Dominica has been rated fourth in the Caribbean and 68th in the world for ease of doing business according to the latest report from the World Bank.
From a CARICOM perspective Dominica ranked third.
US territory Puerto Rico ranked the highest in the Caribbean coming in at 41st.
St. Lucia ranked highest in CARICOM and second in the Caribbean at 53 while Antigua and Barbuda ranked second in CARICOM and third in the Caribbean at 63.
The report looked at a series of regulations that apply to an economy’s businesses during their life cycles, from start up to trading across borders and paying taxes.
Worldwide, Singapore topped the rankings for the seventh year in a row.
According to the report Dominica is weak in registering property, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency.
The breakdown of ranking for Dominica (on worldwide basis) is as follows:
Starting a Business………46
Dealing with Construction Permits……22
Getting Electricity……….61
Registering Property………119
Getting Credit…………..83
Protecting Investors……..32
Paying Taxes…………….74
Trading Across Borders……92
Enforcing Contracts……….170
Resolving Insolvency………104
If Skerro bring down port-duty we will be #1
Is backward dominica back already .what we all have to is lived dominca for all those who keep crippling in it.imagin
hahahahahahha…another insane report!!! What about import duties, what about a nightmare to get working permit for foreign employees, what about lacking of office spaces, high prices for everything…you should be joking and completely lost all contacts with reality…this article is typical PR bs
Good question! Why cant we attract investors? The same reason Dominica has never been able to and thats because its too diffcult here to make money. Mountainous terrain, aggressive natives i.e. Caribs and now ignorant natives i.e. Dominicans, small population, majority unskilled population, poor poor poor poor management of the island’s resources over the decades and the ruthlessly consistent sqaundering of the island’s potential!
The only way to make money here in DA is to either steal it, through cronyism or be totally off the grid. Most legitimate investors couldnt be bothered as there is a whole planet to choose from.
With people like you making comments like these, I understand poerfectly.
With people like you making comments like these, I understand perfectly. Many Dominicans lack the fortitude to think positively about anything.
Many Dominicans lack the fortitude to accept the truth.
THERE MUST BE FOUR ISLANDS IN THE CARIBBEAN
It is Antigua and Barbuda not Bermuda. Bermuda is in the north Atlantic and a British dependency.
As for the rating… of what significance is this ranking to real investments taking place…? I do not see any…all the countries of the Caribbean rank before or after Dominica, unfortunately, even Haiti is attracting more investors than Dominica.
When you all can translate that into real economic opportunities then you can talk… but for now that is PAWOL ENITIL…
The above reported rating of ease of doing business ought to be juxtaposed against the result on the most recent Global Corruption Perceptions Index ranking.
Transparency International is the global civil society organization leading the fight against international corruption by raising awareness of the damaging effects of corruption and work with partners in government, business and civil society to develop and implement effective measures to tackle it.
On a scale of 0-10, with a 10 being the most transparent environment, New Zealand was number 1 with a scored 9.5, whereas Somalia was 182nd, the last place with a with a score 1.0.
In terms of the Caribbean, Dominica did not do too badly in 2011, although it is expected that the 2012 report will reflect a decline in transparency in Dominica.
The following were the placements and rankings of some Caribbean countries in 2011;
No of 182 Country Score (1 – 10)
16 Barbados 7.8
21 Bahamas 7.3
25 Saint Lucia 7.0
36 Saint Vincent &
the Grenadines 5.8
39 Puerto Rico 5.6
44 Dominica 5.2
Accordingly, the 2011 global report reflected the public outcry against corruption, impunity and economic instability that sent shockwaves around the world in 2011.
The report observed that public sector governance that puts the interests of its citizens first is a responsibility that transcends borders.It called on governments to act accordingly.
For our part, Dominican citizens need to intensify their efforts in demanding greater transparency and accountability from our leaders in addition to more effective governance and improved performance.
Respectfully
Roseau Valley
Keep us informed Roseau Valley. We love that. Govt. always claiming they can not do things by themselves so you are helping them by bringing concrete facts to the public. (…although maybe that’s not exactly what they had in mind?).
Please give the thanks and praise to DNO for affording the opportunity to do so.
In deed, we ought to express tremendous gratitude to the operators of websites and other off and on websites that are not regularly updated such as HonestDominica.com and NatureIslandNews, com for keeping us up to date.
