Members of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Social Development have rejected the 2013/14 development budget allocation of 600m/- for the Ministry of Information, Youth and Culture, describing it as ‘impossible’.
Parliament of Tanzania
A meeting of the ministry’s top officials held later Wednesday decided to refer the matter back to the Treasury and the Special Committee on Budget for further action and possible review.
At its two-day meeting held at the Karimjee Hall in Dar es Salaam from Tuesday, the MPs said the allocation, trimmed down from the original proposal of 42bn/-, meant that implementation of the ministry’s development projects during the financial year would be brought to a complete standstill.
They said they would withhold endorsement of the budget allocation until they are provided with satisfactory explanation and action taken on the ‘meagre allocation’ Debating on the allocation, a number of committee members, including Mr John Komba (Mbinga West-CCM), Joshua Nassari (Arumeru-East-Chadema), Albert Obama Ntabaliba (Manyovu-CCM), Salum Baruany (Lindi Urban-CUF) and Moza Abeid Saidy (Special Seats-), said the unsatisfactory figure meant zero allocation for all important development projects under the ministry.
They said all the four major development units in the ministry; Information, Cultural Development, Youth Development and Sports would be rendered dormant in the wake of such budgetary allocation. They also deemed it unfair for the ministry to be ”relegated to the group of less essential ministries”, threatening to withdraw their membership of the committee if the matter won’t be properly redressed.
Mr Nassari decried the “poor budget allocation”, saying it was a disservice to efforts to cater for the development of youths who constituted 68 per cent of the national population. He joined the chorus of other committee members who wondered how this could be achieved when not even a single cent had been dished out for youth development.
Development projects falling under the ministry’s jurisdiction include the rehabilitation of the Bagamoyo Arts Institute, construction of the National Kiswahili Council, Bakita offices, African Liberation Documentation Centre, public information and construction of the Malya Sports College.
Others are the construction of the House of Culture, rehabilitation of youth centres, improvement of Tanzania Broadcasting Corporation (TBC) territorial outreach and construction of open theatre arts auditorium, Uhuru Torch race and the establishment of a youth bank.
Meanwhile, ALVAR MWAKYUSA reports that the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Infrastructure has directed the government to ensure that it provides the Ministry of Transport the remaining 75 per cent of budget allocated for the transport sector before the end of this fiscal year.
This comes amid revelation that the ministry has so far received just 25 per cent of budget allocated for the financial year 2012/2013. It was also learned that the ministry got only 30 per cent of funds pledged by development partners.
During the current fiscal year, the National Assembly had approved a budget of 317.7bn/- out of which 64.9bn/- was meant for recurrent expenditure while 252.7bn/- was for development projects. Of the funds allocated for development expenditure, 189.7bn/- was to be sourced locally and 62.9bn/- from foreign donors.
“About three months are left before this financial year comes to an end. My committee has therefore asked the government through the Treasury to ensure that it disburses the remaining funds before the next budget is presented in the House.
“The ministry can hardly accomplish its projects if the remaining funds are not provided,” the Chair of the parliamentary committee, Mr Peter Serukamba (Kigoma Urban-CCM), told reporters shortly after meeting with Transport Minister Dr Harrison Mwakyembe and top officials in the ministry.
Mr Serukamba said as a result of delaying disbursement of funds, the ministry is in debts which if not serviced may hamper smooth operations of its activities. The MP said among development projects hampered by the delay of funds was the upgrading of the central railway network.
On the hand, Mr Serukamba hinted that there was a plan in the pipeline meant to improve city commuter trains given the fact that the equipment is outdated. In the next financial year, Mr Serukamba said the ministry has allocated 12bn/- to settle arrears owed to the workers of the Tanzania Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) and 89bn/- for construction of Terminal III at the Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam.
Source Tanzania Daily News
