Doing business, let’s make it easy - and fair

BEST-Dialogue

Annual Report 2016 - 2017

Contents Contents Abbreviations 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 2. INTRODUCTION 3. PERFORMANCE OF THE PROGRAMME 4. MANAGEMENT, ADMINISTRATION AND OVERSIGHT 5. FINANCIAL REPORT 6. CONCLUSIONS AND NEXT STEPS

1 6 8 23 23 25

Abbreviations ACT

Agricultural Council of Tanzania

ANSAF

Agricultural Non State Actors Forum

AMDT

MITI

Investment MNRT

Agricultural Market Development Trust

Ministries of Industry, Trade & Ministry of Natural Resources & Tourism

MUCO

Moshi University College of

BDSP

Business Dialogue Service Provider

BEE

Business Enabling Environment

NSA

Non-State Actors

BEST

Business Environment

PASS

Private Agricultural Sector Support

Strengthening Tanzania

PE

Political Economy

BLP

Business Leaders’ Perception

PPRA

BSPS IV

Business Sector Programme

CPRA CRN CTI DADPs

Cooperatives

Public Procurement Regulatory Authority

Support Phase IV

PSD

Private Sector Development

Centre for Policy Research &

RDL

Railway Development Levy

Advocacy

SAGCOT

Community Radio Network

Southern Agriculture Growth Corridor of Tanzania

Confederation of Tanzania

SAUT

Saint Augustine University of Tanzania

Industries

SUA

Sokoine University of Agriculture

District Agriculture Development

SIPS

Stakeholder Issue Potential Scoping

Programmes

TACECA

Tanzania Civil Engineering Contractors

DIB

Digital Information Base

FSDT

Financial Sector Deepening Trust

TAHA

Tanzania Horticulture Association

HAT

Hotels Association of Tanzania

TCCIA

Tanzania Chamber of Commerce,

HI-LINE

Higher Learning Institutions Network

TCT

Tourism Confederation of Tanzania

IBEJ

Investigative Business

TAEA

Tanzania Atomic Energy Agency

Environment Journalism

TFRA

Tanzania Fertilizer Regulatory Agency

Investigative Business

TEGR

Tanzania Economic Government

IBER

Association

Industry & Agriculture

Environment Reporting

Review

LED

Local Economic Development

ToT

Training of Trainers

LIC

Local Investment Climate

TPSF

Tanzania Private Sector Foundation

MAI

Multi-Actor Integration

UDBS

University of Dar es Salaam Business

MALF

Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock & ZNCCIA

Zanzibar National Chamber of

Fisheries MoHSW

School

Ministry of Health and Social Welfare

Commerce, Industry & Agriculture ZURA

Zanzibar Utilities Regulatory Authority

BEST-DIALOGUE: ANNUAL REPORT 2016 - 2017 FAST TRACKING INDUSTRIALIZATION 1.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This Annual Report of BEST-Dialogue of the five-year support for private sector organizations to engage with government to improve the business environment reports the programme’s activities, results and lessons learnt from July 2016 to June 2017.

Highlights •

The Blueprint-1 for Business Regulatory Licensing Reforms, adopted by the government as a roadmap for addressing many challenges raised by the private sector in recent years has been completed and submitted to the Cabinet (April, 2017)

•

The 10th TNBC meeting was held at which many policy proposals from the private sector were accepted by the government and directives given to strengthen national level and economic sector public - private dialogue (May, 2017)

•

The Finance Act 2017 made several changes to laws, regulations and fees intended to reduce the cost of doing business, as a direct response to private sector advocacy and dialogue efforts (June, 2017)

•

The Hi-LINE, a network of Higher Learning Institutions working in partnership with BEST-Dialogue to build the capacity of private sector organisation was expanded to include 2 important players; University of Iringa (UoI) which sits on the SAGCOT Corridor and Faculty of Social Sciences and Mass Communication at Saint Augustine University of Tanzania (SAUT)

•

Although PSOs are demonstrating a sustained increase in institutional and advocacy capacity, they are challenged more than ever before to raise their level of organization, coordination and responsiveness to match the pace of government in driving economic transformation.

Dialogue and advocacy In the first year of the 5th administration, as the new government was settling down, the private sector reverted to dialoguing with sector ministries and Parliamentary Committees while lobbying for the revival of national level dialogue and their form of programmes. In December 2016, the Prime Minister organized a meeting of the Steering Committee of the Roadmap for an Improvement in the Investment Climate, followed by the 10th TNBC meeting in May 2017. The year also witnessed the more active engagement in PPD at local government level, including representatives from higher levels (District Executive Directors, District Commissioners, Regional Commissioners, etc.).

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At the beginning of 2017, a number of private sector organisations, led by the TPSF, worked with the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment to develop a comprehensive “Blueprint-1 for Business Environment Regulatory Licensing Reform”. The analytical and advocacy work done by the private sector in recent years, with BEST-Dialogue support and the BRN business environment lab, proved invaluable in informing the Blueprint as well as the private sector proposals made to the 10th TNBC meeting. In response to the policy challenges raised by the private sector, the Chairman of the TNBC, H.E. President John P. Magufuli, gave several directives and the government made over 10 pledges to improve PPD and the business environment at the 10th TNBC meeting. Among the directives given by the Chairman were a 24-hour operational service for Dar es Salaam port and an order to Ministries to organize regular PPDs with the private sector. Ten private sector organisations engaged in and contributed to at least 11 policies (directly funded by BEST-Dialogue) and legislative reforms relating to income tax, land, road and fuel tolls, sugar, public procurement, budget, entrepreneurship, employment, petroleum (local content), National Development Plan, standards, agriculture and fiscal policy.

What beneficiaries are doing differently The apex PSOs are demonstrating improved capacity in (i) engaging their constituencies both at national and local level to collaborate in addressing policy issues (ii) proactively influencing national development plans, (iii) managing sustained dialogue platforms with parliamentarians and Government, and (iv) delivering services to members. TPSF, TCT, ACT and TAHA brought together the main PSOs to provide coherent and informed proposals in the Blueprint-1 document, TNBC and the 2017/2018 budget. TPSF led 42 private sector representatives from different sectors in dialogue with the Parliamentary budget committee on challenges in implementing the 2016 Finance Act (e.g. issues with VAT on ancillary services, VAT on government fees) and the PPRA Act of 2016. While the enhanced capacity of TPSF, other block grantees ACT and TCT, sector organisations and the regional Chambers that benefited from BEST-Dialogue support is evident in the advocacy and dialogue initiatives (including successful ones) championed over and above

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those supported by BEST-Dialogue resources, there is still a great need for the private sector to be better networked and to improve collaboration in national dialogue. The year witnessed the active role played by the national private sector organisations in influencing the national agenda.

