Public Sector Stakeholders Recommendations Workshop On The Design Of The Registry
Photo Credit: J.S. Dortu

UPDATE ON THE NRD DESIGN AND CONCENSUS MISSION

• The NRD commenced the second phase of the contract which is the design and consensus mission on 27th May, 2009. The design and consensus mission is expected to climax on 30th June 2009; with a submission of draft report to be reviewed and approved by the Joint Steering Committee on the Liberia Registry Project. The Team during their stay in Liberia held meetings with stakeholders both in the public and private sectors.  The meetings with the public sector on the one hand were geared towards building consensus on the design of the registry and the drafting of an Executive order which will create the independence of the registry. The meetings with the private sector on the other hand covered the views of the business community and their recommendations on the design of the registry. 

• The NRD Team also held three (3) Focal Group workshops on the registry design, the Focal Group workshops were to create sensitization on the project amongst institutions in both the public and private sectors.

          The meetings include:
-  Meeting with the Liberia Business Association (LIBA)

-  Meeting with the Liberia Chamber of Commerce (LCC)

-  Meeting with the Bar Association (LBA)

-  Meeting with public sectors stakeholders (Ministries of        Commerce, Finance, Foreign Affairs, Planning & Economic Affairs, Internal Affairs, LISGIS, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), NASSCORP, and others.

• The focal group meetings (workshops) summarized the registry design which will provide the processing of business registration to be done in a day generally and for sole proprietors in particular will be for 15 minutes. The single-point registration under the laws according to the Team is achievable with out uttering the laws. The conclusion on an Executive order was unfavorable as there will be a need for renew pronouncement on a periodic bases considering the duration of an Executive order.

• The single-point registration will have entry points in the leeward counties but will begin with two sub-offices in major commercial cities that will make it easier for entrepreneurs to submit a single dossier to the focal point in the particular county; the dossier to be submitted will include the application form and a payment receipt from the Central Bank. With this new system entrepreneurs will now avoid the carrying of business registration documentations from one institution of government to another as information needed by these institutions will be shared by the registry.

• The location of businesses will be systematic in accordance with LISGIS standard used during the last population consensus and a unique identification number will be given to businesses. The articles of the incorporation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Archives will be placed in an electronic system thru scanning so as to make it easier for references.

• Information on businesses in the registry will be open for accessing so as to create comfort to would be creators in relation to whom am I dealing with ?

• It was observed during the meetings with the private sector that the cost of registering a business (fees and time) and the low incentives they get from registering a business are responsible for the large informal sector. Nevertheless, they consented that the process of registering a business in terms of the fees and time when reduced in accordance with the NRD recommendation on the design of the registry will serve as a motivation for the formalization of businesses in the informal sector. The question that still remains unanswered is “what should the fees be when the system can provide for the processing of business registration in one day even with corporations”?

• The NRD has recommended that the cost of registering a business under this new arrangement should not be more than Fifteen United States Dollars (15.00 USD) as it is free in order developing countries. The Leader of the Team was quick to distinguish between cost of service provided by the registry (fee for registration) and taxes levied on businesses in accordance with the current practice. According to Mr. Olasein, businesses after registration can subsequently conform to government regulations but the entrance into formalization should be relatively free.

• The NRD on this mission held two meetings with the Joint Steering Committee on the Liberia Business Registry Project. The first was the direction meeting, while the order was to make known some recommendations that are required for the accommodation of the design.

• At the design meeting the Joint Steering Committee study tour was discussed and agreed on the 8th of June 2009; the rationale of the study tour is to familiarize members of the Committee with best international practice and explore means by which the system could get integrated with other systems, such as: Tax, Statistics, and others.