TZ ranks high in continental development

HAZLA OMAR in Arusha

ESTABLISHMENT of more than 50 research centres and institutions in the country is one of the factors that propelled Tanzania to be ranked high on the continental Development Capacity Index (ACI), which listed Dar es Salaam in the second position out of the 44 African entries.

The other quality was the full support of the government and state organs in pushing science, innovation and technology right to grassroots levels, though it will take a lot before full implementation of digital technology can gain roots, this is according to Dr Eliamani Laltaika, a researcher and lecturer at Nelson Mandela Institute of Science and Technology.

He was speaking at the official launching of the ‘African Capacity Report,’ which has ranked Tanzania in the second position as far as the continent’s Capacity Index is concerned, proving that the country is on course towards its set development agenda, as well as making better use of science, technology and innovation, according to the African Capacity Building Foundation.

Mr Emanuel Kisongo, the Chairman of Tanzania Mathematics Association and Headmaster of Kisimiri High School which topped the national advanced levels examinations last year, was the guest of honour during the event, and he was of view that investing in science and technology will save the country future costs and expenses in other fields.

The latest African Capacity Report was launched at the Nelson Mandela African Institute for Science and Technology (NM-AIST) by Project Manager, Dr Michael Haule, who revealed that Morocco topped the bill, having scored 71.6 in the African Capacity Index simply abbreviated as ACI, out of the 44 countries surveyed on the continent.

He said Tanzania which took the second position, also has good policy which propels the country towards achieving a lot in development focused innovation.

Tanzania was second with 68.8 ACI score followed by Rwanda with 68.2 and Mauritius with 67.3, then Cape Verde (62.6), Tunisia (62.6) and Gambia with 61.7. Others are Mali (61.0), Malawi (60.7) and Burkina Faso (58.8), making up the top ten, while Niger (57.4), Liberia (57.1) and Ethiopia (56.7) coming close.

The ACI measures and empirically assesses capacity against the development agenda in African countries. Despite being usually regarded as the economy giant of East Africa, Kenya with 55.2 score on the African Capacity Index, ranks 17th on the continent behind Egypt (55.8), Lesotho (56.1), and Namibia with 56.2, according to the ACBF Report.

Uganda with 54.0 is on the 19th Position behind Ghana (54.1) and this is despite the fact that Ghana is the oldest country to attain independence in Africa.

The African Capacity Index Report highlights key determinants and components of capacity and maps out the continent’s capacity development landscape, with the goal of sharpening the focus on capacity deficits as a major development policy issue.

ACI is a composite index computed from four sub-indices, each of which is an aggregated measure calculated on a quantitative and qualitative assessment of components. The sub-indices cover policy environment; processes for implementation; development results at country level; and capacity development outcomes.

The African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) has, over the past five years, published its Africa Capacity Report (ACR). The ACR seeks to measure and examine the capacity of African countries to pursue their development agenda by focusing on key determinants and components of capacity for development.

The status of Africa’s development, according to the report, is closely linked to its capacity to deploy ‘Science Technology and Innovation,’ (STI) for more inclusive sustainable development and transformation, which is why ACR 2017’s theme is so relevant.

The report lays emphasis on the need to build STI capacity in Africa so as to achieve the AU’s Agenda 2063 and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.