OREANDA-NEWS. The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank (AfDB) approved on Wednesday, February 3 in Abidjan a loan of US $16.5 million to finance the Tanzania Institutional Support Project for Good Governance (ISPGG III). The objective of this project is to support the Government of Tanzania in promoting inclusive growth and macroeconomic stability by enhancing economic and financial governance through more effective public financial management and improved business environment.

By supporting the Government of Tanzania’s Public Financial Management (PFM) reform agenda, this project will contribute to efforts geared towards enhancing capacity, and improving accountability, transparency and integrity in the management of public resources. The project will also contribute to an improvement in the business enabling environment, by strengthening capacity to fight corruption, the streamlining of business registration and licensing processes and operationalization of the public-private partnership (PPP) framework.

During the Board presentation, the Bank’s Director of Governance, Economic and Financial Management Department, Jacob Mukete, noted that “the project builds upon Bank-supported capacity building and PFM reforms in Tanzania, and complements the ongoing Power Sector Reform and Governance Support Programme IV and other interventions of development partners.”

The Bank has provided support to Tanzania’s governance institutions over the years through two preceding interventions (ISPGG I and II). These have contributed to major improvements in public financial management, particularly in the areas of public procurement, anti-corruption and external audit. This follow-up operation, approved by the Board on Wednesday, builds on those achievements and contributes to preparing Tanzania to meet new and emerging challenges in public sector management.

The approval of this project comes at a time when the Government of Tanzania is demonstrating renewed commitment to transparency, accountability and effective public service delivery, under the leadership of President John Magufuli. Since taking office just three months ago, the new President has declared war on corruption and is taking bold steps to enhance the performance of the public sector. This project is therefore very timely. Together with the Bank’s other interventions, including the ongoing budget support operation, the project will contribute to enhancing economic management capacity and ultimately improve the quality of life of the people of Tanzania.