Cadiz: Excessive red tape a damper to local business

He was, at the time, speaking yesterday at the Quarterly Luncheon with the minister at the TT Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Westmoorings.

“We cannot keep running this country with bureaucracy and red tape that is there. To set up a business in this country takes 115 days, that cannot be, in Jamaica its two weeks,” he said.

Cadiz said the reason why TT has not been able to be like Jamaica was because no one figured to look at the excessive regulation.

He noted that businessmen always have additional costs because of excessive regulation, and a lack of efficiency to which they add to their products, or services.

“All of a sudden when you remove all of that, you will start to see inflation coming down and food prices coming down,” he said.

Cadiz pointed out that TT dropped 16 places in the latest Doing Business Survey Conducted by the World Bank at the International Finance Corporation moving from 81 in 2010, to 97 in 2011. He added that the country ranked 42 eight years ago.

He described it as a sobering statistic and one of the many reasons behind the implementation of the Single Electronic Window, or the TT Biz Link, which is expected to come on stream in January, 2011.

He said TT Biz Link will fully revolutionise the way trade and business is conducted.

“No longer will there be a need for multiple forms and repeated trips to several different agencies TT BizLink will connect five government ministries and 13 agencies involved in trade approvals.

With the new system, a variety of transactions requiring State approvals will be conducted online simultaneously and smoothly,” he said.