Reforming internal trade has been the buzz phrase of the past year. This week the Ministry of Trade and Industry announced steps to make it happen, Niveen Wahish reports What is internal trade all about? Sahar El-Sallab, assistant minister of trade for internal trade development and investment told Al-Ahram Weekly it is all about consumers and delivering them quality goods at a competitive price. That includes making a greater product range available as well as the establishment of more convenient stores and improving the supply chain. But while the ultimate benefactor may be the consumer, regulating the market -- according to El-Sallab -- is "key to creating employment and reversing economic migration from the governorates." Consequently, Minister of Trade and Industry Rachid Mohamed Rachid announced that efforts are needed on five fronts: creating new markets and commercial areas in outlying governorates; modernising existing markets; facilitating trade- related government procedures, including dealing with municipalities; upgrading market supervision; and updating trade-related legislation. One of the areas that the ministry is aggressively tackling, Rachid said, is that of creating new markets. One essential component, says El-Sallab, is securing land. "We have been negotiating for the past year to acquire land," she said. Scarcity of land has often been cited as one of the major obstacles to expanding industrial and commercial activity. The effort seems to have borne fruit. Earlier this week Rachid announced that plots of land amounting to 714,000 square metres will be made available for development in the cities of Mansoura, Tanta, Kafr Al-Dawwar, Damanhour, Port Said, Beni Sweif and Luxor. The plots are considered the first batch to be followed by a second and third before the end of the year. Rachid would not reveal where the upcoming plots would be located for fear of jeopardising ongoing negotiations. Investors will be invited by the Internal Trade Development Authority (ITDA) -- affiliated to the Ministry of Trade and Industry -- to bid on developing these plots. Starting next week interested investors could register with the ministry, he said. On 25 January a workshop will be organised to answer investor queries. On 7 February the tender prerequisites will be made available. Interested investors will be asked to present their bids by 21 March. The winners will be announced mid-April. Developers will be required to establish infrastructure on the land and to build a comprehensive commercial area that would include shops of all sizes and specialisation as well as storage and logistics areas in addition to entertainment and parking facilities. Rachid clarified that these plots will not be sold to investors; instead they will be allowed to utilise it, in return for annual fees, for 40 years, extendible to 50 years. After developing the plots investors will then rent them out. Speed in delivery as well as the proposed rent value will be taken into consideration when choosing the winning bids, said Rachid. According to Rachid, these commercial areas will help create job opportunities as well as provide much needed shopping areas in various governorates. "People often pay day-visits to Cairo and Alexandria just to buy their needs," he said. Another advantage, he said, is that these areas come fully licensed. He explained that there is agreement with the governors of the cities where the plots are located that developers will not deal with municipalities. That in turn means that the shops inside the area come with a licence and traders will only have to set up and start business. El-Sallab says that the past year has not only been about negotiating the purchase of land but studying the needs of various governorates and the strengths of each region. The new plots could be developed into specialty shopping zones, she said. For example, in one governorate the area could be taken up for artisan goods and handicrafts while in another it could focus on garments and textile- related products. In addition, she added, these areas will be attraction points for visitors from neighbouring governorates as well. That, to her, will help in the development of new communities around them and for socio-economic transformation within governorates. But while all that is well and good, Talaat El-Qawas, first deputy head of the Cairo Chamber of Commerce, wants to see internal trade reformed at the root -- specifically via a new law for the municipalities. The latter are often viewed as a source of corruption. "For the past 15 years we have been demanding that a new law for municipalities be issued, but nothing has happened." El-Qawas admits that modern shopping areas are needed but, he points out, small traders would not be able to take advantage of them if rental rates are high. "Incentives have to be available to encourage the small grocer or meat vendor to relocate." Furthermore, he said there has to be a timeframe for dealing with the growing number of street vendors. "They have to be allocated areas, at symbolic prices, in their own governorates to sell their goods to prevent them from migrating to Cairo and Alexandria. And there have to be incentives to attract them to the formal sector," he said. El-Sallab says the government is moving on all fronts towards reforming this "highly unregulated system [of internal trade]." Besides new plots of land in a number of governorates, there is a plan to create a one-stop-shop for anyone wishing to open a commercial business. That one-stop-shop would help an individual acquire all the necessary paperwork, be that a licence for a shop or a commercial registry. In addition, she said the ministry would work with concerned parties -- like chambers of commerce -- to raise awareness by organising training workshops for shop owners to familiarise them with modern sales techniques and to upgrade their businesses.
