Businessmen meet Monday … buoyed by JPM initiatives

AHEAD of the eleventh Tanzania National Business Council (TNBC) meeting on Monday in Dar es Salaam, the Executive Secretary, Engineer Raymond Mbilinyi, said yesterday that the council would capitalise on President John Magufuli’s initiatives to promote industrial investments, win investors confidence and further improve business environment.

He told reporters that initiatives by the Head of State contained in the national agro-industrialisation drive give the Council an opportunity to make adjustments to the country’s economic direction for the better.

“There have been many changes … and as a result of our last meeting during which Dr Magufuli became our new national chairman. We want to use our chairman’s initiatives to consolidate the economic gains, create jobs and further win big investors’ confidence,” he said.

The TNBC promotes dialogue between public and private sectors. “The TNBC acknowledges the huge policy changes that have taken place since our last meeting. For example, services at the Dar es Salaam port are offered on 24 hours-seven-day basis; there are no complaints any more, port users are happy,” he said.

The Monday meeting is expected to receive reports on issues discussed during the 10th meeting including formalisation of many businesses in the informal sector in order to increase government revenue and create jobs. The sector is known to be growing very fast.

The formalisation drive urged during the 10th meeting has benefited 4,500 businesses, operators were given taxpayers identification numbers and now enjoy statutory rights and benefits. The United Nations International Labour Organisation (ILO) believes that the informal sector contributes collectively 41 per cent of the GDP of Sub-Saharan countries