Rolling Review of Regulations is a sustainable way of updating and maintaining up-to-date business regulations to provide transparency and predictability to the private sector businesses. It adopts a systematic and step by step assessment of a regulatory field to review business regulations affecting sectors of the market in order to improve the market quality. It relies on a methodological review approach and strategy to carry out the rolling review of all business-related laws and regulations on the electronic database. The Rolling Review begins with the configuration and development of evaluation and assessment schemes with key operational guidelines and review strategies. The implementation outcome of the Rolling Review of the regulations includes a detailed content analysis targeting the following tasks:
- assessment of the quality of business-related regulations
- cleaning the regulatory field of regulations that do not correspond with a validated evaluation index and
- preparation of recommendations regarding the system regulatory improvement.
- Remove/Repeal/delete
- Maintain
- Review/Amend.
Guiding Principles of the Rolling Review
The establishment of this Rolling Review process has been guided by a number of evaluation indexes stated in
specific and individualized tasks designed to achieve the key objectives of the review exercise:
(a) Review of regulations by evaluating existing regulations to identify those that should be repealed, replaced, or modified
(b)Assessment of impact of regulations and their provisions to systematically ensure that they meet their intended objectives efficiently and
effectively in a changing and complex economic and social environment.
(c)Assessment of implementation procedures
(d)Ensuring that regulations, regulatory institutions charged with implementation, and regulatory processes are transparent and non-discriminatory.
(3) Design economic regulations in all sectors to stimulate competition and efficiency and eliminate all regulations that militate against this objective except where clear evidence demonstrates that they are the best way to serve broad public interests.
The practical effects of the review will be the identification of regulations that:
- inhibit business growth and development
- are outdated, unnecessary, or ineffective
- impose costs that exceed benefits
- create a serious inconsistency or otherwise interfere with regulatory reform initiatives and policies
- are inconsistent with the Government’s agenda for improving the business environment
- have gaps and weaknesses and suggest ways that support reform.
- fail to adopt at the political level, broad programmes of regulatory reform that establish clear objectives and frameworks for implementation
Rolling Review Indicators
The Rolling Review is expected to evaluate factors that influence the overall success of the set of business-related laws in contributing to the ease of doing business in Ghana. These reviews are intended to analyse and review the status, language, repeals of laws, currency, feasibility in new models of doing business, barriers to implementation and the success relevance, procedure and how cumbersome, relational legitimacy and conflicts. These will constitute the indicators and also the core pillars of the Rolling Review. The results will take the form of a decision of one out of possible outcomes, whether a particular regulation must be eliminated, amended, or simply retained. For the purpose of effective review, the following indicators have been adopted.
- Legality
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The term ‘legality’ to refer to the identification of variables that assess the process of adoption, enactment, and entry into force of the regulation. A legitimate law or regulation would have complied with the procedure drawn under the law for its enactment and entry into force. This assessment is in the context of a number of overarching themes relating to the legal status of the regulation, namely, compliance with enactment or adoption procedure as made by an authorized body and an evaluation of its current status. The assessment will also include a determination of whether or not the regulation is affected by any repeal(s) currently in force.
Context of assessment:
Within the context of its review, the legitimacy of the law as it establishes its Legality is measured against three key indexes.
(a) Is this regulation duly enacted in accordance with law?
(b) Is this regulation gazetted?
(c) Is this regulation repealed by another regulation or enacting body? - Currency
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This indicator assesses the content of the regulation by analysing its currency. It proceeds by identifying whether the regulation is affected by any amendment or repeal and by determining whether the content of the regulation has been adjusted to reflect all amendments and repeals made thereto. To an extent, it also assesses whether the law has been periodically amended to meet the current operational policies or whether it is outdated.
Context of assessment:
Within the context of its review, the Currency of the law is measured against four key indexes.
(i) Is the law affected by any amendment?
(ii) Is the law affected by any repeals?
(iii) Does the content of the regulation reflect applicable amendments and repeals?
(iv) Is the law outdated? - Relevance
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With this indicator, the Rolling Review Team assesses the status of compliance by the regulation with modern trends in business and trade as well as international obligations adopted under treaties and other internationally binding documents.
Context of assessment:
Within the context of its review, Relevance is measured against four key indexes.
(i) Does the regulation promote the doing of business?
(ii) Does the regulation promote the objectives of the industry?
(iii) Is the regulation in line with modern trends in trade and business?
(iv) Does the regulation comply with international obligation(s) assumed by the country? - Regulation Necessity
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In this context, the assessment is dependent on the consideration of two criteria, namely the ‘effectiveness’ of the regulation and also its ‘usefulness’. Effectiveness of a regulation is defined as the successful achievement of the purpose for which it was enacted. This criterion is determined based on the memorandum and underlying objectives of the regulation or its regulatory impact assessment. Context of assessment:
Within the context of its review, Regulation Necessity is measured against five key indexes, grouped into two groups for ease of analysis. The indexes for the ‘effectiveness review’ are as follows:
(i) Is the purpose for the adoption or enactment of the regulation clear?
(ii) Has the regulation achieved its underlying objectives?
The usefulness of the regulation is defined on the basis of the solutions to the core problems for which the regulation is made. The indexes for determination of the usefulness of the regulation are:
(iii) Has the regulation been successful in addressing the concern for which it was enacted?
(iv) Has the implementation of the regulation enhanced the doing of business in the market, business or industry?
