Fiji’s Doing Business Taskforce has welcomed the World Bank’s announcement of an independent internal audit on the process of data collection for its Doing Business Report.
The World Bank says it is undertaking an assessment of data changes for the past five years and has paused the upcoming 2021 Report.
Fiji’s Doing Business Taskforce Chair Shaheen Ali says they have been raising concerns for a number of years on the authenticity and the manner in which the survey is being conducted.
Ali adds the government at various levels had indicated there were data errors in the Fijian Reports and worked with the World Bank Group to identify errors.
He also says significant reforms and new laws have been introduced to enhance business processes.
These also include improvement and digitalization of processes related to starting a business, obtaining construction permits, paying taxes and getting credit.
Ali says none of these reforms have been correctly recorded, acknowledged or attributed by the World Bank Group.
As of 31 July 2020, 19,277 businesses were registered in Fiji with 82 percent using the online system.
However, the World Bank Group still maintains that their “private sector experts” claim that online system is not the preferred mode of registration for businesses in Fiji.
