State hails TCRA for 272.4bn/- contributions
ARUSHA : TANZANIA Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) has emerged one of the top government institutions in the country in outstanding contributions to the national treasury by June 2023.
TCRA received the recognition certificates at the Arusha International Conference Centre (AICC), where Chief Executive Officers and Board Chairpersons of government entities convened for a working meeting with the Treasury Registrar in Arusha City over the weekend.
The authority Director – General, Dr Jabiri Bakari and their Board of Directors Vice-Chairman, Mr Khalfan Salehe were applauded for the splendid work of steering the authority to greater heights.
Issuing the certificates at the occasion, President Samia Suluhu Hassan also commending various government institutions, including parastatals, government agencies and regulatory authorities for their invaluable financial contributions to the national treasury.
In a related development, she urged government-owned entities to stop the culture of depending on the central government to operate financially for their sustainability.
The Head of State, added: “Government-owned institutions should contribute to the State coffers instead of being fed to survive.”
Elaborating, she noted that if they are serious to grow they must operate by keeping off political patronage, which at times interferes with their activities.
“If an organisation provides services, it should deliver tangible results. If it’s a business entity, it should manufacture tangible goods. And if it’s a government agency, it should genuinely represent the government in its designated areas,” she pointed out.
Dr Samia said that currently the institutions account for 17 per cent of the country’s employment opportunities, adding that they must join the State in preserving the jobs and creating news ones during the envisioned reforms they must undergo.
Likewise, President Samia disclosed that the government was in the process of amending the law to transform the Treasury Registrar’s Office into a Public Capital Investment Authority, adding: “The government acknowledges that certain institutions are performing exceptionally well, making significant contributions to the national treasury and delivering exemplary services.
Today, we honour and commend them by categorising them into five distinct groups namely-those providing dividends, those also providing dividends with minimal government shares, those generating substantial profits, those contributing 15 per cent and those that have undergone substantial operational and managerial reforms.”
On his part, the Treasury Registrar, Mr Nehemiah Mchechu said TCRA’s contribution of 272.4bn/- to the government’s coffers was a spirit and model other institutions ought to follow.
He said that as much as they are tasked to oversee performance of 248 institutions in country, the government holds over 51 per cent of shares in them.
Elaborating, he noted that their work also involves implementing their strategies, where necessary go for mergers and consolidations to transform.
He said that once they have good strategies, they will support the government in attaining the national Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2050.
During the occasion, they also deliberated on how to stimulate economic growth in the nation, while reducing reliance on the government financial support.