Contractors ordered to prioritise local youths for unskilled jobs

DODOMA: THE government has instructed all contractors in construction projects to prioritise youths from local areas for unskilled labour positions.

Deputy Minister of State in the President’s Office (Public Service Management and Good Governance), Deo Sangu, stated in Parliament on Wednesday that it is the government’s directive that all construction contractors give priority in unskilled jobs to youths from the respective areas.

“I instruct all contractors to give more priority in employment to youths from the respective areas,” he said, following a question from Bukene Member of Parliament, Selemani Zedi, who asked why China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) and YAPI MARKEZI that are constructing a standard gauge railway in Bukene Constituency in Tabora Region are employing unskilled youths from outside Bukene.

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The lawmaker raised concerns about the employment practices of the companies constructing the railway line in Bukene that they were employing unskilled youths from outside Bukene for jobs that local residents could perform.

The MP said that out of 300 labourers building the SGR railway in Bukene, only 12 workers are from Bukene.

“These companies even bring labourers from Dar es Salaam and Morogoro for ordinary jobs,” he stated and he asked the Minister to accompany him to see the actual situation. The Minister urged Tanzania Railway Corporations to investigate these claims.