(CNS): Finance Minister Rolston Anglin has said the NCFC government plans to take on some of Cayman’s biggest companies in order to stop the emergence of unfair practices and sector monopolies. This includes the fuel importers, which control prices all the way to the pumps, and the Dart Group, the Cayman Islands’ biggest landowner, which he accused of having a virtual monopoly over the hotel sector, given how many it now owns.
During a recent parliamentary debate on a private member’s motion presented by opposition MP Roy McTaggart (GTE), which called on the government to reduce fuel duties. The motion was accepted, as the government had already announced plans to address the spike in oil prices caused by the war in the Middle East.
Anglin took aim at the fuel companies, saying they were playing a “shell game” by selling to each other. They had also been allowed to own the gas stations, he said, and accused them of price manipulation.
“We cannot continue to have this happen in the country. And so, I can say to the fuel suppliers, it’s a new sheriff in town. Price arbitrage is going to be deemed illegal. We are going to put heavy fines in place, potentially even imprisonment if I had my way, for that sort of behaviour,” the minister warned.
But as the debate focused on broader concerns about the rising cost of living, which is making this jurisdiction prohibitively expensive for ordinary working families, Anglin said the government was going much further than just targeting fuel companies. He said there was a pressing need for antitrust laws to deal with all non-competitive problems in Cayman’s economy, including Dart and its web of companies.
“Let me be very, very clear: if there’s anyone in this parliament that is not going to be willing to take on the Dart Group, you should resign,” the minister told his colleagues. “They own all the hotels in this country. We cannot allow it to continue. No one company or group should be able to own an entire industry.”
He said it was wrong to allow any company to be so dominant in a sector “that you effectively have a monopoly”.
Within its huge property portfolio, Dart owns and operates four major hotels along the Seven Mile Beach corridor, including the Ritz-Carlton, the Kimpton, the Indigo and the Hampton Hilton. It also owns the former Hyatt property, which is currently leased to the operators of Palm Heights. Dart also owns condo complexes and a number of bars and restaurants, all operating in the stay-over tourism sector.
On the Sister Islands, the Group owns Le Soleil d’Or on Cayman Brac and Paradise Villas on Little Cayman, with more hotels planned, including a possible Four Seasons on land it recently began clearing on a stretch of the old West Bay Road.
Anglin made it clear he believed it was time to draft and implement antitrust legislation. “We have to be real in this country and stop behaving and acting as though we’re this small little parliament,” he said.
“We have all the tools and evidence to behave responsibly and legislate for the future… When you have single entities being… either able to own an industry from cradle to grave or be so dominant that you effectively have a monopoly, you have left an economy that is not worth the paper that we produce reports about.”
Anglins said the parliament had to make changes now. “I am imploring colleagues, this is a term that we are going to ensure that we structurally correct the inefficiencies and dangers in our economy. If there’s anyone that doesn’t like that, as far as I am concerned, they don’t like the Cayman Islands.
“Let me repeat: if there’s anyone or any entity that doesn’t like that, then they don’t like the Cayman Islands… We must do what we know is right,” he added.
