Firm-registration ICT platform launched

Clients are served at the registry of companies on August 8, 2013. It will now take you just a day to register a company following the government’s move to automate registration of companies. FILE PHOTO / PHOEBE OKALL 

In Summary

• To reform legal framework governing enterprises, two Bills are ready for tabling in House
  New move by State Law Office is part of a wider plan by the government to improve the ease of doing business in the countr

By MUCHEMI WACHIRA
More by this Author

It will now take you just a day to register a company following the government’s move to automate registration of companies.

 

The initiative by the State Law Office is part of a wider plan by the government to improve the ease of doing business, aimed at improving service delivery and attracting investors to the country.

“Kenya’s ranking in the Ease of Doing Business Index in the recent past has not been encouraging to many of us that are concerned about the social and economic development of our people,” President Uhuru Kenyatta said during the launch of the new service at the Attorney General’s chambers Friday.

It follows a similar move to automate the land registry to reduce the time spent processing documents from 98 days to less than 30 days.

The new service will also allow Kenyans to search and reserve names for their businesses and companies from the comfort of their homes and offices.

TWO MILLION FILES DIGITISED

Those seeking to do business with companies will also be able to access online the full list of directors serving any company registered in Kenya, unlike the situation now when one has to go physically to the State Law Office to conduct a search.

President Kenyatta said the government would automate all its registry services, making them accessible online, and ensure all payments are done through mobile money to enhance service delivery and reduce corruption.

“People will no longer be required to come to the Register of Companies to fill in forms, which used to take at least three days,” Mr Muturi told the President at the State Law office, where the launch took place.

He added that two million files had been digitalised, adding that e-registry reforms will be extended to all stations in the State Law Office.

Automation of the processes will enable the payment of stamp duty and registration fees at the same time, with the Registrar of Companies stamping and registering the documents simultaneously.

BEST PRACTICES

The registration model being piloted at the companies registry is expected to be incorporated at all Huduma Centres across the country.

The President said all the three arms of Government are undergoing restructuring to meet reasonable demands by Kenyans for better public service delivery.

To reform the legal framework governing enterprises, President Kenyatta said two Bills — the Companies Bill and the Insolvency Bill — are ready for tabling in Parliament.

The Bills, once approved by Parliament, he added, will introduce and entrench international best practices in corporate law and management.

The Companies Bill 2014 marks a shift in the culture of government, since it embraces the gains that Information and Communication Technology (ICT) offers by providing a pathway for online registration services, President Kenyatta said.  

The President added: “The Companies Bill 2014 will streamline regulation and ownership of businesses in Kenya.  It also seeks to amend the Companies Act to align it with emerging trends in the formation and operation of companies, and to simplify their formation and operation.”