Browsing: Zanzibar

The East African Community (EAC) was formed to build socio-economic integration for East African countries. As a result, member states have entered into an agreement to, among other things, remove tariffs and trade barriers like levies and taxes to ease the movement of goods through their borders.

This sounds like a noble plan—an aspiration of partners—but let us look closer.  From taxed Ugandan milk to railway lines and oil pipelines along with cargo routes, these six countries are vying for control for a better economic deal, and they are starting to look more like rivals than partners.

Uganda has recently conducted an ‘a trial run’ to transport its petroleum products via the Port of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, a move that is seen as preparation towards the planned end to its customary use of the Port of Mombasa in Kenya.

Not to mention that Kenya has already invested over …

The ZIPA Executive Director said Zanzibar’s government recognizes that these islets possess sensitive ecosystems and are already home to thriving fishing and agricultural communities. As such, potential developments require careful planning, handling, guidance and oversight, and potential investors will need to adopt a holistic approach in implementing future projects.

“Our investors Expressions of Interest should provide information demonstrating that they possess experience and the ability to develop, operate and manage investment projects.”

“They should also demonstrate financial capacity, and skills in conserving environments, biodiversity, cultural heritage and community development. Interested Investors should specify the intended small island/islands for investment and provide detailed information on the kind of high-end investment intended.”…

The central bank of Tanzania’s economic bulletin for the quarter ending March 2021, analyzed the economic performance of the Zanzibar-semi autonomous region of Tanzania, which is widely known for its exotic tourism experience and spice farming.

The detailed report brought up interesting issues along the lines of clove production, inflation, public finance, imports, and exports.

READ:How Zanzibar’s presidency 100 days in office cast economic prospects

Clove performance

Zanzibar has marked its spot across the region within clove production over the past decade, hence over the past years, performance in the sub-sector has been dwindling.

According to the bulletin, “There were no cloves procured during the quarter under review due to low global demand, which resulted in a significant decrease in prices. As for seaweeds, 2,770.6 tonnes were procured compared with 2,236.5 tonnes procured in the corresponding period in 2020,” BoT report.

On the side of the aisle, Statista—a world …

The central bank of Tanzania (BoT) released its monthly economic review for April 2021 and it analyzed Zanzibar economy performance rather closely, whereby inflation, government budget operations, imports and exports performance depicted moderate improvement.

Zanzibar is a semi-autonomous region of the United Republic of Tanzania, made up of two main isles Unguja and Pemba. There more than 1.7 million people in the archipelago.

The isles are mainly known for their exotic tourism landscapes and agricultural exports particularly spices.

However, the office of the Chief Government Statistician Zanzibar (OCGS) published an interesting consumer price index for April 2021. The report showed that Zanzibar annual headline inflation rate for the year ended April 2021, increased to 1.9 per cent compared to 1.5 per cent for the year ended March 2021.

Inflation developments in Zanzibar

According to the report, during March 2021, annual headline inflation declined to 1.5 per cent from 5 per …

Zanzibar, one of the most exotic tourist destinations in East Africa marked 100 days since its newly elected President Hussein Ali Mwinyi assumed positions of power.

The archipelago which is the autonomous region of Tanzania has been developing its efforts to enhance economic performance in the island over the past years. According to information from The Citizen, the 100 days old presidency is yet focused on transforming the country economy.

The presidency came to helms of power after the Zanzibar Vision 2020-2050 emerged to revitalize the archipelago economy particularly tapping into the sustainable utilization of the Indian ocean resources.

President Mwinyi told The Citizen that, the country has short- and long-term plans slated to ensure there are a success, accountability and quick decision making, which are key issues to a prompt acquisition of reforms in the island’s economy.

The economy of Zanzibar is rather dominated by agricultural, whereby most of …

Only a fort night after the collapse of Beit-al-Ajaib or the House of Wonders in Stone Town, Zanzibar, the island’s tourism earnings are reported to be down 38 percent compared to last year.

The report comes from the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) which states that despite the tourism sector racking in a surplus of $62.7 million, however this is still 37.7 percent lower than what it was able to amass during the same period in 2019.

Zanzibar’s economy greatly relies on tourism and historical sites like the House of Wonders are a great attraction for tourists. Now with the building having collapsed during restoration efforts, the island is suffering the effects.

Granted the single event is not the cause for the dropped revenue, which the BoT blames on Covid-19, the loss of such an important site has an impact in the sector.

In its monthly economic review for December, BoT …

The Kilimanjaro mountain scape, Serengeti fascinating landscape, the Ngorongoro conservation magical experience and the spice island exuberant moments in Zanzibar are just a few joyous tourist experiences, one can acquire in real-time when visiting Tanzania.

Nevertheless, this magnificent reality is a product of hard labour and constant update of policies, laws and modus operandi of the tourism industry in Tanzania.

However, over the past couple of years, the competition has spiced up pretty hard and other players are coming into the fold, naming two: Rwanda with its stunning hills scenery—investing millions of dollars to brand their industry (Visit Rwanda) and Uganda’s game viewing.

To say the least, Tanzania has competitors across the East African Community, and it is great—in the name of developing healthy economic pillars, which are driven by sustainable mechanisms to preserve natural resources and unify our regional economies.

The Tanzanian tourism sector contributes nearly 17.5 per cent …

Zanzibar’s official statistics provider (Office of the Chief Government Statistician – OCGS) has released figures on the performance of the agricultural sector.

The report provided an insight into the country’s performance and impact of different interventions carried out by the Government and other stakeholders to improve the agriculture sector in the country.

According to the National Budget Brief of 2018 organized by OCGS and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), unequivocally, the share of development spending in the national budget of Zanzibar increased from 17 per cent to 46 per cent between 2013/14 and 2017/18. On the other hand, the share of recurrent budget decreased from 83 per cent to 54 per cent for the same period. for the same period.

The report, on the other hand, gave out crucial sets of data which include: quantities and values of fish catches, cash crops, mining and quarry, seaweeds, forest products and …

Zanzibar’s economic developments have grabbed Bank of Tanzania (BoT)’s attention in its monthly economic review.

According to the study, inflation remained fairly balanced, revenue collection has been gaining substantial raise, while the external sector performance dwindled.

Zanzibar which is a semi-autonomous region of Tanzania, with fertile historical and economic relations with Tanzania, has been taking crucial steps in its economic endeavors, including agriculture and tourism.

According to the 2018 National Budget brief of Zanzibar, prepared by Office of the Chief Government Statistics (OCGS) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Zanzibar has maintained impressive economic growth; government revenues and expenditures are expanding rapidly. In the financial year of 2017/18, the approved budget totals $ 483 million which is a 29 per cent increase in total expenditures in nominal terms (or 26 per cent in real terms).

READ: Zanzibar plans airports face-lift to meet global standards

Inflation and budgetary operations

Per the …