Hon. Johany S. (Jay) Ebanks
Minister of Planning, Agriculture, Housing and Lands
Elected Member for North Side
Hon. Johany S. (Jay) Ebanks is the Minister of Planning, Agriculture, Housing and Infrastructure in the Cayman Islands Government. He was assigned the ministerial portfolio under the PACT government in April 2021.
Minister Ebanks, who was raised and still lives in North Side, was elected as an independent representative for that district in the 2021 general elections. In 2014, he was elected to the North Side District Council as a Council Officer before running in the 2017 elections.
He has over twenty years of experience in the tourism and construction industries where he has owned and managed his own businesses. He is also invested in other operations such as affordable homes and rental properties.
In addition, he is a community leader who gives back to North Side through his work with charitable organisation Meal on Wheels, and events such as Pirates’ Week and football camps. He believes that a “person’s greatest wealth is to live his or her life serving people”.
Minister Ebanks is married to Felisiana Ebanks and they have two teenage children, Aliyah and Johnathon.
In his spare time, he enjoys fishing.
The annual Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians Conference (CWP) marked the launch of the 45th Annual General Meeting, with the Deputy Premier, Hon. Juliana O’Connor-Connolly, JP, MP, and the Speaker, Hon. Katherine Ebanks-Wilks, MP, representing the Cayman Islands. Sessions included discussions on the critical role of women in democratic governance, youth crime, the CWP constitution, and roundtable discussions on the experiences of current female parliamentarians.
“The Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians Conference sparked a number of innovative ideas for how I can empower women in my community for the next women’s month” said the Speaker. “More women should be encouraged to enter into leadership roles in politics, so I intend to give women an opportunity to learn how to debate by spending the day at Parliament with myself and other female politicians.”
Following the CWP sessions, delegates held sessions on biodiversity and food security preparedness, adapting to climate change, preparing for national disasters, promoting democracy, crime and security, banking standards, and health care. Mr. Christopher Saunders, MP, was a panelist for the session on banking standards, and provided delegates with best practices from Cayman’s financial management and legislation.
A strong contingent of nearly two-dozen youth parliamentarians gathered on 26th July for the 16th Regional Youth Parliament. The two Caymanian delegates were selected for the top two positions, with Mr. Amani Ebanks as the YP Premier, and Mr. Alex Harris as the YP Leader of the Opposition.
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