Sindh to reform business regulations: Naheed Memon

KARACHI: The Sindh Board of Investment (SBI) in collaboration with the World Bank Group (WBC) hosted a press briefing on the ease of doing business, a reform programme being executed in Sindh. The briefing informed the participants of the Sindh government’s strategy to reform business regulations in the province.

The briefing started with SBI Chairperson Naheed Memon explaining why improving the investment climate is a national emergency. She said that as a province and as a country we should strive to be the best place for doing business.

Sindh also plans to automate business registrations via a portal which will link all provincial and central databases and the authorities. For starting a business, the portal will integrate all departmental procedures online so that entrepreneurs can get the required provincial registrations from a single place in real time.

This facility will be launched in a pilot form in key government departments and will also be placed in the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) office.

The relevant provincial agencies are reforming regulations related to construction permits. These reforms include

a) De-notification of environmental approval for low- impact projects
b) Simplification of procedures & reduction in timeline for water connection at KWSB
c) Reduction in the number of procedures at SBCA for obtaining a building permit.

Some reforms have already been implemented such as the ‘Land Administration & Revenue Management Information System’ (LARMIS) at the Board of Revenue.

The Sindh LARMIS was the first system in the country to automate the process of property registration. The automation has begun as all current registrations are scanned, indexed and made available online for an online title search through a Digital Scanning Unit (DSU). The time for execution and registration of the deed is now less than a hundred days. This procedure previously used to take more than two hundred days.

The Karachi Water & Sewerage Board (KWSB) has also reduced the prerequisites for a new water connection application. Their checklist for a new connection now requires four (4) items only instead of eight (8) items that were needed previously.

Moreover, the time taken for a new connection will be reduced to 21 days. This procedure took 61 days previously.

SIB Chairperson Naheed Memon is the focal person for doing business reforms in Sindh. The provincial government has formed the Sindh Investment Climate Improvement Cell (SICIC) – a deciding unit for execution of the reform agenda.

The reform plan is part of a larger plan to introduce business reforms at the federal and provincial level.  The plan outlines reforms related to provincial indicators which are starting a business, construction permits, registering property, enforcing contracts and paying taxes.

“The government of Sindh remains committed to making Sindh into an easy and the most competitive investment hub in Pakistan,” said Naheed.

The EODB Index – produced annually by the WBC – measures the quality and efficiency of business regulation and its enforcement in selected cities across 190 economies including Karachi and Lahore in Pakistan. The index measures regulations against ten (10) indicators.

“We are supporting reforms in Pakistan to benefit individuals and companies doing business in the country”, said World Bank Group senior economist in Pakistan.