The Inquirer (Monrovia)
29 April 2008
The Chairman of the Business Reform Committee, Mr Richard V.Tolbert, has announced that 21 reforms in three critical areas have been achieved.
Mr. Tolbert said, "to date, we have achieved 21 reforms in three critical areas namely in the area of business start up, construction permit and trading across borders."
Speaking yesterday in the office of Vice President Joseph Boakai when he launched a massive campaign to stimulate and promote the reforms, Mr. Tolbert said in those three prioritized areas, the Business Reform Committee has streamlined procedures and cut down cost and time.
"In these three prioritized areas, we have streamlined procedures and we have cut down cost and times," Mr. Tolbert who is also the head of the National Investment Commission (NIC) said.
He told the audience that with the starting of a business, the BRC has cut the number of days to process incorporating a company to 10 days and are ensuring that anyone who wants to register a small business under Sole Proprietorship or those who want to enter into a formal partnership know the exact procedures and costs involved.
Mr. Tolbert said the biggest challenge for small and medium sized companies trying to do business is lack of information on how to, where to and how much it costs, saying, "We have addressed this."
Relative to Construction Permits, Mr. Tolbert noted that the Committee has streamlined procedures, reduced the bureaucracy and ensure that in 30 working days, with all of the correct documentation submitted, an entrepreneur will receive formal assent to begin building.
He stressed that rebuilding Liberia's infrastructure is a key to developing the quality of life for Liberians, and providing employment and services.
"With trading across boarders, we have cut fees, reduced signatures required and improved security at the Freeport of Monrovia to ensure that importing and exporting goods into Liberia is efficient," the NIC Boss said.
He said the costs, procedures and the time it takes an average business to import or export goods into Liberia has a direct impact on the cost of living, the cost of goods and it sends a strong signal to our neighbors in the sub-region, and the world that Liberia is a competitive place to do business.
Mr. Tolbert said it is now easier and faster to do business in Liberia and assured the public that more reforms would come in the future.
As a way forward, the NIC Boss expressed the intension of his committee to work closely with the Liberia Better Business Forum (LBBF), a public private dialogue mechanism that has been established between the government and the private sector.
Responding, Liberia's Vice President, Joseph Boakai stressed the need for the private sector and government to work together for the economic betterment of the country.
He disclosed that the government alone can not create a conducive economic environment in the absence of a vibrant private sector.
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