PRESIDENT Samia Suluhu Hassan is today expected to grace the 38th congress of the Association of Local Authorities Tanzania (ALAT), which brings on board hundreds of senior officials from local government authorities (LGAs) across the country.

Mohamed Maje, ALAT acting secretary general briefed journalists here that all preparations for the annual general gathering have been completed, saying that the meeting provide a platform for top officials from central and local government authorities to extensively discuss and share experiences.

Maje said that after President Samia opened the congress, Zanzibar President Dr Hussein Ali Mwinyi is expected to wrap-up the meeting.
The convention has been sponsored by NMB Bank for the eighth consecutive time with a sponsorship package of over 200m/-.

The financing, which also caters for supportive events during the three-day conference such as the networking dinner today evening, includes 120m/- cash whose dummy cheque was handed over to the ALAT national leaders yesterday at the Golden Tulip Airport Hotel.

Ruth Zaipuna, bank chief executive officer (CEO) said NMB sponsorship of the summits has so far amounted to over 1.2bn/-, which the national Vice-Chair of ALAT, Sima Costantine, said signifies the bank’s commitment to support LGAs.

“We have had a long and strategic partnership with ALAT and its members and for more than eight years now we have collaborated in various developmental matters,” Zaipuna noted before the handover of the 2024 Congress sponsorship dummy cheque.

The NMB leader said that apart from sponsorship, NMB officials including her will fully participate in this year’s conference and its services, some of which are being showcased, are readily available to the congress delegates and other participants.

Lauding the lender for sustainably financing its summits, Costantine said the sponsorships which started during the 31st congress have been of qualitative value to them.

Mwanza City Mayor said the investment does not only show the unmatched commitment of the bank to support ALAT members but also its readiness to back their efforts to better delivery of quality services to communities.

“NMB Bank continues to be our key development ally and the ALAT community has benefited a lot commercially from this partnership,” Costantine noted, adding that the two partners will msee to it that it lasts for many years to come.

According to him, the bank’s sponsorship of the launch of Zanzibar Local Governments Association (ZALGA) yesterday was another testimony of its zeal to see the blossoming of LGAs and ensure they remain a catalytic provider of sustainable social and economic services.