Tanzania Private Sector

Foundation and Confederation of Tanzania Industries championed the development of a private sector industrialization strategy by preparing and presenting a dossier on the challenges affecting the pace of industrialization, and making specific proposals to Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investments (MITI) and the President’s Office, most of which have been adopted in the draft strategy. There is growing interface and collaboration among the programme actors, although some challenges exist. The apexes are going beyond their tradition of working on national level issues to collaborate with district private sector organisations to address issues at that level, and to escalate those that cannot be resolved there to national level platforms, such as TNBC. Through partnership with Tanzania Private Sector Foundation, regional PSOs in Kigoma and Dodoma regions have successfully advocated for the introduction of one-stop business licensing centres, the removal of fuel fees for patrols on Lake Tanganyika, the development of participatory land use plans, and the establishment of neighbourhood border markets and motorcycle stands, etc. Similarly, the Agricultural Council of Tanzania is working with several local chambers in undertaking advocacy and dialogue at local government level, while Higher Learning Institutions Network (Hi-LINE) is collaborating with the Agricultural Council of Tanzania and the Local Investment Climate (LIC) project in local public-private dialogue and training. Private sector organistions are increasingly engaging media partners in dialogue and advocacy. The continuation and sustainability of these initiatives cannot be guaranteed because of the cost. The initiatives in all the 3 cases are donor supported and there is no immediate evidence of them being taken over for their continuation by either the public (LGAs) or private sector. In addition, part of the cost emanates from the fact that most participants expect to be paid an allowance to attend. However, new approaches to sustainability are emerging. For example, TPSF is now organizing fee-based training in various topics for members and non-members and plans to start delivering training in advocacy and dialogue with the support of development partners. TCT has partnered with the Hotel Association of Tanzania (HAT) and other tourism associations to develop an apprenticeship programme to build skills in the hospitality sub-sector. These efforts simultaneously enhance the value of PSOs to members as well as their financial sustainability. If the fee-based approach grows roots it would testify that the private sector has come of age and can play its rightful role in serving members using sustainable models. BEST-Dialogue: Annual Report 2016 - 2017

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TPSF updated its branding and marketing plan and developed fund-raising proposals for submission to various donors. CPRA reviewed courses to embed communication and make them more relevant for local level PSOs, and HI-LINE adopted the Stakeholder-Issue Potential Scoping (SIPS) approach, which is more cost effective and relevant for local needs in terms of dialogue at LGA level.

Lessons learnt The main lessons learnt over the past year include: (i)

While improving advocacy and dialogue skills has made a big difference in the process and outcomes of advocacy, they need to be greatly improved in both the government and private sector;

(ii) Training the public and private sector together in dialogue and advocacy helps them learn from each other, builds empathy and trust and opens up lines of direct communication; (iii) Simple and cost-efficient approaches for effective dialogueat local level can be used to match the human and financial resources available and to make the process more cost effective (hence more sustainable); (iv) Local media can make a huge difference in the BEE agenda through communicating key messages and directly engaging with key actors in dialogue, including the community and decision makers; (v) Supporting advocacy capacity building as well as advocacy and dialogue are complex endeavours and demand patience and a long-term view.

Key decisions made and focus for the next year BEST-Dialogue is taking a number of measures to sustain the programme’s outputs. It is encouraging partner PSOs to strengthen their resource mobilization capacity and partnerships, both within the private sector and with development partners. It was decided that the apexes will take responsibility for any projects requiring follow up (Step 5) using block grant resources, because they have sufficient capacity to engage at the highest levels of government, and it is difficult to estimate the scale of resources needed to see through reforms being pursued. TPSF is being encouraged to take on the capacity-building role and has started offering training in advocacy with the support of USAID using CPRA / Hi-LINE expertise. The most obvious case is the promotion of networking and collaboration among PSOs. This task particularly falls on TPSF as it has a specific block grant component that promotes networking and collaboration. The private sector must project its vision on how dialogue will take place under the current formulation, including how the sector dialogue platforms will be implemented and the role of the private sector. Practical outlines of the way dialogue(s) will operate will need to be presented, such as private sector representation in the various task groups, dates and notification of meetings, and rules, etc.

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The programme is promoting cost-efficient methodologies suitable for the organization of local level dialogue, including developing the capacity of young researchers, who can be tasked to develop Local Economic Development studies that inform dialogues at local level and to use low-cost research methods. However, this still remains a programme ideal; implementation must strive to achieve future sustainability and continuity by attracting local government and private sector interests to take over the organization of PPDs. Hypermedia, the BEST-Dialogue partner in media and communication, is supporting community radios, after receiving training at SAUT, to develop business models that mainstream the business environment agenda in their local programming, and widen the scope of sponsors to include investors in rural areas. The quest for developing a business model hitherto has been slow. The coming year must see visible efforts to promote the radio business model concept. During 2017/2018, focus will be on further consolidation of the block grants for the apex PSOs and their role in sustaining national and sector-specific dialogue frameworks with specific ministries as well as at national level. New partnerships will be tested at the University of Utrecht and the Training Centre for Development Cooperation in Arusha, both of which have valuable experience in sub-national level dialogue. After successful implementation of MAI- Southern Highlands (see pages 15 & 16), the MAI network will be extended to Southern and Lake Zones. Informal Multi-Actor Initiative (MAI) platforms have been introduced and promoted by the programme in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania to integrate the activities of PSOs, local CSOs, community radio stations, academia (Hi-LINE), service providers and LGAs. This has proved to be quite effective and has led to successful implementation of advocacy projects, such as timber harvesting fees (Mufindi), reduction of crop cess (Njombe) and

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2.

INTRODUCTION

BEST-Dialogue, which started in 2014, succeeded the Business Environment Strengthening for Tanzania-Advocacy Component

(BEST-AC)

programme.

BEST-AC

started

operations in 2004, with the mandate of building the capacity of Tanzania’s private sector in advocacy and PPD to encourage government to introduce policy and legislative reforms that would improve the business environment. BEST-Dialogue is in the third year of its five-year programme, and the changed name reflects progress in the government’s growing recognition of the private sector as a key dialogue partner in economic governance. The purpose of BEST-Dialogue has remained that of a trigger fund, supporting the initiatives of well-informed, inclusive and effective dialogue to improve the business environment.

