Tanzania government up in arms against fraudulent investors

Cheating and laziness are among the most notorious attitudes that cause the development plans not to grow as required. In view of this, the fifth phase government under Dr. John Magufuli  has seen the need to snatch away the important investment potentials whose owners have totally failed to develop. To facilitate the government’s move, on Monday this week, Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa ordered all government leaders without cashew nut farms to refrain from cash crop business."If you don't have a cashew nut farm, you have nothing to do with the crop's business. You are only duty-bound to follow up, reprimand and take appropriate actions, if necessary, to facilitate trading of the cash crop," the Premier argued while officiating at the cashew nut stakeholders’ meeting in Tanga. "As the government encourages new farmers in the cashew farming, you should use the opportunity and farm, if you indeed wish to engage in the business," he directed. Mr Majaliwa tasked the Cashew nut Board of Tanzania (CBT) to properly advise the government on the best possible ways to develop the crop, noting that the government believes if all stakeholders played their respective roles effectively, the crop will immensely benefit the country. "It is important that all parties evaluated themselves to see if they were fulfilling their responsibilities as required," he said, directing the cooperative leaders to ethically execute their duties. 

Tanzania's Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa

The Premier said the government will never entertain low and delayed payments to farmers, adding that in this season, the government does not expect to see a repeat of challenges, including cashew nut shriveling, that hindered efficiency in the previous season. The cashew nut withers six months from the time of harvest to selling. "But, it takes less than six months to complete the buying of all cashew nuts, so in essence, the farmer is not responsible for cashew nut shrinking," the Premier stressed. Mr Majaliwa threatened stern disciplinary measures against anybody found responsible for the spoilage of farmers' produce. "I hereby direct all leaders at all levels to seriously work on this." He also banned Warehouse Receipts Regulatory Board from charging crop storage fees because it's not their job. "You are only responsible with the issuance of licenses," he said. However, the Premier directed the warehouse owners to allow government leaders to inspect the premises before and during the cashew nut sales. He said the government leaders should be allowed to inspect the warehouses even during the cashew nut auctions to ensure all the procedures are effectively used to preserve the crop. Earlier, the Industry, Trade and Investment Minister, Mr Charles Mwijage, said Tanzania produces cashew nuts of the highest quality, globally, encouraging farmers and other stakeholders to sustain the superiority. He said the government would continue encouraging investors from both within and outside the country to invest in cashew nut processing industries for value addition. At the meeting were the Minister for Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, Dr Charles Tizeba, Minister of Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children Ummy Mwalimu and Minister of State, Vice-President's Office, Union and Environment, January Makamba, among others.