Africa-Press – Tanzania. PRESIDENT Samia Suluhu Hassan’s just-concluded working tour of Kilimanjaro and Arusha regions has raised great hopes of citizens and investors, according to analysts.
Commenting on the fourday tour, during which President Samia inaugurated a number of socio-economic projects, the pundits had nothing but praise for the President, saying that it had heralded a new dawn for the two regions.
Speaking separately with the ‘Daily News’, the experts also expressed their gratitude President Samia for making Arusha and Kilimanjaro among her first, go-to places in her otherwise, tight presidential itinerary.
The chairperson of the Tanzania Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (TCCIA) Arusha chapter, Walter Maeda heaped praise on Ms Samia for prioritizing the two regions during her work tour.
According to the renowned businessman, the visit by the President over the weekend demonstrated how determined the Head of State was in ensuring that the two regions retained their lost glories.
“Kilimanjaro is famed for coffee production and other crops, which is why the President even went further to open the strategic Sanya Juu-Alerai road last Sunday,” he opined.
While opening the stretch, Ms Samia expressed confidence that the 62.7 billionstretch will ensure the smooth transportation of crops to the market.
The West Kilimanjaro area still remains a food basket for places like Longido District in Arusha. The inauguration of the road, according to the president, would also help solve many of the challenges facing the people of Siha.
The ring road also goes around Mt Kilimanjaro, hence its presence will definitely spur tourism activities between the two regions,” explained Mr Maeda.
The TCCIA regional chairperson described the four-day visit of the president as a confidence booster for investors in the two regions.
He singled out the president’s tour and inspection of the Arusha Urban Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (AUWSA) 520bn/- water project as a good sign of winning over investors’ confidence.
“Water crisis is one of the challenges that has for a quite a long time been scaring investors,” he explained.
During her site visit at one of the project’s number 5 Booster Pump Station at Chekereni-Mlangarini area, Ms Samia commended AUWSA Managing Director Engineer Justine Rujomba for a job well done at the site.
Some 200 million litres of water will be produced daily against the current demand of 109 million litres, once the project comes to fruition in June 2022.
On his part, Tanzania Association of Tour Operators (TATO) Board Member, Timothy Mdinka still revels in President Samia’s visit to Arusha, saying it breathed a sigh of relief to the sector, whose future was anything but bleak with Covid- 19 still hovering over it.
Mr Mdinka observed that the Presidential visit was a true reflection of why Tanzania was determined to host the East African Regional Tourism Expo (EARTE), which concluded here more than a week ago.
“With the 90.2bn/- for Tourism in revival in sight, we now see a brighter future ahead,” he said. The funding by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is meant to shield the lucrative sector from the pangs of Covid-19.
“The President came to Arusha with tourism being one of her number one priority and this gives us the impetus to do more business and realize the government’s target of reaching five million tourist arrivals by 2025,” he added.
