Cummins’ challenge to business sector

Government has demonstrated its commitment to transforming the ease of doing business and now it is corporate Barbados’ turn to do likewise.

Minister of Energy and Business Senator Lisa Cummins issued that challenge to the business community yesterday, stressing that “business facilitation is everybody’s business”.

She made the call during the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Barbados 31st Annual Conference at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre.

Updating accountants and other participants on the progress of Business Barbados, Government’s major new business facilitation initiative which incorporates the Corporate Affairs and Intellectual Property Office and other functions, Cummins said a full transition team was now in place.

“We’re going to be looking at ensuring that we can continuously provide the skills that we need, integrating artificial intelligence into the way in which we do business, facilitating the stand alone separate treatment of companies and intellectual property,” she said.

“There were 33 pieces of legislation related to companies, direct and indirect, that fall under Business Barbados, but equally, there is an entire intellectual property agenda.

“And there will be under Business Barbados an intellectual property agency that would take responsibility for driving the innovation agenda of Business Barbados, that will be staffed and equipped very differently to the needs of companies. So that is what you will see moving forward.”

The minister added: “In addition, . . . we are putting together now as I speak, a legislative committee . . . that is going to look at all of that legislation.”

However, Cummins stressed that the future of business facilitation in Barbados was not about Business Barbados alone, urging various sectors to take responsibility for implementing their own improvements.

This included banks reducing the time it took for businesses

to open bank accounts and for accounting and audit firms to complete audits on time.

“This is a real conversation because we are in the business of business facilitation, all of us together, not one and not the other,” she said.

“Business facilitation is . . . everybody’s business, it is an ecosystem. All of us plug in to the ecosystem, and we are all connected. There’s no blame here, there’s no accusation here, but there’s responsibility and accountability, and we all need to change.”

Cummins urged all of the respective business associations “to join us as we reform the entire business facilitation ecosystem”.

She said this was “because the Barbados of the future requires all of us together, . . . walking towards a future that guarantees not just $470 million in corporation tax revenue, but a significant increase in corporation tax revenue, [and] an increase in the number of companies that are choosing Barbados as a place to do business, because we are unrivaled and unmatched at every single node in the ecosystem in business facilitation”.

“I commit to ensuring that leading the Ministry of Energy and Business on the business facilitation site, we will lead by example,” she said.

“I am challenging you to walk with us and to come to us with a suite of reforms that you think are fitting and appropriate for the future we want to craft together in your respective sectors and we pledge our unwavering support working together with you to build a better Barbados.” (SC)