2019/20 Budget Communication Final Budget Communication | Page 22

and up three positions from 2017, we simply cannot be content with this position. In fact, we have
made it our goal to improve our score on this index by 20 points over the next few years which, in
turn, will significantly improve our ranking in the Index.
To advance this priority, the Ministry of Finance is spearheading an inter-agency
working group, which consists of representatives from the Ministry of Finance, the Office of the
Prime Minister, the Office of the Attorney General, the Department of Inland Revenue, the
Customs Department, the Department of Public Works, the Central Bank of The Bahamas, the
Registrar General’s Office and the Securities Commission.
The objective of the working group is to employ a data-driven approach to tracking
progress, decision-making and modeling best practices as it pertains to the areas in need of the
greatest improvement as per the Index.
These include getting credit, registering property,
protecting minority investors, trading across borders, accessing electricity, dealing with
construction permits and starting a business. To deepen our focus, sub-committees were created
for each category, which meet regularly to measure progress against their plan.
Some of these areas have experienced significant progress since the creation of the
working group, particularly the sub-set for protecting minority investors, which was supported by
a suite of legislation and rules; namely, The Companies (Amendment) Act, 2019, the Securities
Industry (Amendment) Act, 2019, and the implementation of the Corporate Governance Rules and
Takeover Rules. These all move to support the growth of equity capital markets, as well as to
bring The Bahamas more in line with international best practices—thereby enhancing companies’
ability to raise capital and compete, while allowing greater participation in wealth creation in the
domestic economy.
The sub-committee dealing with construction permits has made noteworthy progress,
with a focus on the selection process for a supplier of an Electronic Plan Review and Inspection
System, which seeks to revolutionize the construction permit process in The Bahamas over the
coming year. It will take the process of getting a construction permit from a matter of months in
some cases, to one which will take a matter of days for all but the more complex commercial
projects.
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