During the seminar in Dar Es Salaam on the 28th Feb, 2013, the former Minister of Economy of the Republic of Lithuania, Mr. Rimantas Žylius presented a practical example of IT and good governance role in the business reforms from the Republic of Lithuania. He spoke about three major reforms that the Lithuanian Government used to address an extreme situation in 2009 when the GDP dropped by 15%. All of these reforms showed results very quickly and increased the long term competitiveness of Lithuania. They were strongly supported by the implementation of the IT systems which allowed efficient automation of functions and built the way for a more informed decision making.
As a result of these reforms, the business regulations were improved and the state institutions began to work with businesses in a more collaborative manner. The number of new businesses established in 2011 increased by 40 % compared to pre-crisis peak in 2008. A reform of the state owned companies made the SOE’s more competitive. Within two years the dividends increased by 12 times, leading to a broader discussion if privatization of enterprises was really necessary.
The seminar is a part of NRD and ISACA Tanzania Chapter joint initiatives that have a purpose of promoting the business climate improvement reforms in Tanzania. The expected outcomes of these reforms are to attract investments through (i) a reduced regulatory burden to start up business through less time and cost to comply with registration procedures, (ii) improved efficiency of business registration through simplified and streamlined procedures and (iii) incentives for entrepreneurs to start up new business and for actors in the informal sector to register.
The lessons learnt in Lithuania combined with NRD’s wide experience in business registration can help to improve the investment climate in Tanzania. Provided that there is a real political will to embark on reforms, Tanzania could have an efficient, effective and sustainable business registration system and move to a single digit ranking on starting a business in the Doing Business Report for 2016.
ISACA is an independent, nonprofit, global association, engaging in the development, adoption and use of globally accepted, industry-leading knowledge and practices for information systems. ISACA provides practical guidance, benchmarks and other effective tools for all enterprises that use information systems. ISACA Tanzania Chapter was formulated in March 2002.
