.Commerce, Trade and Industry Minister Emmanuel Chenda

By CATHERINE NYIRENDA –

Government has said  enactment of the Business Regulatory Bill  Number 22 of 2013, will  reduce bureaucracy  and result in the establishment of  the Business Regulatory Authority (BRA) which will  act as a  single licensing system.
This will in addition, help reduce the cost of doing business in Zambia and result in the creation of  more jobs.
Commerce, Trade and Industry Minister Emmanuel Chenda told Parliament that, the enactment of the Bill would also see the establishment of a committee whose role would among other things, ensure that policies were adhered to and properly implemented
“The concept of a single licensing system is designed to serve business houses by reducing the point of contact with various regulators as well as, reducing bureaucratic procedures,” Mr Chenda said.
Mr Chenda said this in Parliament yesterday when he contributed to a debate on the Business Regulatory Bill which passed the second reading successfully without debates from other Members of Parliament (MPs).
The Act would also provide a set of principles and interventions to guide regulatory agencies when regulating and licensing business activities in accordance with the law under this mandate.
It would also among others establish regulatory service centres, regulatory clearance systems and the single licensing systems for business in each sector and establish an e-registry.
He said the current licensing system was too bureaucratic and tedious such that, a business house in the tourism sector was required to obtain 37 licences and several fees for it to begin operating.
The minister said the process would also cut on corruption as it would have one contact regulatory point and make a single payment to cover all other processes.
Chairperson for the Parliamentary Accounts Committee (PAC) on Economic Affairs, Energy and Labour, Kennedy Hamudulu, said the need to enact the Bill was long overdue.
Mr Hamudulu, who is United Party for National Development (UPND) Siavonga MP, said the piece of legislation would make licensing simpler, transparent and focus on legitimate regulatory services.
He said the establishment of an e-registry and assigning control number of laws regulating business was equally a good measure that would provide opportunities for greater access to information in business regulation.