Foreign Investment Advisory Service

Network of Reformers

Improving Regulatory Quality and Effectiveness in Eastern Africa

Theme: Multi-level Regulatory Governance: Promoting Regulatory Reform at the Local and Regional Levels

This conference (to be held in Kampala, Uganda on the 19th-21st January 2010) is the second event of the Network of Reformers – a growing network of regulatory policymakers, experts and the private sector in Eastern Africa. This meeting shall review member experiences with reform initiatives and results in their countries since the first event in Arusha in 2008, provide a forum for exchange and learning between participants, explore strategies for sustaining and expanding reform, and take practical steps to formalize the network of reformers.

This meeting is convened against a backdrop of an accelerated regional integration agenda for the Eastern African Community and the recent global downturn, which calls for renewed commitment to create a coherent and business friendly regulatory environment for the region.

Key Sessions and Presentations

Regulatory Reform Updates: Recent Progress in Eastern Africa
Promoting Regulatory Reform at the Local Level
Beyond Quick-Wins: Sustaining and Expanding Regulatory Reform
Networking Clinics
Regional Integration and Regulatory Reform
Using Information and Communications Technology to promote regulatory services
Communication of Reform and Results
Synergies and Peer Learning: Creating Networks of Reformers

Agenda

Background documents
Better Regulation for Growth (BRG site)

Briefing for participants

Session 2: Promoting Regulatory reform at the Local Level

Mr. Lars Grava, Senior Regulatory Reform Expert, FIAS/Investment Climate Advisory Services, World Bank Group
Mrs. Angeline Hongo, Program Coordinator, Ministry of Local Government Kenya
Mrs. Kayula Siame, Coordinator, Private Sector Development Reform Program, Government of Zambia
Mr. Graham Russell, CEO, Local Better Regulation Office, United Kingdom

Session 3: Beyond Quick-Wins: Sustaining and Expanding Regulatory Reform

Mrs. Kaliza Karuretwa, Director General, Investment Climate Ministry of Trade and Industry, Rwanda
Mr. Wim Jansen, Deputy Director, Regulatory Reform Group, The Netherlands
Mrs. Amélie Tamboura, Secretary General, Ministry of Commerce, Burkina Faso

Session 5: Regional Integration and Regulatory Reform

Mr. Andrea Renda, Head of Regulatory Affairs, Centre for European Policy Studies, Belgium
Mr. Akin Akinbote, lawyer, President of OHADA Nigeria, Secretary General of the Pan African Lawyers Union
Mr. Wim Jansen, Deputy Director, Regulatory Reform Group, The Netherlands

Session 6: Using Information and Communications Technology to improve the quality and transparency of regulatory services

Mr. Timothy Kimaru, E-Registry Coordinator, Ministry of Finance, Kenya
Mr. Kevin Bessoondyal, Assistant Director, Planning and Policy, Board of Investment, Mauritius
Dr. Foong Wai Keong, Singapore Online Business Licensing System, Ecquaria Technologies Pte Ltd.
Mr. John R. Wille, Lead Private Sector Development Specialist, FIAS/Investment Climate Advisory Services, World Bank Group

Session 7: Communication of Reform and Results

Ms. Nana Yaa Ofori-Atta, Investment Climate Advisory Services, World Bank Group
Ms. Kaliza Karuretwa, Director General, Investment Climate, Ministry of Trade and Industry, Rwanda
Ms. Laura Robinson, Senior Policy Analyst, Local Better Regulation Office, United Kingdom