By October 2016, the World Bank
and International Financial Corporation will publish their 14th report on the
Ease of Doing Business Index. The present Government will have little
opportunity to influence the outcome of that report because the period that
will be under review ends next month.
Nevertheless, it is important
that the thrust to improve Jamaica's performance does not wane. Referring to
Doing Business 2016: Measuring Regulatory Quality and Efficiency, in 'Jamaica
Takes the Leap in Doing Business Indicators: 5 Lessons for the Wider
Caribbean', Navita Anganu-Ramroop lamented that:
"Not all countries are
bothered by rankings, and therefore not all countries make a concerted effort
to change and attempt to improve same, failing to realise that the
competitiveness of nations are equally important and necessary for the
competitiveness of firms operating within the country."
Doing Business 2016 also states
that Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) is one of the regions "with the
smallest share of economies implementing regulatory reforms. ..." In fact,
Jamaica and The Bahamas were the only Caribbean nations that actually improved
their global ranking in that report.
The Bahamas moved from 108th to
106th, while Jamaica moved from 71st to 64th out of 189 global economies. With
the widening of the Panama Canal and construction of a second canal in
Nicaragua, a significant increase in trade and investment can be expected in
the Caribbean Basin. So, improving competitiveness of local firms is imperative
and this through greater effort than before.
It is also important to realise
that 11 out of the 12 highest-ranked nations within LAC are located in the
Caribbean Basin. Jamaica cannot afford to slack up on its previous effort. It
should be of no comfort that greater trade is expected in the greater Caribbean
if we are ill-prepared to benefit from it.
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