The Manchester Parish Council in partnership with the Caribbean Local and Economic Development Project (CARILED) conducted its second MSME consultation on Ease of Doing Business (EODB) on Wednesday, January 13, 2016 at the Golf View Hotel, Mandeville.
The target audience was the micro, small and medium business operators in Manchester. The CARILED Project has embarked on a number of workshops in each pilot parish to discuss the extent to which local authority's mandate supports the Ease Of Doing Business (EODB) by MSME's operating within their respective jurisdiction.
About CARILED
The Caribbean Local Economic Development Project (CARILED) was launched in May 2012 and is undertaken through financing from the Government of Canada through Global Affairs Canada. Global Affairs Canada was previously called DFATD/CIDA.
CARILED is implemented by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) in partnership with the Caribbean Association of Local Government Authorities (CALGA), the Caribbean Forum of Local Government Ministers (CFLGM) and the Commonwealth Local Government Forum (CLGF) to the tune of CAN$23M over a six year period.
The goal of CARILED is to increase sustainable economic growth benefitting men, women and youths in the Caribbean through strengthening micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME's), the stimulation of Local Economic Development (LED) and the promotion of effective competence and governance capacities at the local level.
CARILED's Achievements in Manchester
- Construction of the recently opened Entrepreneurial Centre at the Cecil Charlton Park, Mandeville
- Preparation of Marketing strategy for the Entreprenuerial Centre
- Preparation of Local Economic Development (LED) Strategy and Plan
- LED training for LED Officer and Officers of the Manchester Parish Council
Barriers to EODB in Manchester
The following were cited by business operators, based on consultations, as barriers to ease of doing business in the parish
- Access to current information
- Access to credit for SME's
- Efficient processing of building plan
- Fair and efficient trade licence system/trade licence reform
- Inadequate infrastructure, eg water and parking facilities
- Customer service
- Laws and enforcement (Illegal vending activities, noise abatement)
- Security for businesses/Crime
- Improvemenet in systems (processes are not documented)
- Little or no affordable business support services
- Engagement with MSME's
- Proliferation of unregulated high interest rate lenders
- Convenience in paying taxes
Factors supporting/hindering EODB in Jamaica
- Policy legistaltions, regulations an dtheir implementation
- Programs and services to encourage SMEs
Key Factors in EODB
- Starting and operating a business
- Property regulations - registration/title/transfer
- Construction approval permits
- Electricity/energy, inputs and infrastructure
- Access to financing and credit
- Marketing/trading - local and international
- Paying taxes and tax incentives
- Contracts, agreements and settling disputes
- Labour market availability
- Crime, theft and socio-political conflicts
- Business support services/organixations
- Resolving insolvency and protecting minority investors
According to the Doing Business 2015 Report produced by the World Bank, Jamaica has achieved the Caribbean region's highest ranking on the ease of doing business, and has jumped 36 places to 58 among 189 economies worldwide. Last year Jamaica was ranked 94.
However the island has received a rap on the knuckles for the slow pace of developing electronic interfaces that accompany its extensive reforms and for higher taxation costs.
The World Bank noted reforms for Jamaica in the areas of starting a business, getting electricity connections, getting credit, and paying taxes.
An improved assessment of business-friendliness was widely expected for Jamaica, given its ongoing economic reforms agreed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme - under which gains have been praised both by the IMF's technical team as well as head of the agency, Managing Director Christine Largarde.
According to the Report, among 10 indicators, Jamaica ranked 12 for getting credit; 20 in the ease of starting a business, 26 for dealing with construction permits; 59 for resolving insolvencies; 71 for protecting minority investors; 111 for getting electricity; 115 for trading across borders; 117 for enforcing contracts; 126 for registering property; while its worst indicator continues to be paying taxes with a rank of 147.
The Doing Business report says that Jamaica made starting business easier by consolidating forms, but also made it more time-consuming as a result of delays in the implementation of the electronic interface with different agencies. Also working in the island's favour is what the report describes as a fall in electricity costs associated with the reducing cost of external connection works.
"In addition, it improved access to credit by establishing credit bureaus and by adopting a new secure transactions law that implements a functional approach to secured transactions, broadens the range of assets that can be used as collateral, allows a general description of assets granted as collateral, and establishes a modern, notice-based collateral registry,' the Doing Business fact sheet outlined.
Conversely, however, it was noted that Jamaica made paying taxes more constly for companies by introducing a new minimum business tax.
Despite its gains, jamaica did not rank among the global top 10 economies showing improvements. Globally, the report found that Singapore took the top spot on the ease of doing business.