Good morning! The Chanzo is here with a rundown of major news stories reported in Tanzania on Thursday, June 06, 2024
State House Spokesperson transferred to Deputy Permanent secretary role
Zuhura Yunus, the Director of Presidential Communications, has been appointed to a new role as Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Prime Minister’s office. This change was announced by the Chief Secretary on June 6, 2024, as part of a government reshuffle that included the transfer and removal of several District Commissioners.
In this reshuffle, Stanslaus Haroon Nyongo, the MP for Maswa Mashariki, was appointed Deputy Minister of the President’s Office for Planning and Investment.
Additionally, Felister Peter Mdemu was appointed Deputy Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Community Development, Mdemu was President’s assistant for community development. Petro Magoti Itozya, previously the President’s assistant in political affairs, has been named District Commissioner of Kisarawe.
The President also appointed three new high court judges. Nehemia Ernest Mandia, the outgoing President’s assistant for legal affairs, Projestus Rweyongeza Kahyoza, formerly the deputy registrar at the High Court of Dodoma, and Mariam Mchomba Omary, who was the deputy registrar at the Arusha High Court, will be joining the bench.
Plans to acquire a national satellite are on track
The government has announced that the process of acquiring a national satellite is progressing well. This update was provided on June 6, 2024, by the Minister of Information, Communication Technology, and Communication, Nape Nnauye, during a press conference at the State House in Dar es Salaam.
Minister Nnauye stated that expert teams overseeing the process are actively working in various developed countries, including China. He emphasized that the satellite initiative is expected to address communication challenges across Tanzania, particularly in rural areas.
Tanzania is following in the footsteps of other East African countries in launching a satellite for this purpose. In 2019, Rwanda successfully launched its satellite, named ‘Icyerekezo’ (“Vision” in Kinyarwanda).
Tanzania’s investment in space technologies is part of a broader strategy to bridge the digital divide, aiming to provide equal digital opportunities to rural and remote communities.
Parliament passed a resolution for Local Councils to partner with the Fire and rescue Force
The Parliament has resolved that the Government should submit a bill to Parliament to establish a procedure for local councils to allocate funds in their budgets for purchasing fire trucks, maintaining these vehicles, and acquiring firefighting and rescue equipment.
This resolution stems from a private motion presented in Parliament on June 6, 2024, by the Member of Parliament for Moshi Town, Priscus Tarimo, who urged Parliament to resolve that the Government submit a bill to enable municipal and district councils to enter agreements with the Fire and Rescue Force to purchase rescue vehicles and equipment.
The resolution, which was passed unanimously by 100% of the Members of Parliament, aims to address the various challenges facing the fire brigade that are hindering its efficiency and ability to provide timely services.
The 2022/2023 report by the Controller and Auditor General (CAG) showed a shortage of 6,352 firefighting and rescue equipment, equivalent to 91%. For the 2021/2022 period, the report indicated that the Fire and Rescue Force required 7,012 equipment, but only 660 were operational.
The report also revealed that 283,370 water storage facilities for firefighting are needed, but only 2,343 exist, with 1,630 being operational. The CAG recommended that the management of the Fire and Rescue Force (FRF) allocate a budget for purchasing firefighting and rescue equipment annually.
Government defends its borrowing strategy, ‘We prioritize concessional loans’
The government has defended its borrowing plan, stating that when it comes to receiving loans and aid, Tanzania prioritizes concessional loans due to their long repayment periods and lower interest rates.
This was confirmed by the Minister of Planning, Kitila Mkumbo, during a press conference in Dar es Salaam regarding President Samia’s visit to South Korea. Mkumbo added that these loans are not for purchasing vehicles or paying salaries but rather for investing in productive sectors and building the country’s capacity.
“When it comes to receiving loans and aid, Tanzania’s priority is to take loans that are not commercial, because of very high interest rates but also short repayment periods. Therefore, our priority is to take concessional loans,” explained Mkumbo
During this visit, Tanzania signed a framework agreement for Sh. 6.2 Trillion loans which sparked huge debate after VOA Swahili had wrongly reported that Tanzania had given its minerals and sea to Korea for the loan.
Tanzania has budgeted TZS 13.13 trillion for debt repayment in the upcoming fiscal year 2024/2025, an increase from the TZS 10.48 trillion planned for the current fiscal year 2023/2024. The amount planned for debt servicing represents approximately 27% of the entire government budget for 2024/2025, which is expected to be presented on June 13, 2024.
The latest report from the Central Bank indicates that the government debt stands at TZS 91.4 trillion, with USD 23.7 billion constituting external debt and TZS 30.7 trillion constituting domestic debt.
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One Response
“debt servicing represents approximately 27% of the entire government budget”
That is only payment of interest !!!
As we take more loans the debt servicing is going to rise
We remember Ndugai