Weekly Trust (Kaduna)
Abdulwahab Isa
10 September 2006
analysis
Kaduna — "We know Nigeria is making efforts to ease the process of doing business" but advised that "there is still room for improvement". She said reforms need to address the whole process, including business registration. She noted there still exists, some complex regulations as against other countries."
The World Bank said early this week that the impact of reforms instituted by the current administration led by President Olusegun Obasa-njo was rather slow. The World Bank, in its assess-ment report on 175 countries on ease of doing business for 2006, tagged " Doing Businesss 2007: How to reform, which was released early this week, said the reforms are yet to have a significant impact on the economy.
From the bank's head office in Washington, Programme Manager, Private Sector Department, Caralee MacLiesh who spoke to Nigerian journalists during a video conference said "the reformers in Nigeria are recognized but the reforms have not gone far to have impacts. There is a long way to go but Nigeria is in the right direction."
The comprehensive dozier, is a project bench-marking the cost of doing business in 175 countries. The indices for rating employed by the global bank for this year include: Economy ranking-the ease of doing business, starting a business-entry regulation; protecting investors-corp-orate governance, Trading across borders-import and export, paying taxes-tax payable and compliance; enforcing contract- court efficiency; Employing workers- labour regulation; getting credit- legal rights and credit information. Others are: registering property- regulation of property transfer and closing a business- bankruptcy.
Nigeria managed to take a leap step ahead from its previous ranking of 109 position to 108 position. And curiously, Local Journalists attending the live video conference told the coordinators- Mr. Tim Carrington and Miss. Caralee Mcliesh right there and then during question and answer session that an explanation should be offered on Nigeria's abysmal ranking in the face of "sustained" reforms cutting across all spheres by the government of President Olusegun Obasanjo.
Except South Africa, no other Africa nation made the list of top 30 countries on the ease of doing business for 2006. However, while Ghana ranked 94th from previous 102, South Africa dipped down from 28th to 29th position and Nigeria from 109 to 108.
The report, which captured highlights of appreciable improvements of each country in terms of ease of doing businesses, notes Nigeria's reforms recorded progress in the area of reduction in time to register property from 274 days to 80 days. Reforms in court has lowered the time to resolve disputes from 730 days to 457 while it notes that appreciable progress has been recorded in the customs procedures which has reduced imports delays by 8 days and export delays by 16 days. However, the report suggests opportunitities for further reforms to be introduced to property registration coupled with complex start up- and licensing procedures.
Referring to Nigeria, the report said "It embarked on a large scale court reform to improve court efficiency. The time to resolve simple commercial cases dropped from 730 days to 457, and now close to one- third is settled during pretrial conferences.
When contracts are enforced more efficiently, businesses expand their trade networks, employ more workers, and have easier access to credit. Nigeria also cut registration time for property from 274 days to 80 days by placing time limits on government consent and digitizing records; it also updated customs clearance software, increasing information sharing among government units handling imports and exports. Import delays dropped eight days, and export delays dropped 16 days. A post clearance audit system ensures that improv-ements to port operations will continue."
The report commended Africa for appreciable improvement. This of course, is against the backdrop that it had a woeful performance last year and year before. The region before now, lagged behind all other regions in the pace of reforms.
But some of the questions that arise as a result of this report are: What has happened to the "sign-ificant progress" applauded by international community of Nigeria reforms?
But, the duo of Tim Carrington and Carralee from their countenances even on the Television screen betrayed no compromise. Lady Caralee acknowledged that some progress has been recorded in the Nigeria reforms and assured that the reforms, if sustained over time will surely improve Nigerias' ranking. She said:" Reforms in Nigeria is recognized. The country is on right direction, and if federal government can build and sustain it, it will, in future time improve the ranking."
Asked again whether she was aware of complete overhaul of the Nigeria Investment Promotion Commission(NIPC) whose services are easily accessible to willing foreign investors? She responded thus: "We know Nigeria is making efforts to ease the process of doing business" but advised that "there is still room for improvement". She said reforms need to address the whole process, including business registration. She noted there still exists, some complex regulations as against other countries.
The World Bank however offered useful tips on how to reform. It observed that, in the top reforming economies in the past three years, nearly 85 % of reforms took place in the first 15 months of a new government. The message therefore was that: For a government recently elected (as in Benin) or re elected (as in Colombia and Mexico), the time to push through ambitious reforms is at the start of its term.
When the government succeeds in these early reforms, citizens start seeing benefits- more jobs, more resources for health and education. Then the appetite further reform grows.
The report itemized four steps to successful reforms as follows: "Start simple and consider administrative reforms that don't need legislative changes; Cut unnecessary procedures, reducing the number of bureaucrats entrepreneurs interact with; Introduce standard application forms and publish as much regulatory information as possible; And remember: many of the frustrations for businesses come from how regulations are administered. The internet alleviates these frustrations without changing the spirit of the regulations."
With less than a year to the end of the present administration, it remains worrisome and unclear whether the reforms will make positive impact on the economy and the lives of the citizens. This, perhaps, will to a great extent determine whether the reforms will survive beyond the present administration.
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