PRESIDENT Samia Suluhu Hassan has called upon all political parties to adopt the 4Rs—reconciliation, resilience, reform and rebuild philosophy of setting aside loyalty differences and preoccupation with past mistakes to promote national unity.

Speaking yesterday in Tunduma, Songwe Region as part of an ongoing tour, the president emphasized the need for the public to foster unity and cooperation as this is vital for development.

She stressed the importance of taxpayers fulfilling their obligations to enable the government to play its part in development efforts, as proper tax payments facilitate bigger undertakings.

“Tanzania is one so let us be united to achieve this,” she said, remarking that the government introduced the 4Rs philosophy for all political parties to move towards its tenets as a national philosophy tied to the need to reconcile, forgive one another and unite in driving change and building the country. 

She said that sometimes those trusted to collect taxes may err, which the government has seen and is addressing it, thus the residents need to accept that “all these good things mentioned here are made possible through taxes.”

Stella Fiyao (Special Seats, Opposition) had earlier informed the president that after the 2020 elections, many young people left Tanzania for neighbouring Zambia “but have now returned to continue the nation-building process.”

She praised President Samia's efforts in uniting Tanzanians and residents of Tunduma to live as one, fostering brotherhood, compared to the past. In the past, there was no cooperation in anything but since President Samia took office, followers of different political parties “have become like siblings.”

Water minister Jumaa Aweso promised to address water challenges in Songwe Region, noting that the water demand for the region stands at 20m litres, but only 8m liters are being produced.

This occasions water rationing, so efforts have been made to drill boreholes in various areas but there is an underground water challenge in the region, he said, hinting at building a dam across Momba River for a new source of clean and safe water for Tunduma residents and other areas. 

Hussein Bashe, the Agriculture minister, said that on September 1 the government will announce new prices for subsidised maize seeds, with a 100kg bag of maize selling at 70,000/- instead of the 42,000/- demanded earlier.

Dr Selemani Jafo, the Industry and Trade minister, raised expectations of more manufacturing industries in Songwe Region. The government will supervise effective systems for traders to transport goods without hindrances to neighbouring countries, he said.

Works minister Innocent Bashungwa pledged to expedite construction of the Tunduma-Mbeya road to facilitate smooth business flows, while Mohamed Mchengerwa, the Regional Administration and Local Governments state minister in the President’s Office, (PO-RALG) responded to a placard carried in the gathering requesting a modern football field.

The government will allocate upwards of 300m/- to implement improvements on an existing facility, he said, with the regional commissioner, Daniel Chongolo raising different issues.

He said that despite improvements in primary and secondary education, there has been a significant challenge of increased teenage pregnancies in the region. Within one year, the government should expect to see changes regarding this issue as efforts are already being deployed on the matter, he added.