DAR ES SALAAM, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Civil society organizations in Tanzania on Sunday advised the government to broaden its tax base and ensure proper allocation of resources for successful implementation of its 2018 budget.
The organizations under Policy Forum said some of the measures to broaden the tax base and increase revenues included identification and formalization of business, enhancing the use of electronic fiscal devices, and appropriate supervision of the Tanzania Revenue Authority.
Nicholas Lekule, Policy Forum manager responsible for budget and policy analysis, said in a news conference in the capital Dodoma that the government has been struggling to finance the budget through its internal revenue collections but it has never attained the goal.
"There should be strategies to increase revenue collections since donors do not fully honor their pledges," said Lekule.
Lekule suggested that the government increase budget in the education, health and agricultural sectors and called on the government to ensure timely disbursement of funds allocated to the education and agricultural sectors.
The agricultural sector which employs 66 percent of Tanzanian population and contributes 30 percent to GDP has continued to record slow growth at an average of 3.7 percent annually over the past 10 years.
Presenting budget estimates for the 2018 financial year, the Minister for Finance and Planning, Philip Mpango, said on Thursday Tanzania will raise its spending in 2018 fiscal year to 14 billion U.S. dollars, up by 2.4 percent compared with the previous year.
The bulk of spending will be allocated to infrastructure, education and water projects, said Mpango.
