Tanzania: Our commitment on L.Victoria Basin is total

From Daily News, Dar es Salaam
By PIUS RUGONZIBWA in Mwanza

TANZANIA has expressed its commitment to work with other East African Community (EAC) member states to safe guard the Lake Victoria Basin whose prosperity is highly threatened, rapid population being one of the major fact.

Addressing the 18th Sectoral Council of Ministers for the Lake Victoria Basin Commission (LVBC) here at the weekend, the Deputy Minister for Works, Transport and Communication, Mr Edwin Ngonyani, said despite Lake Victoria having much economic potential, it is experiencing multiple threats, for whose elimination the country is very keen to contribute.

He mentioned some of them as declining water levels, soil erosion, industrial and municipal waste pollution and over-fishing. These render nature and the well-being of over 40 million people living in the basin at greater risks.

“While we make our commitment in contributing to the well-being of our people in the Basin, we are also stressing the need for having clear policies, laws, and harmonized structures for controlling and limiting further degradation of Lake Victoria,” he said.

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New health scheme targets moms and babies

From Daily News, Dar es Salaam
By DAILY NEWS Reporter

NUTRITION International, formerly known as the Micronutrient Initiative, is launching a new health scheme for women, adolescent girls and newborn and young children to be known as the ‘Right Start Initiative’ to improve their nutritional status, all covered under a 4.7bn/- (2.8 million Canadian dollars) investment over the next five years to the year 2020.

Supported by the Government of Canada, the programme aims at reducing anaemia, neonatal mortality, as well as the number of low birth weight newborns. It also seeks to reduce stunting in children under five years.

The five-year project will target Mwanza and Simiyu regions and reach over 130,000 pregnant women with WHO recommended iron and folic acid supplementation, more than 90,000 newborns with a package of interventions at birth, 94,000 adolescent girls with weekly iron and folic supplementation and nutrition education and up to 366,000 children under two years old with nutrition services.

This will be the largest programme to be implemented by Nutrition International in Tanzania since the organisation opened its country office in Dar es Salaam in September 2016.

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Govt vows to intensify illegal fishing war

From Daily News, Dar es Salaam
By PIUS RUGONZIBWA in Mwanza

THE government has said that it will impose tougher measures that might include the introduction of mobile courts and military intervention to eliminate illegal fishing and destruction of Lake Victoria waters and its resources.

Vice-President Samia Suluhu Hassan hinted about the measures on Thursday after she received reports on the alarming acts of illegal fishing.

The vice-president spoke tough against the destruction of the environment of the lake saying:” These acts will not be tolerated any further and my office will institute strict punitive measures against the individuals involved.”

According to VP Samia, fighting illegal fishing and other acts of destruction will become a national agenda instead of leaving the battle against criminals to be waged by the affected regions alone.

“We are witnessing a sharp decrease in revenue from the fishing industry as opposed to the past and that scenario should be dealt with henceforth. The government will provide every support possible in this noble crusade,” stressed the VP.

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East Africa unveils national budgets

From Daily News, Dar es Salaam
By HENRY LYIMO in Dodoma

IT is budget day for East African region as partner states are set to present their national budget estimates simultaneously today. And, for Tanzania, all roads lead to Dodoma where the government is pencilled to table the national budget estimates for the 2017/18 financial year

The government is expected to increase spending to 32.945tri/- from the current 29.5tri/-, to finance implementation of flagship infrastructural projects aimed at enabling Tanzania to make optimal use of its strategic position as a transport hub in the region.

The 2017/18 budget is aimed at financing the second year of the ambitious Five- Year Development Plan II (2016/17 - 2020/21) which is geared towards heavy investments in infrastructure to transform the nation from an agricultural economy to an industry based economy.

Key development projects with significant multiplier effects to the economy as outlined in the plan include construction of the standard gauge railway (SGR) to link the Dar es Salaam Port with Mwanza on Lake Victoria and Kigoma on Lake Tanganyika, as well as neighbouring Rwanda and Burundi.

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