Dar es Salaam. Good morning! The Chanzo is here with a rundown of major news stories reported in Tanzania over the weekend.
Samia, Kenyatta launch 42-km Arusha bypass
President Samia Suluhu Hassan and her Kenyan counterpart Uhuru Kenyatta on Friday officially opened the 42.4-km Arusha bypass, a part of the regional Arusha-Holili/Taveta-Voi road that links northern Tanzania to the Kenyan port city of Mombasa.
It is the first phase of a project that was constructed to decongest traffic in Arusha, where the EAC headquarters is located, and Moshi towns in Tanzania, in addition to promoting intra-regional trade.
President Kenyatta, who is also the EAC chairperson, said at the launch ceremony held in northern Tanzania that infrastructure development was only second to peace and security as a driver of development.
President Hassan said the multinational road would, among other things, boost the tourism industry even as it promotes trade.
She said Tanzania was investing heavily in infrastructure including water transport on Lake Victoria by building ships and rehabilitating ports on the lake to facilitate the movement of people and goods in the region.
She urged people living near the key infrastructure projects to make use of the emerging opportunities to uplift themselves and spur economic growth.
The African Development Bank (AfDB) director general for East Africa Nnenna Lily Nwabufo said the AfDB had spent 217 million U.S. dollars on the Arusha-Holili/Taveta-Voi road with 112 million U.S. dollars allocated to Tanzania and 105 million U.S. dollars allocated to Kenya, adding that the two governments also made contributions to the project.
EAC member states are Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda.
Oman delegation visits Tanzania to review investment opportunities
A joint team consisting of personnel from Oman Investment Authority, Arab Authority for Agricultural Investment and Development and Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa visited Tanzania on an invitation of the Tanzanian Investment Centre recently, Muscat Daily reported Sunday.
The outlet cited a statement by the Embassy of Oman in Dar es Salaam that said that multiple investment opportunities were identified in the food sector to achieve Oman’s objectives in diversifying import sources for livestock and other agricultural products.
It stated that the visiting delegation included the deputy head of the Omani mission in Dar es Salaam, the Tanzanian ambassador in Muscat, and representatives of the Oman Investment Authority Office in East Africa.
Vietnam banks on Tanzania’s raw materials, gas supplies
Vietnamese Ambassador to Tanzania Nguyen Nam Tien has described the East African nation as an area capable of meeting Vietnam’s needs in terms of raw materials and fuel supplies, diversifying export markets for goods, services, human resources and investment.
Tien was speaking during a recent hybrid investment forum. The July 21 event attracted the participation of more than public personnel from the two countries as well as representatives of their business communities.
It was co-organised by the embassy, Tanzania Investment Center (TIC), Institute for Africa and Middle East Studies (IAMES), and Vietnam-Africa Economic Alliance (VAECA).
In his opening speech, Tien affirmed that the nations have much potential for cooperation and complementary advantages for mutual development, according to Vietnam Plus.
According to the diplomat, Vietnam and Tanzania have created a legal framework as a basis for collaboration, with Vietnamese enterprises looking for investment opportunities in Tanzania. However, the bilateral economic and trade relations remain modest and are not commensurate with their potential.
He expressed his wish that through this networking forum, participating businesses will take advantage of opportunities, promote strengths, and overcome difficulties and challenges to enhance exchanges serving the implementation of effective and practical cooperation projects.
Tien stated that the embassy always stands ready to be a bridge linking the business communities.
Bashe launches cultivation of over 11,000 hectares of block farms for youth
The government on Sunday launched the cultivation of 11,453 hectares of block farms for the youth in the country’s central region of Dodoma.
Minister for Agriculture Hussein Bashe said the launch of the cultivation of 11,453 hectares of block farms is part of the implementation of a national agricultural program for the youth.
The Nzega Uburn MP (Chama cha Mapinduzi – CCM) said the 11,453 hectares of block farms are located in Mlazo and Ndogoe villages in Chamwino district in the Dodoma region.
He said cultivation of the farms will go in tandem with the drilling of dams for irrigating the farms to be done by the National Irrigation Commission in collaboration with the Dodoma Urban Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (DUWASA).
Bashe said experts have already tested soil in the identified block farms for the youth to establish suitable crops in the farms.
Deputy Minister for Agriculture Anthony Mavunde told parliament in June the government of Tanzania has allocated 20,000 hectares of land that will be used to engage the youth in agriculture.
The pilot program is intended to reduce unemployment facing most of the youth in the East African nation, said Mavunde.
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