#Tanzania: Economy, Trade, Development

[Geza Ulole]

Originally Posted by èđđeůx

That's a paltry .4% increase in 3 years. Is 15% all that's being aimed for by 2025? If so, that's sad. It should be a goal to have at least 25% of GDP from manufacturing by then.

well it depend on how u view it 15% of GDP on manufacturing is not small at all! Kenya itself manufacturing is contributing 15%! but i think there is error for 2025

[èđđeůx]

Originally Posted by Geza Ulole

well it depend on how u view it 15% of GDP on manufacturing is not small at all! Kenya itself manufacturing is contributing 15%! but i think there is error for 2025

Its not small, but not great at all either.

[Geza Ulole]

Tanzania to inject $20m to revive General Tyre

Workers at a tyre factory. When revived, General Tyre will create more jobs. Photo/FILE AFP

IN SUMMARY

Private investors were also putting in money to make the firm operational by mid-2013, to cater for the growing demand for quality tyres in the country and beyond.
The firm is expected to employ nearly 400 workers and produce 1,000 quality tyres a day.
The state is preparing to pump in over $20 million to breathe life into the defunct General Tyre East Africa, whose production lines stalled in 2009 due to, among other factors, importation of cheap tyres.

Industry and Trade Minister Dr Abdallah Kigoda told The EastAfrican private investors were also putting in money to make the firm operational by mid-2013, to cater for the growing demand for quality tyres in the country and beyond.

“I cannot disclose names, but there is a long list of investors interested in a joint venture with the state to revive General Tyre; we are even now doing due diligence,” Dr Kigoda said in an interview in Arusha.

The firm is expected to employ nearly 400 workers and produce 1,000 quality tyres a day. This means that, without interruptions, the plant could be producing 240,000 tyres a year, earning the country Tsh96 billion ($60million) if an average price per tyre is taken as Tsh400,000 ($250).

General Tyre, the only tyre plant in the country, will start off by supplying tyres for all government vehicles before it enters the private sector market in the country and region.

Tanzania, East Africa’s second largest economy, has seen vehicles imports rise by nearly 70 per cent in a single year, reflecting an emerging middle class produced by an improved economy and greater social welfare.

The country had registered 93,009 cars of different types by the end of 2011, compared with 55,144 in 2010. The official government data, which does not include government, police, army and donor funded vehicles, shows that 67 per cent of registered vehicles were light passenger vehicles with a carrying capacity of less than 12 passengers.

Chinese tyres

The revival of General Tyre offers a quick fix, not only for the country, but also for East Africa in general, which imports the bulk of its tyres from China, Japan, India and Dubai. The cheap imports have been blamed for the increase in road accidents.

READ: Tyre firm GTEA to be revived under state-owned corporation

In Tanzania, traffic police reports show that road accidents claimed the lives of 3,582 people last year. During the same period, over 1,000 bus passengers accounting for 18 per cent of the total deaths also perished. Police reports blame most of these road accidents on tyre bursts.

Chinese tyres are gaining popularity in several African markets. Many African countries are price-sensitive markets and prefer to import low-priced Chinese tyres rather than the expensive European and American brands.

As a result, China has emerged as a leading exporter of tyres to African countries like Tanzania.

Analysts say most illegally imported tyres have a quality problem emanating from storage; some are poorly stored in godowns in hot places like Dubai for months, which seriously compromises quality.

Dr Gasper Mpehongwa, a lecturer at Tumaini University, said the revival of General Tyre will pose competition for the only East African tyre manufacturer, Sameer Africa Ltd, leading to improvements in quality and lower prices.

“General Tyre will make tyres that can withstand our poor roads,” Dr Mpehongwa told The EastAfrican.

Former General Tyre sales manager Phillip Mweta said the EAC tyre market is so huge that even having two local manufacturers will not satisfy it.

“General Tyre would be producing only 240,000 tyres a year, mainly for heavy duty vehicles, but the rough estimated demand for heavy duty tyres in Tanzania alone can hit two million tyres per year,” Mr Mweta explained.

In the four years since General Tyre closed shop, Sameer African has dominated the EA market with its Yana and Firestone brands.

General Tyre, which was once the largest industrial plant in the region, started production of tyres in 1971. At its peak it was making 1,200 tyres a day.

In the late 1990s and mid 2000s, the state-owned plant changed ownership several times with the divestiture from public corporations by the government.

