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| Dr Chami |
Tanzania stands to lose revenue estimated at a staggering US $1 billion
(1.6trn/-) over the next five years, due
to gross limitation of the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and Export Processing Zones (EPZs)
programme.
The zones have the potential for exporting goods worth $300 million
every year, but only $400 million has
been realized from goods exported during the last five years.
The minister for Industry, Trade and Marketing, Dr Cyril Chami, says
notable achievements have been recorded
in that line of business, but they would have been bigger, were it not
for a couple of stumbling blocks.
He was speaking in Dar es Salaam
yesterday, at the inauguration of a new
Board of Directors for the
Economic Processing Zones Authority (EPZA), an event at which Prime Minister
Mizengo Pinda was the guest of honour.
Dr Chami cited delays caused by congestion at the Dar es
Salaam port, lack of reliable electricity, delay in issuance of work
permits and difficulties in securing tax exemption as investment
incentives, as among the major stumbling blocks.
Those problems posed a serious challenge, the minister noted, telling
the audience further: “The challenges include lack of enough fund allocation
from the government budget, which causes the Export Processing Zones Authority
(EPZA) to fail to execute fully its development plans.”
He pointed out that failure by the government to allocate enough funds
for development of areas that had been
earmarked as investment centres, curtailed
the authority’s capacity to meet obligations such as compensating people
who would have to vacate them, and infrastructure development.
The minister cited a 60 acre area in Kurasini for the envisaged China-Tanzania Logistic Centre, whose current
residents would be compensated to the
collective tune of about Sh60 billion.
The centre would be a major holding centre for Chinese goods and host a variety
of factories.
Dr Chami said the ministry and EPZA were currently engaged in a
spirited joint bid to secure soft loans from the governments of China and Japan,
as well as the World Bank, the African
Development Bank, and local pension funds, to push the programme forward.
Earlier, EPZA Director General Dr Adelhelm Meru said despite the
challenges, the outgoing board had seen the number of companies licensed under
the EPZ programme growing to 63, creating direct employment for 14,000 people
and indirect jobs for 60,000
others.
“For the past five years, the value of invested capital has grown to
about $712 million and exports have also increased to $390 million to date,” he
said.
He explained, however, that, the current data fell short of the
Authority’s strategic plan of seeing the value of exports reach $300 million a
year.The EPZs programme in Tanzania was established in 2002 by the Export
Processing Zones Act,2002, which was amended in 2011.
Source: The Citizen,www.thecitizen.co.tz, by Al-amani Mutarubukwa
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