Falklands : FALKLANDS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE PRESIDENT BLASTS FIG
Submitted by Falkland Islands News Network (Juanita Brock) 29.07.2009 (Article Archived on 26.08.2009)
Mr Spink added that he spoke on the Chamber’s hope of making progress with FIG on representation in the regulation of the telecommunications monopoly in the Islands. The Chamber has been a significant force in promoting action by FIG to improve performance of the telecommunications provider. Progress has been slow we originally wrote to FIG in January 2008,
FALKLANDS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE PRESIDENT BLASTS FIG
By J. Brock (FINN)
An annual general meeting of the Falkland Islands Chamber of Commerce was held at 1830hrs on Wednesday, 22 July 2009 at the Chamber’s function room. The meeting started with the confirmation of the minutes of the AGM held in July 2008, followed by the president’s report then that of the treasurer.
In his remarks at the meeting the president said that the council were grateful to see that members supported all the current Chamber Council standing for election and would remind members as we do ourselves that each year if you feel we are not working for your interests or members wish for a change there is the opportunity for an open election.
Mr Spink added that he spoke on the Chamber’s hope of making progress with FIG on representation in the regulation of the telecommunications monopoly in the Islands. The Chamber has been a significant force in promoting action by FIG to improve performance of the telecommunications provider. Progress has been slow we originally wrote to FIG in January 2008,
He said that FIG’s “failure to properly address these issues has hindered private sector development and let down consumers in the Islands.” He went on to say that continued participation in the forum that was ineffective and failed to openly address the issues raised would have indicated the Chamber was happy with the regulatory process.
He explained that the Chamber and its representatives Keith Biles and Nikki Buxton were not going to stand idly by and participate in a user group which allowed the service provider to walk all over the consumer and demanded greater regulatory transparency, valid service level statistics, timely improvements etc. And The Chamber were not seeing any of this in the User group meetings, or in any actions resulting from them.
Nonetheless, the Chamber remain keen to be engaged in an open process that delivers the improvements believed to be necessary to further development and growth in the Islands economy.
Dr Doyle’s report is keenly awaited and the action taken on receipt of it will be viewed with interest. In particular the suggestion of putting competitive pressure on Cable and Wireless by issuing a number of licences for satellite dishes should hopefully improve their willingness to provide a better service and address some of the capacity issues C&W raise.
The support of members and the general public for the Chamber’s stance has ensured THE Chamber’s elected representatives have had to respond to these concerns.
Cable & Wireless was not the only entity to be examined in Mr Spink’s speech. He went on to say that Councillor Summers said in June 2008:
“I think the most important thing for us between now and the end of this calendar year at least is going to be the review of Government. It’s the review of Government and the structure that has the greatest potential, I think, to save us significant amounts of money”
The review has now taken place and the annual result on a cost saving basis, taking into account the retirement of the Director of Mineral resources should Oil Exploration fail, is disappointing. We fear that the introduction of another tier of management will not result in savings overall and could result in the government being even more remote from the people it serves.
The recent visit by the Oil operators was, The Chamber believes, a useful exercise however it was unfortunate that several senior and key members of our government administration were absent from the Islands during this visit. This was a demonstration of how disconnected from the community the Government seems to have become. Fortunately most of the private sector businesses involved in the last exploration round who ensured they were all present offered their practical knowledge of what was and is now possible in the Islands.
Chamber representatives made various representations on the constitutional review which we believed to be in the interests of our members. The introduction of the Public Accounts Committee later this year will show how far FIG is willing to embrace the concept of openness and accountability. The Chamber made a submission to Councillors on this subject but regrettably has not had an acknowledgement, let alone any feedback.
The Chamber has approached FIG regarding the issue of work permits. The Chamber wishes to see authority vested in a Board and not a single Government official. The reaction to our requests showed little enthusiasm for our proposals which we believed give more transparency and equity, we are to make a further submission to see if we can push this issue further.
There was some progress during the year on MOD business opportunities but we intend to push again this year to develop further the roles the private sector can fill at MPA. Many members gained from the Mountain top rebuilds where MOD openly encouraged the successful contractors to use local labour but there is still much to be done to inform and convince the MOD and their contractors to place more business locally.
Chamber representations to FIG on Leasehold vs Freehold are being pursued through David Waugh the new GM FIDC. We think there should be open-criteria giving transparency in the operation of any process to sell Government Land on a freehold basis. It should be noted that FIG has already been selling certain areas on a freehold basis and the hang up strangely seems to be on a few small areas in amongst other larger plots that have already been sold freehold by FIG!
The Chamber’s message got through to FIG on the BAS issue and the impact on the economy is now accepted. The Government are to be congratulated on the constructive approach they have now adopted. We hope that the outcome will be a cordial link between FIG and BAS which will enable the private sector to fully resume the relationship it has historically had with BAS.
Sonny Jose has assisted FIG to set their priorities and ensure that essential medical care to enable someone to live a longer life is prioritised above the many areas of discretionary expenditure we currently have. We hope he is able through the Economic Development Strategy and its associated taxation review, Rural Development strategy and other reviews to create a climate in which the private sector can grow and prosper for the benefit of everyone in the Islands.
