NBC joins effort to lure investors
CONVINCED that a country with multiple investors has more
opportunities than one with few, NBC has joined the government
and other stakeholders to publicize Tanzania as a top destination
for foreign investment.
The NBC Managing Director, Christo De Vries, is already
in South Africa forming part of a high-powered delegation
of members drawn from both government and the private sector
out to lure foreign investors to come to Tanzania.
This joint effort to attract foreign investment is led by
Prime minister Frederick Sumaye, and will take place tomorrow,
October 26, in Johannesburg at a one-day forum code-named
Tanzania Business Opportunities and Investment Conference.
As a major co-sponsor of this important meeting meant to
expose Tanzania’s unexploited opportunities to investors,
the MD will give a highlight of NBC’s experience based
on the bank’s evolution within the privatization framework.
Christo’s speech will complement the keynote address
by Premier Frederick Sumaye and speeches to be made by four
other cabinet ministers attending the conference.
The speech by NBC, which Christo hinted would give leads
to opportunities available in Tanzania’s broad economic
spectrum, is tipped to make a very positive impact owing
to bank’s profile as a success story of a joint investment
in Tanzania.
NBC has had positive experiences in the last four years
of its existence under Absa management enhanced by the stable
socio-economic environment put in place by the third phase
government.
As part of the Poverty Reduction Strategy, the government
has set a target of 8% economic growth to ensure poverty
alleviation, a target that nothing short of increased Foreign
Direct Investment (FDI) will help to achieve.
Tanzania’s economy grew by 5.6 % in 2003. It is expected
to grow by 6.3 % in 2004, 6.5 % in 2005 and 7.4 % in 2006.
At this rate, the ultimate goal of an eight per cent growth
rate to ensure poverty alleviation is within reach.
Inflation, which on the other hand increased to 6.5 % in
April 2004 (largely due to drought and a resultant increase
in food prices) compared to 4.3 % last year, is expected
to be contained at 4 % by June 2005.
Tomorrow’s conference in South Africa is a good attempt
at attracting FDI and NBC’s support and participation
attests to the bank’s belief that our business can
only thrive inside a prosperous economy.
Gov’t hails NBC Mobile clinics
SUCH is the important role played by the NBC Mobile Clinics
that the government now recognizes the bank as a key partner
in the state’s effort in taking health services to
people in all corners of the country.
This was announced on September 28, 2004 by the Minister
of State in the President’s Office in charge of Regional
Administration and Local Governments, Retired Brigadier
General, Hassan Ngwilizi, at a seminar attended by medics
from Dar es Salaam Region.
Ngwilizi said the four NBC Mobile Clinics currently offering
free medical services to people in Dar es Salaam’s
semi-rural areas, fully demonstrate the Bank’s good
corporate citizenry urging other companies to emulate.
“The government congratulates NBC for this important
and unique contribution to community development, which
also complements the government’s effort to provide
medical services to people living in areas without these
important facilities,” remarked the minister.
NBC has in the past two years bought and donated four mobile
clinics worth over US $ 220,000 (around 230m/-). Three of
the clinics have each been deployed in the city’s
Temeke, Ilala and Kinondoni municipalities while the fourth
attends to special health programmes as well as serving
in the central business district.
Latest operational report indicate that in September this
year alone, a combined total of 2,172 adults and children
resident of the city were reached by the NBC Mobile Clinics
and provided with services ranging from treatment of malaria,
STDs to maternity health care services.
The beneficiaries included 796 people in Kinondoni, 965
in Ilala and 1,411 in Temeke districts. These statistics
also represent the average number of people reached by the
clinics in the three districts every month.
