Prime Minister’s Visit to the UK: How Will Poor Tanzanians Benefit from the Investment Being Sought?

By Adeladius Makwega – MBAGALA

The Prime Minister of the United Republic of Tanzania, Hon. Dr. Mwigulu Lameck Nchemba, arrived in the United Kingdom on 7 October 2026 for a five-day official working visit. The purpose of the visit is to strengthen business opportunities, attract capital, and increase investment between Tanzania and the United Kingdom.

Personally, I have been asking myself this question: For a Tanzanian with a low income, what does this visit actually mean?

In seeking to answer this question through discussions with various stakeholders, sources, and economic experts, these were the answers I gathered:

Official information indicates that the Tanzania–UK Investment Forum, held on 8 October 2026, brings together governments, international investors, and financial institutions, with a focus on areas such as mining, energy, infrastructure, agriculture and food processing, and manufacturing.

For poor people in Mbagala and those in Ilonga,Ikangao, Mahenge—for ordinary people like Mwanakwetu—what benefits can we expect? Or have our leaders and their team simply gone to the United Kingdom for sightseeing?

These are the practical answers Mwanakwetu gathered regarding the potential benefits of this trip:

First: Better-Paying Jobs

This is perhaps the most important pathway.

If British companies invest in manufacturing, commercial agriculture, energy, transportation, or technology, they could create more employment opportunities. However, not every investment automatically creates large numbers of jobs or well-paying employment.

The World Bank has emphasized that Tanzania’s challenge is not simply a lack of jobs, but also a lack of productive jobs that provide adequate incomes.

Second: Markets for Farmers and Small Businesses.

Investment in agriculture and agricultural processing can make a significant difference if companies purchase produce from Tanzanian farmers rather than importing products from abroad.

The World Bank has recommended increased investment in agriculture, including stronger connections between smallholder farmers, agricultural inputs, and markets.

Third: Technology and Skills

International companies can bring new technologies, training, and skills that Tanzanians can later use in their businesses and careers.

Fourth: Better Services and Infrastructure.

Investment in energy, transportation, and infrastructure can reduce the cost of doing business.

If these costs decline, small businesses may have greater opportunities to grow and create employment.

But, in all honesty, there is one very important issue that must be considered.

Attracting investment does not automatically mean reducing poverty.

Tanzania is already experiencing economic growth of around 6%, but the World Bank has warned that this growth has not yet translated sufficiently into poverty reduction.

Its October 2026 report sounds a warning and emphasizes that economic growth needs to be translated into productive, better-paying, and safer jobs.

This is where Mwanakwetu remembers his brothers and sisters in Mbagala, Ilonga,Ikangao, Mrundu, and Ketaketa.

Therefore, for poor Tanzanians, these are the important questions that should be asked after this visit:

What actual agreements have been signed?

How many jobs will they create for Tanzanians?

How much will those jobs pay?

How will farmers and small-scale business owners benefit?

How much value will be added within Tanzania rather than simply exporting raw materials?

What services for ordinary citizens will be funded from the government revenue generated?

How will investors be held accountable regarding the environment, taxes, employment, and workers’ rights?

These are questions that every Tanzanian following this Prime Minister’s visit should ask themselves and seek answers to—before themselves and before God.

From this perspective, Mwanakwetu believes that this visit can benefit poor Tanzanians if the capital attracted generates better jobs, markets for small-scale producers, skills, domestic businesses, and government revenue.

Without these outcomes, we risk becoming like rice served with chaff—because increased investment and GDP growth may appear in the statistics while poor families continue to experience little meaningful change in their daily lives.

The World Bank itself indicates that a large proportion of Tanzanians still work in low-productivity agriculture, such as in areas like Mrundu, Ikangao, or in informal activities, such as those found in Mbagala Rangitatu.

In Brief.

Let us not measure this visit by asking:

“How many investors has he met?”

Instead, let us measure it by asking:

“What changes will the investment attracted through this visit bring to the income, employment opportunities, and cost of living of ordinary Tanzanians?”

Mwanakwetu, are you there?

My fellow Tanzanians, I have tried to ask myself these questions and seek answers through various experts and sources.