THE GOVERNMENT and the private sector is currently working closely to reduce the cost of bureaucracy, under a programme jointly funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce (JCC).
A steering committee chaired by Cabinet Secretary, Dr. Carlton Davis and former president of the JCC, Anthony Chang, has been appointed to manage the project called "Legislation, Regulations and Processes". A senior executive will also be placed in the Office of the Prime Minister to maintain the flow of information between the members of the steering committee, which was recently appointed to spearhead the programme.
Speaking in an interview, Chang pointed out that this initiative which was conceived by the JCC eight months ago, is designed to reduce the cost of doing business by simplifying and co-ordinating the legislation regulations and process involved in conducing business in Jamaica. "It was also designed to help restore the country's competitiveness as an international business location", the former JCC president pointed out. He also said that the committee had already contracted consultants who are currently conducting studies of private sector companies to get their feedback on how the bureaucracy impacts on the cost of their operations.
LEGISLATION AND REGULATIONS
The information obtained from these surveys will then be used to help create a more business-friendly environment, which would lead to higher levels of investment, employment and output. "The steering committee may also be required to issue quarterly reports, to ensure that there is accountability and follow-up action on difficulties reported by the private sector. This would result in a more productive and less corrupt society, as entrepreneurs would no longer need to pay a bribe to reduce bureaucratic delays," Chang argued.
The former JCC president also said that countries such as, Australia have benefited tremendously from carrying out this kind of exercise. Studies conducted by the USAID, as well as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), confirm that the high cost of bureaucracy is one of the major structural impediments to growth in Jamaica.
Mr. Chang also pointed out that the Legs and Regs programme would enhance the work of the government's business Facilitation Unit, as well as the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), developed between the private sector and government during the tenure of Peter Moses, as president of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ). The JCC president also said that the current programme may include exchanges between public sector and private sector executives and further stressed that this would lead to a reduction in the traditional mutual suspicion, which existed between the two groups.
The former JCC president stressed the programme would also facilitate the development of small businesses, which are the ones most seriously affected by bureaucracy. He also said that it would help to lower the cost to business of complying with the regulations by reducing the layers of bureaucracy.
"Since it is difficult to reduce the cost of money and labour we must compress the other cost of doing business which we have control over such as bureaucracy, in order to compete with cheaper destinations," Chang argued.
