Africa-Press – Tanzania. THE government reiterated yesterday that it has resumed the issuance of the 10 per cent loans through local government authorities, following a temporary suspension in April 2023 to allow for system improvements.
Deputy Minister of State in the President’s Office – Regional Administration and Local Government, Dr Festo Dugange, told the National Assembly yesterday that the loan disbursement resumed on July 1, 2024, in accordance with the Local Government Finance Act and the 2024 Regulations for the Provision and Management of Loans to Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities.
Dr Dugange was responding to a question raised by Special Seats MP, Mwamtum Dau Haji (CCM), who sought clarification on when women and youth entrepreneurs would begin accessing the government-funded loans again.
He said that in the 2024/25 financial year, a total of 82.84bn/- was disbursed to 8,275 groups nationwide.
Of the amount, 40.71bn/- went to women’s groups, 36.64bn/- to youth groups, and 5.48bn/- to groups of people with disabilities.
“The government urges all interested entrepreneurs to form or join groups and submit loan applications through their respective local government authorities as per the established guidelines,” said Dr Dugange.
Responding to a supplementary question by MP Dau, who sought to know how the government is ensuring repayment of previously issued loans, the Deputy Minister said that before suspending the programme in 2023, an assessment was conducted and it was found that the initial system had loopholes that allowed some groups to default on repayment.
He, however, said that repayment of loans issued before April 2023 has been ongoing and is being closely monitored by the government, with encouraging results so far.
“I assure you that we will continue to follow up until all the funds loaned out are fully recovered,” he stated.
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