Efforts are under way to improve the efficiency of the state agencies tasked with business facilitation, as Government seeks to position Barbados as an attractive and competitive place for domestic and foreign investment.
Minister of Energy and Business, Senator Lisa Cummins, made the disclosure as she addressed the 49th Annual General Meeting of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Barbados (ICAB), held at the Hilton Barbados Resort, on Thursday.
Senator Cummins said Government was aware of the challenges being encountered by those keen on investing in various areas, namely, the renewable energy sector, and was committed to addressing them. To this end, she stated that the authorities were working to identify the best way forward.
“The changes that need to come must involve all of the entities that constitute the business environment. That would include the International Business Unit, the Small Business Unit, CAIPO, Fund Access, [and] Trust Loans Barbados, and we are currently in the process of looking at what the rationalisation of all of these agencies needs to be,” Minister Cummins revealed.
She stated that a draft presentation had been created, outlining what the rationalisation would look like, and input from all stakeholders would be welcomed.
Turning her attention to the transition to renewable energy, the Business Minister noted that ICAB had a role to play in its development as it relates to helping persons, whether they are the owner of a home or business, understand the financial side of the sector.
“We need to be able to look at what greening the financial architecture for Barbados needs to look like and you, the accountants, as you go into energy accounting, need to be in the vanguard of that pivotal moment,” Senator Cummins suggested.