Premier André Ebanks has pointed to energy and housing as the two biggest cost burdens that Cayman Islands residents face and has pledged government action on both fronts.
Acknowledging that the island’s inflation rate has roughly doubled from a forecast 2.6% to 5.3%, he said the root causes extend well beyond Cayman’s shores, but steps can be taken locally to alleviate pressure.
“This is a global problem that countries around the world are struggling with,” he told Cayman Independent, attributing much of the pressure to rising international fuel prices.
“If there’s a conflict that somehow increases fuel prices around the world, it’s very difficult, particularly for a small country.”
Referencing data from the Economic and Statistics Office, he noted that while residents feel the pinch of grocery prices, housing and energy represent the heaviest financial burdens.
To address energy prices, he said the islands need to move forward on developing solar facilities.
“We’re on a small Caribbean island under the Caribbean sun. We have to accelerate to solar,” he said.
“The minister responsible, minister Anglin, is now very focused with the full backing of the caucus and the Cabinet to say, we need to resolve the issues between the regulator and the service provider, because the country can no longer afford – we need cheaper electricity.”
He said “deep discussion” between OfReg and CUC is advancing, with an eye toward building out solar capacity and bringing independent solar providers into the fold.
Ebanks also underscored efforts to make homes more energy efficient as a strategy to reduce costs.
This includes plans, announced in April, to relaunch the Cayman Home Energy Efficiency Retrofit, an initiative to subsidise spray-foam insulation in the roofs of homes.
The government has described this as “one of the highest-impact interventions for reducing cooling costs in a tropical climate”.
Ebanks said building codes may also need evaluation to raise energy efficiency standards.
On housing, the premier expressed confidence in the government’s 10-year plan and its ability to alleviate housing anxieties, citing early proof points, including new legislation to protect homeowners from falling into default.
He also flagged upcoming reviews of landlord-tenant rules and building codes, and announced a stakeholder forum called Cayman Forward to reconcile competing demands from developers and environmental groups.
“We need to unpack that,” he said, “and see what’s not working well… What areas need to be preserved for heritage, environmental perspectives and what areas can now diversify.”
