Monday, September 7, 2009

Investors

INVESTMENT:
OPENING THE DOORS TO INVESTORS

Tanzania is undoubtedly one of the fastest growing economies in Africa in terms of both growth and investment potential. Its current growth rate standards at 6.3 per cent and is attributed to major reforms undertaken since mid 1980's ranging from trade and exchange liberalization, privatization of former state owned Parastatals, increased competition in the financed sector and implementation of prudent fiscal and monetary policies, the reforms have ensured the country's stability.

The economic reforms implemented by the 4th government have contributed a great deal to the stable economy by ensuring that the private sector enjoys a friendly legal policy and that there is necessary infrastructure.

Comprehensive economic and political reforms undertaken since mid 1980's have over time brought an efficient economic management, financial discipline, and a framework for dynamic high growth economy.

The donor community and foreign invests must particularly be watching the economic situation with lots of optimism as the country makes headways in poverty alleviation and development ventures.

Great reasons why investors need to invest in Tanzania

Investment security: Tanzania is one of the few countries in Africa where peace, unparalleled political stability, a strong tradition of constitutionality and the rule of law are guaranteed.

Economic stability: the minister for Finance and Economy Hon. Mustafa Mkulo said recently that despite the effects of the global financial crisis, Tanzania has a vibrant economy the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew to 7.4 per cent in 2008 compared to 7.1 per cent in 2007. That ranks as one of the fastest growing economy in the sub-Saharan Africa. The country offers a business friendly investment climate.

PRESIDENT KIKWETE "we are now working hard to overcome the many challenges of improving both the business climate and our economic infrastructure to ensure that Tanzania remains Africa's leading investment destination".

According to Kikwete, his Government was taking all vital measures to create a stable and attractive macro and micro economic climate with single digit inflation, ongoing reforms in fiscal and monetary policy and improvement in the business climate through legal and regulatory reform aimed at streamlining procedures and freeing businesses from unnecessary bureaucracy.

"Our aim is to reduce poverty and improve educational opportunities for all citizens and investment has a clear role to play in helping us achieve this challenging objective. Not only will it create new jobs, but it will also bring new skills and technology to the country that will in turn improve our ability to compete in the global economy", the President said.

Tanzania has many strengths and opportunities. Its strategic location makes it a natural East African hub for investors seeking to exploit not only resources but also a growing market of 527 million consumers in the East and Southern Africa Region.

In Tanzania, opportunities abound in for all types of investors from tourism to mining and from farming to financial services and ICT. But we are also looking to investors to create partnerships to help us improve the economic infrastructure of our country.

"My country aims at working in partnerships with the private sector to identify and exploit all opportunities that will improve our ability to compete", he noted. The government of Tanzania welcomes all prospective investors to Tanzania, and is dedicated to ensure all investments work to the country's mutual benefit.

In the same vein, the Executive Director of the Tanzania Investment Centre (TIC), Mr. Emmanuel Ole Naiko, Tanzania as a premier investment destination in Africa that has continued to implement economic reforms that started in 1990 with a view to creating an attractive and competitive business environment suitable for both domestic and international investors.

Naiko says the country has abundant natural resources including attractive and unique features such as Mt. Kilimanjaro, suitable for wide range of tourist activities. It also offers ample human resources, extensive arable land for farming and large variety of unexploited mineral resources.

The TIC's CEO says although the country has all these resources, Tanzania remains a poor country because it lacks capital, skills and technological resources to exploit its natural wealth for economic development.

Tanzania also has an admirable geographical location linking this country with size able, but unexploited markets made up of un preferential trade agreements such as AGOA and EBA as well as regional trade arrangements like SADC and EAC.

In the above scenario one clearly finds a win-win situation in declining to invest in Tanzania.

He says TIC was specifically created to meet the needs of both domestic and foreign investors. Apart from their headquarters in Dar es Salaam, TIC has zonal offices in Kilimanjaro covering Arusha, Manyara, Tanga and Kilimanjaro itself. Mwanza office covering Shinyanga, Kagera, Mara and Mwanza itself.

