It is time for The Bahamas to get serious and get back to work. The honeymoon period for the elected Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) government is decisively over with the failed referendum. As Bahamians ponder if there will be any change in the status quo of web shop gaming despite yesterday’s pronouncements by the government, The Bahamas still faces an uphill economic battle. With the ease of doing business in The Bahamas falling, potential investors may start to look elsewhere. We cannot afford to maintain the status quo.
According to the World Bank and International Finance Corporation, the ease of doing business in The Bahamas fell from 71 to 77. Though The Bahamas ranks better than the Caribbean region as a whole in most categories, we must commit to improvement and differentiate the quality of our product. And this is especially true in the financial sector where competitors are worldwide: Singapore, Hong Kong, Bermuda and London.
If starting a business really only takes 31 days (as promoted), budding entrepreneurs would be everywhere. Rather, the process unfolds completely in the Business License and Valuation Unit of the Ministry of Finance. The business environment is a tangle of applications, waiting and wasted effort.
The requirements in some cases are overly onerous given the location and existing land use of the building. Renters of commercial office space must apply for zoning, and then produce environmental health certificates and building inspections. Certificates for commercial office space should be kept on file; it is redundant for a business license applicant to submit certificates for an already occupied commercial building.
Starting a business in The Bahamas should be easy. A submitted application should proceed through a designated process with document requirements requested immediately. Once all documents are submitted, the process should advance seamlessly and in a timely manner. However, requests for additional documents again and again cost time and money. Without a business license a bank will not open a corporate bank account.
Conversation often centers on attracting foreign investment. The Bahamas does a good job at attracting potential investors and communicating with them, particularly, the Bahamas Investment Authority (BIA). But once an investment requires commitment and permitting from other government agencies, feedback dwindles and the potential project stagnates. Investors are held in limbo receiving little communication and even struggle to receive even a no. We cannot welcome potential investors with a red carpet only to send them into a black hole of government red tape.
There are numerous “approved” projects and developments that have yet to get off the ground because of the inefficiencies of various government departments. Communication between departments is almost nonexistent leading to a plethora of redundant requests and further delays. We must work to increase efficiency within and between government departments. Decisions must be made and communicated swiftly.
The Bahamas must also invest in technology to create electronic databases. Our failure to outfit government departments with adequate technology to improve communication and facilitate investor momentum also impedes our progress.
There remain other known barriers to business in The Bahamas, such as high utility costs, but the application process should not be one of them. Starting a business or committing to an investment takes courage and the process quickly becomes disheartening when following the correct procedure ends up taking far longer than it should have in the first place.
Editorial from The Nassau Guardian
