The government received a record TZS1.327 trillion in dividends and other contributions from state-owned enterprises and companies in which it holds shares on Tuesday, as President Samia Suluhu Hassan said reforms were turning public institutions into profitable assets capable of financing more of the country's development.
The annual Gawio Day ceremony has become one of Tanzania's main indicators of public sector performance, measuring how effectively government investments generate returns while expanding non-tax revenue.
This year's collections rose 30% from TZS1.028 trillion in 2025 and more than doubled from TZS637 billion in 2021, according to Treasury Registrar Nehemiah Mchechu.
President Samia said the results showed a significant shift in the role of public institutions.
"We have moved from institutions that consumed government resources to institutions that contribute to the national treasury," she said. "What once seemed impossible has become possible."
She challenged executives to raise their ambitions, publicly increasing dividend targets for several institutions. One entity that contributed TZS15 billion was directed to aim for TZS20 billion next year, while another that contributed TZS11 billion committed to raising its contribution to TZS25 billion.
Samia linked the rising payouts to Tanzania's strategy of reducing dependence on external financing.
"Our self-dependence gap in financing development is becoming very small," she said. "If we continue on this path, within two years we can finance our development almost entirely from our own resources."
She said stronger public institutions would also reduce pressure on government borrowing.
Using the Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) as an example, Samia said financially sound state institutions could now secure loans on their own balance sheets to finance expansion, eliminating the need for sovereign borrowing for commercially viable projects.
She also renewed instructions to the Treasury Registrar to identify state-owned companies suitable for listing on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE), saying stock market listings would improve transparency, market discipline and public ownership.
The president said the reforms would support the implementation of Vision 2050, whose guiding theme is that productive public investment should become the foundation of a competitive economy and sustainable development.
She urged public institutions to focus on measurable results instead of lengthy statistical reports.
"We do not want reports full of numbers without real impact," she said.
Quoting the Swahili saying Mipango si matumizi ("Plans are not expenditures"), Samia said Tanzania already had sound policies but needed stronger implementation, innovation and investment to achieve its long-term goals.
She acknowledged that while many institutions had improved, others continued to underperform.
"There are still institutions that are staggering," she said. "They need treatment so they can stand on their feet and contribute."
Samia also warned that her administration would continue taking action against negligence and misuse of public resources.
Using the analogy of a grown child supporting the family that raised them, she said state institutions had a responsibility to give back to taxpayers whose resources had financed their growth.
"The money returned to the treasury ultimately finances health services, education and other public services," she said, adding that citizens increasingly follow the annual dividend ceremony because they understand its direct impact on government spending.
Earlier, Minister of State in the President's Office for Planning and Investment Prof. Kitila Mkumbo said the ceremony reflected a fundamental change in the government's approach to managing public investments.
"Most meetings are about asking the President for money. Today we are here for the President to receive money," Mkumbo said.
He said public institutions had become a direct measure of government performance.
"If these institutions perform well, the government performs well. If they fail, the government fails," he said.
Mkumbo said reforms under President Samia had replaced a culture that measured activities with one focused on results, accountability and returns on investment.
"We are no longer interested in lengthy reports," he said. "Leadership is judged by results and by what institutions contribute to the national treasury."
He added that Tanzania's reforms were also strengthening the private sector.
Citing a recent African Business ranking of the 20 largest listed companies in East and Central Africa, Mkumbo said Tanzania placed six companies on the list: CRDB Bank, NMB Bank, Tanzania Breweries, Vodacom Tanzania, Tanzania Portland Cement and Tanzania Cigarette Company.
For the first time, he said, CRDB and NMB ranked third and fourth respectively, ahead of some of Kenya's largest lenders.
"This did not happen because of geography or history," Mkumbo said. "It happened because of the right economic policies."
Treasury Registrar Nehemiah Mchechu said commercial state-owned enterprises and companies in which the government owns shares contributed TZS800 billion, accounting for about 60% of this year's collections.
Non-commercial public institutions contributed TZS406 billion, while other sources generated TZS121 billion.
He said collections could have reached TZS1.811 trillion had revenues from four conservation institutions currently channelled through the Tanzania Revenue Authority been remitted through the Treasury Registrar's Office.
The government aims for public institutions to contribute about 10% of non-tax revenue by 2030, a target Mchechu said could be achieved ahead of schedule.
He said the capital base of public institutions had expanded from TZS67 trillion in 2021 to TZS92 trillion, driven by retained earnings, improved governance and continued investment.
That figure is expected to increase to between TZS130 trillion and TZS140 trillion after major infrastructure projects, including the Standard Gauge Railway and the Julius Nyerere Hydropower Project, are transferred to state institutions.
Among commercial entities, Twiga Minerals made the largest contribution, remitting TZS221.9 billion, followed by NMB Bank with TZS96.9 billion and Airtel Tanzania with TZS65.4 billion.
Other major contributors included TPDC, Puma Energy, NBC Bank, TIPER, UTT AMIS, TPC Sugar and the National Housing Corporation, each contributing more than TZS10 billion.
Among non-commercial institutions, the Tanzania Ports Authority contributed TZS205.5 billion, followed by the National Identification Authority with TZS61 billion.
Other agencies contributing more than TZS10 billion included the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority, Tanzania Forest Services, TASAC, OSHA, the Tanzania Bureau of Standards, BRELA, Tanzania Railways Corporation, EWURA and LATRA.
Mchechu said reforms were also improving the performance of previously loss-making enterprises.
State-owned telecommunications company TTCL reported a TZS22.9 billion profit after recording a TZS18 billion loss a year earlier, while the Tanzania Posts Corporation earned TZS2.8 billion and the State Mining Corporation (STAMICO) posted TZS20.5 billion in profit during the 2024/25 financial year.
He added that dependence on government subsidies for salaries and recurrent expenditure among non-commercial institutions had fallen by an average of 12.8% over the past five years, with some agencies, including the Tanzania Bureau of Standards, no longer requiring recurrent government funding.
Mchechu said institutions that do not pay dividends remain essential to the economy, citing TANESCO, Benjamin Mkapa Hospital, the Jakaya Kikwete Cardiac Institute and the Muhimbili Orthopaedic Institute as examples of organisations whose primary role is delivering public services rather than generating profits.
The ceremony concluded with President Samia receiving the dividends, presenting awards to the best-performing institutions and calling on public entities to continue improving productivity as Tanzania prepares to implement its Vision 2050 development strategy.
