PRIME Minister Voreqe Bainimarama claims the World Bank Group’s Ease of Doing Business rankings has its own “flaws” and “biases”.
Addressing the 25th Australia Fiji Business Forum in Brisbane, Australia yesterday, PM Bainimarama said although these elements existed, the rankings highlighted a common cause that was shared by his Government.
“BizFIJI will evolve into a full online submission and approvals portal, allowing business licenses and construction permits to be issued entirely online,” he said.
“When we speak of this type of business efficiency in Fiji, there are always murmurings of the World Bank Group’s Ease of Doing Business rankings, and how Fiji has historically under-performed in its standing.
While these rankings have their flaws and biases, they highlight a common cause that is shared by my Government: cutting red tape and unwanted bureaucracy.”
He said Government was committed to improving service delivery and streamlining business efficiency, and with recent measures taken, he was confident there would be an improvement in ranking.
“With recent measures that have been taken, I’m confident that you’ll see a steady rise in Fiji’s ease of business ranking starting in 2020, when many of our new and planned reforms have fully come into effect and have been considered by the World Bank during their annual review process.”
Fiji was ranked 101 among 190 economies in the World Bank’s ranking of ease of doing business in 2018.
