BEWARE DIABETES
Not only a disease for the rich
On the rise in Tanzania
By Kizito Makoye and Lina Lorentz
Fast-changing lifestyle in urban areas has pushed the rate of diabetes up from
one to six per cent of the population in the last ten years, with Dar es Salaam
leading the tally.
A number of reports released lately on diabetes and growing alarm among diabetes
specialists, suggest that the disorder is a looming health concern for many
people in the country. What should also be noted is that few people take the
disease seriously and have regular check-ups, let alone try to adopt a healthier
lifestyle.
A house based-survey of 770 adults from urban districts of Dar es Salaam and 928
from rural districts in Kilimanjaro conducted in late 1990s by the World Health
Organisation revealed that the prevalence of diabetes, overweight and physical
inactivity was higher in the urban areas among both men and women.
Medical experts predict that the disease will continue to take foothold in areas
where it has previously not been a problem. This is because more people are
altering their lifestyles due to changes in their household economies.
In Dar es Salaam, the most affected people are top executives, of which 12 per
cent have diabetes. Among the Bohra Asians, 11.6 per cent have the disease,
whereas 10 per cent of African priests in the city have been hit by the disease,
according to a research by Zimmet D. McCarthy in ‘Diabetes 1994 to 2010, Global
Estimates and Projections’.
Dr. Zulfiqarali Abbas, an expert in diabetes, told The Express Tuesday that most
people in Tanzania are troubled by Type 2 diabetes. This type usually hits
middle-aged people. It occurs when the body becomes insulin resistant. The
body’s cells fail to react with the insulin that is circulating in the body
after eating.
Dr. Abbas said Type 1, where children are born with defective pancreas that
cannot produce insulin, is not very common in the country.
The reasons why people get diabetes, a disease which means high blood glucose
levels because of the body’s inability to produce insulin, are not all clear to
the general public.
According to Dr. Abbas, some people believe diabetes is caused by excessive
consumption of sugar. But it is rather the overweight caused by high sugar
consumption that causes diabetes. “By eating sugar one becomes overweight…sugar
itself does not cause diabetes but once you have diabetes you are not allowed to
eat sugar,” he explained.
The risk of contracting the disease occurs when the person does not burn off the
sugar he or she eats. Sugar is a form of energy which the body needs, but when
the intake exceeds the energy the body expends (in form of e.g. physical
activities), the sugar causes overweight.
What also is of importance is that there are genetic factors which play a major
role in whether a person will get diabetes or not. Studies have shown that
people of Asian origin are at a higher risk of getting the disease, which would
explain why, among the Indian communities in Tanzania, more people have the
disease.
The common symptoms of diabetes include excessive thirst, increase in the
frequency of urination, loss of weight, weak vision, repeated infection and
sensation of pins and needles or numbness or burning sensation in the limbs.
Although some cases of diabetes can be established from the above symptoms, the
doctor measures blood glucose, the level of cholesterol and blood pressure to
establish whether a person has got the disease.
Research shows that 21 per cent of diabetes patients are already suffering from
eye disease. Moreover, many of those who suffer from heart attacks have diabetes
without knowing it. According to Dr. Abbas, if uncontrolled, diabetes can cause
loss of sexual strength in men.
Speaking at a media summit last year, the president of the International
Diabetes Federation, Professor George Alberti, warned that people risk severe
heath consequences when they do not take diabetes seriously “people refer to it
as mild diabetes, or having a little bit of diabetes”.
“Some people think diabetes only catches the rich; that is not true, poor people
are in fact mostly affected with the disease and in fact we are very burdened
when it comes to medication,” said Hilda Magole, a diabetic.
To avoid getting diabetes one should get regular check-ups done. Population
groups that should be extra careful are those who are prone to having the
disease in their genes, overweight middle-aged people who do not regularly
exercise and also women who during pregnancy had high levels of blood glucose.
