THE government has vowed to monitor and phase out any nuisance tax that impedes the business community to freely engage in business and contribute to the national economic growth.
That was said at the weekend by Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Industries and Trade, Prof Riziki Shemdoe, who was the guest of honor of NMB Business Club in Dodoma, organised for traders.
He said the government with financial institutions, including NMB Bank, would discuss the identified taxes and put a plan that would enable the business community to run their activities in a friendly environment that enabled them to keep paying tax for the economy to grow.
“The government will focus on this area, including addressing the taxes identified as vexing to our traders because they are detrimental to their plans. We must look into such, but you (NMB) and fellow financial institutions must do something because your interests charged on loans are still high,” said the PS.
NMB Bank Head of Business Banking Alex Mgeni said they had improved services in loan provisions and they currently catered for small-scale miners in groups, who were previous not targeted.
Mr Mgeni said the business community should also know requirements for loan acquisition because that would enable them to identify the right loans to take and what to remit.
In another development, the manager asked the traders to come in big numbers and buy shares from the bank since for the past eight years the bank had made tremendous improvements and was awarded as the best service provider in the country.
Earlier, NMB Business Club Dodoma Region Chairperson Joyce Kaishozi asked the bank to support them after the Covid-19 crisis that disrupted several businesses.
She said the pandemic had disrupted their business activities hence it was necessary for the bank staff to listen to their suggestions on how to recover and repay their loans.
In response, NMB Central Zone Manager Nsolo Mlozi said the bank was still financially stable and would address their concern accordingly.
The bank in the Central Zone—covering Dodoma, Singida and Manyara—operated in Chembe District that had no bank branch.
“We have in mind to cover all districts with financial services from our bank, and mostly to remove nuisances they face on financial matters they may experience,” he pointed out.
Currently, NMB has 230 branches, including 25 in the Central Zone, over 7,000 agents and 800 ATM points countrywide.
