YOUNG MAN'S VIEW: Ryan Pinder’s resignation raises questions

As of Monday, December 15, 2014

By ADRIAN GIBSON

ajbahama@hotmail.com

THERE’S a weight loss show called ‘The Biggest Loser’ and, on VH1’s TV channel, there’s another called ‘Best Week Ever’. At least we all know who is a winner, who’s having the best week ever this week, none other than Financial Services Minister Ryan Pinder.

Perhaps, the Cabinet is the biggest loser this week. The fact that Ryan Pinder will no longer be a member of the Christie cabinet greatly weakens that caucus. He undoubtedly added to the brains trust of that entity and, quite frankly, gave many Bahamians a sense of confidence about taxation and financial services - of which he has institutional knowledge - particularly with the onset of Value Added Tax (VAT) in less than 20 days.

This week, news of Ryan Pinder’s resignation in favour of an “extraordinary, mind-blowing” job offer has given rise to a new term that myself, and a dear friend, have coined - being “Pinderised.” Her definition of “Pinderised” amounts to - she says - “the act of kicking people or an entity in the rear end to accept a better offer.”

Mr Pinder’s resignation, which was confirmed on Tuesday night, will take effect at the end of this month. He is expected to become Deltec bank’s new chief legal officer, head of wealth management and a member of the bank’s executive committee.

That said, there are questions relating to his impending resignation that Bahamians - far and wide - would want answered, those being:

(a) Did he negotiate or interview with Deltec Bank whilst serving as a Cabinet minister and did that influence their hiring of him? Could that be seen as influence peddling in his own self-interest?

(b) Why is such a competent tax lawyer and financial service professional abandoning ship immediately before the onset of VAT when he is most needed?

(c) In future, should there be restrictions in place that would ensure that a person serving in as a minister should not be able to resign and, immediately thereafter, take up a post in a private sector entity for whom his ministerial portfolio may have required direct interaction, input and influence on his part or, in other instances, regulatory oversight? Of course, there will be some exceptions depending on the circumstance but generally should this timeframe amount to perhaps three to six months?

Perhaps, we should examine the stipulations concerning such things in other jurisdictions.

I’ve heard some folks calling for Ryan Pinder’s resignation from the House of Assembly. That’s simply far-fetched and illogical. His service as a minister and him being elected to the House of Assembly should not be coupled in the way that I’ve heard folks discussing it. Quite honestly, I think Ryan Pinder is one of the most accessible, down-to-earth MPs one would find. He’s very active on Facebook and apparently quite known and reachable to his constituents.

Quite honestly, Ryan is an acquaintance of mine and I think that he’s an affable guy.

He asserts that he “made a decision that I deemed to be in my professional wellbeing” and, as a professional, I cannot altogether fault him for that. That would simply be unfair. No doubt, many of us have had occasions in the past, and will have occasions in the future, to “Pinderise.”

In the instance that the Prime Minister wants to keep Michael Halkitis as his junior minister, I think Khaalis Rolle would be a good choice as the new Minister of Financial Services.

I wish Ryan the best of luck in his future endeavours.

birdiestrachan 10 years ago

Mr.Gibson you do make attempts to be fair. Ryan and it is a term of endearment towards him No disrespect, I wish him all the best . a brilliant man with lots of experience. In spite of what the mean spirited may say. the FNM Government official and the l Group Mayaguana deal is different/..It included Crown Land. also there was a Police who had been sent on many study leaves who left the force and went to work for a hotel. he was offered a position by the Government to be in charge of the Air Port security. He refused. He went after big bucks. It was taxpayers money, used for his training and it was Bahamian land involved in Mayaguana. Ryan was a gift to the Government for a while. And I am sure he will continue to serve the people of Elizabeth well.

ThisIsOurs 10 years ago

Once again you've missed the point. People are asking questions for several reasons, this man had influence over policy, he has the Prime Minister's ear, he had an in on ongoing decisions being made by the government, Perry Christie indicated that he was being courted for months, do we know if he held out over that time to get even bigger bucks, was any unfair advantage given to the company to facilitate the deal? We're any calls made to speed up work permits? Do we know of any promises he would have made? To be fair nothing untoward may have happened but to tell everybody that there are no questions to be asked and answered is another step on the road to Maximum Leader

CANDACESCOTT 10 years ago

thus his actions could be considered a form of "inside trading"

duppyVAT 10 years ago

Adrian is a lawyer now ........... he cannot cut off the hand that may possibly feed him ....... he will evolve into the status quo within three years ................. SAD

banker 10 years ago

Adrian will mute his common sense as well, once he is working for a client that demands the piper be paid and he is forced to call black white and vice versa. It's the way the world goes round. To get ahead, you have to sell yourself to somebody. I recall before Pinder returned to the Bahamas, he extensively shopped both political parties for the best deal. Of course the biggest influence was the coat-tails of Marvin Pinder. I do feel sorry for Pinder's wife. In the few times that I have been in her company, she does not seem to be a happy camper in this country.

In this archipelago, the truth will always be first casualty in all endeavours. The subjugation of truth is built into the genes of all Bahamians at one level or another. Pinder leaves as he came, with no visible improvement in the economic sector that he had stewardship over. He is no different from any other PLP politician.

mangogirl01 10 years ago

But didn't Mr. Pinder say when he came back home to enter politics that he wanted to serve his country, now its all about what's best for me, me and mines! It just goes to show he wasn't sincere about serving his country or is the Bahamas his country as he is more American than Bahamian! Too, the financial industry is no better off than how he met it because I would like to know what new (and profitable) financial services has he bought to our beloved Bahamas? Can someone answer that please!

duppyVAT 10 years ago

He brought a lot of WTO and IMF legislation ................. but on the ground, the banking/financial system was going to HELL ......... BOB, gambling, layoffs, offshore employee shrinkage .............. but Lyford Cay was booming ....... now its his employer

mangogirl01 10 years ago

BirdieStrachan say 'Ryan was a gift to the Government for a while'! Well blow me down! Some people really love the kool-aid! He was a gift to no one but himself alone most definitely not our beloved Bahamas! He just showed he's another 'all for me baby' gangster!

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