Immediate Past President, Kyle Broadhurst conducted his final duties as head of the Chamber Council last month, as he unveiled the Advocacy Agenda & Action Plan at the 2018 Legislative Luncheon.
The Plan had been disseminated amongst elected government officials and Chamber members prior to the luncheon, but this was the first time the document had been presented to the wider public.
Just under 300 representatives from Chamber businesses and the government attended the Legislative Luncheon to hear Mr. Broadhurst deliver the Chamber’s annual address. This year’s Luncheon was held at the Kimpton Seafire Resort & Spa, and the hotel has been a member of the Chamber since 2016.
Mr. Broadhurst opened his address with a brief overview of 2017, before segueing into the Chamber’s Advocacy Agenda & Action Plan. He noted how the Plan is a ‘living document that can be adapted in accordance with arising issues within the community,’ and highlighted the plan’s four key areas: Education, Employment & Workforce Development; Economic Growth & Diversification; Regulatory Efficiencies; and Community Development.
The Advocacy Plan complements the recent two-year budget and Strategic Policy Statements released by the government, with Mr. Broadhurst saying: “Many of the goals are similar, and I believe that, by working together, we can achieve these goals successfully.”
Mr. Broadhurst noted that both the Chamber and the government are in favour of growing our economy further, and called on the government to establish a proper Economic Development Plan, one that will ‘allow us to collectively tackle the issues we face.’
He then addressed the hot-topic issue of Education and Workforce Development, stating that ‘an educated and skilled workforce is an asset that benefits us all.’ He further urged the government, and wider community, to approach these issues by ‘working from facts’ and setting achievable goals.
“There is a tendency when this topic arises for a great deal of anecdotal evidence to be relied upon,” he said. “While it cannot be ignored, we cannot be making critical decisions based on such evidence. If we do, we end up simply creating new problems.”
A key theme of Mr. Broadhurst’s speech was collaboration. He noted that the Chamber will collaborate with the RCIPS to help introduce initiatives to curb the rise in crime, with the wider community to introduce Neighbourhood watch initiatives and encourage volunteer clean-up teams for Earth Day, and the private sector to introduce initiatives that will boost education and the small business sector.
Click here to read Past President Broadhurst’s speech in full.
Premier Hon. Alden McLaughlin delivered an address shortly after Mr. Broadhurst, in which he talked about the government’s goals for the foreseeable future. Premier McLaughlin’s address can be read here in its entirety.
Chris Duggan, Vice President of Community Development for Dart, also delivered a presentation at the Luncheon. Mr. Duggan talked about Dart’s future initiatives and plans for the future, and also showed a short video highlighting these projects in further detail.
Photos from the Luncheon can be found on our Facebook page.
The Chamber would like to thank Mr. Kyle Broadhurst for his services as Chamber President, Premier McLaughlin and all attending government officials for taking the time out of their busy schedules to join us, and to Dart for serving as our VIP partner.
The Chamber would also like to thank our other corporate partners, including:
• Butterfield
• Cayman Enterprise City
• Cayman Immigration Consultant Services Ltd.
• Chris Johnson Associates
• Deloitte
• EY Cayman
• KPMG
• Pinnacle Media
• PwC
• Appleby
• Bodden Holdings
• Caribbean Utilities Company
• Cayman Turtle Centre
• Davenport Development
• Eisner Amper
• Maples and Calder
• Mourant Ozannes
• MUFG
• Rawlinson & Hunter
• Walkers