(CNS): Ministers Kenneth Bryan and Dwayne Seymour have called for a freeze on granting Caymanian status to residents who have been here for at least 15 years or who apply through Cabinet. The government frontbenchers said this was their own view and not yet a PACT policy, as it hadn’t been discussed. But they said that the increase in “non-generational Caymanians” negatively impacts political power, cultural values, business opportunities, housing and public spending.

In 2017, when Seymour was re-elected to parliament as an independent candidate, he ran on a very popular policy of stopping all work permits until local people had all secured “decent jobs”. But having joined the PPM coalition front bench, he did not deliver on that campaign promise.

He is now the labour minister and in a position to do so if he can secure the support of another three Cabinet colleagues, but despite his position and his ministerial portfolio, he has said that these ideas have not been discussed with either the PACT caucus or its inner circle.

Speaking last week on For the Record, Radio Cayman’s morning talk show, in the first of two appearances by the two men together, the ministers said they wanted to see an end to the granting of status to those who are not married or related in some way to a Caymanian.

On Monday, Tourism Minister Bryan said he felt it was “time to lock the gate” on status grants, which also convey voting rights, to prevent expatriates from influencing local politics. “We are giving away voting power” and conveying “principal freedoms”, such as the right to create and own a business outright, Bryan said, explaining at length the impact that status grants have on “who has power and control in your country”.

Exposing populist sentiments, the MP for George Town Central said that “non-generational Caymanians” could have principles that are different from the cultural norms of Caymanians who were born and grew up here. He added that the government would eventually be elected by a majority of voters who are non-native, having arrived here with different values and without a true understanding of Caymanian culture.

Bryan suggested that a government elected by non-generational voters might even ban turtle meat because they don’t understand its significance to the local population. Housing, the pressure on infrastructure, public spending and the development of businesses are all being impacted by the increase in Caymanians who came from elsewhere, Bryan and Seymour stated.

The two Cabinet members said the problems start with the creation of Caymanians from the immigrant population through the controversial points system towards residency that awards a significant number of points for land and home ownership. Expatriates can get up to 30 of the 110 points they need to secure residency by buying property, but the ministers said they want to see the credit for property ownership removed.

The points system, alongside the sale of property to non-residents, has now distorted the local housing market demand so much that most local people can no longer afford to buy a home in their own country.

Seymour said it was vital that Caymanians see and feel the benefit from Cayman’s growth as the new status holders were diluting the benefits. “We need to slow it down, to try to find a way for Caymanians to benefit… If we had a model that was wrong for the last 40 years, let’s review that,” he said.

Turning to the issue of permanent residency, Seymour said the issue of status grants could not be tackled without addressing this. Bryan said that getting PR created a straight path to Caymanian status unless an applicant has committed a serious crime, and suggested limiting work permit holders to five years.

Citing the latest figures from Workforce Opportunities and Residency Cayman, Seymour noted that there are currently 35,646 work permit holders, which is yet another record with more coming every day, and 6,599 permanent residents, most of whom will be able to apply for status.

Seymour said that in the first instance, he was working on bringing a paper to caucus to address the PR system and the points process. “The problems that are coming along with the increase in the number of status grants are affecting our people in a negative way,” he added.

Bryan said that limiting the number of permanent residents and status holders would not necessarily reduce Cayman’s overall population but would “control who has power and control in your country”.

He said all Caymanians, including new Caymanians who already have status and are part of the community, needed to engage in this discussion so the government could come up with a way to protect all of their rights and help to ensure they retain political control.

See the FTR show on Radio Cayman’s YouTube channel below:

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