Bongo bana.................
Why all these projects this year? Kuna nini? Kwa sababu Tanzania ni zaidi ya uijuavyo tega sikio na usihofu kuwa na mashaka.............
Bilioni 73 kusajili wazawa nchini
James Magai - mwananchi
ZAIDI ya Sh 73bilioni zinatarajiwa kutumika katika utekelezaji Mpango wa Kitaifa wa Usajili wa Uzawa nchini, hasa Tanzania Bara ambao unatarajiwa kuanza mapema mwaka huu hadi kukamilika kwake.
Kwa mujibu wa mpango huo wa miaka mitatu utakaoendeshwa na Wakala wa Usajili wa Vizazi, Vifo, Udhamini na Ufilisi (Rita), hadi kufikia mwaka 2013 watu wote nchini watakuwa wamepata usajili wa uzawa.
Akizungumza na waandishi wa habari wakati wa hafla ya uzinduzi wa mpango huo jijini Dar es Salaam, Ofisa Mtendaji Mkuu wa Rita Phillip Saliboko, alisema wakala huyo anatambua usajili wa vizazi katika nchi yoyote ile unakamilisha moja ya haki za msingi za binadamu ambayo ni kutambuliwa kwa kuhusisha jina la mtoto, wazazi, umri na utaifa.
“Kwa kutambua umuhimu huo Rita imeanzisha na imedhamiria, kuanzisha na kutekeleza mradi wa miaka mitatu unaoitwa Universal Birth and Death Registration Project."
"Mpango huo una dhamira ya kuhakikisha kuwa kila raia wa Tanzania Bara anasajiliwa."
Alifafanua kwamba, mradi huo utawezesha kupata takwimu muhimu ambazo zitasaidia kwa matumizi mbalimbali kama utoaji wa Vitambulisho vya Taifa, shahada za kupigia kura, mfumo wa elimu, na kukuza uwezo wa usajili wa vizazi kitaifa , kiwilaya na ngazi ya vijiji.
Akizungumzia utekelezaji wa mradi huo, Saliboko alisema utakuwa wa awamu tatu kuanzia mwaka huu na kwamba, katika kipindi cha mpango huo, usajili na utoaji wa vyeti kwa watoto wenye umri chini ya miaka mitano utafanyika bure lakini umri kuanzia miaka mitano na kuendelea watagharamia Sh3,500 tu.
Saliboko aliongeza kwamba, awamu ya kwanza itaanza mwaka 2010 hadi 2011, ikihusisha wilaya 15 za majaribio, awama ya pili itaanza mwaka 2011 hadi 2012 ambazo zitahusisha jumla ya wilaya 50, awamu ya tatu na ya mwisho, itaanza mwaka 2012 hadi 2013 ambazo, zitahusisha wilaya 62 na kukamilisha wilaya zote nchini.
Naye Mkurugenzi wa Sheria wa Rita Emmy Hadson, alisema mpango huo ni matokeo ya marekebisho ya Sheria Namba 30 ya mwaka 1997, iliyoanzisha Rita, ambayo inaweka bayana usajili wa vizazi na vifo ni suala la lazima.
"Awali suala la usajili kwa wazawa halikuwa la lazima na ndio maana hata usajili ulikuwa ni wa chini sana, kwani watu walifika kwa DC (Mkuu wa Wilaya) kujisajili pale tu walipokuwa na mahitaji kama vile kupata cheti," alifafanua Hadson na kuongeza
"Lakini kulingana na umuhimu wake, tulipitia sheria zetu na kuzifanyia marekebisho ambazo kwa sasa usajili wa vizazi na vifo ni suala la lazima."
Mgeni rasmi katika hafla hiyo, Oliver Mhaiki ambaye ni Katibu Mkuu wa Wizara ya Katiba na Sheria, alisema usajili wa vizazi na vifo ni ni muhimu kwani utasaidia kupata takwimu ambazo zitaiwezesha serikali na wadau wengine, kupanga mipango ya maendeleo.
"Bila kuwa na takwimu na mfumo sahihi wa kuhifadhi idadi kamili ya watu ni vigumu kwa serikali na mashirika ya maendeleo, kupanga mikakati ya maendeleo kwa wananchi wake.
