ONE-STOP CENTRES SHOULD BE GENUINELY FUNCTIONAL
On Monday, Tanzania took a very bold step by establishing a one-stop services centre under which several public institutions will provide their services to customers.
This was officially opened by the Tanzania Posts Corporation (TPC) in a move aimed at ensuring that various government services are provided at one-stop centres.
The move will bring under one roof the services and products of such institutions as the National Social Security Fund (NSSF), the Public Service Social Security Fund (PSSSF), Immigration and the Business Registration and Licencing Agency (Brela).
Others are the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA), the Registration Insolvency and Trusteeship Agency (Rita) and the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF).
What this means is that the services and products that took up to 28 days to accomplish would now be accessed in not more than three days.
This will save customers much time and effort, in an all-round relief.
Indeed, the move is very much welcome, as it cuts down on red tape, particularly with regard to business operations. However, the vices associated with the provision of government services must also be surmounted.
The vices include corruption, negative attitudes at work, and lack of coordination among different government organs and institutions.
It is not enough to have a well-furnished, grandiose office buildings that are nonetheless understaffed, or where service providers have attitudes that are repugnant to their customers.
This, therefore, calls for the government to ensure that its top officials and workers are clearly committed, and adhere, to the work ethic and guidelines of their professions.
Tanzania really needs well-functioning one-stop centres across the country to enable it achieve its industrialisation goal. Such establishments help both local and international investors make proper contributions to sustainable socioeconomic development.
We hail the decision on one-stop service centres, and call upon all the players to make the most of it for the benefit of all Tanzanians.
KEEP ALL PUPILS IN SCHOOL
Children aged seven and above should be in school. Without a doubt, most of them would have been enrolled and attending classes. Sadly, though, thousands of them – mostly children from pastoralist societies – are denied their right to education, and forced to graze livestock.
The truth is that the government and other stakeholders have invested lots of money in developing such communities, but they seem stuck to their traditional ways of living – or, at best, are ambivalent about formal education. The 1978 National Education Act – as amended from time to time –guarantees compulsory primary education for every child at seven years of age.
It also stresses that no such child shall be refused enrolment in school – and parents shall ensure that the child regularly attends school. But, this does not seem to work in pastoralist societies such as the Barabaig who are always in grazing pastures.
Schools have been built close to them, but due to their nomadic lifestyle, even enrolled pupils just as soon drop out. This calls for a foolproof approach that would help children from such communities access full-time education – in turn changing for the better their torturous and economically-inefficient livestock keeping methods.
