Powerful body to replace TCFB
By Timothy Kitundu

The Tanzania Central Freight Bureau (TCFB) will soon be converted into an Authority, whereby it will be known as the Surface and Marine Transport Regulatory Authority (SUMATRA), The Express has learnt. Reliable sources within the firm disclosed in Dar es Salaam recently that unlike TCFB, whose role was limited to, among others, monitoring the conduct and practices of the shipping service providers, SUMATRA will regulate the rail, road and marine sectors.
However, the source could not say exactly when the Regulatory Authority would be operational but insisted everything was in place and the Authority could start operating very soon.
“I cannot say when but everything is ready, including the appointment of the Board of Directors, divisional directorates and the Director General who will be the Chief Executive Officer in the day-to-day running of the Authority,” the source said.
TCFB was established in 1981 by the government as a Quasi -commercial institution charged with dual role of a ‘participant’ and ‘referee’ of the shipping industry.
According to the source, with the onset of economic liberalisation, and the eventual government disengagement from business, there was a proposed amendment of TCFB Act, 1981, which transformed TCFB into a Regulatory Body for Commercial Shipping Services.
On its side, the new Authority (SUMATRA) will have a sectoral coverage in rail transport, ports and marine transport and public passenger and commercial road transport.
Its main functions will be, among others, to issue, amend and cancel licenses, to monitor the performance of regulated sectors, to facilitate resolution of complaints and disputes and to carry out the functions of the former TCFB.

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Dar leading port in East, Central Africa
By Angela Mazula

A wide range terminal and accompanying facilities, together with competitive and efficient productivity, have given the port of Dar es Salaam an edge over other ports in the East and Central African region.
A recent report  by the Tanzania Hobours Authority (THA) released during the Transport Week showed Dar es Salaam is the leading port in Eastern and Central Africa in terms of annual cargo handling.
According to the report, the port has a handling capacity of just over 10 million of tonnes.
The port handles about 3.1 million tonnes of general cargo and one million tonnes of containers annually and there is plenty of scope for growth,” report  said.
Dar es Salaam Port has 11 deepwater berths, of which 9 to 11 form part of the container terminal leased since 2000  to Tanzania International Container Terminal Service (TICTS), berths 1 to 8 are used for general cargo and dry bulk handlings.
Other facilities include 588 metres of dhow and lighterage wharf, a single point mooring for crude oil handling and the Kurasini Oil Jetty (KOJ) which has deep-sea berth and smaller berth for coasters.
Dar es Salaam is the largest transit port in Eastern and Central Africa and it now offers a wide range of services including bagging, consolidation, destuffing, distribution, documentation, storage and transport.
Companies like Tanzania Roads Haulage (1980) Ltd. and Transcargo Ltd. offer trucking for both import and export cars each has a specialised fleet of trucks and equipment to handle the demanding jobs,” the report said.
Shipping companies servicing Dar es Salaam include East African Conference Shipping Line (EACS), Maersk and Mediterranean Shipping Company.

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Food production rises
By Business Reporter

Provisional statistics on the country’s food situation indicate that food production in 2003/04 was an estimated nine million tones and was higher than the preceding year by about 1.4 million.
The Bank of Tanzania’s Monthly Economic Review for August 2004 shows the estimate is above the national food requirement of 8.6 million tones, by about 400,000 tones. The government has completed a countrywide assessment of the food security situation.
“The conclusion is that Rukwa, Mbeya, Ruvuma, Iringa, Mtwara, Lindi and Kigoma would be self sufficient in food,” reads part of the review. Other regions that will be self sufficient in food include: Kagera, Tabora, Singida, Dodoma, Mwanza, Tanga, Morogoro and Mara.
However, according to the review, following inadequate rains in Shinyanga, Kilimanjaro, Arusha, Manyara and Coast regions, there might be some pockets of food shortages in these regions.
Therefore, internal arrangements will be made by the government to purchase and distribute food from surplus regions in order to alleviate any food shortages in the country, as it was done in the previous year.
During the 2004/05, the government plans to purchase about 100,000 tonnes of maize and 1,000 tonnes of sorghum from food-surplus regions to replenish Strategic Grain Reserve (SGR) stocks.
As at end-July 2004, the SGR stock increased by 2,014 tones to 39,195 tones after some purchases from the surplus regions.
The SGR stocks at the end of July 2004, were lower than the level of July last year, largely due to distribution of food from SGR to food deficit areas.

