Over 2,000 industries registered

FLORENCE MUGARULA

MORE than 2,000 industries have been registered in a period of one year from November 2015 to November, 2016, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Adelhelm Meru, has said.

The PS said the fifth phase government’s goal to build an industrial driven economy are on the right track since there are good signs on the establishment and revival of industries across the country. Dr Meru was speaking on a local TV station on his ministry’s performance.

He added that the government is also setting good environment for doing business through modernising and simplifying businesses registration processes. According to Dr Meru, the government, through the Business Registrations and Licensing Agency (BRELA), will start online registration services from April 1, next year.

“We are now putting things in order, by March this year everything will be in place and starting April 1, 2017, all companies will be registered online,” he said. Dr Meru said the number of industries that have been registered in the past 12 months shows the government’s, investors and other stakeholders’ commitment in establishing and developing industries in the country.

He said a total of 114 industries have been registered through Tanzania Investment Centre, 64 have been listed through BRELA, 22 under Export Processing Zones Authority (EPZA), seven under National Development Corporation (NDC) and 1,830 have been logged under Small Industries Development Organisation (SIDO).

“A total of 2,030 industries, mostly being small industries have been registered in only one year, this means we are doing very well and probably we are going to realise our goal,” he said.

The study conducted on the number and employment opportunities in local industries, shows that by the year 2013 there were 49,243 industries in Tanzania. The study shows that 99 percent are small and medium scale industries while the big industries make one percent of all industries in the country.

Yesterday, Dr Meru said that the one percent comprise seven industries that provide employment to more than 45 people and 80 industries provide employment to more than 100 people. “When we talk about big industries, we refer to those which provide employment to a big number of people.

Those which offer employment to more than 100 people are 80 and those which provide employment to more than 45 people are seven,” he said. Dr Meru said with the current government plans, it is obvious the industrial sector is going to grow and create more employment opportunities.

“We believe that our current plans are going to work very well, as we can see more than 2,000 industries have been registered in one year.

This means more jobs are going to be created and thus our economy is going to grow as well,” he noted. On infrastructure, Dr Meru said industrial economy goes along with improvement and strengthening of infrastructure. He said so far all roads are reliable and passable across the country.

He added that the government is currently embarking on the construction of new standard gauge railway, which will help boost the growth of industries by transporting both raw materials and products from industries to various destinations.

The revival of the national carrier, Air Tanzania Company Limited (ATCL), by purchasing new aircraft is another crucial step in boosting the economy. The construction of new port at Bagamoyo and many other improvements are all set to stimulate industrial growth in the country.

On attracting investors, Dr Meru said the government is doing everything in its powers to ensure there are good environment for both local and foreign investors. He said BRELA, EPZA and TIC are being encouraged and supported to fulfill their duties efficiently.

“The government has established one stop service centre at TIC. This helps investors to register their businesses on time