Dar seeks greater investment benefits

DAR ES SALAAM: TANZANIA is overhauling its investment framework to further deepen the integration of foreign capital into the domestic economy, aiming to multiply local benefits in employment, technology transfer and industrial growth.

Speaking at the opening of the 17th Investment Policy Forum in Dar es Salaam, Deputy Minister of State in the President’s Office (Planning and Investment), Dr Pius Chaya, outlined ongoing efforts to update the country’s investment framework, including the 1999 National Investment Policy and institutional governance structures.

He said that the government is also formulating national guidelines for Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and industrial parks to support this next phase of growth.

Dr Chaya noted that as global trade dynamics evolve, Tanzania’s priority is ensuring that incoming capital continues to generate wider, long-term development impacts across local supply chains.

“Investment should maximise development impact through technology transfer, local value addition, skills development, decent employment and resilient value chains,” he said at the forum that brought together investment policymakers and negotiators from more than 60 countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America.

He said Tanzania’s objective was not simply to attract more capital, but to ensure investments generated wider economic benefits and contributed meaningfully to the country’s transformation.

“Strengthening investment governance is a strategic priority for Tanzania. We need investment policies that are predictable, transparent and sustainable, while ensuring that investment contributes to economic transformation, jobs, industrialisation, innovation and improved livelihoods,” Dr Chaya said.

He said the reforms were intended to strengthen the investment system and ensure national laws and policies worked coherently with regional and international commitments.

At the same time, Dr Chaya said Tanzania needed sufficient policy space to regulate investment in areas critical to national development, including public health, environmental protection, climate resilience, food security and social inclusion.

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He said this was particularly important as geopolitical shifts, technological advancement, climate change and changing trade and investment rules continued to reshape the global investment landscape.

International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) Vice-president and Managing Director for Europe, Ms Nathalie Bernasconi-Osterwalder, said the changing global environment presented developing countries with an opportunity to rethink investment rules and align them with domestic priorities.

She said countries could use the changing environment to develop policies that ensure investment creates jobs, builds skills, transfers technology, strengthens local industries and increases domestic value addition.

Ms Bernasconi-Osterwalder said developing countries should also play a greater role in shaping investment rules rather than simply adapting to frameworks developed elsewhere.

IISD Director for Sustainable Investment, Ms Suzy Nikièma, said the focus should be on attracting quality Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) that delivers lasting economic benefits rather than concentrating solely on the amount of capital attracted.

She said investment policies should be coherent at continental, regional and national levels, citing the need to align commitments under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Investment Protocol with arrangements under the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and national frameworks.

“Investment cannot be treated as a stand-alone element. It needs to be coherent with environmental protection, human rights, labour and other development priorities,” Ms Nikièma said.

The three-day forum, running from September 16 to 18, provides a platform for countries to exchange experiences and develop practical approaches to investment policy and legal reforms.