PRIME Minister Dr Mwigulu Nchemba yesterday expressed surprise on hearing how the Tanzania Electric Supply Co. (TANESCO) seized a resident’s family’s land for a power cooling substation without payment or a formal status update, ignoring previous directives from the Kilimanjaro regional commissioner.

The incident was a flashpoint during the premier’s working tour of the region, where Ndungu resident Maliwato Salimu presented a compelling case involving the state utility firm, telling the head of government business that "TANESCO took my father’s land and built a substation without paying a single cent in compensation."

Lamenting that experience, he described the company’s act as looting of citizens' rights, where in response, the utility’s regional manager Mary Kabakuzi, admitted that land was acquired from four residents, telling the premier that the compensation process was ‘in motion.’

The premier was overly dissatisfied, questioning the ethics of building on private property before settling claims. "How do you take a person’s land and start construction before paying them even a single instalment?" he asked, ordering that residents be compensated immediately before any further work proceeds.

In blistering remarks, he said that the government will no longer tolerate ‘sleepwalking,’ negligence or bureaucratic arrogance alienating the public and derailing development, as he spent the day listening to citizens' grievances and inspecting infrastructure at Ndungu Division in Same District,.

Complacent officials who derail progress through underperformance or pride have no place in the current administration, he said, underlining displeasure at department heads who treat the public with contempt or ignore official directives. Such behaviour creates a dangerous rift between the state and citizens, he declared.

"I have received reports that there are heads of institutions who are filled with arrogance, who cause the people to resent their government,” he said, insisting that every official is directly accountable to the public and must execute government orders without delay to protect the state's integrity.

Beyond bureaucratic behaviour, the premier pointed at a disturbing pattern of stalled social service projects despite full financial disbursement from the central government. On the spot red-flag projects included Suji–Gonjanza Health Centre, where construction has yet to begin despite funds being released over a year ago.

Same District Hospital, an 800-bed expansion project is stalled, with existing new structures already showing structural cracks, while Kihurio primary school has seven newly built classrooms that have completely collapsed, which the premier described as gross negligence.

He directed the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB) to launch an investigation into these failures, cautioning the Tanzania Rural and Urban Roads Agency (TARURA) against hiring unqualified contractors.

"Within the next six months... I do not want to hear about a single school or hospital lacking functional latrines," he told officials present at the rally. Any director found with such a situation will be held personally responsible and replaced, he added.