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VOA标准英语2012--World Bank Praises Burundi’s Regulatory Reforms

时间:2013-01-02 11:19:36

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World Bank Praises Burundi’s Regulatory Reforms

The survey evaluates governments according to their ability to ease stumbling blocks in creating and operating businesses. Among the hurdles1 are dealing2 with construction permits, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors3, paying taxes and facilitating cross-border trade.

Of the 185 countries surveyed Burundi ranks159th, 13 places higher than last year. In last place is Central African Republic.

The report shows progress in three categories: starting a business, dealing with construction permits and registering property.

One Stop Shop

It shows that in Burundi, it used to take about eight days to begin a business, compared to an average of 34 days for the rest of the countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

That compares to 32 days for Kenya, 58 for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 26 for Tanzania and three for Rwanda.

But Rachidi Radji, the World Bank’s country manager for Burundi, said it takes even less time today.

"One concrete, well-known and appreciated thing around here is what they call a One Stop Shop," he says. "What that means is that today, you can actually open a business in 24 hours, compared to 25-40 days as in the past. "

Thanks to the One Stop Shop, Burundi has eliminated requirements to have company documents notarized, to have information on new companies published in a journal and to register new companies with the Ministry4 of Trade and Industry.

Only four steps are required to register a business, half the number needed on average by the rest of sub-Saharan Africa. 

They include submitting all documents; obtaining a registration5 certificate; and registering the company with the Department of Work Inspection6 in the Ministry of Labor7, and the National Institute for Social Security. It also includes making a company seal needed by some banks to issue loans. 

"In the past," says Radji, "it was a nightmare. People said it was too complicated [to start a new business]. If you are a foreign company, you needed a local guide to help you get [through the process, to tell you] which minister you had to go to and so on. Today, you have a unique place where people just get together, the rules of the game are clear. In the past, [registration] cost you roughly 200 dollars. Today the cost average is 45 dollars."

The Doing Business report also cites advances in addressing another issue that can stifle8 investment: the time needed to issue construction permits. The report measures the days and procedures required by a company to build a warehouse9, connect it to basic utilities and register the property.

To solve the problem, Burundi has made it easier to get a permit by eliminating a clearance10 from the Ministry of Health and reducing the cost of a required geotechnical study. And it has cut the number of procedures for obtaining a permit from 24 to 21and the number of days needed from 137 to 99.

The government has also made it easier to register property, which is needed as collateral11 for loans. Investors now need only 64 days to register, compared to 94 previously12. The World Bank says it’s now easier to transfer property because of a new time limit on processing transfer requests.

As a result of the reforms, the report finds that it’s easier to register property in Burundi than in neighboring Central African Republic, Tanzania and Kenya. But it finds that registration is not as fast as in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

World Bank partnership13

The World Bank is helping14 the reform effort with the Burundi Investment Climate Program, which works with the government to meet the needs of the business community and simplify taxes for small and medium enterprises. It’s also helping harmonize Burundi’s trade rules and regulations with those of the East African Community, which includes Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania.

"Burundi is a very small country," says Radji. "The only way for it to develop will be to be connected internationally starting with the East African Community, which is a quite sizeable market. Beyond that, it can benefit by joining other bilateral15 trade arrangements. But for the time being, the emphasis has first of all been on laying the foundation (for growth and investment), taking on regional and then more broadly international opportunities. "

Not all reviews of Burundi’s reform efforts are positive.

Allegations of corruption17

Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index rated it near the bottom of 174 countries in terms of corruption.

It placed Burundi ahead of Chad, Sudan and Somali, but behind Zimbabwe, DRC, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda. 

The State Department’s Investment Climate Statement for 2012 says the president of Burundi has taken the lead in fighting corruption as part of his strategy for good governance. He established three units: a special Anticorruption Brigade, an Anticorruption Court and a Court of Auditors18.

Burundi is also a signatory to the UN Anti-Corruption Convention and the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery19 and is part of the East African Anti-Corruption Authority.

But the State Department says an under sourced civil service and police force means laws and regulations prohibiting corrupt16 practices are rarely enforced.

It says it’s too early to tell how successful the government’s anti-corruption program will be. 

However, it says no foreign firms have lodged20 complaints against the Burundian government under any of these agreements. And no major U.S. firms have cited corruption as an obstacle to direct investment.

Rashidi of the World Bank says his organization’s programs are focusing on corruption and good governance.

