GIBRALTAR BUSINESS
SITTING DOWN WITH… MINISTER VIJAY DARYANANI
I want to make Gibraltar a place where you can do business easily and where people can see that Gibraltar plc is open for business.” - The Hon. Vijay Daryanani MP, Minister for Business, Tourism and Transport.
Feature by Jo Ward Freelance Writer, Journalist and Blogger As a 16-year-old A-level student attending Bayside School, Vijay Daryanani, the recently appointed Minister for Business, Tourism and Transport, used to go to Parliament (then the House of Assembly) to watch proceedings; not something most teenagers would do, but the Minister states that he has always had an interest in Politics. “I wanted to serve and do my bit for Gibraltar,” he says. “If you manage to make a small difference, then you’ve been a huge success.” In 1994 Vijay Daryanani joined the Liberal Party Executive Committee and was a founder member of the GFSB (Gibraltar Federation of Small Businesses) in 1996. At the age of 29 in 2000 he stood for election as a GSLP candidate, missing out on a seat but gaining the opportunity to concentrate on his business as a retailer of high-end sunglasses, now with four stores on Main Street. “Politics is all about being in the right place at the right time,” the Minister tells me. “At the time my business wasn’t as safe as it is today, so the lull between standing for election and entering Parliament gave me the time to develop it successfully.” In 2019 Vijay Daryanani became the first ever MP and Minister from Gibraltar’s Hindu community, one of three Liberal Ministers in the new 10-strong Government led by
12 | Winter - Spring 2020
Chief Minister Fabian Picardo. As the first businessman in the Government, what is it that he wants to achieve for the business community in Gibraltar? “They are very entrepreneurial, with some great ideas, but the message that I get is that there is too much red tape and everything takes time,” the Minister states. “Maybe not having somebody in Government from a business background has been an issue before.” When I spoke to the Minister he had only been in the post for two months. He explains that although it is still early days for him to identify specific issues, employment and licensing are amongst those at the top of the list for the business community. As Minister for Transport there is also a problem with the cycle lanes on Main Street, which seem to have become a free-for-all for some cyclists who don’t stick to the rules. “It was a pilot project, and was put there to see how well it functioned, but I’ve already been carrying out an exercise where I want to find out what the mainstream community think,” he clarifies. “A lot of thought has gone into the cycling lanes, so I don’t just want to come in and say we’re going to get rid of them,” the Minister explains, going on to say that if they are got rid of them it would need to be for the right reasons. “There are other things that we need to look at such as installing proper bike racks, and although I am a walker, not a cyclist, this is part of the Government’s manifesto to look at different forms of transport, especially from an environmental quality point of view.” With the population of Gibraltar standing at over 33,500 people as of December 2019, with more than 12,000 registered motorbikes, 18,000 cars and nearly 3,000 trucks in just six and a half square miles, there is a huge need to get people out
