We’ll continue to support govt through research

LOCAL think-tank, REPOA, has reiterated that it will continue to support the government through investment in research that is likely to give positive results in the development of the country. 
Ranked as the top think tank in Tanzania by the Global Go To Think Tank Index (GGTTI), the institution is among a few that have been conducting a number of researches in different sectors of the economy.
“We will continue to advice the government on policy formulation and conduct researches that will enable the country to achieve a middle income status”, said Dr Donald Mmari, REPOA Executive Director when addressing journalists in Dar es Salaam yesterday.
Dr Mmari was announcing the results of the GGTTI survey which was conducted by the Think Tanks and Civil Societies Programme (TTCSP) at the University of Pennsylvania, whereby over 6,000 think tanks and 4,000 journalists, policy makers, public and private donors from 143 countries participated.
“For the third year running, REPOA is ranked as the top think tank in Tanzania…within East Africa, we are ranked third and in sub Saharan Africa we are ranked thirteen of the 94 leading think tanks nominated for the 2016 GGTTI”, Dr Mmari noted.
He asserted that human capital and funds were the best tools for a better research, calling upon the government to extend its support to the institution so that it could emerge top in the EAC regional bloc. 
He, however, thanked the government for providing space and operating an environment for think tanks to shape development policies.
According to him, Tanzania has made notable achievements in its development milestones, but there are still challenges over the next two decades that will require more research and analytical work to inform the development agenda and the structural transformation process.
Dr Abel Kinyondo, the Director of Strategic Research, said that REPOA has been engaging in providing advice and conducting researches for the government.
He said the institution has been contributing in policy making such as the country’s Five Year Development Plan, 2016/17- 2020/21, preparation of the local content policy in the mining Act and the national employment policy which is due to be launched in June this year.
“The government has been using our work, which encourages us to do even more research”, he noted.
Dr Kinyondo appealed to the government to support local research institutions just like in other countries where such institutions get funds and office buildings from the government. He said it was important to recognise the contribution of think tanks in shaping development of any country since it informed policy makers, development stakeholders and the public.
In the GGTTI survey, the top think tanks in sub Saharan are the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) from Senegal followed by the Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis (KIPPRA) from Kenya.