Dar es Salaam. Good morning! The Chanzo is here with a rundown of major news stories reported in Tanzania on Tuesday, May 17, 2022.
Tanzania in a new Sh290 billion deal with AfDB
Minister for Finance and Planning Dr Mwigulu Nchemba said Monday that the government has taken a loan worth Sh290.7 billion from the African Development Bank (AfDB) to support a clean water project and sanitation services in the capital city Dodoma.
Mr Nchemba made the revelation in Dar es Salaam during a meeting with AfDB country manager Dr Patricia Laverly on Monday, stressing that the project seeks to improve and expand water supply for domestic and industrial use in the capital city, sanitation services, food and nutrition.
“Specifically, the programme aims to construct water storage and treatment facilities and prepare transmission and distribution systems to meet the current and future water demand for supply, sanitation, irrigation, fisheries and industrial use,” the government-owned Daily News newspaper quoted Dr Nchemba as saying.
In doing so, the project will contribute to Tanzania’s social and economic development by providing Dodoma city with a sustainable water supply hence reducing travel time in search for water, Nchemba added.
According to the minister, the implementation of the project will be completed in five years and will involve the construction of a 32-metre high Farkwa Dam, which impound raw water (with a volume of 470 cubic metre); construction of a 128,000 cubic metre per day Water Treatment Plant; conveyance systems to Dodoma City, Bahi and Chamwino Towns, wastewater treatment and sanitation facilities, fisheries development; and Catchment project and management and capacity development.
BoT: National debt increases by $6.5 billion in one year
The Bank of Tanzania (BoT) has said in its latest report that the stock of the national debt, which include public debt and private sector external debt, amounted to $37,838.1 million at the end of March 2022.
This is an increase of $6,426.7 million from the amount recorded in March 2021 and a decrease of $219.2 million from the preceding month, owing to the appreciation of the US dollar against other currencies in which debt is denominated, according to BoT.
External debt, comprising public and private sectors, accounted for 74.9 per cent of the national debt stock.
In March 2022, the stock of external debt (public and private) decreased to $28,349.0 million from $28,415.8 million recorded in the preceding month, owing to the appreciation of USD against other currencies in which debt is denominated.
Disbursements amounted to $118.8 million, of which the Central Government received $103.5 million.
Debt service payments amounted to $80.9 million, of which $68.1 million was principal repayment and the balance was interest payments.
Central government debt continued to dominate the profile of external debt by borrower category, accounting for 72.9 per cent. Government domestic debt stock stood at Sh21.7 billion at the end of March 2022, a decrease of Sh380.8 billion and an increase of Sh5.6 trillion from the preceding month and the corresponding period in 2021, respectively.
The monthly decrease was mainly on account of less utilization of the overdraft facility, while the annual increase was a result of the issuance of a non-cash bond to the Public Service Social Security Fund (PSSSF) in December 2021.
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