If people are found early carrying the disease, it would put fewer constraints
on the medical service, as many of the patients are likely to develop heart
problems.
In Dar es Salaam, diabetes patient have slight relief in access to free
medication. However, at private medical stores, insulin and other life
prolonging drugs are still beyond the reach of many patients.
Insulin is an essential drug, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO)
but it is not yet universally accessible to all those who need it.
The Chairman of International Diabetes Federation, Dr. Kaushik Ramaiya, said his
organisation in collaboration with the Ministry of Heath has been trying to
establish diabetes clinics in every region in the country in a bid to raise
awareness.
He admitted that medication for diabetes is expensive and that is why patients
are obliged to share the costs. He too refuted the notion that diabetes is
associated with wealthy people, adding that any person can get the disease
depending on their lifestyle.
According to latest statistics, the worse is yet to come, both on a global and
national level. By 2010, it is believed that 240 million people in the world
will have the disease.
The highest increase is expected in Africa. In 1994, 5.3 million people suffered
from diabetes. In 2010, it is estimated that the number will be 18.8 million.
That is an increase of 255 percent. Yet, this might only be the tip of the
iceberg.
According to Dr. Abbas, for every case of diabetes that is observed, there is
one that remains undetected.
Privatisation sans welfare can
backfire
By Timothy Kitundu
The Economic Reforms and Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs), which brought
about privatisation of public corporations, should be carried out diligently and
with transparency lest the consequences bring more problems than benefits, a don
has warned.
The entire process of privatisation, particularly that of service utility
entities, should have all agreements - including contracts signed - easily
accessible to the people as with globalisation, the more the information is
suppressed the more the people remain underdeveloped, warned Sengodo Mvungi, a
Senior Lecturer at the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM).
The academic told The Express in Dar es Salaam recently that underdevelopment
restricts competitiveness in the global market, which is what Tanzania is
striving for.
The Tanzania Human Rights Report of 2003 concurs with Dr. Mvungi, stating that
in 2003, no meaningful follow-ups were done by the government to ensure that
private investors who took over state-owned entities adhered to workers’ rights.
“This gave them (the investors) room to blatantly do what they liked regardless
of their privatisation agreements with the government and in many cases workers
contested the privatisation process and the failure to take on board their
interests,” part of the report reads.
The report further says that workers that disputed the privatisation process in
the past, include those of the Tanzania Electric Supply Company (TANESCO),
National Bank of Commerce (NBC), Tanzania Railways Corporation (TRC) and the
Tanzania Telecommunications Company Limited (TTCL).
According to Dr. Mvungi, the government thinks that much of the information has
nothing to do with workers and the public in general, such as the contracts
between the government and the multinational companies as the privatised
entities belong to the government and not the people.
Citing an example, Dr. Mvungi mentioned Tanesco, saying that the firm should not
be privatised for at least the coming 10 to 15 years. “The firm is currently
under Net Group Solutions, which are restructuring it for privatisation, but
most of the firm’s contracts and agreements are known by the government only,”
he said.
Any haste in the privatisation of Tanesco, he added, can affect the development
of the utility’s infrastructure, particularly taking its account that the firm
was established with a mandate of electrifying the whole country regardless of
profits.
“If, for example, the firm is privatised now, the private firm that takes over
will definitely have a different mandate; rural electrification will probably be
halted and more emphasis will be put into urban electrification where consumers
are able to pay hiked power tariffs,” he feared.
Dr. Mvungi says the government might then have to establish a new state-owned
power utility firm to carry out the mandate terminated by the privatised firm,
among them being rural electrification.
Dr. Mvungi’s presumption is supported by the Minister for Energy and Minerals
Daniel Yona, who said in parliament recently that the budget allocated for rural
electrification was insufficient and that the government was pondering tabling
in parliament a Bill for the establishment of a Rural Energy Fund
“The government has planned to establish a special fund for rural energy to
increase the sphere of rural electrification so that the informal sector also
benefits from this initiative,” Yona said.
