Tanzania government to create friendly environment for ICT investors

Tanzania government has said that it would provide an enabling environment for ICT investors putting up projects in the communication sector, one of the country’s pivotal areas for development. The Defense and National Service Minister, Dr. Husein Mwinyi said recently during the launch of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) week in Dar es Salaam that more investors are needed in the area as the sector was developing at a much faster pace. In his key note speech, Dr. Mwinyi said that ICT is the pillars for the country’s development and that it represented an independent distinct sector of the economy, and when accessed properly, ICT could bring tremendous changes to the development of the country’s economy. ICT is an enabler for growth and development could benefit both developed and developing countries, provided the right policy measures and enabling environment are in place. In view of the current development set up, the government has called upon mobile and fixed phone network operators in the country to reduce tariffs in order to allow the needy to gain access to mobile phone communications. But the call might hit a snag following an increase of income tax imposed on mobile phones in the country in a recent 2008/2009 proposed budget read in Parliament on 12th June 2008.

Minister for Defense and National Services, Dr. Husein Mwinyi, the son of the second phase Tanzanian President, Ally Hassan Mwinyi, is being taken around various ICT companies’ exhibition stands during ICT Week celebrations in the country. Looking on at the center in a red tie is the Director General of the Tanzania Communication Regulatory Authority (TCRA) Professor John Nkoma. TCRA organized the event.

Despite of this gradual development for the sector, there has been some significant reduction in the tariffs rates for both national and international calls, and the rates are still very high for locals to afford especially those residing in remote areas. Under this situation, there is likely to occur a slow development of new media facilities in rural areas which would be contributed to some extent by communication service providers who focus only in the urban populace and do not put much emphasis on rural dwellers who need the service most. The private sector has a big role to play in creating awareness among the people on the use of ICT especially in rural areas. Internet Service Providers (ISP) too have to widen outreach and cover rural areas. Stakeholders of ICT sector have called upon the ISPs to foster their outlook to rural areas so that their services should reach rural areas in order to keep them abreast with what is going in the country and around the globe in general. Service providers should also teach users both in urban and in rural areas of communication services with a view to helping more people become past of the computer revolution.