The World Bank (WB) has hailed the government initiative to promote the private sector, saying it is optimistic that if the pace is retained, Tanzania’s GDP growth will hit 6% in a few years.
The World Bank Country Director to Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, Mr. Nathan Belete, said it was evident that programs carried out in areas like building and strengthening energy generation projects, transporting and storing it were promising further growth.
He said other areas include infrastructure and education improvement, which will catalyze economic growth.
This comes a few days after President Dr. Samia Suluhu Hassan’s efforts of inviting foreign investors, opening up borders, and pioneering economic diplomacy with different nations, a move that has made Tanzania attract more investors in other areas such as mining, agriculture, and tourism.
Mr. Belete said this in his remark during the monthly meetings of the CEO Roundtable of Tanzania (CEOrt), which discussed Tanzania’s Outlook: A World Bank Perspective.
He said that such an initiative includes consideration of regulatory reforms policy issues and hence attracting more investment and trade, which catalyzes the private sector, which is an engine of growth.
“The Tanzanian government is taking collective action to put a friendly environment to ensure that it encourages more investments, where most of the products are processed locally, which creates high-quality jobs for its people,” he said
Mr. Belete assured that the World Bank was ready to continue its close relationship with Tanzania through technical and financial support in the areas which sharpen the human capital needed to drive up the economy positively.
He said recently the WB has been dishing out soft loans to support primary, secondary, and tertiary education, which are primary ones when it comes to producing educated human resources, and that it was well prepared to keep such support in the future.
Mr. David Tarimo, the CEOrt Chairperson, on his part, said that in the monthly meetings, members aimed at bringing to the table challenges for personal growth and suggesting the best ways of moving forward.
He highlighted some areas discussed as policy formulations, regulatory frameworks, and tax regimes and established areas of improvement for attaining a robust economy driven by a strong private sector.
The World Bank Tanzania Economic Update (TEU) released last month forecasts that Tanzania’s economy will expand by 5.3 percent in 2023, which is way above Sub-Saharan Africa’s average growth of 3.6%