Tanzania: Tobacco Firm Gives 35m/- for Tabora Schools

Source from:  TSN Daily News(tz)  06/15/2012

THE Tanzania Leaf Tobacco Company has contributed 35m/-in support of education in Tabora region as part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR). The donation which follows a request by communities in the region, will cover three primary and one secondary school. TLTC Group Director of Legal and Corporate Affairs, Mr Richard Sinamtwa who handed over the donation said the company was committed to supporting the community. The recipients were Msimba Primary School which received 70 desks valued at over 5m/-,Isimu Primary School, which also received 70 desks and had one of its classrooms rehabilitated and a new staffroom built, all estimated to have cost about 5m/-. Cheyo B Primary received 30 desks worth over 2m/-. Other beneficiaries included Idete Secondary School, which received 47 desks worth 5m/-. The company also rehabilitated a water well at a cost of 5m/-. Idete also received 794 science and arts textbooks valued at 8m/-. Mr Sinamtwa noted that the society is facing a lot of challenges which the government can't solve them alone, thus a need for public-private partneship (PPP). Stakeholders need to play a leading role in helping the community tackle these challenges", he said. Speaking at the function, the Tabora Municipal Council Mayor Gullam Hussein thanked the company for the support. "This support is timely and relevant because the education sector in the region has got a big boost", he said. He said that a boost on education would translate into an increased agricultural output. "If you empower farmers through education, the agriculture sector stands to benefit, as the society will be equipped with knowledge that would be applied in better use of farm implements and markets", he said. He said his office was ready to work with tobacco stakeholders to ensure challenges facing the sector are tackled. He named some of the challenges as high costs of transporting tobacco bales by road as opposed to rail. Statistics show that road transport is 500 per cent higher compared to rail. "Post harvest loss of green tobacco is currently rated at more than 20 per cent.This is another problem which needs to be addressed", he said. He also challenged all stakeholders in the tobacco farming to understand the global market trends and also address environmental conservation concerns. "We must all embrace the importance of producing in line with the dynamics in the global tobacco demand", Mr Sinamtwa said.Enditem