Volkswagen escaped bureaucracy in Tanzania, went to Rwanda, says former minister!

Volkswagen’s car production plant in Kigali. 

In Summary

• A former cabinet minister in Tanzania, Charles Kitwanga told the parliament on Wednesday November 6 that Europe’s biggest carmaker, Volkswagen, decided to invest in Rwanda after attempts to set up a car assembly in Tanzania failed due to ‘deep-rooted bureaucracy.’
• Tanzania is building the base for an industrialized economy. Finance Minister Dr Philip Mpango on Tuesday said the country is working on streamlining economic growth through improving the business climate and implementing the overall development plan.

Dar es Salaam. A former cabinet miniter in Tanzania, Charles Kitwanga told the parliament on Wednesday November 6 that Europe’s biggest carmaker, Volkswagen, decided to invest in Rwanda after attempts to set up a car assembly in Tanzania failed due to ‘deep-rooted bureaucracy.’

Tanzania is building the base for an industrialized economy. Finance Minister Dr Philip Mpango on Tuesday said the country is working on streamlining economic growth through improving the business climate and implementing the overall development plan.

But, Mr Kitwanga, who formerly led the Home Affairs docket, urged the current administration to urgently address bureaucracy to attract more investors as the country gears for industrialization.

“The bureaucracy we have in our system is so bad…Volkswagen [vehicles] are now made in Rwanda, they were to be assembled here [in Tanzania],” said Mr Kitwanga as he addressed the House in Dodoma.

Last year, Rwanda’s first domestically built car rolled off the assembly line at Volkswagen’s new factory in Kigali, reported Reuters news agency.  Volkswagen seeks to capitalize on the demand for its vehicles to expand in the region.

Mr Kitwanga says he wasn’t happy with the fact that a neighboring country is making strides on a business that should have been put up in Tanzania.

http://rwandatoday.africa/news/Volkswagen-escaped-bureaucracy-in-Tanzania/4383214-5339878-4e67kxz/index.html