REPOA organises the 18th Annual Research Workshop in Dar es Salaam

Dr Mohammed Gharib Bilal, the Vice President of the United Republic of Tanzania

By Nasser Kigwangallah

RESEARCH ON POVERTY ALLEVIATION (REPOA) organised the  18th annual research workshop-2013.

The 2 days workshop was held from  April 03, 2013 to  April 04, 2013 at the Kunduchi Beach Hotel & Resort in Dar es Salaam.

The theme for this year’s workshop was “The Quest for Inclusive Development.”

There was a keynote presentations during the opening session, and other presentations from experts and distinguished scholars from Tanzania and other countries selected strategically to share their experiences of the inclusive development in different sectors of the economy.

The keynote address was on Problems vs. Polarities; The Importance of Understanding Stakeholder Nuances In Your Quest For Inclusive Growth by Datuk Chris Tan, Director, Performance Management And Delivery Unit (PEMANDU) of  Malaysia, which is one of the emeging economies of the East Asian countries.

The workshop was earlier inaugurated by His Excellency Dr. Mohammed Gharib Bilal, the vice president of the United Republic of Tanzania.

In his inaugural speech, the vice president emphasised on the importance of research for the development of the country.

He urged researchers to make findings of their research to the people in the villages so that they could feel part and parcel of the research.

Dr. Mohammed Gharib Bilal said remarked:  “Our development Vision 2025 envisions Tanzania as a middle income country with a dynamic and competitive economy by 2025.”

He added that a competitive and dynamic economy however, cannot come about or be sustained in a society characterized by poverty and inequality.

“It can only be achieved and sustained when economic growth is both robust and inclusive,” he said.

Dr. Bilal said inclusive development must at a minimum, ensure that the majority of the population participate in the development process through productive employment and engagement in diverse forms of productive economic activities as well as broader access to basic social services.

According to him, Tanzania has during the last decade or so been achieving high economic growth, 7 per cent on average, and Tanzania aspires to become a middle income country by 2025.

However,  he warned that the growth has not translated into poverty reduction and job creation.  

Presenting a paper on “Productive Employment for Making Economic Growth More Inclusive in Tanzania”  Dr. Rizwanul Islam,  thr former Employment Sector Special Adviser, for the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in Geneva, said: “Indicators of inclusive growth should start from stable economic growth, sustainable economic growth which should include poverty and inequality reduction, productive employment, improvement in access to education and health and basic social protection floor for all citizens.”

According to him, this includes protection against old age, unemployment and disability among others. 

He said Tanzania has been doing well in average per capita income which has grown substantially at 3.8 per cent in the 2000s. The country’s GDP growth rate has also been quite stable as compared with those in other East African countries. 

REPOA is an independent research institution which creates and utilities knowledge to facilitate socio-economic development.
REPOA produces high quality research, provides training, facilitates knowledge sharing and promotes the use of accurate information in policy development.

Closing the annual workshop, Professor Samwel Wangwe, the Repoa executive director said unemployment was one of the major issues discussed at the recently ended workshop. 

According to him, this year’s theme was chosen based on the fact that research on development in its economic, social and political dimensions has shown that meaningful efforts to improve the quality of life in society require shared and inclusive growth and development.

He thanked presenters for enabling the workshop to be successful and thanked participants for their tireless efforts of being friends of Repoa.

“Please continue supporting us so that we could execute our responsibility more rigorously,” he said.

Professor Wangwe urged researchers to emphasize on expanding their research to villages where majority of the people are based.

ABOUT PROFEESOR SAMWEL WANGWE

 Professor Samwel Wangwe

Professor Samuel M. Wangwe has a Ph.D from the University of Dar es Salaam (1980), an MA (Economics) from the University of Dar es Salaam in 1973 and a BA (Economics and Statistics) from the University of Dar es Salaam in 1972. Prof. Wangwe has authored eight books, including Economic Challenges Facing the Third Phase Government (with Prof. Van Arkadie), Exporting Africa: Technology, Trade and Industrialization in Sub-Saharan Africa (1997).

 Prior to assuming his current position, he was chairman of Daima Associates Limited (DAIMA), a private consulting firm based in Dar es Salaam that offers a range of professional services directed towards the economic management and policy analysis, policy advisor on coordination of reforms in the Office of the President, Public Service Management, a post he took after eight years as Executive Director of the Economic and Social Research Foundation (ESRF), a nonprofit nongovernmental policy research institute focusing on capacity building in economic and social policy and development management in Tanzania. He is principal research associate with the ESRF and is chairing the Independent Monitoring Group which is tasked to monitor aid relationships between donors and Tanzania government.
He has 35 years experience as an economist and policy researcher and policy analyst and policy advisor, and as economist and an economic advisor to the Government of Tazania. He has authored/co-authored/edited 13 books development and economic management and over 70 published articles in journals and edited books. In addition he has led and/or participated in over 80 consultancies addressing development policy and economic management in a wide range of areas including formulation and implementation of strategies and policies, industrial development, agricultural development, infrastructure, finance and poverty studies.
He holds a bachelors degree in Economics and Statistics, masters degree in Economics, and a doctoral degree in Economics from the University of Dar es Salaam; and has also worked as the head of the Department of Economics as well as dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at the same university. During a three-year leave of absence from the University, he was senior research fellow at the Institute for New Technologies of the United Nations University in Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Besides the African Technology Policy Studies (ATPS) network, has served on a number of advisory boards including the Bank of Tanzania, the Tanzania Housing Bank, and the National Micro Finance Bank and has chaired several boards including the State Mining Corporation, the National Institute of Productivity, the National Social Security Fund in Tanzania and is currently chairing the Social Action Trust Fund and the Kibaha Education Centre in Tanzania.
He has also been a member of several commissions, special committees, and task forces including the Fourth Five Development Plan Working Committee on Industry and Technology; the Committee for Improving National Statistics; the Secretariat of the Tanzania Advisory Group; the Presidential Commissions on Exports and Salaries; the Tax Force on Restructuring the National Bank of Commerce; the Advisory Committee in Financial Sector Reform, and was Chairperson of the national Consultative Committee on Fast Tracking the East Africa.

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