By Demetris Georgiades
Every few months, the need to create a new institution returns to public debate. As usual, most people first reach their conclusion and then seek, or even invent, the arguments that support it.
A recent example is the proposal for the creation of a Cyprus Business Development Organisation. Opinions are divided. Some consider that it will be the tool our economy is missing, while others reject it as yet another semi-governmental organisation that will burden the taxpayer and that will, moreover, lead to phenomena of mismanagement and corruption.
This discussion reminds me of many others that have, from time to time, monopolised public dialogue. Should Cyprus return to the pound or remain in the euro? Do we need a new Co-operative movement? Should women serve military service?
In reality, these questions are, to a large extent, mistaken. The essential question is not the "whether", but the "how".
The lesson of the euro
It is enough to look at the matter of the euro. Some argue that the euro is a brake on the Cypriot economy. Before and up to 2013, Cyprus, as a member of the eurozone, was led into the greatest economic crisis of its history. After 2013, remaining in exactly the same currency, it managed to recover spectacularly and in recent years shows some of the highest growth rates in the European Union. The currency did not change; what changed were the policies, the institutions and the fiscal management, and, perhaps, a dose of luck helped too.
The same applies to a national currency. Singapore is a small country with its own currency and is counted among the most competitive economies in the world. On the other hand, there are dozens of much larger countries with their own currency that face high inflation, economic instability and low growth. It is not, therefore, the currency that determines the success or failure of an economy.
The lesson of military service
Similar is the discussion about the military service of women. The idea could offer significant benefits, both operationally and socially. Had it been implemented with proper preparation, clear planning and the appropriate infrastructure, we might today be talking about a successful reform. Instead, we considered that the passing of the idea was enough and that correct implementation would follow almost automatically. But no good idea implements itself.
What will determine success
The same applies to a Business Development Organisation. Its success will not be judged by its name, nor by the fact that it will be created. It will be judged by the way in which it will be designed and will operate.
Will it have a clear mission? Will it have real competences and not overlaps with existing services? Will it be staffed with people from the market and not on party criteria? Will it have measurable targets, independence in decision-making and substantial accountability for its results?
Cyprus does not need more but needs better institutions. History shows that almost no idea is, in itself, good or bad. Institutions do not fail because they exist, but because they are designed or implemented wrongly. And those very same ideas, when designed correctly, can be transformed into success stories.
The real discussion, then, is not whether we need a Business Development Organisation. It is whether we are willing to design it in a way that truly serves entrepreneurship, competitiveness and the long-term growth of the country. That is the question worth answering.
