Summary
- Calls for beneficial inclusion into partnerships within the extractive industry echoed by different stakeholders as many believe this will move citizens from being spectators to beneficiaries
Dar es Salaam. As Tanzania is witnessing increased discoveries of natural resources, stakeholders in the extractive industry have cautioned the government to ensure inked contracts benefit the general public.
They are of the view that partnerships and investment contracts should increase efficiency and benefit both sides; investors and the government on behalf of its people.
Their caution comes following reports that many countries blessed with abundant natural resources including oil and gas as well as minerals have failed to benefit its people due to poor supervision.
They said most countries have ultimately ended up plunging into civil war as well as endless conflicts in what is referred as resource curse.
Extractive industry stakeholders shared the caution during a workshop gathering experts in the sector organised by the Natural Resources Governance Institute (NRGI).
Repoa Executive Director, Donald Mmari said investment capital required for extraction activities is extremely huge to be afforded by most countries without involving investors.
“Investors bring in capital, while countries offer resources. We are therefore required to be careful when striking the deals in order to benefit both sides involved in the contract,” said Dr Mmari.
He said the country should see how the sector is interconnected with others and ensure investment multiple effects is realised in many other sectors.
Furthermore, he said Tanzania needs to see how to strengthen its economy using resources harvested in the extraction industry.
“There are resources that are depleted after a few years of extraction meaning that they should be converted to other resources that will significantly contribute to the country’s economic growth before depletion,” he said.
“There are countries that have failed to properly use such resources while others have benefited, which should be a lesson to Tanzania,” he cautioned.
Natural Resources Governance Institute (NRGI) manager for East Africa, Moses Kulaba said there was a need for proper supervision of tax collection in the extractive industry.
“The sector is rapidly growing making it important for the country to increase its revenue collection in order to benefit its people,” he said.
“Climate change could adversely affect the sector’s growth, therefore placing the need for government’s preparation that will guarantee its growth and prosperity for the benefit of general public,” he added.
For his part, assistant mineral commissioner Ally Samaji said the government was putting in effort to increase citizen participation in the extractive industry.
“The move will place generated revenues in the hands of citizens instead of making them observers. We want more Tanzanians recruited in the sector and increase their understanding of what happens in order to improve efficiency,” he said. By Elizabeth Edward, The Citizen
Cambodian financial industry players are working to enhance cross-border payments with the landlocked African country of Rwanda, as well as promote the blockchain-based Bakong system and strengthen international digital and fintech (financial technology) partnerships in general.
A local delegation joined a fintech event in Rwanda from June 20-26 with the goal of showcasing the envisioned revolutionary potential of Cambodian fintech innovations, encouraging cross-border collaboration, and elevating the Kingdom’s fintech scene to new heights.
The team was led by the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) and co-organised by the Cambodian Association of Finance and Technology (CAFT) and the Association of Banks in Cambodia (ABC).
At the event, CAFT chairman Remi Pell discussed how dominant he believed mobile wallets and payment firms have grown in the Kingdom, as well as the anticipated entry of new regulatory technology (regtech) and insurance tech (insurtech) players as well as digital-only banking platforms known as “neobanks” into the market.
“Notably, the exponential growth of e-commerce and contactless transactions has significantly fostered the widespread adoption of digital payment solutions between merchants and consumers,” he said.
Pell stressed the importance of blockchain technology and smart contracts to financial development in Cambodia, but conceded that the Kingdom lacks many of the required resources, including specialists, innovators, solution providers, entrepreneurs and investors.
There are “immense opportunities” in blockchain solutions, “including upskilling and training programmes, the development of transparent smart-contract solutions, and their application across various sectors such as finance, accounting and communication”, he added.
Meanwhile, NBC deputy governor Chea Serey at a seminar in western Kampong Thom province’s Stoung district last month revealed that the central bank has been working with Asian, African, Latin American and European nations to increase the scope of payment systems that are regarded as quick, secure and low-cost to promote cross-border economic activities.
Cambodia has been linked with Thailand and Malaysia through Bakong, with connections to Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, China and India still in the works, she said.
Serey explained that the platform enables Cambodians in Thailand to scan and pay using riel-denominated accounts as well as Thais in Cambodia to scan and pay in the local currency, which she said would promote use of the riel.
She boasted that Bakong has made it possible for less-affluent rural residents to access and benefit from formal financial services.
Bakong has received several awards, with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in May hailing the system as an example of “model” international cooperation, namely between the Cambodian central bank and a Japanese tech firm, she added.
For context, Bakong, a quasi-central bank digital currency (CBDC) launched on October 28, 2020, was developed by Japanese blockchain company Soramitsu Co Ltd.
According to the NBC, by end-2022, “the number of registered e-wallet account[s] increased to 19.5 million and the total number of transactions jumped from 708 million to one billion with a total amount of $272.8 billion (increased by 34 per cent), approximately nine times the [GDP]”. By May Kunmakara, The Phnom Penh Post
• She also did collaborative work with Ngugi aa Thiongó in the country who was also a professor at Irvine University in California, US west Coast.
• She disclosed that she was a two-time cancer survivor. For a long time, she battled cancer of the bone marrow.
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