Today the Ministry of Economy led by minister Juraj Miskov introduced what is referred to as the Economic Register, a tool that is supposed to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SME).
The register will comprise a listing of all companies and other organisations with data about their economics so that people will know who they are dealing with and so maybe avoid problems before they occur. It is basically intended to stop people from doing business with suspect or risky companies.
The registry will be accessible free of charge on its own website at www.hospodarskyregister.sk and, according to minister Miskov, will provide information about the economic situation, creditworthiness, activities and market position of the various entities.
Miskov expects the new register to help businesses make calculated decisions with respect to the risks of commercial or credit aspects of doing business.
Good idea. Stupid implementation.
Access to the register is only open, first, to registered users. Why isn’t it open to the public. Even worse, only businesses can register to access the database. Why not the general public? Why shouldn’t, say, a jobseeker be able to research a firm trying to hire him? Why shouldn’t consumers be able to access data on merchants, which may speak to their ability to make good on future warranty claims?
Also, good luck logging into the website if you’re not using Windows.
At least in its current incarnation, the site is yet another government giveaway to business, at taxpayer expense.