Author: Padili Mikomangwa

• Energy, fuel, and utility inflation increased to 5.1 per cent in August 2021 from 3.6 per cent in July 2021
• 12-month inflation remained at 3.8 per cent which is the same rate as the previous month
• Interest rates charged on loans by banks remained unchanged

The Tanzania Central Bank (BoT) released the monthly economic review last week, which breaks down the performance of different economic sectors, of which most portions of the economy portrayed modest performance.

Inflation

The report showed that, in August 2021, twelve-month inflation remained at 3.8 per cent which is the same rate as the previous month, and below the country target of 5 per cent in 2021/2022.

Further, on that line, core inflation which BoT argues, is the index accounts for the largest share in consumer price index (CPI), increased to 4.5 per cent in August 2021 from 4.1 per cent in July 2021—this is attributed …

As a low-middle-income country, Tanzania is fairly doing its best in financing its development efforts by utilising its internal funding strategies, and tax is a part of that.

In the past five years, under the leadership of the late President John Magufuli, Tanzania broke its revenue collection record and managed to self-finance nearly 40 per cent of dividends collected from companies it holds a stake in.

Earlier last year, Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) hit a record collection of 100.02 per cent of its total revenue in December 2019, of which it exceeded its monthly target, which was more than $860 million.

Read: Tanzania considers tax breaks to cushion economy

“This is the highest score for a particular month since an establishment of TRA” the former TRA Commissioner General, Dr Edwin Mhede noted.

According to the former taxman, this magnificent record-breaking achievement was a fruit of hard labour put on enforcement …

Across the region, agriculture has been a crucial economic activity that has to levitate communities’ economies and promote some major changes, in farmer’s lives. 

Farming has changed significantly over the past decade. This change has not occurred or is being adopted evenly across the globe. Europe, North, South America, and Asia have been developing and utilizing agriculture mechanization quite fast. 

However, the latter has not been active in sub-Saharan Africa for a while. For the record, farming practices present during the 1960s when most of Africa, was liberating itself from colonial hands, are largely being divorced currently. …

As the number of people demanding food supply has kept increasing since 2015 from 1.1 million to 2.7 million, Cameroon is striving to keep its farming systems updated and strong. According to the Aid and International Development Forum, 57 per cent of the rural people live in poverty.

Cameroon has more than 28 million people and like the rest of other African nations, it is endowed with rich natural resources, including oil and gas, but more importantly, Cameroon has a wide variety of agricultural products, such as coffee, cotton, cocoa, maize and cassava.…

Tanzania has always run on a wider and richer path of reliable business partners, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is one of them. The two countries have been engaging in a number of diplomatic and economic operations since 1974, and they have built a healthy partnership. 

With the new administration led by President Samia Suluhu, which is strictly focused on opening and building strategic partnerships with other countries, the UAE and Tanzania could foster more tangible business relations, from the extractives sector to tourism and hospitality. 

The new administration is now streamlining deliberate efforts to promote tourism and industrial development to create more jobs and improve the national economy. 

At the moment different top-tier investing parties have showcased their confidence in Tanzania, including Africa’s wealthiest man, Aliko Dangote, who plans to construct a fertilizer factory {The Citizen}. 

The UAE holds nearly 10 million people and stands on a $421 …

NMB is also listed on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE) and has been tracking rather promising records. According to DSE daily market highlights, NMB’s closing price stood at TShs. 2,340 and the previous closing price was TShs. 2,340.

The bank’s largest shareholders are strategic partners Arise B.V with a 34.9 per cent shareholding and the government of Tanzania with a 31.8 per cent shareholding.

According to NMB, alongside its financial achievement, “the Bank has also received several awards, highlighting the growth trajectory of the institution. In 2020, NMB’s achievements led to internationally acclaimed recognition as the Safest Bank in Tanzania by Global Finance magazine, and being named Best Bank in Tanzania for 8th consecutive time by Euromoney magazine,”…

Africa’s blue economy prospects 

What if Africa could farm its oceans and reap benefits from it? Yes, research findings from African Natural Resources Centre (ANRC) in collaboration with African Development Bank (AfDB), ‘Prospects for developing green aquaculture in Africa 2021’ report brings a whole new depth to aquaculture in Africa. 

The continent is growing fast, and it could grow more sustainably if it utilizes its most crucial resource, natural wealth. The report highlighted that the aquaculture sector is slowly growing and it shows a strong potential for expansion. 

The world aquaculture landscape is showing promise. The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) 2020 report showed that farmed seafood globally produced 82.1 million tonnes of aquatic animals in 2018—which is equivalent to 96.4 tonnes of fisheries catch. 

“Global aquaculture has been growing at an average annual rate of 5 per cent over the past 20 years and this growth is expected to …

No family wants to be stuck in their home and yet starve due to food security systems being shaken by the COVID-19 pandemic which has taken more than 40 million people’s lives and affected over 200 million worldwide. 

That scenario could become occurring dangerous reality if food security concerns are not addressed immediately, as reports from multiple food security monitoring groups such as the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) suggests that East Africa will “remain a food insecurity hotspot as new COVID-19 variants continue to spread”. 

The pandemic and its new variants bring more pressure to the fragile food security systems and unstable economies of East Africa, as precautionary measures weigh in on-farm operations, weaken supply chains and increase cross-border trade tensions. 

Even before the pandemic shocks, the African food system had a few setbacks in its path which included the inadequate capability to analyze risks and …

The central bank of Tanzania (BoT) has painted the state of the economy on a different canvas. 

BoT’s economic bulletin for the quarter ending June 2021 and the monthly economic review for July 2021 indicates Tanzania has been on a very promising trajectory for the past two years, shown by its dedication towards building a resilient industrial economy and self-reliance through steady ownership and control of natural wealth. 

According to the BoT, in the quarter ending March 2021, the economy grew by 4.9 per cent compared with 5.9 per cent in the corresponding quarter in 2020 and four sectors were noted to have contributed greatly, namely construction, transport, agriculture and storage. 

Former hotbed sectors and speedy forex contributors such as accommodation and restaurants were gravely impacted by the pandemic, slapping a -1.7 per cent performance for 2021. 

By the end of March 2021, the growth and expansion of telecom in …

What is Tanzania without the Serengeti?  One cannot mention Tanzania’s beauty without alluding to the amazing landscapes of Mikumi or the exhilarating hiking experience of the Kilimanjaro.  All these make up the tourism packet—perhaps one of the greatest in Africa— that Tanzania has in its economic arsenal. 

Tourism is Tanzania’s notable primary foreign exchange earner, which brought in more than $2.4 billion in 2018, an increase of 9.1 per cent that time—from $2.2 billion in 2017 (Tanzania Invest). 

On the other side, last year forex earnings dropped to a 10-year low during the year ending October 2020, contributed by the travel restrictions as a response towards curbing COVID-19 infections. Tanzania saw only $1.2 billion in its forex compared to $2.5 marked in the year ending October 2019, according to information from The Citizen. 

In its pursuit of tourism glory, Tanzania has not been alone. Rwanda, Kenya and Uganda are right …