There are early signs that the newly installed Libyan administration since 2nd March is paying more attention to the private sector and SMEs. In a series of meetings held by both the (renamed) GPC for Industry, Economy and Commerce (IEC) (www.ect.gov.ly), and the Libyan Economic Development Board (LEDB) (www.ledb.ly), an increased role for the private sector and SMEs was discussed.

On March 17 the newly appointed Secretary General of the GPC for Industry, Economy and Commerce (IEC) Mohammed Ali Al-Huwaij, headed a meeting which included amongst others, members of the business community, heads of the Union of Chambers of Commerce, the Libyan Investment Board, the Tax Authority, and the Libyan Businessmen's Council.

During this meeting, 'the creation of a structure of local industry based on local raw materials especially for SMEs', 'the participation of Libyan workforce and the retraining of this workforce', 'the protection of local industries', ' the reform of the tax and customs systems in so far as they affect these areas', and 'numerous issues that affect the business environment' were all discussed.

Meanwhile, during the LEDB's meeting reported on 25th March with Libyan business people, the possibility of the private sector operating the Libyan state-owned vocational centres was discussed.

It was stressed that the need for these centres and the human resources they produce is particularly even more relevant today for Libya as it goes through its huge construction and redevelopment phase.

As incentives, the LEDB reported that the Libyan state sector will guarantee to buy these training services, it will offer tax and customs duty concessions on products and services imported to refurbish or prepare these centres, and offer loans to help finance the projects. Foreign companies were also offered the same incentives in a subsequent meeting, but loans were only to be offered if they worked in a joint venture with a Libyan company.

You will recall that I reported on the National Oil Corporation's (NOC) meeting in February in which they expressed their aim to Libyanise engineering projects within Libya.

All these discussions at the GPC for IEC, the NOC and at the LEDB are within and strike at the core of Libya's policies of economic reform and diversification away from the oil and gas sector. The LEDB by raising this new policy is admitting that the educational institutions in Libya are still failing to supply the market place students ready for the world of business and work.

Offering to privatise the vocational institutes - now that the GPC for Manpower and Training has been disbanded - is an admission that that GPC had failed to orient the many unemployed and recently graduated for the new world of work.

The fact that the new General Secretary of the GPC for IEC - like his predecessor - is discussing these very important topics is in itself positive news. It establishes that there is to be continuity in policy and in the same direction as pre 2nd March 2009 General Peoples Congress meeting.

What we need now is more focus and faster pace of reform. We need more input from the wider business community. It is no big secret or rocket science. It is not some complicated sophisticated plan drawn up by the IMF or Professor Porter and his Monitor Group.

We want - need - less bureaucracy, paperwork, procedures, and more transparency. We need more input before laws affecting business are changed and we need stability in the business procedures and environment. We need a level playing field between the truly private sector and the new huge quasi private - but state sector in reality - companies.

We need more training, retraining - on a nationwide scale - and a modern education system. The LEDB with its recent announcements of the Tripoli, Benghazi and Sabha Incubators needs to change gear and start mass training and actually giving some seed capital for SMEs to start their own businesses.

I hope that the new General Secretary for IEC puts into action the idea of the united or unified business window (one-stop-shop) for import and export initiated under his predecessor. This idea follows on from the unified window for company formation that has been relatively successful. This would include the streamlining of customs procedures and business bank transfers.

I also hope that the Mr. Al-Huwaij, Secretary for IEC, exerts gentle pressure on his successor in the finance portfolio to implement the tax reforms he had personally advocated in his previous Finance portfolio at the tax seminar of last year.

The number of GPCs has been reduced since the 2nd March 2009 General Peoples Congress. The GPC for Manpower was downgraded, and industry has been added to the economy and trade portfolio. The GPC for Finance was unified with Planning under the very experienced Dr Abdulhafid Zlitni.

Dr Zlitni is also chairman of the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA), in charge of Libya's sovereign wealth fund of around US$70-billion.

One reason for these so-called super GPCs or ministries was to reduce the number of ministers and hopefully increase efficiency and reduce bureaucracy and corruption. The jury is still out on whether bigger means less waste and corruption and faster decision-making.

If previous ministers were struggling to achieve fast, deep and meaningful reform with one portfolio, how is it that they will become more efficient in managing two?