VICTOR KGOMOESWANA, AUTHOR & DIRECTOR OF AFRICA IS OPEN FOR BUSINESS

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Tanzania’s economic growth slowed to 6.6% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2019 from 7.5% in the same period a year earlier, official data showed on Sunday, weighed down by softer construction, agriculture and manufacturing activity.
A leaked report from the International Monetary Fund said earlier this year that Tanzania’s economy has not been expanding as fast as official figures suggest. It said lower growth was partly due to President John Magufuli’s “unpredictable and interventionist” policies.
In the first quarter, construction, the biggest driver of GDP, grew 13.2%, compared with 15.6% a year ago, the state-run National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
However, growth in the mining sector, which has been the target of repeated government interventions, rebounded to 10.0% from a 5.7% decline during the same period in 2018. Tanzania is Africa’s fourth-largest gold producer.
29 Jul 2019 12PM English South Africa Business News · Investing

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