The way the process is outlined in Dominican law and in all of the ?Doing Business in the Dominican Republic? publications foreign investors begin the process of investing in this country with the CID-DR which in theory is supposed to be ?one stop service?; but it is not. The first problem is to get CID-DR personnel to answer telephone calls, emails or faxes. The second and most troubling is that no one at the receptions desk or answering incoming calls speaks the international language of business, ?English.? Yes I know that this is a Spanish speaking country but local firms do not have to be bothered with CID-DR only foreign firms, most of them speak or understand English. Worse one only need to look at the bulk of investments outside of real estate and you would see that local with money do not invest in the Dominican Republic.
Once you have an appointment you are met by an official in our case who had no practical experience in alternative energy or business; he was a kid. If this country expects investors to take them seriously they need to act like a business and bring people to the table with some experience and no attitude.
?One Stop? generally means what it says one stop, one presentation then work through the case officer until the approval process is over. It does not mean stop at CID-DR and then go to each and every agency and begin the process all over again. Whatever the requirement for license should be presented to CID-DR in total and they should interface with other government functionaries not the investor. It is not that investors are asking CID-DR people to do their job it is a simple fact that lack of direct contacts cuts down opportunities for bribes and extortion. More important with one point of contact if a project is stopped or needlessly stalled we know where to look and who to move.
In Malaysia for my daughters? hosiery mill which created three hundred (300) jobs and resulted in a multimillion dollar annual payroll our point of contact with the Malaysian Industrial Development Authority was one man who was an expert in garment manufacture and who interfaced with all the diverse elements of the government. When we had questions they were directed to him. We an official at any agency with whom we needed approval had a question it came through him. In addition there was a mandatory timeline to get projects done and if the decision was adverse appeals were commenced within 72 hours and decisions required as a matter of law in one week.
Their system worked for the country and for us and more importantly no official ever asked us for one cent. Malaysia has very tuff laws; some would say barbaric but I would have to disagree. The penalty for drug trafficking in Malaysia is death by hanging; as a direct result people do not do drug deals in Malaysia or in the alternative if they are foolish enough to try they are betting their lives. The results of tuff laws are safe streets and a safe environment to do business. People are working in Malaysia, the power is on 24 hours a day and you can drink the water from the tap.
When I hear an official say, ?corruption is a problem that we cannot solve?; I think of Malaysia and know for a fact that I have just heard a lie. A controlled straight forward process of every government function from getting a copy of your birth certificate to building a factory would solve that problem. Paying higher wages in itself is no solution and we need only look to the house of deputies and senate to understand that big salaries do not stop corruption. As an accountant I believe in audits. Government officials should have to be audited before they take office and every year they are in office and if unreasonable income or wealth appears they should have to account for it while suspended from their positions. The solution or solutions are very simple, not difficult to solve at all.
I know many of you wonder if it is so simple then why it has not been done. The reason is that every resident of the presidential palace wants it that way. It is an off-books reward system designed for some people. The problem is that like the subprime mortgage in my country everyone wanted some of it and in time it almost bankrupted my country. Off-books rewards cannot be controlled because of ?greed?; the more they get the more they want because it costs them nothing. As bad as off-books rewards are, what is worse is that they take away choices from the people of the Dominican Republic that may have been better choices and the country is left with the ?Erons? of the world. Companies that cannot go anywhere else or worse those who are simply not up to the job. Good examples of the results of this process are the ?Green Buses? we see every day. A good idea poorly done most possibly too many hands in the pot and no one putting any thought to the process of operating a bus company. The Green Bus company has more buses on blocks or down for lack of parts or failed maintenance than they have on the street.
Once you have an appointment you are met by an official in our case who had no practical experience in alternative energy or business; he was a kid. If this country expects investors to take them seriously they need to act like a business and bring people to the table with some experience and no attitude.
?One Stop? generally means what it says one stop, one presentation then work through the case officer until the approval process is over. It does not mean stop at CID-DR and then go to each and every agency and begin the process all over again. Whatever the requirement for license should be presented to CID-DR in total and they should interface with other government functionaries not the investor. It is not that investors are asking CID-DR people to do their job it is a simple fact that lack of direct contacts cuts down opportunities for bribes and extortion. More important with one point of contact if a project is stopped or needlessly stalled we know where to look and who to move.
In Malaysia for my daughters? hosiery mill which created three hundred (300) jobs and resulted in a multimillion dollar annual payroll our point of contact with the Malaysian Industrial Development Authority was one man who was an expert in garment manufacture and who interfaced with all the diverse elements of the government. When we had questions they were directed to him. We an official at any agency with whom we needed approval had a question it came through him. In addition there was a mandatory timeline to get projects done and if the decision was adverse appeals were commenced within 72 hours and decisions required as a matter of law in one week.
Their system worked for the country and for us and more importantly no official ever asked us for one cent. Malaysia has very tuff laws; some would say barbaric but I would have to disagree. The penalty for drug trafficking in Malaysia is death by hanging; as a direct result people do not do drug deals in Malaysia or in the alternative if they are foolish enough to try they are betting their lives. The results of tuff laws are safe streets and a safe environment to do business. People are working in Malaysia, the power is on 24 hours a day and you can drink the water from the tap.
When I hear an official say, ?corruption is a problem that we cannot solve?; I think of Malaysia and know for a fact that I have just heard a lie. A controlled straight forward process of every government function from getting a copy of your birth certificate to building a factory would solve that problem. Paying higher wages in itself is no solution and we need only look to the house of deputies and senate to understand that big salaries do not stop corruption. As an accountant I believe in audits. Government officials should have to be audited before they take office and every year they are in office and if unreasonable income or wealth appears they should have to account for it while suspended from their positions. The solution or solutions are very simple, not difficult to solve at all.
I know many of you wonder if it is so simple then why it has not been done. The reason is that every resident of the presidential palace wants it that way. It is an off-books reward system designed for some people. The problem is that like the subprime mortgage in my country everyone wanted some of it and in time it almost bankrupted my country. Off-books rewards cannot be controlled because of ?greed?; the more they get the more they want because it costs them nothing. As bad as off-books rewards are, what is worse is that they take away choices from the people of the Dominican Republic that may have been better choices and the country is left with the ?Erons? of the world. Companies that cannot go anywhere else or worse those who are simply not up to the job. Good examples of the results of this process are the ?Green Buses? we see every day. A good idea poorly done most possibly too many hands in the pot and no one putting any thought to the process of operating a bus company. The Green Bus company has more buses on blocks or down for lack of parts or failed maintenance than they have on the street.
