Africa-Press – Tanzania. PRESIDENT Samia Suluhu Hassan on Monday held a consultative meeting with leaders of the Tanzania Private Sector Foundation (TPSF), in her continued efforts to strengthen the sector and foster economic development.
The meeting, held at the State House in Dar es Salaam demonstrated President Samia’s determination to support the private sector’s growth, attract more investments and expand the tax base. During the session, President Samia commended TPSF for responding to her call and vision of increasing investments in the country.
She assured the sector of the government’s commitment to address challenges in the investment and business sector for the sake of building a stable and sustainable economy.
“The government is working on all setbacks facing investment; furthermore, we shall work on the suggestion to be issued during the Tanzania National Business Council (TNBC), set to be held this month,” said President Samia.
For her part, the TPSF Chairperson Ms Angelina commended the President on her government’s ongoing efforts to improve the business environment and enhance the government – private sector relationship.
Specifically, she said they have started enjoying the outcomes of the visit that the Head of State made to Kenya recently.
“The TPSF and our Kenyan counterparts have agreed on the establishment of a common market that will enable Tanzania and Kenyan businesspersons to buy and sell their products easily,” she said.
Ms Angelina added that even the National Development Plan for the year 2021/2022 has considered the opinion and suggestions from members of the private sector.
The TPSF head asked the government to maintain its focus towards improving business environments, especially regarding the Blueprint requirement, tax collection supervision as well as protection of local content, particularly in the implementation of the strategic development projects.
“The focus should also be paid on facilitating growth of the agriculture sector, as it employs a big number of Tanzanians,” she suggested, assuring thThis, she said, would play a crucial role in improving the country’s economy, creating employment as well as uplifting living standards of Tanzanians.
In April, this year, President Samia ordered sweeping reforms in the investment sector, as part of her government’s grand plan to restore investors’ trust in the country. She said it was crucial for the country through the Investment Ministry to ensure Tanzania regains the investors’ trust by improving the climate that forces some of them to shift their business to other countries.
President Samia called on the Tanzania Investment Centre (TIC) to come up with One Stop Centre, to coordinate investors’ needs under one roof.
“The One Stop Centre would remove all kinds of bureaucracy and corrupt practices… We have to clear the perception among foreign investors that Tanzania is unpredictable,” she instructed.
Ms Samia insisted that there was no need for investors to hustle around various institutions to secure business certificates and permits. The president also expressed her concerns over the issuance of work permits, saying there is a bureaucracy that was discouraging and chasing investors away.
Ms Samia noted that a number of businesses and companies had been closed due to an unfavorable investment environment caused by uncertainties in taxes and work permits. During her recent visit to Kenya, President Samia invited Kenyan investors to Tanzania, saying her meeting with President Uhuru Kenyatta had resolved to get rid of all barriers to bilateral trade.
On connectivity and shared infrastructure, President Suluhu listed several cross-border projects that Kenya and Tanzania have lined up among them One Stop Border Posts (OSBP), roads, electricity transmission lines and a natural gas pipeline.
