The review would introduce new laws to replace existing ones, some of which industry participants argue are out of date
Arusha. A call has been made to review the Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) Act in the hope that it will transform tourism.
The review would inject new laws to replace the existing ones, some of which industry players claim are outdated.
“Our laws are rigid. For instance, the PPP Act has to be reviewed,” said Kheri Mbiro, a senior partner with the Dar es Salaam-based Breakthrough Attorneys.
He said during a recent meeting on sustainable tourism that some policies governing the key economic sector were unclear.
“There are enough signs that the industry is regulated by unclear policies,” he told The Citizen on the sidelines of the gathering.
Mr Mbiro said some investment projects in the tourism sector left a lot to be desired in that they lacked merit due to community exclusion.
“If we want sustainable tourism, the communities have to be empowered. We must promote community inclusion,” he pointed out.
The principal act governing PPPs in Tanzania is the Public Private Partnership Act No. 18 of 2010 (Act).
Also applicable are the Public Private Partnership Regulations (Regulations) passed in 2011.
The Act, which aims to promote private sector participation in the provision of public services, came into force in 2010 and it applies to mainland Tanzania.
The Act is also intended to facilitate the transfer of skills and technology from the private sector to the public sector as well as encourage foreign direct investment.
Although Mr Mbiro did not delve much into the PPP Act, he insisted that the legislation has to be reviewed to inject new life into the country’s leading sector in foreign exchange generation.
In promoting community inclusion, wildlife conservation—the bedrock of Tanzania’s tourism—should take poverty eradication into account.
The country also has to adopt best practices in sustainable tourism, such as conservation of natural resources, energy efficiency, and waste management.
The meeting at an Arusha hotel requested that the Tanzania Tourist Board (TTB) be supported with suf-ficient financial resources to realize its goals. The state-owned agency is largely mandated to promote the country’s tourism attractions in the leading tourist markets abroad.
However, for years there had been concerns among the players in the tourism industry that, indeed, TTB is still grappling with the financial woes to undertake aggressive marketing.
Besides the traditional tourist attractions that dot the vast landscape of the country, TTB should also be supported to promote the southern tourist circuit.
Wildlife Management Areas (WMA) came into the limelight at the day-long discussion, with fingers pointed at some government departments for allegedly neglecting them.
WMA were established under the Wildlife Conservation Act of 1974, but some line ministry officials have intimated to The Citizen recently that many of them have not been gazetted.
Although intended to generate funds through tour-ism, there are claims that some districts do not recognize investment agreements reached with the investors.
Speaking at the meeting, Sirili Akko, the executive secretary of the Tanzania Association of Tour Opera-tors (Tato) stressed the need to adopt environmen-tal and governance protocols in the tourism sector.
