The National Coalition for Caymanians yesterday announced a raft of new measures focused on cost of living and housing that will launch this year. Speaking in Parliament on Tuesday 23 June, Premier Andre Ebanks revealed plans to provide practical assistance to the people of the Cayman Islands.
Electricity Assistance Programme expansion
The NCFC Government is expanding its summer electricity assistance programme to cover nearly 95% of households across all three islands. The automatic cap at CI $0.18 per kWh hour was initially available to households consuming between 101 and 2,000 kWh per month. Under the new provision, households with energy consumption up to 3,500 kW per month will now be eligible for relief on the first 2,000 kWh.
Working in partnership with Caribbean Utilities Company, Ltd. (CUC) in Grand Cayman and Island Energy in the Sister Islands, the Government is protecting residents from the spike in fuel prices during the hottest months of the year. Prices have already climbed from $0.14 in May to $0.19 in June, with further increases expected in July. The fuel relief discount will appear on residential electricity bills July through October,
“Our electricity assistance programme protects residents from the worst extremes of fluctuating oil prices and alleviates the pressure on family budgets at a time of year when children are home from school and air-conditioners are running on max,” said Ebanks. “We wanted to ensure that multi-generational families living under a single roof, or people with home medical equipment, would be included in the programme.
Customers will receive further information about the programme directly from electricity suppliers.
Summer school programmes
The Ministry of Education is finalising plans to keep government primary schools open throughout July, giving students the option to enroll in education and enrichment programmes for an extra month this summer. The initiative aims to help families save on the costs of camps and childcare during the school holidays, as well as reducing the summer learning dip that often occurs over the long summer break.
In addition to the summer school programme, the Ministry of Sports will also run a range of summer camps giving parents and children more options throughout July and August. To further aid parents, the NCFC government is offering a stipend to bus wardens to provide safe and convenient transportation for young children attending government programmes this summer.
Housing availability and affordability
As follow-up to the National Housing Policy and 10-Year Plan launched by Hon. Johanny Ebanks, Minister of Planning, Lands, Agriculture, Housing and Infrastructure in April, the NCFC government has announced three new initiatives to provide more affordable housing and assist more Caymanians with home ownership.
The housing framework allows the government to accelerate the delivery of affordable housing, commencing with the Apple Blossom redevelopment project in West Bay scheduled to start next month.
The NCFC government is revamping and relaunching the mortgage assistance programme, previously known as GGHAM (Government Guaranteed Home Assistance Mortgage programme). Launching later this year, the new HOME programme (Home Ownership & Mortgage Empowerment) will help lower-income Caymanians and civil servants secure mortgages with zero down-payments, making home ownership more accessible.
Consultation is underway to update the Residential Tenancy Act to bring more clarity and fairness to landlord-tenant relationships which have not been addressed for twenty years.
"We know that cost of living is the number one concern for many Caymanians, and we are taking direct action,” said Ebanks “This is bigger than a single programme, it requires coordination across government ministries. The NCFC government is unified in delivering real, tangible results for Caymanians as we work to improve their lives and build a stronger, fairer Cayman Islands.”