adminDar es Salaam — Tanzania plans to raise government spending by 7.7 percent in the fiscal year ending in July 2015 to 19.653 trillion shillings ($12bn), the country’s finance minister said on Wednesday, with a focus on expanding its agriculture and energy sectors. East Africa’s No 2 economy, plagued by power shortages and other infrastructure challenges, is fast-becoming a regional energy hub following huge offshore natural gas discoveries.
Finance Minister Saada Mkuya Salum projected economic growth at 7.2 percent in 2014, 7.4 percent in 2015, 7.7 percent in 2016 and 8 percent in 2017 at a pre-budget meeting in the capital of Dar es Salaam.
The economy has been growing steadily at about 7 percent a year, one of the fastest in the region, but it breached last year’s deficit target of 5.5 percent — a level that had been agreed with the International Monetary Fund.
One of Africa’s biggest per capita aid recipients, the country expects to receive 2.94 trillion shillings from its development partners in 2014/15 for infrastructure projects such as building new railways, roads, ports and airports.
Salum also said Tanzania plans $900m of commercial borrowing in 2014/15, up from $700mn in 2013/14, and had planned to borrow $700m from commercial banks in 2013/14 but had received just a third of the targeted amount.
Tanzania plans to borrow $292m from Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation as well as an additional $148m from HSBC to expand its international airport. — Fin24
Online Reporter
Londile Moyo