In the past year, the private sector has, with the support of BEST-Dialogue, advocated for improved conditions to achieve the government’s agenda of fast-tracking industrialization. This explains why the theme of this Annual Report is “Fast tracking Industrialization”

The BEST-Dialogue programme has innovatively evolved into four areas representing the key outputs, working in synergy for sustainable results: •

Advocacy and dialogue - supporting private sector organisations in undertaking research, advocacy and dialogue

•

Capacity building - developing the competencies of staff of private sector organisations and the network of researchers and the consultants who serve them

•

Media and communication - engaging the media in the business enabling environment (BEE) agenda

•

Knowledge management - collecting, archiving and sharing research, policies and other valuable information relating to reforming the business environment

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To deliver this mandate, BEST-Dialogue promoted the following networks and partnerships, working through an integrated project environment for consolidation and sustainability of the results:

•

Centre for Policy Research and Advocacy at the University of Dar es Salaam Business School as an academic partner promoting research and outreach, including training PSOs, young researchers and business dialogue services providers (BDSPs) in advocacy and advocacy;

•

Higher Learning Institutions Network (HI-LINE) incorporating 6 partner institutions (UDSM, Mzumbe, SAUT, MUCO, SUA, UoI) to extend research and outreach capacity to up-country and the local level and ensure a steady influx of new talent into the dialogue arena and incorporation of policy research and knowledge in university curricula;

•

Community Radio Network (CRN), an alliance of community radio stations working as a hub for disseminating information and collecting and rendering feedback that facilitates dialogue;

•

Radio content producers (Femina-HIP and Music MayDay Tz) interacting with PSOs to produce a series on doing business; and

•

Print media partners (Mwananchi Group and Guardian Newspapers) to publish business environment reform-related content.

The programme serves Tanzania mainland and Zanzibar at national as well as local government level with a strong focus on areas where reforms have the potential to impact micro-enterprises, women, youth and the poor. The main areas of operation in the mainland so far have been Dar es Salaam, the Southern Highlands, Northern Highlands and the Lake Zone. BEST-Dialogue has developed a Five-Step Approach to Advocacy that ensures that dialogue is evidence based, inclusive and effective. PSOs should start by identifying and prioritizing issues (Step 1) before undertaking research to understand them (Step 2) as a basis for preparing evidence-based policy proposals (Step 3). These policy proposals are presented to policy makers using various approaches (Step 4) .

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If accepted, the PSOs closely follow up implementation (Step 5), which may entail iterating earlier steps. The Five-Step Approach has now been adopted by private sector organisations and training institutions across the country (see figure 1).

Figure 1 The Five-Step Approach to Advocacy

The purpose of the Annual Report is to communicate BEST-Dialogue’s mandate, approach, results and lessons learnt to stakeholders. The next three chapters present performance of the program in 2016/17 and the last one concludes with next steps.

3.

PERFORMANCE OF THE PROGRAMME

3.1

Overall programme (Outcome level)

3.1.1 Accepted policy proposals As the 5th administration was settling down in its first year, dialogue activity remained vibrant, especially in the later part of the year. A total of 25 PSOs engaged in 47 dialogues at national level, and 9 at LGA level (37 dialogues directly funded by BEST-Dialogue). Ten PSOs submitted 11 policy reform proposals to the government directly linked with BEST-Dialogue support (by comparison, in 2015/2016, only 5 policy reforms proposals were submitted from 4 PSOs). TPSF led PSOs in the 10th TNBC meeting addressing challenges facing industrial development in Tanzania, agricultural transformation, and strengthening PPD. The tourism platform led by TCT and MNRT worked on sector issues and immensely influenced the featuring of tourism sector issues in the Blueprint-1 under the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investments (MITI). As a result of these efforts, a large number of policy proposals organized by the private sector were accepted by the government. Some of these were a result of BEST-Dialogue support (research, advocacy and dialogue), while others resulted from the initiatives of the PSOs themselves or a combination of the two. The pledges made by the government at the 10th TNBC meeting include the following: (i)

The government will fast-track the process of preparing guidelines for PPPs at local and national level to release private capital for investment in badly needed business infrastructure

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(ii)

The government will establish a fund to support agriculture and industry through a guarantee scheme

(iii) The government will reduce the time it takes to issue residence permits to enable investors to obtain the urgently needed skills they cannot find in the country (iv) The government will work with the private sector to revive non-operational privatized factories alongside the establishment of new ones (v)

The Prime Minister will introduce a marker to gauge improvements in the business environment

(vi) Ministries will hold regular (quarterly) PPDs coordinated by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investments . The President pledged to hold another dialogue with the private sector to take stock of the implementation of the 10th TNBC meeting before the end of 2017. In the build-up to the 2017/18 budget and reading of the Finance Act, 2017, TPSF and constituencies engaged with policy makers at various levels. As a direct consequence, the government made several business environment reforms through the Finance Bill of 2017 that can be traced to PSOs’ efforts that received BEST-Dialogue support, which are as follows: (i)

Reduction of crop cess from 5% to 2% for traditional food, and from 5% to 3% for cash crops;

(ii)

Exemption of VAT on capital goods to reduce the cost of importing machines and plants used in strategic industries, e.g. edible oil, leather, textiles and pharmaceuticals;

(iii) Abolition of various fees and levies relating to agriculture, e.g. inspection fees charged by TBS on fertilizer and cash crops; (iv) Abolition of VAT on ancillary transport services for goods in transit to reduce the costs incurred by transporters when using our ports to make them more affordable and competitive; (v)

Moving the collection of street sign levy from LGAs to central government’s TRA; and

(vi) Stay of application for the 10% excise duty on the import of crude oil. Reforms in the finance bill that resulted from private sector advocacy efforts not directly supported by BEST-Dialogue include: (i)

Exemption of VAT on locally produced compounded animal feeds;

(ii)

Abolition of 1% Railway Development Levy on JetA1 fuel for air transport;

(iii) Exemption of VAT on fertilized eggs for incubation to support the growth of the domestic poultry sector; (iv) Lowering excise rates for locally manufactured products and encouraging local content in large-scale manufacturing sections; (v)

Scrapping the Annual Motor Vehicle Renewal Licence and replacing it with a Tsh 40 per litre fuel levy; and

(vi) Elimination of Skills Development Levy imposed on educational institutions.

