The Minister for Finance, Dr. William
Mgimwa stresses a point to journalists during the launch of the Bank of Africa
Tanzania new Branch at Kahama district, in Shinyanga region yesterday.
The
Minister for Finance, Dr. William Mgimwa talks during the launch of the Bank of
Africa Tanzania new Branch at Kahama district, in Shinyanga region
yesterday. Other in the picture are the
bank’s Managing Director, Mr. Ammish Owusu (centre) and the bank’s board of
Directors Chairman, Ambassador Fulgence Kazaura (right).
By a
Correspondent, Shinyanga
The
government has commended Bank of Africa Tanzania for endeavors to spread
throughout the country, saying that the efforts complement her resolve to offer
financial services to as many Tanzanians as possible.
The
complements have been given by the Minister for Finance, Dr. William Mgimwa
during the launch of the bank’s new Branch at Kahama district, in Shinyanga
region yesterday.
“Your
efforts to open new branches in Tanzania conform to the government’s policy to
go rural and serve those who do not access financial services…we commend you
for this,” Dr. Mgimwa said.
The
Minister said that there is a direct correlation between the number of banks a
country have and economic performance and urged other banks in the country to
emulate the Bank of Africa Tanzania’s footsteps for the good of their business
and that of the country at large.
“Big
and affluent economies such as Europe, America and South Africa have a strong
base of banks and other financial institutions,” he said, adding that the
government will continue supporting private banks in terms of conducive
policies and good working environment to make sure that they achieve their
objectives.
However,
he challenged the banking industry in Tanzania to look into ways of lowering
loan interests so that people can find it easy to service their loans and
therefore expand their businesses with ease.
“This
will help people expand economically, return loans to banks on time and build
trust,” he said, adding that people on the other hand should build a habit of
repaying their loans on time to banks to avoid unnecessary problems.
On
his part, the Chairman of the Board of Bank of Africa Tanzania, Ambassador
Fulgence Kazaura said a wide network of the bank in 15 African countries is an
opportunity for the business community in the country to expand and network
with fellow business people in Africa and called upon them to use the
opportunity for their development.
“Seize
the opportunity and use the bank’s diverse services for your progress,” he
said.
The
Head of Retail Banking at the bank, Ms. Mwanahiba Mzee said people of Kahama
should be ready to enjoy diverse services offered by the bank.
“People
of Kahama should expect unique services offered by our bank,” she said.
The
District Commissioner for Kahama, Mr. Benson Mpyesa thanked the management of
the bank for their decision to open the branch in the district.
He
said the district has a lot of major economic activities ranging from mining
and agriculture ones and therefore needs more robust financial services.
“We
thank you for this major milestone in our district,” he said.
Kahama
branch becomes the 18th branch for the Bank of Africa Tanzania.
Since
it started operations in the country in 2007, the bank has managed to open ten
branches in Dar es Salaam and eight branches in Morogoro, Tunduma, Mwanza,
Moshi, Mbeya, Arusha, Mtibwa and now Kahama.
Bank
of Africa Tanzania is a part of a Pan African bank called Bank of Africa Group.
The
Group operates in 15 countries, of which 7 are in West Africa (Benin, Burkina
Faso, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger and Senegal); 6 in East Africa (Burundi,
Djibouti, Kenya, Madagascar, Tanzania and Uganda).
It is also present in the Democratic Republic
of Congo and in France.
In addition to its 14 commercial banks, the
Group also includes a finance company, a housing bank, a leasing company, one
brokerage and two investment firms, as well as a management company and a
representative office in Paris.
Ends
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