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Tuesday, May 3, 2016

Zanzibar gets 27.5bn/- as Union proceeds

DAILY NEWS Reporter in Dodoma
THE Vice-President’s Office disbursed 27.595bn/- to the Zanzibar government until March this year as part of proceeds to the isles government for the 2015/16 financial year.

Minister of State in the Vice-President’s Office (Union and Environment), January Makamba, said in Parliament that a total of 14bn/- were proceeds from Pay As You Earn. He said a total of 9.9bn/- was sent to the Zanzibar government as its share of General Budget Support from development partners and 3bn/- was sent to the Zanzibar government as its share from Central Bank profit.
The isles government received 621.963m/- as community development fund, he said. The Minister said the government would in the forthcoming financial year ensure that shares of Zanzibar government from the Union Government were disbursed on time and a report to that effect issued on time. He said his ministry had worked and obtained lasting solution on eleven challenges of the Union.
The Vice-President Office would continue to coordinate meetings to address the remaining challenges in implementation of Union issues which include oil and natural gas, registration of motor vehicles, Zanzibar government shares in the East African Currency Board.
Other challenges include distribution of Central Bank profits, and implementation of Joint Commission on Currency on distribution of income between Union and Zanzibar governments.
The controversy between the Union government and that of Zanzibar over the latter’s shares in the Central Bank of Tanzania (BoT) remains one of the remaining challenges of the Union with Isles government insisting it contributed a significant amount of money in the formation of the Bank of Tanzania.
Zanzibar claims that it contributed 11 per cent of the capital to establish the Central Bank through the contribution of its dividends and conversion of shares following the disbanding of the East African Currency Board. According to the claims, after the dissolution of the East African Currency Board, member countries decided to form their own central banks.
All the dividends and accrued monetary payments, that were to be paid to Zanzibar, were remitted to the Treasury of the Union government.
The Minister said the Vice President’s Office was making follow up on implementation of joint development programmes and plans to ensure that the two sides of union benefitted. The programmes include Tanzania Social Action Fund (III), Property and Business Formalisation Programme (MKURABITA) Market Infrastructure, Value Addition and Rural Finance (MIVARF), and Agricultural Sector Development Programme – Livestock –ASDP.
On TASAF III, the Minister said a total of 1.3 poor households were identified for assistance in all district councils in mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar. For Zanzibar 45,881 household were identified.
A total of 1.1 poor households with about 5 million people have been registered for a support programme under TASAF III, he said adding that it involved 33,532 households from Zanzibar.
Mr Makamba said Zanzibar government got 10.5m/- in 2015/2016 financial year for establishing Property and Business Formalisation Programme fund where Tanzania mainland got 128.3m/- for the same purpose

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