Analysts are however sceptical that it can bounce back to its production levels of the 1970s and 1980s, citing changes in technology.
http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/news...z/-/index.html

[Geza Ulole]

Tanzania: Govt to Revive Arusha's 'Philips' Electronics
1 DECEMBER 2012
The Government has plans to revive the defunct electronics equipment manufacturing company of Arusha which used to make products under the 'Philips' brand.

Speaking in Arusha, Trade and Industry Minister Dr Abdallah Kigoda said the 'Philips' factory, located in the so-called 'Philips area,' of Sekei Ward in the city will be revived to resume production. He did not clarify when that is bound to happen.

The factory was a leading electronics manufacturing company in the 1960s and 70s in East Africa employing hundreds of people.

Dr Kigoda was speaking during a public rally held at the Sheikh Amri Abeid Stadium here, organized by members of the Chama Cha Mapinduzi. The rally was meant to welcome the newly elected CCM party Secretary General Mr Abdulrahman Kinana, who also served as Arusha Urban's Member of Parliament until 1995.

Dr Kigoda pointed out that Arusha relied heavily on industrial development and that the region so far has nearly 900 factories among them 57 large industries, 500 small companies and 300 small-scale industries registered under the Small Industries Development Organization (SIDO).

The Minister also did not explain what types of products the revived Philips will be producing from Arusha. Before the giant electronics manufacturing firm closed shop in the early 80s, it used to produce mostly audio equipment including tuner radio sets, vinyl record players, loudspeakers and flat irons.

With advanced audio-visual technology few people buy radio sets nowadays and record players have since been replaced with Compact Discs, though the latter is also fading out, giving way to flash-media players such as Apple's iPad and Sony's digital (Walkman) Mp3 players as well as personal computers that many people nowadays use to listen to music, broadcasts and watch films.

Arusha's Philips was branch of the Royal Philips Electronics, commonly known as Philips, a Dutch multinational electronics company headquartered in Amsterdam. It was founded in Eindhoven in 1891 by Gerard Philips and his father Frederik. It is one of the largest electronics companies in the world and employs around 122,000 people across more than 60 countries.

The Philips factory premises in which radio sets and gramophones used to be manufactured in Arusha still stand along the Moshi-Arusha highway. During its heydays, Tanzania used to export electronic equipment to neighboring countries of Kenya, Uganda and DRC (formerly Zaire).
http://allafrica.com/stories/printab...212040006.html

[mlaizer]

Originally Posted by Geza Ulole

Tanzania: Govt to Revive Arusha's 'Philips' Electronics
1 DECEMBER 2012
The Government has plans to revive the defunct electronics equipment manufacturing company of Arusha which used to make products under the 'Philips' brand.

Speaking in Arusha, Trade and Industry Minister Dr Abdallah Kigoda said the 'Philips' factory, located in the so-called 'Philips area,' of Sekei Ward in the city will be revived to resume production. He did not clarify when that is bound to happen.

The factory was a leading electronics manufacturing company in the 1960s and 70s in East Africa employing hundreds of people.

Dr Kigoda was speaking during a public rally held at the Sheikh Amri Abeid Stadium here, organized by members of the Chama Cha Mapinduzi. The rally was meant to welcome the newly elected CCM party Secretary General Mr Abdulrahman Kinana, who also served as Arusha Urban's Member of Parliament until 1995.

Dr Kigoda pointed out that Arusha relied heavily on industrial development and that the region so far has nearly 900 factories among them 57 large industries, 500 small companies and 300 small-scale industries registered under the Small Industries Development Organization (SIDO).

The Minister also did not explain what types of products the revived Philips will be producing from Arusha. Before the giant electronics manufacturing firm closed shop in the early 80s, it used to produce mostly audio equipment including tuner radio sets, vinyl record players, loudspeakers and flat irons.

With advanced audio-visual technology few people buy radio sets nowadays and record players have since been replaced with Compact Discs, though the latter is also fading out, giving way to flash-media players such as Apple's iPad and Sony's digital (Walkman) Mp3 players as well as personal computers that many people nowadays use to listen to music, broadcasts and watch films.

Arusha's Philips was branch of the Royal Philips Electronics, commonly known as Philips, a Dutch multinational electronics company headquartered in Amsterdam. It was founded in Eindhoven in 1891 by Gerard Philips and his father Frederik. It is one of the largest electronics companies in the world and employs around 122,000 people across more than 60 countries.

