END RED TAPE, JAPAN INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION AGENCY ADVISES TANZANIA

The chief representative of Japan International
Cooperation Agency (JICA) in Tanzania, Mr Onishi Yasunori.

Dar es Salaam. Tanzania’s bureaucratic procedures in the registration of businesses is bad to investors, and more specifically those from Japan, it was said in Dar es Salaam yesterday.

The chief representative of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in Tanzania, Mr Onishi Yasunori said for Tanzania to attract an increased number of Japanese investors, the country must reduce the number of institutions dealing with business registration.

“These issues normally discourage investors and the government should reduce the procedures if it wants to attract an increasing number of investors,” he said calling upon Tanzania to change various policies pertaining to business and investing.

According to the World Bank’s Doing Business Report, it requires 26 procedures in Tanzania for one to register a firm. Defining procedures to be any interaction of the company founders with external parties (including government agencies, lawyers, auditors or notaries), the World Bank’s report ranks Tanzania the poorest in this category in East Africa. In Burundi, Rwanda, Kenya and Uganda, the same takes three, eight, 10 and 15 procedures respectively.

Mr Yasunori who has accomplished his two years of staying in the country, said Tanzania must also deal with the issue of corruption among employees of the institutions dealing with business registration. “I had spoken to various investors who have mentioned these issues as factors that discourage investments….the government should solve these issues immediately,” he added.

Mr Yasunori said that the challenges being experienced in the country are also prevailing in other developing countries, thus the need for all African countries to amend their business policies.

The Citizen