Be servants of citizens, government tells newly appointed coordinators

 

THE government said it expects newly appointed ministerial empowerment coordinators to be dedicated servants of Tanzanians and dependable agents of change.

Opening a three-day training of empowerment coordinators and chairmen of the ministerial empowerment committee here yesterday, the Deputy Minister for Labour, Youth and Employment in the Prime Minister’s Office, Mr Anthony Mavunde, said economic empowerment is the national strategic agenda that the government prioritises. 

 

However, he cautioned that it would not be realised if it is not supported by credible statistics. “Such growth would be meaningless if majority of Tanzanians do not have a meaningful cut of the ‘national cake,’” he added.

He appealed to the participants in the training to contribute towards a collective effort that would enable the nation to have plausible statistics on economic growth in recent years.

Mr Mavunde said the government expects the committees to prioritise follow-ups on its citizens’ economic empowerment, especially in relation to participation in big foreign investment projects and how they are bound to benefit from such projects.

Emphasising on the value of the cooperation and collectiveness in economic empowerment of Tanzanians, the minister said, empowerment would be achieved through commitments of various public and private stakeholders, adding that the committees should work together with all the stakeholders across the board.

He said that the government will reward top three ministries that will present dependable feedback on economic empowerment of Tanzanians.

The Executive Secretary of the National Economic Empowerment Council (NEEC), Ms Beng’i Issa, said the council organised the seminar to groom committee chairmen to become effective public servants who can quickly grasp emerging opportunities and link citizens with the opportunities for gainful advancement.

She disclosed that nine topics were covered there including participation of Tanzanians in foreign investment projects (which experts call local content).

The training was also attended by the Permanent Secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Information, Culture, Arts and Sports, Professor Elisante ole Gabriel, who said the seminar will pertinently empower the participants and help them appreciate the role of ministries in economically empowering Tanzanians.