Mramba after
businessmen tax-dodgers
By Kim Aidan, Morogoro
The government through the Ministry of Finance has requested Tanzanians to
unearth tax evaders in the business sector in order to raise the country’s
economy, including raising production in various sectors of the economy.
The request was made by the Minister for Finance, Basil Mramba when installing
the foundation stone for the Sub-Treasury Office in Morogoro Region.
Joining hands with the government in its strategies of reducing poverty and
augmenting development, Mramba said, Tanzanians are duty bound to be seeking out
business people who dodge paying tax countrywide.
Minister Mramba said the government through the Ministry of Finance is still
saddened by business people who evade taxes. For example, there are businessmen
who sell their products VAT free and without offering receipts to buyers.
“There are business people who have two prices for their products in a shop,
those with VAT and those same ones without VAT, tempting buyers to purchase the
cheap ones, with the aim of evading tax,” Mramba observed.
The government knows that traders at petrol stations are the leaders in evading
VAT payment intentionally, the Minister emphasized. The petrol stations have a
habit of selling petrol without giving receipts to customers for their personal
reasons of avoiding duties and VAT.
Mramba has called on Tanzanians to claim receipts in shops where they buy
commodities to stop tradesmen from evading payment of taxes; claiming that the
Ministry will take legal actions against such tradesmen.
Exports plunge
Jan. after rise in 2004
By Timothy Kitundu
The Bank of Tanzania (BoT) has said that the fall in value of minerals and
manufactured goods, coupled with the end of season for most traditional exports
have attributed to the fall of total value of goods exported in January 2005.
During the month under review, the total value of goods exports was US$ 117.3
million (Tsh. 128.7 billion); compared with US$ 162.5 million (Tsh. 178.2
billion) recorded in the previous month.
The BoT monthly economic review for February 2005 indicates that earnings from
traditional exports declined by about 23 per cent to US$ 34.0 million (Tsh. 37.4
billion) while receipts from non-traditional exports totalled US$ 83.3 million
(Tsh. 91.3 billion); 29.5 per cent lower than in the preceding month.
The volume of coffee exported fell by 12.7 per cent, cotton 30.4 per cent, and
cashew nuts 82.5 per cent. The decline in the export volume of cashew nuts is
also associated with the reluctance by farmers to sell the crop to private
buyers at a low price.
“At the beginning of the season, the Cashewnuts Authority set the price at Tsh.
750 and Tsh. 600 per kg for grade one and two, respectively, while private
buyers were ready to buy at Tsh. 350 and Tsh. 250 per kg,” reads part of the
review.
On an annual basis, the total value of exports in 2004 was US$ 1,342.0 million
(Tsh. 1,476.2 billion), 18.4 per cent higher than the amount recorded in the
preceding year, owing to an improvement in both traditional and non-traditional
exports.
Traditional exports increased by 44.1 per cent to US$ 295.5 (Tsh. 326.7 billion)
partly due to a recovery in export unit prices, and to an increase in export
volumes of cotton, tea, tobacco, and cashew nuts, associated with favourable
weather conditions and timely availability and usage of agricultural inputs.
Similarly, the improved performance of cotton was also due to importation and
distribution of agro-chemicals to farmers, price subsidies on seeds, and
extension services by the Cotton Development Fund.
Consequently, production of cotton increased from 123,000 tonnes in 2000/01 to
189,000 tonnes in 2002/03 and is projected to reach 344,000 tonnes in 2004/05.
Overall, the share of traditional exports to total goods exports rose to about
22 per cent, from 18 per cent recorded in the previous year.
Non-traditional exports went up by 12.7 per cent to US$ 1,044.5 million (Tsh.
1,048.4 billion) in the year ending January 2005 compared with US$ 927.1 million
(Tsh. 1,019.7 billion) a year earlier. This followed an increase in exports of
manufactured goods and minerals, particularly gold.
Gold continued to dominate, accounting for 60.3 per cent of total
non-traditional exports, owing to increases in gold mining activities and
increased world market prices. As for manufactured goods, there was a modest
increase in exports of textile clothing, cement, footwear, salt, iron and steel
and plastic items.
Local company
boasts of international standards
By Angela Mazula
Tanzania has been able to produce products that can compete favourably with
those produced in the industrialized world.
This was said at the just-ended Dar es Salaam International Trade Fair at the
Mwalimu Nyerere Grounds, by the Tanzania Tea Blenders, Sales and Marketing
Manager, Bhaudin Jaiuddin.
He said that Tanzanian firms, such as the Tanzania Tea Blenders, were capable of
competing with foreign companies in the production of high quality goods.