The Fishing Sector, the driver of our economic prosperity, is providing significant funding to enable a joint review with Government of quota fee levels, a complicated process, the outcome of which will be of critical importance to the Industry and the Islands.
The Chamber, Fishing, farming and tourist industries are also directing considerable resources to assist Government in the EDS, RDS, Fishing Quota and Tax review process. There is understandable caution within the business community regarding these reviews and the maintenance of confidence between the parties will remain important.’
It is clear despite the present world situation and the collapse of the Illex Fishery that the Falkland Islands private sector continues to invest in the future, examples such as the Print Shop, The “W” hotel, Byron Marine Housing, Waterfront Gift Shop, Seafish Chandlery, Malvina House Hotel Extension, West Store Extension, Stanley Services Offices, Cable and Wireless Camp system, KTV digital system, SAAS Containerisation, Neil McKay plant, Bluff Cove busses, CFL warehousing, Beauchene Fishing Launch, Sullivan Shipping launch, FITT busses, the growth in the participation by local companies in the Fishing activity both around the Islands and in South Georgia has benefited government tax revenues, employment and the economy in general.
Mr Spink remarked that on the FIG Web site it states “FIDC was set up in 1984 in response to the recommendations of Lord Shackleton's Report and is currently funded from its own reserves and income streams, with no core input from the Falkland Islands Government (FIG). Key policy decisions are made by the Falkland Islands Development Board, which comprises representatives of each of the key economic sectors and FIG”
It is concerning that our representative on the Development board and several other people both in the Chamber and from outside who have served on that board had the following concerns-
Issues raised 12 months ago for the review of FIDC have not been addressed.
Items are being presented to ExCo first and referred to the Board for “approval” which is in effect rubber stamping. This process has become more entrenched recently.
FIDC is becoming more involved in non-development issues which are operational matters.
The Board is being asked to approve items which are not commercial or viable in a business sense.
Accounting anomalies on projects continue only to be identified by private sector representatives.
He continued that the Chamber feels that a private sector presence on FIDB provides it with credibility, however in practice items are agreed between FIG/FIDC/Councillors beforehand.
The Chamber representative also has a serious concern about a lack of engagement with the private sector. There is a disregard, bordering on contempt, for existing private sector business.
Mr Spink indicated that he feels that FIDC / FIG has an inclination or desire to “look outside” first and private sector representatives have had to insist that FIDC should be supporting the development of existing companies and avoiding actions which stimulated direct competition with existing businesses. He has concerns that in practice this may not be adhered to.
During the year we have recommenced regular meetings with the FIG councillors to discuss their budget strategy and the Medium Term Financial plan. Our elected representatives have shown a willingness to listen and we must thank them for having the courage to act when our arguments carry merit. It is regrettable that their administration is not as open as we believe it should be to criticism or debate. The loss of the regular meetings between the Chamber and the Chief Executive is inevitably a concern.
It is the Chamber’s view that engaging the Government at all levels in constructive debate over the way forward is essential if we are to move the economy forwards and avoid such knee jerk and damaging steps as the unscheduled tax hike of 2008 in the future. The decision to broaden the consultation process on the EDS is welcomed as we believe the final document should have broad support from the whole community. We need to create the economic environment necessary to allow the private sector to invest and grow. An economy can’t tax its way to prosperity – A large number of sophisticated econometric studies undertaken over recent years, suggest a negative empirical relationship between taxation and GDP growth.
Mr Spink said that the Chamber took the opportunity of the visiting MP’s to advise them of the effects of the economic blockade operated by the Argentine Government. We can only speculate as to the action that would be taken by the EEC if French, German and Italian Companies and individuals had to face the same level of interference in free trade and movement.
The fundamental problem of the relentless rise in the costs of Government has to be addressed and the Chamber is concerned at the lack of action in this area. Endless reviews are only worthwhile if they deliver tangible long term results and are not used as an excuse to avoid taking early action. The agreed approach was laid out in the Medium Term Financial plan back in December 2007.
The Chamber can only achieve results in these areas if we and the Government are convinced of the support we have across all sectors of the business community and we encourage all of you as you did with the Telecom’s and BAS issues to give us your views and feedback on our initiatives. We are not as some would try to portray us an opposition group to FIG, but we are a lobby group for our member’s interests, just as the CBI and Institute of Directors operate in the UK, we try to represent our members on various boards and to advance the case for business in government, the media and other influential areas. Our future prosperity as an Island depends on enterprise, and so it is imperative that the views of business leaders are heard in all matters of economic and public policy.
Mr Spink concluded that the Chamber is aware that communication with our members is a priority and we hope our weekly newsletters are informative, they do not however give us the opportunity to interact with you all as members and events such as this one together with the many meetings we have during the year we hope give you the opportunity to contribute and take part in forming the Chambers policies. We hope we are and will continue asking the questions the business community needs.
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