Biteko condemns parents who marry off underage children

GEITA Bukombe :DEPUTY Prime Minister, Dr Doto Biteko, has denounced attitude among parents and guardians not taking their children to school, but marry them off to get dowry that they are doing an illegal thing.

Dr Biteko, who doubles as Energy Minister, stated that since President Samia Suluhu Hassan has constructed and still building schools to the grassroots, it is the duty of parents to encourage their children to attend school rather than obstructing them.

Dr Biteko, who is also a Bukombe Member of Parliament (MP), made the statement over the weekend while addressing the residents of Kabuhima Vil- lage, Uyovu Ward in Bukombe, Geita, as part of his tour to various areas of Bukombe District.

In line with that, he commended President Samia for her outstanding efforts in moving forward with a number of development projects in Bukombe, including building of schools, health centres and hospitals along with road projects.

He also expressed gratitude to President Samia for endorsing funds for building four new advanced secondary schools and 30 new primary schools.

Similarly, he mentioned that every ward in Bukombe district now has at least one secondary school, and a Vocational Education and Training Authority (VETA) college is under construction.

Dr Biteko further stated that the road network in Bukombe District was 256 kilometres long.

Equally, President Samia’s funding allowed for the construction of additional roads, bringing the district’s total road network to 1,400 kilometres. Detailing the numerous efforts that have been made in the health sector, he said, previously there was only one district hospital, two health centres and four clinics.

Currently, there are two hospitals, six health centres, and 18 clinics, and the work was ongoing to build an additional 57 clinics in various parts of Bukombe.

Furthermore, in order to improve services for the community, he also committed to building a water well in the ward’s secondary school, installing street lights, and finishing the ward’s clinic.

He has urged the people of Bukombe to pray for President Samia’s continued efforts to enhance the nation’s development.

Meanwhile, Dr Biteko has welcomed new members of CCM who joined from the ‘Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo’ (CHADEMA).

The new members stated that Presi- dent Samia’s outstanding development initiatives were a major factor for them to join the party.