Africa-Press – Tanzania. ZANZIBARIS were on Wednesday invited to apply for soft loans under the stimulus package, which seeks to stir economic recovery in the post Covid-19 recession.
The revolutionary govern- ment has set aside 50.6bn/- for economic empowerment of 85,850 wananchi in Unguja and Pemba islands, Minister of State, President’s Office, Labour, Economy and Investment Mudrik Ramadhan Soraga said here.
“I wish to inform you that this money (50.6bn/-) is an ini- tial investment; the government will talk with commercial banks to double or triple the targeted beneficiaries. We better prepare ourselves, because there is a big amount of money; it’s up to us to use them,” the minister said in his briefing to reporters on the fund allocation.
He said the government objective is to ensure that the money benefits all traders and entrepreneurs, including women, youth, people with disabilities, widows and all wananchi involved in various economic activities.
Citing the analysis of the fund allocation, Minister Soraga said the government will spend 11bn/- in development of special working areas for timber and fur- niture dealers; blacksmiths and garage mechanics.
“The government is in the final stages of commencing the construction,” he said, adding that the construction works on the three special business areas is scheduled to start next month.
The government has as well allocated 6.7bn/- for 8,444 farm- ers and livestock keepers, while the budget for 22,600 small handcraft entrepreneurs is put at 5.075bn/-, the minister said, add- ing that 9,500 wholesale and retail shop traders have 5.2bn/-.
Other groups with their bud- get allocations in brackets are 2,906 industrial entrepreneurs (4.056bn/-); bodaboda riders (6.7bn/-); 16,000 food vendors (2.55bn/-); and 2,000 youths in various craftsmanship (2bn/-).
The motorcycle operators will have to form regional groups, with 50 motorcycles provided to each of the five regions. “I urge wananchi to come up in big numbers to apply for these soft loans to improve their production,” said the minister, asking the local and regional governments to prepare their respective wananchi for the money acquisition.
He said the funding primarily focuses on providing small entrepreneurs especially those in the informal sector with capital, training and markets. Available statistics indicate that the informal sector accounts for 41.7 per cent of the country’s work force.
However, the minister unveiled the government’s strategy to intensify the honey sector through increased production to tap the product’s huge domestic and international markets.
Through an 800m/- budget, the government will train over 16,000 women and youth in Un- guja and Pemba on beekeeping as well as construct honey pro- cessing centres in the country.
In his address to the nation last Friday on one year in the presidency, President Hussein Mwinyi announced a 460bn/- stimulus package to stir economic recovery from the Covid-19 induced recession.
He, however warned dishon- est government officers bent on pilfering the money, reiterating his firm resolve to protect the fund against thievery. “Already, there are indicators of some people preparing themselves to steal this money; I have all the information and let me caution you…not a penny will be stolen,” the president cautioned.
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