Special Report Tazaia Tazaia A coutry o the march
Special Report Tazaia
Tazaia takes the breath away Bigger tha Frace ad Germay combied, ad almost four times larger tha the UK, Tazaia has a history as log ad as fasciatig as its physical assets are wild ad woderful, reports Graham Mercer Formerly coloial Germa East Africa ad later Britishcotrolled Tagayika, ad ceturies earlier part of the remarkable Lad of Zij, Tazaia s coastal strip, kow sice Biblical times to sailors ad merchats from lads as distat ad diverse as Arabia, Persia, Idia ad Chia, was metioed i the Periplus of the Erythrea Sea, a maritime guide writte i the time of Alexader the Great. This swelterig coast had, ad still has, charms which more tha compesate for its discomforts. It gave rise to the little-kow but sigificat Swahili civilisatio which flowered i the clear light of Africa while Europe stumbled out of the Dark Ages. It gave rise also to the taited but ifluetial Omai sultaate, era of slaves ad spices, exploitatio ad exploratio, commerce ad cocubies. But more tha three-ad-a-half millio years ago, before Sulta Said the Great fell i love with Zazibar, aother ma-like beig was also fallig i love, with a female of his ow kid i the area ow kow as Tazaia. Not quite Adam ad Eve, ot quite the Garde of Ede (though Ede could hardly have bee more picturesque or the serpet better represeted), they presumably partook of the forbidde fruit ad produced a child. Had geetic circumstaces bee slightly differet, they might also have produced the huma race. Whatever the case, this tiy family (i both seses of the word, as the adults were less tha oe-ad-a-half metres tall), left a impressio upo what is ow Tazaia. The footprits of these homids were preserved i volcaic ash which powdered the plais to widward of the eruptig volcao Satima, which preset-day tourists pass o their way from Ngorogoro to the Seregeti. These footprits i the compacted ash of time have bee buried to preserve them util such time as they ca be re-excavated ad safely displayed. The site, Laetoli (the Masai ame for the spiky blood red lily which blooms there after the rais) have reverted to bush. But a little way to the orth, at Olduvai (amed after the wild sisal which grows there), more varied ad visible evidece of Tazaia s prehistoric past is displayed i a small museum, ad coducted tours of parts of Olduvai Gorge itself are available, brigig tourists (almost) face to face with their acestors. The Seregeti plais, through which the Olduvai George cuts its famous gash, were strew with volcaic ash, which gives the short grasses there a utritious sweetess, seductive eough i the rais to draw more tha two millio aimals over 100 miles, from the far corers of the Seregeti ad beyod the Keya border. The volcaoes, all but oe, Ol Doiyo Legai (the Masai Moutai of God), are ow dead or dormat. But they have lost little of their gradeur. They have shaped Tazaia s orther paoramas, from the Seregeti through the Ngorogoro Highlads to the greatest ad most beautiful volcao of them all, Kilimajaro. Ad the plais themselves, their grasses succoured by rich volcaic soils, are edged by the log-flowig curves of a ladscape plastered smooth by lava. This orther frotier is the Africa of books ad films ad fatasies. Here ad there i this vast expase of grasslad ad bush ad mighty volcaic moutais live a fasciatig people, This orther frotier is the Africa of books ad films ad fatasies Far left: Tazaia s stuig Ngorogoro Crater, part of the Great Rift Valley Jue 2006 New Africa 47
Special Report Tazaia pastorialists ad cultivators ad eve huter-gatherers, half as old as time. Here lios are still occasioally speared to death by warriors without wars, the dagerous buffalo is still brought dow by little me with immesely powerful bows, their arrows tipped with a deadly poiso, ad the scrawy hump-backed cow is worshipped by the pastoralists with a almost Hidu reverece. The orther marches were also split asuder by violece, whe the earth, from the Mediterraea to the Zambezi, dropped alog a massive fault to form the Great Rift Valley. I Tazaia, the Rift, especially aroud Ol Doiyo Legai, still smoulderig sulle, is spectacular, its pyramid peaks ad forbiddig cliffs cotrastig with the femiie curves of the valley floor. To the east of the Rift, a brief outbreak of isolated volcaoes, icludig the 4,566 metres (14,950 feet) Mout Meru, that towers above the orther tow of Arusha, culmiates i Ol Doiyo Ebor, as it is kow i Masai (the White Moutai), the highest moutai i Africa, highest freestadig moutai o Earth, Kilimajaro, at 5,896 metres (19,340 feet) domiates the regio, physically ad metaphorically. Across the arrow Kilimajaro Gap, through which the British forces pursued the strategically retreatig Germas ad their Africa askaris durig World War I, lie very differet moutais. Much lower i height but much older i time, the North ad South Pare, ad the Usambaras to the southeast, are Africa s aswer to the Galapagos: islads i the clouds. The Pare ad Usambaras are part of a broke ad similarly excitig series of rages kow as the Easter Arc which curve dow from the Taita Hills i souther Keya to Tazaia s souther highlads. The southeaster half of Tazaia, ito which these rages evetually sweep, is quite differet from the volcaic orth with its spectacular moutais, great ope plais, ad attractive Acacia commiphora woodlad. The south is characterised by claustrophobic miles of deciduous miombo forests, relieved by serpetie brow rivers, refreshig highlad rages or patches of cultivatio. It is here, i these apparet wastelads, that some of the world s most magificet ad least publicised atioal Tazaia Profile Tazaia gaied idepedece from Britai as Tagayika o 9 December 1961, ad became a republic i 1962. Zazibar, the twi-islad atio off Tagayika, became idepedet i December 1963, ad a republic o 12 Jauary 1964. After protracted egotiatios, the two sovereig coutries Tagayika ad Zazibar joied raks ad formed the Uited Republic of Tazaia o 26 April 1964. Multiparty electios, held o 14 December 2005, brought Presidet Jakaya Kikwete to power for his first five-year term. The costitutio allows him to ru for a secod term. Tazaia has 18 registered political parties, the largest beig the rulig Chama Cha Mapiduzi (CCM) which has bee rulig sice idepedece; the Civic Uited Frot ad the Chama Cha Demokrasia a Maedeler (CHADEMA). Political capital: Dodoma (where the 323- member parliamet sits). Busiess capital: Dar es Salaam (which hosts the State House, ad offices of parliametary committees). Locatio: I East Africa The two islads of Zazibar Pemba ad Ujuga lie off the easter coast i the Idia Ocea, 30km from the mailad. Size: Mailad: 883,600sq km (larger tha Nigeria) Zazibar: 2,500sq km. Populatio (2005): Mailad 36 millio Zazibar 1 millio Natioal 37 millio Currecy: Tazaia shilligs Rate: Tshs2,400 = 1 Tshs1,250 = US$1 Major islads: Tazaia mailad: Ukerewe, 647sq km Mafia, 518sq km Zazibar major islads: Uguja, 1,666sq km Pemba, 988sq km Major lakes: Lake Victoria i the orth, 34,900sq km (Tazaia has 41% share, the rest is shared by Keya ad Ugada). Lake Tagayika i the west, 13,400sq km (Tazaia shares with DRCogo). Lake Nyasa i the south, 5,600sq km (Tazaia shares with Malawi). Lake Rukwa, 2,800sq km. Lake Eyasi, 1,000sq km. Highest peaks: Tazaia has 32 moutais, all over 2,000 metres above sea level, the 10 highest beig: Mout Kilimajaro, 5,895 metres Mout Meru, 4,566 metres Loo Malasi, 3,648 metres Oldeai, 3,188 metres Lemagruti, 3,132 metres Moduli, 3,000 metres Mtorwi, 2,961 metres Mout Rugwe, 2960 metres Gelar Peak, 2,942 metres Chaluhagi, 2, 933 metres Road etwork (as at December 2005): Truk roads: 3,914km paved, 6,021km upaved Regioal roads: 328km paved, 18,630km upaved District roads: 30km paved, 19,970km upaved Feeder roads: 27,550km upaved Urba roads: 470km paved, 1,980km upaved Natioal Parks: Seregeti, 14,750sq km Ruaha, 13,000sq km Ngorogoro, 8,320sq km Mikumi, 3,230sq km Taragire, 2,600sq km Katuvi, 2,252sq km Sadai, 1,100sq km Udzugwa, 1,000sq km Kilimajaro, 750sq km Rubodo, 460sq km Kituo, 442sq km Mahale, 410sq km Lake Mayara, 325sq km Arusha, 117sq km Gombe Stream, 52sq km Raifall: Tazaia is divided ito two raifall patters oe-seaso ad two-seaso raifall regimes. The oe-seaso occurs from November/December to April over the souther, southwester, cetral ad wester areas of the coutry. The two-seaso (log rais) regime occurs betwee March ad May (maily short rais) betwee September ad December over the coast orth of Mafia ad its hiterlad, ortheaster highlads, Lake Victoria basi ad the islads of Uguja ad Pemba. 48 New Africa Jue 2006
