FORMER president Benjamin Mkapa has called on African governments to ensure that they include the private sector in their development agendas in a bid to foster socio-economic development in the continent.
According to Mkapa who is co-chair of the Investment Climate Facility for Africa (ICF), the private sector is a major key catalyst of change “and so it is high time we engage it for our countries to move forward.”
Addressing reporters yesterday in Dar es Salaam about the ICF’s 73 reform initiatives, he urged the continent’s governments to pursue greater investment climate reforms designed to, among other things, unleash the entrepreneurial spirit of their people.
African leaderships should also streamline existing laws and policies on capital tax payment to be more in keeping with the idea of easing business and speeding up economic growth on the continent to help change the lives of its people as a whole, Mkapa said.
“These governments may also learn from Rwanda… it is far ahead in terms of investment, business environment and taxpaying system. When you need changes you should be ready for those changes,” the ex-president stated.
He divulged that ICF was set up to prove that investment climate reforms can be done quickly, using little resources while strongly impacting the private sector, governments and countries in general.
“Our different projects in various African countries have shown that it is possible to move the continent to another level of development. Now it is up to the countries themselves to follow the example set by ICF,” Mkapa explained.
He noted that the efforts of many African countries to improve their business environments have been recognized by the World Bank in its annual ‘Doing Business Report’ which ranks the ease of doing business in different countries.
On this score, the report ranks five African countries amongst the top ten improving nations in the world, with sub-Saharan Africa alone accounting for roughly 30 per cent of all regulatory reforms.
ICF chief executive officer (CEO) William Asiko disclosed that over the past nine years, many countries that have worked with ICF have improved their rankings, including Cape Verde, Burkina Faso and Rwanda.
Implemented between 2007 and 2016, the facility’s initiatives have made it possible for businesses to register, pay taxes, solve commercial disputes, and clear goods through customs in a quick, simple and transparent manner.
ICF has also built the capacity of African governments, public and private sector institutions, and citizens in areas like business skills, commercial law, hydropower plant maintenance, contract negotiation, financial markets and global food standards.
It has helped in the creation of nine commercial and four arbitration courts to resolve disputes quickly and transparently, plus five single windows for trade to modernise the clearance process of goods in key African ports, Asiko said.
It has also helped countries to create electronic land registration systems and increase government partnerships with the private sector (PPP).
According to Mkapa who is co-chair of the Investment Climate Facility for Africa (ICF), the private sector is a major key catalyst of change “and so it is high time we engage it for our countries to move forward.”
Addressing reporters yesterday in Dar es Salaam about the ICF’s 73 reform initiatives, he urged the continent’s governments to pursue greater investment climate reforms designed to, among other things, unleash the entrepreneurial spirit of their people.
African leaderships should also streamline existing laws and policies on capital tax payment to be more in keeping with the idea of easing business and speeding up economic growth on the continent to help change the lives of its people as a whole, Mkapa said.
“These governments may also learn from Rwanda… it is far ahead in terms of investment, business environment and taxpaying system. When you need changes you should be ready for those changes,” the ex-president stated.
He divulged that ICF was set up to prove that investment climate reforms can be done quickly, using little resources while strongly impacting the private sector, governments and countries in general.
“Our different projects in various African countries have shown that it is possible to move the continent to another level of development. Now it is up to the countries themselves to follow the example set by ICF,” Mkapa explained.
He noted that the efforts of many African countries to improve their business environments have been recognized by the World Bank in its annual ‘Doing Business Report’ which ranks the ease of doing business in different countries.
On this score, the report ranks five African countries amongst the top ten improving nations in the world, with sub-Saharan Africa alone accounting for roughly 30 per cent of all regulatory reforms.
ICF chief executive officer (CEO) William Asiko disclosed that over the past nine years, many countries that have worked with ICF have improved their rankings, including Cape Verde, Burkina Faso and Rwanda.
Implemented between 2007 and 2016, the facility’s initiatives have made it possible for businesses to register, pay taxes, solve commercial disputes, and clear goods through customs in a quick, simple and transparent manner.
ICF has also built the capacity of African governments, public and private sector institutions, and citizens in areas like business skills, commercial law, hydropower plant maintenance, contract negotiation, financial markets and global food standards.
It has helped in the creation of nine commercial and four arbitration courts to resolve disputes quickly and transparently, plus five single windows for trade to modernise the clearance process of goods in key African ports, Asiko said.
It has also helped countries to create electronic land registration systems and increase government partnerships with the private sector (PPP).
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