Dar es Salaam. A new application developed by university graduates is seeking to replace electronic fiscal devices (EFDs), used by traders to issue receipts and address the complaints of the business operators about the challenges they face in the use of the machines.
The businesses complain of network disruption and device buying costs, which range from Sh500,000 to Sh2.5 million.
Some businesses also claim that the ink used to issue receipts on those machines does not last long, thus making them unable to properly maintain sales records.
As a precaution, they say, they have been forced to incur other costs by having to photocopy sales receipts in order to keep records that can last a long time, unlike those that come directly from the machines.
However, the graduates Dickson Godwin, Thomas Bahati and Arnold Lyimo from the University of Dar es Salaam’s College of Information and Communication Technology (COICT) have developed a mobile solution that could be an alternative to the traditional EFDs. The digital app that aims to ensure effective revenue collection by the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA), they say, contains features that enhance convenience, communication and record-keeping for both businesses and consumers.
Instead of traders having to buy an EFD machine, they can simply download the application, which is one of those that are being showcased in the ongoing national innovation exhibition week in Dodoma.
“These machines have had many shortcomings,” Ms Margaret Barozi, a business owner and a recent subscriber to the new innovation told The Citizen yesterday.
“The machines have had many conditions in use and are easy to damage, but with this new mobile solution, I am sure of my sales and the taxman cannot blame me for anything because I cannot lose my receipts easily and they are always very clear,” she added.
In that regard, a partnership between COICT and its graduates, through their company known as Zanata, created an app dubbed Risiti, which is available in the Play Store and Apple Store and is now changing the tides for traders.
They said the development was part of the university’s industrial linkage initiative and aligned learning approach, where students collaborate on projects that address societal challenges.
According to Mr Dickson Godwin, one of the computer science graduates who developed the app, the innovation was officially launched in 2022 and has been able to reach more than 200,000 traders who only needed to download the application for free and provide TRA receipts to customers directly through their mobile phones.
“We have cooperated with TRA, who gave us the go-ahead after seeing this efficiency and now the businessman does not need to incur costs to buy EFD machines,” he said, adding that the only cost incurred is the Sh30 deducted from a mobile operator after issuing receipts.
The mobile application delivers instant messages to buyers confirming the details of the transaction and payment. Through this app, he said, users have the flexibility to filter, manage and retrieve their financial records easily.
“Income cannot be lost because users share receipts via email or social media platforms. For all those who joined this system, they no longer complain,” he noted.
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Tanzania Confirms Outbreak of Marburg Virus Disease
Dodoma — Tanzania today confirmed an outbreak of Marburg virus disease in the northwestern Kagera region after one case tested positive for the virus following investigations and laboratory analysis of suspected cases of the disease.
President of the Republic of Tanzania, Her Excellency Samia Suluhu Hassan, made the announcement during a press briefing alongside World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, in the country’s administrative capital Dodoma.
“Laboratory tests conducted in Kabaile Mobile Laboratory in Kagera and later confirmed in Dar es Salaam identified one patient as being infected with the Marburg virus. Fortunately, the remaining suspected patients tested negative,” the president said. “We have demonstrated in the past our ability to contain a similar outbreak and are determined to do the same this time around.”
A total of 25 suspected cases have been reported as of 20 January 2025, all of whom have tested negative and are currently under close follow-up, the president said. The cases have been reported in Biharamulo and Muleba districts in Kagera.
“We have resolved to reassure the general public in Tanzania and the international community as a whole of our collective determination to address the global health challenges, including the Marburg virus disease,” said H.E President Hassan.
WHO is supporting Tanzanian health authorities to enhance key outbreak control measures including disease surveillance, testing, treatment, infection prevention and control, case management, as well as increasing public awareness among communities to prevent further spread of the virus.
“WHO, working with its partners, is committed to supporting the government of Tanzania to bring the outbreak under control as soon as possible, and to build a healthier, safer, fairer future for all the people of Tanzania,” said Dr Tedros. “Now is a time for collaboration, and commitment, to protecting the health of all people in Tanzania, and the region, from the risks posed by this disease.”
Marburg virus disease is highly virulent and causes haemorrhagic fever. It belongs to the same family as the virus that causes Ebola virus disease. Illness caused by Marburg virus begins abruptly. Patients present with high fever, severe headache and severe malaise. They may develop severe haemorrhagic symptoms within seven days.
“The declaration by the president and the measures being taken by the government are crucial in addressing the threat of this disease at the local and national levels as well as preventing potential cross-border spread,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa. “Our priority is to support the government to rapidly scale up measures to effectively respond to this outbreak and safeguard the health of the population,”
Tanzania previously reported an outbreak of Marburg in March 2023 – the country’s first – in Kagera region, in which a total of nine cases (eight confirmed and one probable) and six deaths were reported, with a case fatality ratio of 67%.
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In the African region, previous outbreaks and sporadic cases have been reported in Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Equatorial Guinea, Rwanda, South Africa and Uganda.
Marburg virus is transmitted to people from fruit bats and spreads among humans through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected people, surfaces and materials. Although several promising candidate medical countermeasures are currently undergoing clinical trials, there is no licensed treatment or vaccine for effective management or prevention of Marburg virus disease. However, early access to treatment and supportive care – rehydration with oral or intravenous fluids – and treatment of specific symptoms, improve survival.
Source: allafrica.com
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