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3.1.2 Selected success stories of advocacy and indicative impact Improving registration process for fertilizers - TAHA Growing horticultural crops involves the use of fertilizers and their supplements, which, according to the Fertilizers Act (2009), must be registered before they are imported. TAHA conducted a study that documented the costly registration process involving Tanzania Atomic Energy Agency (TAEA), Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS) and Weights and Measures Agency (WMA), and requiring three trials, which cost over US$ 30,000 per product. In addition, fertilizer dealers had to pay other fees and charges to regulatory agencies. TAHA advocated the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries and other government agencies for a reduction in the regulatory fees. Apart from the reduction of registration fees from US$ 30,000 to US$ 10,000 reported in the BEST-Dialogue 2015-2016 Annual Report, additional changes were announced by the government starting on 1 July 2017. The government abolished most of the fees charged by regulatory authorities, including licence fees for fertilizer dealers (US$ 20), annual fees for fertilizer sterilizing plants/manufacturers (US$ 1,000), fertilizer registration fees (TZS 100,000) and fees for importing fertilizers (for inspection of standards, weights and radiation). The reforms will ease access to fertilizers in the country for at least 70 importers, 1 manufacturer and over 2,000 distributors that will make fertilizer more easily accessible and affordable for at least 5 million farmers. The reforms will benefit farmers and input dealers not only in horticulture but the entire agricultural sector, which will in turn increase output, incomes, access to quality raw materials for industrial firms and eventually government revenue.

Developing standards for horticulture - TAHA The lack of standards, a compliance monitoring system and internationally accredited laboratories for horticulture significantly limit the capacity of farmers to access local (especially high-end), regional and international markets.

TAHA advocated for the development of

standards for a number of horticultural crops by the TBS, MALF, TFDA and MoHSW. As a result, in February 2017, the government established standards for tomatoes, onions and cabbages, which has encouraged TAHA partners such as Trias and VECO to increase their budget for standards and food safety activities. GlobalGap and COLEACP are also interested in supporting TAHA’s standards initiatives (at ground level) by building the industry’s capacity and developing a specific system for Fast Tracking Industrialization

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horticultural standards. TAHA has established pilot production areas which will apply horticultural standards. At least 50,000 small-scale horticulture farmers will benefit from the enforcement of a standard system for horticulture, which will ensure food safety for Tanzania’s population, greater sales of horticulture, higher incomes for farmers and other actors in the value chain and increased government revenue.

Reduction of produce cess – ACT and TCCIA Njombe Unjustifiable high taxes and crop cess that are often charged arbitrarily by LGAs, coupled with harassment by tax collectors, have been obvious obstacles to the development of farmers and crop dealers. ACT and TCCIA Njombe have been actively advocating for the removal of unrealistic taxes and levies, and harmonization of crop cess charges at regional level, respectively. Through the Finance Act 2017, the Government reduced the crop cess from 5 percent for cash and food crops to 3 and 2 percent, respectively, while exempting volumes of less than one ton. This will have a positive impact on production, productivity and profitability.

Countering counterfeits - CTI Tanzanian manufacturers and consumers have been facing the challenge of an influx of counterfeit and sub-standard goods in the domestic market. CTI undertook a study on the regulatory framework for counterfeits in 2008, which was complemented by another in 2017 that identified the problem of counterfeits. CTI used the findings to advocate that the Fair Competition Commission , TFDA, MITI, the Ministry of Home Affairs (Police) and the Attorney General should take measures to curb counterfeits.

In response, the

government established the department of consumer protection and anti-counterfeits. Consequently, there is evidence that goods have been seized and destroyed due to violation of Intellectual Property regulations and increased interaction and cooperation between FCC and Intellectual Property owners and corporations conducting business in Tanzania. As a result, businesses have recovered the market served by counterfeits and are saving the cost they would otherwise have incurred in restoring their reputation that was damaged by counterfeit goods. Controlling counterfeit goods will protect the health and safety of the population. BEST-Dialogue: Annual Report 2016 - 2017

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3.1.3 Other notable successful policy reforms by sector Agriculture The following are some of the successful reforms resulting from BEST-Dialogue private sector advocacy in the agriculture sector:

•

After a lot of studies and dialogue by TCCIA-Iringa aimed at influencing the government to amend the Weights and Measures Act, 1982, a bill was passed by Parliament to amend section 340, which was gazetted on 18 November 2016. The amendments are a fine for the first offence (Tshs 100,000-1,000,000), a fine and jail sentence for offenders pleading not guilty (300,000-50,000,000), and a fine and jail sentence for repeat offenders (500,000-100,000,000).

•

Following implementation of the dialogue and advocacy project by TCCIA-Mufindi that involved MNRT, other public-sector actors and PSOs, the government introduced new guidelines in line with recommendations on the issuance of timber permits and waived application fees for permit applicants with effect from 1 July 2017.

•

TAHA won an appeal it made to Hai District Council, Kilimanjaro Region, to reverse a directive requiring investors to pay both crop cess and service fee contrary to the Local Government Finance Act, 1982.

Tourism •

TCT analysed barriers to the development of the tourism sector and advocated for the development of a vision and strategy for the sector. As a result, the government developed the draft national tourism policy, which is being enriched and validated by stakeholders

•

TCT successfully advocated for waiver of VAT on government hunting and park fees, which was an illegal tax (VAT on government tax)

Industry •

CTI developed a White Paper on Fast-Tracking Industrialization, which provided the impetus for and became a major part of a national strategy for fast-tracking industrialization, already adopted by the Cabinet and awaiting the signature of the President to commence implementation. The Strategy will serve as a roadmap for a coherent industrialization process, which was lacking.

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Cross-Border trade • TCCIA-Mbeya successfully advocated for the establishment of a one-stop border post at Tunduma on the border with Zambia. • TCCIA-Kigoma successfully advocated for the establishment of friendly border markets in Kigoma region at the border with Burundi, following training by UDBS-CPRA and support from TPSF and LIC.

3.1.4 Beneficiary Assessment BEST-Dialogue worked with CTI in a trial beneficiary assessment on the Assured Electricity project implemented in 2011. A qualitative research approach for monitoring and obtaining feedback from beneficiaries (direct and ultimate) was used to find out if there were any behavioural changes or responses through the support provided. The assessment established that CTI members recognized and appreciated the effect of the work done by CTI, and attributed the reduction in outages and improved responsiveness of the power company (TANESCO) to CTI’s efforts under the Assured Electricity project. CTI also appreciated the financial support provided by BEST-Dialogue because they were able to produce an evidence-based report for dialogue with the government. Furthermore, a follow-up interview with a sample of participants in the 2016 advocacy and dialogue training courses run by CPRA established that participating PSOs believed that their advocacy and dialogue capacity had improved, and their greater participation in local and national policy formulation processes and an increase in their membership had resulted in increased income-generation activities. They recommended that the training materials be printed in Kiswahili so they can share them with their members. This is in line with the internal annual BEST-Dialogue quality assurance mission performed by COWI A/S auditors, who visited almost thirty beneficiaries and stakeholders in October to learn about the level of satisfaction with BEST-Dialogue’s support and operational excellence.

