TZW
The call was made by President John Magufuli at the Medical Store Department (MSD) headquarters in Dar es Salaam on Monday where he commissioned 181 vehicles meant to ease supply of medicines, medical equipment as well as laboratory tools in the country.
The President said that the government has set aside 269 billion/- for medical related purchases, this financial year, of which only 6 percent is spent in local industries and the remaining 94 percent is used for imports, hence, Tanzanians lose jobs, and a huge amount of money is channeled to other countries. ?I call upon bishops and all those competent preachers to preach an industrialised Tanzania.
It is not easy to imagine how many jobs we would have created if the whole 269 billion/- allocated in the national budget and funds contributed by donors were to be spent in the country,? he said.
He added that every Tanzanian regardless of political affiliation is welcome to establish medical related industries, ?gloves, cotton and distilled water are imported while we collect the whole amount from poor Tanzanians. Cant? Tanzanians manufacture syringes, distilled water and the like??
The president said that loans from commercial banks are hard to access due to unfriendly conditions and hence, directed the concerned ministry to take tough decision of lending indigenous Tanzanians who will repay it in small amounts when they start generating profits until the whole amount is reimbursed
The commissioned vehicles are to be used to dispatch medicines and related equipment to different hospitals in the country. They are offered as conditioned aid from development partners including the Global Fund, according to MSD Director Laurean Bwanakunu.