CCM to spur Mwanza economy

MWANZA: CCM presidential candidate, Dr Samia Suluhu Hassan has outlined three strategic pillars that her government will prioritise to accelerate Mwanza Region’s economic transformation, if re-elected.

She said the plan centres on strengthening modern transport infrastructure, expanding economic activities on Lake Victoria through fishing, transport and tourism and promoting agricultural industrialisation to create jobs and raise incomes for the people of Mwanza.

Speaking at a campaign rally at Nyamagana Stadium in Mwanza City yesterday, Dr Samia said her administration has already channelled 5.6tri/- into development projects across the region’s nine constituencies, laying a solid foundation for the next phase of progress.

Dr Samia said the first pillar is transport and connectivity, where the government had made huge strides in modern transport infrastructure, with the Magufuli Bridge and key roads already reshaping Mwanza’s connectivity.

“The 14-kilometre Buhongwa–Igoma tarmac road has been completed, while a tender has been announced for the Mwanza– Buhongwa–Usagara four-lane highway with a Bus Rapid Transit corridor,” she said.

She said the next focus will be on roads now that major water and electricity projects have been completed.

“Road projects are expensive; one kilometre of tarmac can equal the cost of building two health centres. But since we’ve solved water and power issues, we are now turning to roads,” she said.

She cited the ongoing construction of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) as a major driver of Mwanza’s economic transformation.

The Mwanza–Isaka section, spanning 314 kilometres and worth 3tril/-, has reached 65 per cent completion.

“It will feature passenger stations at Mwanza, Fella, Mantare, Bukwimba and Malya, with dry-port facilities, guesthouses and warehouses. Once complete, travel from Dar es Salaam to Mwanza will take only eight to nine hours instead of eighteen, cutting transport costs and lowering the prices of goods,” she said.

Second pillar, she said is the Lake Victoria economy, Dr Samia said harnessing its potential is crucial and the government has overhauled the MV Umoja cargo vessel at a cost of 19.8bn/- and it is now ferrying 1,200 tonnes of cargo to Uganda, opening up new markets for farmers and traders.

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The construction of the MV Mwanza passenger-andcargo ship is 98 per cent complete.

“This ship is not only a vessel, it’s a symbol of our national capability to deliver development with our own funds,” she said.

The vessel will carry 1,200 passengers, 400 tonnes of goods and 20 vehicles at once.

She added that the Mwanza North Port has been expanded for 18.6bn/-, with five new ferry routes—Kisorya–Rugenzi, Ijinga–Kahangala, Bwiro–Bukondo, Nyakarilo–Kome and Buyagu–Mbalika, set to boost transport and trade across the lake.

“Patrol and ambulance boats will also be deployed to improve safety, especially around Ukerewe,” she said.

Dr Samia said the ongoing expansion of Mwanza Airport will ease tourist travel to the Serengeti and transform the facility into a true international gateway for the northern tourism circuit.

If re-elected, she said the third pillar is agricultural and industrial growth, where she said the government has stepped up efforts to modernise agriculture and agroprocessing.

“Over 700 extension officers have been hired and 700 tractors ordered, with 350 already delivered to support mechanised farming at subsidised rates. When you re-elect CCM, we will revive ginneries in Sengerema, Buchosa and Misungwi and strengthen the Nyanza Cooperative Union to anchor the Lake Zone’s cotton industry,” she said.

She pledged to restart cotton processing and textile value chains to reduce costly imports of medical supplies such as bandages and sheets that could be locally produced.

“We will also revive Itilima and Simiyu ginneries to make cotton twine used for packaging tobacco so that our crops can fetch better prices,” she said.

Her administration, she added, will intensify irrigation farming after completing safe-water projects, following international best practice.

Dr Samia said health remains among CCM’s top priorities, citing major upgrades at Sekou Toure and Bugando referral hospitals.

At Sekou Toure, the government built a five-storey mother-and-child block worth 10bn/- with 261 beds, a CTscan, endoscopy units and an oxygen-generation plant.

“In the past, we used to transport oxygen cylinders, but today these services are available right here in Mwanza,” she said.

At Bugando, 9bn/- has been used for new medical equipment, an ICU wing and a cancer-treatment block equipped with mammography and radiotherapy machines.

Hospitals now serve about 1,500 patients daily, up from 1,200 previously.

She said if re-elected, her government will improve Nansio Hospital in Ukerewe and construct a specialised referral facility for emergency and advanced care on the islands.

In education, three VETA colleges have been built in Magu, Buchosa and Misungwi, alongside DIT Campus in Ilemela and TIA Campus in Misungwi.