Other zonal offices are Mbeya zonal office that covers Iringa, Rukwa, Ruvuma and Mbeya.

Tanzania being a country located in Central East Africa with about 1,400 Km of coastline along the Indian Ocean, the largest nation in East Africa in terms of land with 883,749 km2, whereas 881,289km2 mainland, 2,460 km2 Zanzibar), plus lakes totaling to 59,100km2, is regarded as one of the countries with the highest growth potential in Africa with enormous potential as an investment destination.

It is one of the most promising emerging markets in the region, offering a unique combination of developed economic infrastructure and a vibrant emerging market economy.

Tanzania is the leading FDI destination in the East Africa region. In the last decade the total FDI stock in Tanzania exceeded US$ 6 billion. Tanzania has improved the overall legal framework for investment activities in the country for over the last several years. A number of practical regulations liberalizing conduct of business and reducing red tape have been introduced.

In Tanzania agriculture has become a national agenda. Tanzania has a dual agricultural economy, with a fast growing large scale commercial farming and more subsistence-based production in the deep rural areas. Tanzania's agriculture and agribusiness have a number of competitive advantages, making the country a viable investment destination.

The comparative advantage s include, among others, biodiversity,
competitive input costs, infrastructure such as deep- water ports, international airports, a network of roads and railways and a fast growing sophisticated financial sector.

Having recognised its importance to the growth of the national economy and the fight against hunger and poverty, the Government of Tanzania in this year's fiscal year has given first priority to agriculture-with the theme "agriculture first".

As a leading economic sector in Tanzania, agriculture provides a livelihood to 80 per cent of the population. It is the primary source of food and raw materials accounting for half of the GDP and is the second export sector after mining terms of receipts. It remains critical for achieving sustained growth, poverty reduction and rural development.

Major cash crops include coffee, cotton, tea, tobacco, and cashew nuts while food crops include maize, rice, pulse and wheat.

Ends...

Friday, August 29, 2008

Advanced technology is a paramount tool in the 21st century

Advanced technology is a paramount tool in the 21st century

DANIEL SEMBERYA

Once upon a time Jesus Christ, the Savior asked one of the ten lepers who had received their healing from leprosy miraculously after Our Lord had told them to go and show themselves to the Pharisees-while on their way they were all healed miraculously from their leprosy. only a Samaritan leper went back to Jesus Christ at least to say thank you for the healing –then jesus asked him "Where are the other 9 lepers…”, He asked!

Our Lord Jesus Christ wanted to show us the importance of saying “Thank you to whatever good somebody, somewhere has done for you”. For that matter personally I would like to take this opportunity to say a BIG THANK YOU to both MISA TANZANIA and the VIKES FOUNDATION (FINISH FOUNDATION FOR MEDIA COMMUNIC ATION and DEVLOPMENT), with the support from the ministry6 of Foreign Affairs of Finland for organizing a five day internet training for Tanzanian journalists.

When today we are closing the page, I would humbly also give a lot of thanks to our facilitator to the workshop, Mr. Peik Johansson for his dedication to ensure some journalists in Tanzania, though not all, at least get internet knowledge, which is an important tool for them ion their daily undertakings. I understand you left alot of things to do at home including your familily for the sake of your brothers and sisters in Tanzania.

“Thank you Mr. Johansson for your kind heart of sharing the knowledge you have to others, baring in mind that knowledge is not a personal property”. May the Almighty God, bless you a hundred folds.

I understand the course was very educative and interesting; however, the time set for it was too short to gain a lot from your lectures. Nevertheless, I am sure what we have got will make be more effective in making use of the internet in modern journalism. Especially for fact finding, news monitoring, communication and publication with the purpose of creating balanced and critical high quality journalism for media; and explain how internet and other digital media have changed the world of communication and media.

BRAVO Johansson and Misa Tan. Keep it up- remember education is an ocean.

Ends.

