Africa-Press – Tanzania. PLANS are underway for the South West Indian Ocean Fisheries Governance and Shared Growth (SWIOFish) Project to extend its implementation for another year instead of the planned 2021 to compensate the lost time due to effects of the Covid-19 outbreak.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries, Dr Rashid Tamatamah, said this during a video conference convened in Dodoma recently to assess the implementation of the project.
Dr Tamatamah said they had submitted an application to the Ministry of Finance to extend the implementation time for the project to 2022.
“The World Bank has agreed to the extension of time for the project’s goals to be met,” said Dr Tamatamah.
According to the PS, since the project took off in 2015 it has continued receiving report from development partners.
“Financiers are quite pleased with the implementation of the project in all areas, including funding and the construction of buildings…it gives us confidence to see that the project is implemented as agreed,” noted the PS.
He pointed out that due to Covid-19 some countries had issued travel bans that was why parties to the project were meeting virtually.
He, however, noted that the World Bank had pledged to support Tanzania to implement its blue economy agenda, citing the ministry’s commitment to protect marine resources in further developing fishing activities.
Participants in the project include the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Natural Resource and Tourism and the Deep Sea Fishing Authority.
The SWIOFish Project was established in 2015 by encouraging the protection of marine resources and conserving the coastal ecosystem, including beaches.
