Tanzania government draws up plan for deep-sea fishing
Minister of Livestock and Fisheries, Luhaga Mpina present to Parliament the budget and expenditure of his ministry for the financial year 2020/2021, in Dodoma yesterday. PHOTO|EDWINI MJWAHUZI
Dar es Salaam. The government yesterday said it has prepared a business plan for reviving the Tanzania Fishing Corporation (Tafico) in order to benefit from deep-sea fishing.
The minister for Livestock and Fisheries Development, Luhaga Mpina, said the business plan will be jointly implemented by the government and the private sector. Also, it will involve fishing using longliners and purse seines deep in the sea.
Tabling the ministry’s Sh66.818 billion revenue and expenditure estimates for 2020/21 fiscal year, Mr Mpina said fishing vessels will also be deployed in inland water bodies.
Speaking in Parliament, he named the other project to be implemented under the business plan is the construction of a fish processing plant and a cold storage facility.
Other projects include - but are not lim ited to - aquaculture development; cage fish farming in Lake Victoria and the Indian Ocean; pond fish farming; fish hatchery, and the construction of a fish feed plant.
“Three of the projects will be implemented through execution of ten projects worth Sh89.282 billion expected to start in the 2020/21 fiscal year,” he said.
Also, the government was dialoguing with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (Ifad), seeking to secure Sh68.8 billion for purchasing two ships for longlinner and purse seine at an estimated cost of Sh55.9 billion. These would enable Tafico exploit the nation’s potential deep sea wealth.
Mr Mpina said the remaining Sh12.9 billion would be used to implement a water creatures’ project, for which an agreement has been made, and is to commence in January 2021.
The government will procure three ships to commence deep-sea and inland waters fishing, he said. It will also start rehabilitating Tafico buildings and infrastructures, including a berth for docking its fishing vessels, as well as installation of ice-making equipment,” he told the Parliament.
Through the ESDP, the ministry secured Sh4.2 billion - and investment has started in the construction of a fishing vessel to ply inland waterways, building a cold-storage room, renovating an engineering workshop and procurement of a refrigeration truck.
He said the Italian firm Sering Ingegneria has conducted a feasibility study for a fishing port evaluating 11 areas in terms of ecological criteria.
He named the evaluated areas as Mbegani (Bagamoyo), Ras Buyuni and Shangani (Mtwara), Lindi Port, Rushungi, Kilwa Masoko and Kilwa Kivinje (Lindi), Moa, Mwambani, Pangani and Tanga Port in (Tanga).
He said the government was now talking with South Korea for the provision of aid in one form or another with which to implement the projects.
Speaking on the budget, Mr Mpina said Sh32.096 billion of requested funds was allocated for the livestock department, while Sh34.721 billion will apportioned to the fisheries division.
He said while the livestock department will spend Sh27.035 billion for recurrent expenditure and Sh5.061 billion for development projects.
He said the fisheries division will spend Sh21.662 billion for recurrent expenditure and Sh13.059 billion for development projects.
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