TANZANIA : THE government has signed contracts worth 276.2bn/- for execution of the first tier of the Tanzania Cities Transforming Infrastructure and Competitiveness (TACTIC) project in 12 cities.
According to Minister of State in the President's Office - Regional Administration and Local Governments (PO-RALG) Mr Mohamed Mchengerwa, the implementation of the project will not only promote the individuals' income, but also increase the councils' internal revenue collections.
Among the cities in which the first tier will be implemented are Arusha City Council, Dodoma City Council, Geita Town Council, Ilemela Municipal Council (MC), Kahama MC, Kigoma Ujiji MC, Mbeya City Council, Morogoro MC, Mwanza City Council, Songea MC, Sumbawanga MC, and Tabora MC.
Speaking during the signing ceremony with respective contractors in Dar es Salaam, yesterday, Mr Mchengerwa said PO-RALG through the Tanzania Rural and Urban Roads Agency (TARURA) is expected to construct more than 140 kilometres of tarmac roads and water drainage systems of more than 20kms in the identified councils in phase I.
"The contracts signed today (yesterday) are for implementing the first tier of the TACTIC. We expect to construct tarmac roads with a total length of 147.54 km, drains network of 24.66 Km, markets, commuter bus terminals, installation of street solar lights, among others," the minister pointed out.
Mr Mchengwera added that he is optimistic that the project will improve the transport and transportation settings, adding that it will also mitigate various natural disasters, such as flooding, in some areas.
Moreover, he directed all District Executive Directors (DEDs) in all councils countrywide to manage well the development projects in their areas while insisting to take actions against those who will sabotage the project.
"If the supervision of these projects will not be going well, I will not care who you are and how you have been recruited to that position; I will suspend you... I encourage you to work hard to help Tanzanians and President Samia Suluhu Hassan.
"I am somehow a different person, I will not hesitate to take action any time since the funds have been already allocated and now the projects have kicked off. If you fail to manage these projects properly, I will really take action," Mr Mchengwera underlined.
The minister also instructed the contractors to implement the projects on time, saying, if possible, it should be completed before time so that citizens can benefit from them.
"I want to assure you contractors; there will be no further extension of time when this agreed period ends," he emphasised while stressing on the issue of considering value for money.
For his part, Chairperson of the Parliamentary Local Government Affairs Committee Mr Dennis Londo, urged citizens to safeguard the constructed infrastructure to reduce costs in renovating them, which he said is a burden to the government.
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Earlier when briefing on the project, the Project Engineer Humphrey Kanyenye revealed that the TACTIC is the project implemented by the government through PORALG for a loan of 410 million US dollars.
The project will be implemented in three tiers whereby the tier 1 to involve 12 cities will start in this financial year 2023/24 while the execution of tier 2 in 15 councils and tier 3 in 18 cities will start 2024/25 financial year.
He also added that the implementation period of the project is six years from the financial year 2022/2023.
