Government on the verge of taking a major step towards fulfilling its promise to significantly improve the ease of doing business.
Seven months after Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Mia Amor Mottley announced the establishment of the state-owned Business Barbados to anchor all business facilitation services in a single space, legislators are preparing to consider laws to make this a reality.
The proposed Business Barbados Bill, 2024 is on Parliament’s Order Paper for debate by the House of Assembly, after which it is expected to proceed to the Senate for discussion and approval.
The bill is to “make provision for the establishment of a body corporate to be known as Business Barbados by coordinating and carrying out functions in relation to specified corporate and intellectual property enactments in order to provide efficient, effective and timely service to users; and repeal the Corporate Affairs and Intellectual Property Office (CAIPO) Act, Cap. 21A, and provide for related matters”.
There will be a Business Barbados board to be responsible for the policy, organisation and administration of the entity and the establishment of various divisions.
With the minister responsible for business to appoint a chairman and deputy chairman, the board is to have no more than nine directors comprised of the permanent secretary in the ministry responsible for business, a representative each from BIBA, the Association for Global Business, Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Small Business Association; and at least three, but no more than five, individuals with experience in industry, commerce or business.
The legislation states that Business Barbados will have a chief executive officer, registrar, director of intellectual property (IP), senior legal counsel, legal administrator, legal counsel and “such other staff as Business Barbados considers necessary”.
Business Barbados may also separate its operations into divisions and the organisation will be able to appoint experts approved by the minister.
The Government agency will also have an advisory committee on Intellectual Property to advise the board on various matters including policies relating to intellectual property rights in Barbados. This board will have 13 members: permanent secretaries in the Ministries responsible for Business, Agriculture, and Innovation, Science and Technology; director of IP; National Cultural Foundation CEO; Export Barbados CEO; Solicitor General; Copyright Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers Inc. CEO; Barbados Museum and Historical Society
director; and two to four individuals with experience in intellectual property, industry, business or innovation.
The bill outlines that all matters related to CAIPO, including all funds appropriated to it, will now be the responsibility of Business Barbados.
When she announced the new organisation while delivering the Budget on March 18, the Prime Minister said Business Barbados “will be positioned strategically in the middle of the local trading and investment architecture by ensuring that all services required from preto post-incorporation of companies will be vested in and provided by the operations of that entity”.
She explained that the three arms of Business Barbados would be the corporate, intellectual property, and business facilitation, while Invest Barbados “will continue to focus on attracting businesses of substance to set up in Barbados”.
“From incorporation to the filing of annual returns and every requirement of companies legislation, Business Barbados will be the responsible entity,” Mottley noted.
Speaking last month at the launch of Global Business Week, Minister of Energy and Business Senator Lisa Cummins said it was important for Government to strike the right balance of “making things easier for businesses to operate while ensuring that we meet all regulatory and compliance standards that protect both the public and the State”.
The minister added: “We want to make sure that both local and international companies can thrive here, without unnecessary hurdles or red tape. That’s what we’re working towards, and that’s what Business Barbados will help achieve.”
The Business Barbados Bill, 2024 is coming after the World Bank Group Business Ready 2024 report recently stated that Barbados must do more to “foster a more conducive business environment”.
The report named Barbados among economies that “grapple with a challenging business environment characterised by relatively weak regulatory frameworks and public services, which constrains the operational efficiency of their businesses”. (SC)
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