THE sixth-phase government, under President Samia Suluhu Hassan has registered a record 294 investment projects which are expected to inject capital amounting to 8.129 US billion dollars (about 18.75tri/- in the economy).
According to the Minister for Industry, Investment and Trade, Dr Ashatu Kijaji, the registered ventures are expected to create 62,301 employment opportunities.
The projects were registered between March 2021 and February 2022 through the Tanzania Investment Centre (TIC), which recorded 266 projects, Export Processing Zones Authority (EPZA) with 23 projects and the Mining Commission (five projects).
During the corresponding period between 2020 and 2021, the value of registered projects stood at 1 billion US dollars (about 2.3tri/-), Dr Kijaji said while highlighting progress attained in the ministry during the past one year.
On the other hand, under President Samia’s leadership at the Dubai Expo 2020, government ministries, institutions and private companies signed 37 Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with multinational companies eyeing to either invest or trade with Tanzania. The agreements are valued at 8 US billion dollars (about 18.5tri/-) and are expected to create 214,575 jobs.
Out of the 37 MoUs, 13 were entered between the government and investors, while 23 were signed between private Tanzanian companies and foreign investors.
“One MoU was signed between Zanzibar’s Ministry of Industry and Trade and investors wishing to invest in the tourism sector,” she explained.
Dr Kijaji expounded further that the MoUs will cover a range of areas including communication, oil and gas, agriculture, transport, infrastructure, textile and conference tourism. President Samia also led Tanzania’s delegation at the Tanzania Day at the Dubai Expo on February 26, this year, where Tanzania promoted investment and trade opportunities as well as tourist attractions.
During the forum, the MoU was signed to cement and improve bilateral relations between Tanzania and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The Dubai Expo which runs under a theme; “Connecting Mind – Creating the Future” started on October 1, 2021 and is slated to end on March 31, 2022. Dr Kijaji mentioned another achievement during the past one year as Tanzania’s signing of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) which will open up the country to a market of 1.3 billion people with a total gross domestic product of 3.4 US trillion dollars.
Another area of excellence is on issuance of permits to foreign workers through amendments The Non – Citizens (Employment Regulation) Act) which now allows investors to employ ten experts whereas before October 2021 the investors were only allowed to bring in only five experts.
The amended legislation also scrapped the requirement for foreign workers to have their academic certificates to be accredited by either the Tanzania Commission for Universities (TCU) or the National Council for Technical Education (NACTE).
The government has as well integrated the Online Work Permit Application and Issuance System-OWAIS) and Online System for application of Residence Permit – e-Permit), she stated.
Dr Kijaji further noted that the government has initiated a process to establish a land bank for investments, where stakeholders are working to formulate a single system dubbed Electronic Single Window for Investment, where acquisition of land will be included.
About 1.6 million hectares of land owned by government ministries and institutions have been allocated for investment. A team of experts is working on a plan to survey the pieces of land with a view of allotting them with Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates, she stated.