By Alric Lindsay
At the third sitting of the first meeting of the 2024-2025 session of Parliament yesterday, October 10, 2024, Minister of Border Control, Labour and Culture Dwayne Seymour noted that the Cabinet approved supplementary funding of $574,000 for the production and execution of Pirates Week 2024.
Explaining why the supplementary funding was required, Minister Seymour said:
Pirates Week, initiated in 1977, has become a pivotal event of the Cayman Islands cultural and tourism calendar and offers a vibrant celebration of pirate legends and cultural heritage that has historically featured historical reenactments, music, parades, floats, local food, street dances, district celebrations, historical displays, friendly competition, and fireworks.
Since 2022, the management of this festival has existed at the core government level and this year my team in the Ministry of Border Control, Labour and Culture has the pleasure and responsibility of delivering this important national festival.
He added:
Despite Pirates Week being an annual event, budget funds were not transferred to the Ministry of Border Control, Labour, and Culture.
Therefore, members of the team conducted a comprehensive budget exercise and calculated 574,000 would be necessary to deliver Pirates Week 2024 at a standard that is not only high, but will bring back many of the feelings of nostalgia for Pirates Week gone by.
Minister Seymour explained that this amount would cover the following:
- $100,000 for heritage days, cultural demonstrations and historical reenactments that celebrate Caymanian culture and history and historical exhibitions
- $100,000 for entertainment and performances, hiring local international artists and performers, along with firework displays
- $50,000 for event planning vendor contracting a professional event planner vendor to pursue seamless execution of the festival
- $150,000 for infrastructure needs setting up stages, sound equipment, lighting, and necessary infrastructure
- $75,000 for marketing and merchandising needs, promoting the events locally and internationally to attract tourists and ensure high attendance, branded collateral, media buy and production for marketing and merchandise to be sold
- $40,000 for committee member honorariums compensating committee members for the first time an effort in planning and organizing the event
- A built-in contingency of around 12% to buffer any actual costs that do not align with what was budgeted.
Minister Seymour further noted that the additional amounts were allocated to ensure that Pirates Week “is adequately funded and delivered in alignment with Government Strategic Broad Outcome five, which is to protect and promote Caymanian culture, heritage and identity.”
He added: “The Cabinet found it necessary to favourably consider this request for supplementary funding because it agreed that this need facilitated an exceptional circumstance”.
Explaining why this was an exception circumstance under section 11(5) of the Public Management and Finance Act, he explained:
The ministry responsible for culture did not have funding allocated, but it is critical national festival after the most recent Cabinet shuffle reshuffle and we are aware that under the previous ministry, Pirates Week required at least $300,000 to deliver.
In addition to the base expenses, this ministry also did not have the human capital allocated to deliver this event therefore, the addition of a sound committee structure, that is a steering committee to govern strategy and integrated planning committee to action decisions and plan the actual events, and use of an event management vendor to ensure operational delivery have contributed to an increased amount required to deliver this event at the highest level.
He added:
Hence the reason we decided, and from some of the information that we know, both myself and the minister of heritage, especially in the, the district days, that was really underfunded and the districts always suffered to try to pull off a good event, and it was almost like persons were just going to the districts for food.
In conclusion, Mister speaker, it is evident that this request for supplementary funding was necessary in order to deliver a national festival that not only boosts the economy, but boost tourism while fostering local pride and community spirit.
None of the members of Parliament raised any questions about Minister Seymour’s explanation of the exceptional circumstance.
Additionally, none of the members of Parliament queried the effect of authorising the additional $574,000 on compliance with the principles of responsible financial management under the Public Management and Finance Act (this statement must be made in Parliament by a member of the Cabinet, i.e., a minister explaining the exceptional circumstance).
Note to readers:
An “exceptional circumstance” under section 11(5) of the Public Management and Finance Act means an event which occurs during a financial year and which:
(a) is beyond the control of the Cabinet;
(b) could not have been reasonably anticipated at the time of enactment of the Appropriation Law for that financial year;
(c) has an economic or social impact that is significant enough to necessitate executive financial transactions different from those planned for that financial year; and
(d) requires the executive financial transactions to be entered into in a timescale that makes compliance with the procedure established by section 12 impractical
The Public Management and Finance Act adds:
(6) Where the Cabinet has authorised executive financial transactions in accordance with subsection (5):
(a) a member of the Cabinet appointed by the Cabinet to do so on its behalf shall, at the next sitting of the Parliament after the exceptional circumstance has occurred, make a statement to the Parliament advising of:
(i) the exceptional circumstance, its nature, and how it complies with the definition of the term “exceptional circumstance” set out in section 2;
(ii) the type and amount of the executive financial transactions authorised or likely to be authorised; and
(iii) the effect of the authorisations, or likely authorisations on compliance with the principles of responsible financial management specified in section 14; and
(b) the authorised executive financial transactions are to be included in a supplementary Appropriation Bill introduced in the Parliament by the 31st day of March following the financial year to which those transactions relate.
