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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Uganda: When Kenyan Immigration Officials Almost Deported Me
It was not my mistake yet officials of Kenya’s Directorate of Immigration and Registration of Persons almost deported me to “teach me a lesson”.
It was mid-morning early this month when I arrived at Nairobi’s Wilson Airport on a domestic flight.
Passenger baggage was scanned and we showed our IDs to an immigration official, who appeared to be past middle age. She flipped the pages of my passport. She flipped some more. She looked at me. Then flipped again. I was beginning to hold up the queue.
The official asked why my passport did not have an entry visa stamp. I said I had no idea whether it had or not. When I flew into Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) days earlier, I had presented my passport to a man at the immigration desk handling East Africans. I had seen him stamp it before handing it back to me.
Relocation Africa wishes all our clients and friends a very Happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year!
Chinese companies employ a lot more African workers than you think
Across Africa and throughout the West there is a widespread belief that a good portion of the Chinese construction workers building infrastructure across the continent are actually prisoners who have been forcibly enslaved to work in Africa. So the reason why Chinese companies allegedly do not hire locals, according to this legend, is because there is such an abundant supply of convict labor that can be conscripted to work long hours and endure brutal working conditions.
This myth is so widely trafficked, and not just among poorly-informed social media commentators but also among supposedly well-informed academics and highly-respected news organizations, that is some ways it has become an accepted truth.’Of course the Chinese import convicts,’ how else can you explain the barbed wire that surrounds construction sites, or the shabby conditions so many of their workers live in and the fact that they often have to work seven days a week?
Well, the reality is that barbed wire is often intended to keep people on OUTside from coming rather than incarcerating those on the INside. While they may not be prisoners, it is fair to say their living conditions are often comparable to those of inmates, which comes as a surprise to many in Africa who often mistakenly assume that all foreigners live the luxurious lifestyle of a white aid worker. As for overtime, well, for many Chinese contractors that is a foreign concept. There is no overtime. You work until the job is done. Period.
While the often harsh labor policies of many Chinese companies are out of sync with the commonly accepted standards in Africa, and elsewhere, the workers are most certainly not slaves nor is there any evidence they are convicts.
Despite the confidence of those who propagate this myth, there is no empirical proof to confirm their suspicions. Scholars from around the world have scoured Africa and Chinese work sites looking for even a sliver of proof that the Chinese are importing forced labor to work in Africa. To date, no one has found any indication that this widely-believed myth is actually true.
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Foreign firms hit by tax demands rethink Tanzanian expansion
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.
Source