INTERVIEW WITH LAWRENCE MAFURU, TREASURY REGISTRAR AT TREASURY REGISTRAR OFFICE (TRO)

SEPTEMBER 6, 2016 

TanzaniaInvest had the pleasure of interviewing Lawrence Mafuru, Treasury Registrar at the Tanzania Treasury Registrar Office (TRO), the entity in charge of monitoring and evaluating the performances of all state-owned companies, and to invest or dispose investments in these companies. 

Mafuru clarifies the privatization strategies and modalities of the current government, and the upcoming available opportunities. 

TanzaniaInvest (TI): Tanzania went through the privatization of state-owned companies in the 1980s and 1990s. However, the government is aiming at retaking control and privatizing them again. Why is that? 

Lawrence Mafuru (LM): Post-independence from the British government, in the 1960s until late 1970s, nationalization took place, with a view of the government to take control of the economy. 

Like many other African countries, Tanzania wanted to make sure that the economy is indigenized. 

However, after nationalization, it became very clear that with industries that are only focusing internally, input substitution policy would not work. 

Tanzania was a very small market by then, and it couldn’t really afford multimillion-dollar investments in industries just serving the Tanzanian population. 

Click here to access the full interview, courtesy of TanzaniaInvest