He compares economic reform, which include the fight against corruption, to a marathon. Despite any setbacks, he said the runner must keep going and going.


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 hurdles ef026c612e29da4e5ffe480a8f65b720     
n.障碍( hurdle的名词复数 );跳栏;(供人或马跳跃的)栏架;跨栏赛
参考例句:
  • In starting a new company, many hurdles must be crossed. 刚开办一个公司时,必须克服许多障碍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • There are several hurdles to be got over in this project. 在这项工程中有一些困难要克服。 来自辞典例句
2 dealing NvjzWP     
n.经商方法,待人态度
参考例句:
  • This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
  • His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。
3 investors dffc64354445b947454450e472276b99     
n.投资者,出资者( investor的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
  • a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会
4 ministry kD5x2     
n.(政府的)部;牧师
参考例句:
  • They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
  • We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。
5 registration ASKzO     
n.登记,注册,挂号
参考例句:
  • Marriage without registration is not recognized by law.法律不承认未登记的婚姻。
  • What's your registration number?你挂的是几号?
6 inspection y6TxG     
n.检查,审查,检阅
参考例句:
  • On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查,发现肉变质了。
  • The soldiers lined up for their daily inspection by their officers.士兵们列队接受军官的日常检阅。
7 labor P9Tzs     
n.劳动,努力,工作,劳工;分娩;vi.劳动,努力,苦干;vt.详细分析;麻烦
参考例句:
  • We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
  • He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后,他已经疲惫不堪了。
8 stifle cF4y5     
vt.使窒息;闷死;扼杀;抑止,阻止
参考例句:
  • She tried hard to stifle her laughter.她强忍住笑。
  • It was an uninteresting conversation and I had to stifle a yawn.那是一次枯燥无味的交谈,我不得不强忍住自己的呵欠。
9 warehouse 6h7wZ     
n.仓库;vt.存入仓库
参考例句:
  • We freighted the goods to the warehouse by truck.我们用卡车把货物运到仓库。
  • The manager wants to clear off the old stocks in the warehouse.经理想把仓库里积压的存货处理掉。
10 clearance swFzGa     
n.净空;许可(证);清算;清除,清理
参考例句:
  • There was a clearance of only ten centimetres between the two walls.两堵墙之间只有十厘米的空隙。
  • The ship sailed as soon as it got clearance. 那艘船一办好离港手续立刻启航了。
11 collateral wqhzH     
adj.平行的;旁系的;n.担保品
参考例句:
  • Many people use personal assets as collateral for small business loans.很多人把个人财产用作小额商业贷款的抵押品。
  • Most people here cannot borrow from banks because they lack collateral.由于拿不出东西作为抵押,这里大部分人无法从银行贷款。
12 previously bkzzzC     
adv.以前,先前(地)
参考例句:
  • The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
  • Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿,解释原先发生了什么。
13 partnership NmfzPy     
n.合作关系,伙伴关系
参考例句:
  • The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
  • Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。
14 helping 2rGzDc     
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的,辅助的
参考例句:
  • The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
  • By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。
15 bilateral dQGyW     
adj.双方的,两边的,两侧的
参考例句:
  • They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
  • There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题,两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。
16 corrupt 4zTxn     
v.贿赂,收买;adj.腐败的,贪污的
参考例句:
  • The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
  • This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。
17 corruption TzCxn     
n.腐败,堕落,贪污
参考例句:
  • The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
  • The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。
18 auditors 7c9d6c4703cbc39f1ec2b27542bc5d1a     
n.审计员,稽核员( auditor的名词复数 );(大学课程的)旁听生
参考例句:
  • The company has been in litigation with its previous auditors for a full year. 那家公司与前任审计员已打了整整一年的官司。
  • a meeting to discuss the annual accounts and the auditors' report thereon 讨论年度报表及其审计报告的会议
19 bribery Lxdz7Z     
n.贿络行为,行贿,受贿
参考例句:
  • FBI found out that the senator committed bribery.美国联邦调查局查明这个参议员有受贿行为。
  • He was charged with bribery.他被指控受贿。
20 lodged cbdc6941d382cc0a87d97853536fcd8d     
v.存放( lodge的过去式和过去分词 );暂住;埋入;(权利、权威等)归属
参考例句:
  • The certificate will have to be lodged at the registry. 证书必须存放在登记处。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Our neighbours lodged a complaint against us with the police. 我们的邻居向警方控告我们。 来自《简明英汉词典》

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