Dar es Salaam — The government of Norway has pledged to give the government Sh25 billion to bolster the capacity of the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) to collect revenues from domestic sources.
Speaking on Tuesday after the official launch of the ceremony for Tanzanians who were trained in Norway, the visiting Norwegian minister for International Development, Mr. Nikolai Astrup, said the programme was agreed during their meeting with the deputy minister for Finance and Economic Affairs, Dr. Ashatu Kijaji.
“I also held a meeting with the TRA who requested Norway to support the ongoing programme of tax reforms,” said the Norwegian minister who is in the country for a three-day visit.
“This is my first tour of to Tanzania as the minister of International Development. Earlier today, I had the honor of meeting President (John) Magufuli,” he said.
According to the Norwegian minister, during their talks with President Magufuli, they agreed to strengthen bilateral co-operation in the areas of building the capacity of the private sector, climate change support, supporting training programmes for Tanzanians, support the country’s energy projects, petroleum and natural gas development and other development projects. Earlier, the deputy Finance minister said the fifth phase government had increased tax collection volume from the monthly collection of Sh800 billion in 2015 to Sh1.4 trillion now.
Norway has been supporting the country through the Global Fund, especially the climate change projects. According to the latest report of Global Fund the annual contribution of Norway to such global facility for mitigating climate change amounts to $66 million and the country has already received $56 million.
Those present during the occasion were Dr. Kijaji, the Speaker of the National Assembly, Mr. Job Ndugai, deputy minister for Health, Community Development, Elderly and Children, Dr. Faustine Ndugulile and the deputy minister for Industries, Trade and Investment, Ms. Stella Manyanya.
The Norwegian ambassador to Tanzania, Ms. Elisabeth Jacobsen, said the visit of the Norwegian minister will cement relations with Tanzanians through the established Norway-Tanzania Alumni known as Al-Ta-Tano.
There were more than 300 Tanzanians trained in Norway who attended the Al-Ta-No ceremony held at the residence of Norwegian Ambassador on Tuesday night.
Mr. Ndugai was one of such Alumni who studied in Norway in 1994 before joining active political activities.
The Al-Ta-No network was established in late 2017. The aim was to strengthen and maintain the ties between the two countries.
