By Annastazia Freddy The Citizen Correspondent
Posted Thursday, October 3 2013 at 08:06
Posted Thursday, October 3 2013 at 08:06
In Summary
One of the reasons for the low rank of Arusha in the
economy of the country could be because most tour companies are foreign
or Dar es Salaam-based, which means that most of the money tourists pay
for accommodation and travel remains outside Arusha. “Many tour
companies are foreign-owned
Mwanza. Arusha could be the
Safari capital of the country, what with the world renowned Ngorongoro,
the magnificent Serengeti and several other national parks and cool
climate, but it ranks low in the economic ladder of the country far
behind Mbeya, Shinyanga, Iringa and Morogoro, according to Bank of
Tanzania’s latest statistics.
Likewise Lindi Region could sit on a mountain of
billions of cubic feet of proven natural gas resources, but it is the
second poorest region in Tanzania mainland after the Coast region,
statistics show. The report which indicates economic strength of
administrative regions in Tanzania mainland for 2012 shows Arusha is the
7th richest region in Tanzania with a gross domestic product (GDP) of
Sh2.1 trillion ($1.3 billion), followed by Tanga (Sh2.09 trillion) and
Kilimanjaro (Sh2.03 trillion).
GDP is the total goods and services produced in a
region or country within a year. It’s the common method used by
economists to measure the economic performance of regions or countries
around the globe.
One of the reasons for the low rank of Arusha in
the economy of the country could be because most tour companies are
foreign or Dar es Salaam-based, which means that most of the money
tourists pay for accommodation and travel remains outside Arusha. “Many
tour companies are foreign-owned. In fact this also raises the question
of how the country benefits from the tourist attractions found in the
country if most of the money paid remains outside the country,” a worker
at a Dar es Salam-based travel agency, who requested for anonymity,
told The Citizen yesterday.
Lindi Region has a GDP worth of Sh844 billion,
followed by Singida (Sh857 billion) and Mtwara (Sh1.1 trillion). Coast
has a GDP of Sh826 billion, Mr Mwihabe Rububura, an economist from BoT
said.
Dar es Salaam is definitely the riches region with
a GDP of Sh7.5 trillion, followed by Mwanza (Sh4.09 trillion) and Mbeya
(Sh3.2 trillion). Tanzania mainland has a GDP of Sh44.7 trillion,
according to the BoT.
Mr Rububura said yesterday that according to the
economic growth trend of the last ten years, Mwanza, a region rich in
minerals and fisheries, and with a city growing rapidly, is poised to
further close its gap with leader Dares Salaam.
The bet for Mwanza would also be on a growing manufacturing sector.
Mwanza economy is projected to grow by 8 per cent
in 2014 if the levels of investment and the regional bloc trade remain
unchanged.
“What we see in the short to medium term is a
strong GDP growth rate for Mwanza, relying much on its income from
fishing, farm products and livestock products,” said Mr Mwihabe
Rububura, an economist from Bank of Tanzania (BoT) in Mwanza.
But the statistics released this week show a
different picture, with Dar es Salam pulling far away from the rest of
the regions in the last 10 years.
In 2003, when Dar had a GDP of Sh1.9 trillion,
Mwanza, which was also the second richest region had the GDP of Sh1
trillion. In 2009 as Dar’s economy grew to Sh4.8 trillion, Mwanza’s was
Sh2.5 trillion.
SOURCE:THE CITIZEN
But as Dar’s economy nearly tripled during the past decade
reaching Sh5.2 trillion, its rival, Mwanza doubled to Sh2.9 trillion,
despite the collapse of the Nile Perch industry and the cotton sector,
which were key in boosting the region’s economy.
By the end of 2004, Nile Perch exports to
European markets from Mwanza Region reached a record high of $190
million, while cotton exports roughly earned about $90 million during
the same period.
But, by the end of last year, Nile Perch’s exports
declined to about $80 million as cotton exports also tumbled thanks to
oversupply in the global market mainly from China, Pakistan and Brazil,
affecting Mwanza’s economic growth.
SOURCE:THE CITIZEN