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Bureaucracy creep

25 May 2010

Beware bureaucracy creep and be aware that a freeport isn’t a panacea, says Jim O’Gara of AECOM.

“There are certainly some free trade zones or SEZs claiming to be centres of excellence and efficient hubs and they are not – it is just a label they stick on to it,” he says. “Very often these are publicly owned and operated, so you have the same bunch of bureaucrats operating things.”

Setting up and operating an efficient free zone requires commitment to put the regime, the institutional measures and the operational systems in place: “And then you really have to work at it, because the jungle does tend to grow back. Bureaucracy has a way of clawing its way back in, particularly in developing countries.”

‘Dispossessed’ bureaucrats can find their way back – ‘like a vampire movie’, he warns.

AECOM is called upon by clients to help set up free zone projects from scratch and also to overhaul existing regimes.

“Freeports can start off as lean, mean and really good – and over the course of a decade they sometimes deteriorate as old habits creep back in,” says Mr O’Gara. “Very often these projects are personality-driven; perhaps one person championed the project in the beginning and then they moved on. We do get called in to revamp projects.”

AECOM also has long-term relationships with clients either directly or through institutional development programmes, and this involves checking back on projects over a longer term.

Starting up a free zone from scratch is complicated but immensely satisfying when it works, says Mr O’Gara.

“That’s because you see a big change on the ground. It is something specific and measurable over a relatively short period of time – in five or four years, or even less, you can actually see results and an increase in economic activity, trade and employment.”




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