Chapter five: Corporate governance Ease of... Registering property Doing business Doing business 2009 ranking 2008 ranking Change in ranking 135 133 –2 84 79 –5 142 141 –1 54 52 –2 Trading across borders 141 132 –9 Enforcing contracts 104 106 +2 Closing a business 69 65 –4 Getting credit Protecting investors Paying taxes Source: World Bank Doing Business Survey 2009. 527. Note: ‘Doing business 2008’ rankings have been recalculated to reflect changes to the methodology and the addition of three new countries. Figure 5.1: Ease of doing business – global rankings Source: World Bank Doing Business Survey 2009. 528. 146 Starting a business. When entrepreneurs draw up business plans and try to get under way, the first hurdles they face are the procedures required to incorporate and register the new firms before they can operate legally. Countries differ greatly in how they regulate the entry of new businesses. In this regard, Lesotho is ranked 125 in the “Doing Business Survey 2009”. In Lesotho, registering for business licences is a time-consuming and cumbersome process because of red tape, an inefficient administrative mechanism and cumbersome regulations. However, the new OSS created by the MTICM has shown some improvement in the registering process and, with a more aggressive implementation of its programme, should greatly improve future registrations.