Cost of living: Tanzanians in struggle to make ends meet

Dar/Upcountry. Tanzanians from different walks of life have raised concerns over increased costs of life this time as compared to a similar period last year.

They said the increase in the costs of living have been witnessed in different sectors of life including hiked prices of food commodities, clothes, transport expenses, price of agricultural inputs and many others.

Speaking to The Citizen, citizens from Dar es Salaam, Dodoma, Singida, Kilimanjaro, Mtwara, Iringa and Geita regions asked for government’s interventions in order to rescue the situation.

A resident of Manyoni District in Singida Region, Mr Elifadhili Nsaningu said, the skyrocketing costs of living can be seen in the areas of food commodities, transportation and fuel.

“Fuel is a major determinant. But, the situation has been intensified by the Russia-Ukraine war. My daily expenditure for motorbike fuel alone has increased to an average of Sh30,000 to Sh35,000 from the previous Sh2,000,” he said.

“Banking transaction levies recently imposed by the government have worsened the situation. The situation is tense because both the government and donors are equally struggling to rescue their countries,” he added.

According to him, Tanzanians should review their respective home economics by producing things required for domestic consumption by engaging in horticulture and livestock husbandry.

A resident of Iringa, Mr Erick Ndondole said Sh8,000 could give him eight litres of fuel last year, but the amount has declined to about five litres.

“The government has injected some funds to stabilize petroleum prices. However, I’m not sure if the move is effective. What I know, the injected subsidy in the fertilizers will significantly boost the country’s agricultural production,” he said.

But, Ms Amina Majengo, a farmer and crops trader in Dodoma Region said the price of a kilo of maize from farmers is Sh600 per kilogramme.

However, hiked transportation costs from Sh3,000 to Sh6,000 per 100 kilogrammes bag from Chemba and Chamwino to Dodoma town will adversely affect maize retail prices.

“I have decided to keep my stocks at the points of purchase waiting for price increase that will definitely click Sh1,000 a kilo,” she said.

A Chato fisherman, Mr Thomas Mzali said levies not only have hit employees hard, but also, they add insult to already wounded businesses.

“We have a scarcity of fish, making us struggle in order to survive. Yet increase in commodity prices is making life more difficult because the status of businesses remain unchanged,” he said.

An entrepreneur in Chato District, Geita Region, Mr Amos Mzelu said small scale businessmen are not recording profits to grow their businesses due to the minimum amount of money in circulation in the area.

“When the cost of living is tough in commercial cities, it is always worse in the districts. The government should do something to rescue struggling citizens,” he said.

He was seconded, Ms Mary Nzali, a farmer in Mkolani Ward who suggested that higher prices of cooking oil and sugar worsen the situation.

“Life is tougher for the women married to farmers, because while sources of income remain unchanged, inflation has gone up,” she said.

But, a shopkeeper at Tabata Kisiwani, in Dar es Salaam, Mr Kelvin Urio said inflation has forced him to abandon selling some food products such as edible oil.

“That is because I’m not sure if clients will be ready to buy at doubled prices,” he said.

A food vendor at Mwenge Mpakani in the city, Ms Faudhia Njalimbo said increased commodity prices has forced her to reduce food portions and increase prices.

“I have increased the price of rice to Sh2,000 from Sh1,500 per plate in order to enable me to generate at least a small profit,” she said.

A commuter driver at the Kiboriloni in Moshi town in Kilimanjaro Region, Mr Aloyce Tesha said transporters have been hit hard due to dependence of fuel in their daily operations.

“Increase in price of fuel started first before spreading to other commodities. Therefore, transporters are the first casualties,” he said.

But, a bajaj driver in Moshi town, Mr Amani Lema said he used to walk home with at least Sh40,000 per day, but currently, he remained with about Sh30,000 at close of business with operation costs included.

“The government rescued its people from this hardship to enable us to efficiently continue with development activities,” he said.

But a Tandahimba resident in Mtwara Region, Ms Tatu Abdallah said, she poor agricultural yields have caused financial institutions to auction one of his houses to compensate for a Sh15.5 million secured agricultural loan.

“The bank is now intending to sell the remaining house and a cashew farm, something that puts my life and that of a family in limbo,” she said.

Mr Said Hamis, a private sector employee, said he is now managing to provide his family with two means per day, asking the government to consider employees in the private sector when making salary increments.

What experts say

The University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) economist, Dr Abel Kinyondo said the country is facing inflation at a time income generating activities have been hardly hit.

He said however that the government through the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) is using the monetary policy to reduce liquidity in the economy in order to reduce inflation, something known as the Contractionary Monetary Policy.

“But, the problem in the economy isn’t monetary in nature. Rather, it is fiscal in nature because things causing hiking costs are those related to tax, hence causing life hardships,” he said.

According to him, Covid-19 and the Russian-Ukraine war have raised the costs of imports, noting that the government is supposed to relax its fiscal situation to pave the way for the situation to stabilize.

However, Repoa executive director Donald Mmari said inflation started at the end of 2021 when there was a decline in production due to Covid-19 before experiencing an abrupt increase in demand.

“That created troubles in the logistics and inflated container costs from $1,200 to nearly $10,000 before the situation was worsened by the Russian-Ukraine war that saw increased prices of energy,” he said.

“Climate change has also reduced food production globally. The government should support producers through seed provision, increase investment in irrigation in order to increase production of largely imported goods,” he said.

“Individual citizens should reduce expenditure and substitute their favourites with cheap products. The government should also reduce its expenditure in order to waive some taxes in its medium plan,” he added.

However, an agriculture economist from University of Dodoma (Udom), Dr Lutengano Mwinuka, attributed the prevailing situation to Covid-19 and the Russian aggression of Ukraine.

“The government has made its effort to subsidize fuel, but that is not enough because fuel is the one contributing to the inflation we are witnessing. A bigger subsidy should be added to petroleum to bring the prices down,” he said.

According to him, the price of fertilizers should further be reduced to improve contract farming and promote agricultural productivity, something that will reduce imports, something that will automatically reduce inflation.

“Execution of development projects should continue in order to create more jobs, something that will provide citizens sources of income,” he said.

But, an economist from Mzumbe University, Dr Daudi Ndaki said, the rise in cost of living was a global challenge due to impacts of Covid-19 whereby production was suspended in different countries.

“The Russian-Ukraine war has greatly worsened the situation because it led to serious increase in the price of petroleum products,” he said.

Dr Ndaki suggested that despite its impact in the budget, the government should waive and reduce some levies imposed on a litre of fuel and electricity.

“It should also reduce Value Added Tax (VAT) , something that will significantly benefit the majority of unemployed citizens,” he said.

He said the budget deficit could be compensated by increasing corporate tax and reducing its spending and borrowing some more funds.

(Written by Louis, Kolumbia, George Helahela and Gadiosa Lamtey (Dar), Florence Sanawa (Mtwara), Janet Joseph (Moshi and Jacob Mosenda (Geita).