Budget surplus
By Timothy Kitundu
The statement of government operations for March 2005 shows that the
government recorded an overall surplus of Tsh.14.2 billion against a deficit
projection of Tsh.42.8 billion, the Bank of Tanzania has said.
In its latest Monthly Economic Review for March 2005, total resources that is
domestic revenue and grants including adjustment to cash amounted to Tsh.240.6
billion, whilst total expenditure amounted to Tsh.226.5 billion.
The total domestic revenue recorded during the month was largely on target at
Tsh.164.8 billion, while collections from income tax and taxes on local goods
were slightly above the target of Tsh.55.5 billion and Tsh.28.2 billion by
Tsh.3.1 billion and Tsh.1.4 billion respectively.
This came about as a result of improvement in compliance rates of large tax
payers in order to avoid penalties imposed on late tax payments, and amendment
of upward provisional returns from large tax payers.
Performance in taxes on imports was however below projections by 3.5 billion,
mainly due to decline in importation of consumer goods, and exemptions accorded
capital goods.
Total revenue collections on cumulative basis over the July – March period
amounted to Tsh.1,314.5 billion, ahead of the target of Tsh.1,281.7 billion. The
realized collection makes three-quarters of the annual revenue target of
Tsh.1,739.3 billion.
On the expenditure side, about Tsh.226.5 billion comprising recurrent and
development expenditure of Tsh.151.4 billion and Tsh.75.1 billion, respectively,
were utilised during the period under review.
The development expenditure, comprising the local and foreign component of
Tsh.45.0 billion and Tsh.30.1 billion, respectively, was generally on target,
whereas recurrent expenditure was below the target by Tsh.30.0 billion because
of delayed payment of domestic interest arrears and lower spending on goods and
services.
Expenditures on priority sectors were on target at Tsh.41.8 billion, one-third
of which constituted expenditure on health. Cumulatively, from July to March
2005, government expenditure amounted to Tsh.2,318.1 billion.
The actual expenditure consisted of Tsh.1,432.2 billion in recurrent expenses
and tsh.886.0 billion in development expenditure.
Domestic expenditure on priority sectors was Tsh.290.7 billion, out of which the
education sector received Tsh.98.1 billion, while Health and Roads sectors were
allocated Tsh.77.2 billion and tsh.52.9 billion respectively.
Arusha solar energy
By Timothy Kitundu
Following the growing demand for Chloride Exide services including
solar energy use in Arusha and its environs, Chloride Exide Limited launched a
new battery and solar depot in the municipality over the weekend, The Express
has learnt.
In the past, business in Arusha was serviced from Dar-es-salaam, and the new
branch now places Chloride Exide in a good position to provide timely and
quality service to the community living and working both in Arusha and in the
greater Kilimanjaro areas with good projected growth in business.
Information given out by the firm says that the expansion is part of a major
roll-out plan to move their business and service closer to its customers.
Further information reveals that apart from servicing automobile dealers,
customers serving the tourist industry, the transport sector and solar sales and
installations, the branch will create employment opportunities through the
setting up of authorized dealerships.
The dealerships will mainly be dealing with battery and solar shop outlets and
specialized training for individuals in the installation and maintenance of
solar systems.
Speaking during the opening ceremony, Guy Jack, Managing Director of Chloride
Exide Limited, commented. “We aim to provide quality customer service that meets
all our clients’ needs,”.
According to Jack, the firm is taking to Arusha “Energy Solutions For All”,
owing to continued growth in the Kilimanjaro area tourism, business expansion,
and the now emerging horticultural industry, in addition to the growing
individual demand for products and services that is exceptional.
He said Chloride Exide Tanzania Ltd began business in 1998 with a depot in Dar,
and over the period the company has seen its business grow ten-fold.
Adding that the company commands a substantially growing market share in
Tanzania, with dealers in towns including Dar es Salaam, Morogoro, Tanga, Moshi,
Mwanza, Mbeya and Iringa. Others are, Dodoma, Kigoma, Tabora, and Zanzibar.
Jack said, Chloride Exide is also a leading solar energy service provider that
deals in solar panels, inverter power back-up systems and topclass after-sales
service unmatched in the East Africa region.
The company also handles motive forklift power sales, battery acid and distilled
water, with a major presence in Kenya, Malawi, Ethiopia, Sudan, Zambia, Rwanda,
Uganda, Mauritius and Democratic Republic of Congo and soon to be in South
Africa.
back to headlines
Progress for
the NMB
By Angela Mazula
Over the past five years the National Microfin-ance Bank has
increased an average rate to customers’ deposit of 27.5 per cent at Coast Region
Branch, it has been learnt.
