Project title:
Support to Business Registration Reform in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Country:
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Overall project value (EUR): 1,000,000
Name of client:
Bannock Consulting (UK)Origin of funding:
DFIDDates (start/end):
July 2002 – February 2004
Name of partners:
Unilob (Poland)
Detailed description of project:
This project is to assist the government of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the two main administrative entities to reform the business registration process. The aim is to establish, streamline and harmonize a business registration system for the entire BiH. Phase I . Project Design was completed in February 2003 with the following outputs: a network of at least 15 municipal locations for business registration, where data on the formal business sector can be shared with other parts of government, and with the general public; a legal framework supporting the new system, making rights and responsibilities for both the public and private sector simple and transparent; an information technology and communications system which enables the system to be comprehensive and secure, yet readily accessible; and a strategy and fee structure for operating the system that covers its recurrent costs (including amortization) from revenuesPhase II, focusing on implementation, has delivered the following outputs: Commercial departments in municipalities operate the new system, with other government agencies supporting the system, and members of private sector associations using it; New laws and regulations at State and Entity levels are passed supporting the new system; IT and communications infrastructure is in place supporting the system, and linking to other key stakeholders. The project has managed to get principles for a new law on a state-wide business registration process accepted by all the key players and has designed an IT solution that should see Bosnia with a 21st century solution to business registration, with IT terminals located in 16 cities, linked real-time to nationwide central servers. The project has won plaudits from DFID for its efforts to secure cross-entity consensus in an extremely challenging multi-ethnic political environment.IME responsibilities were in the areas of: law drafting, legal and economic advice, economic analysis, panning and training.
Type of services provided:
1. Design and Implementation of a new business registration process 2. Setting up of a pilot registration centre for business registration 3. Working out a strategy for streamlining of procedures to lay the groundwork for countrywide replication. improving business registration / licensing systems 4. Policy preparation 5. Development of a policy agenda for improving the enabling environment for private sector growth 6. Assistance implementation 7. Design and implementation of a new IT and MIS system 8. Legal and advisory expert support for the drafting team during the legislative process 9. Drafting the text of the draft State law on Business registration10. Lobbying for new legislation among the governmental and parliamentary bodies and training (seminars, conferences, information campaigns, generating pressure from donors and business community, forming lobbying coalition to support the proposed changes)