Embrace investors, says Samia
- Challenges Singida to exploit rich resources to spur growth
SINGIDA: PRESIDENT Samia Suluhu Hassan has challenged citizens to embrace investors in their areas for the transformation of their life standards.
The Head of State made the remarks during an occasion to mark 60th anniversary since the establishment of Singida Region. The event was held at Bombardier Stadium in Singida, on Monday.
Dr Samia said that the region’s 60th anniversary provides an opportunity for the citizens to reflect on whether the development of the region is in line with the existing opportunities.
She further said that the region has various opportunities to generate development including agriculture, beekeeping and mining, which according to her was yet to be fully exploited.
Due to abundant mining opportunities in the region, Dr Samia called on the citizens not to act as a stumbling block for prospective investors from coming to invest in the sector. Instead, she said, residents should be at the forefront to create an enabling environment for the mining sector to flourish for the country, region and individuals as well as investors to reap the benefits.
“Singida Region is famous for having various kinds of minerals including gold, copper, salt, lithium, uranium and many others… When investors come, let’s not act like ‘Joka la mdimu’ (meaning a snake in the lemon tree), let them exploit those areas to transform Singida. ‘Joka la mdimu” protects the lemon fruits from being plucked by others but it does not use them too,” she said.
She also called on the people of Singida to evaluate themselves and determine if they are contented with the speed of development, they have achieved in the past 60 years and if they have been able to fully use the opportunities available within the regions.
Equally, the President said much as Singida is the fifth lowest region in terms of its contribution to the country’s GDP, which stands at below two per cent, there was a room for improvement, if the resources are well exploited.
However, Dr Samia said development is sustainable because it has no end due to among others, population growth in the region.
“The development challenge happens in every sector due to the increase in population in the region,” she said.
Similarly, Dr Samia called on the leaders to instruct the people to plant drought-resistant crops including sesame, sunflower and the cashews in the region in order to take advantage of the available land for agriculture in bringing development.
Moreover, Dr Samia said that the central government will continue to support the efforts of the development priorities of the Singida region by ensuring that it creates an enabling environment for ‘wananchi’ to prosper.
“The development needs of the people of Singida will be worked on by the central government and others should be sent to the regional leadership, which has departments of all sectors,” she said.
On the other hand, the Head of State called upon the citizens to work hard in unity, solidarity, peace and stability, so that the region can move forward.
She called on the citizens to take precautions of the expected seasonal (Vuli) rains in the country especially for the people living in the valley areas to avoid floods.
In her working visit to Singida Region, President Samia has launched various development projects and listened to various development challenges that she has promised to be worked upon by the government.
Earlier, Singida Regional Commissioner (RC), Mr Peter Serukumba said the region has received over 330bn/- for social services transformation since the sixth-phase government assumed power, more than two years so far.
Detailing the money received in the region, Mr Serukamba said about 51bn/- was allocated to the health sector from which, four new hospitals and 22 health centres were constructed as well as 69 dispensaries were renovated.
He said over 61bn/- were allocated to the education sector where some 814 classrooms were built, while 16 ward secondary schools and one regional secondary school were constructed to increase education accessibility in the region.
Mr Serukumba said the region also has seen an increase in the region’s production sector financing, whereby the government has allocated 44bn/- for subsidised fertiliser, nearing 3,000 tonnes which was distributed to about 8342 famers in Singida.
He said a total of 864 tonnes of sunflower seeds were also provided to farmers in the past two years to raise agro production, noting that with the presence of subsidised farming inputs, the region has hit 74 per cent increase in food production.
Mr Serukumba said the region received 51bn/- for strengthening water supply from which, water accessibility has reached 85 per cent in the 2022/2023 Fiscal Year from 58 per cent in the 2021/2022 Fiscal year.
He said the region enjoys satisfactory electricity availability as 391 villages already have power from a total of 441 villages, saying the projection is to achieve 100 per cent power availability by 2024.
For his part, Professor Palamagamba Kabudi who is the Kilosa Constituency Member of Parliament (MP), reading the Singida Region biography as it marks 60 years since its establishment said the area was established on October 15, 1963.
Prof Kabudi said the Singida Region like many other regions in the country experienced social services transformation from having no well-developed school infrastructures to having numerous schools.
“Finding shows from the 1960s about 94 Singida Region born citizens have acquired Doctorate of Philosophy (PhD),” he said.
