Nairametrics| The Federal Government has been all over the news since last week on its plans to improve the ease of doing business in the country. Just last week, there were a series of forums in Lagos and Kano that had government agencies involved in ease of doing businesses highlight some of the efforts currently in place to ease business in the country.
Last week, the PEBEC approved a 60-day National Action Plan with an expanded mandate to focus on quick win reforms covering 7 World Bank Doing Business Indicators, to deliver tangible change for Nigerian MSMEs as well as increase our position by at least 20 places in the 2018 World Bank Doing Business Ranking Index.
These areas include:
- Starting a Business
- Improving CAC online portal (g. adding document upload functionality)
- Integrating CAC and FIRS payment portals to enable e-Stamping
- Getting Credit
- Working with National Assembly to ensure passage of 2 key bills in next 60 days (out of 11 priority bills) – Collateral Registry bill and Credit Bureau bill
- Trading Across Borders
- Reducing dwell time for cargo by ensuring Nigerian Customs Service is responsible for scheduling and coordinating physical examinations, as well as mandating use of pallets for container imports
- Getting Electricity
- Reducing number of procedures and time for businesses to get connected to DisCos
- Paying Taxes; and
- Ensuring stakeholders are aware of significant changes to process (g. e-filing)
- Registering Property (Lagos-specific)
- Simplifying process for registering property and obtaining construction permits
- Merging requirement for stamping deed of assignment with final registration process
- Communicating new property transfer process
- Construction Permits (working with LASG)
- Ensuring publication of laws and regulations, and timelines for procedures
- Working to shorten procedure for obtaining construction permits