parks are situated. The vast Selous Game Reserve is cotiguous with Mikumi Natioal Park, the two formig a sactuary more tha 50,000sq km i extet, ad, separated from this immesity of big game coutry oly by a dirt track ad a arrow strip of cultivatio, is Udzugwa Moutais Natioal Park, part of the Easter Arc ad as uique as the Usambaras. Beyod the moutais to the west, beyod the hautigly wild Ruaha George ad the Iriga Plateau, lies Ruaha Natioal Park, with the epoymous river, massive bull elephats ad superbly uderstated sceery. Ad there is Lake Nyasa (sometimes kow especially if you are Malawia as Lake Malawi) to the south. It is overlooked by the steep wester cliffs of the Livigstoe Moutais, a strikigly successful marriage of lad ad water. Nyasa is the southermost of the great lakes which Tazaia shares with its eighbours. To the orthwest is Lake Tagayika, the logest ad deepest lake i Africa, ad as rich i aquatic edemics as the Easter Arc is rich i terrestrial plats ad aimals. To the ortheast of Lake Tagayika lies Africa s largest body of ilad water, Lake Victoria (41% of which is i Tazaia). It is hard to believe that little more tha a cetury ago, this regio was a major stagig post for ivory ad slave-tradig caravas, ad for Wester explorers. At Ujiji, o the ortheast shores of Lake Tagayika, Hery Morto Staley (the British jouralist tured explorer) had shake hads with David Livigstoe, hidig his ervousess by makig his famous ad fatuous presumptio: Dr Livigstoe, I presume. Ad it was from Ujiji that Livigstoe, soo afterwards, set off o his last safari. He died i the ight, as he kelt by his bed i prayer, i a village to the south of Lake Tagayika, amog the swamps which had sucked away his vitality. Livigstoe, a missioary/explorer, had bee wearig his secular hat at the time, his missio more i the cause of glory tha of God. He was seekig ot salvatio but the source of the Nile. Sadly, it had already bee foud, almost 1,000 miles to the orth, by Joh Haig Speke (aother British explorer). Speke s claim had bee disputed, leadig (idirectly but almost certaily) to his accidetal or suicidal death i a Eglish field, ad to Livigstoe s last prayer amog the swamps of Africa. Everyoe had ackowledged Speke s discovery (for the outside world) of the lake he amed i hoour of his quee Victoria. Oly he had kow, ituitively, that he had also set eyes upo the source of the Nile. Eve today, the great lakes are rarely visited relatively speakig by outsiders. Although the days of the log walks are over, the regio is oe of Tazaia s loveliest. West Lake Provice, o the wester shores of Lake Victoria, is quite differet from the rest of Tazaia. Eve its bird life is typically West rather tha East Africa. Ad o the easter shores of Lake Tagayika are some very importat atioal parks Gombe Stream ad Mahale Moutais, both home to our earest ad much-edagered relative, the chimpazee; ad Katavi Plais, oe of the most remote atioal parks i East Africa. Lake Victoria eve has a wildlife sactuary withi its boudaries, for Rubodo Islad Natioal Park, as the ame reveals, is surrouded by the waters of the lake i its southwester corer. It is ot always easy to reach but o oe who makes the effort regrets it, for Rubodo is delightful as well as uique. Tazaia has other delightful islads far to the east, where the Idia Ocea swells disitegrate ito pure white foam o the coral breaches of Zazibar, Pemba, Mafia ad their outlyig islets. Few places o Earth have ames that seduce the imagiatio as Zazibar does. This historic islad, the steppig stoe to the iterior for traders, travellers, missioaries ad explorers, has a history staied with blood ad broke by violece. These days tourists, ot slaves, are brought by the boatload to Zazibar, but the spices which helped to make the fertile gree islad The peace that prevails amog ad betwee Tazaia s ethic groups ad commuities is due to political plaig as well as goodwill. A traditioal welcome i Masailad for Presidet Kikwete Jue 2006 New Africa 49
Special Report Tazaia Tourism miister, Prof Jumae Abdallah Maghembe presides over a huge tourism potetial DAR remais refreshigly gree, ad its locatio, half ecircled by a sweepigly picturesque seafrot, makes IT oe of the most beautiful cities i Africa rich ad famous still grow i profusio. Always a lad of cotrasts, its mai port, Zazibar Tow, would still be recogisable to Burto ad Speke, Livigstoe ad Staley. Behid its celebrated waterfrot, with its Sulta s Palace, House of Woders ad Arab fort, the tow s cofusio of arrow streets ad alleys, secluded from the direct rays of the su by high-walled buildigs, etice visitors to lose themselves i what seems to be a filmset for a Arabia Nights fatasy with a cosmopolita cast of thousads. Just across the islad o the easter coast, history gives way to hedoism as tourists discover that pleasure ca be syoymous with peace of mid. Ad peace of mid, alog these ear-deserted white beaches, is as pletiful as palm trees. Pemba Islad, the true Isle of Cloves away to the orth, has idyllic coves ad coral strads of its ow; virtual secrets made of sad. South of Zazibar is Mafia, aother diver s paradise. Mafia, like Zazibar ad Pemba, is rich i uderwater life ad has log bee kow for its deepsea fishig. Across the Pemba Chael to the west, the coastlie of mailad Tazaia stretches orth towards Keya ad south to Mozambique. Apart from Dar es Salaam, the Have of Peace, the sumptuous gree commercial capital of the coutry (the political capital is Dodoma), ad the small, sleepy ports of Taga to the orth ad Lidi ad Mwara i the far south, the coast has o major cities or eve tows. There are villages ad cultivatio, however, alog most of its legth. Dar es Salaam (two decades of assiduous tree platig has tured it ito a gorgeous city) is actually Arabic for House of Peace, but Have seems appropriate. The city s architecture is as iterestig as that of Zazibar, reflectig the city s short but cosmopolita history. Moder buildigs are rapidly replacig or overpowerig Dar es Salaam s more elegat heritage, but the city remais refreshigly gree, ad its locatio, half ecircled as it is by a sweepigly picturesque seafrot, makes Dar (as it is affectioately called) oe of the most beautiful cities i Africa. Dar s other most appealig characteristic is its village-like cosiess ad laid-back tropical coastal charm. It is a largely friedly meetig place of the atios, where drivers still hold up the traffic to cotiue a coversatio, ad where expatriates from all over the world ca barely walk the legth of a block without bumpig ito someoe they kow. True, it ca be a most exasperatig ad tirig place to visit or i which to live, but it retais a edearig appeal. May who kow it well regard it with a geuie ad lastig affectio. Elsewhere, Old Bagamoyo (from where the curret presidet, Jakaya Kikwete hails has scarcely chaged sice Hery Morto Staley strode i from his epic west-east crossig of the cotiet, accompaied by Emi Pasha, the eccetric itellectual whom Staley claimed to have rescued e route. All said ad doe, amog the ashes of circumstace bur embers of the huma spirit of digity, tolerace (both racial ad religious), a desire for kowledge ad, ot least, a amazig readiess to laugh ad joke; a woderful sese of humour despite everythig. Ad much else, icludig a overlyig atioal predispositio towards peace. They are uited, much more tha peoples i other Africa coutries, by somethig more positive tha poverty, somethig more calculated tha historic accidet. The peace that prevails amog ad betwee Tazaia s ethic groups ad commuities is due to political plaig as well as goodwill, eshried, by the Father of the Natio, the late Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, i his famous Arusha Declaratio, ad upheld by his successors. The people are also uited by atioal pride the eyes of the poorest peasat will ofte shie with geuie delight to see a photograph, a film or a book which reflects the beauty ad the echatmet of his or her coutry. With justificatio, for that coutry is, for all its problems ad shortcomigs, oe of the most excitig places o Earth: the Real Africa. g NA This article was take from Graham Mercer s woderful coffee table book, Tazaia, Africa Ede, a book highly recommeded by New Africa to its worldwide readers. 50 New Africa May 2006
Special Report Tazaia Tazaia The ecoomy goes marchig o Presidet Jakaya Kikwete met members of the Tazaia Bakers Associatio o 3 April ad gave them a report o the state of the ecoomy. The prospects for 2007 are good ad GDP is projected to grow at aroud 7% ad iflatio at aroud 5%, he told them. Here are excerpts. We have a commo goal of improvig the competitiveess of our ecoomy ad evetually achieve better life for all Tazaias. Most of the reforms we have made have produced positive results. The fiacial sector reforms are ow firmly etreched. Curretly there are 33 mostly private baks ad fiacial istitutios operatig i the coutry, i additio to may private forex bureaus ad isurace compaies. Last year, our ecoomy grew by 5.8% compared with 6.8% i 2005. The slowdow i 2006 was due to the effects of drought ad the eergy crisis. The drought, experieced durig the whole of 2005 ad the first quarter of 2006, affected food productio ad power geeratio. These developmets together with the persistet rise i oil prices exerted upward pressure o iflatio which rose to a average of 6.2% i 2006, up from 4% i 2005. The foreig exchage reserve positio, however, remais fairly good. The food crisis is ow over as a result of good rais received i 2006. This year, the weather coditio looks promisig. The prospects for 2007 are, therefore, good ad GDP is projected to grow at aroud 7%. Iflatio is expected to be at aroud 5%. The govermet has reaffirmed its commitmet to stay the course of reforms, to cotiually improve the bakig ad busiess eviromet, ad to promote private sector developmet. To achieve these objectives, the govermet has sice 2002 bee udertakig major reforms aimed at stregtheig the busiess together we ca meet the challege of buildig a stroger ecoomy for the beefit of us all. It ca be doe, play your part eviromet with particular focus o reducig the cost of doig busiess. The Busiess Eviromet Stregtheig for Tazaia (BEST) programme is the istrumet for achievig these objectives. Specifically, this is a programme for elimiatig legal, regulatory, admiistrative ad istitutioal impedimets that