TURNQUEST: GOV’T EASE OF DOING BUSINESS INITIATIVES REAPING BENEFITS

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Peter Turnquest

NASSAU, Bahamas — Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Peter Turnquest said the government’s ongoing initiatives to improve the ease of doing business in the country have obviously paid dividends for the country’s global ranking, the Nassau Guardian reported November 6.

The Bahamas’ ease of doing business ranking improved by one point this year, moving from 119 to 118 on Trading Economics’ ease of doing business scale based on data from the World Bank.

The Bahamas’ new rating is based on a pool of 190 countries. According to Trading Economics, The Bahamas’ ease of doing business rating averaged 94.55 between 2008 and this year, and reached a high of 121 in 2016. The country had a record low of 59 in 2008, when the world economy was entering a deep recession.

“As you know we have initiated a number of [ease of doing business] initiatives, and while still in the early stages for the big changes, we have simplified a bit, the licensing process by eliminating the need to go to various agencies to obtain licensing data/certificates. That can all be done at DIR now,” Turnquest said. “There are other small improvements along the way, but more importantly we are excited about the planned technology improvements planned to create a single point of contact for all MOF (Ministry of Finance) government services.” https://thenassauguardian.com/2018/11/06/turnquest-govt-ease-of-doing-business-initiatives-reaping-benefits/