2015年-世界发展银行全球_Doing_Business_in_South_Africa_2015___Comparing_Business_Regulations_for_Domestic_Firms_in_9_Urban_Areas_and_4_Major_Ports_with_188_Other_Economies_140页_3mb

Summary of Doing Business in South Africa 2015

Core Content

Doing Business in South Africa 2015 is the first subnational report in the Doing Business series, focusing on business regulations and their enforcement in 9 urban areas and 4 major ports. The report compares these cities not only among themselves but also with 188 other economies globally, based on 6 key indicators that cover the life cycle of a small to medium-sized domestic firm: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, enforcing contracts, and trading across borders. These indicators reflect the regulatory environment and its impact on business operations.

Main Findings

• No single city performs equally well across all indicators, highlighting the uneven regulatory landscape.
• Johannesburg and Cape Town are top performers in registering property and dealing with construction permits, respectively.
• Mangaung leads in getting electricity and enforcing contracts, despite being the second least populous city.
• Local regulations and interpretations of national laws create significant variations in the ease of doing business across cities.
• Regulatory improvements can be achieved through administrative changes rather than major legislative reforms.
• Global performance is also affected by local improvements, as demonstrated by the Distance to Frontier (DTF) scores, which benchmark cities against the best practices globally.

Key Indicators and Performance

DTF Score Insights

• Mangaung performs well on the DTF score for getting electricity and enforcing contracts, surpassing the OECD high-income average.
• Nelson Mandela Bay has a poor DTF score (53.14), placing it in the bottom 25 globally.
• The DTF score reflects the distance between a city’s performance and the best global practices, showing that South African cities vary widely in their regulatory efficiency.

Regulatory Improvements

• Starting a business is regulated under the Companies Act No. 71 of 2008, requiring 6 procedures, 53 days, and 0.3% of income per capita. The process is faster in Ekurhuleni, Johannesburg, and Tshwane due to proximity to the Compensation Fund office in Pretoria.
• The Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) has transitioned to an electronic system, though it is not yet fully functional. Improving online functionality is a short-term priority, with long-term potential for a one-stop shop for business registration.
• Dealing with construction permits is complex, with an average of 17 procedures and 111 days. The number of steps and time vary depending on the city and the efficiency of preconstruction clearances and inspections. Cape Town is the most efficient in this area.
• Getting electricity is the most time-consuming and expensive process, with an average of 141 days and 472.8% of income per capita. Buffalo City is the fastest and cheapest, while Johannesburg and Nelson Mandela Bay are the slowest and most expensive.
• Registering property involves 8 procedures and 32 days, with an average cost of 6.3% of the property value. Johannesburg leads in this area.
• Enforcing contracts requires an average of 5–9 procedures and 59–124 days. Cape Town is the best performer, while Buffalo City and eThekwini lag behind.
• Trading across borders involves 5–10 procedures and 5–10 days, with costs ranging from 0.5% to 1.0% of income per capita. Cape Town and Durban are more efficient in this area.

Challenges and Opportunities

• South Africa's global ranking has been declining, partly due to faster improvements in other economies and regulatory inefficiencies in key areas.
• Unemployment remains high (1 in 4 South Africans), and income inequality persists.
• Service delivery protests and labor unrest, especially in the mining sector, indicate ongoing challenges in local governance.
• Local policy makers can improve the regulatory environment by adopting best practices from other cities, which can lead to both national and global gains.

Methodology and Data

• The report uses DTF scores to measure how far each city is from the best regulatory practices globally.
• Data is collected and updated as of January 2015.
• The report is co-funded by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and the National Treasury.
• The subnational study includes 9 urban areas and 4 major ports, and is conducted in collaboration with the National Treasury, the Department of Trade and Industry, and the South African Cities Network.

Conclusion

Doing Business in South Africa 2015 underscores the importance of subnational benchmarking in understanding the divergence in regulatory environments across the country. It highlights the potential for improvement through local administrative reforms and the need for greater transparency and efficiency in business-related processes. The report also emphasizes that small changes can have significant impacts, both nationally and globally, and that adopting good practices can help close the gap between South African cities and the global frontier of regulatory performance.