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Oil body chief presses for regulator
By Business Correspondent

Tanzania Association of Oil Marketing Companies (TAOMC) wants an oil regulatory body in place as it is difficult for the industry to operate effectively without a referee.
The Tanzanian petroleum sector was liberalised in 1999 leaving oil companies to carry out their operations individually without proper control mechanism —thus compelling companies to form their own association in a bid to ethically-control themselves.
TAOMC’s newly elected chairman, Vanghan Gibson, said Tuesday the major hold back issue facing the Association is that there is not a regulatory body to oversee the oil industry.  
Gibson said: “There is no regulatory framework. There are no rules for the [oil] industry. We are operating in a vacuum.”
“Until that is done [having a regulatory in place] it’s very difficulty to come out with policies and do things [accordingly],” he said.
“One of the key things we need is rules. It is like playing football without a referee,” Gibson, who is also the Managing Director of Addax and Oryx Group in Tanzania, observed.
The government decided to establish Energy and Water Utilities Regulatory Authority (EWURA) to regulate among others, the technical aspects of the downstream petroleum business. But the Authority is yet to take off.
The new chairman said there a number of issues to be tackled one being smuggling and tax evasion, which he said he will strongly engage in during his tenure.
Gibson is the third Chairman since the Association was established in 1999. The immediate outgoing Chairman Charles Joseph Ponera was elected in 2001.

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Aviation maintenance deteriorating say engineers
By Business Correspondent

Tanzania has seen no investment in civil aviation for the past two decades in terms of maintenance facilities, which include aircraft maintenance, hangars and support workshops.
Worse still, the existing hangars and workshops, constructed during the heyday of Air Tanzania Corporation (ATC) 1978-84, are downgraded or closed.
Chairman of the Aircraft Maintenance Engineers Association of Tanzania (AMEAT), Engineer Johnson Mfinanga, said last week: “Only at Zanzibar is there a sign of a new small aircraft maintenance hangar on construction.” He was speaking at the AMEAT annual general meeting.
Mfinanga said air transport was contributing a lot towards tourism, trade, mining and other sectors “and without sound aircraft, maintenance is a time bomb.”
However, he added, the “industry is now given the priority it deserves” and AMEAT will work closely with the government to tackle the current bottlenecks on aircraft maintenance in Tanzania.
With the onset of globalisation, the aviation industry in Tanzania has not been spared, forcing it to privatise its national flag carrier ATC.
Before privatisation, ATCL had the best maintenance facility in the country —Dar Maintenance Hangar and Kilimanjaro Maintenance Facility (KIMAFA).
Engineer David Kisusi of ZanAir said before privatisation of ATCL, most maintenance was done locally, inclusive of “C” checks on Boeing 737.  
Several workshops were fully functional, including landing gear, brakes and wheels shops; upholstery workshops; electrical and instrument shops, pneumatic workshops, radio and battery shops and sheet metal shops, Kisusi observed.
Earlier, TCAA Director for Air Safety and Regulations, who represented TCAA Director General Malisa, said already the TCAA had heard the aircraft engineers’ plight and embarked on staff training programme in South Africa and Ethiopia, but the main obstacle had always been lack of enough funds.

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ICT a big support for local governments
By Salome Mtunguja

Information Communication Technology (ICT) plays a big role in local e-Governance through services provided to communities as well in developing and improving local infrastructure and meeting socio, economic and cultural needs of people.
Dr. Sisti.P Cariah, an ICT expert, said this while speaking at the Tanzania Development Learning Centre.
Dr. Cariah said Local Government Authorities(LGAs) have considerable power to regulate activities within their areas such as exercising planning and development control to determine development application.
Therefore local governments need to raise money from local communities through charges and fees, but these should be specifically limited to those which are conferred by the relevant Act of respective country.
He said the Acts provide the legislative framework and responsibilities reflecting community expectations and give power to plan and manage local community services and facilities.
Dr. Cariah added LGA require considerable information to be able to efficiently manage resources and deliver to the local population services and development in a transparent and responsible manner.
Tanzanian LGAs are implementing ICT was initiated under on-going local government reforms that create largely autonomous local governments.

