Municipal, town councils dish out 550m/- for special groups

MUNICIPAL and town councils had by August 31, 2022 paid over 550m/- to empowerment fund for women, youth and people with disabilities, the House of Representatives was told here on Monday.

Minister of State, President’s Office, Labour, Economy and Empowerment Mudrik Ramadhan Soraga told the house that disbursement of the collected 551,324,144/- will start in the first week of October.

He said the government is working out procedures to give the money to small entrepreneurs in the country, adding that Unguja and Pemba-based councils have raised 445,564,526/- and 105,759,618/-, respectively.

All councils are required to allocate 10 per cent of their revenue collections to entrepreneurial loans to women, youth and people with disabilities.

Answering a question by Special Seats Representative Zaina Abdalla Salum, who wanted to know the fund allocation to beneficiaries, the minister assured the house that arrangement are in place to ensure that only the targeted persons get the money.

He said names of women, youth and people with disability groups will be prepared by the municipal and town councils and given special loan forms through district commissioners’ offices.