W’Bank advocates single regulatory authority for free zones

 The World Bank has called for a single regulatory authority for the regulation of the operations of free zones in Nigeria.

The global bank made its position known at a public hearing organised by the House of Representatives Committee on Commerce.

The public hearing was aimed at getting input from stakeholders in respect of the proposed amendment to the Oil and Gas Export Free Zone Authority Act.

The Senior Operations Officer, Trade and Competitiveness Global Practice, World Bank, Mr. Craig Giesze, said the global bank had always advised countries seeking to attract investments into their economies through their free zones “to always adopt the single regulatory authority regime for a number of reasons based on knowledge garnered over the years of what foreign investors look out for in an economy.”

He added, “Beyond the fact that a single regulatory authority is the global best practice, the benefits include the reduction in administrative costs, long-term stability and the safety of investment which cumulatively lead to investor-confidence in the economy.”

In his opening remarks, the Chairman, House Committee on Commerce, Mr. Sylvester Ogbaga, said the aim of the public hearing was for stakeholders to make input that would assist the committee in amending the proposed OGEFZA Act based on global best practice.

The Managing Director, OGEFZA, Chief Umana O. Umana, and his NEPZA counter-part, Mr. Emmanuel Jime, had earlier commended the House for taking the initiative to amend the Act, adding that the supervisory Ministry of Trade and Investment was working towards presenting a harmonised position on the matter to the committee.

Also speaking, a legal practitioner representing Snake Island Integrated Zone, Adewale Dosumu, advised the committee to also look at the three presidential review committees which recommended the merging of the OGEFZA with NEPZA in order to achieve an efficient single regulatory regime in the country.