The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A former Cabinet minister has warned that entrepreneurs and small businesses are being “crippled” by bureaucratic inefficiencies, with one firm “now waiting eight weeks” to get a Business Licence.

Ryan Pinder, the ex-financial services minister, became the latest to warn how problems with the ‘ease of doing business’ in the Bahamas were continuing to hold companies - and the wider economy - back.

“One area that is crippling new and small businesses is the challenges with the ease of doing business,” he said in his contribution to the 2016-2017 Budget debate. “Much of this is as a result of bureaucratic inefficiencies.

“For example, a new business might have to get inspections from numerous agencies on the agency schedule. This should be better coordinated and integrated. I know a new business who has been waiting eight weeks now to get their Business License because of unco-ordinated inspections and bureaucratic bottlenecks.

“This has a direct effect on our ease of doing business, on the growth of our economy, on the success of small businesses, and the confidence of our people. We must do better to cause for more efficiencies in doing business in this country.”

Mr Pinder’s comments will likely be warmly welcomed by the private sector, given the numerous tax compliance and enforcement measures that the Government is either seeking to implement or introduce with the 2016-2017 Budget.

Many fear these will further increase the regulatory and administrative burden on tax-compliant businesses, further impeding their competitiveness and ability to invest in job-creating expansions.

Mr Pinder, meanwhile, warned that ‘ease of business’ concerns were also impacting a Bahamian financial services industry that many felt was at “a tipping point” in terms of being able to cope with the onslaught of global forces ranged against it.

Calling for the Government to “react quicker” to that sector’s needs, and “be more innovative.... in these changing and volatile times” to remodel the financial services ‘value proposition’, the Elizabeth MP said bureaucratic inefficiencies added a further obstacle.

“Policies to facilitate the ease of doing business, the attractiveness of the jurisdiction, the widening of scope of offerings and services, is paramount to the survival of the financial services industry and the businesses therein,” Mr Pinder said.

“We as a country are losing our value proposition, it is more difficult to do business, and reliance on efficient and transparent government processes is difficult.”

Mr Pinder also urged the Bahamas to target attracting more institutional client business, such as hedge funds and mutual funds, and focus on commercial and trade finance via an economic zone in Freeport.

He also called for the Government to provide tax incentives to encourage the growth of Bahamian small businesses.

“We also need to develop policies to allow for small businesses to have access to capital,” Mr Pinder said. “Our mechanisms that currently exist, the Bahamas Development Bank and the Venture Capital Fund as examples, are notoriously under capitalised and difficult to access.

“When they are accessed there are no parameters to assist the small businesses to succeed, and thus many loans become in default. Viable capital access plans with business guidance are required.”