ihibit the developmet of a competitive private sector i the coutry. I further pursuit of this oble objective, the Busiess Activities Registratio Act (BARA) was passed by parliamet i Jauary this year. The Act aims at reducig regulatio ad cost of compliace to the miimum. The overall objective is to reduce the cost of startig up busiess. Measures are afoot to streamlie ad harmoise the busiess licesig regime to esure that regulatory licesig covers oly busiesses that have to be regulated by statute. The lad laws have bee ameded to accommodate the provisio of mortgages i order to reduce risk to leders ad make borrowig easier for busiess. I am glad that the Tazaia Bakers Associatio was ivolved i the review of the Lad Act. We are ow workig o expadig the scope of lad reforms with a view to developig a efficiet registratio system for lad titles. This will also ivolve stregtheig the lad iformatio system ad improvig the survey ad mappig ifrastructure across the coutry. New resources are also beig marshalled to stregthe further the Lad ad Commercial Divisios of the High Court ad the establishmet of a Natioal Idetificatio System (Natioal ID). Labour laws are also udergoig reforms to address the cocers of stakeholders, icludig the bakig fraterity. The uderlyig objective is to promote a better ad efficiet labour market ad labour relatios. The govermet has recetly take deliberate measures to deal with the problem of 52 New Africa Jue 2006
efficiecy of the judicial ad legal system which has bee a source of great cocer. We have icreased the umber of judges ad magistrates while at the same time addressig the ifrastructural problems iheret i the judicial ad the legal system as a whole. Regardig the ogoig ivestmet drive, our objective is to see icreased ivestmet ad busiess i maufacturig, agriculture, tourism, eergy, ifrastructure, iformatio ad commuicatio techology, export trade ad huma resource developmet. To this ed, I have made ivestmet promotio a major item o my developmet ageda. Now, let us have a look at the other side of the coi how has the bakig system performed ad what do we expect of it? I ote with satisfactio that there has bee a marked improvemet i the diversity ad quality of operatios ad services i the bakig sector i the recet past. For that, I commed you all. We cout o the fiacial sector to play a key role i cosolidatig our ecoomic gais. For, we caot make sigificat progress i Tazaia s growth drive uless the fiacial sector moves with us. First, there is eed to address public complaits o the bakig sector. There are complaits that baks ad fiacial istitutios i the coutry are ot aggressive eough i lookig for alterative ivestmet vehicles. They behave so poorly because they ear high returs by just ivestig i govermet securities ad Cetral Bak liquidity papers. The large profits declared by baks ad fiacial istitutios somehow cofirm this statemet. I am iformed that, the ratio of credit to customers deposits is about oly 45%. This meas that 55% of deposits is ivested i govermet securities, liquidity papers of the Cetral Bak of Tazaia ad i other assets. Secodly, we eed to fid a solutio to the preset huge spread betwee ledig ad deposit rates. While iflatio has falle from 30% i 1995 to aroud 6% at preset, the ledig rates have durig the same period declied more slowly from 37% to a average of 17% curretly. Apart from high ledig rates, borrowers are also charged loa admiistratio fees ragig from oe to two per cet. Coversely, I am iformed that most baks are offerig a mere oe to two per cet iterest o deposits which is egative i real terms whe assessed agaist the iflatio rate of 6%. I kow bakers have a log list of reasos to justify the substatial iterest spread, but hoestly, a spread of 15% ca hardly be justified. The bakig fraterity should do more to reduce the cost of credit i the ecoomy. I this regard, the baks ought to brig dow the cost of credit to reasoable levels so as to expad their clietele to iclude busiesses egaged i productio, for these are the busiesses which are curretly uable to climb the ladder with the baks. This icludes the developmet of loas products for the agricultural sector. Thirdly, I am iformed that some baks have floated ad others are cosiderig floatig bod products of log-term ature i a move to address the lack of log-term fiacig. I have also take ote of the fact that a few baks have vetured ito mortgage fiacig. I commed them for the move. For it is impossible for the majority of Tazaias to build houses from their ow savigs aloe. Remember, shelter is oe of the three basic eeds of humakid. The govermet is committed to facilitate a process that will eable most Tazaias to ow their ow houses. I have heard that the bakig sector prides itself o a etwork of 294 braches ad agecies, ad 176 Automated Teller Machies. Ufortuately, most of these are cocetrated i urba areas, leavig the bigger portio of our vast coutry without fiacial services. I suggest that the baks revisit their policies o brach expasio programmes. We wat all Tazaias to have easy access to bakig services. This is the oly way we ca truly iculcate a savigs culture i our society ad build cofidece i fiacial itermediatio. For, there is still too much moey circulatig outside the bakig system, a situatio which is ot healthy for our ecoomy. I am cofidet that the baks ca assist i the provisio of fiacial services i the rural ecoomy without ecessarily compromisig their returs o ivestmet. The Natioal Ecoomic Empowermet ad Job Creatio programme has domiated the ews recetly. This programme was itroduced by the govermet this fiscal year with a view to providig soft loas to idividual etrepreeurs, ecoomic groups ad fiacial itermediaries. The programme is to be implemeted i two phases. Phase Oe ivolvig the two big baks, amely CRDB ad NMB, ad the secod phase would ivolve small baks ad other fiacial itermediaries that would be iterested. I would like to take this opportuity to reiterate that the moey uder this programme is ot free moey. It is moey meat to facilitate the provisio of loas to targeted groups uder certai terms ad coditios. I this regard, the baks ad fiacial istitutios are expected to apply their ormal ledig priciples ad procedures whe processig applicatios from would-be borrowers, but, of course, takig ito accout the requiremets for the provisio of soft loas ad the fact that may of the cliets i this category are ot familiar with bakig rules. For the programme to succeed ad be sustaiable, loas should be repaid. I, therefore, call upo baks to joi hads with the govermet to esure that the programme succeeds. I believe that by workig together the govermet ad the bakig sector we ca meet the challege of buildig a stroger atioal ecoomy for the beefit of us all. It ca be doe, play your part. g NA Presidet Jakaya Kikwete rallies the troops Jue 2006 New Africa 53
Special Report Tazaia Tazaia A ivestor s have If you are lookig for a place to do busiess, Tazaia is oe such place you ca t afford to overlook. It is a coutry where ivestors are made to feel at home. Baffour Akomah reports. There is a cardial rule i govermet circles i Tazaia: You joke with ivestmet promotio ad you have o job to come to tomorrow. Ivestmet ad ivestors (both local ad foreig) have a special place i Tazaia. Ad their umber oe champio is oe other tha Presidet Jakaya Kikwete himself. There is o doubt that ivestmet egeders ecoomic growth, creates jobs ad raises people s icomes, hece it reduces poverty, the presidet told the Tazaia Bakers Associatio at its aual dier i Dar es Salaam o 3 April this year. It is with this realisatio, the presidet cotiued, that my govermet is quite kee o developig sustaiable partership with the fiacial sector ad the private sector as a whole, i order to create a coducive ivestmet climate i Tazaia. To this ed, I have made ivestmet promotio a major item o my developmet ageda. The presidet cotiued: We have agreed i govermet that we should give promiece to eight sectors ad sub-sectors i our ivestmet drive ad overall growth strategy. These iclude maufacturig, agriculture, tourism, eergy, ifrastructure, iformatio ad commuicatio techology (ICT), export trade ad huma resource developmet. Our objective is to see icreased ivestmet ad busiess i these sectors. We are ready to go to great legths to esure that these aspiratios are attaied, for, I believe that if we succeed i these areas, we will make a big leap forward i the developmet of our ecoomy. I, therefore, look forward to the cotiued support ad cooperatio of the bakig sector to eable us to succeed i these edeavours. At the heart of the govermet s ivestmet promotio drive is the Tazaia Ivestmet Cetre (TIC) headed by the affable Emmauel ole Naiko as executive director. The TIC is the govermet s promotioal agecy charged with two mai tasks: to promote ivestmet opportuities to foreig ivestors ad to develop local ivestors to be participats i the ecoomy. Additioally, it has the subsidiary task of portrayig a positive image for the coutry. The TIC performs these tasks by, first, facilitatig the etry of ivestors ito the ecoomy ad makig them happy to stay. Whe ivestors come here, says the TIC executive director, we help them to settle, ad after they had settled, we give them after-care services. This is doe through small groups of officials at the TIC who are charged with lookig after a give ivestor or group of ivestors. For example, says Emmauel ole Naiko, if a ivestor comes i ad says I wat to settle i Area A, we facilitate him through our