Tanzania eyes regional fortunes
PRESIDENT Samia Suluhu Hassan has cited connection to the national grid and improvement of road and port infrastructures as among measures by the government to propel the peripheral region of Kigoma to become a strategic trade and investment hub in the Great Lakes Region.
“Kigoma was once regarded as a poor peripheral region but this is now going to change. It will become a strategic region for trade and business in the region,” Ms Samia remarked when addressing a public rally in Kasulu Urban.
The Head of State made the commitment to transform the region shortly before launching the 63-kilometre road linking Kidawe-Kasulu road as well as launching a foundation stone for construction of 260.6-kilometres Kabingo-Kasulu-Manyovu road.
The Kidawe-Kasulu road has been constructed to bitumen standard at a cost of 64.7bn/-, while construction of Kabingo-Kasulu-Manyovu road to tarmac level is expected to cost 360.5bn/-, thanks to a soft loan from the African Development Bank (AfDB).
Ms Samia was optimistic that the ongoing construction of roads in Kigoma and its connection to the national grid will play an important role in bolstering economic activities between Kigoma and other regions as well as neighbouring countries in the Great Lakes Region.
“Kigoma is well positioned to become an important hub for trade since it is bordering with Burundi and DRC (the Democratic Republic of Congo) and this is an opportunity to boost trade with our neighbours,” Ms Samia said during the second day of her working visit in the region.
Adding; “We are also upgrading ports in Kigoma (along Lake Tanganyika) with a view of spurring exchange of commodities between Tanzania and DRC.
She also explained that construction of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) which will branch off from Tabora to Kigoma will have a crucial role in positioning the region as trade and business hub with other regions of Tabora, Katavi, Rukwa, and Geita, among others.
On the same note, the Country Manager for AfDB in Tanzania, Dr Patricia Laverley, said construction of roads in Kigoma will link the port of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania to land-linked countries of DRC, Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda.
“These roads form an integral part of the central transport corridor and will support smooth transportation of people and goods and eventually boost trade along the strip. They will also reduce logistics costs along the corridor.
“Improvements of the road network in Kigoma Region, which forms part of the central corridor, will benefit farmers and traders. Travel time from the port of Dar es Salaam to Burundi is expected to reduce to 2.5 days from 4.3 days at present,” she explained.
Dr Laverley assured President Samia that AfDB will support establishment of a One-Stop Border Post (OSBP) between Tanzania and Burundi in order to boost trade between the two countries.
In a related development, President Samia yesterday officially switched-off diesel-powered generators which hitherto supplied electricity to Kigoma region before it was connected to the national grid.
The Minister for Energy, Mr January Makamba, earlier told President Samia that all fuel generators in Kigoma had an installed capacity of generating 14 megawatts (MW) but the national grid will supply 20MW.
The generators were also expensive to operate, Mr Makamba explained, since the government had to cough up 52bn/- each year to purchase fuel to operate them and yet revenues accrued from the sale of electricity to customers was just 14bn/-.
During the second day of her four-day visit in Kigoma, Ms Samia also launched new buildings for Kabanga Teachers’ Training College which were constructed through a support from the government of Canada to the tune of 14bn/-.
The teaching facility has a capacity of hosting 800 students while its boarding facilities can accommodate up to 400 students.