Speaking during the launching of the new branch at Coast Region this week,
Misheck Ngatunga, NMB Board Chairman, said that the focus has been on small
savers who have contributed the biggest increase in the deposit.
He said “NMB is now the leading bank in the industry with the highest level in
total deposits, total assets and I believe in profitability.”
He added, only for June this year NMB has provided 188,222 micro-loans to
customers worth Tshs. 100.2 billion out of which 175,000 loans were outstanding
amounting to Tsh 86.billion, where the average loans size is around Tsh.
500,000.
He said NMB is known as the bank for the poor, and this comes from the fact that
the main objective is to service the low-income earners by providing them with
service and loans with relatively reasonable conditions compared to other banks.
Speaking on the same occasion, NMB Chief Executive Officer, John Giles said that
in terms of outreach, the 108 branches are located in every urban center in
almost every district in the country, 80 per cent of them are in district or
rural areas.
He said, that NMB is lending to low-income earners so as to assist them promote
their economic activities, offering savings accounts for small savers and
serving as the government bankers, offering efficient, service at a reasonable
price.
Ilala
crammed with cars
By Angela Mazula
Ilala Municipal Council has called upon the National Parking System
to improve its service in order to reduce the crowding of cars in the reserve
area; the Mayor of Ilala has said.
Speaking in Dar es Salaam over the weekend, Abuu Jumaa, Mayor of Ilala
Municipality, said that Dar es Salaam city’s car parks are overcrowded and it is
up to the NPS to eradicate this problem, giving themselves a good image to their
customers.
He said: “We expect to meet the NPS leadership to discuss ways to solve this
problem because NPS spends more money than the income generated.”
He said some NPS officials charged with the responsibility of collecting parking
fees rush towards the customers asking for money and forget their main
responsibilities, which sometimes spells the causing of petty accidents.
Said Hamidu a NPS parking fees collector at Ubungo, told this paper that every
employee is given the job of assuring that a certain amount of collection per
day is achieved in accordance with the number of cars within the area.
Encouraging
the small guys
Angela Mazula
Small Medium Entrepreneur have been called upon to join the Business
Boost Solution so as to enjoy close business relationships with the bank, Head
of Retail Banking has revealed.
Speaking to Journalists in Dar es Salaam recently, Deus Manyenye, Barclays Head
of Retail Banking said that Barclays customers are eligible to join the bank
club so that they can enjoy the benefits which are attached to it.
He said the limit per customer was increased threefold which enable them to have
access facilities such as loans, working capital financing, letters of credit
and bid bonds.
Manyenye added that Barclays bank has embarked on a countrywide drive to support
more general enterprises, a segment it has lent about Ths500million in the past
one year.
He added that the local business drive targets to reach 3,500 prospective
customers. “The aim of this campaign is to create awareness among Tanzanians on
what Barclays is doing to help small and medium enterprises”
He said that since the segment’s launch one year ago, the SME’s customer base
has doubled to 600 during the period of monthly new customer recruitment, as
well as business club membership.
Manyenye explained that during the just ended Dar es Salaam International Trade
Fair, Barclays bank hired a pavilion in which they provided space to talk with
15 clients.
“SMEs are not in the vibrant sector of the national economy, therefore both the
government and the banks have decided to extend more support as a way of helping
them improve their operations” Manyenye commented.
Invention of
water pump
By Joshua Mshana
A water pump which pumps water by using pistons which are attached
by a thread has been invented in Njombe in Iringa region.
The Managing Director of Kisangani Smith Group, Robeni Mtitu, said in an
interview that the pump has the capacity for pumping water which is 30 metres
(90 feet) deep.
“The pump has the power to provide services to 10 house-holds. People in the
area are using it for irrigation when there is no rain.
The pump is called the Kisa Pump. Apart from this one we have another pump
called the Hydram pump which is used in waterfalls. It pumps water by using
water speed. It is pushed by the water,” he explained.
The Hydram pump pushes water upwards to people’s settlements. It irrigates the
plantation of farmers. It is priced at 350,000/-. Other pieces of equipment
which we are making are sprinklers for irrigation on the farm. Our main activity
is the construction of agricultural equipment.
The other activity carried out by the firm is training youth who have no
employment and offering training to those who have failed to go to colleges. The
firm also teaches orphans to enable them employ themselves and therefore be
self-reliant. In 1996, a total of 30 youths were trained and have established
their own jobs and are now self-reliant.
“This success is attributed to support which we got from Small Industries
Development Organization (SIDO). SIDO has helped our factory to get training and
to participate in this year’s trade fair.
When we participate we learn by getting new technology from others and we go and
implement what we have been learning in the exhibition to improve the quality of
our products and the services which we offer,” he pointed out.