oeshop cetre, ad after he is settled, we regularly visit him first after six moths to check if he has ay problems, say, with the city coucil or the local people. It is our resposibility to resolve such problems. The oe-shop cetre has become the core of the TIC s operatios. Before its establishmet i 2000, a ivestor had to go to various miistries to get the paperwork doe, with all the bureaucracy ivolved. Now all the relevat miistries, agecies ad istitutios that deal with ivestors ad busiess startups, have their seior officers based at the TIC ad operatig uder the directio of the TIC executive director. Thus, ivestors ca ow obtai all the relevat start-up documets ad facilities from the TIC s oe-shop cetre aythig from lad, busiess liceces, immigratio papers, etc. So, all that a ivestor ow does is to deposit his papers here ad we do the rest for him, says Naiko. We will say, please come back after 14 days to collect your papers, ad after 14 days he comes ad his papers are ready. Durig those 14 days, the ivestor could be doig somethig else. He does t eed to be chasig papers. We do all that for him, so that he wo t be exposed to the dagers of bureaucracy. We do t eve charge a fee for facilitatio, but oly for registratio. I March this year, the TIC was give the aual WAIPA award joitly with Portugal ad South Korea after beig adjudged amog 260 ivestmet promotio agecies worldwide to be geerators of best practices i the field. The three coutries were recogised for their the umber of ivestors comig ito Tazaia sice 2000 has bee icreasig steadily at the rate of 100 projects per year excellece i aftercare services to compaies that have established i their jurisdictios. The award was joitly give by WAIPA (World Associatio of Ivestmet Promotio Agecies) ad UNCTAD after a survey of 260 agecies worldwide. The survey looked at the way the agecies had bee set up, the legislatio they operated o, their madates, their etworkig with other govermet istitutios ad ivestors (ie, how free they were with ivestors ad how the ivestors feel about the agecies ad their usefuless to them, etc). The 260 agecies were whittled dow to 20, the after scrutiisig them, the best 10 were picked, ad the from the 10, they looked for the best three who were give the first category. Tazaia, Portugal ad South Korea came joit top. Portugal ad South Korea are pretty big players i the ivestmet field, which shows that we have doe very, very well, said a very happy Ole Naiko. I fact, I did t expect us to wi, so I did t eve go to Geeva myself to pick up the trophy. I had just retured from abroad with the presidet, so I just set my 54 New Africa Jue 2006
director of research to represet us. Also promiet i the govermet s ivestmet promotio drive is the Natioal Ivestmet Steerig Committee (NISC) chaired by the prime miister. The NISC also helps ivestors by resolvig cross-sector issues that oe miistry caot deal with. Ole Naiko also doubles as the secretary of the committee. The attorey geeral ad the goveror of the Cetral Bak are also members. The NISC ad the TIC hold regular dialogue with the private sector through the Tazaia Natioal Busiess Coucil (TNBC) where the govermet ad the private sector meet. The TNBC is the umbrella body of the private sector i the coutry. Through such dialogue, 11 obstacles that militated agaist busiess have bee idetified ad dealt with. Oe was the Lad Act of 1999 which was ot coducive to the baks ad foreig ivestors. The Act was duly ameded as well as sectios of the labour laws which were ot ivestor-friedly. We looked at tax issues, we looked at the busiess eviromet i geeral, we looked at the judicial system, we looked at the ecoomic reforms ad so o, says Naiko. So we have bee workig very, very closely with the private sector, so much so that some people i govermet have mistakely labelled the TIC as a private sector orgaisatio. Sometimes whe I travel with the presidet, some of my colleagues i govermet treat me as a private sector ma eve though I am a govermet employee. It is because sometimes I go out of my way ad speak o behalf of the private sector. Because of the ew ivestor-friedly eviromet i the coutry, the umber of ivestors comig ito Tazaia sice 2000 has bee icreasig steadily at the rate of 100 projects per year. Last year, the umber hit a al-time high whe 679 ew projects were registered. Ad the mixture of projects is what really pleases us most, says a proud Ole Naiko. Ivestors (both local ad foreig) are ivestig i various sectors. So far, 25% of them have bee foreig, 45% local, ad 30% joit vetures. To haress its resources ad services, the TIC deals oly with local ivestors whose projects are worth US$100,000 or more, ad foreig ivestors US$300,000 or more. Presidet Kikwete is very kee o joit vetures betwee locals ad foreigers. So what we do at the TIC is to idetify ad develop local etrepreeurs ad people with busiess talet for bakable projects ad joit vetures with foreig ivestors, says Naiko. Miig So far Tazaia has bee very successful i attractig ivestors i miig. It is ow the third largest producer of gold i Africa, after South Africa ad Ghaa. We started gettig ivestors ito the miig sector i 1998, after Above: Emmauel ole Naiko (left), executive director of the Tazaia Ivestmet Cetre (TIC), receives the WAIPA award give to the TIC i recogitio of its good work Jue 2006 New Africa 55
Special Report Tazaia Zazibar s spledid coastlie has much to offer the visitor eactig a ew miig code, explais the TIC boss. Before the, we had a miig code that was very, very restrictive, especially to foreigers. Before the ew code was eacted, we sat dow with foreig ivestors ad talked about what they wated. We also looked at the global situatio, ad adopted the best practice the available. Today, if you look at the miig idustry i Tazaia, there are over 3,000 compaies prospectig all over the coutry i gold, ti, coal, all types of mierals. The govermet also ecourages compaies operatig i the coutry to be listed ot oly o the stock exchages of the world, but also o the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchage so that Tazaias ca buy shares from there. The other sector i which Tazaia has doe well is maufacturig, pricipally because the coutry has privatised its lossmakig parastatals. However, agro-idustry still lags behid. We are still a raw-produce ecoomy, because we are ot addig value to our agricultural produce before export, says Ole Naiko. For example, we produce a lot of cashew uts from the south of Tazaia, but 98% of this productio is exported raw. This is terrible. So we are tryig to ecourage ivestors to come here ad add value to the cashew uts before export. We ve doe some valueadditio to coffee ad tea, but ot very much. Regardig textiles, Naiko says: It is a extremely competitive idustry ad what we wat to do ow is to ivite people to look at this part of productio. We are producig cotto here, which is good but ot very much. But we started i a wrog way, we started with fabric oly. We did ot cocetrate i other areas, for example, the productio of yar. The coutry hopes to attract at least oe millio tourists a year That is why we wat people to come here ad ivest i that part of productio. Tourism Compared to its potetial ad resources, especially i ecotourism, Tazaia has ot doe well i this area. For example, it does t have eough hotels. If you go to the atioal parks, for istace the famous Seregeti, which is our pride, you fid that the bed capacity is about 900 or so, says Ole Naiko. If you go to the other side of the atioal park which is i Keya the Masai Mara, a small portio abuttig the Seregeti plais they have over 8,000 beds. Whe we wet to Japa last year, their tour operators told our presidet: We would like to come to Tazaia, but you ve got a shortage of beds. The truth is that we have ot developed tourism i terms of hotels, Naiko cotiues. Our beaches are ot developed, we ve ot developed our historical sites, we ve ot developed city tourism; if you come to Dar es Salaam, I caot take you to such ad such a place, but they do it i Cape Tow i South Africa, they will take you to the Table Moutai, or to the Ostriches, for example. So we are ecouragig ivestors to come to these areas of our tourism idustry. We wat tourists to see aimals i Dar es Salaam or good historical sites ad ejoy the good beaches we have. Some people go to Zazibar just to subathe o the beach, that is very good, but why ca t they do the same o the mailad with a 800km coastlie? We still have a lot to do i tourism. The coutry hopes to attract at least oe millio tourists a year ad be able to accommodate them all i beautiful hotels. We ca take a leaf from Mauritius where tourism is exclusive ad expesive. Otherwise, you ca go to Mombasa i Keya ad fid a lot of beach tourism. There, you ca lear what ot to do. I Mauritius, you fid what to do. You go to Thailad, you see what to do ad what ot to do. So there are may examples for us to choose from. Telecoms Amog the other sectors that have grow fast over the last few years is telecoms. From a sigle state-owed provider, the Tazaia Telecommuicatios Corporatio, that serviced 150,000 fixed lie subscribers i 1998, the telecom sector has six millio subscribers today of both fixed ad mobile lies. Ad I ca t catch up with the umbers, because they are comig up with ew products every day, says Ole Naiko. Right ow if I am i Lodo or New York, I ca commuicate with my mother i the village. But before the, it was a privilege to have a telephoe. Today it is o loger a privilege. The rapid growth of the telecoms sector is ascribed to the eablig eviromet put i place by the govermet which ecouraged private operators such as Vodafoe, Celtel, Tigo ad others to come i. 56 New Africa Jue 2006
