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2 3 W Corner View Editor-in-Chief Al Krulick Associate Editor Lorie Steiner Director of Advertising Lauren Blackwell Research Directors Paul Payne Brendan McElroy Josh Conklin Lisa Curry Joanna Whitney Digital Strategist Scott Mosquera Creative Director Dana Long Vice President of Business Development Erin O’Donoghue Vice President of Publishing Andre Barefield CGO Alexander Wynne-Jones COO Brian Andersen Executive Publisher / CEO Marcus VandenBrink USA Canada Caribbean Oceania WWW.BUSINESSVIEWMAGAZINE.COM Email for all inquiries: info@businessviewmagazine.com 12559 New Brittany Blvd Fort Myers, 33907 239.220.5554 CONTACT US Ministry of Finance & The Public Service 30 National Heroes Cir., Kingston 4, Jamaica Tel: 922-8600 • www.mof.gov.jm In its “Island Economies of the Future” report released on June 12, 2017, Financial Times’ investment publication has recognized Jamaica as the top performing island economy globally in business friendliness, and top ten in connectivity, human capital and lifestyle. Site Selection Magazine also acknowledged the country last month in its Global Best to Invest, Caribbean & Latin American Rankings, where Jamaica placed top ten in total number of investment projects in the LAC region. The achievements come after UNCTAD ranked Jamaica as the leading host economy in the English-speaking Caribbean and Small Island Developing States group in its World Investment Report. The assessment team visited Jamaica in 2016 and the period of assessment covered 2013-2014; 2014-2015 and 2015-2016. The overall results show that Jamaica’s public financial management system is strong. Key areas of improvement which contributed to the government’s overall improved rating are: • Implementation of a Budget Preparation and Management System (BPMS) which has been procured and is now being configured and tested so that medium term results based budgeting can be developed to sustain the results of the reform program. • Full implementation of new revenue administration systems at both the TAJ (RAiS) and JCA (ASYCUDA) and Launch of an e-tendering system. To enhance transparency, a procurement page was introduced in public media to provide procurement opportunities to potential suppliers. • Establishment of a new Chart of Accounts (CoA), as well as the new Commitment and Purchase Order Modules and an Establishment of the Revenue Appeals Division (RAD) with an organizational structure, business processes and automation (now integrated as part of the RAiS system). DEC. 2017 / JAN. 2018 Contents 2 CORNER VIEW 4 OPENING LINES 20 THE CDEMA Promoting resilience and response BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 34 THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE – ARUBA Modernizing the economy 40 ECOGAS FREE ZONE N.V. Turning waste into fuel 46 MINISTRY OF FINANCE AND THE PUBLIC SERVICE - JAMAICA In conversation with Finance Minister Audley Shaw 54 MATALON HOMES Quality, value, and integrity 60 RELMAC CONSTRUCTION Construction with a difference 66 LOCKHART COMPANIES INC. Fortitude and diversity 76 THE VIRGIN ISLANDS HOUSING FINANCE AUTHORITY Unlocking the door 82 THE RG GROUP OF COMPANIES A leader in St. Lucia TRAVEL & TOURISM 92 WHITTER VILLAGE A shopping paradise 44 Welcome once again, Business View executives and friends. It’s been an interesting year, hasn’t it? Yes, it has (thought I’d go ahead and take the liber- ty of answering for you!) It’s important in years like these, that we take a mo- ment to not only reflect, but to actually document the year’s “takeaways” or les- sons, if you will, and to draft a plan for the future that incorporates the newly acquired lessons learned. If you don’t mind, I’d like to take a quick break frommy prepared sermon to tell you who we are, and why we’re qualified to discuss and advise in the manner that we so abrasively seem to do on many occasions. Our company is comprised of a staff of directors who have all had successful business careers as executives in a wide variety of sectors that include: Finance and Planning, Construction, Travel and Hospitality, Manufacturing, Franchising, Regional Government, Communications, Infor- mation Technology, Food and Beverage, Supply Chain and Logistics, and last but not least, the Advertising, Marketing and Publishing industries. We have lit- erally “done it all,” and have all seen the top tier of our selected fields. For this reason, we find ourselves in the unique position of highlighting topics and busi- nesses that we’ve thoroughly vetted and feel you could learn something from, as a top executive in your own field - whether you are thriving to attain levels that we’ve previously attained, or have even far surpassed any level that we would have ever dreamed of attaining. This brings me to the point I was intending to make and back to my prepared sermon. There is much more wisdom and learning in the lessons ac- quired from failure, than there are in the lessons obtained from success. History has documented what many explorers, inventors, and artists have gone through to reach the top tier of their fields, and often they recount the many failures they encountered, over time, in order to become successful at whatever was the objective of their highest desire. They do not wish, or choose, to run from the obstacles they faced in their attempts to reach a certain goal, merely because running from them, would only have taken them further away from the solution. You showme an executive that has a hard time making crucial decisions at pivotal moments, and I’ll show you an executive that will undergo extreme pain and a lot more obstacles trying to solve the matter that was partly cre- ated as a result of his procrastination and indecisiveness. More than likely, I’ll be showing you an executive that is losing productivity, money, or respect in regards to the brand and/or reputation of the business. In closing, as you put 2017 behind you, and look to make 2018 a beacon of light to steer the future of your company aggressively toward supreme abundance, be sure that you follow these two steps. First, write down those aspects of 2017 that you considered to be low points, missed opportunities, miscalculated decisions, failed produc- tion policies, or bright unincorporat- ed ideas. Second, as opposed to not dealing with the pain of realizing and internalizing these failures, embrace them. Place them at the front of your 2018 journal of plans. Do not move be- yond whatever fix or countermeasures needed to amend the situation, until it has been adequately addressed. You are a leader in your company for a reason. That reason is due to the resourceful creativity that you utilize in the process of problem solving; being unique, inno- vative, and lastly, more times than not, extremely effective. I look forward to us all seeing a beautiful and productive 2018, as we bid farewell to 2017. Until next time, plan, build, and con- tinue to prosper. Andre Barefield