Kicking In An Open Door

“You never know what to expect,” a Surinamese entrepreneur said to me, describing the unpredictable situation at the port of Paramaribo (see picture). “Before we know it, we’re not allowed to enter the port area because someone woke up that morning and had the idea that we need some additional device, or piece of clothing. Everyone will be sent away off to the store to buy that piece of clothing or equipment. It is never announced in advance, it is so random that no one could see it coming. It is frustrating because we never know what to expect. When requirements change that unexpectedly, we cannot prepare for it and thus, besides the frustration of another, useless change, we lose time in getting our goods from the port, which costs us money. We’re in the port area every day, so why is it that they could not tell us before?”

This is only one example where authorities fail to communicate and the entrepreneur is directly disadvantaged. The information is nowhere to be found until an officer decides to communicate the details at a time that is convenient to him. The rule is implemented immediately without advance notice and the entrepreneur all of a sudden finds himself barred from entering the port area unless he fulfills the unforeseen requirements on the spot.

Although the Doing Business report does not directly measure access to information, delays that are imposed on the entrepreneur are captured in the overall measuring of time and costs.

The World Bank states: ”Access to public information provides an important guard against arbitrariness in public decision making, mismanagement of public funds and corruption.” Communicating information seems a simple and easy step in improving the business flow and productivity for all parties. Withholding information or unannounced changes simply hurts business, and thus it hurts the overall economy.

It is clear that much frustration can simply be diminished by providing timely information. In many countries publishing a notification in the newspaper is still a very powerful and useful method to reach people. In this era of access to information and news 24/7, the most basic information that an entrepreneur may need to continue daily business is sometimes hard to get to. Just a piece of paper can be a start. If that’s what it takes, then it is easy to fix: it’s like kicking in an open door.