Somaliland: Relative peace and security in Hargeisa allows a vibrant private sector to develop

[Xaaji Xunjuf]

 

WASHINGTON, October 10, 2012/African Press Organization (APO)/ – Relative peace and security in Hargeisa in the past decade have allowed a vibrant private sector to develop, despite conflict and fragility in the surrounding region, says a new World Bank Group report.

 

Released today, Doing Business in Hargeisa 2012, for the first time provides micro-level data for business regulatory framework for domestic small and medium businesses in Hargeisa, the largest economic center in Somaliland. The report is produced by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the World Bank.

 

Following the civil war in the 1980s, Somaliland unilaterally declared independence from Somalia in 1991, but it still lacks international recognition.

 

Results show that the government has made strides setting up some of the institutions and rules necessary for businesses to operate. The judiciary system is being rebuilt, and legal professionals are returning from abroad or graduating from local universities. Yet challenges persist, including implementing key business regulations, and putting into place a formal banking system.

 

The report examines 11 regulatory areas: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, obtaining electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, resolving insolvency, and employing workers.

 

“Hargeisa’s performance varies from topic to topic,” said Pilar Sánchez-Bella, co-author of the report. “In the ease of dealing with construction permits, getting electricity and registering property, institutions governing these areas are relatively efficient. But Hargeisa needs to improve its legal framework to foster a healthy environment that encourages local entrepreneurs to start businesses, which in turn can help generate jobs and growth.”

 

The report makes four general recommendations for regulatory reform in Hargeisa: completing the legal and regulatory framework; streamlining administrative procedures for business registration, construction permits, and property registration; reducing costs across the indicators measured; and improving compliance with regulations.

 

The study was produced at the request of the Ministry of Planning and Development of Somaliland and financed through a World Bank-executed trust fund, with contributions from the U.K. Department for International Development, the Danish International Development Agency, and the World Bank’s State and Peace-Building Fund.

 

About the World Bank Group

 

The World Bank Group is one of the world’s largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries. It comprises five closely associated institutions: the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA), which together form the World Bank; the International Finance Corporation (IFC); the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA); and the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). Each institution plays a distinct role in the mission to fight poverty and improve living standards for people in the developing world.

 

Provided by PR Newswire

[Wiil Cusub]

Good development:

 

Main Findings

The government has made strides setting up some of the institutions and rules necessary for businesses to operate. Yet challenges persist, including implementing key business regulations, and putting into place a formal banking system.

Compared to the 183 economies measured by Doing Business in 2012, Hargeisa would rank 174 on the ease of doing business. Behind this aggregate ranking, Hargeisa’s performance varies from topic to topic (see figure below).

Hargeisa ranks 175 on the ease of starting a business. The process is fast but expensive, with 60% of the cost stemming from the cost of business licenses.

On the ease of dealing with construction permits, getting electricity and registering property, institutions governing these areas are relatively efficient. Hargeisa ranks 86, 84 and 79, respectively, ahead of the averages for Sub-Saharan Africa and the fragile and conflict-affected states.

On the ease of trading across borders, Hargeisa would rank 127. Importing and exporting a standardized container of cargo through the port of Berbera is faster and cheaper than the Sub-Saharan Africa average.

On the ease of protecting investors and getting credit, Hargeisa would rank 181 and 184, respectively. These rankings reflect an incomplete regulatory framework.

 

http://www.doingbusiness.org/reports/subnational-reports/hargeisa

 

[Wiil Cusub]

complate report

http://www.doingbusiness.org/~/media/GIAWB/Doing%20Business/Documents/Subnational-Reports/DB12-Hargeisa.pdf

 

in short

 

http://www.doingbusiness.org/reports/subnational-reports/hargeisa

[The Sage]

Well above our peers and without even de jure recognition. Clearly this speaks to the governments good stewardship in building the right instutions and steps to building a favourable business climate. With the banking reform law already in the process of being designed, Somaliland should rise in the ranks even further.

[Chimera]

Wiil Cusub;878877 wrote:

Good development:

 

Brother, are you looking at the same image? The most important ingredients to creating a vibrant and flourishing private-sector are 'ease of doing business'', ''getting credit'' and the ''protection of investment''. In all three cases it puts Hargeisa at the bottom, and I'm pretty sure this is the same for every other city in the peninsula. I'll bet there are thousands of young men and women with business ideas in Hargeisa but whose plans will never surface to light because there is nowhere they could get the necessary 'capital' to start their own business, and international investor would want their investment 'secured'.

 

This should be a 'top priority' for the politicians in Hargeisa, because the blooming of new small to medium businesses would increase their own wages and budgets in the long run, which means better roads, better electrification rate, stronger banks and more new businesses.

[Alpha Blondy]

Chimera;879092 wrote:

Brother, are you looking at the same image? The most important ingredients to creating a vibrant and flourishing private-sector are 'ease of doing business'', ''getting credit'' and the ''protection of investment''. In all three cases it puts Hargeisa at the bottom, and I'm pretty sure this is the same for every other city in the peninsula. I'll bet there are thousands of young men and women with business ideas in Hargeisa but whose plans will never surface to light because there is nowhere they could get the necessary 'capital' to start their own business, and international investor would want their investment 'secured'.

 

This should be a 'top priority' for the politicians in Hargeisa, because the blooming of new small to medium businesses would increase their own wages and budgets in the long run, which means better roads, better electrification rate, stronger banks and more new businesses.

adams,

 

the graph above is for 'formal' sectors of the economy. registering businesses formally through the ministry of commerce should be the priority rather than the one year licenses issued from Hargeisa Municipality.

[Chimera]

Alpha, if people don't have 'capital' to start a business, there is no point in going to the ministry of commerce to register anything in the first place, because their business will never come to fruition in most cases.

[Alpha Blondy]

adams, please read the download and stop using one size fits all policy. cheers, Al.

[Wiil Cusub]

adam the three aria that you named: "ease of doing business'', ''getting credit'' and the ''protection of investment''. One point can be solved easily protecting investment to create regulation and lows which can give grant property registration, but luck of credit is more related unrecognized status of the country,

 

 

 

Main Findings

1. list item 1The government has made strides setting up some of the institutions and rules necessary for businesses to operate. Yet challenges persist, including implementing key business regulations, and putting into place a formal banking system.

   Compared to the 183 economies measured by Doing Business in 2012, Hargeisa would rank 174 on the ease of doing business. Behind this aggregate ranking, Hargeisa’s performance varies from topic to topic (see figure below).

2. list item 2 Hargeisa ranks 175 on the ease of starting a business. The process is fast but expensive, with 60% of the cost stemming from the cost of business licenses.
3. list item 3 On the ease of dealing with construction permits, getting electricity and registering property, institutions governing these areas are relatively efficient. Hargeisa ranks 86, 84 and 79, respectively, ahead of the averages for Sub-Saharan Africa and the fragile and conflict-affected states.
4. list item 4 On the ease of trading across borders, Hargeisa would rank 127. Importing and exporting a standardized container of cargo through the port of Berbera is faster and cheaper than the Sub-Saharan Africa average.
5. list item 5 On the ease of protecting investors and getting credit, Hargeisa would rank 181 and 184, respectively. These rankings reflect an incomplete regulatory framework.