Special Report Tazaia A mosquito et factory i Arusha. "We wat ivestors i textiles," says the TIC boss Roads Accordig to Naiko, the other area where the coutry is weak is ifrastructure. We ve got a good etwork of 85,000km of roads, but we ve ot put i place legislatio for the private sector to come i ad operate toll roads like i South Africa where 68% of roads are private roads. The same happes i Chia ad USA, so we wat ivestors to come ad look ito the opportuity of developig roads. Fiace Aother sector that is growig slowly is the fiacial sector, although the umber of private baks ad fiacial istitutios has bee icreasig appreciably i the last few years. Accordig to Naiko, the coutry eeds developmet baks that led for the log term. He also wats them to diversify their products by brigig i lease fiacig. Elsewhere, he would wat to see the huge reserves of pesio fuds ow sittig idle to be used for the bettermet of the coutry. We aim to empower more Tazaias to eter the private sector. We wat everybody to be o board Skills Aother area is capital ad skills developmet, Ole Naiko says. We do t have specialised schools of higher learig that trai high-flyig maagers ad techicias. If you take miig, for example, the idustry does ot have eough qualified techicias. So we are ecouragig ivestors to come ad establish this type of schools. As happes everywhere, ot every Tazaia is happy with what local critics have called the foreigisatio of the ecoomy. There have bee criticisms by some Tazaias who claim that uder the former presidet, William Mkapa, the coutry wet through a period of foreigisatio whe plum atioal assets were sold off to foreigers, particularly white South Africa compaies, durig the coutry s privatisatio drive. This is osese, says Ole Naiko. I heard, ad still hear, these criticisms from people who did ot kow what was goig o. I this, Naiko is supported by the miister for plaig, ecoomy ad empowermet, Dr Juma Ngasogwa, who cofirms that whe it comes to ivestmet i Tazaia, South Africa comes a poor seveth. The umber oe ivestor i Tazaia is the UK, followed by Keya, Idia, Chia, ad either Germay or Hollad. South Africa is i fact seveth. Which is why the TIC boss wats the critics to be realistic. For those of us who were ivolved, Naiko says, what we witessed durig the socialist days whe we believed that all the idustries must be ours (belogig to the state), we watched i horror as the idustries completely collapsed. We could t cotiue with the loss-makig corporatios, so we had to privatise. Ad the privatisatio was doe o the back of a act of parliamet ad after log discussios ad debates by the public. So I laugh whe I hear criticisms about the foreigisatio of our ecoomy. These criticisms were, ad still are, made by people who ejoy makig criticisms for the sake of it. They are ot realistic. For example, whe the New Africa Hotel i the heart of Dar es Salaam was privatised, the govermet kept 23% of the shares without puttig i a ickel. Ad those shares were later sold to Tazaias. The same happeed to Tazaia Breweries ad the Tazaia Cigarette Compay. The shares kept by the govermet eabled may Tazaias, icludig myself, to buy shares i Tazaia Breweries which was bought by South Africa Breweries. The govermet 58 New Africa Jue 2006
INVESTMENT CLIMATE FACILITY FOR AFRICA (ICF) EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES Ivestmet Climate Facility for Africa (ICF) is a charitable orgaisatio which has bee set up to improve the busiess climate i Africa. Its fudig comes from a mixture of multi ad bilateral fiaciers ad corporate orgaisatios. The operatios of the ICF are oversee by a Board of Trustees. The ICF Headquarters is i the process of beig set up i Dar es Salaam, Tazaia. The Chief Executive Officer has bee appoited ad ow wishes to recruit four Directors. Fiace Director (referece ICF/FD) Will report to the CEO ad Be resposible for the fiace fuctio at ICF icludig the maagemet of the Trust Fuds Major Duties ad Resposibilities Develop ad implemet policies, procedures ad fiacial maagemet systems dealig with multiple currecies Prepare aual ad medium term budgets Prepare mothly maagemet accouts Prepare aual fiacial statemets together with supportig schedules for audit by exteral auditors Esure compliace with tax regulatios Supervise fiace staff withi ICF Prepare Board papers relatig to fiacial issues Assist i solicitig ad securig fudig ad liaise with corporate, govermetal ad multilateral fiacial istitutios Qualificatios, Experiece ad Skills Graduate from a reputable uiversity Qualified professioal accoutat ad member of a recogised accoutig istitutio At least 5 years fiacial maagemet experiece i the Africa cotiet i a seior positio withi a orgaisatio ideally with icome i excess of US$ 80 millio or equivalet Experiece of workig i the private sector, fud raisig, project accoutig ad reportig, fud maagemet, commercial bakig ad operatig withi a commercial eviromet are highly desired Good iterpersoal ad commuicatio skills i writte ad spoke Eglish, ad ideally also i Frech Computer literate, with practical experiece of accoutig packages Projects Director (referece ICF/PD) Will report to the CEO ad Be resposible for the programme maagemet fuctio at ICF icludig the idetificatio of projects Major Duties ad Resposibilities Idetify ad evaluate suitable projects agaist ICF s Project Selectio Criteria, ad moitor approved projects Recruit techical assistace to oversee the approved projects Recruit ad supervise cosultats to oversee ad carry out the approved projects Esure appropriate programme maagemet policies, procedures ad systems are i place, sufficiet to meet fiacial sposors reportig requiremets Supervise programme maagemet staff withi ICF Prepare Board papers relatig to project maagemet issues Liaise with corporate, govermetal ad multilateral fiacial istitutios Qualificatios, Experiece ad Skills Graduate from a reputable uiversity Professioal qualificatio i busiess, ecoomics, fiace At least 5 years busiess developmet experiece i the Africa cotiet i a seior positio withi a orgaisatio ideally with icome i excess of US$ 80 millio or equivalet Experiece of idetifyig ad implemetig a variety of projects usig commercial priciples ad/or withi the private sector is highly desired Good iterpersoal ad commuicatio skills i writte ad spoke Eglish, ad ideally also i Frech Computer literate Director, Strategic Kowledge (referece ICF/DSK) Will report to the CEO ad Be resposible for the strategic kowledge fuctio at ICF icludig the measuremet of progress agaist defied idicators Major Duties ad Resposibilities Esure that best practices withi the busiess ad ivestmet climate are made kow withi ICF as iput i determiig suitable projects Recruit ad supervise cosultats to review various aspects of the ivestmet climate i Africa coutries Esure appropriate procedures, systems ad data bases are i place, sufficiet to measure ad moitor the impact of the programme agaist defied idicators Supervise strategic maagemet staff withi ICF Prepare Board papers relatig to strategic kowledge issues Liaise with corporate, govermetal ad multilateral fiacial istitutios Qualificatios, Experiece ad Skills Graduate from a reputable uiversity Professioal qualificatio i busiess, ecoomics, fiace, regulatio, or law At least 5 years experiece i oe or more of the priority areas for ICF coverig property rights ad cotract eforcemet, busiess registratio ad licesig, taxatio ad customs, fiacial markets, ifrastructure facilitatio, labour markets ad competitio, preferably with some experiece of these issues i Africa, ideally workig i the private sector Good iterpersoal ad commuicatio skills i writte ad spoke Eglish, ad ideally also i Frech Computer literate Director, Legal/Regulatory Affairs (referece ICF/DLRA) Will report to the CEO ad Be the legal/compay secretary ad resposible for the legal ad regulatory affairs at ICF Major Duties ad Resposibilities Act as legal/compay secretary Esure that best practices for legal ad regulatory affairs withi the busiess ad ivestmet climate are made kow withi ICF as iput i determiig suitable projects Recruit ad supervise cosultats to review legal ad regulatory aspects of the ivestmet climate i Africa coutries Prepare Board papers relatig to legal ad regulatory affairs issues Liaise with corporate, govermetal ad multilateral fiacial istitutios Qualificatios, Experiece ad Skills Graduate from a reputable uiversity Professio qualificatio i regulatory ecoomics, regulatio, or law, or qualified lawyer At least 5 years experiece i oe of more of the priority areas for ICF coverig property rights ad cotract eforcemet, busiess registratio ad licesig, taxatio ad customs, fiacial markets, ifrastructure facilitatio, labour markets ad competitio, preferably with some experiece of these issues i Africa Experiece of actig as a legal/compay secretary, ideally i the private sector Good iterpersoal ad commuicatio skills i writte ad spoke Eglish, ad ideally also i Frech Computer literate If you believe you meet the criteria outlied above, please apply i writig, i strict cofidece, to the address below eclosig a applicatio letter, a typed curriculum vitae that cotais details of your qualificatios, experiece, preset positio, curret remueratio, copies of academic certificates, cotact details ad ames of three refereces, icludig your curret employer (who will ot be cotacted without your prior approval). Executive Search & Selectio PricewaterhouseCoopers Iteratioal House P O Box 45 Dar es Salaam, Tazaia Fax: 255-22-2133200 E-mail: recruit@tz.pwc.com ICF iteds to be a multi cultural orgaizatio ad applicatios are ecouraged from all atioalities, religios ad geder. Further iformatio o ICF ca be obtaied from its website www.icfafrica.org Applicatios should be received before the close of busiess o Jue 15th 2007
