Draft legislation intended to ease the business licensing process and crack down on illicit business activities was open to corruption and abuse, watchdog Corruption Watch said on Thursday.

The Licensing of Businesses Bill, which was tabled in March to replace the current Licensing of Businesses Act, aimed to provide an enabling framework for business licence application procedures by setting norms and standards.

The new Bill required “anyone doing business” to apply for a licence from their local municipality.

However, Corruption Watch believed the Bill required a “complete overhaul”, with the addition of anticorruption measures and ensuring that all sections, including the requirements for obtaining a licence, were clear so that opportunities for corruption were removed.

“The Bill has not been carefully thought through by the authorities and the result is a piece of legislation dangerously susceptible to corruption and abuse,” said executive director David Lewis in a statement.

The watchdog was concerned with the designation and far-reaching powers of traffic officers, besides others, as licence inspectors.

“Some 14% of all reports made by the public to Corruption Watch in its first nine months of existence involved traffic law enforcement officials,” Lewis explained, adding that this made it a risk in tasking traffic officers with business licence inspections.

Further, 25% of all the reported incidents within the same nine-month period involved allegations of corruption in municipalities, leading to the watchdog being uncomfortable with municipalities as the licensing authorities.

A licence would need to be renewed after five years and could be revoked under certain circumstances.

Trade and Industry Minister Dr Rob Davies previously said the Bill provided a tool to "know who is conducting business in our localities and, secondly, to ensure that within the framework of business activities... we cut out illicit activities".