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Official decries bureaucracy in business formalisation exercise
2007-05-12 09:56:38
By Joseph Mwendapole, Tanga
Bureaucracy has been blamed for impediments that entrepreneurs face when setting up and registering new businesses in the country.
The Property and Business Formalization Programme in Tanzania (MKURABITA) program officer, Stephen Rusibamayila, said while touring a project in Handeni recently that bureaucracy contributed up to 98 per cent of the business delays in the country.
Rusibamayika said that due to many procedures to start a business, people encounter an unnecessary burden and often decide to undertake business activities without formal registration.
He said MKURABITA intends to ensure all businesses and property without certificates are immediately registered and acquire the necessary permits.
``The procedures to register a business are numerous and time consuming and that’s why people take up to one year to have the process complete,`` he said.
The program officer said that 89 per cent of land, buildings and farmland in the country are yet to be registered because of bureaucracy.
He added that the net value of such unregistered investments adds up to USD29bn, and if such property were registered Tanzania would not be as poor as it is today.
“Most business people understand well the rules and procedures that have to be followed but look for shortcuts because it is difficult to operate a formal business entity,” he said.
Some of the rules and procedures used for registration are obsolete and are an obstacle to those seeking to have their businesses registered.
Such a move has even led to some people selling land to each other based on their own terms and conditions.
``For instance one seeking a five year permit will go to the local municipal council, instead of going to the ministry of land where there are long time consuming queues as well as demands for small bribes that discourage people from the whole process,`` said the official.
Rusibamayila said that even registration of documents for land in the villages takes a long time because of unnecessary bureaucracy at the ministry of land, housing and development.
He gave an example of Kweisasu Village which applied for registration in May last year, but had registration completed and their permits given this month.
Even permits for fields have to be signed by the Lands Commissioner, a factor that has been taking long.
“Tanzania has more than 10,000 villages and if the lands commissioner signs every document and certificate it will take centuries for all the villages to be registered,”said Rusibamayila.
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