He added the government was implementing its plan of electrifying 18 district
headquarters; the implementation depending on the availability of funds.
Earlier, the MP for Nzega (CCM) Lucas Selelii urged the government to electrify
some rural areas as this catalyses development.
The internal budget allocated for rural electrification from1994/1995 to
2002/2003 was Tsh.3.51 billion, which is meagre compared to the actual
requirement of Tsh. 49 billion, which is required for the electrification of 12
districts.
Kids not gaining from PoA
By Timothy Kitundu
The implementation of the International Conference on Population and Development
Plan of Action (ICPD-PoA) has been slower than expected. Despite reaching ten
years of its existence, little of the plan has materialised.
Not gaining momentum are issues related to children. Although children and youth
form the largest age group of Tanzanians who have special needs, most of them do
not receive their basic rights.
Most youths and children find themselves at crossroads whenever their parents
either separate or die. Despite the government ratifying the International
Convention on the Rights of the Child, most responsibilities of caring for
orphans and destitute children are left to NGOs and CBOs.
Leah Ntara, a teacher at a centre education children in need, offers support
through the ILO/IPEC programme. This is contrary to the ICPD-PoA recommendations
that stipulate that the government should widen provision of vocational training
to accommodate primary school leavers.
The government, with reference to the PoA, must also empower advocacy groups to
sustain efforts towards abolishing child labour according to international
conventions. “This has almost been totally left to NGOs and CBOs,” Ntara says.
Elisa Lwakatare of the Ministry of Labour, Youth, Development and Sports, Child
Labour Unit during a debate on child labour organised by TRACE last year said a
survey suggests that 4.1 million children, aged between 5-14 years in Tanzania
are engaged in economic and household keeping activities in lieu of attending
school.
“Child work becomes child labour when it is a primary occupation of the child,
exploitative and denies the child of other basic rights like education and
overall physical, social and mental development,” the NGO Kuleana defines.
“Putting children to work may seem rational, but there are heavy costs too.
Children are exposed to physical, intellectual and emotional damage but are also
a loss to society as a whole in terms of diminished value of human resources for
future development,” Lwakatare added.
The present focus has been on the elimination of the worst forms of child
labour, identified as child prostitution, domestic services, commercial
agriculture and mining.
According to Lwakatare, this can be achieved through awareness raising and
sensitisation of the community. However, Richard Mabala of UNICEF holds that
people have been sensitised to the point of becoming insensitive.
The solution, he says is in tacking different forms of child labour separately
by each NGO or focus group working specifically towards a specific problem and
seeing it to the end.
Through the Ministry of Labour, Youth, Development and Sports, the government
has reviewed the Employment and Labour Relations Law of 2003 recently passed by
the Parliament.
It is now a criminal offence to engage a child below 18 years in dangerous
occupations. However, acute shortage of Labour Officers and Labour Inspectors
remains a challenge in following up on offenders.
It is estimated that four million children are involved in the worst forms of
child labour working in plantations, mines and in domestic jobs. ILO estimates
250 million children between the ages of five and 14 work in developing
countries – at least 120 million on a full time basis.
Disabled humiliated on buses
By Kizitto Joseph
The Tanzania Disabled Association (CHAWATA) are accusing transport stakeholders
in Dar es Salaam of ignoring an agreement, which exempts disabled from paying
bus fares.
The agreement was reached between CHAWATA and stakeholders in early 1993 and was
approved by the then Minister for Transport and Communications, William Kusila.
Assistant Secretary General for CHAWATA, John Ndumbaro, told The Express last
Thursday that some conductors in the city humiliate disabled passengers by
asking them to pay bus fares.
“Some bus owners and the workers are not ready to let disabled travel free …
they dare even abuse them and force them out of buses,” said Ndumbaro.
