Beyond Business as Usual: Zanzibar public firms seek Union growth

ZANZIBAR: A NEW drive to connect Zanzibar’s public institutions with mainland financial markets and investment opportunities is gaining momentum, as Treasury Registrar Waheed Mohammed Ibrahim Sanya champions partnerships aimed at unlocking capital, improving efficiency and making government corporations financially sustainable.

For a long period, the financial sustainability of public corporations has remained a major concern for governments, particularly where institutions depend heavily on government allocations and subsidies to meet their operational costs.

In Zanzibar, however, a renewed effort is taking shape to change this situation, with public institutions being encouraged to rethink their traditional approaches to management, embrace innovation and explore opportunities beyond their immediate operating environment.

At the centre of this transformation is a growing recognition that the Union between Zanzibar and Tanzania Mainland offers more than political and administrative cooperation.

It also provides an important platform for economic partnerships, access to financial markets, investment capital and technical expertise that could help public corporations become more productive and competitive.

The message was strongly emphasised during a recent meeting of government executives and representatives of public institutions from both sides of the Union at Golden Tulip Airport Hotel.

Vice-President, Deogratius Ndejembi, urged officials to abandon business as usual attitude and strengthen cooperation to maximise opportunities available across the Union.

He called on institutions, including those outside Union matters, to establish working relationships that would open new doors for investment, economic growth and improved public service delivery.

The message reflects the development priorities repeatedly emphasised by President Samia Suluhu Hassan and Zanzibar President Dr Hussein Ali Mwinyi, who have advocated stronger institutional cooperation as an important driver of national development.

For Zanzibar Treasury Registrar Waheed Mohammed Ibrahim Sanya, however, the challenge is to translate these calls into practical partnerships that produce measurable results.

Since the establishment of the Zanzibar Treasury Registrar’s Office under Act No. 6 of 2021, Sanya has been pursuing opportunities to connect public corporations in Zanzibar with their counterparts and financial institutions in Tanzania Mainland.

One notable achievement is the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Treasury Registrar’s Office and CRDB Bank, an initiative intended to strengthen financial cooperation and expand access to capital for Zanzibar’s commercially oriented public institutions.

Speaking during the signing ceremony at CRDB Bank’s headquarters in Upanga, Dar es Salaam, Sanya said access to finance was essential for enabling public corporations to implement productive projects and improve their operational capacity.

He explained that Zanzibar had 16 commercially oriented public corporations requiring effective financial strategies to improve their performance and reduce dependence on government support.

“Many of our corporations are ready to undertake business activities, but their major challenge is the lack of well-structured plans for accessing the capital needed to finance their operations and investments,” he said.

His concern underscores a fundamental challenge facing public enterprises: owning assets, having business ideas and identifying investment opportunities are not enough; they also need adequate financial resources and technical expertise to transform these prospects into profitable ventures. Sanya believes that stronger cooperation with financial institutions can help bridge this gap.

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He pointed to Malaysia and Singapore as examples of countries that have achieved significant economic progress through sound financial policies and effective mobilisation of institutional and banking capital.

He expressed confidence that Zanzibar could make similar progress through strategic planning, stronger partnerships and commitment from public institution leaders. The CRDB partnership is expected to provide a practical starting point.

CRDB Managing Director Dr Abdulmajid Nsekela described the agreement as an important contribution to the implementation of Tanzania’s Development Vision 2050, which seeks to establish a competitive and sustainable economy.

He said the partnership would help identify how Zanzibar’s public institutions could make better use of their assets, projects and investment opportunities to generate additional economic value.

Under the agreement, CRDB will assess the financial and operational capacity of public corporations in Zanzibar, identify their capital requirements and explore suitable financing options, including opportunities in capital markets.

Nsekela said the initiative would help institutions identify alternative sources of financing beyond conventional government budget allocations and donor support.

“CRDB Bank is ready to work with the Zanzibar Treasury Registrar’s Office to ensure that public corporations and commercial institutions move forward in strengthening their capital and contributing to economic growth,” he said.

Beyond banking services, the initiative is also creating opportunities for Zanzibar’s public corporations to participate more actively in the country’s capital markets.

During his engagements in Dar es Salaam, Sanya met the Chief Executive Officer of the Capital Markets and Securities Authority (CMSA), Nicodemus Mkama, who assured him that Zanzibar’s public institutions could access opportunities available through Tanzania’s capital markets.

Mkama said CMSA was ready to cooperate with the Treasury Registrar’s Office in helping public corporations explore capital markets as alternative sources of financing.

Similarly, Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange Chief Executive Officer Peter Nalitolela said the exchange was prepared to receive institutions with viable projects requiring short-, medium- and long-term financing.

He noted that growing interest among domestic and international investors in shares, bonds and other financial products presented an opportunity for Zanzibar’s institutions to mobilise the capital required for development.

“This is an important opportunity for Zanzibar’s public institutions to connect with the capital they need to implement productive projects,” Nalitolela said.

The initiative has also received support from leaders of Zanzibar’s public corporations, who see institutional cooperation as an opportunity to improve management and strengthen operational efficiency.

Zanzibar Ports Corporation Board Chairman Ali Aboud Mzee said closer cooperation would enable public institutions to exchange experience, adopt better management practices and make more effective use of financial resources.

He commended Sanya for taking the initiative to connect Zanzibar’s public corporations with opportunities available in Tanzania Mainland.