The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Around 60 per cent of applications to the joint Rotary-Chamber of Commerce Joaquin relief fund have not been approved, it was revealed yesterday, due to “challenges” with business record-keeping.

Edison Sumner, the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation’s (BCCEC) chief executive, said that of the 117 financial assistance applications received from storm-hit businesses, only 40 per cent had been approved or were “pending” approval.

And, while wanting to do everything possible to get these companies and entrepreneurs ‘back in business’, Mr Sumner said the Chamber-Rotary partnership, known as Rebuild Bahamas, could not support non-compliance with the law.

He explained that many businesses in the central and southern Bahamas, which were most impacted by Joaquin, did not have Business Licences or possessed expired ones. And many companies that should be Value-Added Tax (VAT) registrants were not.

“We have not been able to process as many applications as we would like, as many businesses are challenged in getting documents back to us, and complete application forms,” Mr Sumner said.

“It [the Joaquin relief exercise] highlighted the fact that many businesses in the country, here as well as in the Out Islands, have not been keeping proper records. That is a major challenge.”

He added: “Every business should be a legitimate business. They should have a Business Licence, and bring it current.

“We do not want to be seen to be promoting businesses that are not following the law. It may be onerous, but we are insisting on compliance with the law.

“Businesses that we determine should be VAT registrants but are not, we are making them become VAT registrants. We do not want to be supporting businesses that are operating in the informal economy.

“We understand the challenges of operating in the Family Islands, but everyone should comply from a Business Licence and VAT point of view.”

Mr Sumner said the Chamber’s Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise (SME) help desk was offering businesses in storm-ravaged islands technical and administrative support, in a bid to improve their record-keeping and systems.

Besides ensuring that these enterprises recovered from Joaquin, and revived employment and the economies of the hardest-hit islands, Mr Sumner said Rebuild Bahamas wanted to strengthen them so they were better placed to withstand future challenges.

Between the $221,220 generated by last October’s Rebuild Bahamas telethon, the $357,268 raised by the Rotary Clubs of the Bahamas via private donations, and the $250,000 loan facility from the Government-sponsored venture capital fund, a total; $828,529 has been collected towards hurricane relief.

This sum, though, is only equivalent to 36.4 per cent of the total $2.276 million that has been requested by the 150 businesses who suffered damage from Joaquin.

Stripping out the venture capital fund’s $250,000 loan facility, from which businesses have yet to access a single cent, a total $578,500 has been available to these companies.

Mr Sumner yesterday said around $357,000, or close to 62 per cent, has been spent to-date from that $578,000 in assisting business recovery and other forms of relief. These include two cement mixers that were provided to Crooked Island, plus payments for relief flight fuel.

More than $160,000 was spent on refloating the Long Island fishing industry, with eight boats - including Southern Comfort, Double Trouble, Summer Crab 2 and Bahamas Raider.

The refloating, performed by Resolve Salvage & Fire, is estimated to have put 100 Long Islanders back to work. Another 20 will be back in jobs when Southern Comfort is repaired in the next few weeks.

Mr Sumner, meanwhile, added that Rebuild Bahamas was “working on other relief sources”, and hoped to raise a further $300,000-$500,000 from various donors to boost its coffers.

The Rebuild Bahamas report on the relief efforts revealed that almost 150 businesses, excluding the fishing industry, had been impacted by Joaquin.

These are broken down into 87 on Long Island; 26 in Acklins; 17 on San Salvador; 10 in Crooked Island; and nine in Inagua.

Mr Sumner said Rebuild Bahamas was also working with eight Fish Fry vendors on Inagua “to get them back to work”.