ICF and the Government of Mali Announce Boost for Investors

 

 

ICF and the Government of Mali Announce Boost for Investors

 

BAMAKO, Mali, March 6, 2009/African Press Organization (APO)/ — ICF (Investment Climate Facility for Africa) today announced a partnership with the Government of Mali to implement two new projects that will reduce the time and costs businesses spend resolving commercial and fiscal disputes. The projects aim to modernise Mali’s current fiscal and commercial administrative framework to create a more business-friendly investment climate.

 

The first project aims to improve the resolution of tax disputes in Mali. At the moment, tax policy is a source of many commercial disputes due to lack of transparency, adequate procedures and institutional organisation. ICF will work in partnership with the Malian Tax Authority to reduce the time, costs and uncertainties related to fiscal dispute resolution, and to modernise and strengthen the Tax Administration with the long-term aim of reducing the number of fiscal disputes and removing any related barriers to doing business.

 

The second ICF funded project in Mali aims to modernise Mali’s Commercial Judiciary. The project will strengthen the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Mali’s Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanism to ensure rational, transparent and efficient procedures are established for resolving commercial disputes. The project will reduce the time, costs and uncertainties related to commercial litigation in Mali, and strengthen arbitration by improving the legal framework and by training arbitrators. This project is expected to support OHADA (Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa) in its bid to introduce ADRs (Alternative Dispute Resolutions) in 16 francophone African countries, as a complementary mechanism to commercial Judiciaries.

 

The CEO of ICF, Mr Omari Issa, said: “Effective dispute resolution is crucial for a healthy investment climate as it ensures businesses are able to resolve disputes quickly, appropriately and lawfully. These new projects in Mali demonstrate the Government’s

 

 

commitment to transforming the business climate of the country, enabling it to better fulfil its investment potential and will provide a real boost to investors and companies of all sizes.”

 

Both Dionke Diarra, the MD of the Malian Tax Authority, and Jeamille Bittar, the President of the Chamber of Commerce, said: “We are pleased to be working with ICF to improve our commercial framework. Businesses tell us that the time and cost associated with resolving business and tax disputes is very frustrating. However, by improving the efficiency of these procedures we feel confident Mali will become an even better place to do business.”

 

ICF was established in 2006 to remove the barriers that currently exist to doing business in Africa. ICF currently has nineteen projects live in ten countries across the continent with many more in the pipeline for 2009. This latest initiative is ICF’s first project in partnership with the Government of Mali.

 

SOURCE : ICF (Investment Climate Facility for Africa)