Business Registration and Licencing Agency (BReLA) has vowed to further reduce the number of days needed for company and business names registrations to create more conducive business environment.
Chief Executive Officer for BReLA Mr Esteriano Mahingila told a press conference in Dar es Salaamon Monday that efforts are in place to reduce the registration period to even zero days subject to a plan to amend the Evidence Act No 15, 2007.
Amendment of the evidence act will allow admissibility of electronically-generated documents for registration of companies or business names online, he said.
Last amendment allowed civil proceedings contained in a document produced by a computer, subject to the rules of court, to be admissible as evidence of any fact stated therein of which direct oral evidence would have been admissible.
Currently, he said Brela has already prepared an online programme for easy accessibility to individuals seeking forms for companies and business names registration. Electronic communication has become the most common means of doing business.
The aim is to minimize costs of starting and eventually doing business.
The establishment of online services focus at cutting down paper works and travelling costs to the headquarters for entrepreneurs wishing to establish a company or business are urged to explore the opportunity, he said.
Mr Mahigila said Brela has already formed a simplified standard formats containing the memorandum and articles of association that will help entrepreneurs to have easy and costless services.
He said also even the Business Licensing Act, 1972 has gone several amendments all being efforts to cut down costs of starting and doing business in the country. For example, the cost of registering business names is only 6,000/- .
The executive agencys future plans are to provide all services online and at the minimum costs for which every person wishing to start a business can afford.
However, he trashed allegations that Brela has disbursed 1bn/- to hire a computer software package to facilitate easy provision of company and business name registration services.
The allegations of hiring software technology from Mawalla Advocates are untrue and aimed at tarnishing the BReLAs image, he said.
The Managing Partner with the Mawalla Advocates Mr Nyaga Mawalla declined to have contact with BReLA regarding the adoption of the software technology. Ours was the plan to submit a proposal to BReLA to try to acquire freely the technology to enhance efficiencies in the registrations, he said.
He added that the software package will also help easy registrations of surveyed areas into a computerised system, thus facilitating municipal councils to reduce land disputes as well as increase in revenue collections.
By SEBASTIAN MRINDOKO,
Tanzania Daily News