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UK Government
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
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We support the security and good governance of the Cayman Islands as part of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s global network.
https://www.gov.uk/world/cayman-islands/news
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Our mission
We support the security and good governance of the Cayman Islands as part of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s global network.
https://www.gov.uk/world/cayman-islands/news
2016 08 05 UK Gov FCO Matthew Forbes joins the Governor's Office team
Matthew Forbes leads the Governor's team in the role of Head of the Governor's Office.
From: Governor's Office Grand Cayman
Matthew Forbes
The new Head of the Governor’s Office is a seasoned diplomat with nearly three decades of experience working for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office around the world.
Matthew Forbes, who has served in senior positions in Africa and Asia, also brings experience in crisis response and internal audit to his new role managing the operations of the Crown’s representative in the Cayman Islands.
The Governor presides over meetings of Cabinet, and is responsible for the civil service, defence and international relations. Other responsibilities include semi-consular duties for British citizens in the Cayman Islands.
Matthew Forbes leads the Governor's team in the role of Head of the Governor's Office.
From: Governor's Office Grand Cayman
Matthew Forbes
The new Head of the Governor’s Office is a seasoned diplomat with nearly three decades of experience working for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office around the world.
Matthew Forbes, who has served in senior positions in Africa and Asia, also brings experience in crisis response and internal audit to his new role managing the operations of the Crown’s representative in the Cayman Islands.
The Governor presides over meetings of Cabinet, and is responsible for the civil service, defence and international relations. Other responsibilities include semi-consular duties for British citizens in the Cayman Islands.
2018 06 25 CNS Governor Choudhury’s removal ‘not political’
As salacious allegations that Cayman Islands Governor Anwar Choudhury was removed because of bullying and asking a staff member for a shirtless back massage appear in the British tabloid press, CNS has learned that there are no political reasons behind the new UK representative being called back to London.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has refused to reveal any of the details of the investigation into complaints made about the governor and has said that it is unfair to both Choudhury and the complainants to reveal the details until the inquiry is completed, regardless of public interest.
However, CNS has learned that complaints have been made about Choudhury going back as far as 2010 relating to potential bullying.
The unconfirmed reports published in the Mail on Sunday suggest that the reason for Choudury’s removal are largely confined to complaints made about his conduct with staff and his own family members at Government House, though there are indications that complaints were made by office staff as well.
As salacious allegations that Cayman Islands Governor Anwar Choudhury was removed because of bullying and asking a staff member for a shirtless back massage appear in the British tabloid press, CNS has learned that there are no political reasons behind the new UK representative being called back to London.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has refused to reveal any of the details of the investigation into complaints made about the governor and has said that it is unfair to both Choudhury and the complainants to reveal the details until the inquiry is completed, regardless of public interest.
However, CNS has learned that complaints have been made about Choudhury going back as far as 2010 relating to potential bullying.
The unconfirmed reports published in the Mail on Sunday suggest that the reason for Choudury’s removal are largely confined to complaints made about his conduct with staff and his own family members at Government House, though there are indications that complaints were made by office staff as well.
2018 07 29 Compass Opposition questions ‘fairness’ of Gov. Choudhury investigation
Cayman Islands Opposition Leader Ezzard Miller has questioned whether the public spokesperson in the investigation of withdrawn Governor Anwar Choudhury – Head of the Governor’s Office Matthew Forbes – is the same person who filed complaints against the absent governor.
The issue, raised in a July 27 memo to Acting Governor Franz Manderson, is one that many in the Cayman public service have raised privately since the Cayman Compass reported that staff complaints had been filed with the U.K. Foreign and Commonwealth Office against Mr. Choudury, causing him to be “temporarily withdrawn” after just two-and-a-half months in office.
RELATED STORY: Memorandum from Opposition Leader Ezzard Miller
In his July 27 memo to Mr. Manderson, Mr. Miller notes that an attempt by the acting governor and Mr. Forbes to quell community concerns via a “letter to the editor” to local media outlets sent on July 26 had done the opposite.
