Policy Forum elected its new Board of Directors during its 2017 Annual General Meeting held in Dar es Salaam on the 17th of March. The outgoing board members are Donati Senzia-PELUM, Charles Meshack -Tanzania Forest Conservation Group (TFCG), Dr.
Stakeholders have commended the government for enacting the The Tanzania Extractive Industries (Transparency and Accountability) Act of 2015 and have called upon it to address some of the challenges such as the law properly addressing the issue of transfer pricing in the extractive sector and mentioning the kinds of sanctions to be given to companies involved in transfer pricing abuses.
We, representatives of over 450 members of faith-based organisations, civil society organisations, community based organisations, Pan African networks and organisations, labour movements, women movements, human rights activists, media, students from African countries and our international partners met on February 6–8, 2017 in Cape Town to share experience, lessons and deliberate on the role and the impacts of extractives on communities, national economies, the environment and society at large.
Stakeholders have called upon the government to resort to the creation of agro-processing businesses and rural agro -based industries as a means of increasing revenues and reducing import bills through value addition. This call was made during the Policy Forum breakfast debate held on 27th January 2017, Dar es Salaam
Tax avoidance is one of the biggest economic issues of our time. According to International Monetary Fund (IMF), developing countries currently lose $ 100- $ 300 billion of tax revenue through tax avoidance. One among many reasons for such a problem is inefficient taxation of extractive activities and the inability to fight abuses of transfer pricing by multinational enterprises. This was said in Dar es Salaam in the last breakfast debate of Policy Forum (PF) slated for November 25, 2016.
Kindly be informed that Policy Forum offices will be closed from Monday November 5th to Thursday 8th December for our Annual Retreat 2016.
The office will be opened and resume its regular activities and operations on Tuesday,13th December 2016.
We apologize in advance for any inconvenience that this may cause.
We encourage you all to send us any pressing/urgent matters to the PF Secretariat Office via +255 782 317434. All other matters will be addressed when our offices re-open on 13 December, 2016
Mafinga member of Parliament, Hon. Cosato Chumi, has called upon actors to collaborate in addressing challenges that are faced by Local Government Authorities (LGAs). Opening a training workshop on the roles and responsibilities of Councilors held on the 22nd to 26th November 2016, he said that the government cannot address all these challenges alone and it needs efforts from non-state actors such as civil society organisations (CSOs).
Stakeholders have called on the Central Government to honor and implement the Decentralization by Devolution (D by D) principle which empowers Local government Authorities (LGAs) to raise own sources and make allocations based on the prioritized needs of the society, to effectively implement the development plans. This call was made during the Policy Forum breakfast debate titled “Local Governance Oversight Challenges: Anecdotes from the ground” held on 28th October 2016.
On November 8, 2016, Policy Forum (PF) and Officials from President’s Office-Regional Administration and Local Government (PO-RALG) agreed to have a long term partnership and work together to strengthen local governance in the country. The consensus was reached during the meeting organized by PF in Dodoma Region.
Members of the Standing Committee on Constitution and Legal Affairs Committee have commended the work of Policy Forum’s Local Government Working Group members in preparing a booklet that will help sensitize citizens on the constitutional review process entitled "Mwelekeo wa katiba Mpya Tanzania: Tulipotoka, Tulipo na Tuendako" The appreciation was expressed during the launch of the publication that took place on the 6th of November 2016 at the African Dreams Hotel in Dodoma.