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(CNS): To help the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority navigate the upcoming review by the Financial Action Task Force, it has been given a legal exemption from the new work permit requirements and term limit policy that was recently extended to the public sector. Premier André Ebanks, the financial services minister, said this doesn’t mean that CIMA will be recruiting a swathe of expatriates, as 75% of its employees are Caymanian, but it must attract certain skills as it goes through the fifth round of the FATF review. Speaking during finance committee on Thursday, Ebanks said the timeframe was tight and they might need to find overseas talent to make sure they are “geared up properly” and prepared for this important evaluation. He was challenged by Kenneth Bryan (GTC) from the opposition benches, who suggested that this could undermine the opportunities for Caymanians and “create a culture” that others in public authorities will want to adopt and start circumventing the protections. Ebanks said it was a question of balance and he was certain that locals would not be overlooked. “The monetary authority is not a private organisation. It falls under the remit of the public service, which has an overall policy to hire Caymanians first,” he said. Noting CIMA’s “track record of hiring”, where about three-quarters of the staff are Caymanian, he said there was little danger of locals losing out. The premier said he was more worried about tying salary scales in public authorities to the civil service, which could see well-qualified Caymanians poached by the private sector when the authority really needs to keep its best people. CIMA is now stuck between not being able to compete in the market with the private sector to retain Caymanians while having to deal with international assessments, he explained. Answering questions from independent opposition member Chris Saunders about the Public Authorities Act, which tied the salary scales, the premier said the government needs to look at that legislation and put it in a modern context to enable the public sector to recruit and retain the best local talent. However, the immediate focus is on making sure CIMA has the expertise in place for this next assessment, Ebanks said, noting that the authority was “in a really tough position”. As he justified the employment exemption, he explained that the preferred option is to eventually amend the Public Authorities Act, particularly for government’s profitable entities. The new legislation allows CIMA for to recruit non-Caymanians to senior posts directly without seeking a permit for either existing workers and new hires until December 2028. The authority will still need to advertise the jobs locally and follow all the other rules relating to public sector recruitment, but the goal is to help CIMA have all the expertise in place as soon as possible to prepare and the get through the FATF review. Cabinet approved the amendments to the legislation on 10 September, and they were published in the government’s Gazette on 18 September. However, they will be subject to an annual review to consider if the exemption remains necessary.
