By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A Cabinet Minister yesterday said there was “a real push” to improve the Bahamas’ business processes and systems, after the World Bank’s move to again cut this nation’s competitiveness “validated all the concerns” he harboured over the Ingraham administration’s policies.

Khaalis Rolle, minister of state for investments, speaking after the Bahamas’ ranking in the World Bank’s ‘Ease of Doing Business’ report slipped from 71st top 77th, told Tribune Business that “modernisation of our systems hasn’t really taken place”.

In a brief interview, Mr Rolle, a former Chamber president, said of the report’s findings: “It just goes to show, and validates all the complaints I’ve had over the past two years that we were headed in the wrong direction.

“The real modernisation of our system hasn’t really taken place, and one of the things we’re doing now is developing real modernisation programmes that will have a tangible impact, and are going to see us improve the environment for doing business.”

While declining to go into detail, as he did not have ministerial responsibility, Mr Rolle said the Ministry of Finance “has a whole host of initiatives that they are undertaking now” to improve the Government’s approvals, permitting and other business systems.

“I think there’s areal push to get something done that impacts the way we do business, and the quality of doing business in the country,” Mr Rolle added.

Describing investor protections as “one of my priorities”, the minister added that the Government was making “some significant progress” in this area via an initiative he again declined to detail.

Meanwhile, Zhivargo Laing, minister of state for finance in the former Ingraham administration, urged the Government to “build” on the reforms its predecessor had implemented, and move on the initiatives it had “ignored”.

Acknowledging that he had been optimistic the Bahamas’ ‘Ease of Doing Business’ ranking would improve based on the reforms made by the previous government, Mr Laing said the latest reversal may have resulted from the World Bank not being provided with information on these changes.

Among the reforms made by the former Ingraham administration were a new, streamlined Business Licence Act and e-government initiative, and Mr Laing said the Bahamas had “not even touched the tip of the iceberg” when it came to the latter’s potential.

“I guess the world is still moving faster than we are,” Mr Laing, now an FNM Senator, said, when told by Tribune Business about the decline in the Bahamas’ Ease of Doing Business ranking.

“My optimism was predicated on them [the World Bank] having sufficient information on what we were doing.”

He explained that the former government had engaged the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to help with an information-gathering exercise that would get the Bahamas’ reform message out, but this was not completed in time for the latest Ease of Doing Business report’s review cycle.

“I still believe that once account is taken of what we’ve done, there should be some improvement,” he told Tribune Business.

He agreed with Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation’s chief executive, Winston Rolle, that this nation’s ranking slippage likely resulted from other jurisdictions moving more quickly to reduce the number, or time associated with, their various business processes.

“We took steps to try and reform the way we do business, and any sensible government ought to try and continue to do so,” Mr Laing said. “Clearly, there is more work to be done, and I urge the Government to keep going in that direction.

“Build on what we did, do those things which we ignored, as it’s important for the international competitiveness and development of the country, and prosperity of the people of the country.”

Pointing to the insurance and securities industry legislative reforms enacted by the former government, Mr Laing added: “Any number of legal reforms were put in place.

“On e-government, we haven’t even touched the tip of the iceberg in what e-government offers for us, and more than anything I truly hope we do not let the enormous potential e-government has for improving doing business go to waste.

“We should go forward aggressively on e-government, as there are so many opportunities. Of all those things we did in moving business forward, that e-government represents one of the greatest initiatives we undertook.

“We have to keep progressing as a country. The Bahamas cannot continue to do business as usual. That is a fact of life.”