Tanzania diaspora database underway

Ambassador Mindi Kasiga

The government is developing a diaspora database for accurate use as part of its efforts to assist members of the diaspora in contributing to the nation’s development.

Director of Government Communication Unit in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation Ambassador Mindi Kasiga said during the ministry’s monthly briefings that the information gathered will assist the government in identifying and assessing the competencies, expertise, and experience of members of the diaspora.

“To encourage their participation, we are creating a diaspora database with information on where they live, their skills, and resources,” she told journalists in Dar es Salaam yesterday.

Advertisement

She added: “The database will also help the government to identify potential candidates from the diaspora who meet the requirements for open positions at the United Nations and other international organisations outside Tanzania.”

With the information, she says the government can more effectively interact with and engage talented people of working age who want to return to their own country in order to support its growth and development.

According to her, all embassies had been urging Tanzanian citizens who were living in those countries to register themselves, and that there had been a positive response, with many people wanting to register and be recognised as well.

Ambassador Kasiga expressed gratitude to the private sector, noting that financial institutions, for example, have outlined criteria for a Tanzanian living abroad to open a bank account and register on various issues in order to find economic opportunities.

“At this time, we are unable to estimate the precise number of Tanzanians living overseas or their occupations. It will be simple to have an exact number and the activities they engage in once the system is finished,” said Ambassador Kasiga.

She stated that they are working with CRDB and NMB banks to create the database, and that the contractor has already been found and that development of the system began two months ago.

According to the Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation Ministry, the value of diaspora remittances increased by 42 per cent in 2021, on top of the 400 million US dollars equivalent to 936bn/- sent by Tanzanians living abroad in 2020.

Tanzania received 569.5 million US dollars in remittances from its diaspora in 2021, up from 400 million US dollars in 2020.

The Tanzania diaspora have also invested 3.9bn/- in UTT Amis and 2.3bn/- in a project known as Hamidu City Park which is being implemented by the National Housing Corporation (NHC) at Kigamboni in Dar es Salaam.

Tanzanians in the USA (Tanzania Diaspora Hub) plan to invest at least 400m/- in sectors related to agriculture and fishing, a decision which would see Tanga, Njombe and Singida being the major recipient regions.

The country’s diaspora in the United Kingdom, dubbed the Tanzania–UK Healthcare Diaspora Association (Tuhede) have distributed various Healthcare Appliances worth 100ml/- to Zanzibar.

Add a comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *