Business Too Hard in BVI, Says Skelton
Commentator Claude Skelton Cline warned on his Honestly Speaking radio programme that the process of starting and operating businesses in the Virgin Islands is "atrocious", blaming excessive bureaucracy and inefficiencies. He called for sweeping reforms across trade, banking and licensing, and proposed a sovereign wealth fund to give Virgin Islanders a stake in national assets.
Veteran commentator Claude Skelton Cline has described the current business environment in the British Virgin Islands as "atrocious", saying excessive bureaucracy and administrative inefficiencies are deterring both local entrepreneurs and foreign investors. Speaking on his Honestly Speaking radio programme this week, Skelton Cline argued the territory needs sweeping reforms to simplify the process of establishing and running businesses. "The degree of difficulty to conduct business in this country is atrocious.
The degree of difficulty both for locals [and] foreign direct investors," he said. He urged a comprehensive review of government procedures that affect commerce, calling for the removal of unnecessary steps across multiple sectors. "We must completely eliminate all unnecessary components that are not needful to establish and carry out business in this country, from the mom-and-pop store to the trust companies," Skelton Cline said. "We must completely streamline the processes in trade, in banking, in licensing." The concerns he raised echo long-standing complaints from business owners across the Territory about licensing delays, complex administrative requirements and banking challenges that can slow commercial activity.
For many small retailers and service providers, lengthy approval processes and inconsistent requirements add cost and uncertainty to operations. Skelton Cline also took aim at what he called an overly burdensome banking regime for residents and domestic businesses. He argued local customers are often required to meet the same identification and due-diligence standards applied to international business corporations, a practice he described as unfair. "It is unjust.
It is immoral to put your locals through the same processes that youre putting IBC, International Business Corporation, in," he said. As part of a broader vision for economic development, he proposed establishing a sovereign wealth fund that would allow Virgin Islanders to hold a stake in national assets and help finance future investments in education, infrastructure and other public priorities.
Skelton Cline urged politicians and anyone seeking public office to commit to "do the heavy lifting" needed to reform the system. His call adds to ongoing public debate in the BVI about how to make the business environment more efficient, attract sustainable investment and expand economic opportunities for residents.
Stakeholders will be watching for any concrete policy proposals and implementation timelines from the next government.
Primary source: BVI News