SummaryDar es Salaam. Zanzibar government is working with private tourism stakeholders in designing
strategies that will ultimately reform the sector after amendment of the Public Private Partnership (PPP) Act.The PPP Act was amended last month by the Zanzibar’s House of Representatives to increase room for involvement of the private sector in government activities and that it was waiting for Zanzibar President Hussein Ali Mwinyi’s assent.
However, members of the Zanzibar Association of Tourism Investors (Zati) met President Mwinyi and other senior government officials on Thursday at State House to set strategies and resolve challenges that impede sector’s growth.
Zanzibar Tourism and Antiquities minister Lela Mohamed Mussa told The Citizen on Friday that the amended Act was expected to streamline functions of ministries and collaborations with the private sector. “Though the private sector was involved in execution of development projects in the past, the amended law provides direct and broader involvement in government activities,” she said. Ms Mussa said the cross-cutting law will now need the ministries to amend their regulations in order to effectively accommodate the private sector in executing their activities.
According to her, the new efforts to broaden collaboration between the government and the private sector saw President Mwinyi meeting with members of Zati on Thursday.
The two sides came up with strategies aimed at reducing multiple taxes and licensing that were agreed to be among key issues that seriously affected growth of tourism in the Isles.
She said a task force has been formed involving members from both sides tasked to follow up with the Zanzibar Revenue Board (ZRB) in order to reduce multiple taxes and licencing institutions as it was preparing for the 2021/22 budget. “There is no reason of having multiple taxes and licensing institutions for collecting fees deposited at the same government coffers. Therefore, multiple taxes and licensing institutions should be reduced, though they should be effective,” she said.
Furthermore, she said members of the committee were expected to hold first meeting this week where all recommended issues would be aligned according to the right timeframe.
She said officials from the Tanzania Police from the Mainland have been invited to provide expertise and experience on the tourist’s police, noting the request has been accepted.
Speaking to The Citizen, Zati chairman Seif Miskry said the task force has been formed following President Mwinyi’s instruction. “It is the President who instructed the two sides to meet, deliberate on the multiple taxes and licensing issue and come up with a solution that will promote tourism in the Isles,” he said over the phone.
He added, “From the early beginning the President expressed his concern on multiple taxing and licensing, something that he promised to address.”
However, the President came with his disappointment over unscrupulous investors and traders who under-valued costs of imports including sugar and rice in order to lower the amount of taxes paid to the government. “It is the responsibility of traders to pay pre-requisite tax that will enable the government to fund its projects and pay salaries to public servants,” Dr Mwinyi said.
Furthermore, the President challenged private investors across the economy to ensure they revive the sector in order to attract more tourists but also uphold and protect the Zanzibari culture, traditions and customs.
But, he said the instruction was being followed by most hotel owners through information sharing once they arrive in Zanzibar including recommended dressing codes in relation to places of visit with most of them positively complying.
“Occasionally, incompliance occurs in few areas like the Stone Town, mostly due to language barrier from none-English speaking tourists,” he said.
He said most tourists arriving in Zanzibar this season come from Russia, Poland, and Czechoslovakia, saying he was satisfied with the trend of arrivals.
Delivering his last speech at the Zanzibar’s House of Representative, the seventh President of the Isles, Dr Ali Mohamed Shein said 538,268 visited Zanzibar during the 2019/20 Fiscal Year, up from 133,000 in 2010/11 Financial Year.
The industry contributes about 25 percent of the Island’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and about 80 percent of the annual foreign exchange earnings.
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