Tanzania: Right policies for development needed

Tanzania: Right policies for development needed

Now that results of the 2022 National Population and Housing Census have been unveiled showing that there are about 61.7 million people in Tanzania, it is time the nation made some serious reflections on employment and quality of life in general.

Census data offers the country crucial statistics needed for socioeconomic development in all sectors.

It is in the public domain that formal employment – in both the public and private sectors – in Tanzania has provided jobs for not more than 2.5 million adults.

This group alone is too small to sustain the workload of financing the budget through taxes.

Of course, 65 percent of the country’s work force engages in agriculture, according to past National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) figures, but this category is mostly made up of peasants undertaking subsistence farming.

There is the category of those who engage in petty trading. They number a few hundred thousand, and thus their contribution to government revenue is negligible.

Therefore, if Tanzania is to create more jobs, it has to focus and open doors through good and predictable policies so as to reinvigorate the operations of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

To boost MSMEs, the country must do away with red tape, particularly those well documented long and tedious processes, so as to speed up the creation of more such entities.

This is the door that will encourage young people to opt for self-employment after completing their education journeys, and tap into their innovative prowess as they seek to make their life dreams a reality.

Affording them seed capital, simplified acquisition of the necessary permits and a friendly tax regime must be given top priority by the authorities.

Tanzania needs MSMEs as they are the engine of transformation towards improving the quality of life through better earnings and access to quality education, health and other social services.

Let MSMEs thrive for national prosperity and swift development.

Let journalists do their job

The world yesterday marked International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists. Ending impunity for crimes against journalists is one of the most pressing issues to guarantee freedom of expression and access to information for all citizens, according to the United Nations.

Between 2006 and 2020, over 1,200 journalists have been killed for reporting the news and bringing information to the public. In nine out of ten cases the killers go unpunished, according to the Unesco observatory of killed journalists

Impunity leads to more killings, and is often a symptom of worsening conflict and the breakdown of law and judicial systems.

The situation is such that there are countries where journalism can be a dangerous or even deadly job.

Justice systems that vigorously investigate all threats of violence against journalists send a powerful message that society will not tolerate attacks against journalists and against the right to freedom of expression for all.

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Tanzania Declares End of Marburg Virus Disease Outbreak
Tanzania Foreign Investment News
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Tanzania Declares End of Marburg Virus Disease Outbreak

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

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