AfricaPress-Tanzania: THE establishing of a special funds for the national teams and artistry heralded John Magufuli’s second term presidency that solely aims to make Tanzania a sports powerhouse.
The establishing of special funds was among the major issues outlined by President Magufuli during the inauguration of the 12th National Assembly in Dodoma on Friday.
The special fund, especially to the national teams will enable a good preparation of the Tanzanian envoys in various continental or global level events.
The fund, according to JPM should strictly be used to creating well-drilled and winning national teams since he is fed up witnessing Tanzanian teams performing poorly in the international tournaments.
“We will start allocating a small amount of money for the preparation of our national teams and in that I would like to take this opportunity to wish our soccer national team “Taifa Stars” the best of luck as they face Tunisia tonight.” “Tanzanians want victory, we are tired of losing every match.”
Among the biggest sports project awaiting JPM’s second term presidency include the construction of the hyper modern sports arena in Dodoma capable of accommodating a big audience and sports activities in the near future.
He said that during his swearing-in ceremony at Jamhuri Stadium in Dodoma where some people missed an opportunity to witness the ceremony as the venue failed to accommodate all of them.
The proposed construction of the ultra-modern sports complex in Dodoma is also on card, where the state had acquired 350hectares much more than 150hectares that were needed for the project.
It is said the new stadium would cost between 80m/- and 100m/- US dollars to be able to accommodate a seating capacity of between 85,000-105,000 spectators.
Despite making promises to national teams, the President stated during inauguration that he will continue to uplift the arts sector as he acknowledges the contribution of the industry; as it is an industry that has been growing very fast.
“In the next five years we will develop the arts, sports, culture industry which is growing rapidly right now. As I promised during the campaign, I will further develop the industry, especially by improving the copyright management so that artists can benefit from their work. ” In addition to building a commitment to improve the arts sector, JPM also promised to introduce the fund which will help artists, including providing them with opportunity for training and loans.
“I am relieved to see that there are artists who are members of the parliament among us here. We will also introduce a culture and arts fund that will help our artists including getting training and loans.”
President Magufuli during his first term of presidency ordered the move of transfer Copyright Society of Tanzania (COSOTA), to the Ministry of Information, Culture, Arts and Sports from the Ministry of Industry.
Arts or artistry general has not only contributed to the national income but has also placed Tanzania in the world entertainment map.
Witnessing artists like Diamond Platnumz, Ali Kiba, Harmonize, Nandy and Zuchu recognized as among the top artists in the country, East Africa and the world at large.
JPM’s reign in the past five years has seen a steady growth in sports and entertainment sectors, and the arts-loving Head of the state, had most often promised more vitality in the 2020/25 term.
The country in the first five years under JPM made notable progress in the women and girls’ football as proved by Kilimanjaro Queens, the Mainland football team, which won back to back CECAFA Women Championship.
His first five year reign also saw the national team “Taifa Stars” qualifying into the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals staged last year in Cairo, Egypt, for the first time after almost 30 years.
