State offers bumper internships

• VP tasks SOEs to drive investment, job creation

ARUSHA: VICE-President Deogratius Ndejembi has given the Office of the Treasury Registrar (OTR), key ministries and other institutions two weeks to produce a plan for placing 10,000 graduates in state owned enterprises every year as part of efforts to accelerate the implementation of Dira 2050.

ms to provide structured internships in public institutions to help young people gain the professional experience required to compete in the domestic, regional and global labour markets.

Mr Ndejembi issued the directive yesterday during the Chairpersons and Chief Executive Officers of Public Institutions (C-CEOs) Forum 2026 in Arusha.

“President’s Office Planning and Investment, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Agriculture, OTR and others, I am giving you two weeks to come back with a plan so that we can start taking 10,000 young people,” he said.

He added: “If it means cutting spending elsewhere, then cut it, but let us take these 10,000 young people.” The VP further said he would present President Dr Samia Suluhu Hassan with a report on the measures put in place to enable the programme to begin immediately.

Mr Ndejembi expressed concern that awards presented at the forum did not recognise institutions for their contribution to creating employment opportunities for young people, arguing that Vision 2050 requires greater investment in human capital.

“We should not measure our public institutions by their balance sheet alone, or by the dividends they pay alone. We should measure our public institutions by the contribution they make to increasing the productivity of our young people,” he said.

He said the country’s 308 public institutions paid about 1.3tri/- in dividends during the 2025/26 financial year and suggested that part of those resources could be invested in developing young people.

“If we take five or even 10 per cent of this money, not as expenditure but as an investment in our youth, we can support this programme,” he said.

The Vice-President said many graduates struggle to enter the labour market because employers demand work experience while opportunities to gain that experience remain limited.

Citing Tanzania Commission for Universities (TCU) statistics for the 2024/25 academic year, he said about 62,570 students graduate from universities annually, excluding those completing vocational training through VETA.

“These young people leave universities and go looking for jobs, but they are told they must have three to five years of work experience. Where will they get that experience?” he asked.

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He said the Tanzania Employment Services Agency (TAESA) had trained 3,200 young people for the labour market by 2021, describing the achievement as positive but insufficient to meet the ambitions of Vision 2050.

Mr Ndejembi proposed that public institutions absorb 10,000 interns annually while incentives encourage the private sector to take in another 20,000, creating 30,000 internship opportunities every year.

He linked the proposal to the 30 per cent public procurement allocation for special groups, arguing that internships would equip young people with practical skills to benefit from government contracts.

Citing figures from the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA), he said tenders worth nearly 40tri/- had been advertised this year.

“Out of that 40tri/-, let 5tri/- go to these groups whom we have prepared and sharpened through our public institutions. By doing so, we will have reduced the number of young people idling in the streets,” he said.

The C-CEOs Forum brought together board chairpersons and chief executives of public institutions and organisations under the theme, “High-Performing Public Enterprises for a Competitive, Inclusive and Resilient Economy in Implementing Vision 2050.”

Minister of State in the President’s Office – Planning and Investment), Prof Kitila Mkumbo, has said public entities have a key responsibility to create a favourable environment for private-sector investment as the country seeks to grow its economy.

Prof Mkumbo said the private sector is expected to contribute 70 per cent of the required investment, while the public sector accounts for 30 per cent.

He said the public sector’s role goes beyond direct investment, as public institutions and state-owned enterprises are responsible for creating and unlocking opportunities for businesses to invest, expand production and create jobs.

“Even though we say 30 per cent, in essence those seated here represent nearly 100 per cent of its implementation, because even for the private sector to contribute 70 per cent, it will require the public sector, through our public institutions here, to put in place a good environment for doing business and investment,” he said.

Mr Ndejembi also urged chief executives of public institutions to make timely decisions, warning against administrative delays that could slow national development.

“When you sit in the CEO’s chair with responsibility for a public institution, we expect you to make the right decisions at the right time,” he said.