(CMR) Attorney Samuel ‘Sammy' Jackson has been appointed new chairman of the Utility Regulation and Competition Office (OfReg) Board, CMR has learned.
He was appointed by Cabinet to serve as chairman for the next three years. Rudy Ebanks, who previously chaired the office, stepped down as Chair of OfReg’s Board of Directors for personal reasons. He was reportedly thankful for the opportunity and supportive of the change.
In the last General Election, Mr. Jackson ran against the former leader of the Progressives, Sir Aldin McLaughlin, in the Red Bay constituency as an independent candidate.
The outgoing chairman was lauded for his hard work over the years. Board member Frank Balderamos, who had been acting as Interim Chairman, expressed gratitude on behalf of the board.
“On behalf of the current Board members who served with Rudy, I would like to acknowledge his tireless work and commitment during his tenure as a Board member and especially his service as Board Chair,” he said.
Mr. Ebanks brought over 36 years of technical and regulatory experience in senior positions in the telecommunications sector to the OfReg Board, on which he served for over five years, with his initial appointment being made on October 24th, 2017. He was later appointed to the Chair position on September 17th, 2021.
Mr. Balderamos continued, “Throughout his time on the Board, Rudy’s unwavering spirit and positive attitude inspired the Board daily as we carried out the important work of OfReg. Rudy was committed to protecting Cayman’s critical national infrastructure assets and ensuring the well-being of consumers. He also took on the role of mentor to the board members and senior staff and was always willing to teach and pass on some of the wisdom he gained from a lifetime of deep experience in the ICT sector and service to the Cayman Islands. We thank him for his invaluable service and wish him well for the future.”
Minister Jay Ebanks also expressed his gratitude to the outgoing Chairman Mr. Ebanks. He said: “On behalf of the Cabinet and the Ministry, I would like to extend our thanks and best wishes to Mr. Ebanks for his service to OfReg and the country.”
Five new Board members join new chair Samuel Jackson, Jr, the government announced in the gazette publication released on Friday, June 9th.
Minister Ebanks added, “The remit of my ministry includes infrastructure. One can hardly imagine infrastructure more critical to Cayman than those of electricity, water, fuels and telecommunications. In recognizing how important these sectors are to our economy, it was imperative that we ensure the OfReg Board was fully constituted with the widest possible set of experience to provide guidance and leadership for OfReg.”
Speaking on the addition of new Board members, OfReg Interim CEO, Mr. Peter Gough, said:
“The OfReg Board structure has been updated to reflect and meet the demands of the growing amount of work that we need to deliver in our remit as the utilities regulator.”
“I am very pleased to welcome Mr. Jackson and the other new members to our Board and I look forward to working closely with them and the rest of the Board. I would also like to add my personal thanks to Mr. Rudy Ebanks for his service and contribution to OfReg during his tenure.”
The other Board appointments announced are as follows:
Mr. Colin Berryman, Director
Mr. Gavin Baxendale, Director
Mr. Wrendon Timothy, Director
Mr. Mike Gibbs, Director
Ms. Stacy Ann Kelly, Director
These new members join existing Board Members Mr. Frank Balderamos Jr. (Deputy Chair), and Directors Ms. Bonnie Anglin, Ms. Natasha Bodden, and Mr. Osbert Francis.
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