SMEs need one-stop service at regional level: ADB<\/p>\n
Tantri Yuliandini, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said on Monday that the
\ngovernment should not establish separate bodies to handle
\ncorporate and investment licensing at the central government
\nlevel but instead establish one-stop service agencies to handle
\nall procedures at the regional level.<\/p>\n
Mangara Tambunan from ADB's technical assistance (ADB-TA)
\nprogram for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) said that plans
\nto establish one-stop service units within different institutions
\nof the central government -- such as by the Investment
\nCoordinating Board (BKPM) and the Ministry of Industry and Trade
\n-- would only overlap one another and create more bureaucracy.<\/p>\n
\"What we need is an independent body at the level of regional
\nadministrations that can bypass all the red tape of other
\ninstitutions,\" he said, citing the Sidoarjo administration in
\nEast Java as one administration that had successfully launched a
\none-stop service for its SMEs.<\/p>\n
\"Those (agencies) of the central government should only give
\nguidance, but the operational procedures should be coordinated at
\nthe regional level,\" Mangara said.<\/p>\n
The Sidoarjo regent has successfully influenced the various
\ngovernmental agencies in its area to allow an SME to process all
\nlicensing needs, including land leases, at a one-stop service
\noffice, he explained.<\/p>\n
Mangara said that the government had planned one-stop service
\nshops within regions since 1993 but only 50 were currently in
\nexistence and \"very few are actually operating as they should\".<\/p>\n
He also criticized the BKPM's intention to centralize
\nlicensing procedures, saying that it was against the spirit of
\ndecentralization.<\/p>\n
ADB-TA team leader Peter Bissegger said that the rationale for
\none-stop agencies was that SMEs should not be exposed to too many
\nbureaucratic procedures that would only deter them from applying
\nfor official licenses.<\/p>\n
According to the World Bank's 2000\/2001 World Development
\nReport, official and unofficial levies in Indonesia are expected
\nto raise the costs faced by SMEs by as much as 30 percent.<\/p>\n
Therefore, licenses should also be simplified, Bissegger said,
\nand micro enterprises should not need specific business licenses
\nunless their activities involve special public interest requiring
\nsafeguards, such as health and safety, he said.<\/p>\n
\"I do not see why beauty parlors should require specific
\nbusiness licenses,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Mangara also said that general business licenses such as trade
\nlicensing should also be scrapped and replaced with a formal
\nnotification to a registry office, which only requires basic
\ndetails such as the purpose of the business, basic information
\nabout the business and identification documents of the
\nentrepreneur.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/smes-need-one-stop-service-at-regional-level-adb-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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