THE latest World Investment Report (WIR) shows that the country has made big strides in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI).

The report launched jointly by the International Labour Organization (ILO) United Nations Resident Coordinator, Mr Alberic Kacou and Acting Executive Director of Tanzania Investment Centre (TIC), Mr Raymond Mbilinyi in Dar es Salaam over the weekend indicates that Tanzania topped the list compared to other four East African Community partners, namely Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi.

Furthermore, it shows that Tanzania leads by 47 per cent compared to Uganda and Kenya which recorded 34 and 14 per cent respectively. Sectors that have made the country proud include tourism, natural resources, gas and oil exploration as well as the booming financial sector.

The report says that efforts to develop the infrastructure especially roads have also added weight on the country's ascendancy to the top slot. According to the report, the country could have done much better on the ratings had it not the global economic crisis especially the Euro zone which has seen some countries like Greece, Italy, Spain and Cyprus in deep financial troubles.

Undoubtedly, the good news is a clear testimony that the government has done a good job worth praising.

The business environment has improved tremendously in the past two decades or so.

Moreover, investors are now assured of a competitive labour market, thanks to an influx of local experts who have come back home after spending some years abroad looking for green pastures.

Now, the government faces two challenges, one is to keep the momentum up and second, all efforts must be in place to ensure such investments make an impact on the lives of common people.

Policy makers must ensure such achievements are maintained at any cost and that all stakeholders should play active role. United we stand, divided we fall, an old motto goes.

The government must also admit that there is a growing negative notion by a section of the population that foreign investors are mere plunderers of the natural resources and should not be supported.

Much as these are mere accusations and hold no water, it's against this backdrop that the economic growth should not just be in numbers but rather on how it has improved the lives of the people.