The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

NEWLY appointed Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Ryan Pinder said completing legislation that will replace the current COVID-19-Emergency Orders will be a top priority for the government during its first months in office.

Speaking to reporters after he was sworn into office yesterday, Mr Pinder also committed to increasing transparency and accountability and eliminating the “legislative and bureaucratic impediments” of doing business in the country for the sake of good governance.

“We cannot tolerate any kind of perceived corruption whether it exists or not and we cannot tolerate the appearance of impropriety whether it exists or not. We have to operate in a fashion where we’re conducting ourselves in honest and transparent ways,” the senator told reporters at the Baha Mar Convention Centre.

“I’m very excited to advance this country and we don’t have a lot of time. We have to hit the ground running and my focus is to advance it for the whole Bahamian people and part of that is ensuring that we’re viewed as a transparent and honest jurisdiction.”

He also said: “We hear the cry, and myself as a private practitioner in law representing a number of business persons, a cry about how difficult it is of doing business in this country—the legislative and bureaucratic impediments to business and getting into business and succeeding in business, especially a Bahamian.

“I think it’s very important that we loosen those reins and allow businesses to thrive.”

Mr Pinder also expressed support for campaign finance legislation, but said a final decision on the matter as well as other reform initiatives will ultimately be made by Cabinet.

Mr Pinder was one of nine Cabinet ministers who took the oath of office yesterday.

He served as minister of financial services under the last Christie administration before quitting that role to for a “mind blowing offer” at Deltec bank.

At the time, he said his departure from Cabinet did not mean he had lost faith in the Christie administration.

Mr Pinder left Deltec bank a year later to become a partner at law firm Graham Thompson and Co. He is also a former member of Parliament for Elizabeth.

The Cabinet appointments come at a time when the country is seeking to arrest control of the raging COVID-19 pandemic.

Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis told Bahamians on the campaign trail that his party, once elected, would stabilise the country’s COVID situation through increased testing, expanded contact tracing among other things.

He also pledged to end the current COVID-19 Emergency Orders and govern by ordinary legislation.

Yesterday, Mr Pinder insisted the Davis-led administration will live up to its promises.

He said: “I think the prime minister is clear in his messages before election in that we’re looking to not go to emergency order to emergency order but to set up a framework (and) an existence in legislation that will allow us to govern in these instances and pandemic without having to put emergency orders in place and have that oversight of the Bahamian people.

“So, we will be fully transparent, and we will progress in the fashion and we have to address the pandemic and we also have to address a fair and reasonable place and way to treat our people.”

For his part, newly appointed Minister of Health and Wellness Dr Michael Darville said his ministry will formulate a plan on the way forward once discussions have been held with health officials.

However, he also noted that the government is ready to activate its ten-point COVID action plan. Dr Darville served as minister of state for Grand Bahama in the last Christie administration.

“Tomorrow morning, I would be at the Ministry of Health first of all getting a panoramic view of what is happening.

“I will speak with the experts and after speaking with the experts we would be able to make an assessment of where we are and what would be some of the first initial protocols that we would have to implement to swiftly get the pandemic under control,” Dr Darville said yesterday.

He said that officials are seeking to strike a health and economic balance, suggesting the government will not utilise lockdowns as done before by the former administration.

“We’ve (understood) that that has devastated our economy,” Dr Darville said.

“We have to work with the business community. We have to work with our Bahamian professionals and develop the kind of partnership that is necessary to get our economy moving while at the same time we are not at risk and we’re not actually creating more of a problem as it relates to COVID. It’s a balancing act.”

As for vaccinations, Dr Darville reiterated the party’s policy that it will not be mandatory but encouraged all Bahamians to get the shots.

“It’s important for us to keep our vaccination programme at an optimum level and begin to open up more sites where Bahamians who want to be vaccinated can have access to the vaccinations not only the first dose but the second dose,” he added.