Commissioner of Economic Affairs Maria Buncamper-Molanus announced yesterday that the Executive Council recently took a decision to merge the issuing process of certain business licenses. According to the Commissioner the decision will facilitate the speedy issuance of a specific group of licenses.
The types of licenses that the mandate relates to are those for offshore companies, carnival licenses, buffet/bingo/raffle licenses and licenses regarding cancellation/amendments, in principal most commonly requested licenses.
"The decision gives the Sector Economy & Tourism the mandate to decide on licenses and sign on behalf of the Executive Council. With efficiency as a goal, the decision will eliminate the time it would take (sometimes weeks) for a license to reach the Executive Council," the Commissioner said.
She added that the mandating of the signing of the business licenses brings with it more transparency and takes the direct involvement in what
can be considered operation activities out of the hands of politicians.
"This is yet another improvement in speeding up the process and accommodating the client. During the launch of the upgraded website on May 14th during the State of The Economy address, downloading of forms for application of licenses also became available. I am very pleased with these improvements as it demonstrates maturity and transparency in government operation," Buncamper-Molanus.
As is customary, an overview of the licenses issued based on this mandate will be submitted to the Executive Council on a monthly basis. Reporting becomes even more important in order for the EXCO to be able to monitor the market’s development and carry out its responsibilities.
"This mandating was included in the amended business license ordinance which is still to be completed. We thought it of utmost importance to have this put into effect in advance of the handling of the amended ordinance," Buncamper-Molanus concluded.