PRIME MINISTER: HOUSING SCHEME FOR PRISONS OFFICERS TO BEGIN SOON
THE construction of 320 residential houses for prison officers in Dar es
Salaam will commence in the next three weeks, the Prime Minister, Mr
Kassim Majaliwa, was informed yesterday.
The premier was on his tour of Ukonga
Prison to inspect the site where the houses will be built following a
directive by President John Magufuli on November 29, this year, that
10bn/- should be allocated for the construction of the houses.
Speaking to Prisons officers before
inspecting the site, Mr Majaliwa said that his visit at the prison was a
follow up on the president’s directives, which said the construction of
the houses should start immediately to address the shortage of houses.
During his visit at the Ukonga Prison on
November 29, this year, Dr Magufuli was informed that the prison faced a
shortage of 9,500 houses for its officers. He directed the respective
authorities to set aside 10bn/- for commencing the project.
The PM was impressed with the steps
reached so far in implementing the president’s directives as the
Tanzania Building Agency (TBA) was at the site preparing for the project
to begin. “I am pleased after I found TBA at the site, I have been told
that the next step is to test the soil sample before commencing the
construction of the foundation," he said.
Mr Majaliwa commended TBA for
constructing houses of standard within a short time, citing the
construction of students’ hostels at the University of Dar es Salaam
(UDSM) and residential houses at Mogomeni Kota.
He, however, said that the government
recognised the contribution by the fourth phase government in addressing
the shortage of residential houses for military officers and the Police
Force. "The aim of the government is to ensure that all the country’s
forces have better houses so that they can continue to execute their
duties professionally," he said.
He said during his tour of various
regions in the country, he visited various prisons including Isanga and
Msalato in Dodoma, Lindi, Singida and Keko in Dar es Salaam and learnt
that houses for prison officers were of poor standard.
Briefing the premier earlier, Acting
Commissioner General of Prisons, Juma Malewa, expressed gratitude to
President Magufuli for providing them with funds for the construction of
the houses. He said that the Prisons would not do shoddy work and use
the money well to build more houses.
Representative of TBA Director General,
Mr Baltazar Kimangano, said that the construction of the houses was
expected to commence in the next three weeks after getting the results
of the soil samples from the UDSM’s Bureau for Industrial Cooperation
(BICO). He said they expected to build four blocks with six floors each,
making a total of 240 houses with two bedrooms each.
He added that they would also build other two blocks with six floors each with 80 rooms.