Maputo — Commercial licences for small businesses in Mozambique are to be issued in a single day and place, according to a decree on "simplified licensing" approved by the Mozambican government.

The decree sweeps away the red tape that had previously clogged up licensing procedures, and will allow the applicant to start operating as soon as the license is issued, even before any inspection. The inspections will be undertaken later, rather than being used as an excuse to slow things down.

This decree is one of the instruments resulting from the "Strategy to Improve the Business Environment for the period 2008/2012", which was unveiled by the Minister of Industry and Trade, Antonio Fernando, on Wednesday.

Fernando explained that the new licensing model allows applicants to obtain their licenses from the "Single Counters", even in district administrations and municipalities. These counters were set up to concentrate in one place all the paperwork needed for a range of authorizations and licences, instead of sending applicants on a paper chase through offices scattered all over the city.

For licensing a small business, all an applicant needs to do is full out the necessary forms and present his Single Tax Identification Number (NUIT).

"General and specific inspections will be carried out after the authorization. We are thus creating conditions for our inspection to be effective and regular. We are aware of the difficulties involved, particularly on the state's side, but our commitment is to improve the exercise of commercial activities", said Fernando, cited in Thursday's issue of the Maputo daily "Noticias".

However, not all types of commercial activity are covered by the simplified licensing system. Fernando said the areas covered include agriculture, livestock, retail trade, services, construction, sport, transport and communications and tourism. Fernando said that, by and large, these are sectors that do not raise environmental problems. For those businesses which do require environmental impact studies, there will inevitably be delays.

Commenting on the strategy, Fernando said that the idea is to remove every "barrier" and create an "optimum business environment by 2012". He believed that by then Mozambican commercial legislation on trade will have been completely reformed.