Special Report Tazaia usual ot as fast as we wat. That is why we cotiue to have dialogue with the private sector through the Tazaia Natioal Busiess Coucil. We aim to empower more Tazaias to eter the private sector. We wat to capture everybody. We wat everybody to be o board. It is ow the third largest producer of gold i Africa, after South Africa ad Ghaa The top two people i the coutry are firmly o our side, totally committed to ivestmet promotio Presidet Kikwete (left) ad Prime Miister Edward Lowassa retaied a certai percetage of shares which it later sold to Tazaia citizes, ad I thik that is the way it should be. Naiko cotiued: Durig the socialist era, pubic servats ad members of the rulig party were ot allowed to do busiess or ow shares i capitalist firms, which were ot there ayway. So where were we goig to get Tazaias with the moey to buy the state corporatios which were collapsig? Did we have to wait util Tazaias got rich eough ad bought the corporatios? Doig busiess today is ot a questio of foreigisatio or localisatio. It is a Emmauel global ole busiess. Naiko, You executive look at the airlie idustry where mergers ad acquisitios are the director order of the of the Tazaia day. But because of our socialist backgroud as a coutry ad people, we are Ivestmet always Cetre lookig (TIC) at this receives is ours ad must be kept as ours. We used to have the Natioal Millig Corporatio which was i charge of millig all the grais i the coutry ad sellig some rice ad so o. What did Tazaias beefit whe this compay existed, whe we used to queue for bread? It just does ot make sese! Right ow, whe you look at the busiesses goig o i Tazaia, eve some of the so-called privatised compaies, say the cigarettes compay which was first take over by a British compay ad later sold to the Japaese, the shares i that compay have ow bee sold to Tazaias. So you eed to allow whoever is able to rescue the situatio to do so, but the importat thig is to take precautios that will eable the atio to beefit from such privatisatio. I fact, Presidet Kikwete s govermet is kee to develop such parterships, ot by way of legislatio, as Naiko puts it, but by creatig a eviromet that eables both foreigers ad locals to buy ito such busiesses. Havig said that, he cotiued, there are certai strategic compaies i Tazaia which will ever be privatised. For example, the port, the railways ad the atioal airlie, they will just be o cocessio ad will ot go ito aybody s hads. They will be ours. Private sector Tazaia s private sector came ito beig oly after the eactmet of the first ivestmet code i 1990 which allowed idividuals ad compaies to participate i the ecoomy. Eve the 1990 code had segregatios that set apart areas for locals oly such as barbers shops, saloos, taxis ad so o. Other areas were oly ope to public corporatios, baks, isurace compaies, etc. Thus, the private sector trickled i slowly, Naiko remembers. Foreig ivestors came slowly because thigs were bad before 1995 whe the bureaucracy, the still etrechig, became too cumbersome to deal with. So i 1996 we got a ew ivestmet code ad thigs took o a ew life. Sice the, the private sector has bee very dyamic, it is developig very fast, but as The future Accordig to the TIC boss, the flow of ivestmets ito the coutry will icrease cosiderably i the ext few years. The future is bright, he says. First of all, we have the highest level of support from the presidet himself ad the govermet i geeral. Ad that is critical. If you wat to embark o ay ivestmet promotio, you must have govermet support, ad we have it i abudace here. Whe WAIPA gave TIC the award this year, they looked at the depth of the agecy s coectios with the govermet ad its other istitutios. For us, we are lucky that the presidet himself is the umber oe ivestmet promoter ad facilitator. He does ot take kidly to aybody who mishadles ivestors. Because he believes that ivestmet is oe of the mai tools which will help us reduce poverty by creatig jobs. So we have political support. The prime miister too is committed to ivestmet promotio. So the top two people i the coutry are firmly o our side, totally committed to ivestmet promotio. So far, the flow of ivestmet has kept me very busy, so much so that I hardly see my family these days. It s tough. But what pleases me is that we have a good ad dedicated team at the TIC to help the ivestors who are comig. It is a wi-wi situatio. g NA 60 New Africa Jue 2006
Fiace miister We are o course I the past, Tazaia was heavily depedet o door fudig to ru its affairs, eve to pay govermet salaries. Now o more, thaks to the determiatio of Presidet Kikwete s govermet to be self-sufficiet. Baffour Akomah reports. Fiace Miister Zakia Hamdai Meghji: We have wideed the tax base. It is importat that we become self-sufficiet i the developmet budget Foreig aid still costitutes 40% of Tazaia s developmet budget which goes ito the buildig of the geeral ifrastructure as opposed to the recurret budget which fiaces govermet procuremet, paymet of salaries, ad other day-to-day expediture. Accordig to the fiace miister, Zakia Hamdai Meghji, the recurret budget is ow 100% fiaced by Tazaia. Previously we eve used to deped o door moey to pay salaries. Fortuately we do t do that aymore, the fiace miister told New Africa. We defiitely eed door fudig eve ow, but we are tryig to scale it dow. Tazaia ow ows the developmet ageda, ad we are more focused. All the support from abroad is ow geared towards the atioal poverty reductio programme called Mkukuta i Swahili. Accordig to her, the ecoomic growth ad stability of the last few years, ad the improved reveue collectio ad ehaced foreig direct ivestmet sice Presidet Kikwete s govermet came ito office, have made it possible for the coutry to ow fiace the recurret budget o its ow. She says that whe the ew govermet came ito office, it set itself a target of Tshs157b tax collectio per moth. It was later revised to Tshs200b a moth, but i February this year it collected Tshs259b. We have wideed the tax base, she says, ad what really pleases me is that the compliace rate has icreased cosiderably. People ad busiesses are ow happy to hoour their tax resposibilities. It is importat that we become self-sufficiet i the developmet budget. Ad we are o course. She adds that today, istead of the 80 large taxpayers i the coutry who used to be see as the cash-cow, the umber is ow 160. Ad as the ecoomy grows, import cover has icreased from two moths to six moths of foreig currecy. It used to be eight moths import cover util last year s drought ad power cuts caused problems for the ecoomy. Despite these short-term problems, she says, we are achievig our micro-ecoomic targets. Iflatio used to be high, but it is ow dow to 4.9%. Debt cacellatio (especially from the IMF) has also made a impact o the ecoomy. Moey released from debt cacellatio has goe ito the provisio of eergy ad food, but other debt cacellatio fuds from the World Bak ad the Africa Developmet Bak are yet to be received, due to log-draw procedures of the two baks. O the domestic frot, laws stregtheig the fight agaist corruptio have bee tighteed ad a ew ati-corruptio bill goig through parliamet will give extra bite to the battle. The media have also helped i exposig corruptio. The govermet has also icreased salaries (the miimum wage is ow Tshs84,000 a moth, it was Tshs44,000 i 2005, ad icreased to Tshs65,000 whe Kikwete s govermet came to power i December 2005). Though the IMF ad World Bak were ot too happy with the icreases, the govermet felt it had to do so to retai skilled people i the coutry, istead of seeig them migrate to greeer pastures. So far, says the miister, we are very happy with the performace of the private sector. It is the egie of growth; we are workig closely together, ad they are complyig with their tax resposibilities. g NA Jue 2006 New Africa 61
