State pledges successful budget execution
DODOMA: PRIME Minister Kassim Majaliwa yesterday emphasized on the legal tax collection to enable effective execution of the 2024/2025 Financial Year budget.
Adjoining the 15th meeting of the 12th Parliament in Dodoma yesterday, the Premier called for collective efforts in building the country saying the government is committed to creating conducive environment that will enhance economic activities.
He said in the 2024/2025 fiscal year, the government is looking forward to implementing a number of projects in various sectors.
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He said a total of 787bn/- has been allocated in the 2024/2025 financial year to support 250,000 higher learning students through the Higher Education Students’ Loans Board (HESLB), a move that marks a significance increase from 743.2bn/- of 2023/2024 fiscal year, which benefitted 224,056 students.
Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa said the students to benefit from the loan include 80,000 new undergraduate students.
“Preliminary preparations have begun, including the distribution of the planning and lending guide; opening the loan application window for the year 2024/2025 for a period of 90 days from June 1 to August 31, 2024; providing education to loan applicants,” said Mr Majaliwa.
He said that in the financial year 2023/2024, the government provided loans to 224,056 higher education students, and by June 2024, the students had received loans totalling 743.2bn/-, equivalent to 94.6 per cent of the allocated funds.
These loans were earmarked for students pursuing certificates, diplomas, practical legal training diplomas, undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, as well as recipients of Samia Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) studies.
Regarding loan repayments, the Prime Minister stated that the Loans Board has continued to collect repayments from loan beneficiaries.
“For the year 2023/2024, the government aimed to collect 230bn/-, of which 161bn/- had been collected by May 2024, equivalent to 70 per cent of the target,” he said.
Standard Gauge Railway
Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) train services to Dodoma will begin at the end of July this year for 31,000/- fare for the train that stops at every station, Prime Minister Majaliwa said.
He said for Express SGR train to Dodoma, the fare will be 50,000/-. The train stops at Pugu and Morogoro.
The initial SGR train services between Dar es Salaam and Morogoro commenced on June 14, 2024, in preparation for the full-scale operations between Dar es Salaam and Dodoma.
He said during the fiscal year 2023/2024, the government continued to enhance the transportation sector by overseeing and developing various aspects of the railway sector, including the construction of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) and the rehabilitation of existing railways metre-gauge railways, as well as improving air transport, maritime transport, ship construction and repair as well as port enhancements.
He said regarding the SGR railway, construction of the 1,596-kilometer railway from Dar es Salaam to Mwanza, divided into five segments, continued to be implemented.
Land Tenure Project
The Premier said that the government has signed a 346bn/- contract with the World Bank for the Land Tenure Security Improvement Project which aims to enhance land tenure security and facilitate land management infrastructure in the country.
He said the contract is for a project, which is being implemented in 67 local councils and 26 regions. According to Premier Majaliwa, the project is set to take five years and it started from 2022/2023 to 2026/2027.
He said the project comprises four components: increasing land tenure security through formalisation by issuing 1,000,000 titles in urban areas and 500,000 customary titles, strengthening land information systems, constructing land infrastructure and project management.
Describing the project, Prime Minister Majaliwa stated that, as of June 15th this year, the accomplishments include formalising 62,200 land parcels in various councils, setting 327 primary survey markers in 26 councils, surveying and verifying village boundaries and preparing Village Land Certificates for 843 councils. Additionally, 381,509 customary land titles have been prepared.
“The project has facilitated the purchase of 18 vehicles used in various parts of the country, with procedures for acquiring another 52 vehicles ongoing and expected to arrive by September 2024. This step will alleviate the significant transportation challenges within the land sector,” he said.
The Prime Minister urged Urban Planning Authorities under the coordination of the Ministry of Land, Housing and Human Settlements Development to accelerate the implementation pace of the Land Tenure Security Improvement Project efficiently to ensure that allocated project funds are utilised effectively.
He also urged them to curb conflicts through verification and surveying of village boundaries as well as preparation of village land use plans. The parliament has been adjourned to 27th of August, this year.
