DODOMA: PRIME Minister Kassim Majaliwa has told regional and district authorities, as well as other government executives to display a high level of accountability when handling donations offered by stakeholders to support victims of disasters in the country.
The Premier made the directive yesterday when responding to a question posed by Agness Hokororo (Special Seats-CCM) in Parliament during the Prime Minister’s Questions and Answers’ session.
In her enquiry, the legislator requested an explanation from the government regarding its strategy to ensure that contributions provided by the government and various stakeholders to assist victims of disasters, including the reconstruction of destroyed public infrastructure and facilities, are managed effectively to encourage further contributions.
Ms Hokororo noted that there has been inadequate feedback on the use of the donated contributions, which deters people from offering aid to disaster victims in the future.
In response, the Prime Minister stated that contributions donated by various stakeholders and the government to aid disaster victims are channeled to the disaster response committees.
He explained that there is a coordinated effort at the village, ward, district, and regional levels, overseen by the Tanzania Disaster Relief Coordination Committee under the Office of the Prime Minister.
Also Read: VP calls for internal auditors’ independence
The PM emphasised that when a disaster occurs, the coordination of relief aid begins at the local level where the incident took place, insisting that the leaders at each level, including the Village Chairperson, Ward Executive Officer, District Commissioner, and Regional Commissioner, are responsible for managing the coordination process.
“When contributions are made, the leader at the respective level must inform stakeholders about the utilisation of the assistance. If a public facility or infrastructure has been restored, the local leader must also update stakeholders on the progress,” elaborated the Premier.
The Office of the Prime Minister, which oversees relief aid at the national level, is tasked with closely monitoring the situation to track the progress of relief aid distribution.
The Prime Minister cited examples of recent disasters, such as the fire that destroyed the regional market building in Kilimanjaro Region and a secondary school in Lindi Region, where the government and stakeholders provided contributions, saying the RCs in the two regions were responsible for updating stakeholders on the use of the contributions.
At the end of last year, Tanzanians collaborated with the government to offer humanitarian and relief aid to the residents of Hanang District in Manyara Region after mudslides from Mount Hanang claimed the lives of at least 85 people.
The catastrophic event, triggered by heavy rainfall, resulted in significant damage and displacement in the affected area.
Currently, the country is grappling with another disaster caused by heavy rains in regions such as Arusha, Mbeya, Morogoro, Lindi, Kigoma, and Manyara, leading to loss of lives and destruction of transportation infrastructure.
