Dear Editor,
Whatever the reason or reasons for Ryan Pinder choosing to resign his post as the minister of financial services, those reasons or the reason are his own. Some of us may want to speculate as to what this portends but this will be revealed in time.
However, what the prime minister had to say about the "deal of a life time" should have been left unsaid or reserved for a later date. If one of your Cabinet ministers is making his exit and he is going to be employed by a major financial institution you should be more wary than congratulatory.
What I have seen of Pinder in public life gives me every indication that he is an honorable person and his employers would have no problem in this regard, but what will come into play is that he is going to be under a microscope as he takes up his new appointment.
The prime minister may see it as the deal of a life time, giving the public the impression that this is a smooth departure; but he knows that if we were in another jurisdiction, Pinder would have had to sit still for a year or two before venturing into the financial services arena because of the knowledge he now possesses.
He is in possession of this special knowledge because you would never find any other government in the world with a "Ministry of Financial Services" -- it is unheard of. This is not saying that governments cannot have them, but the amount of legislation it would take to police; especially in matters of conflict of interest and ant-trust legislation would be mind-boggling.
Can I mention here that in this regard we are still in the dark ages? We are having problems getting the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) moving to the place where it should be.
I do not think that this prime minister is going to make it to 2017, he gives the public the view that he is out to lunch on too many issues. If he wants to make it there, he is going to have to get his game straightened out or have his more knowledgeable Cabinet ministers straighten it out for him. The "smooth departure" of Pinder may be just the beginning.
- Edward Hutcheson

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