Africa-Press – Tanzania. THE government has asserted that suggestions, grievances and concerns of the private sector on business and investment climate will quickly reach the country’s top leadership through the Tanzania National Business Council (TNBC) secretariat.
Addressing reporters at the end of a joint meeting of representatives of the private and public sectors which was held in Dar es Salaam yesterday under the umbrella of the TNBC, Deputy Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office (Investment), Mr William ole-Nasha, said the meeting between the two parties was candid, informative and fruitful.
According to the deputy minister, delegates were truthful, open and frank during the meeting. “We admitted that there is red tape, corruption as it takes unnecessarily much longer for an investor to settle and invest and there is undue delay in issuing work permits.”
Mr Ole Nasha admitted. He added: “We repeatedly expressed our commitment to end these problems.
We also appealed to private sector to use regularly the TNBC so that their suggestions, grievances and concerns can quickly reach the top leadership and ensure corrective action is also taken quickly.
It was a fruitful meeting.” The deputy minister said he briefed the private sector on the drafted new versions of the national investment policy and investment law before the representatives contributed some inputs to the documents.
The meeting came a few days after President Samia Hassan Suluhu told Parliament in Dodoma that the country was performing poorly in winning investor’s confidence primarily because of red tape and corruption.
This was the second time for the president to publicly express her deep dismay on a number of issues that frustrate traders, including discouraging new prospective investors from seeking investment opportunities in the country.
“We said we shall remove all laws and regulations that businesspersons see them as impediment in doing business,” the deputy minister.
He also said meetings that will be held under the umbrella of the TNBC will help the government get proper feedback from the business community and take action.
TNBC Executive Secretary Dr Godwill Wanga said the Council was well positioned to serve professionally both public and private sectors.
“Meetings of this nature are healthier for the growth of business sector and development of public-private partnership (PPP),” Dr Wanga said.
The TNBC secretariat is chaired by the Chief Secretary while the national TNBC meetings are chaired by President of the Tanzania.