Special Report Tazaia The gree revolutio takes root Prof Mark Mwadosya, Tazaia s eviromet miister, talks to Baffour Akomah about the quiet gree revolutio goig o i the coutry which has see 100 millio trees plated i the p ast four years. Baffour Akomah: What s your gree policy like? Prof Mark Mwadosya: I like your term gree policy ; we call it eviromet policy. But it is a gree policy all the same. Ad let me start with a disclaimer: Thigs are ot as beautiful as you thik. I do t wat to give ourselves too much credit, because we may relax ad believe that everythig is fie. If you travel to the iterior of the coutry, you will fid that a large part is dry lad ad semi-desert. The biggest challege for us is to cotrol that situatio. The lush gree you see i Dar es Salaam ad alog the coast is because of the humid coditios of the Idia Ocea affectig the vegetatio. That s why Dar es Salaam is gree almost throughout the year. But let me talk about the atioal eviromet policy. I the 1990s, everybody was doig his ow thig, so we decided as a atio to focus our efforts uder a atioal eviromet policy to act as a guide about the challeges, ad what we should do ad who should do it. So we promulgated that policy through a participatory process, startig from the grassroots, talkig to people about what they thought were the challeges ad what they were goig to do about it. It was a atioal cosesus. We the moved a stage further i 2004 ad came up with a all-embracig law, called the Natioal Eviromet Maagemet Law. Every aspect of atioal developmet has some kid of elemet related to the eviromet be it water, health, agriculture, miig, you ame it. So we wated a law which would be a umbrella law that assiged resposibilities to every sector of atioal life. Last year we came up with a ladmark strategy which was a departure from everythig we were doig before, by focusig o the coservatio of lad ad water sources. If you had come last year, you would have foud Dar es Salaam very dry. It had bee so for two or three years. The atio was facig a very critical time. Baffour: Was it because of the drought? Mwadosya: It was because of the drought leadig to severe power ratioig which has cotributed to ecoomic problems i terms Eviromet miister, Mark Mwadosya: If you do t plat trees, I do t come to your fuctio of a drop i our GNP growth. But we ve had a lot of rais this year ad thigs have chaged. We have ow defied 12 challeges i the atioal strategy for the coservatio of lad ad the protectio of water sources, icludig the ivasio of water sources by livestock herders. It souds a bit dracoia but we had to literally move thousads of herds of cattle particularly from wetlads, ad i oe importat basi i the coutry, we had to move i excess of oe millio herds of cattle ad resettle them elsewhere. The results have bee very dramatic. All of a sudde, the water level of this protected wetlad has goe up, so the wildlife has retured, ad we see a dramatic chage i the discharges from this wetlad. It has bee a major success. Of course, it was costly but we have succeeded. Aother challege was i the way people cultivated, particularly the peasats who farmed as ear as possible, almost ecroachig o water sources, ad also cultivatig at the top of moutai rages, the sprigs which are the sources of water. We also did somethig drastic about this ad defied the altitude at which farmers could t cultivate i the highlads, ad also the distace beyod which they could t cultivate alog river baks. We the tackled the big problem of trees, because as I said earlier much of the coutry has little tree cover, particularly the cetral parts. First of all, we icreased our efforts i tree platig, the creatio of tree urseries, ad ecouraged people to plat trees. We emphasised ot oly platig but makig sure that the youg trees survived ad were protected. We the brought i competitio amog villages, schools, districts, etc, to ecourage them to look after the trees. We also tackled tree fellig. If you go to may costructio sites, particularly i Dar es Salaam, may cotractors use woode poles to support their scaffoldig. Ad these are youg trees that they have cut to hold the scaffoldig. So we are workig with the architects ad egieers associatios ad buildig cotractors to chage that mode of costructio. We wat them to use steel poles, ad if they should use woode poles at all, they must come from tree platatios because that is reewable i a sese. We also kow that we ca t succeed if we do t work with the people. So awareess creatio has bee the cetrepiece of our strategy. To me, the most importat part of my work is workig with the people, creatig awareess, talkig to them, usig the media, platig trees ad beig i the forests with them. Baffour: So how may trees have you plated so far? Mwadosya: Coutrywide, we have plated 100 millio trees i the last four years. Last year we upped the ate, ad decided that every district will have to plat a miimum 1.5 millio trees ad make sure that the trees survive. Ad we have 134 districts. Our district ad provicial commissioers are overseeig this programme. But there is somethig more: The presidet has said that tree platig ad tree survival are too importat to leave to the system ad hope they will work. So he has istituted a prize, the presidetial prize for tree platig, tree protectio, ad the coservatio of water sources. There will be competitio amog the districts ad hopefully we wat to go right dow to the villages. The target is a miimum 62 New Africa Jue 2006
of 1.5 millio trees plated, survived ad protected every year. We will give special attetio to those who plat idigeous trees as opposed to exotic trees or ivasive species. We are doig this for the first time. The prize was istituted last year, but our year starts from July to Jue, so the presidet will give the best prize aually o 5 Jue, which marks World Eviromet Day. The presidet will also give a prize to the miig idustry, to ecourage competitio, awareess ad a sese of resposibility for evirometal protectio by the miig compaies. Baffour: I also hear every New Year s Day is tree platig day i Tazaia? Mwadosya: It is called tree platig day but we always remid people that if the presidet plats a tree o 1 Jauary, he sigals tree platig as a activity for that year. So people should ot thik that well we plated the trees o 1 Jauary so we go to sleep for the rest of the year. No, I remid them that it is ot a tree platig day, it is the begiig of the tree platig seaso wherever you are. Yes, tree platig has chaged the face of Dar es Salaam. You see a lot of urseries alog the roads, ad wherever there are urseries, the place is gree because ursery owers actually plat the differet Coutrywide we have plated 100 millio trees i the last four years seedligs to show to their customers what trees they have o offer. Ad we have thousads of them i the city, helpig to make the city look gree. It is remarkable. I really have great respect for the ursery owers. Baffour: I am told that i the past Dar es Salaam was t this gree. Mwadosya: I would say it happeed over the last 10 to 15 years. Baffour: Ad I hear it was oe of your former prime miisters who really pushed tree platig as a big-time activity. Mwadosya: Well, if we are to apportio credit, I will say oe of the greatest evirometalists who ever lived i Tazaia was Mwalimu Nyerere, our first presidet. His speeches o the eviromet were remarkable, ad he himself had great iterest i plats. He was fatastic. The other day I played back oe of his speeches o the eviromet, ad I said, Oh, I do t eed to say aythig, I just have to switch o this speech ad sit back. Baffour: But you said 10 to 15 years ago, Dar es Salaam was ot this gree. Does t it mea that, although Mwalimu Nyerere may have give great speeches o the eviromet, ot much was achieved practically uder his log reig? Mwadosya: Well, let me qualify the statemet 10 to 15 years ago. I terms of size ad populatio, everythig i Dar es Salaam has grow, icludig etrepreeurship which has evolved amog the youg people who have ow established tree urseries alog the roads. But Mwalimu was the drivig force. The speech that I listeed to two days ago, he gave it i Dodoma i 1996, at the atioal semiar o the eviromet. He used to give those speeches all the time. Perhaps what we see ow is the result of what he was talkig about. So whatever I do, if I am ivited to a fuctio i Dar es Salaam or i a village, I make sure that tree platig is o the ageda or I do t come. Now they kow that the evet could be urelated to trees, but it must iclude tree platig as a activity. I fact, it has become istictive If you do t plat trees, I do t come to your fuctio. g NA Trees have chaged the face of Dar es Salaam Jue 2006 New Africa 63
Special Report Tazaia Ivestig i tomorrow s leaders today How do you prepare taleted youg people to become Tazaia s future leaders? The Iteratioal School Moshi (ISM) i the Kilimajaro regio of Tazaia is attemptig through its Studet Scholarship Programme to address the issue of how the coutry trais its future leaders today. With geerous support from Barrick Gold Tazaia (Bulyahulu Gold Mie), KLM Royal Dutch Airlies ad parets tuitio fees, ISM has offered ie scholarship studets from across Tazaia the opportuity to study for their Iteratioal Baccalaureate Diploma. Scholarships cover all costs associated with the studets study, icludig tuitio, boardig ad extracurricular activities. Through a partership with TaEdu, a Tazaia NGO providig educatioal iformatio ad services, ISM is able to offer scholarship places to studets who have excelled i the atioal Form Four examiatios. Oe of those studets, Stephe Lwedo, who took up a scholarship place at ISM i 2004, gaied 42 out of a possible 45 poits i his Iteratioal Baccalaureate Diploma last year ad is ow studyig egieerig at Harvard Uiversity o a full scholarship. Curretly i Tazaia, atural leaders do emerge but mostly through persoal struggle ad determiatio, says the ISM s developmet officer, Ae Wilshi. So how do you eable those taleted youg people, stadig o the bottom rug of the socioecoomic ladder ad strugglig just to meet their ow basic eeds, to excel academically ad become this coutry s future leaders? At Iteratioal School Moshi we are tryig to aswer this questio by offerig scholarship places to studets whose parets caot afford to educate them beyod primary school. Oe of our curret scholarship studets is the first perso from his commuity to atted secodary school i 15 years. Mhula takes a 28-hour bus jourey to reach our school from his village, where his parets are subsistece rice farmers. He is academically gifted ad totally committed to helpig his local commuity. How would Tazaia be able to use his talets i the future without iitiatives like this? Ivestig i educatio across Tazaia is extremely importat ad at the same time, Tazaia eeds home-grow leaders ow to guide the coutry s developmet efforts. Our scholarship programme is Nicholaus Mollel (left) ad Stephe Lwedo who wo Iteratioal School Moshi scholarships last year are curretly studyig at Amherst ad Harvard (USA) respectively helpig those future leaders to develop their academic potetial, global perspective ad sese of persoal directio. Although the scholarship programme has oly bee ruig sice 2003, the ISM is cofidet that those graduates curretly studyig i the USA will retur to Tazaia after fiishig their degrees. Ms Wilshi says: Tazaia has a very good track record of studets returig here after completig their educatio people really do wat to come back ad make a differece. Through the Iteratioal Baccalaureate curriculum that we teach, we ecourage our studets to lear from differet perspectives ad to brig that learig back to their ow commuity. Our scholarship studets wat to repay the ivestmet they feel people have made i them. g NA (For more iformatio o Iteratioal School Moshi s Scholarship Programme, see p68.) 64 New Africa Jue 2006
