• Latest
Ease of Doing Business in Grenada Declines

CDB president: 2019 Doing Business ranking is not simply criticism

1 year ago
Working together for growth & development

Working together for growth & development

2 hours ago
Government says “no physical altercation” between journalist and junior minister

Collaborate with NaDMA for Covid-19 compliant relief effort

15 hours ago
Securing Economic Integration: The importance of intraregional trade

Guidance for processing incoming persons from St Vincent

15 hours ago
Ridge to Reef and MNIB launch Pest Management Project

MNIB resumes exporting; Increased inquiries from Barbados

18 hours ago
Environmentalists unconvinced over Levera no-encroachment claim

Levera Project holding community consultations

18 hours ago
SGU and Government of Grenada establish diagnostic testing facilities

SGU reopening; mandatory vaccination for all on campus

19 hours ago
Finding a way forward

Finding a way forward

20 hours ago
SGU Receives Equity Investment

In-person learning on SGU True Blue campus for August term

22 hours ago
SAMS lends support to government vaccination drive

SAMS lends support to government vaccination drive

22 hours ago
Grenada welcomes UN plans to strengthen coordination of development assistance

Grenada welcomes UN plans to strengthen coordination of development assistance

1 day ago
Under-19 Parish Cricket Tournament

Republic Bank establishes Relief Fund for St Vincent

1 day ago
Claims of coronavirus at SGU designed to create fear and panic

Covid-19 update: Grenada Dashboard 14 April

2 days ago
NOW Grenada

Main Header Ad 468x60

booked.net
  • Front Page
  • Categories
    • General News
      • All
      • Agriculture & Fisheries
      • Arts & Culture
      • Business
      • Education
      • Environment
      • Health
      • History
      • Lifestyle
      • Law
      • Politics
      • Technology
      • Travel & Tourism
      • Weather
      • Youth
    • Sports
      • All
      • Athletics
      • Cricket
      • Football
      • Watersports
    • Community
      • All
      • Tribute
    • Crime
    • Features
      • All
      • Today in History
    • Opinion/Commentary
    • Press Releases
      • All
      • Advertisements
      • Notices
  • Video
  • Notices & Vacancies
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
  • Front Page
  • Categories
    • General News
      • All
      • Agriculture & Fisheries
      • Arts & Culture
      • Business
      • Education
      • Environment
      • Health
      • History
      • Lifestyle
      • Law
      • Politics
      • Technology
      • Travel & Tourism
      • Weather
      • Youth
    • Sports
      • All
      • Athletics
      • Cricket
      • Football
      • Watersports
    • Community
      • All
      • Tribute
    • Crime
    • Features
      • All
      • Today in History
    • Opinion/Commentary
    • Press Releases
      • All
      • Advertisements
      • Notices
  • Video
  • Notices & Vacancies
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
NOW Grenada
No Result
View All Result

Article Header

CDB president: 2019 Doing Business ranking is not simply criticism

This story was posted 1 year ago
6 November 2019
in Business
3 min. read
Share

by Linda Straker

  • Doing Business report advocates regulatory quality and efficiency
  • Implementing its recommendations will increase region’s attractiveness for growth and development

Grenada and other Caribbean countries have been told by Caribbean Development Bank President, Dr William Warren Smith, that the World Bank’s Doing Business report is a very important review for the region and implementing the recommendations will increase the region’s attractiveness for growth and development.

He told participants at the Ninth Caribbean Forum that they should not regard the analyses of the World Bank Doing Business report simply as criticisms of shortcomings but they should grasp the opportunity for targeted redress of those very things that hamper business competitiveness in the region.

“The World Bank’s Doing Business indicators give us an idea of some of the critical factors that impact business decisions, including starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity services, and trading across borders. The speed with which these can take place provides a gauge of our region’s efficiency vis-à-vis the “best in class,” he told more than 200 delegates attending the forum.