The Philips factory premises in which radio sets and gramophones used to be manufactured in Arusha still stand along the Moshi-Arusha highway. During its heydays, Tanzania used to export electronic equipment to neighboring countries of Kenya, Uganda and DRC (formerly Zaire).
http://allafrica.com/stories/printab...212040006.html

It will be a good move if at all will be implemented but seem to be more political....

[bantugbro]

Tanzanian spirits maker enters Kenyan market
Thursday, 03 January 2013 14:47

By BusinessWeek Correspondent
Dar es Salaam. Tanzania Distilleries Limited (TDL) has started exporting its products to Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan and Uganda.

Its managing director David Mgwassa told BusinessWeek recently that the firm could not sit and watch as the local market was getting flooded by all sorts of imported spirits and wines.
Going regional is therefore one of its plans to grow.

However, he says that has difficult. “Breaking the Kenyan market was tough, and we faced very many challenges from our competitors there who went to the extent of calling Konyagi ‘changaa’, an illicit brew made there,” he grouses.

He says the battle for the penetration of the Kenyan market entailed hard work and the involvement of the Tanzania Bureau of Standards, and when that was overcome, other serious problems arose.

With Kenyans enjoying their locally made Gilbeys Gin in a 205ml bottle, TDL introduced its Konyagi brand in its 200ml bottle. To its astonishment, TDL was ordered to change the bottle size to meet the Kenyan standards of 205ml. When that was done, the Kenyans told TDL was told its gin products should be in 200ml bottles!

“Penetrating the Kenyan market was a major hurdle because a lot of effort was made to frustrate us. We incurred huge extra cost, but we were determined to penetrate the market. Come what may, we will sell our products in Kenya,” he says.

Last year alone, the company posted over $2 million in export sales.

It has its own distribution centres with sales staff, and billboards to advertise our products in Kenya.
The company has also come up with a strategy to remain strong in the local market. It is making Dodoma and Imagi wine brands using grapes grown in Dodoma.

It also locally manufactures Overmeer wines and Grand cru wine brands under a South African licence using grapes from Dodoma. This has a multiplier effect since farmers have a market for their produce and jobs have been created directly or indirectly.

Mr Mgwasa would like value addition to crops to be emphasised and that is why TDL is using the Dodoma grapes for producing wines.

He says countries which are successful in agriculture have taken value addition of crops seriously. They do not sell crops in raw forms, but instead process them. They have created ample agro-processing industries to create jobs. “Tanzania should stop selling maize to neighbouring countries; it should sell sembe.”

TDL’s position is to continue facilitating value addition of crops cultivated in Tanzania and “create products out of them so that they can be more easily saleable and profitable than when they are in raw form”. He views that as a competitive advantage.

With a modern packaging technology, TDL is planning to expand to more African countries.
Mr Mgwassa sees a great potential in wine production in Tanzania and what is needed is to have a good policy and good business decisions to become a major market globally.

He advises Tanzanians to think big rather than being inward looking. They should not waste opportunities on duplicating bad ideas and projects.

Source:
http://www.thecitizen.co.tz/business...-kenyan-market

[Rain Drops]

THE year 2012 can rightly be described as one of the most exciting and at the same time highly challenging in the country's recent economic history.

Economists say that given careful budgeting, the economy is expected to maintain a steady growth from the current 6.5 - 7.0 per cent to higher levels during this and next year, supported by strong performance in mining, services and telecommunication sectors.

The huge discoveries of natural gas are also expected to give a big boost to the country's economy over the next 10 to 15 years -- the time when Tanzanians are scheduled to have achieved the National Development Vision. It is anticipated that by the year 2025, Tanzania will graduate from the current Least Developed Country (LDC) status into a middle income nation.

However, the government is still facing several Herculean tasks. First is the frequently asked question among the people who want to see the macro-economic achievements translated to the man on the street. People, many of whom are currently mired in poverty, want to feel on gradual basis, more weight in their purses or afford many goods and services.

The youths expect to have access to more jobs or any means of lawful income. Many critics say mass poverty is still widespread despite the encouraging and ever-improving economic scenario. The trend is attributed to the fact that growth has largely concentrated in a few capital-intensive areas, particularly mining, telecoms and gas.

Such sectors cannot produce widespread job creation, especially in rural areas where over 70 per cent of the population lives. Fortunately, the government is already having the right answer in the policy of Kilimo Kwanza, loosely translated as agriculture is the priority.

This inclusive policy will definitely address the welfare of the majority of the people, especially those in rural areas. It is hoped that this year, the government will throw much of its weight behind Kilimo Kwanza.

http://allafrica.com/stories/201301020302.html

[Rain Drops]

THE Publish What You Pay initiative (PWYP), under Fordia Tanzania has paid tribute to Tanzania's recent raise to being an Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) compliant country.

It, however, urges the country not to be complacent but rather consider the milestone achievement as both challenge and motivation to practically do more on extractive industries value chain transparency.

The Executive Director of Fordia Tanzania, Mr Bubelwa Kaiza, said in Dar es Salaam on Friday that the Tanzania EITI Multi-Stakeholders (MSG) and the government alike should take concrete leadership steps, including to support the current EIT International Board efforts to expand the EITI domain, specifically the mandatory disclosure of mining, oil and gas contracts reports, among others.

"PWYP Tanzania is fully supportive of stakeholders' efforts striving to achieve an expanded and meaningful EITI in Tanzania and beyond," he said.The International Board of the Extractive Industries Transparency had on that day declared Tanzania the EITI Compliant country. "This is definitely considered Tanzania's 2012 significant milestone achievement," he said.

He said Tanzania becomes one of the 18 EITI Compliant countries that rose from EITI candidacy status since launch of the initiative in 2002.

Tanzania made a public commitment to join, therefore formally admitted to implement EITI in February 2009. By December 2012 - 37 countries are implementing EITI and have collectively published 100 reports worth over $700 billion of oil, gas and mining revenues.

"The implication of being EITI Compliant country is that Tanzania is now internationally recognized as one governing her mining, oil and gas resources transparently and accountably, certainly with positive bearing on prudent and efficient management of the national economy, "he said.

He said it also implies that information about material revenue from mining, oil and gas operations in the country is fully disclosed and therefore publicly available, making citizens fully aware and availed with opportunity to scrutinize patterns and amounts of revenue the government receives from extractive companies.

"Governance of extractive industries in the country is not explicit yet, enough to validate information disclosure, prudent resource governance, predictability and equitable redistribution of revenue resulting from extractive industries, "he said.

He said that despite government good intentions to govern the mining, oil and gas resources transparently and accountably, Tanzania is yet to legislate the laws, setting regulatory framework to guarantee mandatory disclosures consistent with extractive industries value chain - decisions to extract, undertake exploration, issue licences, seal contracts, monitor operations, budgeting and allocation of resources.

He noted there is need for the government to conceive the Community Development Agreements (CDAs) as necessary tool for meaningful compensation of displaced and relocated communities resulting from mining or gas extraction operations.

http://dailynews.co.tz/index.php/loc...iti-compliance

[Rain Drops]

Need more diversification:

TEN subsectors -- gold, cashews, fish processing, coffee, tobacco, tea, flour, steel, palm oil and cut flowers -- account for half of the country's exports.

Prof John Sutton, the Sir John Hicks Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics, made the remark in reference to his findings in the new enterprise map of Tanzania, noting that some 22 firms account for over half of exports in seven of the 10 sub sectors.

"Tanzania's economy has had really strong growth performance over the past decade. The good news is that this growth has been broadly based across sectors," he said, adding that "If this continues, Tanzania can become a middle income country in a decade or so."

Prof Sutton also notes that if the gas and oil industry supply chains can be fully integrated with Tanzania's domestic industrial sector, the payoff to medium term growth will be huge. He said that 36 per cent of exports in 2011 came from Gold, noting that oil and gas will be key in sustaining growth.

South Africa, Canada and UK account for half the Foreign Direct Investment stock to Tanzania, with a quarter of FDI going to manufacturing. "The UK, US and Kenya are the leading sources of manufacturing FDI," he said. He noted that it is seen as disappointing in Tanzania that so few local start-ups grow to become mid-size industrial companies. He said the oil and gas sector can help in the integration of local firms into international supply chains.

"The key to success lies in having a deep understanding of existing industrial capabilities... it's crucial to focus on narrowly defined sectors which offer long term viability," he said.

Dr Donath Olomi, Chairman of the Institute of Management and Entrepreneurship Development, said that in the first decade of the new millennium, Tanzania's gross domestic product doubled in real terms, making it one of the handful of sub-Saharan economies that have shown strong and sustained growth in recent years.

"This growth was, moreover, broad based, with manufacturing output growing slightly faster than the economy as a whole," said Dr Olomi. The research was supported by the International Growth Centre, which aims at promoting sustainable growth in developing countries by providing demandled policy advice.

http://allafrica.com/stories/201212280014.html

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Tanzania’s inflation rate declined for the 11th consecutive month in November as food-price increases slowed.

The inflation rate in East Africa’s second-biggest economy dropped to 12.1 percent from 12.9 percent in October, the National Bureau of Statistics said in a statement handed to journalists today in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania’s commercial hub. Prices rose 0.7 percent in the month, it said.

The food-inflation rate dropped to 13.7 percent in November from 15 percent previously, according to the statement.

Inflation is a “major challenge” for Tanzania’s economy and the government will continue providing subsidies to farmers to help curb food-price increases, President Jakaya Kikwete said Nov. 12. The government is targeting inflation below 10 percent in the “next few months,” the International Monetary Fund said in October.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-1...h-on-food.html

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http://www.ippmedia.com/frontend/index.php?l=49691

Says country could earn USD 6.0 billion yearly

Tanzania is among African countries yet to benefit from the Chinese investment in the fisheries industry under China-Africa fishery cooperation plan.


The cooperation programme is worth around $6 billion annually, from an annual harvest of about 500,000 metric tons. Tanzania’s annual output is 350,000 tons of fish.

According to Tanzania’s fisheries statistics on average of the last five years, fish and fishery products exports from Tanzania earned the country an average of about USD 195.17 million.

The Agritrade which serves as a resource tool for ACP-EU agriculture and fisheries trade issues quoted Zhang Huoli, chairman of LianjiangFarsea Fishery Co Ltd in Fujian province, saying his company is planning to send dozens of fishing vessels to Africa this year.

“In 2013 we will be sending dozens of our fishing vessels in the African fishery industry as it has huge potential and can also help Tanzanian people, especially fishermen to overcome poverty," he said.

For his part, the Tanzanian envoy to China Philip Marmo welcomed investment into the sector, saying it would help improve the skills level.

“The cooperation will definitely be a promising one as China has advanced fishing technology, vessels and experience in research and production management of which we will be beneficial as far as technological transfer is concerned.”

The envoy noted that the sector contributed about 1.4 percent to the GDP and 10 percent to the national foreign aexchange earnings.

It employs more than 177,527 full time fishermen and about four million people earn their livelihood from the sector.

Speaking at the 2012 China-Africa Fishery Forum, Wei Jianguo, vice-chairman and secretary-general of the China Centre for International Economic Exchange, said fishery cooperation held great potential, against the backdrop of booming Chinese investment in Africa.

China has been the world's largest exporter of fish and fish products since 2002, and 2011 saw its exports, mainly to Japan, the US and South Korea, reach USD 8.0 billion.

In addition to creating jobs, Chinese fishery companies also hope to train around local workers in the high seas as well as the inland fishing techniques.

According to Wei, Africa expects to replace European Union as China's biggest trade partner in the next three to five years, noting that cooperation has entered a new era of closer bilateral ties.

"Both sides realise the necessity of shifting to fish farming in Africa rather than exhausting natural resources. In addition, we need to expand the scope of cooperation through investment in refrigeration plants, processing factories and shipyards," Wei said.

Tanzania is one of the greatest fisheries nations in Africa, according to FAO. It is ranked in the top 10 countries in terms of total fisheries production.

The main investment opportunities existing in the fisheries industry are fishing, fish processing, value addition in fish and other fisheries products; cold chain, boat building, construction of a fish harbour, construction of dry docking facility, ecotourism, manufacturing of fishing gear and accessories.

Other areas include; prawn/shrimp farming, mud-crab farming, pearl culture, finfish culture, seaweed farming, hatchery for fingerlings production, fishing and culture of ornamental fish, fish feeds production and live food production.


NB:mmmmh wacha nigune mie, kama sekta hii inaweza kutupatia hela nyingi hivi mbona bado wanahitaji makubaliano na wachina kuiboresha? kwanini tusifanye sisi wenyewe au kuomba mkopo? maana kama ukiangalia habari nyingi kuhusu fishe exports za duniani ni kwamba ulaya, marekani, asia kote papo exhausted, bado africa na sisi ndo hao tumewakaribisha kwa mkeka kabisa..aisee mimi naona tutapigwa chenga la macho,we subiri uone.