Golde Tulip The place to be The Golde Tulip Dar es Salaam is situated i the traquil gree area of the Msasai Peisula. The seaside locatio gives guests a fatastic view of the Idia Ocea. The architecture is ispired by the Arabic iflueces of the Swahili Coast ad provides a luxurious atmosphere. The etrace hall is spectacular with its stately pillars, rotuda ad grad dome. The hotel offers a wide variety of busiess ad leisure facilities. Its moder baquet rooms are perfect veues for meetigs, semiars, cocktail parties, diers ad other busiess fuctios for up to 500 people. The fie diig restaurat Saaa (Swahili word for art) is situated o the first floor ad offers moder fusio cuisie. The Ifiity pool helps guests to relax amidst the fatastic Idia Ocea horizo all aroud. It is the largest ad most exclusive swimmig pool i the whole of Dar es Salaam. The pool surface majestically bleds i with the horizo of the Idia Ocea. Massage, maicure ad pedicure are available by the poolside every weeked. Various coferece packages are available to suit the eeds of guests. Arragemets for small groups ad special demads are also available. Special idoor ad outdoor veues are available for high level meetigs, cocktails ad diers. I total, the hotel has 84 well-appoited full-sized rooms of 38 square metres each, four executive suites, two diplomatic suites ad oe Presidetial Suite. All rooms ad suites have sea views with private balcoy ad offer all the comfort ay guest would expect. May Africa presidets, attedig cofereces ad summits i Dar es Salaam, have stayed at the hotel. All rooms are aircoditioed ad have satellite televisio, data ports, large writig desks, safe, direct dial iteratioal telephoe, iteret coectio, ad tea/coffee makig facilities. The hotel has the largest Presidetial Suite i Tazaia (260 square metres of comfort, overlookig the Idia Ocea ad the skylie of Dar es Salaam). This famous suite has hosted heads of state, celebrities, ewlyweds, ad guests who appreciate comfort, quality, discretio ad security. The hotel also offers two Diplomatic Suites, both 125 square metres i size. These suites offer the perfect accommodatio for the well-seasoed traveller ad have a full ocea view ad balcoy. Each suite cosists of a bedroom with bathroom/jacuzzi ad a livig room combied with a fully equipped kitche, diig area ad guest bathroom. The hotel also has four Executive Suites, each 60 square metres i space which offer the ideal accommodatio for the traveller i eed of a livig room ad a comfortable bedroom. A private terrace o the ocea side adjoiig the garde offers a relaxed eviromet for ay legth of stay, ad visitors ca be received through a separate etrace. g NA
Special Report Tazaia Telecoms Celtel Tazaia sets the pace Tazaia has a vibrat cellular market, ad oe of the three major players is Celtel. Bashar Arafeh, maagig director of Celtel Tazaia, talked to Baffour Akomah. The telecoms sector i Tazaia is very vibrat... There are may players ad as such it is a very competitive market Baffour: Ca you give us a brief history of Celtel Tazaia? Bashar Arafeh: Celtel Tazaia was lauched i November 2001 ad was the fifth etrat ito a highly competitive cellular market i Tazaia. Over the last five years, Celtel has grow to become the etwork coverage leader i the coutry. Celtel Tazaia Ltd is part of the MTC group which operates as Celtel i Africa. MTC group is the fifth largest mobile operator i the world i terms of geographic footprit servig i markets with a total populatio of 470 millio people. The MTC group has a presece i 15 Africa coutries: Tazaia, Keya, Nigeria, Ugada, Zambia, Malawi, Cogo Brazzaville, Gabo, Sierra Leoe, Chad, DRCogo, Burkia Faso, Niger, Madagascar ad (Mobitel i) Suda. The MTC group also operates i five Middle Easter coutries: Kuwait, Bahrai, Jorda, Iraq ad Lebao. MTC has just wo a licece i Saudi Arabia. This will icrease our size to 21 coutries. Baffour: What is the competitio like, ad the percetage of your market share? Arafeh: There are may players i the telecoms sector i Tazaia ad as such it is a very competitive market. Celtel has aroud 40% market share. Baffour: What ew products have you itroduced, ad what is i the pipelie? Arafeh: Celtel offers a wide rage of commuicatio solutios for its customers. It was the first to lauch the borderless etwork for its customers i East Africa Oe Network. This service eables our customers to use the same SIM card i all three coutries of East Africa at host coutry tariffs, ad top up airtime usig host coutry vouchers, amog other beefits. Celtel was also the first to lauch GPRS/EDGE which eables customers to have access to multimedia message service, iteret ad Celtel portal aywhere i Tazaia. For the time beig, the mai obstacle i the uptake of GPRS/EDGE is coverage ad adoptio, ot speed. Providig that market coditios allow for this, ad as we grow this base of users, we will also cotiue to further ivest i the techology with a view to lauchig a ehaced versio of 3G. Baffour: Do you get ay protectio from the govermet agaist foreig competitors who wat to come ito the market? Arafeh: No, we do t get ay protectio from the govermet. As you may be aware, all the three major players i the cellular idustry have local ad foreig shareholdig. We certaily uderstad that the govermet has a obligatio to provide a coducive eviromet for us to do busiess. We are ecouraged by all the efforts that the govermet is puttig i to esure that we cotiue to thrive as a sector i parallel with the provisio of services to curretly uderserved areas. Baffour: Are you happy with the tax regime i the coutry? Arafeh: We offer a service commuicatio that is today a vital eed ad ot a luxury. 66 New Africa Jue 2006
The telecoms sector i Tazaia is very vibrat. We uderstad that the govermet has reveue cocers ad that taxatio is the major source of this reveue. Tazaia has oe of the highest taxatio levels o the mobile services sector i Africa, ad we are i costat dialogue with the govermet as to how best we ca all achieve our aims. We eed to cotiue rollig out our services to areas where people have the least ability to pay ad where the requisite ifrastructure for us to do busiess may ot exist. Baffour: What are the curret ad future challeges i terms of growth? Arafeh: As I said before, we eed to cotiue with our aggressive etwork rollout drive so as to esure that our customers all over Tazaia have improved access to commuicatio services. We, however, take cogisace of the fact that i some of these areas we will have to fud the settig up of basic ifrastructure. We will, therefore, see a declie i ARPus (average reveue per user) as we mie deeper ito these areas. We have o doubt that we will be able to come up with adequate commuicatio solutios for these areas depedig o their cosumer profiles, ie, commuity phoes, low cost hadsets, etc. Baffour: What is your policy o Corporate Social Resposibility? Arafeh: Celtel believes i supportig the commuity ad does so maily through supportig educatio with its Build our Natio programme which aims to provide teachig aids to secodary schools. The programme was lauched i May 2004 ad by the ed of 2007, will have spet over US$400,000 to support 306 secodary schools i the coutry. Celtel also udertakes the Celtel Scholars Programme aually which gives uiversity educatio scholarships ad workig experiece with Celtel for some of Tazaia s brightest studets. Celtel has most recetly lauched the Celtel Africa Challege (www.celtelafricachallege.com) which is a televisio quiz show that brigs together some of the brightest uiversity studets from Tazaia, Ugada ad Keya vyig for over US$300,000 worth of prizes for the studets ad their respective uiversities. Celtel is also a active sposor of major music evets (Kilimusic awards, Fiesta) ad coducts the biggest promotios i the coutry, offerig millios of Tazaia shilligs to its customers aually (Wi your dream/ home/farm). g NA Left: Bashar Arafeh, MD, Celtel Tazaia: We offer a service commuicatio that is today a vital eed ad ot a luxury BARRICK GOLD TANZANIA Tulawaka Kabaga Bulyahulu Buzwagi North Mara Mie Project Parterig with commuities Creatig jobs Ivestig i Tazaia Buildig skills Tel: +255 22 260 0604 www.barrick.com