PRIME Minister Kassim Majaliwa has instructed the Ministry of Transport to maintain close oversight of the Tanzania Railways Corporation (TRC) to ensure that standard gauge railway (SGR) services are improved, and its infrastructure well maintained for sustainability.

Adjourning the 16th meeting of the current legislature in the capital yesterday, he said that during this financial year, the government will seek to develop the transport sector by closely overseeing railways, moving towards the finalisation of SGR construction and strengthening the modern passenger train service from Dar es Salaam to Dodoma.

He was jubilant that express train service between Dar es Salaam and Morogoro began on June 14, 2024, extended to Dodoma on July 25, formally launched by President Samia Suluhu Hassan on August 1.

He also applauded the Ministry of Agriculture for its efforts to monitor availability and proper distribution of agricultural inputs ahead of the upcoming farming season. These efforts were taking into consideration agro-climatic conditions of the various regions, he stated.

He appealed to agricultural extension officers to intensify efforts of grassroots outreach on the use of advanced technology for food preservation and reduction of post-harvest losses at the household level.

He emphasised on improvements in national revenue collection, pointing at better performance among local government authorities for the month of July, with a total of 113.70bn/- collected.

This represents an eight percent of the 2024/2025 estimate of 1.356trn/- and an increase from 90.665bn/- obtained in July last year, marking a rise of 23.036bn/-, he stated.

Higher local government authorities’ collections arose from managing existing revenue sources, regular evaluations of internal revenue sources across all 184 councils, and higher compliance resulting from extensive taxpayer education, he said.

The government is also overseeing the proper use of a revenue portal that facilitates taxpayer access to pay taxes on a self-service basis and point of sale machines, he said.

As 2024 is the year for holding local government elections, the people need to prepare to fully participate in late November polls, he reminded MPs, noting that drawing up election regulations and voter education guidelines had already been completed.

Other election preparations are nearing completion, including announcing administrative areas, verifying polling stations in the second phase, and procuring election materials.

“Currently, the relevant authorities are providing voter education through media, billboards and social networks,” he said, urging |MPs to take up the matter as they leave the capital.

MPs need to use their time in constituencies, along with artists and media, to promote the importance of citizen participation in the local government elections, he emphasised.