MOHAMED KAZINGUMBE & YAKOBE CHIWAMBO

TANZANIA is slated to stage what promises to be one of the most important events in the country's recent history when it hosts the 20th    World Economic Forum for Africa (WEF-Af) in the nation's commercial metropolis Dar es Salaam on May 5-7 this year.

The hustle and bustle of preparing for such a major global occasion in what is one of the world's ten poorest countries is already being experienced in ways more than one. On the more mundane side of things, for instance, virtually all the top-class hotels in Dar es Salaam Region are already fully booked weeks ahead of the event.

The Forum is projected to be attended by more than a thousand high-level officials from all over the world, as well as Captains of Industry, Commerce and other entrepreneurial actors. There will also be a sprinkling of Heads of State and Government – as well as scores of camp followers, spearheaded no doubt by the increasingly powerful Fourth Estate: members of the mass media fraternity from all corners of the globe.

A senior official with one of the bigger hotels in Dar es Salaam told Business Times in an interview that “it would be a miracle for people coming to Dar es Salaam, and who are not part of the WEF contingents, to secure first-class accommodation now, or for the coming several weeks – and, especially, not mass tourism arrivals,” he stressed!

“It is unfortunate that some of our regular customers have also failed to obtain accommodation. This is a matter for much regret to us,” he said, noting that some tourists who had turned up for rooms were regretfully turned away. In fact, later reports have it that even the better hotels in Bagamoyo north of Dar es Salaam are also fully-booked.

Asked whether the WEF-Af thing was bad for business, the source was emphatic in the contrary. During the meeting, he stated, “the hotel businesses is bound to gain from increased revenues as well as spillover benefits for goods ans service providers such as food suppliers, transport, communications and other indirect benefits.”

So much fort he hospitality industry, then.

Turning to the 'event-of-the-moment-to-be,' observers are of the view
that – if handled well – the WEF-Af would boost Tanzania's faltering economy and global image.

The PriceWaterhouseCoopers country manager in Dar es Salaam,  Leonard Mususa, told journalists in Dar es Salaam this week that the three-day forum – whose theme is 'Rethinking Africa's Growth Strategy' – is aimed at tracking the continent's current and future economic and political state.

"It is time for the country to set goals on where we want the economy to be in a year's time. The meeting will create more room for business discussions, since most of the participants are highly regarded business experts," Mususa explained.

“PriceWaterhouseCoopers is delighted to be the knowledge provider at the WEF on Africa in Dar es Salaam. This important gathering could not be more timely. Africa is at a crossroads in terms of economic and social development,” he stated.

Observers say local economic players should make the best of this opportunity to market Tanzania and its phenomenal potentiality, including its natural resources.

These include abundant tourist attractions, mining, natural gas, oil, marine and forestry resources, as well as arable land that is suitable for both rain-fed and irrigation farming.

Commenting on the upcoming meeting, a former senior lecturer of the University of Dar es Salaam, Dr. Aleck Che Mponda, said “this is a great moment for Tanzania to market itself.

“It is important for our experts to share experiences with different experts from around the world... It is a good way of putting our country's economic potentials on the world map,” Che Mponda told Business Times.

Also a former lecturer at the Columbia University in the US, Dr. Che Mponda also said that, “in so far as there will be hundreds of researchers at the meeting, this is the best time for Tanzanians to share with them what they have on their minds and in their souls!”

Noting that “Tanzania has compiled thousands of research findings which are yet to be implemented,” Che Mponda stressed that, “with the coming meeting, I think our experts should take the opportunity to market its worked researches – including all those which are stranded in office file cabinets and shelves!”

Likewise, a senior official from the ministry of Industry, Trade & Marketing said the Forum should be as a working tool with which to expose Tanzania's economic potentials, some of which are not known to the outside world.

A financial and economic expert based in Dar es Salaam, Charles Edward Nyange, urged Government officials – including especially  economists – to take the opportunity afforded by the Forum to ensure Tanzania captures world investments at every opportunity.

Nyange, who is the managing director of M/s Nyange Accounts & Audit Consultancy Company said “this is a positive result of the  frequent world tours the president has been conducting. This has brought Tanzania into world recognition; hence this and other deliberations on the future of Tanzania and Africa as a whole,” he pointed out.

The WEF on Africa – the 20th in the series – is being held in East Africa for the first time. In addition to that, the Forum’s 'Young Global Leaders Summit' will also be held concurrently in Dar es Salaam, and will integrate over 200 of the world’s top young leaders in the meeting.

Discussions are intended to address how African nations are managing relations with their key economic partners – with an increasing trend towards greater South-South Cooperation.

As Africa joins India and China in crossing the billion-person mark, the continent's young population, natural resources and market potential are catalysts for significant future growth and development.