In his address during the official launch of the plan for 2016/2017-2020-2021, which was endorsed by the National Assembly in April, the Premier proudly said that 34 industries privatised to local investors since 1992 are performing very well.

 

"Out of the 106 privatised industries, 34 are owned by locals and in good shape while 33 are running on a loss; as the remaining 39 have been closed. "I thus direct the Ministry of Finance and Planning, through the Treasury Registrar, to continue with its assessment of the idle factories for repossession by the state," the PM stated.

 

Based on the impressive performance by the locals, Mr Majaliwa said the government will support them to establish small, medium and large scale factories to create jobs and accrue revenue to the government.

 

"The government is determined to empower local investors by providing them with capital to establish factories," he stressed here during the occasion which was attended by among others the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, Dr Tulia Ackson.

 

In the same vein, Mr Majaliwa said doors are open for investments in electricity generation projects using natural gas. The Premier was hopeful that execution of the FYDP II will be possible since the implementation of phase one of FYDP between 2010/2011-2015/2016 has put in place enabling environment for trade and investments. "In the first phase, which ends on June 30, we have been able to put in place favourable infrastructure to support industrialisation," he explained.

 

Mr Majaliwa pointed to the fact that execution of the plan will require adequate finances and human resources, noting that the budget allocated for development projects have been increased to 40 per cent in 2016/2017 from 27 per cent in the current fiscal year.

 

He warned civil servants and Tanzanians in general against corruption, laziness and incompetence to enable the country achieve the middle-income economy by the year 2025. "We need to work hard, change our mindset and do away with the business as usual attitude," the Premier stated.

 

On the other hand, Mr Majaliwa noted with concern that while the economy has been growing over the past decade, its impact on lessening poverty has been minimal. "Even with the growing economy, about 24 per cent of Tanzanians, translating to 10.7 million people are living below the poverty line.

 

"The agricultural sector, for instance, employs a majority of Tanzanians but yet its contribution to the economy slumped from 3.4 per cent in 2014 to 2.3 per cent last year," he observed.

 

He mentioned best performing sectors of the economy as construction, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), finance and insurance as well as mining and quarrying.

 

Mr Majaliwa said the government will put more weight to support sectors with a potential to employ many people and generate revenues, including agriculture, manufacturing, fishing and livestock keeping.

 

Earlier, the Minister for Finance and Planning, Dr Philip Mpango, said that a total of 107 trillion/- will be required to execute the ambitious plan. "The government will contribute 59tri/-, translating to 11tri/- each year while development partners are expected to inject 48tri/- translating to 9.9tri/- per annum," he reported.

 

Dr Mpango mentioned flagship projects to be implemented through the plan as construction of the Central Line on standard gauge mode - with its branches to Mwanza and Mpanda - as well as revival of the ailing Air Tanzania Company Limited (ATCL).

 

Others include implementation of the Kurasini Logistics Centre, Export Processing Zones as well as Mchuchuma Coal Mine and Liganga iron ore projects. The minister explained further that the plan will boost the country's economic growth from 7 per cent recorded last year to 10 per cent in 2020.

 

"Per capita income is expected to grow from 1,006 US dollars registered last year to 1,500 US dollars in 2020," he noted. The occasion was attended by ministers, deputy ministers, MPs, permanent secretaries, government officials and Dodoma residents, among others.

Source : allafrica.com