The Government is attributing Jamaica’s significant jump in the 2015 Doing Business Report ranking from 94 to 58, to a raft of intense reform measures, which have been put in place, or are on-going.
Addressing a press conference at JAMPRO’s offices on October 29, Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Hon. Anthony Hylton, commended Justice Minister, Senator the Hon. Mark Golding and his team, stressing that a major part in the movement in the index, involved legislative amendments, which underpin the relevant policies and administrative changes.
“We have to focus on the modernisation of the bureaucracy…and we have to look at critical institutions, such as the Attorney General’s chambers, and the Office of the Chief Parliamentary Counsel,” he said.
Mr. Hylton stressed that the government is very focused on the work that is left to be done, and that its strategy is taking place around a logistics centred economy, with an emphasis on cohesion.
With regard to the private sector, the Minister said it is hoped that the ranking provides a concrete sense of the work that has been done, in reforming the macro-economic environment, and the resultant benefits to the business environment.
Meanwhile, the Minister expressed confidence in the institutional arrangements that are in place to keep the country on track with its reforms, along with the support from international partners.
Mr. Hylton said it is on this basis that he is positive about the next Doing Business report, and is already looking forward to successive reports.
“We see investor interest continuing to be strong in Jamaica. The larger investment interests, when made public, will confirm that Jamaica still remains a place of global interest, and local investments,” the Minister added.
Prior to the press conference, the Minister met with the National Competitiveness Council (NCC), to examine the movement in the index, targets set at the beginning of the year, the status of those targets, and the way forward.
Mr. Hylton pointed out that while it takes into full account the Doing Business Report and its indices, the Council goes beyond the Report, and looks at areas in the economy that must receive focus in order to drive competitiveness, and achieve sustained growth.
Released on October 29, the World Bank report, found that Jamaica has the region’s highest ranking in the ease of doing business, and is “closer than it was last year to global best practices in business regulation as measured by its distance to frontier ranking.”
The Report also says Jamaica is among 50 per cent of Caribbean countries which implemented a historical and cumulative total of 12 reforms, which make it easier for local entrepreneurs to do business.
The annual World Bank Group Doing Business report analyses regulations having to do with an economy’s businesses, including start-ups, trading across borders, taxes, and resolving insolvency. Its key goal is to provide an objective basis for improving and understanding the regulatory environment for business around the world. This year’s report is the 12th publication.
By Alphea Saunders
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