Theme: “The Monterrey Consensus, Doha Declaration on Financing for Development and related outcomes of major United Nations conferences and summits: status of implementation and tasks ahead”
Mr. President,
Distinguished delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen.
We welcome the convening of this important dialogue on financing for development and thank both the PGA and the Secretary General for their introductory remarks on this subject.
My delegation aligns this statement with the statements delivered by the Distinguished Delegates of Fiji, Benin and Ethiopia speaking on behalf of the G77 and China, Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and the African Group, respectively.
Mr. President,
This high-level dialogue is taking place while the UN and the entire world is focussing its attention on two important processes: accelerating progress for achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) within the remaining period of less than 800 days to the 2015 deadline, and discussions on the post-2015 development agenda. We wish to underscore that the most important common denominator in the achievement of the current MDGs and any future development agenda is the means of implementationparticularly financial resources and technology.
We note and commend efforts at both national and international levels in mobilizing resources for financing for development. Goal 8 of the MDGs was basically to facilitate creation of global partnerships in mobilizing resources for development. It was clear that through the reform of global trade and financial architectures further mobilization of financial resources could be secured. Over 43 years, we have had the ODA target of 0.7% of GNI of developed countries. To-date, only five countries have achieved and/or surpassed this target.
The Monterrey Consensus which came into being soon after the adoption of MDGs reaffirmed this target and apportioned responsibilities to both national governments and international community on resources mobilization. Among other things, developed countries were urged to make concrete efforts towards the target of 0.70 per cent of their GNP as ODA to developing countries and 0.15 to 0.20 per cent of their GNP to least developed countries (LDCs). This undertaking was reinforced in various international conferences, including the Fourth United Nations Conference on Least Developed Countries, held in Istanbul in May 2011 and recently by the Rio +20 Conference.
Both the Monterrey Consensus and Doha Declaration on Financing for development underscore the importance of domestic resources mobilization in achieving economic growth, poverty eradication and sustainable development. They also stress in this regard the value of national ownership and leadership in developing policies and strategies that included financing, good governance and accountability.
Mr. President,
Many developing countries have taken bold initiatives to mobilize resources domestically. Most have established ambitious national development strategies for the eradication of poverty and achievement of sustainable development. They have established policies and regulatory frameworks which have facilitated conducive environment for attracting both domestic and foreign investments. Moreover, there have been deliberate actions to strengthen good governance, rule of law, human rights and democratic institutions. As a result of these efforts, the economies of developing countries are growing steadily. This is justified by the fact that, out of 10 global fastest growing economies, 6 are from Africa.
Despite these efforts, domestic resources have proved to be insufficient in themselves; hence the continued relevance of international resources mobilization for development, especially private international capital flows in terms of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). The Rio +20 outcome document, entitled “The future we want” cannot be more lucid in this regard.
The United Republic of Tanzania is making satisfactory progress in this regard, with a steady broadening of its tax base, whereby from July 2011 to March 2012 the tax revenue collection amounted to Tshs 4,765.5 billion which is equivalent to around USD 3 billion. Likewise, the Government continues with the implementation of the National Economic Empowerment Policy (2004) by extending soft loan-terms through 20 empowerment funds, with particular emphasis on farmers, women and young entrepreneurs.
Moreover, the implementation of the National Micro-finance Policy (2001) is also underway with millions of Tanzanians gaining access to financial services through banks, Savings and Credit Cooperative Organizations (SACCOS); and community based organizations (CBOs). Micro-finance services through mobile phone operators have given millions of Tanzanians further access to such services.
We have put in place favourable investment climate including the enactment of Public Private Partnership Act (2010) and the designation of the Tanzania Investment Centre (TIC) as well as the Zanzibar Investment Promotion Authority (ZIPA) as “one stop centres” for prospective investors. We are putting in place mechanisms for speeding up the time for setting up a business so as to attract more businesses and investment in the country.
Despite the challenges in investment, which in Africa is largely focused on extractive industry, we are witnessing increasing investment in other sectors such as agriculture, energy, transport and telecommunication, health and education. Indeed, my Government has identified some of these sectors as the key drivers of development which under Big Result Now Initiative will accelerate progress in achieving the Five Year Development Plan (2011/2012 – 2015/2016) as well as the Vision 2025 thus transforming Tanzania to a middle income country. We believe that investments in areas such as agriculture, through sustainable partnership, can uplift thousands out of poverty while ensuring food security and nutrition for Tanzania and its neighbours. Initiatives such as the Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania (SAGCOT) are a step in the right direction for my country.
Mr. President,
I have highlighted just few of the issues raised in the Monterrey Consensus and Doha Declaration on financing for Development. Indeed, the rest of the issues, namely international trade; international financial and technical cooperation for development; external debt; and systemic issues also deserve our undivided attention. We trust ample time will be provided to address these issues, including those relevant to the WTO Ministerial Conference to be held in Bali in December 2013, which we hope will provide a way out of the current impasse on the Doha Round of multilateral trade negotiations.
Tanzania will unrelentingly continue to render its voice on this important subject.
I thank you for your kind attention.
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