The American Chamber of Commerce said U.S. companies have stalled projects because of bureaucratic problems or lack of legal certainty.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Carmen Aida Muñoz, the executive director of the Chamber, told the press that a total of 17 companies, one of which is Walmart, are awaiting permits for various projects.
The executive added that most of these companies, who have been waiting for operation permits for almost two years, are call centers, textile producers and agricultural producers.
"Muñoz said that ‘US companies like contracts to be respected, that the permits are valid when issued and that timescales are efficient', however, these requirements are El Salvador’s main shortcomings.
The executive director of Amcham said that multinationals adhere to deadlines set out by law, but added that "the excessive re-processing that some permissions and credit checks go through is an issue that makes it expensive to do business' and obscures the local benefits: salvadoran workers and a dollarized economy.
In total the amount of stalled foreign investment is $107 million and there are thousands of employment opportunities not being generated because of these obstacles", published Elsalvador.com".
Excessive bureaucracy, which is holding up the execution of new construction projects, generating uncertainty among investors, is added to a delicate fiscal situation.
Estimates are that 110 construction projects have been left "stagnant" this year because of the slow pace of analyzing and awarding building permits, leaving $600 million not being executed, according to the president of the Salvadoran Chamber of Construction (Casalco), Angel Diaz.
Chambers of developed countries and their ambassadors in El Salvador are warning that expressions made by members of government against the decisions of the Constitutional Court threaten the arrival of more foreign investment.
Added to the demonstrations against some decisions of the Constitutional Court on the part of authorities is also the inability that the government has shown to implement effective measures against insecurity, lack of speed in the definition and implementation of much needed infrastructure and no long-term plans.
The U.S. Ambassador highlights the existence of the high perception of corruption, lack of legal certainty and obstacles to the establishment of foreign investment in the country.
An article on Laprensa.hn reports that "U.S. Ambassador Lisa Kubiske, emphasized that every country needs investment and Honduras ...
The American Chamber of Commerce has criticized the award of business to a small group of companies selected by the Ministry of Agriculture.
Companies who were not invited to participate in the committee for the procurement of maize seed implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG) doubt the legal framework of the panel as it differs from the normal purchasing process using format of a tender.
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5893Government Procurement Opportunities in the region