Off the wire
• Israel's Supreme Court rejects gov't's gas deal  • Elephant poaching drops in N. Tanzanian wildlife sanctuary: official  • S. Africa's opposition wants Parliament to probe Gupta family  • Iraq's Shiite cleric begins sit-in in Baghdad's Green Zone  • China liquor maker Wuliangye reports profit recovery  • Ireland commemorates Easter Rising centenary  • Rumors over reopening of borders send refugees back to Greek-FYROM crossing  • China Focus: Hydropower on Yangtze goes eco-friendly  • Chinese fugitive hiding in Peru surrendered  • 1st Ld-Writethru: China calls for reform of science and technology associations  
You are here: 　 Home

Tanzanian president calls for less dependence on foreign donor

Xinhua, March 28, 2016 Adjust font size:

Tanzanian President John Magufuli on Sunday appealed to Tanzanians to work hard in order to enable the east African nation to lessen foreign donor dependence.

The head of state was speaking at a special Easter mass at the Azania Front Lutheran Church in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam.

"Tanzanians can stop relying on conditional loans from foreign donors if they cultivate a culture of working hard," said Magufuli.

Since he took power in November 2015, Magufuli has taken a number of austerity measures aimed at cutting down government spending and boosting government revenue collection.

He said these measures, including banning foreign travels for civil servants and enhancing tax collection, were aimed at improving provision of social services like free education, and lessening donor dependence.

In February 2015, the Minister for Finance and Planning, Phillip Mpango, told Parliament that the government intended to cut donor dependence to three percent in the next budget from the current 6.4 percent.

He said the reduced dependence would be compensated by increasing domestic tax revenue by 15 percent, borrowing commercially, cutting wasteful spending, and reviewing tax exemptions. Enditem