Cut the waste, deliver the projects

PRIME Minister’s directive to councils across the country to cut unnecessary expenditure and channel the savings into priority development projects could not have come at a more important time.

At its core, the directive is a call for greater discipline in the management of public resources. Government money is taxpayers’ money, and every shilling spent by a public institution should produce value for citizens.

Where resources are limited and development needs are enormous, councils and other public institutions cannot afford to spend scarce funds on activities that do not directly contribute to improving people’s lives.

The scale of the challenge facing the education sector alone makes the case compelling. With the government preparing for the expected increase in Form One enrolment in 2028, more than 33,000 classrooms and over 8,000 laboratories are reportedly required within a year.

These are not optional investments. They are essential infrastructure if the country is to avoid overcrowded classrooms and ensure that children have access to a decent learning environment.

The Prime Minister’s emphasis on using available domestic resources is, therefore, particularly significant. Tanzania’s development cannot depend indefinitely on external financing.

While development partners remain important, the country must strengthen its capacity to finance its own priorities through prudent planning, efficient revenue collection and responsible expenditure.

However, spending cuts must be carefully targeted. The answer is not indiscriminate austerity that leaves councils unable to provide basic services.

Councils must distinguish between wasteful expenditure and spending that is essential for health, education, water, roads and other public services.

The objective should be to eliminate waste, duplication, unnecessary travel, excessive administrative costs and poorly prioritised projects, not to compromise services that communities urgently need.

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Equally important is accountability. If councils are instructed to save money, citizens should be able to see where those savings come from and where they are ultimately invested.

Transparent budgets, public reporting and effective oversight will be essential to ensuring that expenditure cuts do not simply become another administrative slogan.

Ultimately, the Prime Minister’s message should be understood not merely as an instruction to spend less, but as a demand to spend better.

Tanzania’s development needs are too great for public resources to be consumed by avoidable expenditure.

Every saving should have a clear purpose and every priority project should have measurable benefits.

The challenge now is for councils to translate the directive into action through rigorous budgeting, stronger oversight and a culture of value for money.

If implemented properly, cutting unnecessary expenditure will become a powerful instrument for accelerating development and improving the quality of public services.