Tanzania must be able to adapt how it implements its development plans without losing sight of its long-term goals as economic and social conditions change, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) Claver Gatete has said.
Mr Gatete said long-term development visions should provide continuity in national priorities, but their implementation should not remain unchanged when the circumstances surrounding the economy and society evolve.
He made the remarks virtually while addressing participants of the National Planners’ Conference 2026 in Arusha. Mr Gatete said climate shocks, technological changes, shifts in trading partners and pressures on the global financial system were among factors that could alter assumptions made when development plans were prepared.
He said governments needed systems that could identify what was working, what was not and where additional effort was required, while protecting the main objectives of long-term development plans.
‘Governments need systems that enable them to know what is working, what is not working and where greater effort is needed, while protecting the major long-term goals,’ he said.
Mr Gatete said the ability to adapt implementation would be important for Tanzania as it seeks to translate Development Vision 2050 into measurable results.
He said flexibility should not be interpreted as abandoning long-term priorities, but as adjusting implementation approaches when circumstances change while maintaining the broader direction of national development.
According to Mr Gatete, development plans are prepared based on assumptions about economic conditions, social trends, technology and the global environment. Those assumptions can change during the life of a long-term vision, requiring governments to review how programmes are implemented.
He said a flexible approach would allow Tanzania to respond to emerging challenges without repeatedly changing its fundamental development objectives.
Mr Gatete said this was particularly relevant as countries faced increasing uncertainty from climate-related shocks, technological transformation and changes in international trade and finance.
He said monitoring and evaluation should form part of the implementation process so that governments could identify areas requiring adjustment and direct resources where they would have the greatest impact.
Such systems, he said, would help policymakers distinguish between long-term priorities that should remain protected and implementation methods that could be modified when circumstances demanded.
Mr Gatete said this would help Tanzania remain on course towards the objectives of Dira 2050 without allowing short-term challenges to derail its long-term development agenda.
He also stressed the importance of maintaining continuity in national development planning, saying long-term visions should provide a stable framework against which successive plans and programmes could be developed.
The National Planners’ Conference 2026, held in Arusha under the theme, ‘Delivering Vision 2050: Strengthening Integrated Planning, Execution and Results’, brought together planners and other stakeholders to discuss how the Vision can be effectively implemented, monitored and evaluated.
The conference provides a platform for participants to examine challenges affecting development planning and ways of strengthening coordination, execution and accountability for results.
Mr Gatete’s message was that flexibility and continuity should work together, allowing Tanzania to adjust its implementation methods while keeping its long-term development objectives firmly in sight.