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Eurafrican emerges from the red
By Business Correspondent

Eurafrican Bank (T) Ltd came out of the red in this year’s third quarter to post an impressive net profit of Tsh. 230 million.
The bank, which is part of Fortis Bank Group, made a net loss of Tsh. 215 million in the second quarter of this year.
However, a good performance in the third quarter is attributed to non-interest income, which generated Tsh. 306 million compared to Tsh. 126 million posted in the previous quarter.
During the same quarter, the bank posted Tsh. 162 million from net interest income, slightly up from Tsh. 147 million generated end-June.
Eurafrican bank, with its two branches in Dar es Salaam, managed to recover bad debts worth Tsh.108 million and deferred tax of Tsh.86 million to add to its success during the quarter under review.
Despite the bank’s loan disbursement descending slightly in the quarter ending September, from Tsh. 11.28 billion to Tsh. 10.97 billion, its assets grew to Tsh. 23.97 billion from Tsh. 19.51 billion of previous quarter.
The bank’s customers’ deposits also increased from Tsh. 13.66 billion to Tsh.16.29 billion at the end of third quarter. which ended September this year.
Eurafrican is one of leading middle-sized banks in Tanzania.

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EPA could take toll on social sector, warns expert
By Angela Mazula

The implications of Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) to Tanzania are very serious to the nation’s economic, social and political development.
Speaking to the press on EPA challenges for Tanzania last week, Zitto Kabwe of Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) Foundation said the process had been  created by the European Union (EU).
He said the implications of EPA to Tanzania are both positive as well as negative as Tanzania was participating in regional integration initiative like the East African Community (EAC) and Southern African Development Community (SADC).
He said the gains needed to square off the adverse effects of EPA and resultant cutbacks in government spending on social investment, including health, education and poverty eradication programmes.
Kabwe said regional integration between countries of East Africa is not just a means to achieve economic goals like enhanced capacity or improved investment condition, it could also contribute to peace and security in the region.
However, elimination of customs duties on products from EU will lead to significant decline in government revenues and to an increase in unemployment provoking heightened economic insecurity and political instability in East Africa, he warned.
He said the government may reduce funding to social service, including budgets for education and health.
“Experience shows that people in rural areas, where most poor live, will be hammered badly by the budget cuts,” he added.
On the positive side, EPA will ultimately lead to a closer economic integration between East African countries and the EU and further enlarge the market of the countries. It will make the market more transparent and ensure a predictable framework for trade, which will help economic progress, Kabwe said.
This, in turn, will lead to an increase in trade flow, technology and investment in the country and hence promote sustainable development and contribute to poverty reduction, he explained.
EPA, in the long term, would promote economy of scale, increase efficiency and boost productivity as a result of greater competition, with enhanced possibilities of absorbing technologies from the EU and increase in domestic and foreign investment, he said.

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Govt to retain 30% stake in NMB
By Business Correspondent

The government will not sell out all its shares in the National Microfinance Bank (NMB) - dubbed as the poor man’s bank - which is currently under privatisation.
Minister for Finance, Basil Mramba said last week the government would rather retain 30 per cent stake for considerable time.
Mramba added the government would “think more seriously before fully privatising the bank.”
He was speaking at the re-opening of Bank of Baroda (BoB) in Dar es Salaam last week after a 37-year absence following nationalisation. BoB is a leading nationalised bank in India with highest share-holding of more than 66 per cent by government of India.
The Finance Minister said Tanzania must learn from the way Indian government manages BoB.
Apart from retaining NMB shares, Mramba also said the government will retain majority stake of Tanzania Investment Bank (TIB) and Tanzania Postal Bank after privatisation.
Tender for privatisation of TIB and Postal Bank are yet to be floated but they are on line for divestiture while NMB Presidential Parastatal Sector Reform Commission (PSRC) has issued a final tender-notice ending September this year.
PSRC set a condition that NMB investor must be a consortium of strategic investors, led by a commercial bank having proven experience in banking business.
“The government seeks expression of interest from a consortium of strategic investors led by a commercial bank having proven experience in banking business to purchase 49 per cent,” it said.
On top of that, other things being equal, the Government would prefer a consortium that would include Tanzanian investor(s).  
Afterwards, the government plans to sell 21 per cent of the shareholding to citizens of Tanzania or bodies corporate whose beneficial ownership is held by citizens of Tanzania or held by companies whose share capital is wholly owned by citizens of Tanzania.
The selling of 21 per cent would follow the completion sales of 49 per cent of the shareholding to the aforementioned strategic investors. The government will retain 30 per cent of the shareholding in NMB.
NMB has 104 branches and four agencies and customer deposits of approximately Tsh. 384 billion as at 31 December 2003.
It is the country’s largest bank in terms of customer deposits and network with a substantial customer base throughout the country, including urban centres.

