PEBEC launches fourth National Action Plan on ease of doing business reform

05 Mar 2019
Financial Nigeria

Summary

The NAP 4.0 will run from the 1st of March to the 29th of April, 2019.

Nigerian Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, SAN

The Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) has launched the fourth 60-day National Action Plan (also known as NAP 4.0) on Ease of Doing Business (EoDB). This was disclosed today in a statement released by the Office of the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, SAN.

PEBEC was inaugurated by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2016 to remove the constraints of doing business in Nigeria. The Council – chaired by the Vice President, and Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Okechukwu Enelamah, as Vice Chair – oversees the government’s business climate reform agenda.  

The first 60-day National Action Plan (NAP 1.0) was launched by PEBEC on February 21, 2017. The NAPs are inter-ministerial and inter-governmental plans that are implemented by various Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) across Nigeria. The mandate of the Action Plans is to: “remove critical bottlenecks and bureaucratic constraints to doing business in Nigeria” and “move Nigeria 20 steps upwards in the World Bank Ease of Doing Business Index.”

According to the statement released on Tuesday and signed by Jumoke Oduwole, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Industry, Trade and Investment, the first, second and third NAPs on EoDB were coordinated by Enabling Business Environment Secretariat (EBES) of the Council. Oduwole, who is also PEBEC Secretary, said the plans have resulted in significant progress over the past three years.

Some of the targets achieved in NAP 3.0 include driving registration for utilization of the National Collateral Registry to facilitate access to credit for SMEs; clearance of all pending NAFDAC registration applications to improve efficiency; and creation of a strengthened single joint cargo examination interface in all airports and seaports for import and export to reduce the time spent at the ports.

“The NAP 4.0 has been launched to deepen the reforms delivered and drive institutionalization,” Enelamah said. “We have highlighted key action items in each of the focus areas to ensure the reforms delivered do not unravel, and to ensure we drive sustainability.”

The NAP 4.0 is expected to run from the 1st of March to the 29th of April, 2019. Under the new plan, the government aims to further reduce the challenges encountered by SMEs and businesses in various areas of focus such as starting a business, getting credit, paying taxes, enforcing contracts or trading within and across borders, amongst others.

“The Council will continue to work extensively with all MDAs, the National Assembly and various arms of government on various reforms critical to an enabling business environment. For the NAP 4.0, these include targets such as enforcing compliance with SLAs across all focus areas, driving the passage of the CAM Bill 2018 for improved effectiveness of company law in Nigeria, enhancing efficiency in the small claims court, and enhancing the application and approval system for visas on arrival, to mention a few,” said Oduwole.
 
The PEBEC Secretary also said the Council will engage public and private sector stakeholders, and intensify efforts to communicate the reform agenda. “We have already started a number of communication initiatives, including setting up a website for access to all information on all reforms at www.businessmadeeasy.ng,” Oduwole added.

The Doing Business reports of the World Bank show Nigeria's ranking rose from 169th position out of 190 countries in 2016 to 145th in 2017. However, it slipped one place to 146th in last year’s edition of the report.


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