“Tanzanian Tea Blenders is one of the local companies that challenge foreign
exhibitors in terms of its products. We want to show the world that there are
also local companies that are capable of coming up with high quality products,”
he said.
Jaiuddin said the company has managed to export tea and coffee to different
countries in the world, something that has created fear amongst other companies
producing the same goods.
The official said that in recognition of the current economic situation, the
company has designed tea and coffee packages of different sizes and prices, to
enable even low income earners to have the ability to buy the products.
Low-income
women encouraged to borrow
By Timothy Kitundu
The Unit Trust of Tanzania (UTT), Core Securities Limited, African Banking
Corporation Tanzania Limited and the National Microfinance Bank Limited (NMB)
have jointly launched a special initiative to help low-income women earners
invest in the Unit Trust Scheme, through purchases of Units.
Umoja Fund is the first in the category of Unit Trust Schemes establish itself
in Tanzania. The government has provided capital for the fund and has subsidized
30 per cent each unit that will be sold.
A statement issued by UTT early this week, reveals that the aforesaid members of
this initiative have noted the presence of a big number of Tanzanians who are
interested in buying units, but are restrained because of their financial
situation.
The aim of the initiative is to have a wide spectrum of investors, to enable
Tanzanians to participate in capital markets and to foster a culture of saving.
According to the statement, the loans within this initiative are strictly for
women with low economic ability, who have no other means of generating extra
income.
“The loans will be of up to Tsh. 50,000 only and as for all loans, the interest
rate for the loans will be 18 per cent per annum with a Tsh. 1,000 fee for
processing the loan. A total of Tsh. 60,500 will need to be repaid as at 30,
June 2006,” reads part of the statement.
NIC pays up on
life policies
By Timothy Kitundu
The National Insurance Corporation of Tanzania (NIC) has secured a
total of Tsh. 4 billion from the government to enable it to pay its customers in
the life insurance category, whose premiums have reached maturity.
NIC Executive Director, Margaret Ikonko said in Dar es Salaam early this week
that the funds, which are in the form of a loan, would be reimbursed by proceeds
from the organisation’s normal business and through sales of some of their
assets.
“The said payment will be effected starting August1st, 2005, through cheques
that will be sent to NIC branches throughout the country,” she said.
According to Ikonko, the cheques will be delivered to payees on their doorsteps,
and there was no need for them to travel to NIC headquarters in Dar es Salaam to
collect them.
As for those claimants in the category of general insurance, whose claims are
outstanding, Ikonko assured them that NIC was holding talks with the government
in a bid to raise funds to effect the said payment.
She called upon claimants to remain patient while funds were being raised for
the purpose of settling outstanding non-life claims.
“We would like the claimants to know that we are in regular discussions with the
government on ways of raising money including, although not limited to, the sale
of our assets,” she added.
She said the other arrangement of paying old and new claims after 60 days would
continue without interruption, although it will depend on the availability of
funds.
NIC had the monopoly over the insurance industry for over three decades, from
when it was nationalized in the mid 1960’s, to liberalization of the industry in
1996, which allowed a number of private insurance companies to operate in the
local market.
Farmers better
than experts at tackling farmers’ problems
By Merline Mhamaka, Morogoro
About 2,520,000 small-scale farmers from 840 villages in Tanzania have benefited
from the implementation of the Participatory and Agricultural Development
Programme , which was established in 2003.
PADEP Deputy Principal Coordinator, Barney Laseko said this during a three-day
workshop of reviewing the programme’s implementation, attended by farmers,
programme coordinators in concerned districts, programme district commissioners
and programme district councils executive directors.
Laseko said the eight year programme will cost Tsh. 79 million. The programme
has already been established in 840 villages of Tanzania Mainland and the Isles.
Adding, 134,000 small-scale farmers will be orientated with better farming
methods, so that they go back and teach their colleagues about how to produce
better and beneficial crops.
“We have discovered that it is easier for farmers themselves to train one
another, than using experts, especially considering the language used in
providing training,” Laseko said.
The Deputy Principal Coordinator went on to say that the PADEP project funds
were provided by the World Bank, Tanzania Government, project district councils
and farmers themselves in the concerned areas.
Explaining about the achievements of the PADEP project for various project
villages, Laseko said the project had discovered the great potential of the
farmers in identifying their problems and finding solutions to the problems by
cooperating with experts.
The farmers have the potential for planning and developing their programmes
successfully and without depending on experts; they make good use of projects
funds and in fact they reduce bureaucracy in the implementation of the
programmes.
