THE Julius Nyerere Hydroelectric Power Project (JNHPP) has improved the livelihoods of locals who are working on the project and the surrounding communities, proving that the project is more than just electrifying the country.
Executed in the borders of Morogoro and Coast regions, the project whose completion will add 2,115 megawatts to the national grid has so far employed 12,275 manpower including 11,164 Tanzanians and 1,161 foreign experts.
Some employees working in the project see the JNHPP as an opener to a number of social and economic gains within their villages, as through their jobs, they have managed to make positive progress in their daily lives.
Speaking to the Daily News separately, residents of villages in Kisarawe, Kibiti, Rufiji and Morogoro districts, who are working in the JNHPP project, expressed their appreciations the government for implementing the project that has created jobs for locals, resulting in economic stimulation in their areas.
“This project is so beneficial, my two children have secured jobs here, they were jobless in the past but now we are thankful,” says Ms Mwanahamis Athumani, a resident of Mloka Village, in Kisarawe.
Ms Mwanahamis, a mother of four, said after her husband passed on in 2017 she had to take care of all three children she was staying with at home.
“My first born is married and she is staying in Shinyanga, and here at home, I was staying with my three children, two are twin brothers and the last born is a secondary school student.
“The twin brothers who are working here are so helpful; they are supporting me and the family at large. Their younger sister’s school needs are met on time,” she said.
Speaking, Abdallah Athuman, a son to Ms Mwanahamis said through working in the JNHPP, he has managed to buy a farm and a motorcycle that operates as bodaboda at his home village.
Abdalah and his twin brother Mohammed are Form IV graduates. They both appreciate the role that government played in ensuring locals were well engaged in the implementation of the project.
For his part, steel welder Tuishi Mgaya (38) had to travel all the way from Namtumbo District, Ruvuma Region just to work in construction project.
Mr Mgaya, who is a father of five, joined the JNHPP in 2019. He had the courage to travel from Namtumbo to Mloka just to apply for a job.
“I was in need of a job, and I believed in my capacity to deliver on whatever role that I would be assigned,” said Mr Mgaya, whose level of education is Standard Seven.
Through JNHPP job that he landed, he has managed to build a three bedroom house in Namtumbo, including purchasing motorcycle.
“My family is now assured of better meals compared to the situation in the past before coming here for the JNHPP,” he said.
He also appreciated the conducive working environment in the site, commending the contractors and government for their continued efforts to ensure the project is completed on time.
‘For me, this JNHPP is more than just producing electricity for the development of the country, the project has touched my life directly since I’ve been working here,” he noted.
Mr Mgaya also asked Tanzanians, especially youths to make better use of the flagship projects that are being executed in the country.
Apart from benefiting locals, the project has also served as a market for building materials that are manufactured in the country.
Speaking during the event to impound and first fill the dam at the project area on Thursday, the Managing Director of Tanzania Electric Supply Company Limited (TANESCO) Maharage Chande, said all the materials that have been used in the construction of the JNHPP dam, are manufactured within the country.
“The only thing that was imported was the heavy machines, but the building materials are being procured here in the country,” he explained during the event that was graced by President
