Finance Committee in the Cayman Islands Parliament on Thursday, 8 October approved CI$44,945,598 in supplementary appropriations for the 2026 financial year, with most of the additional funding directed to healthcare, financial assistance, and ex-gratia benefits for seafarers and veterans.
The approvals comprise CI$43,345,598 in operating expenditure and a CI$1.6 million equity investment in the Cayman Turtle Conservation and Education Centre Ltd.
Finance Committee's approval allows the relevant 2026 budgets to be increased so that additional expenditure may be incurred; it does not mean the full amounts have already been spent.
Minister for Finance and Economic Development and Chairman of Finance Committee, Hon. Rolston Anglin, JP, MP, said the requests respond to immediate needs while preserving fiscal discipline.
"The supplementary appropriation requests before you reflect the needs of our community and the Government's commitment to responsibly address emerging pressures while maintaining compliance with the Framework for Fiscal Responsibility," Minister Anglin told the Committee.
Healthcare and Community Support
Healthcare accounted for CI$27.1 million of the approvals. This includes funding for geriatric services, medical care for uninsured and underinsured patients, treatment for chronic illnesses, and tertiary care at local and overseas institutions.
Responding to questions about the health appropriations, Minister for Health, Environment and Sustainability, Hon. Katherine Ebanks-Wilks, MP, said: "These services are inherently episodic in nature and they're delivered based on specific, often urgent episodes of critical healthcare needs. So, predicting the exact volume and timing of required care is inherently challenging."
She said Government is also strengthening preventative care, including adoption of the World Health Organization’s HEARTS cardiovascular health programme, to help reduce acute cases and longer-term costs.
A further CI$13.325 million was approved for financial assistance and ex-gratia benefits for seafarers and veterans.
Responding to questions about the additional financial-assistance funding, Minister for Social Development and Innovation, Hon. Isaac Rankine, JP, MP, said the increase "relates mainly to the increased cost of rent, food and utilities."
He added that a comprehensive review of Department of Financial Assistance (DFA) services is being finalised and Government expects to update Parliament at its next meeting.
Finance Committee also approved financial support for youth, sports, culture and heritage programmes; preparations for the Cayman Islands' Fifth Round Mutual Evaluation by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force; and the settlement of a Government liability arising from a Grand Court judgment.
On preparations for the Cayman Islands' Fifth Round Mutual Evaluation by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF), Premier and Minister for Financial Services and Commerce, Hon. André M. Ebanks, MP, stressed the importance of a coordinated national approach. "There's no way in which we can accomplish this if we don't tackle it as a country. It's a national exercise," the Premier said. "It takes all of us."
Government Finances Remain Strong
Minister Anglin reported that the Cayman Islands Government’s unaudited results to 31 August 2026 showed a Core Government surplus of CI$175.3 million for the first eight months of the year. This was CI$31.1 million, or 21.6 per cent, higher than the CI$144.2 million surplus recorded for the same period in 2025.
The August 2026 reforecast projects that:
Minister Anglin emphasised the need to carefully balance supplementary expenditure while using available Government resources to support the community’s most vulnerable.
Responding to a question from Hon. Juliana O’Connor-Connolly JP, MP (Cayman Brac East) about increasing the financial-assistance threshold, he said: “As we monitor all expenditure and the overall fiscal envelope … everything has to be balanced … so that we can be prudent.”
Approved Supplementary Appropriations
Following is a full list of supplementary expenditure approved by Finance Committee:
Ref | Appropriation | Approved |
|---|---|---|
OE 105 | Settlement of Claims | CI$651,238 |
FSC 39 | Combatting Illicit Finance | CI$1,200,000 |
TP 41 | Financial Assistance | CI$9,500,000 |
TP 47 | Ex-Gratia Benefits for Seafarers and Veterans | CI$3,825,000 |
YSC 5 | Celebrate Cayman | CI$425,000 |
TP 107 | Youth, Sports, Culture and Heritage Programmes | CI$644,360 |
EI 49 | Cayman Turtle Conservation and Education Centre Ltd | CI$1,600,000 |
HEA 16 | Geriatric Services | CI$6,000,000 |
HEA 17 | Medical Care Beyond Insurance Coverage or Uninsured | CI$900,000 |
HEA 19 | Medical Care for Chronic Ailments | CI$2,700,000 |
NGS 55 | Tertiary Medical Care at Local and Overseas Institutions | CI$17,500,000 |
| Total | CI$44,945,598 |
Next Steps
The approved items will form part of a Supplementary Appropriation Bill for the 2026 financial year. In accordance with the Public Management and Finance Act, the Bill must be introduced in Parliament no later than 31 March 2027.
To view the full Finance Committee proceedings in Parliament, visit: Finance Committee | 8 October 2026