WASHINGTON, September 9, 2009 – The World Bank Group has released the Doing Business 2010 (DB 2010) Report which ranks Zambia 90 out of 183 economies.
The Doing Business Report is a global “scorecard” that compares the regulatory environment for the ease of doing business across the globe, thereby providing Governments with an annual update that measures their country’s performance to those of competitors.
Under the theme, Reforming through Difficult Times, Singapore is once again the top performer, meaning that it is easier to “do business” in Singapore than in any other country in the world. Rwanda has moved into first place as being the top reformer, meaning that Rwanda has implemented more “doing business” reforms than any other country At SADC regional level, Zambia’s ranking is second to South Africa, which is ranked at 34. Other rankings include Tanzania (131), Mozambique (135) and Zimbabwe (159).
The World Bank Country Manager, Kapil Kapoor, commended the Zambian Government for making steady progress in improving the ease of doing business in Zambia, as reflected by Report. Zambia’s global ranking at 90 represents an improvement over last year’s ranking of 99. “This progress is a result of sustained effort by the Government to improve the regulatory environment for businesses and positions Zambia ahead of many African economies”, said Kapoor. “However, it is important to recognize that reducing the ease of doing business is a beginning and a starting point to reducing the cost of doing business and increasing competitiveness”. In order to make substantive gains, he encouraged the Government build on these good results by pressing ahead with effective reforms in other key areas such as transport, telecommunications, energy and the financial sector in order to improve the broader business environment, which is crucial to achieving the Vision 2030.
The Doing Business Report has tracked countries over the last six years, and some common features amongst successful reformers are beginning to emerge:
Successful reformers pursue a broader agenda designed to improve the competitiveness of companies in their country. Regulatory reforms are a critical piece of a broader agenda that focuses on improving the business environment – from reducing the cost of transport and energy through to improving the skill base of the work force. Rwanda, Malaysia and Colombia are all examples of countries that incorporated regulatory reforms as part of a broader competitiveness agenda.
Successful reformers stay proactive. Singapore and Hong Kong have the best business environments in the World, and they are also persistently amongst the top reformers for Doing Business – avoiding the pitfalls of complacency and driving their economies forward.
They are inclusive. They involve all public agencies and private sector representatives and they institutionalize reform at the highest level.
They stay focussed on a long term vision supported by specific goals. Successful reformers have a well defined vision with clearly defined short and medium term goals.
With 90 countries performing better than Zambia, there is a clear need for more regulatory reforms, especially in areas where Zambia scores poorly such as trading across borders (157 out of 183), business licensing (151 out of 183) and the ease of employment (116 out of 183). With a sustained focus on well defined goals, Zambia can further improve its ranking, thereby enabling more jobs, productivity and wealth for its citizens.
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