PRIME Minister Kassim Majaliwa has urged development stakeholders to utilise well statistical information from the 2022 Population and Housing Census in preparing plans and strategies on empowerment of women countrywide.

The premier made the remarks yesterday at the ‘Strong Women’ award ceremony in Mwanza, urging stakeholders to prepare their plans based on government priorities to achieve sustainable and inclusive development.

He handed Khadija Mfaume Liganga the award as overall winner in the ceremony conducted under its commercial tag as ‘Malkia wa Nguvu.’ It is explained in an online entry as a cross-cultural collaboration between scholars at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the University of Dar es Salaam. 

The project was originally directed at educating people about the varied experiences of college women survivors of gender-based violence, supporting survivors' voices, promoting change by decreasing gender-based violence, where in the first phase of the project five digital stories highlighting women survivors' experiences were developed.

“We are now investigating survivors' healing process and the role of activism in that process,’ with the premier affirming that that using the census results is the best way to speed up the welfare and development of women.

At the start of the new financial year, the government will issue a new procedure for operations of and granting loans to women, youth and people with disabilities, he said, asking the various concerned groups to take note of the procedure that will be given.

“Let me remind them that the funds given are loans and not grants, so all beneficiaries have to ensure that they repay within the scheduled timeframe,” he emphasised, insisting that the government was not losing focus on prioritising economic empowerment initiatives.

The government had during fiscal 2023/2024 set aside 18.5bn/- for providing loans at seven percent interest, reaching agreement with NMB Bank to enable small businesspeople, including women, to obtain loans with low interest.

He said the collaborative initiative behind those awards motivates women to invest in various areas by fully utilizing available opportunities, pointing at the friendly environment for investors. All local investors including women have to make good use of investment opportunities for them to grow economically, he stated.

He alluded to opportunities in the blue economy and digital space which if well used can be of great benefit to women, expressing relief that there is a large increase in business participation by marketing their products through applications loaded on Instagram, WhatsApp, Telegram or Tiktok.

Liliane Masuka, chairperson of the ceremony awards committee, said the project seeks to increase business opportunities among women to bring positive change in society.