BY JIDE AYOBOLU<\/p>\n
The Bureau of Public Service Reform (BPSR) has said that it will carry
\nout a nationwide perception survey and impact assessment on the ease of
\ndoing business in the country. The BPSR Director General, Mr. Dasuki
\nArabi, disclosed recently in Abuja at a strategic stakeholders meeting.
\nAccording to him, the surveys would be on investment constraints in
\nNigerian business environment; Presidential Executive Orders;
\nImplementation Modalities and their effectiveness; service delivery
\nissues in some selected MDAs; education and transportation sectors in
\nNigeria. The survey which is expected to commence today will be carried
\nout in Lagos, Kano, Enugu and FCT using administration of
\nquestionnaires, one-on-one interviews and focus group discussion
\nmethodology, according to Mr Arabi. He said the objectives of the survey
\nare to identify the common investment constraints in business
\nenvironment in Nigeria; benchmarking their operations in line with
\nglobal good practice; strengthening a better investment climate in
\nNigeria; and draw lessons from the survey to serve as a basis for
\nfurther policy development. On the Presidential Executive Orders in
\nimplementation modalities and their effectiveness, Arabi said the survey
\nwould identify the level of compliance to regulation on Presidential
\nOrders; obtain baseline data on citizens, businesses and government; and
\ndraw lessons from the survey to serve as a basis for further policy
\ndevelopment.<\/p>\n
According to the Report, Nigeria ranks 131 out of 190 countries on the
\nWorld Bank Doing Business Index, moving up 15 places from 146th position
\nin the 2019 Report. The Report names Nigeria, for the second time, as
\none of the top 10 countries with the most notable improvements during
\nthe review period, with Togo being the only other African country. Of
\nthe 12 indicators above, Nigeria improved significantly in \u201cstarting a
\nbusiness, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity,
\nregistering property, trading across borders and enforcing contracts\u201d
\nindices. The Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council led by
\nthe Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has been
\nresponsible for driving business reforms in Nigeria since 2016. This is
\nin line with the Federal Government\u2019s Economic Recovery and Growth
\nPlan (ERGP 2017 \u2013 2020) targeting Nigeria\u2019s rank among the top 70 in
\nthe World Bank Doing Business Index by 2023. Overall, the World Bank
\n2020 Doing Business Report shows a diminishing gap between developing
\nand developed economies in ease of doing business. Nigerian governments
\nacross all levels must continue to initiate business-oriented policies
\nand ensure adequate commitment to their implementation.<\/p>\n
Recalled that, the latest World Bank Ease of Doing Business ranking for
\n2018, released by the global financial institution. According to details
\nof the report [1], of the 190 countries ranked by the World Bank,
\nNigeria ranked 146 in 2018, dropping by a spot from its 145th position
\nin 2017. The nation had last year moved 24 places from its 2016 spot of
\n169 to 145. The report, themed \u2018Doing Business 2019: A Year of Record
\nReforms, Rising\u2019, revealed that the World Bank tracked 314 reforms by
\n128 governments across the world. The report noted that Nigeria made
\nstarting a business easier by reducing the time needed to register a
\ncompany at its corporate affairs commission and introducing an online
\nplatform to pay stamp duty.<\/p>\n
This reform, it said, applies to both Kano and Lagos. It also noted that
\nNigeria made getting electricity easier by requiring that the
\ndistribution companies obtain the right of way on behalf of the
\ncustomers and by turning on the electricity once the meter is installed.
\nIt said, however, that Kano State made property registration less
\ntransparent by no longer publishing online the fee schedule and the list
\nof documents necessary to register a property. \u201cGovernments have the
\nenormous task of fostering an environment where entrepreneurs and small
\nand medium enterprises can thrive,\u201d Jim Yong Kim, World Bank Group
\npresident said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSound and efficient business regulations are critical for
\nentrepreneurship and a thriving private sector. Without them, we have no
\nchance to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity around the
\nworld,\u201d the World Bank chief added. According to the report, 107
\nreforms were carried out in sub-Saharan Africa, a record for the region.
\nOn the methodology adopted, the report said the indicators presented and
\nanalysed in Doing Business measure business regulation, the quality and
\nstrength of legal frameworks, the protection of property rights\u2014and
\ntheir effect on businesses, especially small and medium-sized domestic
\nfirms. Details showed that at the top of the table are countries like
\nNew Zealand, Singapore and Denmark which occupied the first, second and
\nthird positions respectively. At the bottom of the list are South Sudan,
\nLibya, Venezuela, Eritrea and Somalia, all considered countries where it
\nis most difficult to do business.<\/p>\n
On May 18, 2016, Nigeria\u2019s erstwhile Acting President and current
\nVice-President, His Excellency Prof. Yemi Osinbajo SAN, GCON signed an
\nexecutive order on transparency and improving the business environment
\nin the country. It contains far-reaching initiatives to be implemented
\nby MDAs to ensure easier access to information, processes and
\ndocumentation, as well as promote efficiency in public service delivery.
