KILIMANJARO: Tanzania’s Prime Minister, Mwigulu Nchemba, has given the Registrar of Cooperatives in Kilimanjaro Region five days to ensure that the Kilimanjaro Native Cooperative Union (KNCU) pays 400 million Tanzanian shillings owed to coffee farmers.
The directive was issued during a public meeting in Chekereni, where farmers said KNCU had sold coffee during the 2021/22 season but had not settled the full payment.
According to farmers’ representatives, more than 600 million shillings was earned from sales, but only 200 million has so far been paid, leaving an outstanding balance of 400 million.
Dr Nchemba ordered the cooperative’s board to meet and identify assets that could be sold to raise funds for a lump-sum payment. “We cannot let one issue linger for years,” he said, adding that citizens’ hardships would not be ignored.
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During the same regional tour, the Prime Minister inspected the construction of a 6.59 billion-shilling hospital in Ng’ambo Ward under Moshi Municipal Council, currently 55 per cent complete.
He also directed education authorities to align school construction with a revised curriculum introducing six years of primary and four years of secondary education. Between 2026 and 2027, the government plans to add 39,000 classrooms nationwide.
On infrastructure, Dr Nchemba instructed that the 31.25-kilometre Spencon–Mabogini–Kahe–Chekereni road, valued at 7.2 billion shillings and currently 25 per cent complete, be expedited and transferred from the rural roads agency to the national roads authority to facilitate upgrading to tarmac standard.
He further emphasised respect for court rulings in resolving land disputes, warning local leaders against abuse of power and stressing adherence to the rule of law.