Tanzania’s growth expected to reach 5.3 pct by year end

Tanzania’s growth in the first and second quarters this year remained satisfactory, at 5.4 percent and 5.2 percent, respectively, and is expected to reach 5.3 percent at the end of this year, as projected according to the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) Meeting Statement released by the Central Bank.

The MPC convened its 228th Meeting on 27th October 2023 to assess the implementation of monetary policy and review the recent performance of the economy and outlook.

The MPC noted that the implementation of the less accommodative monetary policy successfully maintained liquidity in the economy at appropriate levels in August, September, and October 2023.

“This, combined with supportive fiscal and structural policies, has contained inflationary pressures, facilitated economic activities, and preserved the stability of the financial sector amidst challenges in the global economic environment. The policy stance has also helped to reduce foreign currency demand pressure,” the statement said.

The MPC also assessed the global economic environment in 2023 and observed that, the growth remains weak, despite surpassing the projections in the first half of the year.

“The subdued growth is attributable to monetary policy tightening cycle, geopolitical tensions, and high oil prices. Inflation eased in many countries relative to 2022, but still higher than targets. To restore inflation at low levels, central banks have maintained monetary policy tightening,” the statement noted.

Government budgetary operations performance was satisfactory, with revenue reaching 96.2 percent during the first quarter of 2023/24. In Zanzibar, the resource envelope was above the target by 1.7 percent.

“Expenditure continued to align with the available resources,” the statement said.