Improve business with legislation, UK firm tells Saraki

A United Kingdom-based firm, Adam Smith International, has called on the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, to come up with a legislation that will promote and facilitate business in Nigeria.

The firm made the call in a report it presented to the Senate President on Monday.

The 13-page report, displayed on the Senate President’s website, highlighted about 30 legislative interventions needed to be made by the National Assembly to improve business environment in Nigeria.

Adam Smith International, located on Blackfriars, London, United Kingdom, is a service-based firm that carries out projects to support economic growth and government reforms internationally.

The report, prepared by a team of consultants appointed by the firm, observed that some of the bills needed to boost business in Nigeria were already pending before the National Assembly. It underscored bills on the Establishment of a Federal Legislative Clearinghouse; Federal Competition and Consumer Protection; National Inland Waterways Authority, Nigerian Ports and Harbours Authority, Nigerian Railway Authority and Federal Roads Authority.

It said, “With the reform of key sectors of the economy, there is a critical need to facilitate an enabling environment for private sector participation. There are bills pending before the National Assembly that are of primal importance to doing business and overall private sector development in Nigeria, especially in infrastructure delivery.”

Describing the views expressed in the report as “submissions to the President of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” the report said the aim “is to create an environment where hardworking firms, and not just a select few individuals, can flourish.”

On the establishment of a Federal Legislative Clearing House and other bills, it said, “If no other recommendation in this Report is implemented, the enactment of the following Bills would be a major achievement of the 8th Assembly: Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Bill, 2015; Federal Roads Authority Bill, 2015; National Inland Waterways Authority Bill, 2015; and National Roads Funds Bill, 2015.”

The report also emphasised the need to pass into law the National Transport Commission Bill, 2015; Nigerian Ports and Harbours Authority Bill, 2015; Nigerian Postal Commission Bill, 2015; Nigerian Railway Authority Bill, 2015; and Access to Finance and Property Bill.

It added, “We recommend the establishment of a Federal Legislative Clearinghouse to scrutinise and review bills before presentation to the respective chambers for first reading. The Clearinghouse could be established within the National Assembly’s Directorate of Legal Services. Consequential amendments to the Senate and House Standing Rules will be required to establish the Clearinghouse and set out the review procedure.

“One principle we believe should guide the National Assembly in considering the Bills is the need to avoid the setting up of multiple agencies with overlapping or conflicting mandates. Consequently, there is the need to follow a cost-benefit approach in deciding when and where a new agency is required.”

The report observed that access to finance and land were major challenges to Medium and Small Enterprises, saying, “Data from the SMEDAN and NBS collaborative survey revealed that of a total of 80,312 Small and Medium Enterprises, only 13,031 (representing 17 per cent) listed their source of capital as a loan. As it concerned Micro Enterprises, only three per cent of the surveyed enterprises listed their source of capital as a loan. Early stage start-ups often do not have the collateral or assets requested by banks before they will administer a loan, making it difficult to obtain a loan.”

It recommended that the Independent Warehouse Regulatory Agency Bill should solve the challenge of collateral by allowing businesses to tender their commercial warehouse receipts.

“Likewise, the Secured Transactions in Movable Assets Bill proposes to establish a National Collateral Registry. This Bill will give creditors an effective way to discover whether the potential borrower has already granted a security interest in the collateral and, if so, what priority those rights have. If properly implemented (with all identified deficiencies addressed), both of these Bills could improve access to finance for MSMEs,” it added.

by Goddy Ofulue