the lowest debit-to-GDP ratios in the world at only 5.2%. In 2020, the Government reported a budget deficit of $38 million, which was less than forcasted when COVID hit, and Government covered the shortfall and additional expenditures fully from its cash reserves, which stood at $447.6 million at the end of 2020. Moody’s has maintained Cayman’s Aa3 rating in April 2021, citing Cayman’s “prudent government planning” and bonds issued in foreign and local currency, which have left Cayman with the fiscal space to deal with the economic impact of the pandemic. Due to the country’s strong fiscal policies, Cayman is financially the most robust out of all the Caribbean countries, and combined with its soundly managed financial services sector, is positioned to weather the coronavirus storm better than the vast majority of other tourism-dependent countries. Government predicts that the Islands’ average total operating revenue will increase by 28% during the 3-year SPS period (2022-2024). HISTORY & POLITICS
Early Cayman History - 1503 to 1670 Christopher Columbus is credited with discovering the Cayman Islands. The explorer was on his fourth voyage of discovery when his ships, ‘Santiago de Palos’ and ‘La Capitana’, sailed past Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, on 10th May 1503. His son Ferdinand noted in his journal, “We were in sight of two small, low islands, filled with tortoises, as was the sea all about.” Columbus named the islands ‘Las Tortugas’ after the large number of sea turtles he saw. Columbus and his men didn’t stop. Worm-eaten and leaking badly, their ships laboured on until they had to be beached and eventually abandoned in St. Ann’s Bay, Jamaica. Historians question whether Columbus was really the first person or even European to set eyes on the Cayman Islands. A full year prior to Columbus’ journey, the three islands appeared on the 1502 Cantino map. Moreover, Queen Isabella of Spain authorised four other voyages to the New World in 1499. Aside from these facts, even if Columbus was the first European explorer
to set foot in Cayman, at the time of his visit, there were as many as a million Carib, Taíno and Arawak Indians living in the adjacent coastal areas in the region. Archival research suggests that Cayman is a word of Carib-Indian origin, meaning crocodile. The Caribs and Taíno were proficient mariners, known to make ocean journeys in canoes up to 80ft in length. In Jamaica, thousands of Taíno Indians were living just up current from Cayman, so it is probable that the Taíno were among Cayman’s first visitors. In 1586, Sir Frances Drake and a fleet of 23 ships stopped in Grand Cayman for two days and recorded that the island was not inhabited, but that there were numerous crocodiles, alligators, iguanas and turtles. In 1655, Admiral William Penn and General Robert Venables were sent from Britain by Oliver Cromwell to take Hispaniola island from the Spanish. The so-called “Western Design” failed as the English did not capture the Spanish stronghold; however, they did manage to seize Jamaica. Shortly afterwards, Cayman became a possession of Great Britain, following the signing of the Treaty of Madrid in 1670. Piracy By 1660, the English had established themselves in Jamaica and began treating the Cayman Islands as natural appendages of that larger territory. However, apart from small settlements on Grand Cayman and Little Cayman, most of the three islands were left untouched. This was ideal for pirates, since Cayman also lay astride the route of treasure galleons returning to Spain, laden with gold and silver from the New World. The promise of capturing Spanish treasure ships on their way home from the Caribbean soon attracted the attention of a motley crowd of buccaneers, pirates and freebooters. The ‘Golden Age’ of piracy spanned from the 1650s to the 1730s. Cayman’s most notorious pirate was Edward Teach, otherwise known as Blackbeard, who frequented the area from 1713 until his death on 22nd Nov 1718. Despite the celebration of Cayman’s
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A B O U T C AY M A N
improving public transport; improving our financial services as an industry product by engaging proactively with regulatory bodies; networking with key stakeholders, continuing to refute tax haven myths, and educating on the positive economic impact of financial services in the Cayman Islands. In the April 2021 general election over 23,600 voters cast their ballots and out of the nineteen elected members, eleven were independents. Premier Wayne Panton now leads a team of independent representatives, dubbed PACT (People driven, Accountable, Competent and Transparent). Cayman’s tourism industry was hit hard in 2020 and 2021 with only an estimated 13% of tourism workers in a full-time job. Around 4,500 work permit holders left the Island due to redundancy following the impact of COVID-19. Caymanian tourism workers have been supported by the CI Government with a monthly stipend of initially CI$1,000 and this was later increased to CI$1,500 a month. Local charities stepped up in providing additional financial assistance to those struggling to feed their families and pay rent. On the conservation front, there is hope that the implementation of an updated Climate Change Policy and the full realisation of the National Energy Policy, which will include capital spending for solar farms, will help improve Cayman’s record on maintaining our environment. Inconsiderate littering and our lack of a sophisticated recycling system, are disappointing inconsistencies to an otherwise first world country. There are also hopes that Project ReGen will finally initiate a long-awaited, long-term, sustainable waste management solution. Efforts to alleviate traffic congestion will continue through 2022 with major roadworks being done on known traffic bottlenecks such as the Hurley’s roundabout in Red Bay and the Butterfield roundabout in George Town. The fiscal outlook for core Government revenue and expenses in 2022 predicts revenues of CI$838,681 and expenses of CI$898,277. With a gross domestic product of $4.7 billion, and total government debt of $248.6 million in 2020, Cayman has one of