The workshop, Laseko added, aimed at reviewing and evaluating implementation in
the project districts, exchange experiences, including identification of
problems facing the programme implementation and find solutions to the problems.
A total of Tsh. 2.3 million has been spent between June 2004 and June this year
in implementation of PADEP in Morogoro and Mvomero Districts.
Keys to
development reemphasised
By Angela Mazula
Developing countries need to have good governance, accountability and fight
against corruption in order to attain meaningful economic development, it has
been noted.
This is in accordance with the United Nation Development Programme (UNDP) report
quoting Dr. Kresley Amoako, Executive Director of the UN Economic Commission for
Africa, speaking at a meeting with the theme ‘Good Governance’ in Addis Ababa
Ethiopia recently.
“Leading voices across Africa, and the common citizens of our continent, are
behind the demand for better governance; an increasingly active citizenry is
championing the call for responsive government. The previous isolation of
African society, media, youth, and business is decreasing”.
The report said two regional initiatives, the African Union and the New
Partnership for Africa’s Development , underscore the importance that African
states are placing on good governance. All African countries have signed onto
NEPAD, a development framework that stresses accountability as a prerequisite
for economic progress.
NEPAD states that, “development is impossible in the absence of true democracy,
respect for human rights, peace and good governance”.
“The African Development Forum concluded that in order to find lasting solutions
to Africa’s problems, a capable African state must be developed. This means
building a state with functioning and effective institutions, such as courts and
parliaments,” part of the report reads.
The report said that often there is no mechanism to deal with ensuing problems
such as growing poverty and inequality, violence and conflict, which in turn
further destabilize the state. And because the state is forced to impose
unpopular policy prescription by the international financial institutions, the
state and its institutions are rendered even more unpopular.
Local agro-processing needs bank support too
By Joshua Mshana
The agro-processing industry has asked the country’s banks to be more favourable
towards them, and not only support export oriented agro-processing dealers.
Anna Temu, Managing Director of Power Foods Industries Ltd, said in an interview
that most banks are in favour of export-orientated agro-products.
“We want them (the banks) to know that the export market should be secondary.
First we have to satisfy our local market with standard products. Banks are not
giving priority to local agro-processing industries. As it is now, we will
continue to be big suppliers of raw materials to big factories abroad,” she
said.
We want to have a partnership between entrepreneurs and universities so that our
products will be of international standard, she continued.
“Our products are unique for Tanzania, therefore their standard should be
regarded separately by the Tanzania Bureau of Standards, and they should not be
regarded as general products,” she said.
Fruit rots in absence of
markets
By Kim Aidan, Matombo
Over 500 tonnes of oranges, mangoes, pineapples and mandarin oranges are rotting
in the villages of Mkuyuni, Kisaki, Kinole and Matombo in Morogoro Rural
District, because of the lack of markets.
Talkivage themselves from poverty because of the present situation. The farmers
are forced to sell their frung to The Express, residents of the named villages
confirmed the problem.
A fruit farmer in Kibuko Mkuyuni Village, who identified herself as Aziza
Yusuph, said it is difficult for fruit farmers to salit at cheap prices to fruit
buyers from various regions.
Moreover, she said, they fail to transport the fruit to auction markets since
they are far away, and instead they wait for businessmen to come and buy them
from the farms.
Aziza advised the government to find a great fruit-market investor for the
villages in Morogoro Rural District.
BoT’s account
balance slumps
By Timothy Kitundu
The Bank of Tanzania has said that January 2005 saw the current account balance
deteriorating as a result of tourist receipts decline following the end of the
mini-peak season. Interest income from investment abroad decreased and interest
payments increased.
In its February 2005 monthly economic review, the bank discloses that the
current account balance deteriorated to a deficit of US$ 38.4 million (Tsh. 41.8
billion) against a surplus of US$ 44.6 (Tsh. 48.4 billion) recorded in the
previous month.
The review further indicates that another attribute to the decline is that
official current transfers were lower in January 2005 than in December 2004,
following frontloading of financial assistance by development partners.
On an annual basis, the current account also worsened, recording a deficit of
US$ 491.9 million (Tsh. 540.1 billion) compared to a deficit of US$ 424.8
million (Tsh. 466.4 billion) in the year ending January 2004.
This, according to the review, was largely due to a surge in imports of goods
and services that dampened the effects of modest increases in exports.
During the year ending January 2005, the share of traditional exports to total
exports of goods and services improved slightly to about 13.4 per cent, compared
to 11.3 per cent recorded in the year before.
However, travel receipts and gold exports remained dominant in the total exports
of goods and services, accounting for 28.6 per cent and 28.3 per cent
respectively.
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