EDITORIAL: JOINT REVIEW OF BUSINESS BLUEPRINT WELCOME MOVE

Our lead story yesterday was about the government reviewing some of its laws on investment and related issues. The underlying objective of specifically reviewing the 22 laws under the Ministry of Industry and Trade is to provide for the smooth operationalisation of the Blueprint for Regulatory Reforms to Improve Tanzanian Business Environment.

Basically, doing this would (nay; should) vastly improve the country’s environment not only for investments by potential and prospective investors – particularly foreign direct investments (FDIs) – but also vastly improve Tanzania’s climate for business activities.

In addition to the foregoing, the review is also intended to functionally protect to a certain degree already existing and new “local” industries and businesses from unfair competition by vulturine multinationals.

The stated review is in itself a good move. But, what is even better is the fact that the exercise is being conducted by the government in close engagement-cum-cooperation with other stakeholders in the business, including especially private sector actors.

Officially unveiled in May 2018, the blueprint is the government’s main framework for enabling a holistic review of the business enabling environment in order to improve the business climate in Tanzania.

The blueprint outlines the key challenges which play merry hell with, and wreak havoc on, the investment and doing business environment in the country. In that regard, it proposes ways and means of reforming the climate for the better by firmly putting in place a more investment-cum-business-friendly environment.

The reforms cover sector-specific policies and regulatory frameworks across the country’s socioeconomic development spectrum, with the noble intention of attaining a meaningful, functional and sustainable basis.

Engaging stakeholders

For starters, the government is engaging assorted stakeholders in its review of 22 laws on industry and trade – but doing so within the context of the across-the-board Blueprint for Regulatory Reforms.

When tabling his ministry’s budgetary estimates for the 2021/22 financial year for debate in Parliament on Saturday, the Industry and Trade minister, Prof Kitila Mkumbo, said the government was already working on a “law to protect local industries and businesses”.

The government plans to do this largely by statutorily controlling imports and market distortions by unscrupulous investors-cum-business operators inside and outside the country.

Significantly, these developments come merely a few weeks after President Samia Suluhu Hassan called upon government ministers and other principal officials to ensure that “they improved the ease of doing business in Tanzania”.

This meant, for instance, streamlining unmitigated bureaucracy in business operations that keep prospective investors at bay, force existing investors to shift to other destinations, and have business operators running round and round in ever-diminishing circles.

All the foregoing is in accordance with the country’s National Development Vision which envisages a semi-industrialised (upper)middle-income economy for Tanzania by 2025.

We unreservedly commend the government on all this, and sincerely hope that the Industry and Trade ministry will go at the review hammer and tongs, starting with the sectors which are pivotal to all-inclusive socioeconomic development.