PM wants a thriving private sector

DAILY NEWS Reporter

THE government is nurturing a friendly and enabling environment for the private sector because it wants the sector to flourish and blossom, Prime Minister, Mr Kassim Majaliwa, assured stakeholders in Dar es Salaam mid this week. 

Opening the 18th annual meeting of the Tanzania Private Sector Foundation (TPSF), the prime minister said one of the priorities of the government is to see the private sector growing fast and contributing to the national development by creating jobs, paying taxes and advancing technology. 

He told delegates that he has been encouraged by the meeting theme: ‘Responsible Business Leadership for Enhanced Public- Private Cooperation for Sustainable Economic Development’ because he said, it is in line with the government’s vision and priorities. 

The PM said the government will improve policies and legislations governing businesses to allow the private sector to grow and be an inducement to Tanzania’s socio-economic development. He called on the sector to cooperate fully with the government. 

“Just to prove its sincerity, the government granted 100 per cent tax amnesty to tax defaulters. This is one of the strategies to empower the private sector to grow and flourish,” he told the meeting, pledging that the government will offer attractive incentives to make the private sector grow. 

He said the government encourages joint venture between local and foreign partners, adding that the sector must increase commodity output and look for foreign markets. 

The TPSF Chairman, Dr Reginald Mengi, commended steps taken by the government, which include combating corruption and creating an enabling environment for doing business. 

He said the World Bank predicts that Tanzania’s economy will grow by 6.9 per cent in 2018 and the capita income will be 1,000 US dollars, adding that until December 2017, the monthly revenue collection reached a record collection of 1.6 trillion/-. 

The Director of USAID, Mr Andrew Karas, who represented the donor community, praised the existence of the foundation.