Dar church impresses Magufuli impressed by reverend Lusekelo

PRESIDENT John Magufuli yesterday joined the faithful at the GRC Church in Dar es Salaam run by renowned evangelist, Reverend Anthony Lusekelo, lauding the latter for ‘the job well-done in the service of the faithful and nation in general.’’ The head of state has on several occasions joined fellow Tanzanians from a range of denominations where he has constantly prayed for the country’s peace, stability and prosperity. He is also on record as hinting that the country has reached at a stage when it needed concerted effort from religious leaders to restore lost values and discipline among public servants and the general public. The prayer and faith-healing services conducted by Reverend Lusekelo must also have attracted President Magufuli’s attention on the poor state of Ubungo-Kibangu Road, which he has pledged to revamp. 

President Magufuli shakes hands with Reverend Anthony Lusekelo outside his church yesterday after Sunday prayers.

According to Dr Magufuli, he and his family have been closely following services aired by Rev Lusekelo. No wonder the president yesterday morning made a surprise appearance at the GRC Church, popularly known as ‘Kanisa la Maombezi’, situated off Nelson Mandela Expressway via Ubungo Riverside. The impromptu trip had evidently impacted on the president as to the state of disrepair of the Ubungo-Kibangu road stretch leading to the Rev Lusekelo’s church. Dr Magufuli, who was accompanied by the First Lady, Mama Janeth, said in his address to the congregation that the road was very terrible not only for church followers but also for residents of Ubungo Kibangu. He said he got the news over the dilapidated road from Rev Lusekelo during a live session broadcast by local TV channel. “We have the money in question to revamp this road. I had already directed the Dar es Salaam Regional Tanroads Manager to undertake a feasibility study and design for the work. “I am a good follower of your services. When you broadcast them, more people and families listen; this include my family. I am confident to tell you that we all love you,” he said. Rev Lusekelo thanked the president for finding time off from his busy schedule to visit the church, praying for his everlasting success in the course of fulfilling his duties as a president.

Parliament to present National budget this week in Dodoma

All roads lead to Dodoma this week where Finance and Planning Minister, Dr Philip Mpango, is slated to present budget estimates on Wednesday in which he will spell-out how the government will collect and spend 29.9trl/- for recurrent and development votes in the financial year 2016/2017. The amount represents an increase of 7.4trl/- from the current 2015/2016 financial plan in which the government had pegged collections and expenditures at 22.49trl/. It will be the first budget under the Fifth Phase Government and opening financial year for the second Five Year Development Plan straddling 2016/2017 to 2020/2021 as the country envisages attaining middle-income economy by the year 2025. Dr Mpango, a former Executive Director of the Planning Commission and past senior economist with the World Bank, will be presenting his first budget as Finance and Planning Minister after he was appointed to the position by President John Magufuli early this year. 

Finance and Planning Minister, Dr Philip Mpango

According to a timetable issued by the Parliament office here, Dr Mpango will on Wednesday morning, after the customary question and answer session, present before the National Assembly the state of the economy report and later in the evening table the budget estimates. All government ministries have already presented their financial plans in the august House which were approved by legislators, the last being the Ministry of Finance and Planning which tabled its budget estimates last Wednesday. Since Thursday, last week, the government has been engaging the Parliamentary Budget Committee chaired by Mtwara Rural MP, Ms Hawa Ghasia (CCM), to incorporate in the main budget crucial issues raised by parliamentarians when discussing budget estimates for the ministries. Today the National Assembly resumes its session after the weekend break. According to the timetable by the parliament there will be only question and answer session today and tomorrow as the government continue to engage the budget committee. After the budget is presented on Wednesday, the lawmakers will spend the whole of Thursday analyzing the estimates after which they will start discussing the financial plan and the state of the economy report for seven days starting Friday next week to June 20, this year

Beware of infected buffaloes, tourism minister warns

NATURAL Resources and Tourism Minister, Prof Jumanne Maghembe, has warned against possible infectious cases of wildlife tuberculosis being passed from buffaloes to livestock in areas that stride National Parks. Prof Maghembe warned livestock keepers, especially free roaming grazers, against venturing into areas reserved for wildlife, such as National Parks because this not only is against the law but also places their domestic animals in danger of contacting ailments. Earlier, the minister inaugurated the Board of Directors for the Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute, which operates from Njiro in the Themi Hill section of Arusha City. TAWIRI’s new board, which was officially launched by Prof Maghembe, follows the recent appointment by President John Magufuli of Prof Apollinaria Pereka as the new Board Chairman of the Nation’s wildlife oriented Research Institute. 

Tanzania's Natural Resources and Tourism Minister, Professor  Jumanne Maghembe.

TAWIRI Board panel comprises of eleven members. The newly-launched board becomes the 5th TAWIRI governing panel since the establishment of the research institution way back in 1980. Prof Pereka, while appreciating the appointment, reminded the minister that it has been difficult for the research institute to implement its Strategic Plan for 2013-2018 due to financial constraints. “So far, TAWIRI has received only 9 per cent of the allocated operating funds for the fiscal year ending next July,” he said. On his part, the minister assured the new board of his support and that the government was very aware of the fact that TAWIRI has won recognition within and beyond the African continent in developing competitive research proposals. Among the newly-named TAWIRI Board Members is the Director General for Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA), Dr Allan Kijazi, the Conservator for Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority, Dr Freddy Manongi and the Director General for the Tanzania Wildlife Authority (TAWA), Martin Loibooki.