internal Controls, Risk Management, Performance
   Reporting and Public Private Partnerships and Alternative Financing
   Initiatives;
   
7. the
   Cayman Postal Services delivering letter mail 97.5% of the time, on
   time; and
   
8. the
   Central Procurement Office achieving the Chartered Institute of
   Procurement & Supply’s requirements for Corporate Ethical
   Procurement.
   

Mr
Speaker, the Statement of Executive Financial Transactions shows
that, on behalf of the Cabinet, the Ministry collected $45.9 million
in executive revenue which was $137.2 million below budget. The
primary reason for the under-achievement was due to the Customs
Department moving from the Ministry to the Ministry of Employment and
Border Control.

On
behalf of the Cabinet, the Ministry incurred $59.1 million in
executive expenses which was $2.0 million over budget. The primary
reason for the net over-expenditure was due to the higher than
budgeted number of seafarers and veterans receiving health insurance,
the increase in contributions rates for the defined benefit pension
plan and the additional funding to the Cayman Islands National
Insurance Company or CINICO in order to maintain the Prescribed
Capital Requirements as required by the Insurance (Capital and
Solvency) (Class A Insurers) Regulations, 2012 and by the Cayman
Islands Monetary Authority.

The
Statement of Financial Position shows that the Ministry ended the
financial period with $19.4 million in Total Assets. Of this amount,
$10.4 million or 54% is comprised of cash and cash equivalents which
includes cash on hand, cash in transit and bank accounts with a
maturity of no more than three (3) months from the date of
acquisition.

Total
Liabilities amounted to $2.5 million, the majority of which comprise
of a $1.1 million in other payables and accruals.

Net
Assets, which are Total Assets less Total Liabilities, amounted to
$16.9 million.

The
Statement of Financial Performance shows that the Ministry earned
$16.0 million in Revenue for the year. Almost all of this revenue was
earned from the delivery of Outputs to Cabinet.

The
Ministry incurred $15.7 million in operating expenses during the
financial year, of which $12.1 million or 77% comprise of personnel
costs. Personnel costs include salaries, health insurance and pension
costs.

The
Ministry achieved an Operating Surplus of $0.3 million which will be
repaid to the Cabinet during the 2020 financial year.

Mister
Speaker, this annual report shows that the Ministry has worked hard
to provide effective, efficient and outstanding public services which
represent value for money and which contribute to the prosperity and
productivity of the Cayman Islands.

I
would like to reiterate the
congratulations of the Auditor General by saying that the Ministry of
Finance continues to lead by example on the year-end financial
statements and annual reports.

I
thank the staff and management of the Ministry for their hard work
during the 2019 financial year and I look forward to future successes
in the years to come.

Thank
you, Mister Speaker.