In early 1993 CHAWATA faced the then Minister for Transport and Communications
asking him to impose a law which would justify free travel for disabled in
commuter buses.
“The Minister gathered both sides i.e. CHAWATA and transport stakeholders’
representatives. He conducted a simple survey along Pugu, Kilwa, Ubungo and
Mwenge Roads to observe travel trends of disabled. He then agreed to let these
people travel free as it would not bring much loss to transporters. Each bus was
bound to carry three to five disabled people at a journey,” he explained.
But that was over ten years ago, and now things have changed, Ndumbaro said.
Transporters no longer bother carrying disabled free and many of these people
are humiliated for not paying the fares.
The Union for Daladala Drivers and Conductors (UWAMADAR) maintains that there is
no law or ordinance passed to justify disabled to travel free in buses.
The treasurer, Jimmy Mnkeni said last Thursday that free travel for disabled
passengers depends on the humanity of the bus workers concerned.
“Nobody can tell where this law is written, this was just an agreement which has
gone with time. Disabled as other members of the society should enjoy this
favour on request and upon the agreement with conductors,” he said.
As observed by The Express, there is a friction between some bus workers and
disabled people who claim the right to travel free on buses especially after
disclosing their identity cards to conductors.
CUF blames govt of misconduct
By Kizitto Joseph
The Civic United Front (CUF) is planning a big procession to protest against,
what they claim as misconduct of the preparations of the local elections set for
November this year. According to CUF, the agreed conditions for the elections
have not yet been fulfilled.
The procession is planned for August 7, starting from the CUF international
office at Buguruni to the State House.
Shamte Mbonde, the CUF Secretary for Kinondoni Municipality told Dar es Salaam
CUF members that the ruling party (CCM) has conspired to win the elections
illegally.
“This procession will help reveal our discontent with the injustice,
exploitation and undemocratic manners of our government under CCM leadership,”
he said.
One of the issues, which the meeting agreed on but which has not been recognised
by the government, is that the elections should be conducted under the
supervision of the Free Election Commission instead of Regional Administration
and Local Government.
It was also agreed that the government has to ensure the presence of a permanent
book for voters. “There is nothing meaningful done about this … the government
sets September as the month to begin registrations while the elections are in
November. Can you finish the registration exercise in two months?” asked CUF
secretary general, Seif Shariff Hamad.
Hamad will announce self-exclusion from participating in the election if the
government does not recognise and take action on the complaints put forward by
CUF in its procession.
TCC gives contribution to
school
By Kizito Makoye
Tanzania Cigarette Company has donated 200 bags of cement, 84 corrugated iron
sheets and five gallons of paint to the Masasi Secondary School in Misungwi
District in Mwanza as part of its extended programme for community development.
The donation worth over Tsh. three million is a contribution towards the
construction of two classrooms at the school.
TCC’s Chairman and CEO, Bill Schulz handed over the cheque to the MP for
Misungwi constituency, Jacob Shibiliti on Monday. Schulz said the contribution
is in line with the company’s corporate responsibility programme, which is
committed to enhance education and health care in rural areas.
He said TCC was encouraged by the efforts of Misungwi residents in initiating
self–help activities and urged the community to maintain that spirit.
The MP who accepted the contribution on behalf of the school, said “TCC’s
contribution is an important boost to community efforts to address education
issues.” He said secondary school attendance in Misungwi District has been on
the rise, but the scarcity of schools in the area has denied opportunities to
many primary school pupils.
The construction of Masasi Secondary School started as a self-help project in
2000. Through community contributions, one classroom and an administration block
were completed allowing the school to begin operating in February 2002.
Secondary education plan
welcomed
By Angela Mazula
The news of the government’s proposed Secondary Education Development Plan
(SEDP) has met with positive reactions among those concerned. The plan aims to
accelerate the transition from primary to secondary schools.
The plan includes for example a reduction in tuition fees and a change in the
curriculum. The reform is hoped to attract and enable more students to seek
secondary education and enhance the teaching being provided.
