THE Public Investments Committee (PIC) wants the Public Service Social Security Fund (PSSSF) to expedite work on the Kilimanjaro International Leather Factory Karanga in Moshi Urban District, Kilimanjaro Region.

Augustine Holle, the parliamentary committee chairman, said during a visit here yesterday that the fund needs to rise the factory’s progress from 25 percent at present to 100 percent, a view seconded by state minister Ridhiwani Kikwete (Labour, Youth, Employment and Persons with Disabilities in Prime Minister's Office), while top PSSSF officials aired a different view.

Committee members visited the project, airing the view that the completion of the factory will enable realising intended benefits. “We have come to see if invested capital, including over 150bn/- from the government, is yielding results and if it has followed the guidelines and regulations,” the committee chairman noted.

“We have visited the factory step by step and discovered that this investment is beneficial and should be emulated as it brings both social and economic benefits,” he said, noting that upwards of 3,000 jobs will be created once the factory is completed while revenues have increased.

“For instance, last financial year they factory generated 4bn/-, and this year they expect to earn over 8bn/-, which is an impressive achievement,” he said.

He expressed the view that completing the factory will assist in increasing the value of livestock products and help the government save money that is often spent on purchasing shoes, especially for the armed forces, from external producers.

The state minister assured the committee that the project will be completed within the planned time and will start operations efficiently, thus reducing costs at the factory. He acknowledged the committee’s instructions, affirming that the ministerial wing is working on them, “and we will complete the project 100 percent from the current 25 percent.”

Abdul-Razaq Badru, the PSSSF director general, affirmed that upwards of 86 percent of anticipated investments in the project have been made and the fund had begun efforts to ensure quality production of internationally competitive products.

“We have already completed discussions with training institutions and technology and vocational training centers to collaborate with us in product manufacturing, research and value addition,” he declared.

PSSSF expectations are that after 10 years, the factory will have recovered the total invested capital of over 150bn/-, he added.