Dar es Salaam. President Samia Suluhu Hassan said yesterday that the lack of sufficient road connectivity among African countries remains one of the obstacles to trade prosperity and economic growth on the continent.
President Hassan said that, unlike the other countries, Tanzania has made significant strides in road connectivity, both domestically and with those linking the country with its neighbours.
The Head of State was speaking in Matai Town, the administrative seat of Kalambo District, Rukwa Region, during the launch of the Sh133.2 billion road project stretching from Sumbawanga-Matai-Kasanga Port.
The President, who commenced her tour of the region earlier Tuesday, July 16, 2024, inaugurated the Sh4.5 billion Kalambo District administration block that would enable citizens to receive different social services under one roof.
Addressing the public during a live broadcast event, President Hassan said poor road connectivity forces most African countries to opt for product shipment to Europe and the rest of the world instead of trading with neighbouring countries.
“Since increased road connectivity boosts trade growth and supports economic development, you (citizens) are obliged to safeguard the road infrastructure by avoiding everything that could damage the roads,” she said, urging district authorities to increase supervision.
She said the government incurred huge costs in the construction of one kilometre of tarmac road, noting that the amount was enough to provide two fully furnished healthcare centres.
She warned transporters to avoid speeding, noting that, apart from claiming the lives of innocent citizens, road carnage increases budgetary demands in the health sector. She said previously transporters spent 24 hours travelling the 107.14 kilometres to the Kasanga Port, saying that the road would reduce the travel time to only two hours.
“Since the Kasanga Port connects Tanzania with Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the movement of cargo, especially agricultural produce, will be significantly enhanced, therefore improving trade volume between Tanzania and its neighbours,” she said.
“While the government is working to provide a ship for the provision of transport and transportation services on Lake Tanganyika, you (citizens) and agro-processors are challenged to increase crop production to benefit from the investments made for the efficient recovery of invested funds,” added President Hassan.
Furthermore, President Hassan said a total of Sh1.6 billion has been disbursed to the region for the construction of a modern district hospital. She said the initiatives to bring health services closer to citizens have significantly reduced the under-five child-mother mortality ratio.
According to her, another Sh1.8 billion was issued to the region in the last three years for the execution of 60 water projects in 106 villages, out of which 43 ventures have been completed.
The completion of these water projects, the president said, will significantly increase the access to clean and safe water in the villages to 72 percent, about 13 percent below the 85 percent directed by the CCM election manifesto.
“Still, we have time for the implementation of other water projects before 2025, when the realisation of CCM directives is forecast,” she said, adding that the drilling of wells in the villages lacking nearby water sources was underway.
The chief executive officer of the Tanzania National Roads Agency (Tanroads), Eng Mohamed Besta, said the architecture and construction of the 107.14 kilometres tarmac roads project were jointly executed by the China Railway Seventh Group and the New Century Company Limited of China.
“The project was completed in April 2024, costing Sh150.5 billion. The costs involve construction, consulting, and compensation,” he said.
Read: Surge in service sector investments to bolster intra-African services sector
Works Minister Innocent Bashungwa said the government was also constructing the Matai-Kasesya (50 km) Road to further improve transport and transportation with neighbouring countries, as well as decongesting the Tunduma border.
Responding to the request from Kalambo Constituency lawmaker Josephat Kandege, who asked the Sh1.5 billion bridge constructed in the district to be named after her name, President Hassan said she ruled out that it should be named after Mama Maria Nyerere in honour of her contribution to the country’s liberation struggles and the nation’s development.
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Britam half-year net profit hits Sh2bn on higher investment income
Insurer and financial services provider Britam posted a 22.5 percent jump in net earnings for the half-year ended June 2024, to Sh2 billion, buoyed by increased investment income.
The rise in half-year net profit from Sh1.64 billion posted in a similar period last year came on the back of net investment income rising 2.5 times to Sh13.27 billion from Sh5.3 billion.
