Research Paper on Live Fulfilling: Not a Guarantee Despite Basic Needs Like Housing

Introduction

The desire of every individual is undeniably to live a fulfilling lifestyle. However, in as much as most people, if not all, are burdened with the craving to live a satisfying life, it is not always a guarantee. Nature, in its way, is equipped with the knack to balance the society between the poor and the rich. Appropriate housing, for instance, is more of a basic need for all people. However, despite the verity that suitable housing ought to be a basic need that is not the case on the Cayman Islands for the poor and indigent, especially those depending on the Cayman Islands Needs Assessment Unit (NAU). Therefore, it is an inevitable and pivotal prerequisite for the United Kingdom government to act and solve the inadequate housing crisis on the Cayman Islands.

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Notably, the Cayman Islands are essentially an independent British overseas territory located on the Western Caribbean Sea. The islands are spread across a geographical land area covering approximately 102 square miles or 264 square kilometers ("Housing Trouble Rolls on for NAU - Cayman Islands Headline News," 2019). Also, the Islands are comprised of the Little Cayman, Cayman Brac and Grand Cayman with Georgia Town located on Grand Cayman as the capital. Also, the Cayman Islands are widely regarded to be the prime global offshore financial haven for conducting international businesses as well as home to mostly the wealthy. However, the islands are also home to the poor and the indigent who are the ones primarily plunged into the inadequate housing crisis.

Executive Summary

The paper is principally a policy paper whose focal point is the analysis of inadequate housing for the poor and indigent individuals on the Cayman Islands and like territories. The analysis scope of the paper is, however, spread across several vital elements for vivid understanding necessary for finding lasting solutions to the housing crisis. For instance, the body of the paper provides an in-depth explanation of the background of the crisis as well as the nature of the crisis. Other significant elements of the policy paper include critical consultation options, the financial implications, the legislative implications, human rights considerations, gender implications, disability perspective, and the relevant recommendations.

Background to Cayman's Islands Inadequate Housing Crisis

The Cayman Islands hold a positive global reputation of being very successful as well as being famed for its offshore financial center. Also, the islands are famous internationally for their vast array of popular tourist attractions, particularly its beaches. However, in recent years the Islands' main economic force of tourism has been substituted by the construction industry. For example, in the year 2016, Cayman's construction industry grew by a record-high 7.9% followed by a 7.2% expansion in 2017 and a massive 8.5% in the first quarter of the 2018 fiscal year ("Gov't to Take on Housing Challenge - Cayman Islands Headline News," 2019). Therefore, recording a more than double fast pace of growth than the economy in its entirety.

However, despite Cayman's booming construction industry, the resultant effect is inadequate housing for the poor and the indigent. The rapidly growing and demand for residential properties has inflated rental prices making housing unaffordable to the economically challenged. Primarily, rents have soared very high, which, when coupled with property developers, mainly concentrating on the construction of luxury condos, has made several working Caymanians lacking the ability to purchase homes. Hence, the poor and those dependent on the Cayman Islands Needs Assessment Unit (NAU), as well as the army of supporting ex-pat workers, are overwhelmed with getting decent living locations since rents have skyrocketed ("Gov't to Take on Housing Challenge - Cayman Islands Headline News," 2019).

According to Premier Alden McLaughlin, the inadequate housing crisis is even being worsened by landlords who are not willing to corporate with the Needs Assessment Unit (NAU) ("Housing Trouble Rolls on for NAU - Cayman Islands Headline News," 2019). The premier who is in charge of the community affairs and the social welfare provision for individuals in need has therefore been urging landlords to work and corporate with the Needs Assessment Unit in an attempt to find a solution to the inadequate housing problem. The housing crisis has essentially run out of control since its impacts are being felt across the entirety of the community. Most of the landlords have much preference for online renting to visitors through platforms such as the Airbnb than renting to the local people (Hoffman et al., 2015). The problem seems to be far from over since more work permits are being issued, and more visitors are settling on the islands, therefore, maintaining rent on an upward trajectory and causing a disastrous shortage in the number of available rental units.

Nonetheless, developers are still focused on putting up more luxury properties. The rigid move by these developers of only aiming at the luxury end of the market is making the crisis even much worse. However, the Needs Assessment Unit is equally a party in the crisis of inadequate housing for the poor and the indigent. NAU has a relatively spoilt image of delayed payments, which has demoralized several landlords from fostering mutual partnership and corporation with the government agency. However, in the attempt to restore its commitment to solving the housing shortage problem, NAU, through the chief officer of the community affairs ministry at the Finance Committee, underscored the unit's resolution to use a new direct payment system (Hoffman et al., 2015). The system will be connected to the banks, and every landlord that is connected to the system will be receiving his or her payments early enough.

