Browsing: Tanzania

• Air Tanzania has received Boeing 737-9 Max, its second aircraft from the US carrier manufacturer.
• A second Boeing 737-9 Max symbolizes Tanzania’s steady journey in enhancing its budding aviation sector.
• With the new aircraft, Air Tanzania now shifts focus to strategic expansion, operational efficiency, and overcoming challenges such as a biting shortage of pilots.

Air Tanzania Company Limited is on an aggressive expansion drive as it welcomes Boeing 737-9 Max, its second aircraft from the US carrier manufacturer. A second Boeing 737-9 Max symbolizes Tanzania’s steady journey in enhancing its aviation sector but also sets the …

• Tanzania and Rwanda are warming up to set up second official border post.
• Currently, Rwanda is the third largest user of Dar es Salaam port.
• More than 80% of Rwanda’s cargo goes through the port of Dar es Salaam.

The push to foster EAC integration appears to be moving in a positive direction with Tanzania and Rwanda taking steps to enhance one of East Africa Community (EAC) pivotal goal, regional trade.

A top Tanzanian envoy has announced plans to open a new border post with Rwanda, as part of ongoing measures between the two countries to scale up the movement of labour, goods and services providers.

Tanzania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation, January Makamba,  made the announcement at the end of his four-day state visit to Rwanda.

The Minister revealed that the proposed border crossing will be set up in Tanzania’s Kyerwa district in Kagera Region and …

• Questions are lingering about US food aid to Tanzania that targets schools, with critics terming it unnecessary.
• US food aid to Tanzania has been ongoing for the past decade.
• Tanzania now wants the US to buy the food from Tanzanian farmers and fortify it in public.

An ongoing program of US food aid to Tanzania has come under sharp scrutiny after the public in East Africa’s second largest economy took to social media condemning the support from the American people.

At the moment, X (formally Twitter) is awash with Tanzanians and its thousands of nationals in the diaspora questioning the safety of US food aid which authorities in the country received recently.

Raising more questions was the fact that the food aid was not distributed to the general public but to hundreds of schools.

In its defense, the Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS) has issued a public statement saying the …

• East Africa’s banking giant KCB Group reports heightened operational expenses, which surged to $627 million in 2023, up from $447.9 million in 2022.
• The costs are associated with the consolidation of its subsidiary in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Trust Merchant Bank (TMB),
• Additional expenditures were related to a voluntary retirement scheme as well as litigation fees.

KCB Group, one of East Africa’s banking giants, has reported a net profit decline to $282 million for the year ending December 2023, from $307 million in 2022.

The bank has attributed this decline to increased operational costs and higher provisions for bad loans as primary reasons for the downturn in profitability.

In a period marked by economic challenges and strategic expansions, KCB Group faced heightened operational expenses, which surged to $627 million in 2023, up from $447.9 million in 2022.

DRC-based Trust Merchant Bank consolidation costs

This increase was largely due to …

• Tanzania is reviewing key business development laws to boost investments.
• One of the laws under review is the Companies Act and the Business Names (Registration) Act.
• Amended laws are set to create a more conducive investment environment.

The Tanzania business environment is expected to improve to a great deal thanks to ongoing efforts to amend non-conducive business laws.

It is expected that the business law amendment will serve to help the country attract investors by improving its business environment, the government has announced.

The government of Tanzania has made public its intention to review key laws in the country, including the Companies Act and the Business Names (Registration) Act, with a view to align the regulations with current global trends and market needs.

To this end, the government of Tanzania is now collecting stakeholders’ opinions ahead of the proposed law amendments.

While the two laws are often confused and intertwined, …

• Tanzania’s population is expected to reach 140 million people by 2050.
• The World Bank estimates that Tanzania’s population will double every 23 years.
• Tanzania set to become one of Africa’s and the world’s most populated countries.

Tanzania’s population is expected to reach 140 million people by 2050 given the current high fertility rate of 3.0 per cent. At this rate, the World Bank estimates that Tanzania’s population will double every 23 years henceforth.

In its latest Tanzania Economic Update that was launched in the country’s port city of Dar es Salaam this March, the World Bank says when it comes to population control, the East African country is facing a delicate balance act.

On the one hand, Tanzania has managed to lower its mortality rates and raise its life expectancy but as a result, it is now facing the effects of high birth rates and, they are not all good.…

• Tanzania to earn $400 million annually from tobacco export/sells.
• The country now ranks second largest tobacco producer in Africa after Zimbabwe.
• Tobacco has no known health benefit. On the contrary, it causes disease, disability and premature death. Over 6 million people die globally every year from tobacco-related illnesses.

Tanzania has been ranked as the second-largest producer of tobacco in Africa, falling behind only neighboring Zimbabwe, even as tobacco’s toll worsens globally. The ranking comes after a bumper harvest in the year 2022/2023, as announced by Tanzania’s Minister for Agriculture, Hussein Bashe.

According to the minister, the country’s tobacco production has more than doubled over the last year alone to 122,858 tonnes in FY2023/2024 from 50,000 tonnes earlier.

As of December last year, the export value of tobacco stood at $316 million, and with the increase in output, the minister is confident that this year the country will attain its …

• Ramadan fasting increases economic activities around the world.
• The travel sector, especially airlines registers higher revenues during pilgrimage after Ramadan fasting.
• Zanzibar has announced tax breaks for consumables during Ramadan fasting.

Every year, from the beginning of Ramadan fasting, Muslim faithful increase spending, travel more and invest significantly to celebrate the Eid vacation.

“As people’s mobility increases, the transport sector’s business also experiences a surge…as people spend the overall economy is stimulated,” explains Abdul Rashid an economist in Tanzania.

The economics of a country change during Ramadan and the months leading to and immediately after the Holy Month. This multiplier effect is felt throughout the world as the Islamic communities prepare, fast and observe the Holy Month.

Take Tanzania for example, the East African country is over 40 per cent Muslim, Ramadan fasting causes increased economic activities ranging from import and export of food, increased spending and pilgrimage related spending.…