[Adm.Adama]

post links so we can verify

[Rain Drops]

Originally Posted by Adm.Adama

post links so we can verify

Done

[Rain Drops]

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) later this year, is set to announce new indicators which will measure the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) more accurately, compared to the current system which suffers major shortcomings.

Speaking exclusively to The Guardian recently, statistician with the NBS who preferred anonymity said the current measures which were developed ten years ago excluded some significant economic activities.

“It is true that the current system of measurement is outdated as it does not accommodate the current economic activities…We are required to update our system after every five years.…So with the help of World Bank we have launched a new benchmarking exercise to more accurately characterise the structure of economy,” he said.

He added: “Hopefully by March next year (2013), the new structure might be in place as we are currently working on it.”

According to him, measuring GDP is complicated, but at its most basic, the calculation can be done in one of two ways, either by adding up what everyone earned in a year which is the income approach or by adding up what everyone spent which is called the expenditure method.

It is said that the income approach, which is sometimes referred to as GDP1 is calculated by adding up total compensation to employees, gross profits for incorporated and non-incorporated firms, and taxes less any subsidies.

On the other hand, the expenditure method is the more common approach and is calculated by adding total consumption, investment, government spending and net exports.

“Ten years ago, there was less use of cell phones. Lifestyle has changed compared to what it used to be ten years back...all these have to be considered. So I hope when completed, the exercise would result in significant changes to the manner in which national GDP is calculated thus produce more accurate information,” he said.

In its second issue of Tanzania Economic Update Series, the World Bank (WB) suggested that Tanzanian authorities need to use better indicators to extrapolate production growth.

According to the WB methodology used in the country suffers from two faults namely the use of outdated characterisation of structure of the economy and inadequate indicators for annual and quarterly projection.

On the outdated characterisation of structure of the economy, WB indicates that the last benchmarking of Tanzania’s economy was conducted in 2001 at a time when there were almost no cell phone companies and with the service industry in their infancy.

It is necessary to characterise the structure of the economy and define the share of each sector and relations between them more meaningfully as well as to reconcile supply and demand sides of economy at the industry level.

Therefore, international best practice suggests that such processes should be conducted at least every five years.

The WB series point out that only one-third of total economic growth is measured by observed data, while the remainder is estimated by proxies of unequal quality.

The country’s economic update indicates that Tanesco data is used to measure energy output, while the contribution of other more recent electrical power generating operators is not included.

Similarly, the growth of telecommunications sector is defined by proxy based on postal activities and not cell phone activities. Agriculture outputs are generally based on routine crop reports which are generally acknowledged to be inaccurate.

GDP is the main measure of the health of the economy and is used by the central banks as one of the key indicators in setting interest rates each month. Also it is used by major international organisation like IMF to measure the Economic health of countries.

http://www.ippmedia.com/frontend/index.php?l=49656

[bantugbro]

Originally Posted by Rain Drops

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) later this year, is set to announce new indicators which will measure the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) more accurately, compared to the current system which suffers major shortcomings.

Speaking exclusively to The Guardian recently, statistician with the NBS who preferred anonymity said the current measures which were developed ten years ago excluded some significant economic activities.

“It is true that the current system of measurement is outdated as it does not accommodate the current economic activities…We are required to update our system after every five years.…So with the help of World Bank we have launched a new benchmarking exercise to more accurately characterise the structure of economy,” he said.

He added: “Hopefully by March next year (2013), the new structure might be in place as we are currently working on it.”

According to him, measuring GDP is complicated, but at its most basic, the calculation can be done in one of two ways, either by adding up what everyone earned in a year which is the income approach or by adding up what everyone spent which is called the expenditure method.

It is said that the income approach, which is sometimes referred to as GDP1 is calculated by adding up total compensation to employees, gross profits for incorporated and non-incorporated firms, and taxes less any subsidies.

On the other hand, the expenditure method is the more common approach and is calculated by adding total consumption, investment, government spending and net exports.

“Ten years ago, there was less use of cell phones. Lifestyle has changed compared to what it used to be ten years back...all these have to be considered. So I hope when completed, the exercise would result in significant changes to the manner in which national GDP is calculated thus produce more accurate information,” he said.