The Ministry of Community Affairs (MoCA), the Needs Assessment Unit (NAU) and the Department of Children and Family Services jointly continue to work together in providing support and vital assistance identifying alternative accommodation for the poor and indigent ("Gov't to Take on Housing Challenge - Cayman Islands Headline News," 2019). Remarkably, these agencies are not relenting to find a lasting solution despite the tendency of some occupants refusing to relocate. Though the process in itself is very protracted and sensitive, the NAU pays adequate attention to open consultation with clients to ensure maximum care is provided. The consideration of open consultation has yielded concerted and constant attempts of finding as well as securing better accommodation for the poor, needy, and authorized occupants. Therefore, the NAU is committed mainly to finding lasting solutions to the urgent housing crisis of dependents including supporting the poor and the indigent in relocation by seeking accommodation for them as well as paying their rent ("Housing Trouble Rolls on for NAU - Cayman Islands Headline News," 2019).

Consultation

The endeavor to resolve Cayman's inadequate housing problem demands the joining of hands by several stakeholders and agencies since the problem is communal and not affecting a specific group. Hence, in the solution-seeking process, several departments, stakeholders, and agencies ought to be approached for consultations. For example, the Needs Assessment Union (NAU) is one prime government agency that ought to be consulted since it has relatively adequate and relevant information pertaining the causes as well as some of the possible solutions to the inadequate housing for the poor and the indigent ("Cayman Islands - Construction, Development, Planning & Property," n.d.).

The Department of Children and Family Services is another pivotal body equipped with relevant information regarding the housing crisis in the islands. The DCFS stores an extensive database about families such as socioeconomic status, composition among other vital information ("Housing Trouble Rolls on for NAU - Cayman Islands Headline News," 2019). Hence, an attempt to solve the housing crisis needs to approach the DCFS for critical data about family patterns, composition, among other essential informational prerequisites. The Ministry of Community Affairs (MoCA) is another fundamental consultation body that will provide relevant logistics and ideas in tackling the housing crisis on the islands.

Financial Implications

As summarily stated above, the Cayman Islands is characterized by a booming construction industry that is, however, more inclined towards the development of luxury properties. Therefore, there is a surety of high financial implications by the government in its attempt to solve the crisis due to high land prices and residential prices.

Legislative Implications

To solve the crisis, the policy paper suggests the government come up with pertinent legislative rules. The government can, for instance, create laws that will lower homeownership to the reach of more families. Such laws, for example, include government push to constantly review the stamp duty concession and where necessary increase the duty. The government should as well reinvigorate the Government Guaranteed Home Assisted Mortgage Program that will enable several poor and indigent families to have the capacity to own a home ("Cayman Islands - Construction, Development, Planning & Property," n.d.). The program will provide banks with the guarantee of the government acting as security of approximately 35% of the loans they give to aspiring home buyers ("Housing Trouble Rolls on for NAU - Cayman Islands Headline News," 2019).

Human Rights and Gender Implications

The government, in its move to resolve the crisis, should respect the rule of law by safeguarding the rights of all people. Cayman's landlords, of whom a majority prefer renting to the visitors rather than the locals that are substantially increasing the cost of living while lowering wages, need to be protected by the government. Though the landlords are a primary causal force in the housing problem, however, the government ought to respect their rights when implementing new housing laws to avoid any aspect of abuse of power or discriminatory and pugnacious tendencies.

The government through its various departments and agencies, such as NAU and DCFS when dealing with a client should, remain committed to prioritizing the welfare and rights of the clients; that is poor and indigent; the people depending on the Cayman Islands Needs Assessment Unit (NAU) (Hoffman et al., 2015). Therefore, the prioritization of the welfare and the rights of clients will involve gender equality and respect for the privacy of the clients all through the process to protect their confidentiality.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Cayman Islands' inadequate housing for the poor and indigent is not a permanent situation rather very much reversible. However, to reverse the crisis, different stakeholders led by the government and landlords need to work jointly to come up with an amicable solution. The failure to find lasting solutions will imply that several families will be pushed into the streets. Hence, an appropriate approach entails the formulation of strategies aimed at reducing the cost of living, including the high rental prices that will automatically lead to increased wages, therefore, making houses affordable.