Tanzania’s Transition from a Centrally-Planned to a Market-Driven Economy

Peter Chisawillo, President of Tanzania Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture, talks about the importance of TCCIA, since Tanzania decided to transition from a centrally-planned economy to a market-driven economy.

“The TCCIA was essentially the country’s foremost member-based business organisation, in transitioning from a centrally-planned economy to a market-driven economy. Nobody then really knew how to go about creating the conditions for a market-driven economy, whether in the government or even the private sector. The relationship between government and the private sector was basically hostile. Somehow, someone had to say something about what was required for an efficient and effective private sector as an engine for economic growth. Even the realisation that the private sector has to become the engine for economic growth took a good deal of time for people in government to come to terms with. The private sector had to engage the government and convince it that the policy in place had a specific impact on the private sector, and if the government’s aim was to create a vibrant private sector, then certain changes were necessary. This shift in policy involved everything from tax regimes to property and land policies, covering quite a wide spectrum of issues. The government then had to understand that investments were critical, and that somehow you had to create a regime that attracts investment, both in local and external terms. Understandably, engagement with the government went on and on…”, says Peter Chisawillo.

“We were the first business organisation. Every other organisation that we see today actually evolved out of the TCCIA. Eventually, there were the industrialists under the CTI who sought more focus on industry. We believed we could not afford a split among business associations, and that we needed to consolidate our position, in order to at least speak to the government with one voice. This is how we eventually formed the Tanzania Private Sector Foundation. But the nucleus was the TCCIA’, he adds.