Up Front
"We intend to getthe job done."
David Ritch, newChairman of the Trade and Business Licensing Board
David Ritch
When he received word recently of his appointmentas Chairman of the Trade and Business Licensing Board, attorney-at-law,David Ritch says he was pleased that someone felt that he "couldmake a positive contribution."
No wonder.
David Ritch is a self-styled "known quantity" when itcomes to holding public office.
For more than a decade, he has made his contribution to variousstatutory boards and organisations, including Chairman of thePlanning Appeals Tribunal, 1987-1989; member of the Cayman IslandsCurrency Board, 1987-1997; Chairman of the Labour Laws AppealsTribunal, 1988-1991; Chairman, the Caymanian Protection Board,1989-1990 and Chairman of the Port Authority, in 1992.
After a hiatus from public office, in order to get his "batteriesrecharged," David Ritch is back, and happy to be. His appointmentto the Trade and Business Licensing Board took effect on 27thNovember.
"It's not enough for people like me to say, let the governmentget on with it," he says, in explaining his passion for publicservice. He notes that without contribution from people like him,the government can't be helped to do what it has to do.
Taking over the reins of the Trade and Business Licensing Board,which functions to process applications for business licenceswithin the context of prevailing market conditions, David acknowledgesthat he faces a changing business climate.
A new regulatory environment, brought about by international scrutinyof offshore financial centres such as the Cayman Islands, hasresulted in added cost of doing business here, he says. It hasalso resulted in more cautious attitudes in relation to the typesof deals and clientele that are pursued.
But, he says "the new regulatory environment has broughtadditional business to Cayman, such as multi-national corporationswho, perhaps were concerned before about the environment we'reoperating in, and who can now quite happily say to anyone thatthey feel we are operating in a properly regulated jurisdiction."
As an attorney, David also sees signs of the changing face ofbusiness-increased competition-- among law firms.
"It's not apples and apples. Bigger firms tend to have accessto a client base that is 30 or 40 years old, whereas a firm likemine has only been around half that time." They have, hesays an in-built advantage in terms of market share, but "thesmaller firms also have advantages in that when you don't havethe constraint of size, sometimes you can respond quicker,"David adds.
"You have to be good at what you do to succeed," hesays.
From indications, David and his firm, Ritch and Connolly, havebeen just that. In 1983, he and his stepfather Warren Connolly,a former Government Executive Council Member, founded the firm.His venture then into his own private practice followed stintsas Clerk of Courts, Crown Counsel and Senior Crown Counsel withthe Cayman Islands Government between 1977 and 1979 and as anAssociate Attorney with Hunter and Hunter for four years.
With seven attorneys today, -- three of them Caymanians - Ritchand Connolly is perhaps the second largest Caymanian-owned practice.The firm offers a range of legal services, with an emphasis onCommercial and Trusts Litigation, Real Estate and related commercialwork including Conveyancing, Banking and Security and Immigration.
David now has a partner, Cherry Bridges, and though the practiceis run as a partnership, he says it is "very much a familyfirm." An aunt, Ms. Jetta Bodden is Corporate Manager ofForeshore Corporate Service; another, Cavell Serrant is the FinancialController, and yet another, Resie Downer is her assistant. Hismother, Mrs. Islay Connolly, a former Chief Education Officer,runs the personnel department and his sister Jacqueline Connollyis an Associate Attorney in the firm.
The new competitive environment will make it difficult for youngCaymanian professionals - especially in law -- to set up business,David says, noting that the young attorney, "starting fromscratch" will not be able to afford it. Mergers among smallerfirms are inevitable, he says.
As in other areas of the business environment, David sees thatchanges - of form and substance -- will come to the Trade andBusiness Licensing Board and is confident that the Board willchange with the times. "We intend to get the job done,"he says.
Getting the job done means firstly a change in the present accommodationand staffing of the department, which now has two administrativestaff members and the Secretary. He disclosed that the currentexpansion to the Immigration building now almost completed willprovide a boardroom for the Trade and Business Licensing Boardand will accommodate workstations for six to eight persons. "Thiswill enable us to improve our turnaround time for applications,"he says.
He acknowledges that in time, there will be other developments- such as the business of e-commerce -- that the Board will haveto contend with. "How the Internet is going to affect whatwe do here rests on the cost to communicate to determine whetheror not we become a serious player in e-commerce," he notes,adding that the Board will do "whatever is necessary"to get the job done.
It may be a little too early to speak of the changes of substancethat will take place at the Board, but says the Chairman, "we'lldo things differently, insofar as it is good practice." TheTrade and Business Licensing Board, which falls under the ChiefSecretary relies on government for directives for change. "Thepolicies of the Board need to reflect the policies of the Governmentwithin the legal framework of the Board," David says.
It is not just serving on public sector boards and organisationsthat David considers, as his contribution to the country's development.He says that he has not ruled out a run for political office,but would do so when he is sure he has "the time availablefor it." The islands' continued progress, he says, requiresthat people move away from "the politics of personalities"to deal with issues.
"I see the election having just past, and I say to myself,what's going to happen the next time, because the personalitypolitician cannot run this country anymore, unless he is alsoequipped with the necessary mental horsepower to get the job done.The political animal of the future is going to be very, very different.We're starting to see that," he adds.
David's wait to enter politics is also based on family considerations,he says. Married to Valerie, he has three young children, Travis,12, Kyle, 9 and Ashley 5.
However, never reluctant to accept public service, it's easy toimagine that at the right time, David will take his seat in thepolitical arena.