Ambassador Waziri Salum has issued a stern directive to Tanzanian trade institutions, demanding the immediate removal of bureaucratic red tape to foster investment, stimulate business creation, and drive domestic revenue growth.

In a forceful address aimed at overhauling the national economic engine, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Industry and Trade ordered a complete paradigm shift. The mandate focuses on aggressive facilitation rather than archaic bureaucratic regulation to spur the industrial sector.

This policy pivot is critically important for the broader East African economic landscape. As regional powerhouses compete fiercely for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), any internal friction in business registration directly bleeds capital to neighboring countries like Kenya and Uganda. Streamlining these processes is essential for survival in the East African Community (EAC) common market.

Dismantling Bureaucratic Barriers

Speaking in the northern economic hub of Arusha during a high-stakes working session, Ambassador Waziri addressed the assembled heads of various government institutions operating under his ministry. He did not mince words, stressing that these critical bodies must immediately identify and eliminate operational obstacles that actively hinder both foreign and local investors from establishing profitable enterprises.

He noted with absolute clarity that the ministry currently carries immense, unyielding expectations from President Samia Suluhu Hassan. The President's core economic mandate revolves around engineering a highly conducive, globally competitive environment for business and investment within the republic's borders.

“Business registration and the broader investment processes must absolutely not become a continuous source of complaints from the private sector. Our institutions should never act as barriers to ambitious investors who want to establish industries; instead, they must serve as rapid facilitators by ensuring that businesses operate easily and highly efficiently,” he declared.

Aligning with Vision 2050

Ambassador Waziri expanded on the necessity of aligning daily bureaucratic operations with the grand strategic goals of the National Development Vision 2050. Implementing this long-term economic blueprint requires a severe, uncompromising change in administrative mindset and daily operational approaches.

He urged institutional leaders to aggressively move away from comfortable, routine practices that yield stagnant results, and instead pivot entirely toward metric-driven productivity and intense public accountability. The industrial and trade sectors must grow rapidly to absorb the millions of youths entering the East African labor market.

• Every single institution is mandated to critically assess its current operational role and clearly outline its measurable contribution to industrial development.
• Agencies must formulate transparent strategies for trade enhancement and the subsequent, inevitable increase of government tax revenue.
• Institutions are now required to step forward and aggressively publicize their activities to ensure ultimate civilian transparency.

The East African Competitive Edge

The directives issued in Arusha resonate far beyond Tanzania's borders. Kenya, historically the dominant economic force in East Africa, closely monitors Tanzania's shifting trade policies. By drastically lowering the barrier to entry for establishing industries, Tanzania positions itself as a highly attractive alternative for multinational corporations looking to set up manufacturing hubs to service the vast African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

Deputy Permanent Secretary Aristides Mbwasi reinforced this urgency, urging the assembled heads of institutions to directly and immediately address deeply entrenched challenges within the industrial and trade sectors to drastically enhance overall efficiency and national productivity.

Institutional Compliance and Execution

The response from the agency heads indicates a swift alignment with the new governmental posture. The Chief Executive Officer of the vital Warehouse Receipts Regulatory Board, Asangye Bangu, confirmed that the board has officially received the sweeping directives and is already moving to implement them.

Bangu stated that his institution will ruthlessly execute these mandates to eliminate existing agricultural and manufacturing trade challenges, thereby stimulating genuine, measurable industrial growth. He emphasized that the regulatory board will continue collaborating intimately with private stakeholders to continuously refine the business environment.

"We are no longer gatekeepers; we are the architects of the nation's economic expansion, bound by duty to ensure sustained industrial growth for the absolute benefit of our citizens," the assembly concluded.