The high costs of living and doing business are among the top concerns for local companies, according to the Chamber of Commerce’s latest State of Business Survey.
The Chamber, in a post on the annual survey, said its members have also pointed to crime and traffic as their third and fourth concerns, respectively.
‘Hold-ups’ in dealing with government agencies like immigration, WORC and planning were also among the top issues limiting business efficiency, according to the survey.
The survey, the Chamber previous wrote, contains a varied series open-ended questions and in many of the questions, respondents are invited to list up to three answers, ranking them in order of importance.
Back in March, the Chamber shared a synopsis on some of the findings, which noted that 33% of respondents wanted the organisation to focus on advocacy relating to increased costs of rents, utilities, insurance payments and other necessities in 2023.
Respondents to the survey, the Chamber said in March, highlighted that the cost of living and crime each accounted for around 16% of total answers when asked what three community issues the council should address in 2023.
“Cost of living concerns included ‘lack of affordable housing’, among more general calls to address inflation. Traffic congestion and the need for a better public transport public transport accounted for a further 12% of responses,” it added.
Bread-and-butter issues
Members’ concerns over the costs of living and doing business were broken down in categories which included increased rent, premiums for health insurance, home and property prices, and business premises.
“The lack of affordable housing was among the top issues,” the post stated.
The survey findings also suggested that “traffic problems should be addressed by building more roads, according to some respondents, but mainly by taking other measures like reducing the import of cars and putting in place a reliable public transport system”.
The survey also pointed to ideas on protecting small and micro businesses, along with better education and training programmes, “especially for Caymanians so that they did not lose out in the jobs market”.
The Chamber post added that there were calls for more recycling, reducing single-use plastics and programmes to protect the environment.
“Several respondents saw steps to break down the Caymanian/expat divide as being necessary for harmonious communities, along with tackling violent crime such as the alarming rate of armed robberies,” it added.
Red tape concerns
More than one-tenth of members raised concerns about work-permit application delays.
“11% of respondents called for a ‘reduction in red tape,’ which included more streamlined processes for vital aspects of business operation, especially in areas such as work permit application times as particular priorities,” it added.
Workforce Opportunities and Residency Cayman Director Jeremy Scott, responding to the survey findings on delays within his department, told the Cayman Compass that hold-ups with work-permit processing are being addressed internally.
“We are currently working very intentionally on looking at the areas of delays,” he said, adding that there has been increased demand on the limited resources at WORC.
However, he said the public, as well as Chamber members, should see some improvement in processing times as WORC is “dedicated” to making enhancements.
“We understand the impacts if decisions are delayed that relate to employment opportunities,” he said. “But what I will also say to the public and Chamber of Commerce is that we also have a responsibility for due diligence. We also have a responsibility to ensure that when we’re making decisions, we’re making the right decisions.”
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