A Survey of Tanzanian Business Policy Efficacy: A Diagnostic Framework for East African Economic Governance (2000–2026)

The efficacy of business policy is a critical determinant of economic development in East Africa. Tanzania's policy landscape, as a regional bellwether, has undergone significant evolution, yet systematic assessments of its impact on the business environment remain limited. This survey provides a diagnostic evaluation of Tanzanian business policy efficacy to develop a framework for assessing economic governance in the region. It aims to identify key policy strengths, implementation gaps, and their perceived effects on enterprise operations. A structured survey was administered to a stratified sample of enterprise managers, policy analysts, and institutional stakeholders. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis to synthesise quantitative and qualitative insights. A predominant theme was the perceived disconnect between policy design and implementation, with 68% of respondents citing regulatory inconsistency as a major constraint. Policy mechanisms aimed at simplifying business registration were viewed positively, whereas those concerning taxation and cross-border trade were critically assessed. The diagnostic framework reveals that policy efficacy in Tanzania is undermined not by a lack of legislation, but by systemic implementation failures and regulatory unpredictability. Policymakers should prioritise institutional capacity building for consistent enforcement and establish an independent monitoring mechanism for policy impact. Future policy design must integrate formal feedback channels from the private sector. business policy, economic governance, policy efficacy, diagnostic framework, East Africa, regulatory environment This paper introduces a novel diagnostic framework for evaluating business policy efficacy, synthesising stakeholder perceptions to move beyond legislative analysis to assess implementation quality.