Africa-Press – Tanzania. ZANZIBAR yesterday invited investors from the United States of America, pledging special incentive packages for special business projects in Pemba.
Minister of State in the President’s Office, Finance and Planning, Jamal Kassim Ali told the US Ambassador to Tanzania Donald Wright that Zanzibar is open for more investments, especially in the blue economy.
“Zanzibar is opening up for serious investors in the blue economy; there is huge potential for American investors in Zanzibar,” he said.
Minister Jamal cited the processing of clove and other spices for the huge and lucrative American market under African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which he said, “Zanzibaris haven’t exploited fully due to limited capacity.”
Minister Jamal invited American support in health and education sectors in particular, saying the Indian Ocean’s semiautonomous archipelago is determined to greatly improve health and education services to the islanders.
He said provision of relevant technical skills to Zanzibar youth is one of the government priorities to facilitate effective participation of the young generation to the blue economy.
“We have some few technical schools but their capacity remains limited both in terms of infrastructure and training… we have to review the kind of skills provided to our youth and see if they really match with the blue economy that the country is pursuing,” Minister Jamal said.
He described Zanzibar’s young population as a great economic asset for the country but only if it was appropriately harnessed.
“There is a lot to do with this young population…it requires some strategies to use it profitably,” he said. Earlier, Ambassador Wright expressed his office’s keenness to work closely with Zanzibar and Tanzania in general, citing social services, investment, reciprocal trade, youth empowerment, democracy and human right as his priority areas.
The envoy pledged to encourage American investors to invest in Zanzibar but asked the revolutionary government to address some of the issues which prospective US investors perceive as a hindrance to invest in Zanzibar.
He commended Zanzibar for successful programmes against malaria, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis, promising to intensify cooperation with the government to further suppress the diseases.
Meanwhile, the US has announced the resumption of Peace Corps Volunteering services, which the world’s economic giant suspended last year due to the outbreak of COVID- 19.
Ambassador Wright said the US government is working on the modalities to resume the services and promised to dispatch some volunteers to the health and educational sectors in Zanzibar.
