Political tensions will be eased soon, says Samia

Wednesday, October 19, 2022 - 3 min read

President Samia Suluhu Hassan presses the button in Kasulu Town yesterday to officially launch national grid electricity for Kigoma Region. Others are Energy minister January Makamba (left), Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office (Policy, Parliament, Labour, Employment, Youth and People with Disabilities) Joyce Ndalichako (third right), CCM spokesperson Shaka Hamdu Shaka (right) and Tanesco managing director Maharage Chande (second right). PHOTO | STATE HOUSE

By Josephine Christopher

Josephine Christopher is a senior business journalist for The Citizen and Mwananchi newspapers

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The cohesion, President Hassan said during her final day of the tour of Kigoma Region, will secure peace and progressive development for Tanzania.

Dar es Salaam. President Samia Suluhu Hassan reiterated that the findings of the taskforce she formed several months ago to coordinate opinions from multiparty stakeholders’ on ways of conducting politics in the country will significantly help reduce political tension.
The cohesion, President Hassan said during her final day of the tour of Kigoma Region, will secure peace and progressive development for Tanzania.
In an effort to quell political tension created during the reign of her predecessor, President Hassan formed a taskforce several months ago and entrusted it with the task of collecting opinion on how best to conduct multiparty politics in the country.
Chaired by ex-University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) vice chancellor Prof Rwekaza Mukandala, the taskforce followed years of complaints from opposition political parties who blamed the government for an unfair political level playing ground in a democratic country.
Some of the issues being cited include a ban on public meetings that was imposed during the fifth phase government of the late President John Magufuli, despite the fact that the gatherings are allowed by the Political Parties Act and the country’s Constitution.
So when she spoke on the topic yesterday, President said the taskforce will finally wind up its tasks and present its recommendations to the government for implementations.
“I applaud the political parties who are part of the discussions for the good work they have done so far,” she said.
President Hassan’s remarks followed an appeal by the leader of the opposition ACT-Wazalendo Mr Zitto Kabwe who commended President Hassan’s ongoing political reforms.
“The creation of the task force to deal with issues relating to competitive democracy and your willingness to meet with opposition leaders has reduced political tension in the country. This stability is important in stimulating our people’s development activities,” he said.
“I believe that after the task force completes its work we will begin to see legal changes that will put political competition on par,” said Zitto.
President Hassan has been in Kigoma for the past three days, where she graced a number of development projects and declared the government’s vision to turn the region into a hub of business undertakings. She said the government also saw the potential to increase more tax collections from the region as the economy grows.
“According to the Tanzania revenue Authority, in 2021, the region collected Sh19.2 billion compared to Sh16.2 billion of last year. This is an impressive increase but the region has a potential to collect more revenues,” said the President.
In an effort to boost economic activities in Kigoma, President Hassan’s administration has connected the region with the national grid, but Energy minister, January Makamba said yesterday that the government was also planning to generate more power through the Malagarasi River.
On infrastructure, the minister of Works and Transport Prof Makame Mbarawa said the government would disburse nearly Sh852 billion to build road infrastructure in the region in the coming few months aimed at modernising it.
“The government also plans to put Kigoma on the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) network through a link from Tabora. The SGR train will have the ability to travel at 160 kilometer an hour. We will then build another 282 kilometer linking Uvinza and Gitega in Burundi as we also target to grow our trading with the Democratic Republic of Congo,” he said.
On air transport, Prof Mbarawa said that the government was in the final stages of renovating the runway at the airport from the current 1.8 kilometers to 3.1 kilometers. This will enable large planes to land at the airport.