Electricity project execution on Rufiji River set to start
Source: Ippmedia
There is a glimmer of hope at last for the implementation of the Rufiji Basin hydro electric project with ten-times bigger capacity than Kidatu (200MW), The Guardian on Sunday learnt this week.
Director General of the Rufiji Basin Development Authority (RUBADA) Aloyce Masanja said the project - on the drawing board for years - has been resuscitated after formation in September last year of a team tasked to oversee its implementation.
The $2 billion four-phase project would be executed in five years. The first phase and the second phase will produce 300MW and 600 MW respectively, while the third phase and the last phase will have 900 MW and 300 MW respectively.
The RUBADA director general is chairman of the team consisting of officials from ministries of Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives, Energy and Minerals, Natural Resources and Tourism and Livestock Development and Fisheries.
Others are representatives from the Ministry of Water and Irrigation, Tanzania Electric Supply Company, Tanzania Investment Centre, National Environmental Management Council, Energy and Water Utility Regulatory Authority and the Attorney General's office.
The project is situated at the Stiegler's Gorge on Rufiji River in the Coast Region, a 130m gravity arch whose waters have a flow of 1,000 cubic metres per second - according studies done between 1978 and 1982.
According to Masanja Infrastructural Development Finance (IDF) from South Africa and Energem from Canada would team up with the task force to execute the project, expected to generate 2,100 MW out of which initially 50 per cent be supplied to the National Grid.
Mpanga, Ruhudji, Mnera Iringa Lukose and Kilombero (Kingeneras and Shughuli falls) would be the major sites for electricity generation in the Rufiji Basin, Masanja said.
In 1984 the World Bank approved a master plan for the project. At that time the country had less demand for electricity than now. However, in 2006 IDF and Energem got a one-year contract with RUBADA. Still Tanzania government reportedly withdrew from the contract after 11 months.
The power project is also expected to provide flood control downstream - exceeding 2500 cubic meters between March and April – as well as allowing irrigation. At present, the cultivation downstream of the proposed dam is around 14,000ha -rice being the main crop. However, Masanja said once the flood is put under control, about 622,400 ha would be potentially used for agriculture.
Crops like paddy, maize, banana, cassava, sweet potatoes, sugarcane and simsim would be cultivated on 337,000 ha of land, earning Tanzania over 719, 500, 000,000 per annum only on Kilombero and Lower Rufiji valley. If promoted, the crops could be grown for commercial purposes. With irrigation, minimum paddy production can be up to 6 tonnes.
Apart from boosting agricultural production, a dam at the project would create a permanent water reservoir with a total storage capacity of 34,000 million cubic meters covering surface area of 1,200 kilometres square. The length of the reservoir will be 100 km long.
Masanja suggested that a 120kilometre long access road from Chalinze to Stiegler's Gorge could open up the area as part of the development of tourism in the southern circuit.
He said the power from Stieger's Gorge would be cheap and in abundance. Villagers downstream of the dam such as Mloka, Kipo, Mkongo,Nyamwage, Ikwiriri, Utete, Mohoro and Mtunda would be provided with electricity, a catalyst to development of small scale industries and provision of better health services and other social amenities.
In addition, he said the income generated from small scale industries such as milling machines, processing of agroproducts will be sizable income to resident population, adding that environmental assessment impacts has been carried out and a mechanism will be built in to continuously monitor various effects inorder to benefit from the implementation of the project.
Back in 1907, a visionary and explorer Dr Stiegler's decided to lead an expedition to explore the mighty of Rufiji River starting from the Indian Ocean with the view to among other things to establish a permanent economic transport system to the interior of the Land of Tanganyika.
Some 230 kilometres upstream, he encountered a narrow pass inform of a canyon of more than eight kilometers with the depth of up to 100 metres. He found out that all the waters from the upstream pass through this narrow and deep canyon.
The German administrator decided to call the place ‘Stiegler's Gorge'- the name of this exceptionally courageous and visionary explorer. The basin, being the largest in Tanzania covers an area of 177,000 square kilometers extending 700 km from Mbeya in the west and almost the same distance from Songea and Ruvuma in the South draining thereby the Great Ruaha, Luweru and the Kilombero River.
The basin contains large potentials of agricultural land, hydropower, fisheries and forestry.
