Trade licence delays breaking small businesses – Wheatley

Delays in issuing trade licences are hurting young businesses and discouraging entrepreneurs across the BVI, Health Minister Vincent Wheatley says.

Wheatley raised the issue during the House of Assembly’s budget debate, saying he had heard repeated complaints from residents who followed official instructions, spent money preparing their businesses, and then waited months without answers from the Trade Department.

The delays, he argued, were having real financial and emotional costs.

One case from his district stood out. A resident applied for a trade licence and was told a storefront was required. She secured a space, fitted it out, and began paying rent while waiting for approval. Months later, the licence had still not been issued.

“Month after month, back and forth with Trade. Month after month, she’s paying out of her pocket and can’t make a dime,” Wheatley said. “She wrote the trade and said, keep your stinking trade licence… I was so heartbroken,” he stated.

Wheatley said the woman eventually gave up after thousands of dollars in losses. “You can’t do that to our young people,” he told the House, adding that the situation showed a system that was failing those trying to build businesses the right way.

“I didn’t think I needed to call a minister for a trade licence,” the frustrated applicant told him, according to Wheatley, who said the comment revealed how broken the process had become.

He also pointed to another example involving a proposed ferry service for Anegada. According to Wheatley, the operator completed most requirements but became stuck at the trade licence stage.

“The gentleman went through all the work until he came to a trade licence, and until this day he stuck right there on that trade licence,” Wheatley said while noting that the matter dragged on for months.

The Ninth District Representative argued that these delays were more than administrative problems. He said they directly affected economic growth, particularly for small and start-up businesses that could not afford long periods without income.

He stressed that clear timelines and straightforward decisions were needed. If an application was being rejected, applicants deserved to know quickly so they could challenge the decision or move on.

Territorial At-Large Representative Ronnie Skelton also weighed in on the issue, questioning the reasons for the long delay. “Why should I take six months to get a trade licence? Why? It’s either yes or no?” Skelton asked. “If it’s no, then why? So I could take it to the courts and basically say that it’s unfair.”

The Health minister said fixing the trade licence process was essential if the territory wanted to support young entrepreneurs and encourage residents to invest locally. Without changes, he warned, promising businesses would continue to close before they even opened.