TPSF goes digital to help members skirt corruption, red tape

By Abdallah Luambano, Dar es Salaam

The Tanzania Private Sector Foundation (TPSF) has urged members of the business community to use a digital facility it has launched in order to easily skirt the current irksome red tape and corruption in doing business. The facility has been sponsored by the Trade Mark East
Africa.

TPSF Director of Members Services, Mr Zachy Mbenna, said in an interview with Azam TV over the weekend that members should access the National Freight and Logistics Information Portal (NFLIP) for exhaustive information.  No fee is charged for registration, but an applicant must have tax identification number (TIN) and a business licence, he said.

The director said use of the facility would not only help members thwart corruption and red tape, but it would go a long way in fighting the current COVID 19 disease by reducing crowds in offices, saving people’s time and travel costs. “We are thankful to the Trade Mark East Africa for the sponsorship with express view of spurring vibrant business growth in the country,” he said.

He said the facility would help encourage performance in hotel, lodge and food provision businesses and the hospitality industry in general.

Mr Mbenna said the foundation anticipated challenges in strengthening the new digital system, explaining that even members themselves might not enthusiastically embrace the new system simply because it was something new. “We also expect to have difficulty in eliminating middlemen who are benefiting  from the current system,” he explained.

Mr Mbenna thanked the government for rejecting the lockdown option and allowing business to go on normally.  “This move has saved the nation from going through a difficult period while revamping a much weakened economy,” he said.

The TPSF, too, has a MSMEs Information Portal that serves to reduce knowledge barriers affecting access to and use of financial products and services by households and MSMEs. It also seeks to facilitate the creation and development of new business ideas and opportunities.

The portal also provide an avenue for financial service providers to freely capture market intelligence about consumer’s demand and develop product or introduce services that respond to the consumer needs.

The portal also helps building capacity of financial service supervisors by having access to opinions of MSMEs through online forums, thus formulate policies that respond to their demands.