(v) Is the regulation devoid of provisions that are inimical to the achievement of the overall objective of its enactment? - Convenience
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assesses the convenience of the regulation in promoting business generally. It focuses on convenience in relation to the use of the regulation as well as convenience in terms of ease of compliance with prescribed procedures established by the regulation for the accomplishment of a task. Context of assessment:
Within the context of its review, Relevance is measured against four key indexes.
(i) Is the regulation accessible or available to the public?
(ii) Is the regulation clear enough in terms of language and meaning?
(iii) Does the regulation clearly prescribe the procedures for complying with stated requirements?
(iv) Are the procedures comprehensive enough?
(v) Are the procedures flexible?
(vi) Is the regulation devoid of administrative difficulties, complexities and inconsistencies in its implementation?
(vii)Are the penalties prescribed for prohibited acts or omissions clear, consistent and reasonable? - Costs on Business
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This assesses the content of the regulation by evaluating processes and procedures for the accomplishment of a task. The assessment involves an analysis of all processes that impose or result in costs to the business, and by examining fees for registration, acquisition of permits, licences, as well as administrative and other expenses attached to the conduct of business..
Context of assessment:
Within the context of its review, Costs on Business is measured against five key indexes.
(i) Are the processes resulting in cost or fee necessary?
(ii) Are the imposed costs or fees necessary?
(iii) Are the imposed costs or fees reasonable?
(iv) Are the costs or fees clearly stated?
(v) Have the costs or fees been duly reviewed periodically? - Efficiency
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This examines key evaluation questions to assess whether any particular regulation is appropriate, effective and efficient. The Team assesses the degree and level of achievement of the particular objectives of the regulation and the appropriateness of its processes and procedures. The assessment also responds to the query whether the content and objective of the law align with government’s policies within the relevant industry. This assessment focuses on the functions and scope of the regulation and evaluates its overall content along key variables that determine whether the regulation is in support of current policy objectives within the broad ministerial mission of easing the doing of business in Ghana and promotion of industrial transformation.
Context of assessment:
Within the context of its review, the Efficiency of the law is measured against six key indexes
(a) Statement of purpose
(i) Does the regulation have a clear statement of objective?
(ii) Does the content of the regulation meet its overall objective?
(iii) Is the regulation in furtherance of current government policy in the industry?
(b) Implementation
(iv) Has the regulation been implemented?
(v) Are the processes and procedures favourable to achieve the overall objective of the regulation?
(vi) Are the processes and procedures cost-effective? - Corruption Risks
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examines corruption risks and their impact on business processes and the overall effect on the doing of business. The review identifies processes and procedures that respond to the existence of unguarded discretion, subjectivity, lack of clarity, ambiguities and lack of accountability or absence of reporting systems Context of assessment: Within the context of its review, Corruption is measured against ten key indexes.
The level of corruption risks is determined as an aggregate index of a series of assessments of corruption in the regulation by responding to the following questions:
Context of assessment:
Within the context of its review, Costs on Business is measured against five key indexes.
(i) Does the regulation provide for any procedure involving decisions to be made by a public official affecting a business?
(ii) Does the regulation provide a procedure that gives the power to a public official to refuse an application based on some defects or insufficiencies affecting the application?
(iii) Are the requirements for the subject clearly defined so that ambiguous construction is prevented?
(iv) Can an official request from the applicant any other document/information, in addition to those that are expressly required by the regulation?
(v) Does the regulation include an exhaustive list of options for taking official action on each of the situations that may occur in the implementation of the act?
(vi) Does the regulation include an exhaustive list of grounds or conditions governing a particular application or the execution of a particular task?
(vii) Does the regulation include a clear deadline for decisions required to be made by officials in respect of applications made before them?
(viii) Does the regulation require the public official to justify the decision in writing in case of an adverse decision?
(ix) Is there a possibility to appeal the official’s decision to a higher authority or court of competent jurisdiction? - Impact on Business
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This conducts an assessment of the impact of the regulation on the extent and nature of its impact on doing business generally.
Context of assessment:
Within the context of its review, Impact on Business is measured against six key indexes.
(i) Does the regulation impose any significant restrictions or prohibitions in respect of certain activities?
(ii)Does the regulation provide a clear list of conditions that must be fulfilled to be eligible to carry out the particular economic activity?
(iii)Are the conditions imposed in the particular business reasonable?
(iv)Does the regulation provide for mandatory payments?
(v) Does the Regulation control and oversee the power of the regulator to make decisions that may significantly affect the business environment?
(vi) Does the Regulator make it voluntary for businesses to use the services of third parties as part of a process to fulfil a requirement? - Conflicts
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This considers matters of relational legitimacy and overlapping regulations and provisions. The assessment requires a verification of the existence or otherwise of contradictions within the same regulation and inter-regulations, as well as matters tainted with duplications and overlaps among regulations. The context also extends to an analysis of the harmonization of the contents of regulations and how lower laws within the hierarchy and priority in the regulatory field accord with their higher substantive statutes and regulations.
Context of assessment:
Within the context of its review, Conflict is measured against four key indexes.
(i) Does the regulation have any internally conflicting provisions?
(ii)Does the regulation conflict with another regulation?
(iii)Does the regulation overlap with another regulation?
(iv)Does the regulation fit the context of its enactment or adoption?
Summary of Assessment
Using the results of the analysis, the Rolling Review Team shall prepare the Rolling Review Report with incorporated recommendations.
The findings will be validated and organized around three outcomes:
- Remove/Repeal
- Review/Amend
- Maintain