Strategic plans key to Mwanza’s growth: RC
What you need to know:
- A national account report published recently by the National Bureau of Statistics shows that Mwanza’s GDP at the current market price has doubled in six years. In 2015, its economy was valued at Sh8.4 trillion, equivalent to the combined economies of Shinyanga and Kagera or the combined economies of Mbeya and Iringa.
Mwanza. In 2016, Mwanza’s share of national GDP was Sh10 trillion after Dar es Salaam, which had Sh17.6 trillion. To maintain its position as the second largest contributor to Tanzania’s GDP, the authorities say the region’s position is a result of strategic plans.
A national account report published recently by the National Bureau of Statistics shows that Mwanza’s GDP at the current market price has doubled in six years. In 2015, its economy was valued at Sh8.4 trillion, equivalent to the combined economies of Shinyanga and Kagera or the combined economies of Mbeya and Iringa.
Mwanza regional commissioner John Mongella mentioned agriculture, fishing, mining and livestock as among the sectors that were behind the region’s growth, noting that by utilising opportunities in such areas, Mwanza would be able to even surpass Dar es Salaam’s GDP in 2025. “We aim at doubling the current 4, 991 tonnes of cotton production…We also seek to attract investments in industrial production, using cotton as a raw material,” he said.
Irrigation farming - rice, maize, sunflower and cereals - is also part of the region’s strategies to boost its contribution to the GDP.
“We intend to utilise our strategic location within the East African Community to turn Mwanza into a business hub,” he noted.
Mwanza will utilise horticulture and livestock. The RC insisted that the region had at least 1.8 million head of cattle. The mining sector is on Mwanza’s road-to-prosperity plans, thanked to the availability of diamond, gold and limestone in the area. Tanzania Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture chairman in Mwanza Elibariki Mmari urged the government to officially recognise the region as the EAC business hub by setting a better policy, a business management system and a conducive business environment.
He asked the government to harmonise laws and business regulations to allow free movements of people and capital relocation among partner states.
“All goods from Uganda and Kenya through Lake Victoria first land in Mwanza before taken to other regions. The region is the only place where businesspeople can order goods from Uganda and Kenya and get it easily through water transport.”
