Is African bureaucracy really as slow as people think?
Expanding to Africa can, theoretically, be a quick process, taking as little as a few weeks for operations to begin, especially if you are using an EOR (Employer of Record).
But the lived reality may prove to be somewhat different… A phenomenon of “administrative slowness” is said to be present across the continent’s 54 countries. But is it just hearsay or is there truth to this claim? If yes, then which areas of administration does it apply to, and how to counter it?
In this article, our on the ground experts draw from official documentation and their lived experience across the continent to help answer these questions.
Administrative slowness in Africa: how can it manifest?
From bill to law: delays before adoption
Administrative “slowness” or delays can manifest in different forms, and may be observed at all levels, even from a legislative point of view. Before legislation can change, proposals are suggested to parliaments in the form of bills, which are then debated before being approved, amended, or discarded. In and of itself, this process takes time. However, delays can often be observed once a bill is approved. There is an intermediary stage between when a bill is approved and when it is actually implemented, and applicable. Sometimes, this implementation delay can span a few years due to ensuing public consultations and parliamentary procedures, leaving both individuals and businesses waiting.
That being said, some African countries like Nigeria have an automatic enactment mechanism whereby a bill that is within the limits of the constitution will be enacted within 30 days if the president fails to sign or veto it.
In South Africa, it takes 153 days or around 5 months on average for a bill to pass into law.
Manual administrative systems
In a number of African countries, paperwork is still very much done in paper form, or using a mix of both manual and digital systems. Naturally, manual processing systems have longer processing times, and are error-prone, leading to longer delays as files travel between departments, awaiting approval.
Linguistic complexities
Fulfilling legal requirements in multiple languages can complicate and lengthen admin procedures. Obtaining accurate translations of required documents can take time, deepening the impression of administrative slowness. In some countries like Morocco for instance, documents must typically be submitted in Modern Standard Arabic, and/or in French. So, if your original document is in English, this means the document may need to be translated twice, costing more time and money.
How observable of a phenomenon is it?
According to studies, including a 2019 study entitled “African bureaucracy and public administration: Analysing the normative impediments and prospects”, there are several identifiable factors that may contribute to a sense of administrative slowness across the continent:
- Uncritical transplanting of Western institutions and reforms without adapting them to African contexts
- Weak institutionalisation of democratic norms, partly a legacy of military rule and authoritarian governance
- Duplication of roles across agencies, creating inefficiency and delay
- Declining investment in training and staff development since the 1990s
- Poor morale, driven by weak reward systems, and premature retirement of skilled staff
- A broader leadership deficit, with many officials prioritising personal or group interests over public service
- Weak accountability mechanisms
While structural administrative delays exist, it is important to note that the experience differs from country to country on the continent.
What do the numbers say?
Official statistics like the World Ease of Doing Business rankings don't support a simple "African bureaucracy is slow" story. What they show instead is that speed and slowness do sit side by side within the same country.
Consider the matter of starting a business. Togo ranks first in the 2019 World Ease of Doing Business rankings, ahead of Mauritius. Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) is third, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, 44th overall, comes in seventh for this measure alone. South Africa, by contrast, ranks 26th here despite a much stronger overall position and a solid regulatory reputation.
The same holds for trading across borders. Eswatini ranks first, and Lesotho second, both ahead of Kenya and Nigeria. So slowness at the border isn't a continent-wide trait either; it depends on which country and which process.
Where slowness does show up consistently, almost regardless of overall ranking, is in the courts. Enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency are the two areas where even strong performers fall away.
The available statistics provide a nuanced view of administrative delays across Africa, reflecting an intrinsic truth: all African countries are different and operate differently. While the phenomenon of administrative slowness does seem to exist, it touches each country differently.
How to counter administrative slowness in Africa?
Structural delays may be difficult to overcome through personal effort alone.
As a business, one way to counter administrative delays is to remove the obstacles within your control. This includes surrounding yourself with partners who speak the local language, and who can understand, interpret, and keep up to date with the law. This may seem self-evident or too simple. But very often, it is these overlooked steps that relieve administrative burdens, decreasing back and forths caused by inaccurate or outdated interpretations of the law.
Choosing a compliance partner in Africa: what to avoid
Businesses may find that working with multiple partners can turn into a problem of its own. Managing multiple communication channels with different partners can quickly turn into another time drainer.
This is where EORs (Employers of Record) like Africa HR Solutions prove particularly useful. Legal expansion into the continent without an entity, payroll, compliance, employee benefits administration… We handle the administrative load so you don’t have to. Our on-the-ground experts keep up to date with changing laws and have built reliable networks over the years. In this way, you can avoid a lot of the administrative red tape for smooth-running operations.
To find out more about how we can help you navigate red tape across 46+ African countries, consult one of our African EOR experts today.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is administrative slowness in Africa a myth or a reality?
It's real, but not uniform. Structural delays, from legislative processes to manual paperwork systems, do exist across the continent. However, official rankings show that the experience varies significantly from country to country and even from process to process within the same country.
Which areas of administration tend to be slowest?
Courts are the most consistent bottleneck. Enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency rank poorly almost everywhere, even in countries that perform well overall. Business registration and cross-border trade, by contrast, are areas where several African countries perform competitively by international standards.
How long does it typically take for a bill to become law in Africa?
It depends on the country. Nigeria has an automatic enactment mechanism, meaning a bill within constitutional limits becomes law within 30 days if the president neither signs nor vetoes it. In South Africa, the process takes around 153 days on average.
Why do language barriers slow down administrative processes?
Many legal and administrative documents must be submitted in a country's official language, which is not always English. In Morocco, for example, documents typically need to be in Modern Standard Arabic and/or French, meaning an English-language document may require two rounds of translation before it can be submitted.
What can businesses do to reduce delays when expanding into Africa?
Focus on what's within your control: work with partners who speak the local language, understand local procedures, and stay current with legal updates. Having accurate paperwork from the outset also prevents unnecessary back-and-forth. An Employer of Record (EOR) can manage all of this on a business's behalf, reducing the administrative load of coordinating multiple partners.