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Countries boycott Nestle products

Countries boycott Nestle products

DANIEL SEMBERYA

Many people in different countries in the world have been boycotting products being produced by the Nestle Company in order to protect infant health and protect breast feeding and babies fed on formula practices that put profit before health.

Finding according to World Health organization, 1.5 million babies around the global every year die because they are not breast fed and instead they were being fed with Nestle milk. This being the reason, there has been great outcry from the public to the extent of labeling the Nestle Company as the worst of the baby food companies and influences standards for other companies.

What is breast feeding?

It is an ideal way of providing young infant with the nutrients they needed for healthy growth and development.

Why does WHO recommends that the perfect food for the newborn and feeding should be initiated within the first hour after birth?

This is because the clostrum’, the yellowish, sticky breast produced at the end of pregnancy is the very perfect food for the newborn.

The exclusive breast feeding is recommended up to 6 months of age. In Tanzania studies show that this kind of feeding has been difficult to most mother especially those who are employed in the different sectors and in all walks of life because of their daily schedule.

So, they tend to direct their house girls and boys as a substitute to use Nestle milk, which is regarded as the worst of the baby food. And as a result becomes one of the causes of the big rate of children deaths.

The Tanzania Nutrition Centre have cited some issues regarding the role of breast feeding that it was good for children because protecting them against many dieses and it was greatly increasing their chances of survival.





Children need other foods apart from breast milk from the age of 3-6 months. There is some evidence that exclusive breastfeeding before that time reduces the risk of transmission of HIV from an HIV positive mother. Also UNICEF recommends that women who are known not to be HIV positive and those who do not know their HIV status should exclusively breastfeed for six months.

Nestle Company is the world's largest baby food company and increases it's profits by promoting artificial infant feeding in violation of the W.H.O. code that has been signed by the US and many other nations. The company knows that once a bottle has become between a mother and her child breastfeeding is more likely to fail and the company has gained a customer.

Regarding the company’s performance as the Group sales, profitability and financial position as in the first six months of 2008, consolidated sales of the NestlĂ© Group amounted to CHF 53.1 billion, an increase of 3.8% over the same period last year, driven by organic growth of 8.9%, including real internal growth of 3.5%. Foreign exchange had a -8.3% impact on sales, while acquisitions net of divestitures, primarily driven by the acquisition of Novartis Medical Nutrition and Gerber, added 3.2% to sales.
The Group's EBIT grew by 6.1% to CHF 7.3 billion, resulting in an EBIT margin of 13.8%. This represents a 60 basis point improvement in constant currencies over the first half of 2007. Foreign exchange reduced the Group's EBIT margin by 30 basis points, to 30 basis points reported.
With sales of CHF 49.3 billion, Food and Beverages achieved organic growth of 8.9%, including real internal growth of 3.2%, and was the Group's main contributor to growth and EBIT margins. With an EBIT growth of 6.7%, Food and Beverages' EBIT margin was up 50 basis points in constant currencies over last year. Foreign exchange reduced Food and Beverages' EBIT margin by 20 basis points, to 30 basis points reported.
The Group's cost of goods sold increased by 190 basis points to 42.8% of sales. This reflects the impact of higher raw material costs, partially reduced by operating efficiencies. Marketing and administration costs declined by 190 basis points to 33.3% of sales, reflecting the effect of different growth rates of the company's product portfolio, efficiencies and the leverage effect from growth. In constant currencies, consumer marketing spends increased by 7%.
Net profit grew by 6.1% to CHF 5.2 billion, resulting in a net margin of 9.8%, up 20 basis points. Earnings per share grew by 8.6% to CHF 1.39.

On 30 June 2008, the Group’s operating cash flow stood at CHF 3.5 billion. This is lower than last year reflecting a higher level of inventories as a result of the increased cost of certain raw materials and the decision to selectively increase inventories of some products. The Group’s net debt, seasonally high at the half year, rose to CHF 25.8 billion. This will decline to below the level prevailing at the end of 2007, thanks partly to the proceeds received from the sale of 24.8% of Alcon to Novartis.
This performance, above-target organic growth combined with a good improvement in EBIT margins, demonstrates Nestlé's ability to grow profitably even in a difficult business environment.

