In October 2007, Tanzania President Jakaya Kikwete launched the Public Service Scholarship Fund, a brainchild of private sector designed to induce significant improvement amongst public servants in service delivery.

The project, dubbed Chief Executive Officers (CEO) Scholarship Fund was conceived by the CEO Roundtable as part of private sector initiative to transform mindsets of public servants in the increasingly competitive world economy.

"This is relevant intervention which we need to transform the functioning of public service in our country. It will assist our civil servants change old mindsets of controlling the private sector instead of facilitating or work with it" President Kikwete said as he officially launched the project.

For the past several years, he said, the government had recorded strides in the public sector reforms, but the transformation of mindsets of public servants had been difficult to attain.

`I am hopeful this project, which targets key leaders in the public service for training and exposure, will help us speed up the desirable changes in the public service,` said Kikwete.

The President described the CEO Scholarship Fund as true demonstration of smart partnership between the public and private sector.

On his part, Ali Mufuruki, Chairman of the CEOs roundtable said the three-year project worth US2.23M was initiated by his organisation in partnership with the Government and the World Bank. The project had also received support from the UNCTAD/Empretec and Best-AC, the advocacy component of the BEST project.

According to Mufuruki, the primary project objective includes effecting change in the way the government does its businesses, particularly its relationship with the private sector both locally and foreign. This follows a realisation that despite radical and affirmative government initiatives to attract both local and foreign investors, many deep seated problems of mistrust and lack of knowledge amongst public officials remain and will continue to haunt the relationship between public and private sectors.

"We are delighted that this project has been embraced by the Government with such enthusiasm, which is further proof that President Kikwete is serious about deepening the reforms of civil service and transforming mindsets of public servants to the leadership challenge of globalisation," said Mufuruki.