ZSSF money not for projects, says Ali Karume

ZSSF money not for projects, says Ali Karume

Unguja. Veteran politician and diplomat Ali Karume has called on authorities of the Zanzibar Revolutionary Government (SMZ) to refrain from using the Zanzibar Social Security Fund money for establishing commercial projects.
He said, in the event that the projects become unprofitable, it would in the long run lead to failure to pay the retirees their benefits, something that contravenes the very cause why the fund was established.
This comes at a time when last year’s CAG reports revealed that some of the projects that were invested in using ZSSF funds may not yield profits in the long run.
The diplomat was speaking to journalists at his residence in Maisara Unguja where he touched on several issues including why the union between Tanganyika and Zanzibar was inevitable.
According to Mr Karume the law demands that authorities should refrain from taking members’ contributions by any means, calling of government to resume oil and gas exploration.
The Zanzibar government signed a production sharing agreement with a United Arab Emirates company RAK Gas LLC.
He said oil and gas exploration is critical in the island nation’s economy which largely depends on services and tourism.
As tax exemptions reached more than Sh46 billion, almost five time from the previous year, the former diplomat said it was important to carefully examine the benefits obtained through such exemptions.
Regarding the spiraling inflation in Zanzibar which has hit 5.1 percent, Mr Karume said it was mainly because of government spending.
“There are people who are being paid huge salaries yet they do not produce,” he said.
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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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