The Registrar General's Department will be fully computerized over the next two years, following a planned relocation from the Rodney E. Bain Building to new headquarters, announced Minister of Financial Services and Investment Allyson Maynard-Gibson Wednesday night.
Addressing the 47th Annual Convention of the Progressive Liberal Party at the Wyndham Crystal Palace, the Minister said that she was appalled by the conditions under which employees currently work.
She advised that legislation will be presented to Parliament in the next few weeks to enable e-commerce and e-government to flourish in The Bahamas, which includes the computerization of the Companies Registry by the end of the year, so that company names may be reserved and companies formed, annual returns filed and payments made for anywhere in the world.
The Office of the Registrar of Insurance Companies has also prepared the Draft Domestic and External Insurance Bills which are intended to enhance the overall functioning and regulation of the Industry, announced the Minister.
The successful review and enactment of the Bills is vital to the development of the Bahamas, in that the Industry represented approximately 10% of the GDP in 2001, and 8% in 2000 and 1999, she said.
"As the Plan (PLP's Our Plan) envisages, my Ministry will assist and facilitate applicants so that completed applications are approved within 30 days of submission. In the Plan we assure inter-ministry communication so that your project won't get bogged down," she said.
As financial services and e-business require efficient, reliable and affordable communications, she said, the Government must ensure that Cable Bahamas delivers cable service to every Family Island and that Batelco delivers efficient, affordable and reliable services as well.
"We will not tolerate business as usual. Cell phones must work all over every island. Visitors should be able to use their cell phones in The Bahamas," she said.
The Ministry seeks investment that will positively impact the lives and businesses of Bahamians, also ensuring linkages in other areas of the economy and entrepreneurial opportunities for the nation's youth, she said.
"The e-world means that in Grand Bahama a shipment can be tracked from the point of departure through storage and transshipment in Freeport to delivery at its final destination. At the Freeport Container Port by the end of the year about $243 million will have been invested in this project which will employ about 500 Bahamians and only 2 expatriates. There are untold opportunities in Grand Bahama," she said.
This new approach by the Government said the Minister, will revamp real estate sales, architecture, interior design, and legal services and financing all in a few strokes at a computer.
"The e-world means that in Crooked Island at Pitts Town Landing, a $35 million investment, people who purchase second homes can in the privacy of their home in London or Abaco or anywhere else, view a potential lot and home that they wish to purchase. They can see the interior of each room, the finishes in each room, the view from each room, the cost of the lot and home with the options that they have chosen, the financing for those options. So from the privacy of your home you can decide whether you want to buy a lot with that view and the type of exterior and interior that you want in your home. Then you can review the purchase contract to see if you're happy with it," she said.
This new approach, together with institutionalized consultation, although intangible, is a major initiative by the PLP government, said Mrs. Maynard-Gibson. She noted also that while foreign investors are being lured to our shores, the Government acts in the best interest of employees, entrepreneurs and every citizen of The Bahamas.
"Why with such a Plan isn't all as well as it could be? Why with such a Plan, haven't you yet felt its results as much as you would have liked? Because we must deal with an intransigent attitude that wants to see business as usual. An intransigent attitude that is trying to protect the very vices that you rejected, arrogance, indifference, slothfulness and disrespect for Bahamians," she said.
"Securing our future together is the principle my ministry stands by. That is the principle exercised in the Constituency of Pinewood that I am privileged to represent in Parliament. We in Pinewood believe in investing dollars wisely. We are also not waiting for others to pass by to give us help. Don't get me wrong now, we welcome help but we are not waiting for help. We are exercising our inalienable right of self-improvement! We are standing on the reality and promise that God will help those who attempt to help themselves by exercising faith," she told delegates.
While these are the worst of times in the world economy, she said, these are the best of times for the Bahamian entrepreneur and investor to take stock and determine what he or she must do to invest in his own country and in his own future.
Bahamian entrepreneurs are challenged to recognize that the global economy will improve and they should get on board, build a future for those who will come behind, she said.
Minister Maynard-Gibson said that Bahamian businessmen should not sit idly by, waiting for the foreign investor, and that they cannot wait for the government to also stimulate the economy.
They should however, rethink the way our economy ought to operate, and since we have excess liquidity in our system, they need to make a financial sacrifice and invest in their own country, the Minister said.
"Concessions are available to all investors. Come, step on the plush red carpet," she invited.
"All able-bodied Bahamians are called to report to duty to build our future together. All are called to invest in our country. All are promised that we will facilitate your investment. The red carpet, a thick and plush red carpet is out for you. And those who are on the outside looking in, join us, invest in our economy, our new approach is such that an investor wrote that he was exhilarated at the end of a meeting with my team in my Ministry who so ably pursue our new approach. And I want to take this opportunity to thank my entire team. They work hard and have responded well to our new initiatives," she said.
"Let us remember that with God's help we can build the country that we all yearn for," the Minister said. "A country where families are safe in their homes at night; a country where young children are safe from attack and molestation, where no child is abandoned; a country where children grow up in families where they feel loved; a country where young people feel that they have a stake in the future; a country where our young men and women feel motivated to excel; a country where seniors are respected and honoured and treasured."
By Vanessa Rolle, The Nassau Guardian
