Dominican Republic lacks competitiveness

frank recktenwald

frank recktenwald

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The Young Entrepreneurs Association (ANJE) has described the country's competitiveness ranking in 105th place out of 148 countries in the Global Competitiveness Report for the World Economic Forum 2013-2014 as a disadvantage.

ANJE president Frank Elias Rainieri Kuret said that the Dominican Republic is in the same position as last year, showing that the country can still not solve the age-old problems that affect competitiveness. These include quality of the electricity service, corruption, lack of institutionalism, the deficiencies in the education system and the unfavorable investment climate.

He said that the country urgently needs structural reforms in several areas, which he prioritized as: diversion of public funds (the country is in 142nd position, among the worst five countries in the world), wastefulness of government spending (138th place, among the worst seven countries in the world, favoritism in decisions of government officers (145th, among the worst five countries in the world) and the quality of electricity supply (ranked 134th, among the worst countries in Latin America). He stated that in the case of the electricity sector, this was actually going backwards as the country was ranked 130th last year.

Rainieri Kuret added that the government should adopt public policies that eliminate these competitive weaknesses, otherwise major investors will go to other countries in the region that are better ranked for business such as Panama, Guatemala and Nicaragua.

The report indicates that the most problematic factors for doing business in the Dominican Republic are corruption, access to financing, inefficient government bureaucracy, tax rates, inadequately educated workforce and restrictive labor regulations.

The DR ranks in the top upward third of the report in these areas: quality of port infrastructure, quality of air transport infrastructure, available airline seats, general government debt as % of GDP, prevalence of foreign ownership, burden of customs procedures, flexibility of wage determination, soundness of banks, ease of access to loans, firm-level technology absorption, local supplier quantity, control of international distribution, and extent of marketing.

Dominican Republic News & Travel Information Service

The good thing about this report is that the DR only can go up since they're already at the bottom of the ladder.
 
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Castle

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frank recktenwald said:
The report indicates that the most problematic factors for doing business in the Dominican Republic are corruption, access to financing, inefficient government bureaucracy, tax rates, inadequately educated workforce and restrictive labor regulations.
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Conveniently, the report leaves out reasons like: poor salaries (demotivated workers), poor quality of products (people prefer imported goods), poor reliability of services provided by private companies, and so many others in which the responsible are the companies and their owners.
Again, underdevelopment is the result of multiple factors, and every one in an underdeveloped country is involved in one way or another. Blaming the government, the foreigners, the poor, etc never works. Doing your own part is the only way out.
 
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the gorgon

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one of the basic problems about the whole DR situation is that they believe that they can just make these issues evaporate by using the services of spin doctors to create the image that all is just peachy keen. it is a truimphalist culture, that seems to base everything on the perception that they are doing so much better than regional rivals, they must be rolling in high clover.

i just read an article inDT wherein the government has been stiffed by several zona franca companies for loans it made to people who set up factories. now here is why i mention this; there is always the tiresome and repetitive refrain coming from government spokespeople that the DR gets the lion'share of foreign investment in the region. the casual observer thinks that what this means is that gringo is heading here in droves, bringing a satchel of money with him. they fail to let people know that several of these so called FDI investors are actually BORROWING money from the DR government to start these businesses. so, it the government lends a million to a group from Montreal, they add that million to the FDI tally, inflating the end result, for triumphalist purposes. kinda like adding a Dominican guy who comes home for a two week vacation to the tourist numbers.

a country with gold, and silver, and nickel, and all the natural resources that the DR possesses should be miles ahead of where it is, but the priorities are warped. it has a Metro, and people like PICHARDO brag about Metros and Malls. yet, 41%of the inhabitants are still using outhouses, and 42% live below the poverty line.
 
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Empiric

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on the other hand, the well known Pepin Corripio once said that the main problem y RD is not lack of $ to do anything but

the lack or real technological knowledge

I have a friend who was "imported" to DR, decades ago, just to install new technical facilities for channel 2 tv,

seems like the local were able to maintain facilities but not able to build from scratch, a general fact that still may be true.

One day i may jump to start building a few things... including cars for general use... not luxury, using fuels from hydrogen to

plain compressed air
 
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Castle

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That fact remains true. Lack of enough technicians. I work for a technology company and we often find ourselves importing technicians from our offices in other LA countries. The good technicians produced by dominican universities usually jump at the opportunity to move abroad.
Trying to point to a single reason is almost silly. Entrepreneurs will always blame the governments, the governments will blame the private sector and nothing gets done.
 
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Ringo

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This should help. Along with electricity, water, taxes, payoff, unskilled labor, crime and all the good things that the Gov. offers to bring in business.


http://www.dominicantoday.com/dr/po...ants-a-30-wage-increase-for-free-zone-workers
Labor wants a 30% wage increase for free zone workers

Santo Domingo.- labor organizations of the free zones on Tuesday called on management to raise the current RD$7,360 monthly wage by 30 percent, retroactive to June, as a way to improve workers? living conditions.

Speaking for the free zone workers grouped in the organizations Fenatrazonas, Fedotrazonas and Unatrazonas, National Labor Unions Federation (CNTD) president Jacobo Ramos said funds should be allocated to provide life insurance for employees, in addition to Social Security benefits.

He also asked to include the free zone workers in the Government?s housing plans, in scholarships for youngsters and training at the Technical Training Institute (Infotep), to give them more career options.

