The Tribune

By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

Small businesses are urging the new government to further improve the ease and cost of doing business while providing more access to financing.

Sean Bain, manager at J.S. Steel, told Tribune Business there were three things the Philip Davis-led administration must do to assist the private sector immediately.

“We need more concessions.,” he argued. “First of all Value-Added Tax (VAT) is killing us. The new government needs to look at reducing VAT as well as Customs duties. It’s just too expensive to do business in The Bahamas.”

That may be difficult, given the extent of The Bahamas’ fiscal crisis which was further highlighted by Moody’s latest downgrade of the country’s creditworthiness on Friday. Mr Bain, though, added that the administration also needs to look at the way the government interacts with businesses, arguing that there is a lot of redundant work being done in government agencies.

He said: “We bring in a lot of flat racks and they are just covered by a tarp. Before things changed we could have brought in our stuff, pay duty, pay road tax and bring our stuff in the yard.

“Now I see where the Customs department wants to come into the yard and look under the tarp to make sure you have the right material and with that we have to pay extra for that.”

Describing this as a waste of time, Mr Bain said: “All they could have done was check under the tarp before we left the dock. It’s things like this is what needs to be made easier for businesses like us. They also need to increase funding opportunities for small businesses.”

Manera Rolle, owner/operator of Willows Wheelz, added: “I think this new administration should make it easier for small businesses to get their business licenses.

“We also need help getting credit card machines. In this new cashless environment, small businesses need help with getting credit card machines from the commercial banks. It took too long for me to get one and I had to work with someone inside the bank in order to get one. I just could not order one and get one because I applied for one.”

“A lot of small businesses need help getting small loans,” she added, arguing that the Small Business Development Centre (SBDC) is not doing enough for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) because funding is not the only solution by itself. “They need a start-up kit. Don’t just give them $5,000 and say to them go and do your business plan. That’s not how that works,” Ms Rolle said.

Gregory Sherman, owner/operator of G.S. Landscaping Company & Property Management, said of the election: “This was a humbling experience. I am shocked and I am disappointed that the Bahamian people made it personal for Dr Minnis as opposed to looking at the bigger picture, and that really is what ticks me.

“As I drive around, I see a lot of parties at these Progressive Liberal Party headquarters. It’s like everyone has in their mind that COVID-19 is gone.”

As for what the new administration should to assist the private sector, Mr Sherman replied: “Before we get to anything like reducing taxes and import duties, you have to really go in and assess the situation before you make any moves because we had to borrow a lot of money just to sustain us in this pandemic.

“People don’t get that. That was a big deal and if you look around the world compared to other countries we took care of some of our people during the pandemic.”