Ends.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Tanzanian journalists research information via Internet

Tanzanian journalists research information via Internet

By Daniel Semberya

Again today has been another interesting session where Tanzanian journalists have been enlightened by an experienced facilitator Peik Johansson from the Finnish Foundation for media communication and development on how to do their journalistic research via internet. According to some journalists with whom I happened to have a tete for tete,” they said the teaching has been very informative, in the sense that they have even known to use their computers better than before.

“I have been using my computer all these years but I did not know before how to look for the information as we have been learning. People colleagues will now be left with mouth dumb”, they boasted.

What my fellow trainees are experiencing with all what we have been learning on how to make internet as our important tool in journalistic daily undertakings, have also been very benefiting to m e as well.

I would like to ensure my friends that from now onwards looking for simple facts, background information of anything is now like someone drinking water. I am an expert on the issue.

It is for most of us now to publish and post our writing arts on the web to read by many people around the global who will be interested with the baring in mind that knowledge is no longer a private property. That is why Mr. Peik Johansson from the Finnish Foundation for media communication and development is currently here sharing and imparting the knowledge on the internet usage to Tanzanian journalists from both the print and the electronic media.

In today’s session we have visited various websites among others are the Tanzanian national website, the White House website, the Burkina Faso website. To mention a few.

It was an educative session

My point of view regarding yesterday’s session

By Daniel Semberya

As it goes “Learning is a life time activity of which one is supposed to part it whenever he dies”. This strong statement has been proved through the ongoing training on how internet is very useful in this contemporary world, particularly to journalists in their day to day journalistic undertakings.

As statistics show that most Tanzanians are still behind in using internet in their daily activities compared to other East African partner states especially the Kenyans. Why? One: because of lack of awareness among the Tanzanians, I included of the importance of internet technology, even to some literate people. Second, because the technology came very late. It was only introduced to our country (Tanzania in this case), of most recently. So it needs time for education awareness of the importance of the internet.

For instance, in yesterday’s session the opening of the blogger information centre, the posting, the publishing and the like until one’s work appear on the website to be read by anyone in the global was actually “Mashikolo mageni”-means something totally new!

As a matter of fact the internet has multiplied the potential sources of news and information exponentially. Since many other media can now include newspapers and radio stations from all over the world.

I can assure you that until the end of this training I will be able to practically be able to search and access to facts, backgrounds from the website and other connections/links.

For that matter I managed to visit different websites during yesterday’s session such as: all Africa.com, Tanzania online, IPS Africa, www.cnn.com, www.reuters.com, the Daily Nation and etc.

In general, yesterday’s session was extremely well facilitated, participatory and live and understandable.

The importance of internet usage in the modern journalism

By Daniel Semberya

I joined this course so as to learn more skills on the use of the internet in this globalised world where the world is seen as a village. There are many things in the internet information that a journalist like me should know in this contemporary world and practice them in his daily undertakings. That’s why I opted to this program.

A journalist, trainer and consultant, Peik Johansson from the Finnish Foundation for media communication and development has told Tanzanian journalists from both print and electronic media houses of Tanzania that internet usage in their daily journalistic undertakings was of paramount important.

Johansson, who is also an experienced journalist as a trainer of the workshop covered many topics regarding how one could find useful information from the internet and the website as well. Some of the topics covered in yesterday’s workshop among others were the different websites of which one could Google to find whatever he wants. Some of these websites are such as Ebay.com, miniclip.com, www.wikipedia.org, www.napser.com, www.youtube.com, www. Blogger.com.

The facilitator of the workshop also explained the difference between the terms website and electronic email and how each one was used.

My expectation is to utilize the gained skills from a five day workshop and make use of the internet in modern journalism for fact finding, news monitoring, communication and publication with the purpose of creating balanced and critical high-quality journalism for media in my daily undertakings as a journalist.

Ends.