Date: Wednesday, 26 March 2025
Candidates
- Nickolas DaCosta (CINP)
- Lonny Tibbetts (IND)
The forum
The second Sister Islands forum, part of a series of pre-election events hosted by the Cayman Islands Chamber of Commerce, took place on Wednesday evening. This time it was Cayman Islands National Party candidate Nickolas DaCosta and independent candidate Lonny Tibbetts, vying for the Cayman Brac West and Little Cayman seat, which will be vacated by Moses Kirkonnell.
Both candidates were asked why they decided to run in the election. DaCosta said he was running because he wanted to build a future where opportunities aren’t just reserved for a few, but available for all.
“We must create sustainable jobs, a thriving economy, and support and invest in education and training for our young people coming out of our schools, so that they can build meaningful lives without having to leave their home,” DaCosta said.
Tibbetts said, “I felt they needed a voice with a different perspective, someone who will scream from the edge of the bluff, ‘We’re here’. We want things better. We deserve better, and I am here tonight to tell both the listening audience as well the citizens of Cayman Brac and Little Cayman that if you give me that opportunity, I will work night and day to make that a reality.”
Key issues
The candidates were then asked about what they considered to be the top three national issues they would prioritise if elected and why.
For Tibbetts, who was the first to respond, it was cost of living and fixing an unfair process whereby residents in Cayman Brac were being charged duties and being forced to make extra payments for items arriving by ship in the Brac. He said 90% of the time these items had already been subject to import duties when they first arrived in Grand Cayman from foreign countries.
He also said we have forgotten our elderly: “If we live to see 65, we are tossed out in the streets; our health insurance is void.”
He believes it would be better to send one physician or a team to Cayman Brac rather than having the elderly persons in Brac making regular trips, flying back and forth to Grand Cayman for medical care.
He also said they need to utilise solar panels in Cayman Brac. He claimed, “There has been an application by Island Energy right now that has been sitting at OfReg for two years now and not been responded to.”
He added, “That solar panel system will supplement our grid, reduce the fuel that is burnt and the utility will have a fixed cost, but again we are just ignored.”
For DaCosta, the three top issues were employment and workforce development, cost of living and housing.
On the housing issue, he said, “Not only do we need to focus on creating more affordable housing and more affordable land lot purchases, but we also need to look at providing social housing for those who can’t even qualify for a mortgage.”
He added that no one in the Cayman Islands should be homeless and sleeping in a car or under a tree.
“The same trees that we used to climb as kids and pick mangoes, now we’re sleeping under, and it’s unacceptable,” he said.
On the topic of employment and workforce development, he wants to establish a national workforce development plan.
“In 2013, I graduated with a bachelor’s degree from a university in Florida. I moved home, tried to find employment, and it took me two-and-a-half years after receiving a government scholarship and graduating to find employment,” he said.
He added that sort of story repeats itself again and again for other young Caymanians.
“We are not getting any better, and we need to address these things,” he said.
Improvements to shipping services to Sister Islands
DaCosta said we need to forge direct trade negotiations with other countries in our region.
“Right now, we have goods that we purchase and import from the US that originate in other countries, but taxes and fees are added on. Then we have to pay for shipping,” he said.
He also said we have to look at the equipment in Cayman Brac and Little Cayman that is used to offload the cargo.
“It’s simply unacceptable. When I ship items to the Brac that people have purchased, the cost immediately doubles from purchasing it here in Grand Cayman. It’s unsustainable,” he said.
“We need to upgrade our dock in the Brac and upgrade the equipment that is on the dock to offload the ships.”
He added that in Little Cayman, the Port Authority still charges port fees, but everyone has to unload the ship themselves.
Tibbetts said the crane at the dock at Creek needs to be replaced.
“If you’re bringing in a container, you have to limit the weight that you load into that container because the age of the crane and the risk to lift beyond a certain capacity,” Tibbetts said.
He said that as a result, importers are forced to split the loads into multiple containers because otherwise the crane just can’t lift it.
