The Down to Brass Tacks programme of Friday, January 31, 2025, was most thought-provoking.
The moderator was David Ellis and he had with him Maureen Holder of the Barbados Consumer Empowerment Network (BCEN) and Dr Lynette Holder, CEO of the Small Business Association (SBA). The discussion focused on a number of areas related to governance, more specifically to the persistent concern about ‘the ease of doing business’ in our country. So much is said about the issue and yet the dissatisfactions persist. In fact, before the end of the Friday programme, there was a promise from Minister of Energy and Business Development, Senator Lisa Cummins to ‘restructure the framework for doing business in Barbados.’
Dr Holder’s comments were very incisive and to the point. She noted that government, including both BLP and DLP administrations, are invariably well-intentioned. However, the processes of reform and change are often weak. In relation to small and medium-size entrepreneurship, she noted that many policymakers do not seem to understand the ‘specificities’ and ‘intricacies’ of running a small business. Perhaps not surprisingly and this writer would hazard a guess that few civil service officers have ever experienced the agony or the ecstasy of running either a rum shop or a sno-cone cart. They often sign off on poorly conceived policies determined by a politician sometimes for political reasons.
Holder’s prime concern was with yet another commercial bank’s decision to shorten its working hours. What was of particular relevance to myself was her legitimate contention that Barbados is not ready for full digitalisation in regard to digital banking. She felt that the commercial banks are putting profits before customer convenience. As an elderly person who admittedly struggles with the rapidly expanding technology, one cannot but agree with her on that matter. The banks must do more to accommodate older customers who do not understand digitalisation or may not have a computer or whose computers are subject to repeated breakdowns. There appears to be a growing lack of what the late Walter Blackman called ‘empathy’ in nearly all levels of Barbadian society.
The Central Bank governor’s notion that digital banking services were being expanded to improve ‘efficiency and accessibility’ and that customers should take advantage of online platforms appears a bit inconsiderate and even callous. It is this increasingly pervasive deficit in empathy that is causing much of the alienation and anger that characterises Caribbean societies regionwide.
The issue of commercial banks’ relationship with clients had arisen earlier on Wednesday, January 8, 2025, when Ms Maxine McClean raised the issue of inefficiencies in the way banks communicated with customers. Moderator Jamal Slocombe noted that not all persons accessing the banks were acquainted with the technology, in fact he stated that some were ‘clueless.’ President of the Bankers Association Shimon Mc Intosh replied somewhat glibly, that we have many ‘enablers’ that can be used to access the online portals. This may be true, but it does not address the concerns of the genuinely ‘clueless’. There was a time when I could go to my bank and ask for a statement on the state of my savings account. The teller would inquire as to how far back I wanted to go. I was often surprised at the speed with which that statement was made available to me in print and at no cost. This is no longer the case. I was told of a case where a one-page bank statement was costed at $12. If the statement ran into two pages the cost doubled. Is this highway robbery?
The discussion turned to the ease of doing business in Barbados which all would agree is vital for the development of our country’s economy particularly at this juncture when we face a plethora of challenges internal and external.
On a very simple level it must be concerning how both public and private sector employees often fail or refuse to answer the phones. How can one do business if no one is answering the phones? Then there are bureaucratic inefficiencies that must be known to most individuals. Dr Holder spoke to the restrictive practices that hinder new entrepreneurship by imposing ‘very draconian measures’ related to the opening of a commercial bank account. It was claimed that in Barbados, it could take as much as three months to complete the opening of a business account. Some customers are known personally to their banks for years, yet they are told by the teller they have to bring several pieces of ID. The teller does what she is told or risks being fired even though it is recognised that the regulations are crippling, especially for small and medium-size enterprises.
Attention turned to small business and the functioning of the Bridgetown port. It was claimed with some degree of legitimacy that importers were incurring significant costs because of the inordinate delays in clearing goods from the port. These costs were then passed on to the consumers leading to higher inflation. In spite of the recognition that it ‘can’t be business as usual’ too many bureaucratic processes remain slow as the implementation deficit widens. Whatever ever happened to public sector reform and the National Initiative for Service Excellence (NISE).
It was claimed that it has taken 20 years to change the legislation governing credit unions. Whatever happened to the breathalyser testing mechanism? As Dr Holder noted there are meetings on top of meetings and we are told that the bureaucrats are working ‘assiduously.’ By the way, what happened to the Thorne Commission on ‘participatory democracy.’ So much obfuscating talk, so little effective action. Maybe somebody needs to ‘come long home’. Who truly is minding the store? We are living in a very competitive global capitalist economy. Given the odds against us, if we don’t swim more vigorously we may surely sink.
Ralph Jemmott is a retired educator and commentator on social issues.
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