London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 23, 2025

Dart helps launch COVID recovery fund

Dart helps launch COVID recovery fund

The Dart group has donated $1 million as the first contribution to a new private-sector coronavirus recovery fund.
The economic toll of the virus and the measures to suppress it are already becoming apparent, with many tourism industry workers laid off.

Business leaders forecast that thousands of jobs will be lost across multiple sectors in the longer term.

Governor Martyn Roper made the announcement of Dart’s donation Saturday on a day when Premier Alden McLaughlin warned that Cayman’s borders may not open until next year.

Roper said Ken Dart had also agreed to a further $4 million in “matching funding” if a similar amount could be raised in the private sector.

“This morning, the premier and I met with Ken Dart and I am very pleased to see that there is a private sector-led effort to create a new national recovery fund,” the governor said.

The fund will have four main purposes:

To support the government in procuring and funding personal protective equipment and other supplies;
To support individuals in distress who have lost income and need financial assistance;
To address immediate economic needs;
To address longer-term economic-development needs.
“This is still at an early stage. We are very pleased that discussions are under way to set up a private sector-led fund,” Roper added.

“This signifies Mr. Dart’s long-term commitment to the Cayman Islands. which in times like this is a hugely valuable asset … We are pleased that the private sector is stepping up at this time,” the governor said.

McLaughlin also backed the fund and Dart’s initial contribution, saying he hoped others would join the effort.

“We are talking about a national recovery fund; it is not a Dart fund,” he said. “Hopefully, we can find other like-minded and other financially capable businesses across the community that will also provide support.”

The fund will be run by a private-sector board, with some representation from government.

The premier said government was also doing what it could to provide support to struggling businesses and employees, while urging work-permit holders who had been laid off to try to return home as soon as possible. Another British Airways flight is planned later this month, and flights to Kingston, Nicaragua, Miami and Toronto are all being discussed, according to the governor.

McLaughlin spelled out the stark reality for the tourism industry at Saturday’s press briefing, saying the borders were unlikely to reopen until a vaccine or on-the-spot testing was available.

Directly addressing businesses owners, he said, “It is unlikely that we will have a tourism industry or tourism business for the rest of this calendar year at least.

“If that has been your focus, you need, as far as possible, to think about how you can repurpose your energy, your assets, your resources, to do something else within the local economy which is not dependent on the influx of visitors.

“The borders are likely to stay closed for many more months.”

He said the only things that could change that dynamic were a vaccine, rapid tests that could be used at border checkpoints to see if visitors were carrying the virus, or antibody tests to check if people had already had the virus and built up immunity.

“Absent any of those three things,” he said, “it is going to be impossible to open the borders and say ‘visitors please come, investors please come’.”

He said if the virus could be contained and eliminated locally, the domestic economy could get back in motion.

The premier said there were lots of construction projects that were already funded that could get back up and running if and when it was safe to do so. But, he said, tourism business would not be back in the short to medium term, and reiterated that foreign workers who had lost jobs would be best advised to go home, and return if and when the industry bounces back.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
US Administration Under President Donald Trump Reportedly Lifts Ban on Ukraine’s Use of Storm Shadow Missiles Against Russia
‘Frightening’ First Night in Prison for Sarkozy: Inmates Riot and Shout ‘Little Nicolas’
White House Announces No Imminent Summit Between Trump and Putin
US and Qatar Warn EU of Trade and Energy Risks from Tough Climate Regulation
Apple Challenges EU Digital Markets Act Crackdown in Landmark Court Battle
Nicolas Sarkozy begins five-year prison term at La Santé in Paris
Japan stocks surge to record as Sanae Takaichi becomes Prime Minister
This Is How the 'Heist of the Century' Was Carried Out at the Louvre in Seven Minutes: France Humiliated as Crown with 2,000 Diamonds Vanishes
China Warns UK of ‘Consequences’ After Delay to London Embassy Approval
France’s Wealthy Shift Billions to Luxembourg and Switzerland Amid Tax and Political Turmoil
"Sniper Position": Observation Post Targeting 'Air Force One' Found Before Trump’s Arrival in Florida
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
×