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TanCert opens new avenues
By Timothy Kitundu

Tanzania may benefit from a chunk of more than US$23 billion (about Tsh.25.3 trillion) tied in the global organic trade, following the official inauguration of the first National Certification body, the Tanzania Organic Certification Association (TanCert) in Dar es Salaam over the weekend.
Speaking at the inauguration held at the Karimjee Hall in the City, Minister for Industry and Trade Dr. Juma Ngasongwa said the major organic markets in industrialised nations are growing at phenomenal rates of 10–20 per cent a year with attractive price premiums.
“Our country is currently benefiting little from this fast growing market. Thus, it is imperative that Tanzania makes concerted efforts to gain access to these organic markets in order to earn some of the foreign exchange,” he explained.
Tanzania, according to Dr. Ngasongwa, is currently exporting organic tea, coffee, cocoa, cotton, vanilla, cashew nuts, honey, paprika and numerous spices and essential oils. He believes  much more, in terms of product range, could be sold overseas resulting in increased revenue for the nation and its citizens.
He said the majority small-holder producers in the country are not using costly industrial fertilisers and pesticides; they are therefore, organic producers by default. However, such farmers cannot use the organic label because of the high costs of organic certification by inspectors from abroad. 
According to Dr. Ngasongwa, recent government policies, including the Agricultural and Livestock Policy of 1997, Vision 2025, National Environmental Policy and Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, have all stressed on the development of sustainable agriculture. Therefore, organic agriculture is critically important now and for the future, he said.
He added its potential contribution to the national economy and sound environmental management cannot be over-emphasised.
 “I am aware that TanCert is the first Tanzanian body to venture into organic certification, using locally developed standards and logo. In Sub-Saharan Africa, only South Africa and Uganda are in the comparable development stage,” he said.
He added all organic certification in Tanzania has hitherto been carried out by external certification bodies, using foreign standards. Their fees are usually exorbitant, US$ 400 to 600 (about Tsh.440,000 to 660,000 respectively) per day, plus international travel costs; clearly unaffordable to most of the local peasants.
As 63 per cent of Tanzanians depend on agriculture and livestock for their employment and food security, poverty reduction and the growth of our economy will remain a pipe dream if the agricultural sector, which contributes 50 per cent of GDP, is not given a major boost. 

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New programme to boost economic ownership
By Timothy Kitundu

Stakeholders in the entrepreneurial industry have hailed the programme initiated by the Good Opportunity Development Company Limited (GODCL), whereby people can be facilitated through loans and partnership to own the economy.
The philosophy of the programme, known as Miliki, is centred on having capital, investing in projects, owning business enterprises and owning markets. Furthermore, it is only through ownership of the four aspects of the programme that the people can regard themselves as owners of the economy.
Contributing at a meeting convened by GODCL, Basil Saprapasen of the Tanzania Private Sector Foundation said it was important to ponder on how people can own the four pillars that the programme has identified.
He observed that with the government pulling out of business and handing it to the private sector, it was important for people to be educated on the economy.
“Having been educated, people can then decide which way to go…there things like globalisation …people need to know its advantages as well as their disadvantages,” he said.
He said it was important also to know a number of aspects, including our comparable advantage (land), competitive advantage (the mass) and that formation of an object that may spearhead or lead the initiative.
Giving his view, the MP for Sumbawanga Urban, Paul Kimiti, said when talking about the economy, one has to go to the people so that they may be able to define the word economy. In Sumbawanga, for example, he explained, “when you ask people they will tell you that to them economy means land.”
He said the nation has only 600,000 employees out of a population of 34 million. According to him, that means, the remaining don’t own anything, even the employees do not own anything apart from their wages and that is why they are always creating chaos.
“It is high time now a proper definition of owning is provided. What are we doing so that every one sees that he/she is an integral part of the whole system?” he asked.
Joseph Butiku of the Mwalimu Nyerere Foundation said in trying to own our economy, the hardest part is capital, which can be only secured through credit facilities but there must be a project.
“People have capital in the form of assets but they do not know the value while owning business is still out of the question,” he said.
GODCL is a local private company engaged in supporting SMEs, particularly entrepreneurs in terms of credit facilities, the knowledge of markets with an emphasis in ownership of the economy.

