Africa-Press – Tanzania. ZANZIBAR: ZANZIBAR has made big strides in financial inclusion as the government continues to create a friendly economic environment to promote it.
This was said by the Isles’ President Hussein Mwinyi, at the launch of the FinScope Tanzania (Zanzibar) report- 2023, held here on Wednesday.
Dr Mwinyi said that the achievements were fruits of reforms made by the government to create friendly environment include having better policies in place.
In a speech read on his behalf by the Second Vice-President of Zanzibar Hemed Suleiman Abdulla, the president hailed the report as it reflects the real situation of the financial sector in the isles.
He said that the move to improve the enabling environment also included putting in place the enabling legal system as well as close collaboration with all stakeholders in the financial sector, to address the challenges that hinder any envisioned success in country.
Dr Mwinyi further explained that the government plans to ensure that the development of the financial sector is integrated in financial services in the country.
He said that the FinScope report on Zanzibar is an important resource that can be used by all stakeholders to make the right decisions in developing the financial sector in Zanzibar.
“The FinScope 2017 report helped a lot in improving various matters including reviewing policies, creating and monitoring tools for the financial sector, and setting strategies to increase prosperity and integrated financial services,” he said.
Dr Mwinyi said that it is his expectation that all stakeholders, in the implementation of the Zanzibar Development Vision 2050, the National Strategic Plan for Integrated Financial Services (2023-2028) and other development plans, will use the knowledge derived from the FinScope report.
He said that the report can be used to assess the current situation and develop methods that will be used to solve the existing challenges, and also highlighted that there is a great correlation between the development of the financial sector, the prosperity of integrated financial services, the growth of the economy and the achievement of sustainable development.
President Mwinyi said he was relieved to hear that since the first Finscope Zanzibar study results in 2017, the availability and use of official financial products and services has increased from 45 per cent in 2017 to 82 per cent in 2023.
He said that the report shows that the efforts to solve the challenges that lead to the lack of integrated financial services, especially in rural areas have been successful.
“However, there is still a lot of work to be done to ensure that working-age people, especially women, are able to earn their own income in order to reduce dependency,” he said.
Financial independence, he said, can also help women improve the well-being of their daily lives, and urged government institutions to cooperate with private sector stakeholders to solve the challenge and promote integrated financial services for women.
Dr Mwinyi said that unlike other financial services, the use of official insurance is still low because until now only eight percent of people in Zanzibari have insurance.
He said it is contrary to the government’s goals as outlined in the Financial Sector Development Master Plan which envisages that by 2030, 50 per cent of adults will be able to access and use insurance.
He urged them to increase strategic efforts and cooperation between governments such as policy makers and law enforcement, financial service providers and innovators to promote the insurance sector and better protect economic operators against unexpected loss and disasters.
He also asked all stakeholders in the financial sector, each in their own role, to support the government’s efforts in developing and expanding the scope of financial services, the growth of companies and the private sector as they accelerate economic growth and development of the country.
The audience, which includes some Ministers and Permanent Secretaries from both Zanzibar and mainland, praised the report that it has helped the private sector have products and services that are demanded in the market and meet the needs of customers.
The Zanzibar Minister of State, Office of the President, Finance and Planning Dr Saada Mkuya Salum said at the launching event that despite the great strides made in the access to integrated financial services, there are still citizens who are unable to access these services due to lack of national identification cards or ID card.
She said that according to the report, only 72 per cent of Zanzibar residents have a Zanzibar residency card, while about half of adults aged 55 or younger do not have a pension/retirement benefit.
She noted that “Although we are doing well as a country, compared to other countries in East Africa, we still have to improve the integrated financial services in Zanzibar and that requires effective strategies, policies and plans to deliver financial services to all citizens.” Prior to the official launch, different sections of the FinScope research areas of the report, were presented by: A Member of the Expert Committee of the Office of the Chief Government Statistician (OCGS)-Zanzibar Mr Khalid Choum.
Other presenters were the director of the Financial Sector Deepening Tanzania (FSDT), Mr Erick Masinde and Member of the Management Committee of the Central Bank of Tanzania, Mr Keneth Komba and A member of the expert committee in charge of the research, Dr Cyrill Chimilila.
The facilitators at the launching ceremony pointed out that a total of 1,114 households were reached in both Unguja and Pemba and that the study showed that literacy level has increased to 84 per cent from 81 in 2017.
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