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3.2

Advocacy and dialogue (output level)

The following figure shows the progressive development in approved, active and completed grants by the programme over the past two years.

Figure 2: Grants to PSOs by Type

In the past year, the programme approved 34 grants, resulting in a total of 38 grants (the majority in steps 3 to 5) that were still active by the end of June, 2017.

3.2.1 PPD Platforms established and used by PSOs During the year, 17 new business environment research evidence-based dialogues from 13 PSOs were initiated. In addition, TPSF and other PSOs actively participated in reviews and provided suggestions on behalf of the private sector for improvements in a number of new or revised policies, laws, regulations, bilateral treaties and plans prepared by government ministries and agencies. These include the Agriculture Sector Development Programme (ASDP) II) Planning; Tanzania Mercantile (Commodity Exchange) Business Plan and Strategy; Land Policy, 2016; Tanzania Investment Report, 2016; Inclusive National Entrepreneurship Strategy (INES, 2017) and the National Fisheries Act, 2016 led by TPSF. The PSOs that represent the tourism

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sector, such as CHAMASATA, HAT and TACTO led by TCT, contributed to the review of the National Tourism Policy (2017). TCCIA-Kilimanjaro contributed private sector views in a meeting organized by the Regional Commissioner to dialogue on infrastructure and the regional industrialization strategy, and on the effective enforcement of the Fire and Rescue Act 2007. CTI championed studies on the effect of counterfeit goods, port and wharf charges, and rapid industrialization. ANSAF dialogued with MALF and other stakeholders in the development of the Tanzania Post-Harvest Management strategy. The apexes (TCT, TPSF, ACT) and other PSOs (TAHA, CTI, ZNCCIA) were able to maintain key secretariat functions and were strengthened enough to effectively conduct dialogue and advocacy, thanks in part to continued support of the project. A draft MoU and work plan for the agricultural platform between ACT and MALF was prepared. The PSOs are gradually building their capacity that will be sustained beyond BEST-Dialogue, as evidenced by many initiatives being taken independently and with other actors. The training received is directly contributing to effectiveness in advocacy, which in turn makes the PSOs more attractive to potential members. TCCIA-Njombe Executive Officer reported that: Following our extensive engagement of Local Government Agencies and the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security in dialogue, more farmers and farmer groups have been applying for membership. Between January and June 2017, membership increased by 30 (all farmers and farmer groups) from 50 (mostly urban-based traders) as a result of increased visibility and perceived relevance to agriculture stakeholders.

Similarly, TCCIA-Mufindi reported an increase in membership applications. PSOs having more members will increase their credibility and institutional and financial capacity beyond the life of BEST-Dialogue.

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3.2.2 Factors for success in advocacy and dialogue The advocacy and dialogue successes pointed up above can be attributed to a number of factors. The first is that a lot of analytical work done in the past was used to inform the government through lobbying, stakeholder meetings, parliamentary committees, TNBC meetings and the budget cycle. The second factor was the private sector’s decision to base its advocacy on the government’s agenda – industrialization - which captured its interest and made it more receptive. The third is that after a year of settling down, the government started adopting a more organized and systematic approach to achieve its development agenda and is therefore eager to listen to the private sector. The Executive Director of CTI remarked: We recently made policy proposals for fast-tracking industrialization based on studies undertaken by us in the past five years. These formed the main basis for the Blueprint for regulatory licensing reforms and the national strategy for fast-tracking industrialization, reflecting the government’s readiness to listen to constructive proposals from the private sector. The fourth factor is the enhanced capacity of PSOs through training, coaching, research and dialogue. The training of PSOs in PPD has made a huge difference to their credibility and effectiveness in advocacy. Commenting on the changes that he had noticed in the private sector’s participation in Kigoma Regional Business Council, the Regional Commissioner who chairs the meetings remarked: In the past, private sector representatives came to the RBC as invitees and when they spoke, they complained. Now they come prepared, with issues, evidence and specific proposals which they present confidently. We now see the value of dialogue with the private sector.

Finally, BEST-Dialogue has over the years developed mechanisms that compensate for the paucity of resources and capacity for PPD, especially in rural settings. The programme has enabled PSOs to come up with informed policy proposals (compact statements) to address major business environment-related challenges facing four key value chains in each region, making it easy for them to meaningfully partake in PPD. In order to augment advocacy efforts of nascent rural PSOs, informal Multi-Actor Initiative (MAI) platforms have been introduced and promoted by the programme in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania to integrate the activities of PSOs, local CSOs, community radio stations, academia (HI-LINE), service providers and LGAs. This has proved to be quite effective and has led to the successful implementation of advocacy projects on weight and measures, timber harvesting permits, cross-border trade and crop cess, to mention a few. Commenting on how MAI enabled them to convince the government to change the timber harvesting regulations, the TCCIA–Mufindi Chairman remarked:

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The close connections between Sokoine University academics who undertook the research and Ministry officials made it easy to bring senior government staff to dialogue. Our collaboration and common position with LGA, SUA and the engaged Non-State Actors enhanced the credibility of our proposals to central government. The readiness of the government to make reforms and listen to the private sector challenges businesses and PSOs to rise their organization and effectiveness to higher levels. Otherwise the private sector risks losing credibility. This is a new challenge to PSOs and development stakeholders. Success in advocacy and dialogue has hitherto been most visible in addressing single issues through economic sector platforms (Agriculture and Tourism). Achievement of advocacy on cross-cutting issues is limited and largely found in fiscal reforms. The resolution of cross-cutting issues depends on a functional TNBC and the strong coordination role of central government. The position of TNBC is being strengthened after the disbanding of BRN, and strong coordination of business environment reforms is still being sought from within the government.

3.3

Capacity building

The following table shows the short-term courses delivered by UDBS-CPRA during the year by type and number of participants.