“If indeed the ‘Head of the Governor’s Office’ is also the chief complainer, the signing of the [July 26] letter would amount to a one-upmanship over [Mr. Choudhury] that would all but concede that the complainer was justified,” Mr. Miller wrote. “This would fly in the face of your letter’s assertion that the foreign and commonwealth office was committed to an ‘investigation … that is fair to all.’”
“In the larger picture, this whole spectacle, as underscored in your letter, creates further alienation in U.K./Cayman relations and trust.”
Governor Choudhury, who arrived in Cayman to much fanfare on March 26 as the British Overseas Territory’s first Muslim governor and first non-British born governor, made an early impact in his term.
During an interview with the Cayman Compass the week before he was temporarily withdrawn, he spoke of his desire to assist Cayman in its dispute with the U.K. over the Mother Country’s intention to force a public register of company ownership onto its territory. Mr. Choudhury also spoke openly of his plans to change the Cayman civil service, making it more responsive and less bogged down in bureaucratic paperwork.
Mr. Miller also sent a letter dated July 27 to Lord Tariq Ahmad, the British Overseas Territories Minister, which noted his concerns about the reverberations caused by Mr. Choudhury’s sudden and unexplained removal.
“Those community concerns have been heightened by Mr. Choudhury’s popularity across all strata of the population, who had experienced the new governor as a breath of fresh air offering hope for much needed change.”
Mr. Miller’s memo to Mr. Manderson also questioned the leadership role apparently assigned to Mr. Forbes in this investigation, who Mr. Miller referred to as a “junior officer” within the governor’s staff.
It was strange, in Mr. Miller’s view, for Mr. Forbes to be co-signing a letter to the editor to news outlets, given apparently equal footing with Mr. Manderson, the territory’s highest-ranking civil servant.
“It is entirely inappropriate for a junior officer to be commenting on the roles and continued service of the acting governor, who is the ultimate head of all officers in the civil service, including all staff in the governor’s office,” Mr. Miller wrote. “It was my understanding that the governor was head of the governor’s office.”
The issue is one that has troubled previous gubernatorial administrations in Cayman, although perhaps not so publicly as in the present circumstances surrounding Mr. Choudhury. The governor is appointed by Her Majesty, the Queen of England and is paid by the Cayman Islands government coffers.
The head of the Governor’s Office, often referred to as the governor’s chief of staff, is an employee of the U.K. foreign office and is paid by Her Majesty’s government.
Aside from any issues about who is in charge at government house, Mr. Miller also alleged that the July 26 letter to the editor sent to the local media offered a “misleading palliative” to the public, which remains highly concerned over how this investigation is proceeding.
“The public interest is not served by issuing empty statements,” he wrote.
Cayman Islands Opposition Leader Ezzard Miller has questioned whether the public spokesperson in the investigation of withdrawn Governor Anwar Choudhury – Head of the Governor’s Office Matthew Forbes – is the same person who filed complaints against the absent governor.
The issue, raised in a July 27 memo to Acting Governor Franz Manderson, is one that many in the Cayman public service have raised privately since the Cayman Compass reported that staff complaints had been filed with the U.K. Foreign and Commonwealth Office against Mr. Choudury, causing him to be “temporarily withdrawn” after just two-and-a-half months in office.
RELATED STORY: Memorandum from Opposition Leader Ezzard Miller
In his July 27 memo to Mr. Manderson, Mr. Miller notes that an attempt by the acting governor and Mr. Forbes to quell community concerns via a “letter to the editor” to local media outlets sent on July 26 had done the opposite.
“If indeed the ‘Head of the Governor’s Office’ is also the chief complainer, the signing of the [July 26] letter would amount to a one-upmanship over [Mr. Choudhury] that would all but concede that the complainer was justified,” Mr. Miller wrote. “This would fly in the face of your letter’s assertion that the foreign and commonwealth office was committed to an ‘investigation … that is fair to all.’”
“In the larger picture, this whole spectacle, as underscored in your letter, creates further alienation in U.K./Cayman relations and trust.”
