In a surprise visit to a symposium on the regulation of the charity sector on Wednesday, new Premier André Ebanks stressed the importance of non-profit organisations in maintaining Cayman’s economy.
Ebanks, who was sworn in as premier just over a week ago, turned up at the event, organised by the R3 Foundation, and gave an off-the-cuff speech.
He said the NPO sector was “hugely important in Cayman” and performed a valuable service.
“For a country that has mainly an indirect taxation system, a lot of the work and the assistance come from the charitable donations that go into each of your organisations to help and … can’t be replaced without a huge overhaul to the system,” he said.
“That means that you all, by extension, play a critical role in the assistance that our people receive every day.”
Statistics shared at the symposium showed that in 2024, 630 registered non-profit organisations in Cayman had raised $111 million — $107 million of which was spent for charitable purposes.
Ebanks said that charitable fundraising carried some risks — which was why Attorney General Samuel Bulgin also attended the symposium — and it was important that Cayman’s reputation was preserved.
“And that just means we have to be on top of our game, always show and prove to the external world, some of the detractors, that we mean business and that we as a country are a vocal leader in regulation,” he said.
The symposium was designed to help non-profit organisations keep on the right side of increasingly complex rules designed to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.
Ebanks said that an evaluation by watchdog the Financial Action Task Force would “be here before we know it” and that the team was due to arrive in December 2027.
He explained the rules had changed and although previously legislation could be passed “right up until the plane lands”, now it had to be in place six months before the FATF team touched down, which means July 2027 is the deadline for new laws.
“We’re in May 2025,” Ebanks said. “We have to get going now. You are going to have to bear with us, but the fruit of the labour means that we have a stronger, more robust system that can do more good work for our good people.”
Governor Jane Owen, a patron of R3, earlier told attendees that Cayman had “a really great reputation, not just as an international finance centre, but as a well-run economy … one of the UK overseas territories which is sophisticated and competent and efficiently run”.
She added that Cayman had a strong reputation in areas such as maintaining sanctions but still had work to do “to build that out”.
She added that Cayman was lucky to have Ebanks, a former minister of financial services who has retained the role alongside the premiership, at the helm because he understood the sector.
Bulgin said Cayman was regarded as “a low-risk jurisdiction for financial activity” but that vigilance was needed to maintain that position and that “necessary, proportionate and reasonable” measures would continue to be taken to “ensure compliance with international standards”.
He added that, with the charitable sector’s continued support, he was “confident Cayman will remain a global example of responsible government”.
The R3 Foundation was set up in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic with a $1 million donation from the Kenneth B. Dart Foundation and a commitment to match a further $4 million in donations. The three ‘Rs’ stand for readiness, relief and recovery in cases of natural or manmade emergencies and disasters.