Disabled urged to explore project opportunities

LINDI: PEOPLE with disabilities and other groups with special needs in Lindi Region have been urged to tap into economic opportunities arising from strategic projects being implemented in the Southern Zone, particularly in the oil and natural gas sector.

The call was made on Wednesday by Acting Head of the Community Development Department at Lindi Municipal Council, Ms Anaisaria Mushi, while opening a one-day inclusive local content forum in Lindi.

Ms Mushi said people with special needs should not remain on the sidelines but recognise the role of the Southern Zone in contributing to economic growth and take advantage of available opportunities.

She said citizens also had a responsibility to identify and communicate their needs to the government to enable it to provide services and opportunities to all groups equitably.

“It is important for these groups to recognise the role of the Southern Zone in contributing to economic growth and to take advantage of the available opportunities,” she said.

Petroleum Upstream Regulatory Authority (PURA)’s Head of Local Content and Stakeholder Engagement Unit, Mr Charles Nyangi, said the authority continues to provide information and education to stakeholders while ensuring that people with special needs, including women, youth and the elderly, are not left behind.

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He said PURA monitors Tanzanian participation in employment, training, provision of goods and services, as well as knowledge and technology transfer in oil and natural gas projects.

“We always insist that information and procedures on these opportunities should be transparent and accessible to people with disabilities,” Mr Nyangi said.

He added that everyone had a role to play and benefit from project implementation, including projects involving foreign investors, where Tanzanians had opportunities to participate.

Mr Nyangi urged people with special needs to establish and register businesses so they could participate in opportunities advertised in project areas, particularly in Lindi.

The forum was organised by the Tanzania Association of the Deaf, Lindi Region, in collaboration with Voice of Women with Disabilities in Tanzania (SWAUTA) and the PURA.