Governor Choudhury, who arrived in Cayman to much fanfare on March 26 as the British Overseas Territory’s first Muslim governor and first non-British born governor, made an early impact in his term.
During an interview with the Cayman Compass the week before he was temporarily withdrawn, he spoke of his desire to assist Cayman in its dispute with the U.K. over the Mother Country’s intention to force a public register of company ownership onto its territory. Mr. Choudhury also spoke openly of his plans to change the Cayman civil service, making it more responsive and less bogged down in bureaucratic paperwork.
Mr. Miller also sent a letter dated July 27 to Lord Tariq Ahmad, the British Overseas Territories Minister, which noted his concerns about the reverberations caused by Mr. Choudhury’s sudden and unexplained removal.
“Those community concerns have been heightened by Mr. Choudhury’s popularity across all strata of the population, who had experienced the new governor as a breath of fresh air offering hope for much needed change.”
Mr. Miller’s memo to Mr. Manderson also questioned the leadership role apparently assigned to Mr. Forbes in this investigation, who Mr. Miller referred to as a “junior officer” within the governor’s staff.
It was strange, in Mr. Miller’s view, for Mr. Forbes to be co-signing a letter to the editor to news outlets, given apparently equal footing with Mr. Manderson, the territory’s highest-ranking civil servant.
“It is entirely inappropriate for a junior officer to be commenting on the roles and continued service of the acting governor, who is the ultimate head of all officers in the civil service, including all staff in the governor’s office,” Mr. Miller wrote. “It was my understanding that the governor was head of the governor’s office.”
The issue is one that has troubled previous gubernatorial administrations in Cayman, although perhaps not so publicly as in the present circumstances surrounding Mr. Choudhury. The governor is appointed by Her Majesty, the Queen of England and is paid by the Cayman Islands government coffers.
The head of the Governor’s Office, often referred to as the governor’s chief of staff, is an employee of the U.K. foreign office and is paid by Her Majesty’s government.
Aside from any issues about who is in charge at government house, Mr. Miller also alleged that the July 26 letter to the editor sent to the local media offered a “misleading palliative” to the public, which remains highly concerned over how this investigation is proceeding.
“The public interest is not served by issuing empty statements,” he wrote.
2018 08 09 Compass Government begins cutting red tape
Minister Joey Hew and Acting Governor Franz Manderson and other government officials lined up to shred paperwork as part of the ‘Cutting Red Tape’ initiative.
Cayman Islands Governor Anwar Choudhury may be gone, but his pledge to “burn or shred” pieces of government bureaucracy has not been forgotten.
Government officials announced Thursday that 15 different areas of the public sector’s burgeoning red tape had been snipped away, affecting government operations in the areas of immigration, land registries, public prosecutions, customs and animal welfare, among others.
In early June, Mr. Choudhury told the Cayman Compass during an interview that government intended to start reducing areas where they had identified bureaucracy occurring for no particular reason.
“Everywhere I look, I see unnecessary bureaucracy that ties up the civil service … and delivers nothing but frustration for the customer,” Mr. Choudhury said at the time. “You sometimes wonder why people are working so hard, and the outcome doesn’t match up.”
Minister Joey Hew and Acting Governor Franz Manderson and other government officials lined up to shred paperwork as part of the ‘Cutting Red Tape’ initiative.
Cayman Islands Governor Anwar Choudhury may be gone, but his pledge to “burn or shred” pieces of government bureaucracy has not been forgotten.
Government officials announced Thursday that 15 different areas of the public sector’s burgeoning red tape had been snipped away, affecting government operations in the areas of immigration, land registries, public prosecutions, customs and animal welfare, among others.
In early June, Mr. Choudhury told the Cayman Compass during an interview that government intended to start reducing areas where they had identified bureaucracy occurring for no particular reason.
“Everywhere I look, I see unnecessary bureaucracy that ties up the civil service … and delivers nothing but frustration for the customer,” Mr. Choudhury said at the time. “You sometimes wonder why people are working so hard, and the outcome doesn’t match up.”