EDITORIAL: TRC initiative on aiding communities laudable

The Tanzania Railways Corporation (TRC) has engaged both public and private sector institutions in jointly and severally formulating and implementing strategies to improve the livelihoods of communities around its infrastructure. In a memorandum of understanding which TRC signed recently with several institutions in Dar es Salaam, the signatories undertook to provide training to the communities designed to increase their entrepreneurship and economic production through enhanced productivity.

The training should focus on – but is not limited to – agriculture-related activities and prudent financial management. To that end, the University of Dar es Salaam (for instance) agreed to provide experts and mentors to help build workers’ capacities, and provide consultancy services during implementation of the initiative.

Also, the Small Industries Development Organisation and the Vocational Education and Training Authority pledged to provide technical assistance and entrepreneurship skills to the targeted communities. The overall idea is to empower and otherwise enable (more often than not) disadvantaged communities who live cheek-by-jowl with railway transportation infrastructures around them.

This is, indeed, a very positive initiative by the state-owned-cum-managed corporation which is bound to be of benefit all-round – all things being equal. It is our considered view that social, economic and other forms of infrastructures – most of which are capital-intensive to install, operate and maintain – should invariably create beneficial opportunities.

And, if the opportunities are functionally tapped and exploited in full, this would result in all-inclusive and meaningful socioeconomic development on a sustainable basis.

Public and private infrastructure

Generally speaking, the term ‘infrastructure’ – both public and private infrastructure – defines the basic physical and organisational structures and facilities of a business, society or a nation that are a prerequisite for the effective and successful operation(s) of society, the enterprise, a nation-state and suchlike institutions.

Examples of infrastructures are electric grid systems; transport and transportation systems; communication/telecommunication networks; water, sewerage and other systems, all of which are considered essential or preferred in enabling, enhancing and sustaining people’s living and working conditions.

When all is said and done – and everything is taken into account – infrastructures without doubt create business and other growth opportunities as a matter of course.

But, more often than not, the opportunities go to waste, largely for lack of development strategies the likes of the TRC initiative.

In a more-or-less related development, President John Magufuli expressed great concern regarding what is tantamount to public infrastructure ‘gone bad’ on account of poor (or lack of) management by those concerned. This is the 90-kilometre tarmac road between Nangurukuru and Somanga in Lindi Region, which has become potholed and otherwise damaged for lack of maintenance.

Rightly, the president blamed the Works, Transport and Communication ministry, the Tanzania National Roads Agency (TanRoads) and the regional authorities for the dereliction.

As already noted herein above, infrastructures are expensive to install, operate and maintain. As such, they are precious assets that must be given the maintenance and protection they richly deserve.

Also, their potential for wealth creation is so immense that we must seriously consider taking a leaf out of the TRC book on initiatives to develop communities around our infrastructures across the land.