World Bank Doing Business report

The Doing Business report advocates for both regulatory quality and efficiency. It measures regulations across 190 economies in 12 business regulatory areas to assess the business environment in each economy.

The study looks at rules affecting business from inception through operation to wind-down: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, and resolving insolvency.

A significant number of Caribbean countries received low ranking on the index which reviewed 190 countries. They include Suriname at 165; Grenada at 147; St Kitts and Nevis at 140, Guyana at 134, St Vincent and the Grenadines at 130; Barbados at 129, Trinidad and Tobago at 105, Dominica at 102 and St Lucia at 93.

“Let us pull out for priority action, those “low hanging fruits” that can bring significant benefit with minimal effort. I must admit that implementation is a grave concern for CDB itself. The growing “buckets” of undisbursed balances on our books keep me awake at nights,” he said.

Informing the participants that he is concerned about the increasing number of donor funds that are not accessed, Smith said that it is cold comfort that other development partners are facing a similar challenge.

“Bear in mind that none of us are delivering on our development mandate if the funds intended for these countries remain in our coffers. Our goal should be for the intended beneficiaries to be able to access these resources for high priority development projects as quickly as possible,” he told senior policymakers, public, private, and multilateral development partners.

In his address at the opening of the 2019 Caribbean Forum, Warren highlighted challenges with the implementation of projects and policies in the region. “In order to make the Caribbean a better place, it is necessary to tackle poor rates of implementation and weak implementation capacity, which are ongoing concerns for Caribbean public sector managers. Moving the needle on the solutions to our region’s perennial challenges requires a relentless commitment to implementation, starting with a cultural shift that encourages increased accountability,” said Smith.

“We often joke about Caribbean people always being late. But time is money, undermining our capacity to deliver goods and services in a timely manner, and undercutting our ability to compete based on low cost and high quality,” he said, explaining that lateness is only one manifestation of the implementation problem.

He disclosed that public sector investment programmes are underperforming, with implementation rates below 35% being reported by several countries. The low rate undermines private sector confidence and its willingness to invest. The implementation challenge also affects the work of CDB and is manifested in growing levels of undisbursed balances. Other development agencies face similar concerns.

CDB is addressing the implementation issue from several fronts, including supporting behavioural change in its borrowing member countries through institutionalised delivery mechanisms. Since 2016, CDB has also trained over 2,000 public officers in public policy analysis and project-cycle management. Smith announced that the bank will launch e-learning modules to reach an even larger number of public officials in the Caribbean.

The theme for the forum is “Regional Transformation for Inclusive and Sustainable Growth.” It is co-organised by the CDB, the Government of Barbados and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

NOW Grenada is not responsible for the opinions, statements or media content presented by contributors. In case of abuse, click here to report.

Tags: caribbean development bankcdbdoing business reportgovernment of barbadosinternational monetary fundlinda strakerwilliam warren smithworld bank
Next Post
Photography as Art — A refreshing view

Photography as Art — A refreshing view

Comment on story Cancel reply

Please enter your valid email address.
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Home Sidebar NP 300x250

© NOW Grenada. All Rights Reserved. Published by Aqua Design Inc. | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy

No Result
View All Result
  • Front Page
  • Categories
    • General News
      • All
      • Agriculture & Fisheries
      • Arts & Culture
      • Business
      • Education
      • Environment
      • Health
      • History
      • Lifestyle
      • Law
      • Politics
      • Technology
      • Travel & Tourism
      • Weather
      • Youth
    • Sports
      • All
      • Athletics
      • Cricket
      • Football
      • Watersports
    • Community
      • All
      • Tribute
    • Crime
    • Features
      • All
      • Today in History
    • Opinion/Commentary
    • Press Releases
      • All
      • Advertisements
      • Notices
  • Video
  • Notices & Vacancies
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us

Copyright NOW Grenada

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings. Visit our Privacy Policy | Terms of Use.

NOW Grenada
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful. Visit our Privacy Policy | Terms of Use.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.