Unguja. A total of 11 of the 15 islands set aside for investment in Zanzibar have begun implementing their intended projects, while investors for two islands have had their certificates revoked.
Minister of Labour and Investment, Mr Shariff Ali Shariff, provided the information on Tuesday, September 15, 2026, during a meeting of the Revolutionary Council in Chukwani, Unguja, Zanzibar.
The minister was responding to a question from Wingwi Representative, Mr Kombo Mwinyi Shehe (ACT Wazalendo), who sought an evaluation of project implementation on the leased islands and the reasons some islands had not been developed.
"The islands of Mtangani and Matumbini located in the South Pemba Region are the ones that failed to be invested in after their investors failed to complete established procedures, a step that led to their investment certificates being revoked," he said.
He said the investor for the islands came from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), but could not meet the government's established criteria, hence being stripped of it.
Additionally, the government explained that the remaining investors had been granted extra time to begin implementation after submitting satisfactory reasons for delays to the projects.
However, in those responses, the minister did not specify the reasons submitted or the extra time given to begin implementation.
While answering a supplementary question from Representative Mahmoud Shineni on whether Misari Island was among the invested islands and its cost, Mr Shariff said it had been invested in, and the investor had provided $83 million, equivalent to Sh170 billion.
Regarding the benefits citizens receive from the investment, Mr Shariff said that when the government leases out those islands and other projects, their duty is corporate social responsibility (CSR), for which the government has prepared a law to ensure they are responsible.
It will be remembered that after the Eighth Phase Government came to power, it announced a strategy to lease small islands in Unguja and Pemba instead of leaving them idle without being productive.
Under the plan, it conducted an evaluation and identified 52 islands that qualified for the lease.
In the first phase, 20 islands were announced, of which 15 actually got investors.
During implementation of the investment plan, Zanzibar’s President, Dr Hussein Ali Mwinyi, repeatedly said that if people failed to invest within the given time, they would be stripped.
President Samia Suluhu Hassan also supported that statement during festivities celebrating the Revolution anniversary the year before last, when she said investment was important, but those who failed to fulfil requirements had no choice but to be stripped and given to others with the capability.
