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3.25 The ERC has underscored the importance of
minimising Government rules and regulations so
as not to stifle entrepreneurship. The Government
has set up several channels to streamline and
review its procedures and rules to make them more
pro-business.
3.26 The Pro-Enterprise Panel is a joint public-
and private-sector committee which frequently
solicits feedback on rules and regulations that
can hinder entrepreneurs. Out of 500 suggestions
received from entrepreneurs over the past two
years, 50% have been implemented and regulations
were either removed or relaxed.
3.27 A Rules Review Panel of five Permanent Secretaries
is currently overseeing an effort by all Ministries
to review their rules by the end of FY 2004, and
thereafter every five years. One outcome is that
one-third of all required statutory declarations
have been removed.
3.28 12 government licences are due to be removed
in FY 2003. This includes a hatchery licence administered
by the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority. Currently,
Singapore only has one hatchery and it is already
issued with a Farm Licence. Hence, it does not
make sense for the agency to duplicate its regulatory
efforts. If Members discover any other licences
which seem redundant or meaningless, please let
me know about it.
3.29 As for those licences which are still needed,
putting them online allows us to reduce processing
time and costs for entrepreneurs. BizFile is a
fully online system that cuts the time taken to
incorporate a company from a few days to a couple
of hours. By July 2004, an entrepreneur will be
able to apply for many of the registrations and
licences required to start up a company through
a single online form on the eCitizen portal. From
1 March 2003, a new Government-wide authentication
system called SingPass, short for Singapore Personal
Access, will be made available to any individual
who seeks to transact with the Government online.
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