Why govt’s five-year growth plan failed to impress MPs

Dodoma. The implementation of the first Five-Year Development Plan (FYDP) has miserably failed, as the government itself has not been able to pass a precise overall grade of the plan ending in June this year.

This was revealed here last week when the Ministry of Finance presented to Members of Parliament a number of reports including a comprehensive review of the FYDP 2011/12 - 2015/16.

The comprehensive review report for the implementation of the plan notes that while in some areas there were ‘reasonable’ achievements, efforts were needed in other areas to reach envisaged targets.

“It is difficult to pass a precise overall ‘grade’ on whether the implementation of the five-year development plan has surpassed 50 per cent mark or above,” reads part of the report circulated to the lawmakers.

The minister for Finance and Planning, Dr Phillip Mpango, noted that the implementation of the plan was between 40 and 50 per cent, but the Kigoma Urban parliamentarian, Mr Zitto Kabwe, revealed that it was less than 40 per cent.

Mr Zitto attributed the failure to implement the plan to, among other things, the government and Parliament’s reluctance to enact a law to guide and gauge the implementation of the same.

“Without a precise law on such a plan, there is no way you can monitor the implementation,” he stressed.

The report indicates that targets might have also been set a little too high. “Other areas require corrective organisational improvements or change in strategy,” says the report which intends to inform the implementation of the second FYDP set to begin next financial year.

The report lists areas and sectors with remarkable achievements as infrastructure; particularly roads, bridges and ferries, railways and airports, energy and water, and in areas of agriculture, particularly food production as well as human capital development.

According to the report, one of the inhibiting factors in the implementation of the plan is lack of adequate financing with annual funding targets falling short in many aspects.

“On rare occasions only funding goals were achieved mainly for development projects. Where human capacity is mentioned as a challenge, financing lies behind it,” says the report.

The report also indicates that cumbersome and long procurement processes were, in some instances, to blame for the failure to implement the plan.

Because of the shortfall in financing of some projects, the government found itself with unbearable debts to contractors and suppliers, further compounding the implementation of projects, especially in infrastructure development such as roads, railways, and airports.

“There was also bureaucracy in obtaining land for investments,” notes the report to which the minister for Land, Housing, and Human Settlement Development, Mr William Lukuvi, admitted that they had learnt a lesson.

“As a result of such a situation the ministry has put in place mechanisms to enable us to survey all the land in the country. This will enable us to easily identify land needed for investment purposes,” he told the MPs.

The report also says the implementation of the plan failed in many areas because much of the development budget depended on donor contributions.

The donors’ belated commitment or failure to honour their pledges had put several development projects on hold.

Unfavourable investment climate had also put many foreign and local investors on hold, affecting a number of crucial projects.

The report notes also that the government could not effectively embrace the contribution of the private sector despite touting for it as the engine of the economy.

Debating the report, Members of Parliament asked the government to be realistic in its next five-year plan, especially on how it intended to generate funds for financing it.

They noted that it would be meaningless if the government did not ensure it had enough funds to finance its development blue print which focused on industrialisation.

The assessment has provided crucial knowledge to the government and MPs who advised the government on what it should do in its development plans.

As the government mulls over the FYDP II, which focuses on industrialisation, it has been urged to change its mindset, lest it failed again.

Debating the FYDP II framework, which the Finance and Planning deputy minister, Dr Ashtu Kijaji, tabled in Parliament, Mr Almas Maige (Tabora North – CCM) cautioned:

“I am afraid the government still sees Tanzania as a country of farmers and workers. If it does not change its mindset to embrace this new notion, it will not succeed in the implementation of this plan,” he said.

Mr Maige, who doubles as the president of the Business Africa Employers Federation, said the government had for quite a long time been badly looking at employers and employees, subjecting them to undue pressure.

“It will be very difficult to achieve the industrialisation targets if the government will continue treating workers and employers this way,” he cautioned.

He said since workers would carry out the industrial revolution, the government should have a new mentality and approach when dealing with labour issues for the plan to succeed.

He also said the government should be clear on its policies right from the beginning as to whose role will be central in the building of the industries.

Other MPs concurred with him, noting that there was a need for a clear clarification, as the same government had distanced itself from directly running industries.

If the government wanted to succeed, Mr Maige suggested that it should start by reviving defunct factories, for building new ones was costly.

The MPs reminded the government that it would be prudent for it not to engage in activities which would require it to use a lot of funds, given the implementation of the first FYDP plan failed partly due to financial constraints.

Some MPs suggested that it would be better if the government allowed the private sector to build and operate factories, but others said the government could build industries and entrust the private sector with their management.

Speaking to The Citizen later, Mr Maige noted that Tanzania was the only country in Africa which had imposed the Skills Development Levy (SDL) at the rate of 5 per cent.

“There are many countries in Africa which do not have this kind of levy. Uganda does not charge it and other countries which have this levy charge it at modest rates,” he said, citing Kenya which charged the SDL at only 1.2 per cent.

Presenting the framework, Dr Kijaji assured the MPs that it would focus on nurturing industrialisation for economic transformation and human development.

“This will ensure the industrial revolution and agricultural sector, which employs many people, complement each other,” she said.

She added that under the plan, the government targeted to attain macroeconomic stability and social economic gains which would be sustained and improved.

“Key challenges noted during the implementation of the FYDP I will be mitigated, as the FYDP II will be closely supervised and followed up,” she said.