Dear Editor,

The prime minister and the minister of state for investments have given candid assessments of the (lack of) ease of doing business in The Bahamas and the lack of a (functioning) National Development Plan. They have committed to turn these situations around. These intentions are good.

Integral to both those aspects of governance is the difficulty in completing land transactions in The Bahamas. The World Bank Group compiled data in June 2014 on the ease of registering property in 189 small to medium economies.

The study "examines the steps, time and cost involved in registering property, assuming a standardized case of an entrepreneur who wants to purchase land and a building that is already registered and free of title dispute". The results of the 2014 survey showed that The Bahamas ranked 179 out of the 189 economies surveyed - behind countries such as Antigua and Barbuda (118), Barbados (144), Dominica (165), Grenada (128), Haiti (175), Jamaica (126), St. Vincent and the Grenadines (155), Trinidad and Tobago (159) and Suriname (178), to name a few.

According to this survey, the average time to complete the property transaction in The Bahamas is 122 days, and the cost is 12.2 percent of the value of the property.

The 2015 survey shows that The Bahamas now ranks as no. 183 in ease of registering property transfers. Haiti also slipped a few places to no. 179. Barbados moved up the scale to no. 134, and Jamaica is now no. 122.

In the interests of the Bahamian citizens, as well as foreign direct investment, I urge the government to consider best practices in other jurisdictions on land transfers and registration, and commit also to improving this aspect of our economic base.

In 2011, we ranked 82 out of 189 in the ease of doing business index. After five years of an overall decline to position 106, the prime minister's and Cabinet minister's promises will be more credible when they offer specifics on how they will turn the tide.

- Leandra Esfakis

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