Amb Iddi showers praises on TASAF

By DAILY NEWS Reporter in Zanzibar 

ZANZIBAR’s Second Vice-President Ambassador Seif Ali Iddi has showered praises on Tanzania Social Action Fund’s (TASAF III) Productive Social Safety Net (PSSN), which has assisted poor people to meet their basic needs and participate in development activities.

“Through the project, we have increased enrolment of students in primary and secondary schools, improved food security at households, thanks to cash transfers as well as improved incomes through engagement in economic activities like petty trading,” he explained.

Ambassador Iddi made the remarks when addressing a delegation of officials from the World Bank during a retreat here, stressing that the project has shown remarkable results and demonstrated to be the most innovative way of assisting poor households.

“We believe that increasing the income of poor people is an important step in getting them involved in livelihoods activities. By so doing, the economy is stimulated to grow through advancement of human capital, improvement of assets and employment,” he remarked.

The Second Vice-President explained that during the implementation of TASAF I between 2000 and 2005 in Unguja and Pemba, 75 sub-projects worth 3bn/- were executed, benefiting 135,798 people.

He explained further that during implementation of TASAF II which started in 2005 through 2013, 819 sub-projects valued 12.9bn/- were implemented, benefiting 471,346 people.

TASAF III was launched in July 2013 in Zanzibar, involving PSSN programme. At present, the programme covers 233 shehias with 45,881 households, 33,532 of them enrolled to receive cash.

Since the launch of the third phase, 17.7bn/- has been disbursed to the beneficiary households in all shehias in Unguja and Pemba through conditional cash transfers.

Another component of PSSN is implementation of Public Works Programme (PWP) which enables beneficiaries to earn additional income through working on labour intensive sub-projects like sea water control bunds, planting of mangrove trees, rehabilitation of feeder roads and tree planting.

On part of Livelihoods Enhancement, Zanzibar has formed 1,884 saving groups in 204 shehias and most of them have started working in the areas of horticulture, poultry keeping, animal husbandry and petty businesses for household consumption, earning extra income to support their families.

The Minister of State in the Second Vice-President Office, Mr Mohamed Abood, said the cooperation between the Bretton Woods’ institution and Zanzibar has played a crucial role in addressing poverty in the isles.

“The people of Zanzibar are very grateful for the support from the World Bank; the support through TASAF has improved the welfare of many poor households in Zanzibar,” he stated.

The World Bank’s Senior Director for Social Protection and Jobs Global Practice, Mr Michal Rutkowski, said the institution will continue supporting the project, thanks to its impressive implementation.

“The World Bank is happy that the people of Zanzibar have made great efforts to implement projects under TASAF,” he said.

TASAF Executive Director Ladislaus Mwamanga said the fund will continue to work hard to ensure that more poor people benefit from the project.