Why Zanzinbar is leasing more islets to investors

 By Jesse Mikofu

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Unguja. Zanzibar has put nine more islets up for lease after ten islets offered earlier in the year attracted $261.5 million (about Sh603 billion) in investment.

In August, the government offered ten of the 52 islets located around Unguja and Pemba islands for lease by prospective investors.

Zanzibar Investment Promotion Agency (Zipa) executive director Shariff Ali Shariff said it had been decided that nine more islets be offered to investors after the ten islets attracted the equivalent of Sh603 billion in investment.

He said the purpose of offering more islets is to open up more investment opportunities in Zanzibar.

“After the successful initial offer and interest shown by investors, the government has decided to put more islets up for grabs,” Mr Shariff added.

Islets that have been offered for lease include Miwi, which covers 36.82 hectares (ha), Popo (45ha), Sume (3.52ha) and Kwata (6.73 ha), all located in Unguja South.

Others are Kashani (31.8ha), Njao (470ha), North Pemba, Jombe (76.64ha), Mtambini A (200ha) and Fumbo (37ha), which are all located around Pemba.

According to Mr Shariff, 53 domestic and foreign companies submitted bids for the ten initial islets, but only nine were successful.

Some of the considerations were the capacity to invest in high-end projects, capital level, environmental concerns and the lease acquisition cost.

Mr Shariff said Zanzibaris should not be worried because the islets are not being sold, but leased in line with the Land Act (No 12 of 1992).

He added that the government had also put in place mandatory terms for all investors, including hiring locals, environmental conservation and setting aside specific areas for locals to continue with their economic activities.

Commenting on the development, some Zanzibaris who spoke to The Citizen said the move would be beneficial as long as their interests were safeguarded.

Ms Asha Haji commended the efforts, and asked the government to ensure that Zanzibaris benefited fully from the investment.

Mr Hassan Suleiman said the investment should be geared at lifting Zanzibaris out of poverty.

“We appreciate measures that have been taken so far. Previously, we had seen that investors earned much more than the locals. This should be looked into since what we want to achieve is a win-win situation,” he said.

Zanzibar has some 52 islets, some of which have already secured investments while several others are still awaiting investment.