I should like clarification from the Minister on section 2. The Minister sought to avoid what he saw as the mistake of the business expansion scheme in its early stages by having this section written in a very clear and a very bare, bald way. I should like elaboration on subsection (2) which states that every application for a licence in respect of a special trading house shall be in such form as may be approved by the Minister, and it then goes on to state the way in which the Minister may refuse and that the person may reapply. I am a little concerned that a scheme which is meant to have speed as its essence may, because of a lack of clarity in the early stages, have people making applications without being fully aware of what exactly is expected, what the standards and conditions are.
The intention behind this Bill is for speedy decisions but frequently, as we know from experience, officials down the line for whatever reason — they may have a bad day, they may not have the information or they may be cautious — may not give the full information and a company might find itself to-ing and froing to the relevant people. This may build up frustration and people may decide it is not worth it, or there may be some disparity between one application and another. Under this section will the Minister be preparing very clear guidelines for universal application so that a company will know exactly what will or will not be relevant when they make an application and thus speed up the whole procedure?
