Tanzania advised to learn from other regions to industrialise

Tanzania President John Magufuli (left) with President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda shortly after the bilateral meeting at Arusha State Lodge on February 30, 2016. Tanzania has been advised on the need to look at the policies of other countries, especially as it seeks to revive its manufacturing sector. PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Revival of the sector is paramount as it will act as a launch pad that will create linkages and value chain, especially of locally produced raw materials.
  • When the manufacturing sector starts to gain footing, the country should shift and start to identify markets that cater for quality and quantity of goods produced locally.

DAR ES SALAAM

Tanzania should study regional, continental and global trends if it wants its industrialisation drive to succeed, the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (Unido) has advised.

In doing so, the country should think within and outside its borders, especially as it seeks to revive its manufacturing sector, according to the Tanzania Industrial Competitiveness Report 2015, which has been jointly prepared by Unido and the government.

The report advises the country on the need to also look at the policies of other countries which are markets for goods produced in Tanzania.

“The country should promote specific efforts for different markets on the quantity and composition of demand,” reads part of the 135-page report unveiled in Dar es Salaam earlier in the week.

Economic scholar Honest Ngowi who noted in his article in The Citizen earlier this week that there was a need for the country to make sure that the industrialisation concept in Tanzania was well understood.

The report, which sees Tanzania at a crossroads as it seeks to shift gears towards inclusive and sustainable industrialisation, says something should be done to address problems in the manufacturing sector.

Revival of the sector is paramount as it will act as a launch pad that will create linkages and value chain, especially of locally produced raw materials.

The report suggests also that the country’s comparative advantage in natural resource-based sectors should be taken into account.

“In the short-medium term the country should focus on boosting production output and value addition in those sector in which the country has abundance of natural resources such as agro-industries, extractives, cotton and wood products.”

The country should defy its comparative advantage and build on its competitive advantage by ensuring that the targeted sectors become more technology-intensive so as to make their products internationally competitive.

When the manufacturing sector starts to gain footing, the country should shift and start to identify markets that cater for quality and quantity of goods produced locally.

“Market diversification should be based on the findings of demand dynamism and an understanding of the feasibility of exporting to targeted markets,” says the report.