Dar es Salaam. Good morning! The Chanzo is here with a rundown of major news stories reported in Tanzania on Thursday, September 24, 2021.
World Bank regional Vice President to visit Tanzania
World Bank Tanzania said in a statement on Friday that the international lender’s Regional Vice President for Eastern and Southern Africa Hafez Ghanem would visit the country from September 27-28, 2021.
It’ll be the second time Dr Ghanem pays a visit to Tanzania as World Bank Vice President. In November 2018, he came to Tanzania and held talks with the late President John Magufuli, following a disputed $300 million (about Sh700 billion) loan to support education in Tanzania.
Dr Ghanem’s second visit to Tanzania also follows on President Samia’s bilateral meeting with World Bank Group President David Malpass in New York this week where they discussed Tanzania’s efforts to mitigate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and accelerate vaccinations, and the country’s business environment and reforms being undertaken to facilitate private sector-led growth.
The World Bank-financed portfolio in Tanzania includes 21 national projects with total net commitments of $4.8 billion, a statement released by the bank yesterday noted. Key sectors supported include transport, urban development, education, energy, water, social protection, environment/natural resources, digital development, and governance. Tanzania is also part of five regional projects with its own total commitments reaching $698.3 million. These projects are supporting the energy, environmental, and education sectors.
During his visit to Tanzania, Dr Ghanem will hold high-level discussions with President Samia and other senior government officials and development partners, the statement added. He will also meet with private sector leaders and representatives of Tanzanian civil society.
African Development Fund approves $116 million loans to upgrade southern road corridor
The Board of Directors of the African Development Fund on Wednesday approved a loan of around $116 million to the Tanzanian government to upgrade a 160-km Mnivata-Newala-Masasi road corridor in the southern part of the country.
The Bank’s loan represents 98.71 per cent of the project cost; the government of Tanzania will provide the remaining 1.29 per cent in funding.
The project will upgrade the roadway, including the 84-meter Mwiti bridge, to a bituminous standard. The works also have social components, including the provision of potable water, education and medical infrastructure, the establishment of cashew nut processing units, and the extension of entrepreneurial training to women and youth.
The upgrade is expected to open up rural areas in the region and enhance the Mtwara Development Corridor, which links Mtwara Port and Mbamba Bay port on Lake Nyasa. Exporters, importers, small-scale cross-border traders, farmers, transporters are all expected to benefit.
“The periodic isolation of such a significant population worsens vulnerability and undermines social inclusion,” Bank Director General for East Africa Nnenna Nwabufo said in a statement. “Improved road connectivity would therefore build the resilience of the people and widen livelihood opportunities within the Mtwara Development Corridor and the surrounding districts.”
Overall, the five-year project will improve mobility and accessibility for about 1.1 million people in Mtwara, Tandahimba, Newala and Masasi districts and facilitate integration with neighbouring Mozambique, Malawi and Zambia.
Currently, the districts of Tandahimba and Newala, with an estimated combined population of 509,000 people, are mostly cut off, while the connection with the Mtwara port area for essential supplies is severely constrained during rainy seasons due to the state of the road.
The project will advance Tanzania’s current five-year Development Plan (2021-2026) and aligns with the Bank Group’s Country Strategy Paper (2021-2025) which emphasizes sustainable infrastructure for a competitive economy and an improved private sector business environment for job creation, as well as two High-5 strategic priorities: Integrate Africa and Improve the quality of life for the people of Africa.
On 30 June 2021, the Bank Group’s active portfolio in Tanzania comprised 22 operations (19 public and 3 private) with a total commitment of about $2.4 billion.
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