WANTED: LONG-TERM PLANS TO MITIGATE HOLIDAY AGONY

It is now not unusual for major holidays to be a headache for  Tanzanians due to a plethora of challenges that range from spikes in basic food commodity prices to transport crises. For many, holidays like Christmas and New Year have become synonymous with the pain of travel and hassles of shopping. This year is unlikely to be an exception.

The past few days have been characterised by concern and apprehension among would-be travellers and generally consumers across the country, who have to contend with the mostly short-lived holiday hurdles, yet whose aftermath has far-reaching consequences.

For instance, surveys conducted in Dar es Salaam in recent weeks established a dramatic rise in prices of food items, especially meat, the very things that for ordinary Tanzanian families make a holiday like Christmas what it is – a time to forget their worries, albeit temporarily, and celebrate.

Some city residents say spiralling prices will make it difficult for them to have decent holiday celebrations.

On the other hand, traders cite the shortage of transport as one of the factors behind the sudden price increases. There are other factors, of course – like hoarding for speculation purposes. These are sad realities that can put a damper on what should be a happy festive season.

This also brings us to the perennial transport blues. Year in and year out, this has proven to be a nightmare for upcountry travellers.

Demand in recently years has been significantly high, and efforts to waive route permit restrictions have not helped much if huge crowds of travellers at bus terminals were anything to go by.

Every year, consumers hold their breath, hoping that these hurdles would somehow ease. In some ways their expectations are met, in others they are dashed.

This should push the government to think ahead, and fast enough, on how to come up with more viable solutions.



LET’S UPHOLD CHILDREN’S RIGHTS

There is a need for the government and other stakeholders to assess the state of children’s welfare at the national level. The challenges children face are still many.

For example, more still needs to be done to stop child labour and underage marriage. The country took a huge step a few years ago when it outlawed marriage for girls below the age of 14. Previously, girls who were essentially minors could marry with parental consent.

But despite this development, many children are still dropping out of school to get married, or look for menial work, especially in impoverished communities.

According to a government survey released in conjunction with the International Labour Organisation, there are more than four million child labourers in the country aged between 5 and 17.

That is roughly a third of the country’s children. More than three million are said to be doing hazardous jobs, including at illegal mines. While the government is aware of this and is doing what it can to address the issue, the onus is also on every Tanzanian to help in any way they can. Let us not relent in fighting for our children.