For Abdul Kassimu, a father with three children at Ilala, the plan will have
life changing effects. Speaking to The Express he said that it would now be
possible for more families to send their children to secondary school. Many
families struggle to make ends meet and sending children to further studies is
often the first thing that has to be abandoned when money is running short.
With reduced tuition fees more will manage to pay. Most importantly, the plan
will increase the number of educated in the country, he said.
Dr. Kalunga of Mwananyamala Hospital was also positive to the plan. If parents
are unable to pay tuition fees, children remain at home and might begin working
when still very young. Some children end up as petty traders while some start
doing domestic work for others. He added that if the plan is implemented, all
parents should try to send their children to secondary school.
Asha Hamad, a Standard Seven student said, the plan is good for students and for
families too. She emphasised that, as a student, it is important to make an
extra effort to get high marks which will make it easier to be accepted to
special schools or study without paying fees.
According to the plan, tuition fees for public secondary schools will go down
from Tsh. 40,000 to Tsh. 20,000. Commenting on the reduction, Mother Irene a
housewife, said the government’s plan is welcome as “my children can now go to
school”.
According to the Minster of Education, Joseph Mungai, the government will offer
a Tsh. 20,000 subsidy to each student in public secondary schools to make up for
the reduced fee.
For students in public secondary boarding schools, the minister said that the
Tsh. 70,000 annual fee per student would not be reduced. On the contrary, the
government will add Tsh. 30,000 in running costs per student.
He mentioned other steps taken by the government to improve the quality of
secondary school education as a reduction of the number of core subjects from 13
to nine. The core subjects will be Civics, Kiswahili, English, Mathematics,
Biology History, Geography, Physics and Chemistry.
However, the reduction will guarantee that the requisite skills are not
undermined nor the content of the subjects. Adding that the subjects will be
taught in tandem with education for self-reliance and life skills.
He said optional subjects such as Home Economics, Computing and Information
Science, Music, Fine Art, French, Arabic, Bible Knowledge, Islamic Studies,
Physical Education and Additional Mathematics would be taught in schools that
will specifically be picked to cater for such subjects.
US experts to teach government
ethics
By Express Reporter
Two attorneys from the United States have arrived in Dar es Salaam for a ten-day
visit that will include discussions and workshops on government ethics.
The US Embassy sponsored visit will take the two experts to Dar es Salaam,
Dodoma and Zanzibar where they will also hold workshops on ethics with persons
from the ministries and agencies, journalists and MPs.
According to a statement from US Embassy the experts will have consultation with
officials from Prevention of Corruption Bureau (PCB) and Public College staff.
Furthermore, the expert will also conduct an all day workshop with persons from
the ministries and agencies at the Prime Minister’s office.
Embassy’s Counsellor for Public Affairs Michael Korff said “we believe that
these workshops can help sensitise people from all walks of life to the problems
we in the US have faced with regard to corruption and the way we have
responded.”
According to Korff, the three key principals of good governance are free and
fair elections, an independent judiciary and the rule of law. Adherence to these
criteria determines which countries qualify for development assistance under the
Millenium Challenge Account.
The statement said although Tanzania has not met the criteria for the new
assistance, the US has pledged to support the country as it has moved towards
meeting the benchmarks for the funding.
Blood shortage hits Dodoma
Regional Hospital
By Heri Said Kilongo, Dodoma
Dodoma Regional Hospital is being confronted with shortage of blood. The
hospital management has requested people who are able to offer blood to show up
to ease the situation.
Speaking to reporters in the municipality recently, the Hospital Community
Health Officer Dr. Alex Bunyara singled out pregnant mothers and children under
five as the most affected. In an emergency their lives are at risk if they do
not get enough blood in time.
