The government has reaffirmed its resolve to take communication services closer to the citizens in rural areas to accelerate social and economic development.
Prof Makame Mbarawa
The Minister for Communication, Science and Technology, Prof Makame Mbarawa, speaking to reporters in Dar es Salaam, said that, “the government is committed to see communication services reaching remote areas as a way of facilitating development.”
He said the government, using internal resources through the Universal Communications Access Services Fund (UCAF), has started improving rural communication services in partnership with communication companies— Tigo, Airtel, TTCL and Vodacom.
The companies that will partner with the government in the project were selected through an open tender. “The government has already signed agreements with four services providers to construct communication towers in rural areas,” he said, noting that the agreements were signed in March this year.
The minister said the first phase of the project will involve 14 regions and cost 9.4bn/- while the second phase with 21 regions will cost 12.5bn/-. He said improvement of rural communication services seeks to bridge the rural-urban communication gap in the country.
UCAF Chief Executive Officer Eng Peter Ulanga cited the challenges towards the implementation of the project as unavailability of accurate information about local citizens, unreliable electricity supply in rural areas and insufficient financial resources. UCAF was established in 2009 to facilitate availability of communication services in the country’s remote areas.
Source Tanzania Daily News
