Aggrey Mwanri

The government spent 27.5bn/- on various activities to mark the fifty anniversary of Tanzania Mainland independence last year, the Parliament heard yesterday.

Aggrey Mwanri, State Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office (Local Government and Regional Administration) made the revelation in the House when responding to a question by Wawi Member of Parliament Hamad Rashid Mohamed.

In his basic question, Mohamed had wanted to know the actual amount of money spent by ministries during the fifty commemoration of the independence last year.

Mwanri explained, “The government planned to spend 30bn/- on the commemoration of Independence Day, but only 27.5bn/- was approved for ministries and other institutions”.

He added that the government commemorated the significant day of the nation for the benefit of Tanzanians with a view to nurture a sense of patriotism amongst youths who were not present when the country attained its independence in 1961.

According to him, through the historical commemoration the country had advertised itself abroad, gain pride and attracted investors as well as tourists into the country.

Meanwhile, the Deputy Minister informed the House that land offices and authorities are required by law to issue building permits to applicants within 30 days of logging the requests with their offices.

He was responding to a question by Mkoani MP Ali Seif who had wanted the government to state for how long building permits should take when an applicant log the application.

Mwanri explained that the Urban Planning Law of 2007 provides that planning authorities are required to release building permits within sixty days or inform the applicant of the status of the request.

“According to article 35(IV) of the law, if the authority fails to inform the applicant of the status of his request, the latter is supposed to communicate with the former to acquire the permit,” he said.