NMB BANK CHARTS OUT LONG-TERM SOLUTION FOR SCHOOL DESKS PROBLEM

NMB Chief Finance Officer, Mr Waziri Barnabas.

National Microfinance Bank (NMB) is planning a long-term solutions for the problem of school desks in the country. The Bank’s Chief Finance Officer, Mr Waziri Barnabas, said the plan would help merge and solve the problem collectively and ensure sustainability of the project.

“This year (2016) NMB has planned to embark on desks challenges by partnering with the government through TAMISEMI to plan on long term solutions to help merge and solve the problem collectively and ensure sustainability of project,” he noted.

Mr Barnabas said that this fiscal year, NMB set aside over 1.5bn/- for community development projects through its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Education being one of the key pillars of the CSR initiative which tries to impart public schools through the provisioning of school desks.

“Last week NMB presented a cheque to the government worth 900m/- as its contribution to the government to meet the deadline issued by President John Magufuli who said he wants to sees no student sitting on the floor by end of June,” said Mr Barnabas.

The Minister of State in the President’s Office responsible for local government and regional administration, Mr George Simbachawene, received the cheque in Dodoma.

“The bank’s corporate social responsibility policy underlines the importance of supporting education through the provision of school desks in primary and secondary schools, from January up to June, over 600m/- was used to support the provision of over 6,000 school desks, and today, we present this cheque to the minister worth 900m/- which we are sure to procure over 9,000 desks and reduce to the great extent the problem of school desks in the country,” said Mr Barnabas.

He said that to date, a total of 131 primary and secondary schools have benefited from 6,550 desks, a huge support to the government endeavours to improve learning environment by finding lasting solution of the acute shortage of desks.

“This year’s support complements the last year’s effort where over 7,000 school desks were donated to 140 primary and secondary schools countrywide, “ he said.

Presenting the 2015 financial performance after the Annual General Meeting – the NMB Managing Director, Ms Ineke Bussemaker, said, NMB has been in the frontline in supporting education sector with an ultimate goal of making a friendly learning environment for the students in primary and secondary schools.

“The bank has been donating computers to schools with electricity and laboratory equipment to improve and promote science learning in schools. To ensure connectivity and smooth use of computers donated, NMB staff supports schools with connectivity and the first experience of using computers in the schools” she noted.

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