Some of Tanzania’s biggest foreign investors say they could scale back their operations or expansion plans because of tougher demands placed on companies, including higher tax bills, as part of the president’s drive to overhaul the economy.

At least six companies are rethinking their business and investment plans, according to Reuters interviews with senior executives at a dozen of the biggest foreign firms operating in Tanzania, or their local arms, in sectors including mining, telecoms and shipping.

Three said they could scale back operations in the East African nation, two said they planned to expand in other countries on the continent instead, while one said it was in the process of withdrawing from Tanzania altogether.

The companies asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter and because their plans have not been made public.

One firm had not yet made a decision on how to respond to the government reforms, while five companies said their plans were unaffected – including two involved in giant projects, a $30bn LNG plant and a $3bn fertiliser plant.

Tanzania is more reliant on foreign direct investment than many other regional countries, given the size of its economy. It received just over $1.5bn last year, into an economy valued at under $45bn, according to figures from the U.N. Conference on Trade and Investment and the World Bank.

Neighbouring Kenya – with a $61bn economy – received slightly less than Tanzania, while South Africa – with a $313bn economy – received $1.7bn.

President John Magufuli, nicknamed “the Bulldozer” for his infrastructure projects and pugnacious leadership style, launched his reform drive after he was elected last year, promising to transform an economy hobbled by red-tape and corruption and carry out a major building programme.

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EuRA chose Africa as the next hot and happening location to host the 2016 conference for training and networking opportunities for DSP’s. Cape Town, South Africa was the host for the event, and what a magnificent venue. It was a great opportunity for Relocation Africa, the biggest relocation company in Africa, to grasp this training opportunity right on their doorstep. Seven of our staff members attended the module 1 – MIC (Mobility Industry in Context) and module 2 – ESD (Excellence in Service Delivery) training sessions. The one-day congress was well attended and included Michael Dale as opening speaker, a panel on Immigration, an expert on Compliance matters in emerging markets and a Cultural Training section. EuRA also made a fabulous contribution of ZAR 20,000 from all the attendees bidding or donating items to Gold PE and Susannah Farr presented to the diverse group at the Gala dinner.

The immigration panel was represented by several countries including Ghana, Nigeria and Mozambique which certainly gave a broader perspective on the categories and issues in each location. We continued with compliance in emerging markets with a presentation by Steven Powell from ENSAfrica which was well received. This session was beneficial to our industry in general since dealing with immigration issues and cultural nuances on the continent vary greatly and getting it wrong can be a very costly exercise on more ways than one. Not to mention the expensive fines if a business contravenes any of the data protection or other corporate governance legislation. The cultural section was highly insightful with regards to the preparation of assignees relocating into certain parts of Africa. This seems to be understood by a select few but many organisations battle to find the budget to include cultural training or assignment preparation tasks. This certainly needs to be reviewed carefully as a priority with growing business opportunities on the African continent.

Finally, the Grand Retro Beach Party after the congress, sponsored by Relocation Africa and EER Middle East, was the perfect spot to relax, unwind and it provided a space for networking with our industry colleagues. What a great function. It certainly has been a good year for Relocation Africa and this was one of the highlights. Thank you EuRA!