Table 1: Training provided by CPRA during FY 2016 / 2017 Course Topic

No. of training courses

Participants Female

Male

Introduction to Advocacy and Dialogue

2

12

13

Advanced Advocacy and Dialogue

2

11

12

Communication and the Media

3

16

16

Membership Recruitment and Retention

1

6

7

PSO Management Government Course for Board Members

2

5

33

Advocacy and Dialogue Process

2

14

21

Policy Research Methodology

1

8

11

TOTAL

13

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Thirty four people from 16 PSOs participated in 4 advocacy training sessions provided in 2 different groups. Feedback showed 95 percent of participants were satisfied with the courses and they met their learning objectives. Staff from the university network facilitated and moderated 7 dialogues at the local level (the target is 4 per year) which were organized by five PSOs (4 TCCIAs and 3 by ACT). These included dialogues on timber permits, cross-border trade, tomato value chain, service levy, signboard charges and land conflicts. In addition, a total of 38 executive members from 2 apex organisations (TPSF, TCCIA-HQ) and TCCIA regional offices attended 2 training courses on PSO management and governance. Three workshops on policy research methodology and advocacy and dialogue process were also provided (on target) to 35 young researchers/BDSPs from SAUT and UDBS. Feedback also showed that 95 percent of the young researchers were satisfied that the course met their learning objectives. Four research reports (one final1 and three drafts2 ) were produced (against a target of 2 per year). In total, 107 people were coached in 7 training programmes offered in 13 sessions. These included advocacy, mentoring and research capacity to support PPD. HI-LINE adopted the SIPS approach, which is more relevant when preparing for inclusive PPD at LGA level, and proposals of this nature were developed by TCCIA-Dodoma (Mzumbe University), TCCIA-Njombe (Iringa University), TCCIA-Mwanza (SAUT) and TCCIA-Singida (UDBS), as well as for district level PPD under the ACT block grant (Bukoba and Bunda districts). The training was very positively evaluated and among the results was increased eagerness of sub-national authorities to embrace dialogue with the private sector because its leaders have learnt how to properly prepare itself as reported above. The objective of BEST-Dialogue has been to leave a legacy whereby the infrastructure for teaching advocacy is established within the centres of learning constituting Hi-LINE. CPRA is offering advocacy and dialogue training funded by donor projects but is yet to start offering fee-based courses, which are more sustainable. This requires aggressive marketing of the courses. Efforts to mainstream advocacy teaching in UDBS academic programmes have not yet been successful.

3.4

Communications and media

A total of 18 reporters completed IBER course II (see Figure3). Each IBER reporter was expected to produce 2 BEE radio features during the training which were aired on 8 community radio stations. The figure below summarizes what was realized during the second training cycle. Trained reporters have since then continued to produce and air radio features.

A total of 131 BEE radio features were produced by SAUT trainees, the Boresha Biashara team of MusicMayDay Tz, and the Ruka Juu team of FEMINA HIP, reaching at least 14 million listeners. Sixty-five

1

The State of Business Relationships at the Local Level in Tanzania: Opportunities for Enhancing Local Economic Development through Dialogue

2

(i) Effects of ccounterfeit agricultural inputs – the case of Bunda District (ii) Combating coffee smuggling in Kagera District, and (iii) A scoping study on Improving compliance with standard weights and measures by cotton buyers - Magu District

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features were aired on one national radio station and 8 community radio stations in the Southern Highlands. About 25 aspiring members from the Southern Zone and Lake Zone are now about to join the radio network. After the training courses, all stations are coached on-the-job in developing localized content by a broadcasting specialist, Hypermedia, who are in the process of establishing and testing the CRN digital platform for exchanging media content among radio stations. Hypermedia also supports community radio owners and managers to develop a viable business model through covering business-related topics. The aim is that the CRN digital platform should interact with the audience, be multi-functional and the features produced should be accessible by other partners. Hypermedia will assist CRN in selling airtime to rural-based investors. In the Southern Zone, community radios benefited from the MAI workshop by SAUT and CPRA in the cashew nut value chain in April, 2017 and have since continued to produce and air radio programmes on issues surrounding the cash crop.

Figure 3: Media Training

SAUT is reviewing its media courses to mainstream business environment issues. This guarantees the continuity of teaching beyond BEST-Dialogue. Two national media houses (The Guardian Limited and Mwananchi Group) produced bilingual print supplements. Among the interviewees were the former BOT Governor, Prof. Benno Ndullu, and the former Minister responsible for Agriculture, Dr. Charles Tizeba. The Guardian newspaper produced four Kilimo Kwanza supplements covering 33 business environment issues, while 23 non-agricultural issues were

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featured by Mwananchi Group. Due to the challenges of journalistic creativity and the lack of in-depth analysis, BEST-Dialogue accelerated the phasing out of subsidies for the national print media. Instead it started engaging acknowledged senior journalists to write more analytical features (e.g. on the political economy and how it affects the investment climate). The last subsidised Kilimo Kwanza supplement that was produced featured articles about agriculture shows, horticultural exports, horticulture’s potential, irrigation, SAGCOT, clove branding and extension services. It is expected that the supplement will continue to cover doing business in the agricultural sector. Mwananchi Group indicated it is working on a new approach for covering issues of doing business. Twelve multi-stakeholder dialogues received good media coverage on the effect of counterfeits, cargo handling charges in the port, horticultural standards, regulating water usage and delayed settlement of invoices by the government. Dialogue meetings conducted in the Southern Highlands also received national media coverage on issues such as weights and measures, timber permits, crop cess and cross-border trade. The launching of Business Leaders’ Perceptions 2015 and the Political Economy 2016 reports that were produced in close cooperation with TPSF received excellent media coverage. The academic cooperation of Hi-LINE was launched at a 2-day Roundtable Conference organized by CPRA in collaboration with TPSF with the theme of “Accelerating Innovation and Growth of SMEs through Responsive Policies”. The event received high-level government attention and was very well attended by both Tanzanian and international researchers and policy makers.