“In Little Cayman is unbelievable,” he said. “There is nothing, not even a shade there. You put something in a container and after it is rolled off the barge, it sits on the side of the road with the doors left open, and anyone can climb into your container and take things out.”
He added that is why some people in Little Cayman object to paying fees to Port Authority, “because what am I paying for?”
He also believes it is time to look for an alternative docking facility for the Brac because when there is inclement weather, “we wait two or three weeks, sometimes until the weather settles, before we can get fresh food.”
Redevelopment of the Little Cayman airfield
DaCosta said that the Little Cayman air service must be reliable, safe and efficient, but he believes the decisions should be made, “through the will of the people, and if it is what’s needed, then it will have to be redeveloped”.
Tibbetts said he had mixed feelings about the issue, because the current airstrip in Little Cayman is not owned by the government.
“We could be in a situation where access could be limited if some issue arises with the owners,” he said.
He added that at the moment, the current aircraft utilised by Cayman Airways is sufficient.
“It does the service that is required of it, and it gives the island somewhat of a different appeal than landing on the traditional … tarmac,” Tibbetts said.
“But at the same time I would love to see if we could shore up the ownership of the existing airstrip and make it for the ownership of the people of the Cayman Islands.”
Concerns about the youth in the Brac
Tibbetts said the opportunities for employment after high school and even college overseas are not guaranteed in the Sister Islands.
“We have to figure a way to grow job opportunities by both investment and through government expanding its services in Cayman Brac,” he said.
“We do have drug issues there. We have to recognise there’s a lot of young people that get into alcohol and a lot of young people get lost in the system and self medicate.”
He believes there needs to be better opportunities for diagnostic and interventional care, along with expanding vocational training.
DaCosta said, “The first issue is employment. There are not enough employment opportunities. For the past 20 years, we’ve heard about bringing back office jobs to Cayman Brac, but nothing has been done to make that a reality.
“There has been no expansion, no innovative way to provide for inward investment into Cayman Brac. And that means that when our children leave high school in Cayman Brac, there are no opportunities for them to stay there.”
DaCosta believes the youth need to be able to access technical and vocational training.
“Not everybody is in a situation where they can travel to Grand Cayman or afford to rent an apartment,” he said. “We need to offer those certifications in the Brac.”
He also believes the young people need more things to do to occupy their time.
“Growing up in Cayman Brac, I had more recreational activity opportunities than we do now. We had an arcade, we had a youth centre. None of that exists anymore, and we need to bring those back,” DaCosta said.
“Those simple things provide an outlet for our youth to enjoy themselves, and enjoy good, wholesome company.”
Notable exchanges
On the subject of the development of Port Zeus marina project, DaCosta said that the Brac was in dire need of a safe harbour and he would be in support of the development if it provided opportunities for the people of Cayman Brac, and “if that was the will of the people” and it doesn’t damage the environment.
Tibbetts expressed strong support for the Port Zeus project.
“I certainly support it,” he said, adding that it would provide an opportunity for cruise ships to dock alongside the pier at the Port Zeus marina, because there is deep water very close to shore.
Standout moments
On the topic of the Brac high school, both candidates were in support of the project.
DaCosta said of the existing high school, “We’ve been in the same building for decades. That’s the original high school building. When it drizzles, it floods and there is not enough space in that school.”
He did, however, say that the cost is a concern, “but if the school is going ahead, we have to ensure we get value for the money spent and ensure the facility is used day and night.”
Tibbetts said he was “proud to know that our premier fought very hard to get that because it’s been long overdue.”
He added, “I certainly hope that we can amalgamate a myriad of different services within that single building. And again, I would love to see a technical vocational component added to that.”
He also said, “If you recall a few years ago, we built two new high schools in Grand Cayman. We still don’t know what the true value of the final cost was, but I can assure you that project and that school that’s being built, they will come in [per square foot] less than what these two did. So, yes, I support it 100%,” he said.