Africa-Press – Tanzania. KAGERA Region has recorded significant progress across all key sectors during the four years of President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s administration, with a total of 1.13tril/- disbursed between November 2020 and April 2025 for development projects.
Regional Commissioner Fatma Mwassa said on Tuesday that the massive investment has brought notable improvements in health, education, infrastructure, water, energy, agriculture, livestock and fisheries.
“In just four years, Kagera has undergone a historic transformation that has impacted people’s lives across the board,” said the RC.
She said in the health sector, a total of 146.3bn/- was allocated in the said period, increasing the number of health service facilities from 249 to 336.
This includes an increase in hospitals from three to 11 with eight new district hospitals while health centres rose from 29 to 42 and dispensaries from 217 to 283. She added that specialist services such as Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT), orthopaedics and internal medicine have been introduced at the regional referral hospital, increasing the number of patients treated within the region from 128,305 to 478,002, which is 273 per cent rise.
Medical supplies and medicines availability has also improved from 85 to 93 per cent. Plans are underway to construct a modern hospital capable of responding to outbreak diseases such as Marburg and Mpox.
On revenue collection, the region has doubled its collections from 23.6bn/- in 2020/21 to 47.2bn/- by May, this year, with a cumulative five-year collection reaching 175.8bn/-.
The target is to collect 75bn/- per year. On education, Ms Mwassa said academic performance in secondary schools improved from 91.0 per cent to 94.57 per cent.
She added that 116 new pre-primary and primary schools and 68 new secondary schools have been built. These include three vocational training centres and a 4.1bn/- regional girls’ boarding school, Kagera River Secondary.
“For the first time in our country’s history, a University of Dar es Salaam campus is being constructed in Kagera. The project is now 70 per cent complete. This is significant because Kagera has long been home to many of the country’s scholars,” she said.
The number of Vocational Education and Training Authority (VETA) colleges increased from four to nine, including the newly built Burugo Regional VETA College, which cost 20bn/-.
On access to clean and safe water, she said the coverage has improved significantly from 85 to 93 per cent in urban areas and from 76 to 83 per cent in rural communities. A total of 41 water projects (23 rural and 18 urban) worth 164.7bn/- have been implemented.
The region also made strides in transport infrastructure, with roads connecting regional and district headquarters expanding from 783.1km to 800.76km, while urban roads increased from 34.17km to 40.87km.
Port upgrades also received a boost, with 26.2bn/- allocated for improvements, where implementation has reached 100 per cent for Kemondo Port and 99 per cent for Bukoba Port. On energy sector, the RC said a total of 103.3bn/- has been invested in the energy sector, leading to full electricity coverage in all 662 villages (100 per cent), with 1,763 out of 3,665 hamlets (48 per cent) also connected.
She said the region now receives electricity from the national grid, unlike in the past when the region relied on Uganda’s supply and diesel generators.
Four major hydroelectric power projects are underway, with a combined output of 221.8MW including Rusumo/ Ngara (80MW), Murongo/ Kikagati-Kyerwa (14MW), Kakono/Missenyi (87.8MW) and Nsongezi/Kyerwa (40MW).
In the agriculture sector, she said coffee production rose to 54,203 tonnes from 53,417 tonnes of parchment coffee, while prices jumped from 1,200/- to 4,200/- per kilogram.
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She added that the number of formal businesses rose by 55 per cent, reaching 25,378 from 16,376. Registered petty traders increased from 1,550 to 2,821, which is an 82 per cent jump.
Investment has also grown, with the number of investors increasing from 175 to 275. The Tanzania Investment Centre (TIC) has registered projects worth 267.16bn/- that have created 11,072 jobs.
To boost economic growth, she said the region has embarked on 28 strategic projects funded through council-generated revenue, valued at 25.93bn/-.
The strategic projects include the construction of the central urban bus terminal worth 1.35bn/-, which is 80 per cent complete, the main bus terminal and Bukoba central market, others include roads and riverbank protection construction. She added other major projects as construction of markets in Muleba and Bunazi in Misenyi District.
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