The Tribune

By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

THE ATTORNEY General yesterday said the Registrar General’s Department will launch a “pilot” digital platform by the 2023 first quarter with the agency possibly being split into two separate sections.

Ryan Pinder KC, speaking at the Nassau Conference, said it “may” be split into civil and companies registries as the transformation process - closely modelled on the Cayman Islands - evolves.

“We’re on target for a first quarter pilot of the digital platform,” Mr Pinder said. “Those who do business within the region, and specifically in the Caymans, the Cayman Islands platform is what we’re building and adopting. We’ve engaged the same consultant that built their platform for our platform. We’re looking at additional opportunities to build efficiencies there.”

The Registrar General’s Department is a vital hub for the functioning of the Bahamian financial services industry and entire corporate sector, especially the legal, real estate and related professions when it comes to the recording of conveyances, as well as for companies incorporations, annual returns and other filing.

It has, however, been viewed by many in the private sector as a consistent choke point or bottleneck for tasks as simple as reserving a company name due to operations that are still largely manual-based. And to search a company name, one still has to request an appointment with office clerks, and it can take several days to get a date.

Mr Pinder said reform will happen, with the Government prepared to enact new laws to drive change if these cannot be effected through policy. The Registrar General’s Department will also be moving across Shirley Street into new offices at the Bahamas Financial Centre.

“The architects have been engaged, and drawings have been effectively completed for the build-out. That should start any day. So we’re still moving forward with the goal to be there within the first quarter,” Mr Pinder said.

Elsewhere, the attorney general said The Bahamas has to “keep up with and be aligned on” the European Union’s (EU) efforts to develop its own version of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). However, such a move “doesn’t scare” him.

He added: “The challenge for countries with limited capacities is that keeping up with the different international regulatory institutions is a necessity. I think what you’re going to eventually see, hopefully in the short-term, is that we have a government framework for all of these international obligations that is a little segregated.”

Mr Pinder added that the present global consensus on a 15 percent minimum global corporate tax rate could fall apart if Liz Truss, the new UK prime minister, sticks to previous promises not to support it.