THE World Bank (WB) has expressed its willingness to continue supporting the Tanzania Social Action Fund (TASAF) programme as the global organization believes that the funds it offers are in safe hands and are likely to transform the lives of thousands of poor Tanzanian households
World Bank Director of External Communications and Partnerships Haleh Bridi made the remarks yesterday in Bagamoyo, Coast region, during a special tour of TASAF-run projects.
Bridi was accompanied by WB Programme and Human Development Leader Gayle Martin to witness how TASAF funds were being used to extricate households in the district from grinding poverty.
The team visited environment conservation projects and beneficiaries’ savings groups and businesses in Kondo village, Bagamoyo district.
According to Bridi, the WB team was very impressed with the outcomes of the projects as they went a long way to changing the lives of most vulnerable and poor people in the country.
“We are so proud of the projects. We have witnessed a number of vulnerable families who were not even sure of getting a meal are now living a better life while engaging in some economic activities,” she said.
She said the WB was well aware of the challenges that the programme was facing, such as leaving out a number of deserving poor households for a number of reasons including lack of funds. However, she said the WB would continue sensitizing other development partners to recognize how beneficial the projects were with a view to their extended funding.
The WB official called on TASAF beneficiaries across the country to make well use of the funds and training they received by initiating small-scale projects to improve their economic well-being.
For his part, TASAF Executive Director Ladislaus Mwamanga said the projects had improved food security at the household level as the beneficiaries used part of the cash handouts to embark on farming while operating other small-scale businesses.
According to him, the TASAF programme had also enhanced the enrolment rate of primary schoolchildren while social services delivery had tremendously improved.
“There’s a notable increase of the elderly regularly attending health facilities for check-ups and medical treatment and consultation thanks to the programme,” he said.
He urged the grant recipients to abstain from lavish spending of the funds and instead focus on basic social needs, adding that the programme’s objective was to supporting the fight against poverty at the household level.
According to him, the programme’s major aim was to help poor households increase incomes and opportunities for the enhancement of their livelihoods and increasing their incomes through community savings and investment.
Mwamanga said that through the established Productive Social Safety Net (PSSN) in the TASAF III programme beneficiaries participate in public works, such as putting up infrastructure in the areas of education, health and water to improve social services and earn extra income through wages they receive after work.
He said during the first phase of PSSN (2012-2016), the project had successfully created and consolidated the infrastructure needed to support a well-targeted social safety net system and strengthened the capacity of TASAF in implementing its duties, such as paying the beneficiaries timely and regularly since it started.
The TASAF boss said that the programme had so far reached about 1.1 million households, or approximately 6.6 million people among the extremely poor 15 per cent of Tanzania’s total population of 45 million living in abject poverty.
Kondo village Executive Officer Thomas Mahega said the village had a total of 101 household beneficiaries who had largely been investing their savings in group investments, which had in turn greatly improved their living standard.
He commended the TASAF programme, saying it had changed the lives of thousands of villagers who were previously living in absolute poverty.
“Since the TASAF programme started in the village the beneficiaries have been able to acquire basic services such as food, shelter and health which they did not enjoy before. Besides, their children are also attending school,” the village chairman pointed out.
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