When President Dr. Samia Suluhu Hassan addressed newly sworn-in ministers on November 18, 2025, her message conveyed a rare and urgent frankness. Tanzania, she warned, has entered one of the most fragile economic moments in its recent history. A wave of political unrest following the October general elections has not only shaken domestic confidence but also tarnished the country’s international reputation, so much so that securing external loans or grants has become “extremely difficult.”
The warning would be serious under normal circumstances. However, it occurs at a time when Tanzania is beginning the first five-year phase of implementing Development Vision 2050, a plan whose initial commitments alone will cost nearly TZS 477 trillion, more than four times the investment amount of the previous period. The contradiction is clear: the country is pursuing its most ambitious development program in decades while traditional funding sources are shrinking significantly.
Yet, despite the storm clouds gathering over international credit markets, President Samia framed the challenge with an unexpected confidence, almost a sense of defiant optimism. The Sixth-Phase Government, she noted, has overseen one of the most stable economic recoveries on the continent. GDP growth, which had wavered during the pandemic at 4.5 per cent, rebounded steadily to 5.9 per cent in 2024 and is projected to surpass 6 per cent in 2025.
Inflation has held below 5 per cent for consecutive years, private-sector credit has ticked upward (even if still modest by global standards at around 16–17 per cent of GDP), and the expansion of power generation, particularly through the Julius Nyerere Hydropower Project, has meaningfully altered the country’s industrial landscape.
Those successes, however, rested heavily on the cushion of political calm that Tanzania enjoyed before 2025. And this is where the President’s message sharpened: the country's borrowing space is narrowing just as the cost of development is ballooning.
Public debt now stands between TZS 107 trillion and TZS 115 trillion, roughly 40–48 per cent of GDP. Pushing domestic borrowing higher, she warned, would choke private-sector growth as banks redirect liquidity toward government securities. Raising taxes, in a politically tense climate, risks further instability. As she put it, this is a moment that demands “smart economic thinkers.”
Among the strategies the President foregrounded, one stood out unmistakably: Public-Private Partnerships. Unlike traditional borrowing, PPPs distribute risks between the state and investors, and they bring the discipline, efficiency, and innovation of the private sector into the heart of the national development agenda. In the current environment, PPPs are no longer one option among many; they are the most viable route to sustain economic progress without sinking deeper into debt.
Her argument reflected both pragmatism and urgency. If Tanzania is to finance the mega-projects envisioned in Vision 2050, from expressways to energy corridors, ports to industrial parks, it must attract capital that is neither fiscally suffocating nor politically explosive. PPPs offer precisely that escape hatch: a way to maintain the development trajectory while shielding the national balance sheet.
Moreover, PPPs align perfectly with the commitments already embedded in the CCM Manifesto and Vision 2050, which designate them as a central “enabler” of long-term growth. The difference, today, is that what was once framed as an enabler has become a necessity.
President Samia did not shy away from the political dimension of economic recovery. For years, Tanzanian policy debates toggled between the question of whether political reform must precede economic reform or vice versa. The President dismissed the dichotomy entirely. In a global environment where risk perception shapes the movement of billions of dollars, democratic credibility and economic diplomacy are inseparable.
A country seeking to reclaim its investment-grade rating cannot afford democratic backsliding or a hostile media environment. Investors, lenders, and multilateral institutions increasingly read political signals as economic indicators.
Restoring Tanzania’s image as a predictable and stable state is therefore not simply a matter of governance; it is a prerequisite for capital inflows, concessional lending, and long-term partnerships. This context gives deeper meaning to her call for simultaneous reforms. It is not about political ideology. It is about economic survival.
Against this backdrop, the proposal to establish a National Economic and Social Council (NESC) under the Office of the President emerges as a strategically timely idea. Tanzania’s policy landscape has grown too complex, and its economic stakes too high, to operate without a permanent, high-level institution dedicated to consensus building, deep research, and cross-sector coordination.
Such a council would allow the government to craft development strategies grounded in rigorous analysis rather than reactive decision-making. It would bring together economists, business leaders, civil society voices, and international development experts to identify emerging risks, mediate competing interests, and shape policies aligned with Tanzania’s long-term objectives.
Just as importantly, NESC would function as a national think tank tasked with aligning performance metrics, KPIs, OKRs, and broader development indicators, so that mega-projects, whether financed through PPPs or other mechanisms, remain accountable, measurable, and coherent.
Countries that have navigated rapid development successfully, South Korea, Malaysia, and Singapore, have built similar institutions during their transformational decades. Tanzania now faces its equivalent moment.
For Vision 2050’s first implementation phase to succeed, Tanzania must adopt a coherent strategy that binds together PPP financing, diplomatic rebuilding, and political reform. A national PPP commission placed at the heart of government could streamline project selection, reduce preparation times, and attract global partners more effectively. Tightening domestic borrowing, while expanding private-sector credit toward at least 25 per cent of GDP, would create the liquidity needed for entrepreneurship and industrial expansion.
Simultaneously, medium-term actions, including an Economic Diplomacy Task Force, could help restore at least USD 1.5 billion in annual grants and concessional financing by 2028, while priority projects such as the Dar es Salaam–Chalinze–Morogoro expressway, Bagamoyo Port Phase I, the sixth phase of the Standard Gauge Railway, and major hydropower initiatives could serve as proof-of-concept models for large-scale PPP execution.
A revitalized political environment, supported by reforms to electoral laws, civic freedoms, and institutional oversight, would complement these efforts by re-establishing Tanzania as a trusted partner for investors and lenders alike.
President Samia’s message was not one of despair, but of awakening. Tanzania stands at an economic crossroads where yesterday’s tools will not solve tomorrow’s challenges. The country’s demographic strength, mineral wealth, agricultural potential, and expanding energy capacity give it the raw ingredients to achieve the Vision 2050 target of becoming a trillion-dollar economy with a per-capita income of USD 7,000.
But unlocking these future demands requires institutions that can think ahead, reforms that can restore trust, and partnerships that can mobilize capital without destabilizing the economy. Public-Private Partnerships will be the bridge.
Political and economic reforms will be the foundation. And a National Economic and Social Council can become the strategic brain of the national development project. The path forward is difficult, but it is navigable. And if Tanzania manages this moment with clarity and coordination, Vision 2050 will cease to be an aspiration and become a living reality.