AS a strategic Bank, TIB Development Bank has been investing in various development projects and getting positive results in pushing development plans in the country.
Major and strategic projects facilitated by TIB include natural gas projects under Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) and Wentworth and high voltage power supply plants (Somanga-fungu) under Tanzania Electric Supply Company Limited (TANESCO).
Other projects empowered by TIB include housing project under NHC, sugar factory project under Kagera Sugar Ltd, coffee processing project under Amiri Hamza Ltd and a gold mining and refining project under CATA Mining Co Ltd.
The basic responsibilities of the Bank are to facilitate access to long-term and medium-term capital for economic development and to provide technical support and advice to facilitate industrial development.
Other basic responsibilities of the Bank are to manage special funds as required by the government and conduct other developmental activities as deemed necessary to enable the bank to fulfill the objectives of its establishment.
Until September this year, the bank has successfully invested a total of 980.7bn/- in various development projects to support the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the country.
TIB’s Director General, Ms Lilian Mbassy, said in the meeting with media editors organised by Office of Treasury Registrar (OTR) that the investment made in the year to September touched six areas of SDGs namely zero hunger, quality education, clean water and sanitation, affordable and clean energy, decent work and economic growth and sustainable cities and communities.
“The fund was channelled through 72 financial institutions, 78 SACCOS [Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies] and 128 companies to mainly those in the agricultural sector loan,” Ms Mbassy said.
Out of the funds loaned out some 93 per cent went to private sector-related projects and 7.0 per cent to public sector projects. Additionally, 80 per cent of funds were invested in long-term projects which had a life span of over five years. A total of 334.7bn/- has been borrowed in 253 projects in the agricultural sector in 23 regions and 76 districts where 10,230 citizens are in forms of employment.
In the water and sanitation sector, some 14.9bn/- where loaned out to 66 water projects and benefited 750,000 citizens in eight regions of Dodoma, Singida, Shinyanga, Tanga, Mtwara, Iringa, Morogoro and Ruvuma. In total the projects create some 30,000 employments across the country while providing loans that enable the purchase of 249 tractors, six combined harvesters and 137 power tillers through the agriculture window.
TIB in 2023/24 is targeting to improve strategic sectors such as energy to complement further agriculture and water sectors. In energy sector, TIB pledged to continue to collaborate with the Tanzania Rural Electrification Expansion Programme (TREEP) and World Bank through the Rural Energy Agency to finance renewable energy producers to power off-grid rural areas.
Through the ‘waste to energy” project, the Bank will continue to collaborate with the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) in stimulating the use of ethanol as an alternative source of clean and cheap cooking energy.
TIB’s strategic plans are to ensure access to clean and safe water by treating water before use, improving the people’s health due to the use of clean and safe water and enhancing the efficiency of water sales collections through the prepaid system.
Other strategic plans include strengthening the use of solar electricity to reduce the cost of operating water projects in rural water communities by eliminating the cost of buying diesel, regular generator maintenance and reducing management costs.