“Basically, these groups, greatly need blood, and its absence in our blood bank,
has caused many to lose their lives, while looking for blood donors to help the
situation. Definitely, if our blood bank will have sufficient blood, a great
number of these deaths could be avoided,” Dr. Bunyara said.
The Hospital Community Health Education Unit has thought of a strategy of adding
more blood to the bank at the hospital, by involving and motivating school
students of the importance of donating blood.
The strategy has shown success. Beginning this week, they succeeded to visit
City Secondary School in Dodoma Municipality, where they collected 45 litres of
blood from various students who presented themselves.
The blood bank could have obtained more blood as donors reached 1,000. But
hospital staff failed to collect blood from all of them due to shortage of blood
vessels.
“They were really sensitised and we did not expect such a big number. This was
our first trial and we were not prepared to collect blood from so many
students,” Dr. Bunyara said.
The arousal shown by City Secondary School students has given the hospital
management hope that their exercise will succeed. When they will visit other
schools, they will be better prepared.
Dr. Alex Bunyara called on the general public to go to the hospital to donate
blood. Blood donation does not affect one’s health, he concluded.
DCs clamp down on
witchdoctors
By Nestory Ngwega, Tanga
The District Commissioners from coastal regions have ordered all witchdoctors to
stop their practices. The DCs’ order was announced early this week, when they
met in a workshop.
They said witchdoctors, some of whom are known as rambaramba, are a threat to
the prevailing tranquillity and peace in the regions. They agreed to make sure
that no traditional doctor or herbalist should be able to continue with their
duties within their administrative districts.
At present, these witchdoctors are causing chaos in some areas like Pangani
District, Tanga Region where people threatened to demonstrate against rambaramba
who, it has been alleged, tend to disclose witches and this causes conflicts
between members of the community and those implicated. According to the DCs such
witchdoctors are common in areas along the coast because of the strong belief in
witchcraft. They agreed that it was their responsibility to halter witchdoctors’
practices not only for the sake of peace but also to enable people to
concentrate more on development activities.
The workshop drew together DCs from Dar, Tanga, Mtwara, Lindi and Coast. Other
matters discussed were HIV/AIDS related issues and ways of entrusting the DCs
with enhanced leadership skills in order to help them carry out their
administrative tasks more effectively.
TaCRI to revitalize coffee
research
By Heckton Chuwa, Moshi
In preparation for the institute’s Open Day, the Tanzania Coffee Research
Institute, TaCRI has announced that it has placed new emphasis on the role of
stakeholder-led, demand-driven research for development.
Chairman of the TaCRI Board of Directors, Edwin Mtei said this when speaking to
the press last week.
Together with industry stakeholders, TaCRI has elaborated a comprehensive
Strategy Action Plan (SAP), which aims at the revitalization of coffee research
to provide essential services to coffee growers, Mtei added.
“TaCRI’s goals are to contribute to the rejuvenation of the Tanzanian coffee
industry to sustainable prosperity and to improve the livelihoods of coffee
producers as well as raising the country’s profile as a reliable source of
adequate volumes of high quality coffee,” he said.
About the forthcoming Open Day, the Director of Research and Development with
the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Dr. Jeremiah Haki, said it gives
an opportunity for the essential two-way interaction between TaCRI and its
stakeholders.
“This is an opportunity for TaCRI to account to its stakeholders of its
activities during the year and how stakeholders can benefit from the
activities,” he said, adding that it is also an opportunity for stakeholders to
give feedback to TaCRI on what is being done or should be done by the institute
for the benefit of the Tanzanian coffee industry.
The Open Day is on Friday 16 July and the Guest of Honour is expected to be the
Minister for Agriculture and Food Security, Charles Keenja.
DCT archbishop lashes out on
pornography
By Emmanuel Lazaro, Dodoma
The Anglican Church Archbishop of the Diocese of Central Tanganyika (DCT), the
Most Reverend Geofrey Mdimi Mhogolo, has spoken out on what he regards as
indecent practices. He mentioned the screening of pornographic shows, as well as
films containing violence as particularly disturbing.