The new technology of the Kisa Pump has helped the Group to win an international
award.
Mtitu said, this encourages the need to put more efforts into being creative to
innovate more products which go hand in hand with the times in this era of
globalization, open market economy and trade liberalization.
Adding that SIDO should empower them by providing working tools to enable them
to learn through what is being done by other industries abroad. The government
should empower SMEs to develop their ability in technology and there should be a
fund for raw material procurement.
Vicissitudes
of the sugar industry
By Angela Mazula
The looming negative impact of the rather inevitable sugar regime
reform has forced most of the African Caribbean Pacific (ACP) sugar supplying
states TO think of diversifying the sugar Industry operations, Tanzania Sugar
Board has observed.
Speaking at a Journalists’ Seminar held at Bagamoyo last week and organized by
Friedrich Ebert Stiftung , Stephen Msimbira of TSB said the Tanzania Sugar
Industry has a 10 years development plan, and its strategy is to reach
self-sufficiency in 2010 and have a surplus stock to export.
He added that after diversification, an ethanol production project will take off
followed by utilizing sugar by-products for a substance similar to gasoline,
especially for Tanzania which is still a net sugar importer, its procedures are
likely to remain profitable and continue producing accord-ingly.
Msimbira said the regime reform proposal of reducing significantly the price
receivable by ACP supplies of raw sugar by about 39 per cent by the year 2007,
will have a direct impact on the Tanzania Sugar Industry of reducing export
revenue.
He added that conseq-uently the estates’ ability to expand the existing
cane-farms and provide socio-economic services including education, health,
water, electricity; housing and social centres for both employees and
neighbouring communities will fall.
He explained that reinvestment of the earnings in the industry, coupled with
investments made by new investors after privatization for the period of ten
years, has contribu-ted to a production increase by 102.8per cent from 112,092
tons in 1995 to 229,617 tons this year.
He added that the socio-economic importance of the sugar industry in Tanzania is
to provide direct emplo-yment to about 14,000people, while sugarcane out-growers
total about 30,000, and secondary employment under the sector involves a total
of about 81,360 people.
Colour
TVs for rural dwellers
By Joshua Mshana
PEOPLE who are living in rural areas in Tanzania may be able to
watch colour Television even when they don’t have electricity in their houses.
This was revealed by Franklin Bashabe, the Regional Sales Representative for
Akira East Africa, who said this in an interview in the city recently,
“We will be having for you a 14 inch TV that can use a car battery or electric
power. This means that all the people who are residing in rural Tanzania will
have the opportunity to see colour TV even when they don’t have electricity in
their house,” he said.
Akira is targeting the common man in Tanzania and East Africa by offering
quality products at a good price.
“We promise to continue offering you affordable prices for our products, we will
engage in such activities and projects that enhance the well being of the
disadvantaged like the poor, orphans and the sick. This is because we believe in
partnership with Tanzania,” he added.
Akira Electronics deals with consumer electronics brands like visual, audio,
kitchenware, small electronic appliances and air conditioners. It is a quality
brand produced and registered under Akihabara Electric Corporation Japan Ltd. It
offers a one-year guarantee. It has local distributors called MACK (T) LTD.
At the just ended Saba Saba trade fair, we managed to secure so many orders for
our TVs, home theatres and kitchen appliances. We thank all Tanzanians for the
support they have given us.
Inflation
By Timothy Kitundu
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has announced that inflation
rate for June 2005 has slightly gone up registering 4.2 per cent in accordance
with the National Consumer Price Index (NCPI).
In its latest statistics release, NBS reveals that the June 2005 inflation rate
has gone up by 0.2 percentage points when compared with May 2005 inflation
figure, which was 4.0 percent as measured on a year - to - year basis.
“The June inflation rate as measured on a month-to-month basis, that is between
May 2005 and June 2005 went down by 0.3 percent. The Overall Index decreased
from 113.2 in May 2005 to 112.9 in June 2005,” reads part of the release.
According to the release, some prices for both food and non-food items had gone
down. It says, food items that had decreased prices were sweet potatoes, cooking
bananas, vegetables, oranges, fish, cooking oil (sunflower oil) and margarine
(tan bond).
According to the release, non-food items that had decreased prices were tea
(green label), hard drink (konyagi), furniture, charcoal stoves, plates
(plastic), thermos flasks, toilet soap, toothpaste, hair and shaving creams.
However the release says, prices of charcoal, water carriers, torch batteries,
electric bulbs, shoe polish, basins, water buckets, radio cassettes, and video
cassettes (recorded) went up.
Others that their prices went up football entry fees, school bags, school
uniforms, watches and cell phones.
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