In its second issue of Tanzania Economic Update Series, the World Bank (WB) suggested that Tanzanian authorities need to use better indicators to extrapolate production growth.

According to the WB methodology used in the country suffers from two faults namely the use of outdated characterisation of structure of the economy and inadequate indicators for annual and quarterly projection.

On the outdated characterisation of structure of the economy, WB indicates that the last benchmarking of Tanzania’s economy was conducted in 2001 at a time when there were almost no cell phone companies and with the service industry in their infancy.

It is necessary to characterise the structure of the economy and define the share of each sector and relations between them more meaningfully as well as to reconcile supply and demand sides of economy at the industry level.

Therefore, international best practice suggests that such processes should be conducted at least every five years.

The WB series point out that only one-third of total economic growth is measured by observed data, while the remainder is estimated by proxies of unequal quality.

The country’s economic update indicates that Tanesco data is used to measure energy output, while the contribution of other more recent electrical power generating operators is not included.

Similarly, the growth of telecommunications sector is defined by proxy based on postal activities and not cell phone activities. Agriculture outputs are generally based on routine crop reports which are generally acknowledged to be inaccurate.

GDP is the main measure of the health of the economy and is used by the central banks as one of the key indicators in setting interest rates each month. Also it is used by major international organisation like IMF to measure the Economic health of countries.

http://www.ippmedia.com/frontend/index.php?l=49656

In other words they are attempting to perform something called REBASING of the economic indicators. This will significantly bring up our national GDP estimates, Nigeria is also at the moment doing the same...

[Rain Drops]

THE National Housing Corporation (NHC) has received a record demand from potential customers who have posted down payments for the purchase of 182 low-cost residential houses to be constructed at Kibada in Kigamboni, Dar es Salaam Region.

Requests for the houses started being registered on January 2 and the corporation was forced to end the exercise the following day after receiving more than 120 per cent of the 182 houses on offer."This was historic. It has never happened before. We never expected to have such an overwhelming turnout. This shows that demand for cheap houses in the country is very high," NHC's Sales Manager Mr William Genya told the 'Daily News' .

The low-cost housing project at Kibada in Kigamboni was launched late last year by President Jakaya Kikwete by laying a foundation stone.The housing estate, which is among more than 10 other similar projects being implemented countrywide by the housing corporation, will include basic infrastructure and recreational facilities.

The corporation's target is to construct 15,000 residential houses by the year 2015, a move that will help satiate the high demand for homes in the country. Mr Genya said that the applications to buy the houses stood at 120 per cent against the offer of 182 housing units in Kibada.

"This was a first come first served mode. Once we receive payments for all the available houses for each project, we close the sales," he explained.He urged members of the public to be on the alert. Announcements for sales of the corporation's other low-cost housing units in other regions and districts around the country are made any time.

Regions and districts where NHC is constructing low-cost houses include Movemero in Morogoro region, Kongwa in Dodoma, Ilembo in Katavi, Geita region and Mkinga in Tanga.Other areas are Babati in Manyara region, Monduli and Longido in Arusha region, Mkuzo in Songea region and Unyakumi in Singida region.

He noted that the high turnout for the Kibada low-cost housing project shows that the demand for cheap houses in the country is higher than NHC can meet and called on other stakeholders to come up with similar low-cost housing projects to help meet the high demand in the country.

Commending on prices, Mr Genya noted that a two bedrooms residential house costs 46.98m/- and a three bedrooms unit fetches 53.76m/- Value Added Tax (VAT) included.Although some people complain that the prices are high, Mr Genya explained, it is due to other costs that the NHC has to incur including putting in place infrastructure such as water, roads and electricity.

The corporation also faces higher taxes on building and construction materials, costs that are eventually passed on to customers.

"If you look at it in terms of value for money, the price is really not high, given the fact that we have to incur the costs of putting in place all necessary infrastructure," he explained.

He noted that if NHC would get support in constructing the require infrastructure as well as be allocated land by respective councils to build the low costs houses, the prices would go down considerably.During the laying of the foundation stone, NHC Director General Mr Nehemiah Kyando-Mchechu and the Deputy Minister for Lands, Housing and Human Settlements Development, Mr Goodluck Ole-Medeye, had expressed concern that a number of factors, including VAT, were to blame for higher prices of the houses.

http://allafrica.com/stories/201301080060.html?page=2

[Rain Drops]

The Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) increased revenue collection at the port of Dar es Salaam from 28 billion in November to 50 billion shillings ($18 million to $31 million) in December, following the suspension of 16 port officers accused of improper conduct.


