STATE RESCUES COTTON CO-OPS

THE government will shoulder the debts that cotton and cashew nut co-operative unions owe banks and farmers under the general plan to revive the ventures in the country, President Jakaya Kikwete said yesterday.

In his monthly state-of-the-nation address via radio and television, President Kikwete said the government will spend over 3.8bn/- to repay bank debts and almost another 2.4bn/- to pay farmers.

The relief will mostly go to Lake Zone and southern and coastal belt co-operatives where the two important cash crops are grown. The amount was besides more than 2.6bn/- that the government has set aside in a three-year plan to revive co-operatives, he said.

About 370m/- was disbursed last financial year while 1.9bn/- has been set aside in fiscal 2007/08 under an item in the expenditure estimates for the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Cooperatives. Shillings 280m/- will be released in the next financial year, he explained.

However, Mr Kikwete challenged the co-operatives to find their own means of paying debts owed to employees such as salary arrears. The government has not decided to shoulder that burden, he explained.

In a bid to make land disputes history, the government has transferred 43 land officers and fired four found to have been at the centre of land disputes, he said. Others had their cases being dealt with at the relevant levels of authority, he said.

“The 43 officers were deemed to be affecting operations, four other people who had been found to be involved in causing land disputes have been sacked and other cases are being dealt with by concerned authorities”, he said.

He said that there were also other officials who have been given warnings, adding that he has also directed regional commissioners to closely follow up the implementation of recommendations by the special committees that had investigated land disputes.

The president said that the special committees that were formed in all Tanzania Mainland municipal and district councils had received a total of 13,915 complaints.

He said 9,740 cases had been solved by June 30, this year. Meanwhile, President Kikwete today starts an official five-day tour of Dodoma region. He will inspect development projects and hold public rallies.
SOURCE: DAILY NEWS