A banker has urged the government to invest massively in
power supply, technological development and human resources if the country’s
industrialization goal is to take shape.
The chief executive officer for Azania Bank, Mr Charles
Itembe said industrialization at the weekend that industrialization requires
proper infrastructure and improvement in several aspects related to the
business climate.
"Sustainable infrastructures such as railways
systems and roads must be strengthened to ease transportation of raw materials
and finished goods from and to rural and urban areas," Mr Itembe told the
bank’s stakeholders in Mwanza at the weekend.
He mentioned other key issues to be addressed by the
government as good investment environment through legal and tax systems, price
stabilization and domestic market expansion.
His bank, he said, has opened a special window that
specifically caters to the needs of the industrial sector, calling for other
financial institutions in the country to support industrialization plans.
"The agricultural sector is an important tool for
achieving industrialization and we must invest in industries that will consume
agricultural raw materials," he added.
For his part, one of the bank’s clients who attended the
event, Mr Zephaniah Mugasa, asked the bank to reduce interest rates to its
customers, a request which Mr Itembe said will be implemented based on market
conditions and interest rates from the Bank of Tanzania.
A prominent Mwanza Businessman Mr Christopher Gachuma
asked financial institutions to support industrial development by investing on
long-term loans for infrastructure construction companies’ due to late payment
from the government and other public institutions.
The fifth phase of government is implementing industrial
policy aiming to take the country to middle income come 2025.
Despite developing economic growth in the production and
marketing of industrial products within and outside the country, the policy
will also increase and promote employment, especially to youth.
Source: The Citizen