3.5

Knowledge Management

Four high-level meetings were held for public-private knowledge exchange, including the 10th TNBC meeting. Unique was MITI’s Blueprint-1 validation meeting that concluded a series of regulatory working groups with 10 PSOs under the coordination of MITI. The resulting actionable Blueprint-1 document is essentially the collection of 10 years of BEE advocacy findings and recommendations by the Tanzanian business community. It is expected that in the course of 2018 the Blueprint document will steer a series of PPD task forces in

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order to realize the long-awaited improvements in the ease of doing business in Tanzania. Two high-level regional PPD workshops were organized in Kigoma and Iringa, each assembling some 30 local government officials and private sector representatives. The PPD training for local economic development in Kigoma region entailed mixed participation by the public and private sector and was highly appreciated. The joint training course was attended by the Regional Commissioner, the region’s District Commissioners and District Executive Directors, all attending for the full two days. The joint training increased the understanding of both the public and private sector of their roles and good practice in dialogue. The Kigoma Region TCCIA Chairman remarked: Prior to the training, we went to the business council as invitees, not partners. Now we prepare our agenda and proposals and we can speak confidently. We understand how to involve the broad private sector in prioritizing issues, collecting evidence and even following up implementation. During the year the Digital Information Base, an online BEE document collection that can be accessed at http://bestdialogue.antenna.nl, was expanded significantly, now reaching well over 4,000 uploads. Besides a steadily growing collection of research reports and policy documents, it features multi-annual development plans of multi and bilateral development partners, information on specific value chains and a large collection of BEE-related print media clippings that illustrate political discourse on the Tanzanian investment climate over the years. Technical support worked on overall quality assurance and user manuals, a further fine-tuning of the software configuration, improving the user interface and a staffing plan. Some 2,800 users from over 100 countries visited the BEST-Dialogue website on 11,500 occasions, and downloaded over 1,300 documents in the process. BEST-Dialogue’s support for research projects is essentially demand driven, following eligible requests submitted by the organized private sector, but management also commissions a limited number of in-depth research projects. Research findings on participatory formalization, a research project commissioned in 2015 that looks into the business environment of a huge number of informal micro-enterprises, were shared in one national and two international conferences and at one national stakeholder meeting. At the annual meeting of the Association of Local Authorities of Tanzania, thirteen LGAs

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expressed interest in piloting the proposed participatory formalization model. Participatory formalization is a phased approach in which clusters of micro-enterprises gradually enter the formal economy, thereby potentially increasing the proportion of formal Tanzanian businesses from 11% to 60%. Advanced drafts were submitted for review of two new in-depth research exercises that were commissioned, one on the Horticultural sector (with TAHA) and the other on the regulatory environment for the Oil and Gas sector (with TPSF). Cooperation with the academic HI-LINE network resulted in two research papers3 and two book chapters4 that have been published and acknowledged in international journals. Skills remain a major challenge that blocks progress and to some extent dampens enthusiasm of the parties that signed the MoU to work on the DIB assignments. Recruitment to fill positions has been slow. Therefore, fully qualified people who will help build momentum and stir the interest of the parties needs to be recruited.

3.6

Collaboration with DANIDA’s BSPS IV partner projects

Local Investment Climate (LIC) BEST-Dialogue linked LIC with CPRA to build the capacity of associations in the area of advocacy and dialogue. Two LIC staff and representatives from LIC partner organizations participated in the training provided by CPRA. TPSF worked with the LIC project in Dodoma and Kigoma regions to support advocacy and dialogue activities. Local radio stations in the LIC regions of Kigoma and Dodoma received training offered by SAUT and Hypermedia. Through collaboration with LIC, BEST-Dialogue partners have been able to engage effectively with regional and district officials on business environment issues hindering the progress of businesses in Kigoma, and the programme is also learning from the initiatives.

Agriculture Markets Development Trust (AMDT) BEST-Dialogue shared their Annual Work Plan, list of partners, ideas and areas of cooperation with AMDT, which has now become an associate member of the MAI platform in the Southern Highlands. Consultative meetings are continuing on how to jointly support Value Chain projects. BEST-Dialogue, AMDT and ACT are also planning to offer training in Making Markets Work for the Poor (M4P). This collaboration will avert the duplication of efforts or overlaps of investment in the sunflower and maize value chains. AMDT has shown interest in supporting two courses on advocacy and dialogue specifically for their partners working in maize, sunflower and pulses value chains and these will be delivered by CPRA/HI-LINE. 3

Edward, S., Mahangila, D., Nchimbi, M. & Mzenzi, S. I. (2016). Introduction and Adoption of Electronic Fiscal Devices (EFDs) by the Business Community in Tanzania: Lessons Learned Opportunities and Challenges for Dialogue Process. Business Management Review. Jeppesen, S., Kamau, P., Kragelund, P. & Urassa, G. (2016). Firm-level Perspectives on State–Business Relations in Africa: The Food-processing Sector in Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia. Forum for Development Studies Vol 44: 109-131 4 Urassa, G. (2017). Public-Private Dialogue and Policy Reforms: Lessons from Tanzania. P. Harris & C.S. Fleisher (Ed). The SAGE Handbook of International Corporate and Public Affairs (Chapter 36) Anderson, W., Busagara, T., Mahangila, D. & Minde, M. (2017). The dialogue and advocacy initiatives for reforming the business environment of the tourism and hospitality sector in Tanzania. Emerald Publisher Limited: Tourism Review, Vol. 72

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Private Agriculture Sector Support (PASS) Trust PASS requested to be linked up with the community radio network to provide information to clients/potential clients. This is likely to strengthen the radio networks, and facilitate their dialogue and advocacy role.

Confederation of Tanzania Industries (CTI) BEST-Dialogue continued to support CTI advocacy projects, e.g. addressing Dar es Salaam port efficiency, effect of counterfeits, and rapid industrialization strategy.

4.

MANAGEMENT, ADMINISTRATION AND OVERSIGHT

COWI Denmark undertook its annual internal quality assurance review of the project. The review advised on perfecting the financial/admin system, reporting and M&E set-up. In general, it concerns minor adjustments and the overall findings were positive. The projected expansion of the team in order to properly staff the Knowledge Management activities is pending government’s approval when the European Union joins the basket fund.

5.

FINANCIAL REPORT

Being the third year of phase III of the programme, expenditure was expected to be high in the financial year 2016/17. However, BEST-Dialogue spent almost the same percentage of its budget, 68%, as it did in the past two years. Total expenditure was US$ 2.6m against the budget of US$ 3.8m. At the end of the financial year, BEST-Dialogue had commitments with PSOs, consultants and service providers amounting to US$ 0.4m. The lower absorption rate was caused by a slow-down in disbursements by DANIDA (globally), which temporarily reduced the amount of funds available for BEST-Dialogue during the 2016-2017 financial year. With the postponement of some of the planned activities, management kept expenditure in line with the available funds. If the EU timely joins the basket fund to provide the programme with additional funds, the situation will improve during the 2017-2018 financial year.

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Figure 4: Budget Vs Actual Spent

Most of the funds were spent on agriculture and agribusiness (61%), followed by trade-related activities, illustrated in the pie diagram (Figure 5). The map on the inside back page indicates all partners, networks and PPDs in the agriculture sector supported by BEST-Dialogue.

