Sports budget falls short of Samia’s ambition

Dar es Salaam. Members of Parliament were irritated yesterday by the allocation of a limited budget for the Ministry of Culture, Arts, and Sports, despite President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s wish to expand the sector further.

Despite the fact that the allotted budget for financial year 2023/24 has not been reduced from the one approved for financial year 2022/23, the MPs expressed regret that the allocated budget does not correspond to the President’s vision.

Budget limits, legislators feared, were slowing progress towards improved sports, art, and culture in the country.

Dr Pindi Chana outlined some of the issues presented by the Sh35.445 billion requested for the fiscal year 2023/24 from the Sh35.425 billion allotted in 2022/23 in her speech.

The minister noted that with the success achieved in the years 2022/23, the flow of financial needs not in line with the needs of the ministry, especially for development projects, was one of the obstacles.

“The limited budget has been a challenge compared to the large directives to carry out national, regional and international activities,” noted Dr Chana. “There has also been a shortage of work tools, including vehicles, on the part of the Ministry and its institutions.”

Anatropia Lwehikila (Special Seats-CCM) said the ministry’s budget was inadequate, noting that the tight budget signified the level at which the ministry was taken.

“What can you do with Sh35.4 billion in this ministry? She inquired. We have also seen that the budget that was approved last year has not been released at 100 percent.”

“We should know that sports and culture are two of the sectors that can help us get foreign currency and deal with the unemployment scourge,” she said.

Mussa Ramadhani Sima (Singida Urban Legislator-CCM) noted that the President had the desire to improve the sector, thus asking the government and other stakeholders to invest more in the soft power that comes from sports, art and culture.

“But the challenge I see here is the budget,” he said. “The development funds that are the main key for the ministry have dropped from Sh15 billion last year to Sh11 billion. What is the basic reason used to reduce these funds?” he exuded.

“The ministry of Finance should work on this... We all rely on this ministry to create a good environment for Tanzanians. We need to even have a supplementary budget to support this ministry.”

The same was aired by Mr Shaban Taletale (Morogoro South East Constituency-CCM), who said despite the ministry carrying the image of the nation, it was embarrassing for having a smaller budget than any other ministry.

“As a country, we must look at how this ministry will get money. Today, as we speak, there is a ministry with a budget of more than Sh3 trillion. This is a shame for this ministry and the government,” he explained. “If we want to help the President positively, we must look at where we are stuck and what our mission is, including making betting games under the Ministry of Sports. Of the Sh35.445 billion that the ministry requested yesterday, salaries had Sh9.65 billion, recurrent expenditures had Sh13.8 billion, and Development Projects Sh11.83 billion. For the 2022/23 budget, Salaries were allocated Sh8.2 billion, recurrent expenditures Sh11.39 billion, and Development Projects Sh15.8 billion.