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The European Commission has promised to make available $9 billion to the government as part of its budget support programme in Jamaica, with a significant portion of the funds being directed towards reducing bureaucratic red tape which is affecting business development on the island.

Ambassador Marco Mazzocchi-Alemanni, head of Delegation of the European Commission in Jamaica, made the announcement yesterday during a competitiveness roundtable discussion, organised by the Target Growth Competitiveness Committee (TGCC), at the Jamaica Pegasus in Kingston.

"The major budget support programme that we are preparing right now is a $9 billion budget support programme and one of the key components is precisely cutting red tape," said Mazzocchi-Alemanni. "In terms of time frame, this should be approved towards the end of this year and the first disbursement of the $9-billion should start flowing as of early next year."

The budget support programme is part of the Commission's effort to change its role from funding activities initiated by the European Commission to providing support for activities being pursued by the Government.

"We are moving out of this project approach into a budget support approach," noted the ambassador. "The government must actually implement activities that are on its agenda and when it does so it gets money; money that does not go towards projects but towards the treasury; then it is up to you to get part of that money for your own concerns."

Mazzocchi-Alemanni said that in terms of reducing bureaucracy, the Commission have received commitments from the government in undertaking the following initiatives:

. Reducing approval time for building permits to within 90 days once all stipulations are met;

. Enforcing the electronic transactions act;

. Simplify import/export permits issuance and inspection processes;

. Revision of relevant sections of the development and investment manual;

. Substantial reduction of cost required in transferring real estate property;

. Promulgation of the national building code; and

. Establishment of a one-stop shop for planning and building plans.

"These are commitments, and these are not just commitments on a piece of paper," assured the ambassador. "These are commitments against which the government will be able to get $9 billion; these are what the different administrations have already agreed to.

"As I said to the prime minister a few weeks ago," added Mazzocchi-Alemanni. " "You are in the driver's seat and you either push on the brakes or the accelerator'."

Minister of Industry, Investments and Commerce and recently elected chairman of TGCC, Karl Samuda, used the platform to highlight that the government is devoutly committed to reducing stifling red tape and enhancing a more business-friendly environment.

"I don't think that there is any single aspect of development that can be more impeding than the question of red tape and bureaucracy," said Samuda. "At a time when the question of competitiveness has to occupy our thoughts in a very real way, this is the time that we must act.

"It is no longer enough to simply talk about it, but it must be manifestly clear that we intend to do something about it," added the minister. "I believe that we have a very real commitment to making a difference and the reason for that is that we now have to face the reality that the world is moving in a direction where only the best will survive."

Samuda said that Jamaica cannot be comforted by unfavourable statistics on the island's global competitiveness, such as a World Bank study which showed the island ranking a dismal 170 out of 178 countries in the category of paying taxes, which has in it the factor relating to fees that are paid on the transfer of land and the development of property.

"This is unacceptable and unsustainable; we cannot face the future with fiscal irresponsibility... We must begin the process of facilitating the growth of our economy," said Samuda. "The only way to do that is to make a conscientious effort to play our respective roles in removing the obstacles to growth and I suggest that one of the main obstacles is the sustained and entrenched level of bureaucracy that has attended this country."

Head of the Jamaica Manufacturers Association (JMA), Omar Azan, lauded the government and the European Commission on their initiative.

"We want to congratulate the government of Jamaica and the European Commission for putting forward this proposal to reducing the red tape in starting businesses in Jamaica," said Azan. "This is very important and the JMA fully supports anything that will facilitate the speedy process of getting a business started, that jobs can be created, foreign exchange can be earned, and exports can be taken care of without all the documentation and running around from one office to the other."