Reforms in Africa, 2006-07
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Benin
Benin reduced the cost of registering property by reducing the registration or transfer tax. These measures were in part motivated by the desire of these countries to pass the Millennium Challenge Corporation eligibility threshold.
Botswana
Botswana made it tougher for small and medium enterprises to operate. It amended its Insolvency Act, granting employees preferred creditor status ahead of secured creditors.
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso introduced specialized commercial chambers in the general courts of Ouagadougou and Bobo-Dioulasso and reduced the judgment enforcement registration tax from 4% to 2%. A decrease of the transfer and registration tax to 10% of property value reduced total cost to transfer to 12.2% while increasing the number of registrations. Finally through ministerial decree, Burkina Faso simplified notification and documentation requirements, reducing the time to register a company to 23 days.
Burundi
Burundi reduced the cost of registering property by reducing the registration or transfer tax. These measures were in part motivated by the desire of these countries to pass the Millennium Challenge Corporation eligibility threshold.
Congo DRC
In Congo DRC, four years after being created on paper, specialized commercial courts started operating in Gombe in August 2006 and in Kinshasa in November 2006. New court rules set strict deadlines, such as eight days, to appeal judgments.
Cote d'Ivoire
Cote d'Ivoire reduced the tax burden on companies by simplifying the tax structure and decreasing rates.
The Gambia
The Gambia abandoned the compulsory scanning requirement for all containers and introduced a random inspection process that reduced delays linked with customs inspection.
Ghana
Ghana, a top 10 reformer and the top regional reformer for the second consecutive year, continues to increase the efficiency of its public services delivery. A ministerial directive eliminating the requirement to go through the Lands Commission reduced property registration time to 34 days from six months in 2006. The ongoing computerization at the company registry and improved operations at the Environmental Protection Agency reduced business registration time to 45 days. Similarly, operational changes at the Port Authority permitted to reduce importation time. Six commercial courts are now operational in Accra, significantly reducing the average turn-around of cases thanks to mandatory arbitration and mediation and thanks to new High Court Civil Procedure Rules. Finally the new Insolvency Law protect secured creditors' proceedings against automatic stay in case or reorganization.
Guinea Bissau
Guinea Bissau reduced the cost of registering property by reducing the registration or transfer tax. These measures were in part motivated by the desire of these countries to pass the Millennium Challenge Corporation eligibility threshold.
Kenya
Kenya, the other African top 10 reformer, launched an ambitious licensing reform program which has led to the elimination of 110 business licenses and the simplification of eight, reducing the time and cost of obtaining building licenses and registering a company. At the end of the program, more than 600 of the 1300 licenses will be simplified or eliminated. The introduction of competition among land valuers (allowing private practitioners) led to a faster turnaround of one week instead of one month for a land valuation. The private credit bureau also deepened its database coverage by adding retailers and utility companies as providers of information.
Lesotho
Lesotho reduced the tax burden on companies by simplifying the tax structure and decreasing rates. It also made registration easier for women by allowing married women to transfer land without their husband's signature.
Madagascar
Madagascar reduced business registration to just eight days, streamlining operations at the one stop shop (GUIDE). Five procedures were eliminated. Port authorities implemented an electronic data interchange system and privatized port terminal handling, injecting much needed capital and operational expertise. These changes and a streamlining of documentation requirements helped increase productivity and reduce the export time.
Malawi
In Malawi, the commercial division of the Blantyre high court started hearing cases as of May 2007. Two judges, specializing in commercial cases, have been appointed.
Mali
Mali reduced the time to register a property by decentralizing and reorganizing registries' operations and reassigning staff. It also reformed its business startup process -- a single company identification number to cut the registration time to 26 days.
Mauritania
Mauritania cut the cost of starting a business, making it one fo the two cheapest places to register a business in Africa (the other being Tanzania). It now costs 56% of GNI in Mauritania to start a business. Separate commercial courts have replaced the commercial chambers in the general courts. 105 new judges were hired and judges' salaries increased.
Mauritius
Mauritius became the easiest place to do business in Africa by, among other reforms, simplifying the issuance of a unique Building and Land Use Permit instead of two separate permits, introducing statutory time limits and recalculating the cost formula. Secondly, a three year program will harmonize the tax system, ultimately creating a single corporate tax rate and eliminate all tax credits and tax holidays except for newly registered companies. Thirdly, the government reduced the property registration fee to 5% of property value. A centralized database links the company registry with tax, social security, and local authorities. Business registration takes place in one week. A new risk management system has been implemented, accelerating the custom clearance process for regular law abiding importers. Finally, the new Borrower Protection Act will allow for a faster sale of immovable assets, significantly reducing the time it takes creditors to recover their debt.
Mozambique
Mozambique passed a new commercial code which replaced the 1888 commercial legislation, implementing modern corporate governance rules and strengthening the rights and duties of minority shareholders as well as better identifying the liabilities of the board of directors. This new commercial code also modernized the business registration process, cutting provisional registration and making notaries optional. The publication can be done through the registry in electronic format. Start up time fell by almost three months. However, not all changes were positive: the minimum capital requirement was raised tenfold. The Maputo court now has two specialized judges in charge of commercial matters and new court rules which should make the judicial system more efficient.
Niger
Niger reduced the time to register a property by decentralizing and reorganizing registries' operations and reassigning staff. It also reduced the registration tax to 5% of the property value, significantly reducing the total procedural cost, and reformed its business startup process, reducing the cost of the process to 175% of GNI.
Nigeria
Nigeria introduced electronic company name search and made the company registry more efficient. Entrepreneurs can legally operate within 34 days. "Operation 30/30" increased the speed of The Lagos State Physical Planning and Development Authority, reducing to 30 working days the time it takes to obtain a construction permit.
Rwanda
Rwanda reduced the cost of port and terminal handling by liberalizing the warehouse services sector. The increased competition led to a radical change in the way cost is calculated, effectively reducing it by 40%. Customs declaration points have also been increased to accelerate the process. Decentralization of the administrative system, which divided Kigali into three districts, and the privatization of
water and electricity company Electrogaz, have reduced building permit and utilities connection time by more than a month.
Seychelles
Seychelles reduced the tax burden on companies by simplifying the tax structure and decreasing rates.
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone reduced the tax burden on companies by simplifying the tax structure and decreasing rates.
South Africa
South Africa requires lenders to check their overall debt levels before granting loans and guarantees borrowers the right to access and challenge their credit records. Two taxes were eliminated in 2006 -- the regional services levy and the regional establishment levy.
Tanzania
Tanzania cut the cost of starting a business, making it one of the two of the cheapest places to register a business in Africa (the other being Mauritania). It now costs 47% of GNI in Tanzania to start a business.
Togo
Togo made it tougher for small and medium enterprises to operate. While Togo addressed issues of anti-discrimination against women, children, and the handicapped, a new labor code has made employing workers more rigid, by limiting fixed-term contracts to temporary tasks. The new law also includes specific rules governing redundancy firing, previously established only by collective bargaining agreement.
Uganda
Uganda was the only African country to enact positive reforms to its labor law in 2007. The new Employment Act, the Trade Unions Act, and the Labor Dispute Act make the working hours more flexible, provide clarity on overtime, and require that the employer notify the labor unions representative and the commissioner in specific dismissal cases. These reforms have significantly modernized the Uganda labor code.
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe made it tougher for small and medium enterprises to operate. Zimbabwe's hyperinflation and the government's critical need for revenues have led to an increase in prices and tax rates.
