Government finalises Public Investment Bill revisions
DODOMA: THE government is finalising revisions to the Public Investment Bill following a comprehensive evaluation conducted after its presentation to the Parliament in 2023.
The Bill will be resubmitted to Parliament for the necessary legislative procedures before it can be enacted into law.
After its first reading and subsequent deliberations by the Public Investment Parliamentary Committee (PIC), which reviewed the Bill and gathered input from stakeholders, a number of amendments were proposed based on the feedback received.
Deputy Minister in the President’s Office (Planning and Investment), Dr Pius Chaya (MP), said the government found it necessary to conduct a comprehensive assessment of public investment management, involving all key stakeholders, to identify existing gaps after the Public Investment Bill of 2023 was first presented in Parliament on November 10, 2023.
He said this while responding to a basic question from Dodoma Urban MP (CCM), Mr Paschal Chinyele, who sought to know when the government would complete the process of preparing the law on public investment management in the country.
Dr Chaya said that internal government procedures are currently ongoing to improve the Bill based on the evaluation, including obtaining the necessary approvals to incorporate the proposed amendments before returning it to Parliament for legislative procedures.
“It should be recalled that the government presented the Public Investment Bill of 2023 to Parliament, and it was read for the first time on November 10, 2023,” he said.
He added, “Following its first reading and committee discussions, where stakeholder views were analysed and collected, several amendments were proposed. Based on these views, the government saw the need for a thorough evaluation involving all key stakeholders to identify shortcomings.”
In a supplementary question, Special Seats MP, Ms Josephine Kapoma, asked when the government would implement the planned dissolution and merging of public institutions, given that an evaluation had already been completed.
In response, Dr Chaya said the government had assessed more than 20 public institutions and had already published its decisions in the Government Gazette.
The outcomes include dissolving some institutions, merging others, transferring management responsibilities in certain cases and reallocating functions where appropriate. He said implementation has already begun in several ministries, including the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Livestock and the Prime Minister’s Office–Regional Administration and Local Government (PMO-RALG).
Dr Chaya further said the government expects additional ministries to table legislation during the September parliamentary session to facilitate these reforms.
“We expect that in the upcoming Parliament session starting in September, many ministries will present their Bills for amendment. I assure the Honourable Member that the government is actively following up on this matter and will ensure that its objectives, as well as those of the citizens, are achieved,” he said.
In another supplementary question, Special Seats MP, Ms Shadya Omar, asked what measures the government is taking to support and empower local investors in order to boost national income.
In response, Dr Chaya acknowledged that awareness among domestic investors remains relatively low, particularly in competing with foreign investors.
He said the government has introduced several initiatives, including a national campaign to encourage local investment.
Additionally, the government plans to issue guidelines this year to provide a clear framework for supporting domestic investors, particularly in accessing financing.
“The objective is to ensure that local investors have fair opportunities and can effectively compete with foreign investors. I assure the Honourable Member that this is a priority issue, and the government is placing strong emphasis on it,” he said.
