PM reveals six key areas of focus in next budget

Dodoma. Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa yesterday outlined six key policy issues that the government will implement in the 2018/19 financial year.

Requesting Parliament to endorse a total of Sh250 billion for his office, the Premier, who doubles as the Ruangwa Member of Parliament, said the government will specifically focus on key development projects such as water supply.

So far, he noted, 78 per cent of Dar es Salaam is already covered by the Dar es Salaam Water and Sewerage Authority (Dawasa) when it comes to water supply.

Mr Majaliwa noted that the government plans to strengthen its e-governance for revenue collection in key sectors of production and services. According to him, this will involve the application of the Tanzania Electronic Single Window System (e-SWS) at Dar es Salaam, Mtwara and Tanga ports.

Mr Majaliwa said the government was committed to completing infrastructure projects, mainly the 1,219-kilometre standard gauge railway (SGR), airports and expand the network of tarmac roads across the country.

Boosting energy supply is another key area the PM said the government will continue focusing on.

He said the 2100MW Stiegler’s Gorge hydropower and the expansion of electricity supply through the Rural Electrification Agency (Rea), were key projects the government intended to implement.

Mr Majaliwa said the government would continue overseeing economic growth through the implementation of the strategic development plans and was also still committed to fully fulfilling its plan of relocating government business to Dodoma.

However, Parliament’s Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee urged the government to ensure that it invested in development projects that offered value for money.

Tabling the committee’s report on the implementation of the 2017/18 budget for the PM’s office, the chairman of the committee, Mr Mohammed Mchengerwa, said, “All development projects which were allocated funds in 2017/18 and those in the 2018/19 in the Prime Minister’s Office should be valuable.”

As the Prime Minister tabled the budget for his office, there was no alternative budget tabled by the Official Opposition in Parliament as its members were blocked from doing so.

Explaining the situation, the National Assembly’s Deputy Speaker, Dr Tulia Ackson, said the Opposion had failed to comply with a directive issued last year by the Speaker of the National Assembly.

According to her, Speaker Job Ndugai issued a document instructing that all reports on the alternative budgets should be submitted to his office a day before being tabled.

Dr Tulia made the clarification when winding up the questions and answers session.