Strategic Policy Statement sets out the Cayman Government’s Economic Vision

• Amid the mix of perennial, long-term issues and new ideas, Cayman’s Minister of Finance and Economic Development, the Hon. Rolston Anglin, presented the Government’s Strategic Policy Statement (SPS) for 2026–2028 during the First Sitting of the Second Meeting of the 2025-2026 Session of Parliament in October 2025. The SPS outlines the Government’s medium-term fiscal framework and strategic priorities, ensuring that national resources are managed responsibly while delivering programmes that improve the lives of Caymanians.
• The statement includes a combination of physical projects, such as building new roads, with theoretical concepts, like digital transformation. For example, the Submarine Cable Modernisation Project aims to find a long-term solution to Cayman’s dependence on two ageing subsea data cables. By enhancing the “resilience of critical information and communications technology infrastructure”, the project could also enable a key economic diversification aim: “implement digital transformation”.
• Likewise, the National Beach Resilience Plan is an infrastructure project that will support the proposed update to the National Tourism Plan. Other tourist-related concepts that will overlay the infrastructure support include eco-tourism, a focus on the Sister Islands and cultural tourism.
• That said, much of the document repeats long-standing aims that were mentioned in previous administrations’ policy statements. Affordable housing remains a key challenge for this government, just as it did for governments past. One way this administration hopes to help lower-income Caymanians buy houses is by offering government guarantees to make mortgages more accessible. Another measure in the document is to build more affordable housing. Again, this will be underpinned by infrastructure, with multiple real estate experts highlighting the need for the East-West Arterial extension to open up less expensive land for the development of affordable housing. However, environmentalists and government bodies are still in disagreement over the potential route.
• That said, not all of the government’s plans are underpinned by infrastructure. There are many regulatory or conceptual improvements identified in the statement that could have an even greater impact than a new road or cable. These include policies that aim to make external trade more efficient, along with the target of earning qualified jurisdictional status from the US National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
• Looking ahead, according to the SPS, Cayman’s economy is expected to expand by 2.6% in 2025; and to grow by 2.2%, 2.5%, and 2.2% in 2026, 2027, 2028 respectively, supported by financial services, infrastructure and tourism.

(Sources: Cayman Compass & Radio Cayman)