By Guardian Reporter , The Guardian
MINISTER of State in the President’s Office (Planning and Investment) Prof Kitila Mkumbo has announced a competition to attract investments at council and regional levels meant to boost trade and development in the country.
Prof Mkumbo unveiled the plan in Dodoma yesterday while speaking to regional administrative secretaries and council directors where he said that the goal is to inspire innovation of leaders in their respective areas.
“We want to see how you can attract investments. We will create criteria to be used for evaluation to see how you can lure investors to spur development. The government develops infrastructure such as the standard gauge railway for transporting cargo but this will not be useful if there is no trade,” he said.
The minister called on leaders to enable trade activities to take place in their areas so as to collect tax without impeding the public or discrimination against certain groups of people.
“There is a big problem in the government where many have been regulators rather than enablers. Traders are the big taxpayers. To get our salaries, tax must be paid; for trade to take place there must be an enabling environment for business,” he said.
Prof Mkumbo said traders whose licenses had expired were forced to close their shops after inspection, a situation that does not empower their businesses.
“Do not stop trade because doing so threatens our national security because unsettled civil servants can cause the government to become unsettled as well. When you halt trade, you block tax,” he said.
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