By APOLINARI TAIRO

More by this Author

Targeting more foreign investments, the Tanzania government has proposed amendment of its laws to grant special status to Tanzanians in diaspora, to set up business in key priority economic sectors.

Relaxing its prohibitive laws and legislations, the government has tabled to Parliament for debate, Miscellaneous Amendments Bill 2024, which seeks to grant special status to Tanzanians living in other countries to set up business back home.

The proposed amendments to immigration laws are set to grant inheritance rights and investment incentives to Tanzanians living in other countries through the Diaspora Tanzanite card.

Land and property ownership in Tanzania have been limited to Tanzanian citizens only. The Miscellaneous Amendments Act, 2024 which was published on June 26, proposes changes to the Immigration Act, Cap 54 and Land Act, cap 113 to allow Tanzanians living in other countries to access land occupancy titles.

Read: Samia perfects Ruto’s game to attract trade, investment

Tanzania is among African countries with restrictive immigration laws and regulations imposed to foreigners and locals with dual citizenship on land ownership rights.

President Samia Suluhu Hassan had earlier promised to review the Immigration Act. While addressing Tanzanians in South Korea during her six-day official visit in Seoul in June, she said her government would ensure that Tanzanians living in other countries would be given special status, including the ability to take up residence in Tanzania without passing through a complicated visa process.

She pledged a legal environment that would enable Tanzanians in the diaspora to remit money through their families back home for investments, expertise and technology needed mostly for agricultural production, manufacturing and services.

Tanzanians in the diaspora have invested about Tsh280 billion ($106 million) through housing, while others bought shares worth Tsh6.45 billion ($ 2.4 million) in the UTT Asset Management and Investors Services (UTT AMIS) by 2023, Samia told the Tanzanians in Seoul.

The Tanzania Investment Centre (TIC) has been encouraging East African Community (EAC) citizens to establish joint businesses in Tanzania through harmonised regulations in the EAC region.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the East African Co-operation established a diaspora database aiming to recognise and assist Tanzanians in diaspora to register for business and investments, banking on ample and available land suitable for investments.

Despite its rich agricultural land, Tanzania had lacked vibrant investments in agriculture with little returns from cash crops and poor agro-industrial base.

Data from the Ministry of Agriculture shows that Tanzania possesses a total of 44 million hectares of land for cultivation, but only 15 million hectares are under cultivation for both cash and food crops.

Investment in livestock has been rated among lucrative business, banking on the big number of livestock and pastureland available in Tanzania.

Statistics from the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries indicate that Tanzania has a stock of about 38 million heads of cattle, about 28 million goats, nine million (9 million) sheep and four (4) million pigs.

It is second in Africa with big numbers of livestock after Ethiopia, but poorly developed for higher revenue gains. Traditional livestock breeding and lack of ranching investments have slowed down livestock revenue gains.