WASHINGTON, October 12, 2008 -- At a Doing Business in Africa Open Forum during the World Bank-International Monetary Fund Annual Meetings on October 11, Mauritius, the top-ranked Sub-Saharan African country on the ease of doing business rankings, showcased how it got the top slot in the 2008.
Speaking about his country reforms, Rama Sithanen, vice-prime minister and minister of finance and economic development, told the forum that Mauritius’ success was a result of sustained reform and strategic vision that created a hospitable business climate.
Rama Sithanen, Mauritian vice-prime minister and minister of finance and economic development.
The forum was attended by World Bank Group President Robert Zoellick and moderated by Obiageli Ezekwesili, vice president of the Bank’s Africa Region. In his welcome address, Zoellick reiterated the centrality of business in economic growth and noted that Africa is showing a positive trend in that regard.
Sithanen told the forum it was not easy for his country to get where it is, but thanks to the government’s commitment to reforms and the quick positive results the reforms produced, the effort won over doubters who could have stood in the way of reform.
"Reform caused growth that led to more jobs and more investments many of them small scale enterprises," Sithanen said, noting further that fiscal policy reform, especially changes in tax regimes to attract investors, was crucial to creating the business friendly environment.
He observed that reformers need to be aware of challenges and they must devise creative ways of overcoming them in order to bring on board all major stakeholders. Above all, he said, the results must be visible and undeniable to deny groups opposed to reforms grounds to launch sustained opposition that might derail progress.
Rama Sithanen, Mauritian vice-prime minister and minister of finance and economic development.
Michael U. Klein, vice president and chief economist at the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) discussed a summary of the report, which focused on the performance of African countries. Senegal, Burkina Faso and Botswana were among the top ten performers worldwide in 2007/2008. Senegal slashed time to start a business from 58 days to eight days in one year. Sub-Saharan Africa as a whole was ranked last by region on ease of doing business, but the region was fourth with the highest percentage of reforms (61 percent) during the period under review. Compared to other regions, Sub-Saharan Africa recorded the highest percentage of people expressing optimism in the future, Klein noted.
Arnold Ekpe, group CEO at Econbank Transnational Incorporated, and Alexander Cummings, COO at Coca Cola, represented the private sector at the meeting. The two highlighted challenges businesses face in Africa -- poor infrastructure, limited capacity, and small markets -- but agreed that overall the business environment in Africa is trending positive.
In closing remarks, Ezekwesili said she was hopeful that African ministers present would take away requisite lessons about the success stories and apply them in their countries.
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