Tunis, Tunisia, March 8, 2016–
The World Bank Group is working with the Tunisian government to simplify cumbersome business regulations, in an effort to create a business climate more conducive to investment and growth. Eight ministries are taking part in the project including the ministries of Finance, Agriculture, Industry, Social Affairs, Justice, Property and Land Affairs, Commerce, and Transportation.
Launched by IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, in 2012, the Tunisia Investment Climate Reform Program aims to reduce the regulatory burden on businesses by eliminating or simplifying obsolete, vague, or unnecessary procedures and building a modern regulation system. A conference organized in Tunis today in partnership with IACE (the Arab Institute of Entrepreneurs) and DGRA (the Administrative Reform Commission) on “The simplification of administrative procedures: Impact on the private sector,” presented the program’s latest results.
“To improve the business climate for both Tunisian and foreign investors, it is critical to simplify administrative procedures for businesses in Tunisia,” said Antoine Courcelle-Labrousse, IFC Resident Representative in Tunisia. “IFC is pleased to help Tunisian authorities with this crucial project.”
Thus far, the program has simplified or deleted over 290 procedures and formalities, with more reforms expected soon. Various delays, steps, and costs have been reduced due to automation, decentralization, and the cancellation of certain authorizations. Reform priorities and recommendations were based on input received from private enterprises regarding the most challenging regulation requirements.
Reforms are expected to help thousands of businesses, leading to private sector savings, increased transparency and less room for problematic behavior by public officials. This should in turn enhance the transparency of the process and ease access of firms to information required to obtain a formality.
Khaled Sellami, DGRA General Manager, said: “The simplification of administrative procedures governing economic activities is a pioneering project, which aims to reduce the administrative workload for businesses.”
This conference is part of a series of events planned to raise awareness of the reforms, which is integral to the project’s success. Such wide-ranging reforms are successful only when the changes trickle down to administrative offices. Rigorous impact assessments will be conducted in parallel with the awareness raising events, in order to ensure the effectiveness of the reforms.
This project was made possible with the support of the Swiss Secretariat for Economic Affairs.
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