State tackling Kigoma poverty, House told

Stories by SYLIVESTER DOMASA & BERNARD LUGONGO

DEPUTY Minister of Finance and Planning, Dr Ashatu Kijaji said yesterday that the new expansion of Kigoma Airport, the Kigoma Port and construction of the standard gauge railway (SGR) line will minimize poverty in the region, which has one of the highest rates of poverty.

According to a poverty mapping commissioned by the Ministry in collaboration with REPOA in 2016, Kigoma Region emerged as one of the regions in the country with the highest number, about 48.9 percent, of its people living below the poverty datum line.
But, the Deputy Minister now says a “special strategy” by the government to fight the poverty level is investing in infrastructure that will help to end the menace. “We have expanded the Kigoma Airport, we have also completed expansion of the Kigoma Port and now we’re building the SGR line that will permanently link the region to the rest of the country and Africa,” she said.
Dr Kijaji was responding to a question by Kasulu-Urban MP Daniel Nsanzugwako (CCM). The MP had wanted to know the State’s strategy being implemented in the four main regions including Kigoma which were reported to have the highest level of poverty.
The Lawmaker said the region has remained poor for several years and that he believes it has been abandoned. He explained that construction of its road network for instance has been stalled since 2006.
“There is no money to finance such projects,” he said, demanding government clarification as to when the fund will be allocated to complete the job. Dr Kijaji denied that the government had suspended works on infrastructure development in the region, pushing the northern east region into poverty.
She outlined a number of projects that have been implemented in the area as the Jakaya Kikwete Bridge at the Malagarasi River, construction of MV Malagarasi and the Kidahwe-Uvinza, Kigoma-Kidahwe and Mwandiga-Manyovu roads.
“I can confirm that there are many other projects that are currently under implementation in the region. These are Kibondo-Nyakanazi and Kibondo-Mabamba-Burundi road. We’re also implementing some rural electrification projects ... all these projects open -up economic opportunities in the region,” she said.
She added that during the fiveyear national development plan, 2016/17-2020/21, the State plans to develop an economic processing zone, implement the 44.7 MW hydro power project at Malagarasi River and connect it to the national grid by 2020.