According to information presented at a conference in Dar es Salaam on Tuesday, the Tanzanian government has spent over Sh400 billion over the previous two years enhancing and strengthening the nation's communication infrastructure.
The budget is an important move the government has taken in the previous two years under President Samia Hassan's leadership, according to Mr. Kundo Mathew, the deputy minister for information, communication, and information technology, who made the statement at the 5th Innovation and Technology Forum in Dar es Salaam.
He claimed that in order to encourage and motivate technical innovation and creativity for economic growth, the government was putting a lot of attention on improving the communication infrastructure.
The forum, which had as its theme "Innovating policy --- a forward-looking and integrated approach to policy-making in the digital age," was crucial, according to him, for identifying the problems and obstacles that slow down the rapid growth of the communication and ICT industries.
“President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s administration continues to improve the investment environment primarily to attract people to invest in the communication sector and the information and communication technology (ICT) industry. We shall work on the recommendations of this forum in order to promote President Samia’s efforts towards attracting investors in our country,” the deputy minister commented.
Dr. Moses Mwasaga, the director general of the Information and Communication Technology Commission (ICTC), stated that the commission places a high value on the discussions and proposals made at such conferences since they aim to address current issues and concerns.
“Challenges discussed in such forums and recommendations made as a result help the government formulate a policy that is friendly to solving challenges that keep emerging because this sector, too, keeps changing and improving all the time,” Dr Mwasaga said.
He also praised the CRDB Bank for creating a product called Imbeju that encourages digital innovation and inventiveness among potential and aspiring entrepreneurs, saying that the action would be supported by their commission because, according to Dr. Mwasaga, it aims to better the lives of the poor, who make up the majority of the population of the nation.
The objective of the president, according to Dr. Godwill Wanga, Executive Secretary of the Tanzania National Business Council (TNBC), is to see technology play a significant part in the expansion of the national economy.
“In this respect, we peg our hopes on active and energetic small innovators in order to grow and sustain this sector in our country,” Dr. Godwill Wanga said.