Government bureaucracy is blocking entrepreneurs from pursuing their ambitions, while holding back much needed economic development on the island.

That is the claim of One Bermuda Alliance election candidate and tour boat operator Chris Gauntlett, who argued that government red tape was stifling the natural inclination for innovation and wealth generation on the island.

Mr Gauntlett, a former officer in the Royal Bermuda Regiment who runs the Blue Water Divers and Watersports company in Dockyard, will represent the Opposition in Sandys South Central (Constituency 34) at the next General Election

A husband and the father of two daughters, Mr Gauntlett expressed his frustrations in dealing with the government on business matters.

In an interview with The Royal Gazette, Mr Gauntlett said: “I have had what I would call difficult phases with red tape. At one point I was unable to get an answer, not even a reply, from a government department, in spite of calls and e-mails following up for six months.

“But after six months, I happened to be talking to a friend about it and they said ‘just call the director’.”

According to Mr Gauntlett, that call led to the problem being resolved within minutes, albeit temporarily.

“Even now, several years later, I'm struggling with that same issue, but at some point, you just stop pushing it and direct your energies elsewhere,” he said.

The battle against red tape has been highlighted by the OBA leadership as a major failing of the current government, which claims that it undermines the island’s efforts to kick-start the economy.

In his Reply to the Budget address last Friday, Jarion Richardson, the leader of the OBA, said: “Ultimately, growing our local economy and increasing demand is the best way to support our Bermudian businesses.

“But greater support is needed and we will strip red tape from government processes, where they can be streamlined or even removed.

“The OBA fundamentally believes that government’s job is to create the best conditions for Bermudian business success and then get out of the way.”

It is that same battle against bureaucracy that has pushed Mr Gauntlett into the political arena.

He said: “No business owner can keep pushing against red tape without eventually throwing up their hands in frustration and just moving on.

“So when I hear about other business owners who have issues with charging stations, or planning permission, or any number of permits, taxes, licences and fees, I have nothing but sympathy.

“In fact, so much so, that I'm putting myself out there as a means of hopefully helping to fix it, so that as we go into the future, business owners don't have to find themselves on the front page of the newspaper before anyone will give them the time of day.”

Mr Gauntlett said that, after 20 years of Progressive Labour Party government, the island needed a new approach and fresh vision.

Suggesting that the current administration had become stale, Mr Gauntlett said: “I look around the room that I'm sitting in with the OBA and I don't see one single person who is chasing their own self-interest.

“I see people who are sacrificing blood, sweat and tears in order to be granted the opportunity to fix what is broken. Why should people vote for the OBA? If you're happy with the PLP, vote for them. If you're not — if you think anything that I'm saying makes sense — then don't. You, the voters, need to show the PLP that they have been getting it wrong. And the only place that happens is in the voting booth.”

He did not hold back at taking aim at David Burt, accusing the Premier of a lack of leadership.

Asked what he thought the biggest issues facing the island were — the economy, emigration, the cost of living — Mr Gauntlett replied: “Those are all symptoms. The challenge is, what is causing those symptoms. The answer is poor leadership.

“Is anyone perfect? No. Would an OBA Government be perfect? No. But we see things that are broken and we want to fix them. That has to be a good place to start.”

In the 2020 General Election, Mr Gauntlett stood as a candidate for the Free Democratic Alliance, a newly formed political party headed by former PLP leader Marc Bean.

Asked why he had switched parties, Mr Gauntlett said that the FDM had offered the same thing that the OBA was now seeking: change.

He said: “I thought at that time and I still think that those people who ran for the FDM in that election wanted what we all seem to want, they wanted things to be better. They wanted change.

“Since 2020 the FDM has been quiet and a couple of years ago I had a conversation with Jarion Richardson, who I've known for a long time, about perhaps running for the OBA.

“At the time I told him I was too focused on putting out fires in the area of my own business, but that I would keep it in mind. This year ended up being the year where I just couldn't, in good conscience, sit on the sidelines any more.”

Mr Gauntlett claimed that his time in the regiment — he was called up as a conscript but ended up serving 18 years in uniform, rising to the rank of captain — had provided him with life lessons.

“You meet people you might never have met, you’re part of a bigger family and you have training opportunities,” he said.

The incumbent of Sandys South Central is Kim Wilson, the Minister of Health, whose political capital has soared following her handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Asked if he could cause a political upset at the next election, Mr Gauntlett replied: “Constituents should vote for me if they want change and if they believe me when I say what I intend to do — if they can relate to pushing against red tape and want to be represented by someone who feels the way they do.

“I have no axe to grind with Minister Wilson. I'm just seeking the opportunity to help make things better, for everyone.”