FIFTY-nine years after the Zanzibar Revolution, the country brags of improved social services across all parts of Unguja and Pemba.
The social services entail the construction of health facilities, schools and the implementation of various water and energy projects to improve the socio-economic welfare of the people and country as a whole.
Zanzibar President Dr Hussein Mwinyi disclosed that in his national address to commemorate the climax of the Zanzibar 59th Revolution Anniversary aired through a live broadcast on Wednesday evening.
Dr Mwinyi indicated that major strides had been made in the improvement of social services citing further as health, education, energy and access to clean and safe water within the country.
“A total of 10 new district schools and a regional school have been constructed within the Urban-West Region along the improvement of health service delivery in hospitals and health centres,” said Dr Mwinyi.
Equally, he noted the initiatives taken to improve quality health service delivery in the facilities including the installation of state-of-the-art medical equipment and continue with the construction of a regional hospital at Lumumba in the Urban-West region.
According to him, the government’s ambitious plan of erecting a referral hospital in the Binguni area Unguja South Region was in a good position, hinting at their intention to embark on major rehabilitation at Mnazi Mmoja Hospital, which includes constructing new buildings in strengthening further service delivery.
In further improving the medical services, the government in recent days employed 815 medical staff comprising 38 positions for specialized doctors from various cadres in the health sector.
As for the education sector, he said major efforts have been undertaken to improve the sector considering its importance in promoting the well-being of individual citizens in the country.
Besides, in reducing student congestion in classes and improving both the teaching and learning environment, in the past year, the government constructed nine new storey buildings in Unguja and Pemba along with 811 classes, including those executed through people-centered initiatives.
He indicated that a total of 1,693 toilet holes and rehabilitation of works have been carried out in 24 old schools.
Similarly, all new schools were supplied with learning materials including desks in attaining quality education.
Dr Mwinyi hinted that the government was continuing with preparation for the construction of a new-story school at Mfenesini in the Urban West region, highlighting that rehabilitation of old schools and construction of new vocational training colleges in all districts without the crucial facilities was underway.
He said the initiatives were in line with the employment of teachers especially for science and mathematics subjects, a move aimed to deal with the shortage of teachers.
On the other hand, the government has thrown more weight into the execution of water projects due to their importance in the everyday lives of people.
“In the past two years, the government has drilled 102 wells out, with 64 of them being the aftermath of the Exim Bank project to strengthen access to clean and safe water services in the many areas of the Urban West Region. However, 38 wells have been drilled through the Covid-19 relief funds, whereas 19 wells are completed,” noted President Mwinyi.
He added that the construction of 10 reservoir tanks with a capacity of a million litres stands at 70 percent and construction of 52 booster stations was in the final stages.’
Likewise, the work of laying down water pipes to support the distribution of water was at 61 percent, adding that the compensations for residents affected by the project will soon be finalised.
Expounding further, he said the government emphasized the day-to-day development and economy of the country and its people.
As such, they took major initiatives to reduce the cost of connecting electricity from 442,000/- to 200,000/-.
“A total of 71,458 new customers’ equivalent to 86 percent of the set target of 83,400 customers has been connected with the crucial source of energy. In line with this, 149 villages approximately 102 percent of the target of 152 villages have been connected with electricity,” stated the President, noting that 173 areas out of 175 areas with unreliable electricity have been strengthened, reaching 99 percent of the target.