“We are confident in the growth and performance trend that Britam has achieved, supported by its subsidiaries in Kenya and the region. Our business is expanding its revenue base while effectively managing costs,” Britam Chief Executive Officer Tom Gitogo said.
“Our customer-centric approach is fueling growth in our customer base and product uptake, particularly through micro-insurance, partnerships, and digital channels.”
The investment income growth was fueled by interest and dividend income rising 34 percent to Sh9.1 billion, which the insurer attributed to growth in revenue and the gains from the realignment of the group’s investment portfolio.
Britam also booked a Sh3.79 billion gain on financial assets at a fair value, compared with a Sh1.8 billion loss posted in a similar period last year.
The increased investment income helped offset the 12.7 percent decline in net insurance service result to Sh2.13 billion in the wake of claims paid out rising at a faster pace than that of premiums received.
Britam said insurance revenue, which is money from written premiums, increased to Sh17.8 billion from Sh16.6 billion, primarily driven by growth in the Kenya insurance business and regional general insurance businesses, which contributed 30 percent of the revenue.
The group has a presence in seven countries in Africa namely Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, South Sudan, Mozambique, and Malawi.
Britam’s insurance service expense hit Sh13.6 billion from Sh11.3 billion, while net insurance finance expenses rose 2.6 times to Sh12.3 billion during the same period.
“Net insurance finance expenses increased mainly due to growth in interest cost for the deposit administration business driven by better investment performance. This has also been impacted by a decline in the yield curve, which has led to an increase in the insurance contract liabilities. The increase has been offset by a matching increase in fair value gain on assets,” said Britam.
Britam’s growth in profit is in line with that of other Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed insurers, which have seen a rise in profits.
Jubilee Holdings net profit in the six months increased by 22.7 percent to Sh2.5 billion on increased income from insurance, helping the insurer maintain Sh2 per share interim dividend.
CIC Insurance Group posted a 0.64 percent rise in net profit to Sh709.99 million in the same period as net earnings of Liberty Kenya nearly tripled to Sh632 million from Sh213 million, while Sanlam Kenya emerged from a loss to post a Sh282.2 million net profit.
Tanzania Declares End of Marburg Virus Disease Outbreak
Tanzania today declared the end of Marburg virus disease outbreak after recording no new cases over 42 days since the death of the last confirmed case on 28 January 2025.
The outbreak, in which two confirmed and eight probable cases were recorded (all deceased), was the second the country has experienced. Both this outbreak, which was declared on 20 January 2025, and the one in 2023 occurred in the north-eastern Kagera region.
In response to the latest outbreak, Tanzania’s health authorities set up coordination and response systems, with support from World Health Organization (WHO) and partners, at the national and regional levels and reinforced control measures to swiftly detect cases, enhance clinical care, infection prevention as well as strengthen collaboration with communities to raise awareness and help curb further spread of the virus.
Growing expertise in public health emergency response in the African region has been crucial in mounting effective outbreak control measures. Drawing on experience from the response to the 2023 Marburg virus disease outbreak, WHO worked closely with Tanzanian health authorities to rapidly scale up key measures such as disease surveillance and trained more than 1000 frontline health workers in contact tracing, clinical care and public health risk communication. The Organization also delivered over five tonnes of essential medical supplies and equipment.
“The dedication of frontline health workers and the efforts of the national authorities and our partners have paid off,” said Dr Charles Sagoe-Moses, WHO Representative in Tanzania. “While the outbreak has been declared over, we remain vigilant to respond swiftly if any cases are detected and are supporting ongoing efforts to provide psychosocial care to families affected by the outbreak.”
Building on the momentum during the acute phase of the outbreak response, measures have been put in place to reinforce the capacity of local health facilities to respond to potential future outbreaks. WHO and partners are procuring additional laboratory supplies and other equipment for disease detection and surveillance and other critical services.
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.
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.
Source: allafrica.com
