The WB/IFC Doing Business report ranks Zambia as number 116 out of 178 countries. This position puts Zambia towards the bottom of the list thus effectively profiling the country as a ‘No Go’ area.
Much of the information that was used to arrive at this ranking was not very representative of the facts on the ground, but the low ranking motivated some reflections on how best Zambia could improve her profile in facilitating increased investment and wealth creation with opportunities for more jobs.
Two major issues come out clearly when foreign assessments are made about Zambia. The first one is that there are perceptions about the investment climate in Zambia that both foreign investors, and possibly large local investors, will consider when thinking about investing in Zambia. The second issue is that there are many problems that need to be tackled and resolved to improve Zambia’s investment profile. Several problems can be resolved simply by re-engineering various processes and procedures in many public service institutions.
The issue of foreign perceptions challenges us to consider the impact on the local economy as many of these perceptions are highlighted on web sites across the world, and provokes us to correct any mis-conceptions and mis-representations that may have occurred. This challenge is open to both Government and the Private Sector. The provision of accurate information and access to proven specialists in various areas is essential towards dissemination of meaningful information to researchers and collaborating partners. Open, inclusive, and equitable dialogue at meetings and conferences ensures that views and concerns are captured from the primary source to avoid extrapolation and hypothesis on the many issues that describe Zambia as a place to do business. Experience shows us that our situation is usually very mis-represented at the international level so we have a huge challenge to put things right.
There is no doubt that there is always room for improvement in all our public service delivery institutions. We need to be constantly reminded that we can improve and that we are part of a competitive regional and global market. Our local public delivery systems need to benchmark themselves against the competition in the region and further beyond. Issues of clarity of rules and regulations, and the option of collaboration amongst Government agencies, have a direct impact on the barriers to doing business in Zambia.
Furthermore, many Government agencies are challenged to simply install Monitoring and Evaluation systems within their own processes such that the public are not lumbered with the daunting task of having to be the ‘whistle blowers’ or ‘complainants’ when systems are not serving the interest of doing business better, cost effectively, and more efficiently.
The Registrar of Companies and other Registration agencies need to take up this challenge within their institutions whilst other licensing agencies offer even more compelling options to audit their processes such that the opportunities for discretion by public officers are removed where possible.
There is a danger that we will be swayed towards ‘throwing out the baby with the bath water’ by trying to overhaul the entire public service sector which is a monumental task. The quest to change legislation, overlap responsibilities that belong to specific Ministries, and re-write the rules and regulations, is a long time program with many opportunities for the program to be abandoned or removed from the priority list with time. Improving the Business Climate in Zambia requires short term programs that are easy to implement, medium term programs that require more resources and time to be successful and long term programs that focus on major changes in mandate and issues that require wider public consensus.
The quick wins in improving service delivery will go a long way towards immediately pushing Zambia up on the Doing Business index which is highly respected in the global markets. The chances for the medium term and long term changes to be seriously accommodated will largely hinge on the successes and positive impact of our short term programs.
Published 26 February 2008
No comments:
Post a Comment