PRESIDENT Samia Suluhu Hassan has told local contractors who have signed consultancy contracts with the Irrigation Commission to deliver to the expectations, and warned that she will not tolerate anybody who will fail to honour obligations of the agreements.
She equally warned top officials in the ministry of Agriculture who will try to squander money that she will provide for block farming projects in the country.
Dr Samia was speaking on Monday when gracing the official launching of block farming projects and Building a Better Tomorrow (BBT) programme at the event, where she also handed over equipment and motor vehicles to the irrigation commission.
According to the Head of State, come 2030, the agriculture sector should contribute 20per cent in the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from the current 4percent.
She said that since the establishment of the BBT project, about 20,000 unemployed youths had applied to be incorporated in the programme and that already others were in the farms.
The project is being implemented in four regions of Dodoma, Mbeya, Kagera and Kigoma during Phase I whereas about 812 young men and women are expected to benefit from the programme.
“This programme has been well received and we have started very well, therefore I want to state here that I am very committed to seeing it prospering that is why I intentionally hiked the budget for the ministry of Agriculture and we shall continue doubling budget in the coming fiscal years,” she insisted.
Dr Samia said she would not tolerate anybody who was planning to chop any fund channeled in the BBT programme.
She asked the minister for Agriculture Hussein Bashe to make sure that the programme was successful as she directed that it should be considered as a nation matter which needs collaboration from all sectorial ministries.
“You should go and form a committee of Ministers that are directly involved with this programme and I believe it will be successful because we have pumped in a lot of money in the programme.
She also said that her government would continue supporting the ministry financially to ensure that it has enough extension officers to support agricultural activities.
At the event, the President challenged local contractors that yesterday signed consultancy contracts to conduct a feasibility study in the block farming projects to deliver, failure to which she said appropriate legal measures would be taken against those who would breach contract obligations.
Yesterday, the ministry of Agriculture through the Irrigation Commission signed several contracts with local contractors amounting to 146.1bn/-.
During an interview, one of the companies—Mhandisi Consultancy Limited, which signed five different contracts assured the president that the local company owned by Tanzanians by 100 per cent would not let down the government.
“We have enough experts and equipment to deliver as per the requirements of the contracts that we have signed today,” said the company Director, Engineer Patrick Kasera.
The company’s director said his company had signed five consultancy contracts for five different irrigation schemes projects namely Legezamwendo Irrigation Schemes and Dams in Kalambo District Council in Rukwa Region and Mkomazi dams and Irrigation Schemes in Mkomazi in Tanga Region.
Others are Lukuledi basin irrigation schemes in Lindi region, Nyanzwa Dam and Irrigation Scheme in Iringa region and Luiche Valley Irrigation project.
Earlier, the Minister for Agriculture, said that his ministry was fully committed to make the first ever history of creating billionaires from the agriculture sector.
He said in the BBT project, youths were being trained for four months, after Which they go for a practical training in allocated farms before they are given ten hectares of land each and sub-leasing tittle deeds for 66 years.
“In helping them take use of the land, we have equally established a window for grant facilities and soft loans which will help them to realise their dreams,” he noted.
National Assembly Speaker Dr Tulia Ackson paid tribute to the executive for coming up with the ambitious project promising full support from the legislature.
“I wish to reiterate that Tanzania is able to feed the world and with the various projects that we have I believe we shall realise our dream,” she noted.
