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| President John Magufuli squats in order to take a souvenir photo with officials of Fresho Investment Company Limited after he inaugurated the company in Shinyanga Region yesterday. (Photo by State House). |
President John Magufuli has warned some of the media houses in the country in connection with their negative campaigns against his style of leadership and administration.
He has cautioned them sternly, saying that they must watch their steps. He was, in the same vein, thankful to friendly media houses which have the interest of the nation at heart.
He spit fire at some of the unfriendly media establishments. He was particularly angry at two newspapers which he accused of preaching hatred on the pretext of freedom of speech.
Without naming them, Dr Magufuli vividly annoyed, said the two newspapers, owned by some politicians, had a clear but dirty agenda. He warned that their days are numbered.
“The government is working hard to serve the people. It is implementing its electoral pledges. But there are some media houses harbouring sinister motives. They are busy spreading damaging information to people and this is harmful to the peace and security our nation. I cannot tolerate this any more,” he said.
Speaking shortly after visiting two industries which he said were doing very well, Dr Magufuli said the government was not ready to cooperate with irresponsible politicians who use their media houses to breach peace and tranquility.
He recalled the contribution of some of the media in Rwanda during the genocide, saying that he was not ready to see a similar scenario happening in Tanzania.
The president commended the Shinyanga-based Fresho Investment Company and Jambo Food Products Limited for creating investments that have already created employment to many job seekers, apart from other advantages and opportunities.
Meanwhile, the government has encouraged local investors to introduce as many investments as possible since they are now poised to enjoy a number of incentives including assistance in acquiring loans from Tanzania Investment Bank (TIB).
President Magufuli said that the doors were open for many other local investors to come forward for, they will be assisted accordingly. According to the president, banks like TIB were there mainly to serve local investors.
He asked them to report immediately to the government when facing hurdles in accessing loans from the bank. “We are keen on making sure that TIB meets the expectations of local investors who are invited to introduce investments and create employment to our people.
I will always assist them in this direction,” said the president. However, he said TIB should change its kind of operation when serving investors. He recalled incidents when the bank dished out billions of shillings to politicians, some of whom, unfortunately, failed to repay the loans. He still had fresh memory of the politician who took 12bn/- from the bank. The president is keen on seeing him so that he can help him in settling the matter.
But his efforts are in vain. The head of state said while the government is working day and night to woo investors, TIB and other banks must be careful in their operations. They must make sure they give out loans to credible businesses and genuine investors and not otherwise.
Dr Magufuli insisted that Tanzania has decided to embark upon a serious industrialisation policy. He invited serious industrialists to come aboard and help take the nation forward. He expressed his happiness on seeing the two industries that were thriving. He also heard that many others were coming.
He said that the doors were open for them. Dr Magufuli challenged the rest of the Tanzanians to venture into small industries since it is through these ventures they will slowly become wealthy industrial owners. Referring to the records, he said so far Coast Region alone has attracted 48 industries. He challenged Shinyanga to woo more investors in areas like processing of leather and other livestock based products.
The region is rich in livestock. Briefing the president, the Jambo Food Products Company Limited Managing Director, Mr Salum Hamis, said the industry was set for further expansion worth 250bn/- by October, this year.
He said so far the company has created more than 360 direct employments and over 500 indirect ones as it intends to employ more than 2,500 workers when fully operational.
“We are looking ahead to satisfying the local market first starting with exports to foreign countries like Burundi, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in the near future,” said Mr Hamis.
Daily News
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