THE government is determined to address the challenges in doing business in Tanzania in efforts to improve the business environment that will promote trade and investments in the country.

Speaking at the launch of TradeMark Africa in Dar es Salaam on Tuesday evening, the Permanent Secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Prof Adolf Mkenda, the government would continue with key reforms to remove hurdles that undermine business in the country.

He said the government valued TradeMark Africa support to enhance trade and would tackle the challenges identified so as to promote access to market, enhance trade environment and improve business competitiveness of the country.

“We are willing to listen and share with you our dreams and aspirations,” he said at the launching of the report of the multi-donor funded aid for trade agency.

Prof Mkenda said addressing the challenges in doing business was top in agenda for government action in efforts to improve the business environment will help create a foundation for sustained and inclusive economic growth and prosperity as pledged by President John Magufuli during his election campaign.

“President Magufuli acknowledged that there were too many hurdles. He made commitment to open up space for trade,” he said.

TradeMark Africa is supporting Tanzania to boost prosperity through trade, various projects including a port modernisation of eleven deep water berths and the rehabilitation and upgrading of port access roads at the Dar Port, which will significantly increase port access, especially for larger, modern vessels, while improving movement and efficiency.

TMA has also funded the construction of four One Stop Border Posts in Tanzania, which are expected to drastically reduce cross border times and spur trade in the region.

It supports the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, East Africa, Regional and International Cooperation to implement a comprehensive framework for regional integration and provides support to the private sector to enhance their competitiveness.

Other projects supported includes enhancing women’s participation in trade. TMA Board Chairperson Ali Mufuruki said following on from last year, TMA had strengthened its governance structure with the appointment of a team of highly qualified professionals to the Board of Directors.

“These individuals bring a wealth of experience in various sectors including the private sector, government and non-profit. This wealth of experience is a major asset for TMA,” he said adding that TMA investors had also formed the new council to support their work.

TMA Chief Executive Officer, Frank Matsaert, said some of the key results included significant decline in clearance time for cargo destined to Kigali from 21 days to 4 days and from Dar es Salaam to Kigali from 25 days to five days. The cost of clearing a container has declined from close to 5,000 US dollars to 3,387 US dollars, he said.

“The results presented in this report demonstrates our continued commitment to increasing intraregional trade and building the region’s competitiveness.

These results reaffirm our ambition to transform the lives of East Africans through supporting projects that will increase prosperity for all in the region,” he said. TMA had made strides to support informal trade across borders, which is often the lifeline of most rural livelihoods, he said.

“Since these traders do not use available formal systems and structures for their transactions, it is difficult for regional trade policy initiatives to have any significant impact on their lives.

There is therefore a continued effort to ensure these economically disadvantaged populations have access to markets,” he said.

Source: Daily News

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of TradeMark Africa.