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Indian mission to mark ITEC Day
By Timothy Kitundu

The Indian High Commission will mark its annual event, the ITEC Day, in Dar es Salaam tomorrow. The event is celebrated by Indian missions the world over.
In Tanzania, Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Jakaya Kikwete will grace the occasion.
The High Commission’s  First Secretary C. Gandhi said in a statement, the main objective of the Day is to provide a platform to renew friendly contacts among ITEC alumni, who can share similar experiences of learning, working or living in India.
Furthermore, according to the statement, the day is aimed at exchanging ideas to make the ITEC programme and its delivery in Tanzania more productive and meaningful.
According to Gandhi, in a spirit of long-standing ties and cooperation between India and Tanzania, and as a tangible measure of South-South cooperation, India provides over 75 training slots to Tanzania every year under the ITEC Programme.
“Training is conducted in various Indian institutes in a variety of fields such as IT, agriculture, rural and urban development, banking, trade, mass communication, SMEs, financial management, manpower development, defence and others,” he observed.
He said, training under ITEC, launched in 1964, as a bilateral programme of assistance had so far been extended to over 26,000 civil and military personnel from 154 countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and East Europe.
According to Gandhi, India’s technical and other assistance worth US$500 million (about Tsh.550 billion)  annually and cumulatively worth over US$3 billion (about Tsh.3.3 trillion) to date, is extended to developing countries, including India’s neighbouring countries.
The ITEC programme has four components namely, training, projects and related activities, deputation of experts and study tours and that over 1,000 foreign nominees are trained each year under the ITEC programme.
Tanzania is among the largest beneficiaries under the ITEC, extended with the objective of contributing significantly to Tanzania’s human resource development, besides further strengthening the friendly relations between the two countries.

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Fines for households without toilets
By Merline Mhamaka, Kilombero

To ensure that cholera is controlled fully in Kilombero District, the Regional Government will take stern measures, including a fine of Tsh. 3,000 for households without toilets.
Morogoro Regional Medical Officer Nicholaus Masawe told a rally at Kilombero town, that following this decision, 228 households which were found without toilets, especially in areas where epidemic diseases have been erupting often, were faced with the fine.
Masawe said, in Lumemo area of Kilombero District a total of 1,648 household were inspected and out of these, 45 households were found without toilets.
Other areas which were inspected were those of Viwanja Sitini, where 1,140 households were inspected and out of them 119 had no toilets; in Ifakara Urban 1,862 household were inspected and 64 had no toilets, equivalent to 3.4 per cent of the households.
When epidemic disease erupted in Kilombero District August 18, this year, 18 people were affected and five of them died, Masawe observed.
He said the disease erupted in areas of Kibaoni, Viwanja Sitini, Lumemo, Ifakara Urban and at Kilombero Sugar farms where 31 people fell prey to cholera and one died.
Efforts have been taken by health experts in Kilombero District in controlling the disease, including educating the people on the importance of for example boiling drinking water and washing hands after visiting the toilet.

