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By The Citizen Reporter
Dar es Salaam. Tanzania is identifying new projects and plans to solve unemployment and increase the pace of combating its people’s abject poverty, President Jakaya Kikwete has said.
The new drives have emerged after the government realised that despite the country’s economy growing at seven per cent annually for the last 15 years, it has neither increased employment opportunities nor tamed poverty at the right pace.
President Kikwete was speaking at a luncheon hosted by the World Bank to discuss Strategies for Job Creation and Economic Transformation, a topic presented by a WB expert, Mr Celestin Monga.
The luncheon held at the Sheraton Hotel in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, was hosted by the WB Vice President for Africa, Ms Obiageli ‘Oby’ Ezekwesili, to heads of state from Tanzania, Mozambique, Burkina Faso and Nigeria. The topic was discussed among the four selected nations alongside the Economic Commission for Africa.
Mr Kikwete, who arrived in Ethiopia to attend the 18th AU General Assembly, told participants that his government was coming up with the plan after it completed and launched its new five-year development plan. He said the plan’s success depended very much on special programmes. A number of teams, the president said, have been formed to help the plan succeed.
“It is true we are now focusing on production sectors because this is where many employment opportunities lie...with this in place, our citizens will combat poverty...we should stop depending on production of beer and beverages,” he said, adding: “It is now very difficult to convince the common man with statistics that the economy is growing because most people can’t see that in their earnings...this is because our economies depend mostly on sectors that do not directly touch the citizens on the ground, like communications, infrastructure and mining.”
Earlier in his presentation, Mr Manonga said increasing employment opportunities was among many ways to combat poverty. He asserted: “It is true there have been some commendable revolutions and developments in Africa recently...but there is room for improvement. We need to attract industries which helped the developed nations to where they are now...but we also have to be cautious. because the nations are leaving those kinds of industries now because of the cost of running them.”
At the AU meeting, the Heads of State elected the new chairman. President Dr Thomas Yayi Boni of Benin took over from Mr Theodore Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea who finished his one year term. Dr Boni is an expert in finance and economics.
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