Africa-Press – Tanzania. PRESIDENT Samia Suluhu Hassan has appealed for lower birth rates to match existing social services. She expressed this view at Runzewe, Bukombe District in Geita Region in a tour of in western regions, Kagera, Geita and Kigoma regions.
She spoke of her experiences at the Buseresere area where she was told that one health center helps nearly 1,000 mothers to deliver, each month, demanding what will be the case after three years.
“How many classes are there? How many health centers, and how many tonnes of food? Slow down a bit,” she appealed.
Shaka Hamdu Shaka, the ruling party secretary for Ideology and Publicity had earlier urged people in the region to get more children as social services continue to be improved.
He said people had nothing to worry about as President Samia is there, classrooms are being built, health centers are being built, and the president has opened up opportunities so investors are coming.
Inaugurating the 3.5bn/- Kakonko District Hospital in Kagera Region, the president pointed at risks when people trek long distances for health services, thus the urgency of building health centres in all wards.
The government was also focused on equipping hospitals to provide all basic services, she said, urging proper maintenance of its facilities to provide services for a long time
Ndaki Stephano, the council’s executive director, said that the project cost 2.9bn/-, most of which came from central government, with 24.6m/- sourced from local revenue.
The council received 500m/- for the purchase of medical equipment and 57.9m/- to compensate people who were moved so that the hospital is built, he said.
Buildings completed so far are the outpatient wing, laboratories, mother and child ward, and a radiation facility. There is also space for drug storage, laundry, administration, emergency services and a staff house.
The president also inaugurated the 220kV transmission line of 144km from Geita to Nyakanazi and onward to Kigoma, with TANESCO CEO Maharage Chande, telling the audience that in the past Chato, Biharamulo and Ngara districts pushed for power supply amidst rationing.
The supply was not enough, making it difficult to pump water to people as Ngara and Biharamulo district has thermal generation of electricity, he said.
The generators at Biharamulo, Ngara, Loliondo, Kibondo and Kasulu had now been switched off, he stated. This had saved 60bn/- used to purchase fuel and conduct maintenance each year on average, he said.
Energy minister January Makamba pointed out that switching off generators in Kigoma had been delayed a bit as four transmission lines, the 33kV and 400kV for Sumbawanga-Mpanda-Kigoma and Tabora-Urambo-Kigoma respectively were being built.
Kigoma will also get power from the Malagarasi hydropower project, he elaborated
Launching a water project at Kanyamfisi in Kakonko town, Kigoma Region, the president said the contractors had done a good job, enabling the government to fulfill the promise he made to the people.
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