Finance Committee adds CI$45M to budget; surplus seen at CI$26.6M
Legislators approved almost CI$45 million in extra 2026 spending even as the finance minister pointed to a larger-than-forecast year-end surplus.
Public finances led the day. Cayman News Service reports that Finance Committee voted on Thursday to increase 2026 budget expenditures by almost CI$45 million, while Finance Minister Rolston Anglin told members the government is still looking at a much larger year-end surplus than forecast when he delivered the budget, now put at CI$26.6 million.
Among the additions, the Mosquito Research and Control Unit received almost CI$3.7 million for a second new aircraft and larvicide, according to Cayman News Service, which notes the unit is operating two ageing planes, one apparently temporarily grounded, and has depleted larvicide stocks. Separately, the Cayman Compass reports that MRCU said on 8 October that mosquito numbers in the Cayman Islands have fallen, even as other countries in the region contend with higher dengue incidence.
In the public sector, Robert Tatum has been promoted to director of the Central Procurement Office, becoming the first Caymanian to lead it, succeeding the retiring Taraq Bashir, the Cayman Compass reports. The Cayman Islands Monetary Authority has unveiled 2026 circulating coins bearing the image of King Charles III across all four denominations, for release next week. Cayman Marl Road reports the Department of Agriculture will close its government-run rabies vaccination clinic on 1 January 2027, shifting cat and dog vaccinations to accredited private vets.
On regional risk, a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck southern Panama on Friday and posed no tsunami threat to Cayman, per the Compass; Cayman Marl Road put the magnitude at 7.6. Hurricane Isaias, the season's first, is heading towards Alabama and the Florida Panhandle as a Category 3 storm.
Elsewhere, the Breast Cancer Foundation Gala raised more than $400,000 from auctions and raffle sales, with total donations still being tallied, and the Health Services Authority has expanded capacity to manage high-risk pregnancies locally.