Why were Cayman Islands Government permanent residents excluded from the recent leadership seminar and is that considered discrimination under the Constitution? PRs must wait for a certain time before applying for status. Wouldn’t it make sense to include them alongside their Caymanian colleagues since they are already in the process of becoming Caymanian?
Auntie’s answer: For those readers who are not familiar with the context of this question, here is a little background: Last month Deputy Governor Franz Manderson invited 100 civil servants to attend a workshop to refresh their leadership skills (see Civil servants get leadership training).
There was no mention of whether the civil servants who attended were Caymanian or what their immigration status was. To get the answer to your question, I went directly to the deputy governor who, to his great credit, responded practically instantly, which, I am sorry to say, almost never happens, whether dealing with someone in the government or the private sector.
Mr Manderson assured me that the selection process for the recent leadership conference was not based on anyone’s nationality, but rather on his or her post in the civil service.
In fact, he even went one step further and invited anyone who believes they should have been invited to the workshop to email him. I don’t think you could ask a public servant to be more responsive than that. I hope you receive a satisfactory answer.
PR holders can still go. If you leave the Island for a relatively short period, fail to renew fees this is all it takes to back at ground zero.
They are only marginally less fragile than most.
What CIG say happened and what happened may well be different things.
With all the calls for giving Caymanians opportunities let’s think about the wisdom of training non-Caymanians.
You’re missing the point. The ‘non-Caymanians’ in this instance are already on the road to attaining status and becoming Caymanian. The point is, if the powers that be within the civil service are promoting a specific style of leadership for the betterment of the service and providing training accordingly, why exclude PR’s? Doesn’t it make sense to have everyone singing from the same hymn sheet, irrespective of country of origin?