\nFrom July 2017, PEBEC accelerated and expanded the initiative by
\nfocusing on three key areas:<\/p>\n
* Deepen existing Reforms: Complete outstanding initiative and
\nimplementation of reforms, so as to ensure Nigerians and the private
\nsector feel impact of and validate reforms to World Bank ahead of the
\nMay 31st deadline for 2018 DB Report.
\n* Sub-national Reforms: Collaborate with State Governments to
\nimplement reforms ahead of World Bank\u2019s subnational appraisal in 2018
\n* Additional Reforms: Commence reforms aimed at improving trade within
\nNigeria in preparation for World Bank indicator reforms, including
\nOmnibus bill. Also, to ensure that MDA budgets for next year include
\nplanned reforms.<\/p>\n
It is important to note that,<\/p>\n
Starting a business: It now takes just 24 hours (not 10 days) to
\nregister a business with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC [2]). The
\nregistration process now allows for online self-application without the
\nneed for a legal adviser. This change reduces the formal cost of
\nstarting a business by at least N64, 000 ($177) [3]; representing the
\nforegone cost of hiring a lawyer and the consolidation of registration
\ndocuments to a single CAC form. It also reduces some informal costs
\nincurred in the interaction with government officials including
\ntransportation, unofficial tips and unnecessary delays. The automated
\nprocess also makes it easier to link business with tax authorities,
\ndispensing the need for physical registration at the tax office.<\/p>\n
Dealing with construction permit: By automating and simplifying
\nregistration and payment processes, the cost and number of required
\ndocumentations for obtaining a construction permit reduced. For
\ninstance, the cost of warehouse (small business) construction in Lagos
\ndropped from 26% to 2% [4]of warehouse value.<\/p>\n
Getting electricity: This does not imply improvement in the reliability
\nof electricity in the country; it only covers the ease of getting new
\nconnection to national electricity grid. The online application platform
\nhas reduced the connection process to 30 days [5] as opposed several
\nmonths; particularly in Lagos and Kano.<\/p>\n
Registering property: The use of professional consultants in the process
\nhas helped reduce the time and cost for registering properties in Lagos
\nand Kano.<\/p>\n
Trading across border: Regulatory reforms [5] led to the reduction of
\ndocuments for export (from 10 to 7) and for import (from 14 to 8)
\nenabling slightly quicker movement of goods across borders. In addition,
\nthe Apapa port in Lagos began 24\/7 operation and the Request for
\nInformation (RFI) export form was digitized; leading to a 48-hour
\nreduction in time spent for border compliance. The implementation of the
\nsingle joint cargo reducing the number of touch points for import
\nclearing (from 8 to 1) was also a score point for Nigeria on the rank.
\nGiven that the data collection for the Ranking was concluded in May
\n2019, the impact of the recent closure of Nigerian borders affecting
\nBenin, Cameroon and Niger were not accounted for.<\/p>\n
Enforcing a contract: The score points for Nigeria was mainly due to the
\nintroduction of small claims commercial court in Lagos and Kano
\ninstituted in 2018 and January 2019 respectively. The small claims court
\n[6] allows for faster liquidated damage claims of below N5 million (in
\nLagos) and below N10 million (in Kano) for small- and medium- size
\nenterprises (SMEs) within 60-days. There is also an opportunity for
\nself-representation in the court. This decongests the High Court and
\nimproves entrepreneurs\u2019 ease of taking legal action and getting
\njustice.<\/p>\n
However, the country did not experience significant improvement in other
\nRanking metrics: Paying Taxes, Getting Credit, Resolving Insolvency, and
\nProtecting Minority Investors.<\/p>\n
However, these reforms have been largely limited to Lagos and Kano \u2013
\nwhich are the only two states the Ranking accounts for. To ensure that
\nthese reforms are not aimed at \u2018gaming\u2019 the Rankings, these
\nimprovements should be extended to other states in the country including
\nsoutheastern states. Enhancing other government procedures and services
\nfor local businesses is required to ease business difficulties in the
\ncountry, including taxation and obtaining credit \u2013 for which the
\ncountry did not show any significant score progress. Although the
\nRanking does not cover infrastructure constraints, it remains one of the
\nbiggest challenges at a significant cost to Nigerian businesses,
\nparticularly electricity reliability and transport network.<\/p>\n
Therefore, the reforms to be carried out on the ease of doing business
\nwill enable the ratings of the country to be better, as the areas in
\nwhich the country is not doing too well would properly looked into and
\nfix; which a right step in the right direction for the country.<\/p>\n
.<\/p>\n
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\n——
\n[1]\u00a0http:\/\/www.doingbusiness.org\/<\/a>
\n[2]\u00a0http:\/\/new.cac.gov.ng\/home\/<\/a>
\n[3]
\nhttps:\/\/easeofdoingbusinessnig
\n[4]
\nhttps:\/\/easeofdoingbusinessnig
\n[5]
\nhttps:\/\/easeofdoingbusinessnig
\n[6]
\nhttps:\/\/easeofdoingbusinessnig