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Musoma councillors threaten to close down textile mill
By Beldina Nyakeke, Musoma

Councillors of Musoma Town Council in Mara Region, have threatened to close down Musoma Textile Mill (MUTEX), if it does not find a way to deal with the dirty water discharged from the factory.
The threat was made by the councillors at the Town Council sitting held on October 18 this year at the Council Conference Hall in Musoma town.
The councillors said MUTEX discharges dirty chemical waste from the factory posing health hazards to people living around the factory area and Musoma town as a whole.
The dirty water from the factory, they observed, had been spreading everywhere in Musoma town, as the factory had no reservoirs for liquid wastes from the factory. They directed the Town Council’s Health Officer to urgently follow up the matter to save the town residents from an epidemic.
“If this condition is not controlled immediately, there is a possibility of people in the town losing their lives through epidemics in the next ten years,”  Alhaaj Abdallah Bulembo, Nyaso Ward Councillor, warned.
Musoma Town Council Chairman Vedastus Mathayo requested the councillors to be patient while the issue was being addressed.

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TASAF offers 27.4m/- to school
By Merline Mhamala, Ulanga

Residents of Milela Village, Lupilo Ward in Ulanga District, Morogoro Region participating with Tanzania Social Action Fund (TASAF), have succeeded to construct four classrooms, a teachers’ office and a toilet with six holes, for Milola Primary School for a total cost of Tsh. 27,408,967.
According to a report submitted by the district, TASAF contributed Tsh 22,008,967 and the residents contributed Tsh. 1.4 million.
The school construction project started in May 2002 and was completed in August this year. The project which was initiated jointly by the villages and TASAF aimed at reducing congestion in classrooms, including providing an office for teachers to prepare their lessons and provide toilets for school pupils.

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Tanzanians still involved in corrupt practices
By Damas Ayake, Kigoma

A large percentage of thinking Tanzanians direct their thoughts at giving bribes rather than combating the corruption scourge.
DIA Corporation Executive Director, Bubelwa Kaiza said this when presenting a paper on the concept of corruption to various stakeholders at Lake Tanganyika Hall last week.  DIA has its headquarters in Arusha Municipality.
Kaiza said the concept and thinking of many Tanzanians at present is where and who to corrupt rather than fight the war against corruption.
A good percentage of drivers countrywide, he said, and others find themselves entertaining thoughts about corruption unknowingly, even before they are asked for it, finally finding themselves bribing the traffic police to avoid arrest.
He said if Tanzanians want to succeed in the war against corruption, they must stop corrupting people and cooperate fully with the Prevention of Corruption Bureau (PCB), NASCAP and NATPP in eradicating the scourge.
The above mentioned institutions, he added, can work with the public by making them aware and conditioning them to fight corruption.
Besides the public, the media have a responsibility of making sure they fight corruption by exposing corrupt acts to the general public, according to Kaiza.

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DC calls for investment in transport
By Kabale Lazaro, Mwanza

Handcart operators in Mwanza City have been advised to invest in the transport sector.
The call was made last Thursday by Nyamagana District Commissioner in Mwanza Region, Peter Kiroya, when addressing a public rally at the climax of the Transport Week. The celebrations for the same were held at Nyamagana Stadium in Mwanza.
“I urge you to join hands with the businessmen in the country to invest in the transport sector as, among other things, transportation instruments depend very much on one another,” the District Commissioner said.
According to Kiroya, many businessmen in the country, including handcart operators of Mwanza City, have been building a notion that investment is for people with big capital or people with special offices in skyscrapers.
Giving an example, Kiroya said, in the City of Mwanza, transportation by handcarts is very important and unavoidable, especially to businessmen with low incomes.
In his speech, the District Commissioner urged Mwanza City residents to invest in transportation by air, water and roadways instead of depending on the government alone.

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Council collects 152.5m/- revenue
By Merline Mhamaka, Kilosa

Kilosa District Council in Morogoro Region has collected revenue amounting to Tsh. 152,547,847.73 from its sources from January to August 2004, equivalent to 28.98 per cent of the projected Tsh. 526,275,547.00 for 2004/2005 financial year.
This was revealed by Kilosa District Council Executive Director Theresia Mbambo, when she briefed the Deputy Minister, President’s Office Regional Administration and Local Government, Mizengo Pinda during his tour of the district recently.
Kilosa District Council had received Tsh. 143,328,265.62 from the Central Government during July to August this year which is 21.82 per cent of the projected Tsh. 5,698,178,322 for the financial year 2004/2005.
The Council is faced with many problems, she said, including a meagre budget, especially after abolishing levies from the wananchi, which also has affected provision of social services.

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