Making the BBF a permanent feature
Saturday, 6 December 2008
A well appreciated move of the incumbent government as far as the country's businesses are concerned is the Better Business Forum (BBF). The BBF is really a consultative mechanism between businesses and the government meant to carry out reforms in areas of governmental rules and regulations with the aim of facilitating business activities. It is also expected to recommend policies or their adjustments or readjustments to the government with the same purpose.
Since its coming into existence last year, the BBF has not made as much progress as was desired from it. But whatever it has done in this period is not scanty either. The most important aspect of it is that it showed how such a mechanism can act as a bridge between business and government helping the creation of a business-friendly environment. When businesses run better, the same also generates greater revenues for the government and adds to the health of the economy. Thus, such an instrument for consultation leading to policy formulation and amendments, addition and alterations to rules and regulations pertaining to business, can be highly beneficial to both business organizations and the government.
The BBF during the last one year or so made 290 recommendations and 209 of them were approved by its committees. Some 94 of its recommendations have been already implemented. The implemented recommendations include simplifying the export-import forms, rationalizing the letters of credit (LC) charges of local and foreign banks and creating an endowment fund for the agricultural sector. There are other BBF recommendations awaiting implementation at different stages. It will take a while but when all the approved recommendations made by BBF so far get implemented, the same would likely translate into a major stimulus of sorts in helping business activities in the country.
But the BBF must not be a one-season swallow. To get the benefits from it on a sustainable basis, it needs to be established and made a permanent feature. The Chief Adviser (CA) has urged the establishment of a permanent secretariat for it and this was reported in this paper last Wednesday. The CA should not have limited his proposal to organizing a permanent office for the BBF only. It would be a more result-oriented accomplishment if he can invite the top leaders of the major parties and secure a consensual agreement from them that they would support the consolidation and permanency of the BBF on going to power after the coming election. Getting such a firm commitment from them in the broad public view can be more helpful in the long run than any other measure taken in the closing days of this administration to tone up BBF.
Government policies in the economic sphere are best appreciated and found favourable by businesses when faith increases about their continuity . Entrepreneurs and investors need to find convincing signs that successor governments to the present one would continue to not only uphold but further promote as enthusiastically or even better, policies or actions started by the present government to encourage business activities. Signals of this sort received well in time can be of great help to businesses to firm up their plans of new or additional investments. The overall business confidence that leads to business growth is boosted by such reassuring indicators.
Since its coming into existence last year, the BBF has not made as much progress as was desired from it. But whatever it has done in this period is not scanty either. The most important aspect of it is that it showed how such a mechanism can act as a bridge between business and government helping the creation of a business-friendly environment. When businesses run better, the same also generates greater revenues for the government and adds to the health of the economy. Thus, such an instrument for consultation leading to policy formulation and amendments, addition and alterations to rules and regulations pertaining to business, can be highly beneficial to both business organizations and the government.
The BBF during the last one year or so made 290 recommendations and 209 of them were approved by its committees. Some 94 of its recommendations have been already implemented. The implemented recommendations include simplifying the export-import forms, rationalizing the letters of credit (LC) charges of local and foreign banks and creating an endowment fund for the agricultural sector. There are other BBF recommendations awaiting implementation at different stages. It will take a while but when all the approved recommendations made by BBF so far get implemented, the same would likely translate into a major stimulus of sorts in helping business activities in the country.
But the BBF must not be a one-season swallow. To get the benefits from it on a sustainable basis, it needs to be established and made a permanent feature. The Chief Adviser (CA) has urged the establishment of a permanent secretariat for it and this was reported in this paper last Wednesday. The CA should not have limited his proposal to organizing a permanent office for the BBF only. It would be a more result-oriented accomplishment if he can invite the top leaders of the major parties and secure a consensual agreement from them that they would support the consolidation and permanency of the BBF on going to power after the coming election. Getting such a firm commitment from them in the broad public view can be more helpful in the long run than any other measure taken in the closing days of this administration to tone up BBF.
Government policies in the economic sphere are best appreciated and found favourable by businesses when faith increases about their continuity . Entrepreneurs and investors need to find convincing signs that successor governments to the present one would continue to not only uphold but further promote as enthusiastically or even better, policies or actions started by the present government to encourage business activities. Signals of this sort received well in time can be of great help to businesses to firm up their plans of new or additional investments. The overall business confidence that leads to business growth is boosted by such reassuring indicators.