DAR ES SALAAM, Jan. 6 -- THE New Year does not arrive with fireworks for businesses. It arrives in balance sheets. In budgets. In decisions that will either compound or quietly drain value over the next twelve months.

For Tanzania, this year opens with a simple truth. Growth will belong to those who decide better, not those who talk louder.

Across boardrooms and offices, many decisions are still driven by habit. Last years prices. Last years suppliers. Last years assumptions. Yet the economy no longer rewards memory. It rewards evidence. Inflation has changed spending patterns. Fuel prices remain volatile.

Interest rates influence borrowing decisions more sharply than before. Consumers are more cautious. Businesses that fail to read th...