Opening the 16th Annual General Synod of the Diocese of Central Tanganyika last
week at the Anglican Church in Dodoma Municipality, Bishop Mhogolo advised the
government to prohibit pornographic shows by legislation.
It is the government’s duty to make sure that guest houses, where many of this
kind of shows are performed, are safe places for children and families to visit
while they are travelling, said Mhogolo
If the government is aiming at creating an environment for good governance, it
ought to care and respect children’s rights, protect and create a safe
environment for children and everyone to live in, the Bishop observed.
Use natural resources for own
development
By Emmanuel Lazaro, Dodoma
Residents of Dodoma Region have been requested to consider and use natural
resources extensively, to increase development.
Dodoma Regional Commissioner, Alhaaj Mussa Nkhangaa, observed this when he
opened a workshop for stakeholders of the water sector in Dodoma recently.
Concerted efforts should be made to make the community recognize the natural
resources existing in their area, he said.
If the natural resources and the community efforts will be used to the full,
government and donors’ assistance will just be supplementary to their efforts,
he added.
Evaluation conducted by Dodoma Water Development Resource Institute early this
year, has shown that concerted efforts are still needed to enable Dodoma Region
communities to run sustainable water development project systems.
He advised that there should be cooperation between regional administrators and
the Water Development Resource Institute (MAMADO). This would make the water
development project sustainable and expanding its services to all areas of
Dodoma Region could become a reality.
Efforts, which have been made so far by stakeholders of the water resources
sector in Dodoma, have produced good results, including additional accessibility
to clean and safe water to 70 per cent of rural communities and reduction of
water born infections.
However, the RC said, the water sector is still confronted with many problems,
including low community acceptance especially after projects have been initiated
as well as theft and destruction of machineries when they have not been used for
some time.
To confront these problems, Alhaaj Nkhangaa said, various strategies have been
formulated. These aim to strengthen stakeholders’ water resource networks at all
levels and to put water projects on the agenda for all residents, from village
to regional level.
Parents urged to support SERP
By Ramadhan Libenanga, Morogoro
Parents in Morogoro Rural District have been urged to support the Secondary
Education Reform Programme (SERP) to reduce the number of pupils who fail to
continue with secondary education due to shortage of secondary schools.
The Deputy Minister for Works and MP of South Morogoro Constituency, Hamza
Mwenegoha, made this statement when he addressed parents at Matombo Division in
Morogoro Rural District during his tour of the division recently.
He said many pupils passed their Standard Seven Leaving Exams with marks that
enabled them to join secondary education; but due to shortage of secondary
schools, efforts of many pupils have been discouraged.
The plan, whose achievements will entirely depend on the efforts of the parents
themselves of initially constructing schools in their areas, will be subsidised
by the government.
Mwenegoha urged parents to be enthusiastic about the SERP to rid their children
of long distances to schools or missing secondary education altogether when they
have the ability of continuing with secondary education.
Strengthen traditional
militia – call
By Emmanuel Lazaro, Dodoma
Dodoma Rural District Commissioner (DC) Mark Maffa has requested the government
to strengthen traditional militia groups, to reduce the shortage of police in
safeguarding citizens and their properties.
Maffa made the call when he inaugurated an instruction course for 210
traditional militias of Manchali Ward in the district last week.
The police force is small, he said, in comparison to the vastness of our
district. So, if the traditional militia force will be strengthened, it will
help in guarding areas where there are few policemen.
He gave an example of his district with eight division, but only having five
police posts. Adding, the five divisions had only three policemen in each post,
who are not sufficient for policing the district.
Traditional militia can play a great role in the security of citizens and their
properties. Contrary to the police force, which is only found at ward
headquarters, the militia is found in every village.
He urged the residents of Dodoma Rural District not to only depend on the police
force; instead, they should strengthen the traditional militia for their
defence.