The Cutting Red Tape rollout photo shoot was attended by (l-r): Acting Chief Officer and Financial Secretary Matthew Tibbetts; Acting Solicitor General Dawn Lewis; Ministry of Education, Youth, Sports, Agriculture and Lands Chief Officer Christen Suckoo; Minister for Commerce, Planning and Infrastructure, Hon. Joseph Hew; His Excellency, Acting Governor Mr. Franz Manderson; Ministry of Human Resources and Immigration Acting Chief Officer Michael Ebanks, Acting Chief Officer, Ministry of Commerce, Planning and Infrastructure Tamara Ebanks and Chief Officer, Ministry of Health, Environment, Culture and Housing Jennifer Ahearn.
The Cayman Islands Government is pleased to announce a raft of measures, recently implemented by the Civil Service, to address the Unity Government’s commitment to cut red tape and to further the priorities of the 5-Year Strategic Plan.
Listed among the initiatives are:
- the Immigration Department enabling customers into the Immigration Hall at 7.30 a.m. (an hour earlier than before), to facilitate earlier processing of customers and provide a more comfortable waiting environment;
- the Department of Agriculture enabling the public to anonymously submit complaints about animal welfare matters;
- the Passport Office removing the requirement for USA waiver applicants to appear in person to apply for and collect their documents;
- the Ministry of Community Affairs extending signing authority for ex-gratia benefit letters to personnel other than the Chief Officer and the Deputy Chief Officer; and
- the Customs Department eliminating Customs Declarations for air passengers, except for those with items to declare and those who have been referred for secondary screening.
The initiatives were devised by ministries and departments to align with:
- the Unity Government’s commitment, outlined in the Strategic Policy Statement 2018, to deliver enhanced customer experiences, greater efficiency and responsiveness across the service; and
- the broad policy objectives of the 5-Year Strategic Plan for a World-Class Civil Service to better serve the community.
Of this first set of 15 measures, 12 deal exclusively with the speeding up and simplification of the Civil Service’s transactions with the general public. Two of the initiatives focus on reducing red tape for internal stakeholders, while one seeks to cut red tape for both the public and internal customers. Those initiatives, which are internally focused, will help to provide the framework required for better service to the public. This is in addition to several red tape cutting measures to the Trade and Business Licensing Law already announced in June by Minister for Commerce, Planning and Infrastructure, Hon. Joseph Hew.
Acting Deputy Governor, Hon. Gloria McField-Nixon welcomed the reforms. As part of the initiative, the Office of the Deputy Governor has eliminated the need for persons applying for British Overseas Territories citizen naturalisation to produce Police Clearance Certification and Travel Logs from Immigration, which are now processed internally. This will not only save applicants money but will cut out two visits to two different departments.
“By cutting unnecessary red-tape we are demonstrating, in a very real and tangible way, that the Civil Service is serious about improving customer service and the experience of all those who interact with us,” she said. These measures and others to come will move us further towards our overall goal of creating a world-class Civil Service.”
“These measures show that the Unity Government is serious about providing the public with more streamlined processes and reduced waiting times in their interactions with the Civil Service,” said Premier Hon. Alden McLaughlin. “All the initiatives clearly show that we are continuing to make good on our election pledges with the able assistance of the Civil Service.”
For a full list of all the cutting red tape measures visit the Office of the Deputy Governor’s website www.odg.gov.ky.