Samuda reshapes agencies, cuts red tape
Published:Wednesday | November 10, 2010 | 12:00 AM
Karl Samuda, minister of industry, investment and commerce, is reporting improvement in cutting bureaucratic delays in his own ministry, but admits he has fallen short of target.
"I don't think we have been able to reduce in our ministry that whole bureaucratic serpent by more than probably 25 per cent and we have to because this is what is strangling us," Samuda told Wednesday Business.
Samuda, when he assumed office back in 2007, had projected that he would reduce bureaucracy in Government by 40 per cent. But in recent times the minister admitted that this was a difficult task.
Pressed on what he has accomplished in his own ministry, Samuda said he has been able to pare down delays by 20 to 25 per cent, citing reduced time to get companies registered at the Companies Office of Jamaica and to obtain licences issued at the Trade Board.
"We have made some shift in the Trade Board, the Companies Office ... the whole processing time involved has been significantly reduced but it can be improved," he said.
Hassle getting waivers
Jamaican manufacturers have confirmed improvements inside Samuda's shop, but suggested that similar gains were yet to be seen across the Government.
"It seems as if as you clear up one there is much more under the rubble," said JMA president Omar Azan of the tangle of redtape.
Azan said his members still face a hassle in getting waivers approved for raw materials, among other challenges.
Reginald Budhan, permanent secretary in the industry and commerce ministry, said Samuda had instructed all agencies that fall under his portfolio to report to him details of all the services delivered and regulatory functions performed.
"Previously, he had mandated agencies to review their processes very carefully and look at those that can be redesigned and take out the processes that are cumbersome," he explained.
Centralising functions
As a result, Budhan said, there has been consolidation of operating space, for example Jamaica Intellectual Property Office with JAMPRO, which has made it easier for the agencies to collaborate and work in a more seamless manner.
"We have moved the Anti-Dumping Commission into JAMPRO also," said Budhan. "What (we) are trying to do is consolidate the agents of the ministry into clusters because when we are dispersed, it means that it is not so convenient," he said.
The ministry is also centralising the accounting functions of some six agencies in the ministry, including Jamaica National Accreditation Agency and the Anti-Dumping and Subsidies Commission.
"The whole idea is to reduce the cost and to really maximise the use of the limited staff that we have," he said.
Budhan, however, cautioned that removing too much of the bureau-cracy can be detrimental, as the procedures also serve as the checks and balances to mitigate corruption.
"Bureaucracy is there to prevent corruption and exploitation of, maybe, entrusted power in the system. So the idea is that you have to make sure that there is control so that people don't exploit the opportunities that might be available," he said.
"As you put in these controls, of course, it slows down the system, but as you remove many of these controls, then you expose the system to risk; and it is a very delicate balance."