I recommend DNO in competition with Lennox Linton as the personality of the year for 2013. These two have been the most influential factors in our socio-economic-political-constitutional development over the last few months-promoting and encouraging clean, civic-minded debate by the people, for the people and on behalf of the people –true democracy
Neither will receive at this years independence celebrations but DNO and Lennox Linton certainly deserve extra praise, credit and recognition.
I say thanks to both
Respectfully
Roseau Valley
All of the above has to do with property buy,sell, or rent if you were to register a property in DA and it is rated #119 in the world what are the chances of geting your business up and running in a timely maner knowing how long it takes right now in Dominica, so #119 we can do beter, but all in all it’s not the worst.
That’s exactly what’s wrong with us brother! We congratulate ourselves because we are not the worst? How far does that kind of attitude get us? We give up too easy and blame someone else when we fail. What’s wrong with striving to be number one, going for the best? Nothing wrong with having these aspirations, in my book!
Can you imagine the others !
The proof is in the pudding.
A combination of VAT, Customs duties and DOMLEC is more than enough to make any investor keep their distance.
Them other countries that came below us must really be full of $h1T.
Then why cant we attract more investors?
Its because of dictatorship.
Still a lot of work to be done.We’re still ranking to low in some areas like enforcing contracts and resolving insolvencies.We are not doing to bad.There’s plenty of room for improvement.
Easy to commit Bohbol in, they mean.
Erhhhhhhmmmmm………what about dealing with VAT.
Sounds good to me. Let us use this information to market Dominica.
Hello Peeping. Longtime! Nice to have you back peeping around after Pappy Joe’s revelation of all the “pomping” and “pumping” of funds into places and people who are not entitled to such funds.
I actually agree with your assessment though- relatively favourable report. However, it is certainly a deterrent to investment and the conduct business in an environment where the perception of corruption is high, where the productive sector is struggling, where crimes by those connected to the politicians are unresolved, matters are generally delayed in the courts and there is a demonstrated lack of respect by political leaders for the people, the business community, the farmers, the civil servants, the laws of the land and above all the constitution.
Respectfully
Roseau valley
“Perception” is the key word. While there is some validity to some of these claims, most of them have very little or no merit at all.
Do you know that in certain things “perception” is just as bad or even worst than the thing itself. Read our integrity laws on issues related to “conflict of interest” for example.
The perception that one is ill with HIV AIDS regretfully carries the same stigma and can be equally damaging as actually being infected with the virus. So too is the “perception” of being regarded as a thief, a sex offender or a corrupt government.
It is not in everything that the rules of evidence in court with regard to burden of proof, standard of proof, hearsay, and the sufficiency and relevance of evidence bring victory.
A legal victory that does not rely on “perception” is not necessary translated into political or moral victory.
Keeping flying your kite until the refreshing winds of change blows all of you away.
Respectfully
Roseau Valley
Hello, Roseau Valley, what did Pappy Joe “reveal” that was so scandalous? Apart from publicly disclosing information on the internal political dynamics within an organization, the DLP, Pappy Joe has only succeeded in doing damage to his credibility and his future in public life in Dominica. I am sure Q-95 listeners were disappointed.
Still, being perceived as a thief does not make you a thief.
Of course we must promote Dominica as an investment destination and the dedicated folk at Invest Dominica do their best, against daunting odds, as outlined by DNO and “Roseau Valley”. Don’t forget that we are not only competing with our regional neigbours but the entire world!
For instance we discriminate against foreign investors looking to acquire property in Dominica, who are charged an extra 10% tax of the property value, in comparison with Dominicans and other OECS citizens. Whichever way we look at this, it is discriminatory and does not help our development in an international- and increasingly liberalised environment. It is for this reason that both Barbados and Belize dismantled their legislation in this regard. Secondly, whereas this tax may help the treasury it does little for our own population as the net effect is
an escalation in property prices, putting it all but beyond their reach. That is, of course, if the property market is active at all. In Dominica we currently have a lot of equity tied up in porperty, which is proving to be extremely difficuklt to turn into liquidity. Yesterday’s edition of the SUN alone lists 81 properties for sale, the leading real estate agents- and financial institutions, who hold a lot of non-performing mortgages not included. Our local lawyers’ insistence on charging 3% of a property’s value for conveyancing does not help either. Their are other “protective” barriers contributing to the stagnation of our business climate. it is abouty time we “free ourselves up” as we put it in our own parlance and realise that if we are truly to participate in a global economy we must open up and turn our smallness into a comptetitive advantage, rather than emulate the hermit crab.