Ships unload containers at the port of Dar es Salaam on December 29th, 2012. [Deodatus Balile/Sabahi]

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The port officers, including high ranking directors, were suspended in December after the Ministry of Transportation launched an internal investigation responding to customer complaints about delays at the port, according to Transportation Minister Harrison Mwakyembe.

At least six other port officials were suspended in August. The investigation, which is still ongoing, found port employees were diverting business from the port to small clearing companies that they own, a direct violation of their employment contract.

"Customers were running away from our port because of intentional delays by unscrupulous employees who increased the cost of doing business," Mwakyembe told Sabahi. "This was contrary to their employment contracts and had direct conflicts of interest with their employer [the government]."

Among the high-level suspended port officials are TPA Director General Ephraim Mgawe, Director of Planning Florence Nkya, Director of Engineering Bakari Kilo, Director of Management Systems Maimuna Mrisho, Information and Communication Technology Director Ayub Kamili, Deputy Director General Hamad Koshyuma, Deputy Director General Julius Fuko, and Port Manager Cassian Ng'amilo.

Official charges have not yet been filed against the suspended officials and they have not publicly responded to any of the allegations. Mwakyembe said the TPA Board of Directors would soon convene to make a final decision regarding their employment status.

Normally, cargo clearing and forwarding companies charge 640,000 shillings ($400) to clear a 20- to 40-foot container from the port in seven days. Containers that are not cleared within that allotted time are charged extra.

Mwakyembe said customers complained that clearing a container at the port of Dar es Salaam had been taking up to eight weeks, while it would only take seven days at the Mombasa port in Kenya.

Customers want goods to be cleared from the port in the shortest time possible, Mwakyembe said, and when there is a delay at the Dar es Salaam port, they switch their goods to other ports, which caused the government of Tanzania to lose revenue.

Mwakyembe said the private companies belonging to the officials have since been suspended and business has returned to the port, contributing to the December revenue increase.

Import-export companies welcome reforms
Vincent Nyerere, who owns an import company, welcomed the suspension of the port officials, but said more needs to be done to improve business at the port, as it still moves slowly.

He said he imported four containers from China in November -- two processed through the port of Mombasa and two through Dar es Salaam. The containers that went through Mombasa were cleared within nine days, while those that went through Dar es Salaam were still stuck at the Dar es Salaam port as of January 7th.

"My target was to sell goods the week between Christmas and New Year, but now if I get those goods what do I do with them?" he told Sabahi. "The [Dar es Salaam] port has effectively killed my business."

Nyerere said if the port was disciplined and more efficient, it could generate up to 100 billion shillings ($63 million) a month in revenue.

Haron Ishimwabula, whose import-export company services Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi and Zambia, said that because of inefficiencies at the Dar es Salaam port, he uses the Mombasa port to clear goods quickly even though it increases his cost of doing business.

Economist Benson Mahenya, director of Andrew's Consulting Group, said the government is losing a lot of revenue to competing ports in the region. Due to its strategic location, the port could generate up to 60% of the national budget, he told Sabahi, but because of inefficiencies its revenue potential is not maximised.

Mahenya welcomed Mwakyembe's move to improve the port's performance and urged everyone to support reforms aimed at eliminating corruption.

However, he said the transportation system at the port also needs improvement. For example, instead of using trucks, the railway system should be revived for bulk cargo and faster transportation of goods from the port, Mahenya said.

Mwakyembe said performance reviews at the port are ongoing and his ministry would continue to examine ways to improve efficiency. He said the ministry is considering operating the port on a 24-hour basis to clear the backlog of containers that need to be processed.

http://sabahionline.com/en_GB/articl.../07/feature-02

[kiligoland]

Ebwanae, F****~~, yaani hawa watu walikua wanatudhalilisha aisee, mwakyembe oyeeeeh.

[Rain Drops]

Originally Posted by kiligoland

Ebwanae, F****~~, yaani hawa watu walikua wanatudhalilisha aisee, mwakyembe oyeeeeh.

oyeeeh kabisa..majamaa walifanya port nzima yao..haha

[Dhuks]

Originally Posted by Rain Drops

oyeeeh kabisa..majamaa walifanya port nzima yao..haha

You gotta be kidding, thats not even corruption;its MEGA CORRUPTION.