Commenting on the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) monthly economic review for June, a senior lecturer at the University of Dar es Salaam, Prof Humphrey Moshi, said the government measures have had positive impact on the economy.
“Restriction of foreign trips and tightening of tax collection measures have contributed in strengthening the foreign exchange reserve,” he said.
He said previously some dishonest importers collaborated with few tax collectors and used loopholes to evade tax. According to BoT, the fall of the import bill is one of the major reasons that affected the gross foreign official reserves to cover 4.4 months of imports.
The fall in import bill, particularly oil, followed a significant drop in prices in the world market. Gross foreign official reserves amounted to 3,855.8 million US dollars compared to 4,402.4 million US dollars at the end of June 2015.
The reserves were sufficient to cover 4.4 months of projected imports of goods and services, excluding those financed by foreign direct investment, more than 4.2 months in June 2015. Meanwhile, gross foreign assets of banks amounted to 831.9 million US dollars.
Import of goods and services amounted to 11,336.3 million US dollars in the year ending June 2016, lower by 15.2 per cent than the corresponding period in 2015. The decline was notable in all goods import, save for fertilisers.
A significant decline was recorded in capital goods, oil, and food and food stuffs. Import of oil particularly, which accounts for the largest share of goods import, decreased by 8.5 by civil servants.
Daily News
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