Ramos said the suggested pact includes the reactivation of the Tripartite Commission for the free zone workers? development and progress, created by Decree and which in his view has had a poor performance.
 
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the gorgon

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Ringo said:
This should help. Along with electricity, water, taxes, payoff, unskilled labor, crime and all the good things that the Gov. offers to bring in business.


http://www.dominicantoday.com/dr/po...ants-a-30-wage-increase-for-free-zone-workers
Labor wants a 30% wage increase for free zone workers

Santo Domingo.- labor organizations of the free zones on Tuesday called on management to raise the current RD$7,360 monthly wage by 30 percent, retroactive to June, as a way to improve workers’ living conditions.

Speaking for the free zone workers grouped in the organizations Fenatrazonas, Fedotrazonas and Unatrazonas, National Labor Unions Federation (CNTD) president Jacobo Ramos said funds should be allocated to provide life insurance for employees, in addition to Social Security benefits.

He also asked to include the free zone workers in the Government’s housing plans, in scholarships for youngsters and training at the Technical Training Institute (Infotep), to give them more career options.

Ramos said the suggested pact includes the reactivation of the Tripartite Commission for the free zone workers’ development and progress, created by Decree and which in his view has had a poor performance.
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they are just not bright enough to understand that the resulting inflation that would arise from that increase would wipe out any salary gains made. it would also send prospective investors to Guatemala.
 
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mountainannie

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Add on to that that it is hardly any pleasure whatsoever to shop in Santo Domingo as there is no customer service... they all have the customer service of PriceSmart or La Sirena where the staff stands around chatting with one another // but at least they will send you to the aisle where your item was supposed to be.,

How can a store stock sewing supplies and only needles for machines? Embroidery hoops and threads and no needles?

I was in Cuesta which is definitely the upscale place and the only staff I saw was two guys in the stereo place standing .. and one woman unpacking.. the rest of the floor was devoid of staff. No one in fine china. No one in the 400 thread count linens. Well. yes, I did have a couple of questions.. but yes, I could roll the cart around and just look at things.. but they do not seem to have any sort idea of SALES.. in that a good sales person could have absolutely talked me into keeping those sheets in the cart.

And the return policies are .. well aren't.. Now this is probably not a big thing. A very small percentage of the people can afford Cuesta and they are used to being treated .. well.. with .. contempt..

But it is odd, really, that I get more service from the local colmado than I do at a place where I am going to be spending $500.
 
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Castle

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mountainannie said:
Add on to that that it is hardly any pleasure whatsoever to shop in Santo Domingo as there is no customer service... they all have the customer service of PriceSmart or La Sirena where the staff stands around chatting with one another // but at least they will send you to the aisle where your item was supposed to be.,

How can a store stock sewing supplies and only needles for machines? Embroidery hoops and threads and no needles?

I was in Cuesta which is definitely the upscale place and the only staff I saw was two guys in the stereo place standing .. and one woman unpacking.. the rest of the floor was devoid of staff. No one in fine china. No one in the 400 thread count linens. Well. yes, I did have a couple of questions.. but yes, I could roll the cart around and just look at things.. but they do not seem to have any sort idea of SALES.. in that a good sales person could have absolutely talked me into keeping those sheets in the cart.

And the return policies are .. well aren't.. Now this is probably not a big thing. A very small percentage of the people can afford Cuesta and they are used to being treated .. well.. with .. contempt..

But it is odd, really, that I get more service from the local colmado than I do at a place where I am going to be spending $500.
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Exactly. Blaming the government is just a corporate way to say "no es mi culpa"...
 
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Empiric

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poor service means owners dont care because their bottom line is not negatively affected, take it or leave it, it happens everywhere not only in DR
 
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Ringo

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This will be very interesting... or just vanish without a word? "no es mi culpa"...

http://www.dominicantoday.com/dr/lo...cover-every-cent-of-US314M-loan-to-free-zones

Government to recover ?every cent? of US$31.4M loan to free zones

Santo Domingo.- The Government will recover every cent of the US$31.4 million loaned to the 32 Santiago and Cibao region free zone companies, Finance minister Sim?n Lizardo warned Thursday.

"Anyone who takes a loan has to pay it and you can rest assured the Dominican Government will make every effort to collect everything that belongs to the Dominican State, will be recovered," the official said in a meeting with the Chamber of Deputies Finance Committee.

Lizardo told the Commission he?ll need 10 days to gather all documents from the State-owned Reservas Bank on the status of every company that took a loan.

He added that he?ll meet with the free zones association Friday and issue debtors a 10-day deadline to disclose their information not only to lawmakers, but to the public in general.
 
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Empiric

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Again, who is right ANJE or ASIEX?

New generations of business family [hijitos de papi y mami"?] dont see the point [$$$] in continuing the tradition, they already have more than what they need, besides the usual family fights after the old parents die.

why work like a horse as my father did?

some people only see the money, so they lack motivation to be creative, innovate, be 'competitive'

Example, rafael, ramfis trujillo.

despite what the "hijitos de papi y mami" [as Castle said] ANJE are saying, here is what is happening

local business being sold to outside ivestors, who check the numbers before buying, for sure, and dont rely on family members, 'mis hijitos', but on a admistrative structure, overseen by a board of directors with an eye on the bottom line, $.

so,

20,000 Millones de d?lares han invertido en el pa?s las empresas extranjeras que est?n agrupadas o asociadas en ASIEX. -

See more at: El Caribe ? Sube extranjerizaci?n de empresas l?deres del mercado local
 
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