Figure 5: Investment per Sector

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6.

CONCLUSIONS AND NEXT STEPS

6.1

Conclusions

2016/2017 was a hugely successful year for the programme, both in terms of implementation of planned activities and realization of outputs and outcomes. The success is attributed to both internal (project) and external factors, including the cooperation of PSOs and service providers, support of development partners and above all the willingness of the government to listen and actively engage in reform activities.

6.2

Changes in circumstances, challenges and risks

The character of the 5th phase administration presents unprecedented opportunities to the business enabling environment reform agenda generally and to PSOs in particular. The government has demonstrated an inclination to act fast in policy making, including resolving issues it is convinced will help achieve its agenda. For that reason, the private sector must make an effort to be more proactive, informed and better organized and engaged in partnering with the government so that policy decisions are informed in a timely manner. The private sector is challenged to anticipate what information will be needed for likely policy reforms and to provide it at very short notice when the need arises. There is also an opportunity for the private sector to proactively contribute to shaping the strategies required to execute the ambitions of the government as has already started happening with fast-tracking industrialization. Thus far, the 5th administration has demonstrated intolerance to being influenced by rent seekers and corruption, both of which are impediments to private sector advocacy for transparent policy reforms.

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More than ever before, the private sector is called upon to adopt a constructive approach to raising, packaging and communicating issues to the government. In addition, communication between the two parties, including adequate notice of meetings, the rationale for policy choices or reluctance to adopt a course of action, needs to be improved. Although BEST-Dialogue has supported the capacity building of PSOs and BDSPs in advocacy and dialogue over the years, progress towards sustainable delivery of the same is very slow. In view of the still limited proper resources the organized private sector can put to work, including sufficiently senior and experienced staff, the slow response to the great new opportunities offered by the 5th administration is understandable but unfortunate. Attempts to adopt lower cost models are still at the incipient stage. Long-term engagement is needed to embed some of the practices necessary to move service delivery model’s closer to sustainability. Despite having BEST-Dialogue funding, there is slow uptake of Hi-LINE research due to the time taken to process SIPS with PSOs in accordance with district level research guidelines and Hi-LINE researchers grappling with the SIPS approach instead of the academic research approach. The biggest challenge is that while the need for capacity building and support for advocacy and dialogue is growing, the BEST-Dialogue programme will wind down its activities during 2018, with successive reductions in new grants in the coming two years. As an agreed exit strategy, Development partners and Steering Committee members have engaged in scoping the need, timing and approach to this exit strategy request.

6.3

Lessons learnt

A number of lessons have been gleaned from the approaches, successes and challenges experienced in the past year: 1)

Advocacy and dialogue for Business environment is complex. For example, support for the private sector engaged in dialogue and advocacy should not be scaled down when the government’s responsiveness is slower than desired. In the past year, patient and persistent pleas by the private sector contributed to motivating the government to listen and eventually embrace dialogue. Research on advocacy should continue even when it seems difficult to communicate the findings to the government.

Previous analytical work,

including what was done through the BRN business environment labs and numerous research projects funded by BEST-Dialogue, was fed into the various frameworks (Blueprint-1, TNBC meeting, Finance Act) and accounts for the success recorded in the year. Block grants provided the flexibility that apex organizations needed to adjust advocacy and

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dialogue approaches when the new administration was not yet ready for the national level platforms. 2)

Training PSO staff together with government officials works out very well because they get to understand each other’s perspective better. The experience of local level dialogue in Kigoma region suggests that it is important to involve formal and informal groupings of entrepreneurs, rather than relying on one regional or district chamber as a representative of the often-fragmented private sector.

3)

Capacity building of media practitioners and PSOs’ understanding of the role of the media can greatly enhance the business enabling environment advocacy and dialogue process and its effectiveness. The media can play an important role in disseminating research findings and translating policy recommendations into a language understandable by the local community.

4)

While improving advocacy and dialogue skills makes a big difference in the process and outcomes of advocacy, they are still hugely lacking both in the government and private sector;

5)

Simple and cost-efficient approaches for effective dialogue at the local level could be used to match the human and financial resources available and to make the process more cost effective (hence more sustainable).

6.4

Way forward based on the lessons learnt and risks (mitigation)

BEST-Dialogue plans to take a number of measures to address the current risks and build on the lessons learnt while maximizing sustainability of the interventions and the results of the programme: i.

The changed advocacy and dialogue environment will be subject to the training and coaching of PSOs by the programme team, both for national and sub-national PPD.

ii.

The programme will advocate for extensive in-depth research using SIPS methodologies designed for sub-national dialogue , as well a quick study based on literature reviews, both to manage costs and reduce the response time needed for the private sector to engage in informed dialogue.

iii.

The programme will deepen interactions to enable multi-actor collaboration and synergies among organizations and programmes in the use of resources from any source.

iv.

The programme will encourage continuation of capacity building services by its current partners as well as newly identified partners using a variety of funding models.

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6.5

BEST-Dialogue exit strategy

While BEST-Dialogue is increasingly adding value to the national bisiness environment agenda and the private sector development roadmap/Blueprint-1 process, the programme is also getting nearer to the Mid Term Review and thus the final part of its programme cycle. An imbedded part of this third phase of the Tanzania BEST programme was always to reflect and prepare for a Danish exit strategy after three consecutive phases of the programme. Partly because Tanzania is focusing on to its ambition of becoming a middle-income country by 2030, and partly because of new priorities in Danish foreign policy, the BEST programme has been tasked with reflecting on strategies beyond the second half of 2019. So far, a first draft Exit Strategy has been lined up and discussed with the BEST Steering Committee and key stakeholders, while, at the same time, the current GoT and especially the Prime Minister’s Office has for the first time in Tanzania’s history called for a national strategy on private sector development through the Industrialization Strategy and the subsequent Roadmap/Blueprint-1 papers. This further emphasizes the relevance of a national programme like BEST and raises some questions concerning the timing of the programme’s exit strategy, as BEST is recognized for being a critical part and actor in this process, and because several actors in the GoT and private sector as well as development partners have expressed the desire to continue the work of the BEST team. It is planned to continue exploring the best options and how best to leverage the insight and legacy of BEST in the above dialogue process on industrialization and business environmentin Tanzania.

More (detailed) information can be found at www.best-dialogue.org/AR2016-2017 Annex 1: Results Framework 2016/2017 Annex 2: Financial Report 2016/2017

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The BEST-Dialogue fund is supported by the Danish government