NHS vows to transform mental health services with extra £1bn a year

Taskforce calls for provision of 24/7 support for people in crisis and 10% reduction in suicide rates

Each year one in four UK residents experience a mental health problem. Photograph: Jolie Clifford/Glasshouse Images/Corbis

Ben Quinn, Denis Campbelland Damien Gayle

People facing mental health crises will be able to get community care 24 hours a day, seven days a week as part of the biggest transformation of NHS mental heath services in England for a generation, to be unveiled on Monday.

A wide-ranging set of recommendations by an independent taskforce that surveyed a long-neglected and “chronically underfunded” area of healthcare is backed by a pledge from the NHS in England to help more than a million extra people facing mental health problems and to invest in excess of £1bn annually by 2020-21.

The announcement of the ambitious transformation came as Jeremy Hunt said the government would have to give the NHS “significant” amounts of extra money after 2020, much more than the £10bn being put in before then, so it can cope with the demands of the ageing population.

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Speaking in his first interview with the Guardian in his three and a half years as health secretary, to mark the end of its month-long This is the NHS series, Hunt said the NHS would need years of above-inflation cash injections, along the lines of those it received under Tony Blair, in order to remain an “incredible” part of British life.

He passionately defended the service’s basis as a taxpayer-only funding system and he pledged there would be no moves towards replicating the insurance-based health system in the United States, which he criticised for denying care to tens of millions of poor Americans and giving doctors a personal financial incentive to advise patients to be treated.

Setting out how services could be transformed over the next 10 years, the report by the NHS’s mental health taskforce for England says its priorities must include ensuring that people have access to mental health care seven days a week and expanding community-based services for people with severe problems who need support to live safely as close to home as possible.

It says new funding should be made available so that crisis resolution and home treatment teams (CRHTTs) can offer intensive home treatment as an alternative to acute inpatient admissions in each part of England. Currently, round-the-clock, community-based mental health crisis care is only available across half of England.

The report recommends recognising employment as a “health outcome”, ensuring that the NHS plays a greater role in supporting people to find or keep a job and tackling inequalities that mean poor people and groups already facing discrimination are disproportionately affected by mental health problems.

Each year, one in four UK residents experience a mental health problem. The taskforce’s report states that too many people have received no help at all for too long “leading to hundreds of thousands of lives being put on hold or ruined and thousands of tragic an unnecessary deaths”.

A call for a concerted drive to reduce suicide rates England by 10% by 2020 in the wake of a steady rise in recent years has been widely welcomed.

Paul Farmer, the chief executive of Mind, who chaired the taskforce, said it was a “feasible and affordable blueprint” for transforming services. “We are saying to the NHS, to government, to industry, to local leaders and to the public that mental health must be a priority for everyone in England,” he said.

Speaking on Radio 4’s Today programme on Monday morning, Farmer called for mental health services to be given parity of esteem with physical health within the NHS – with the funding to match.

“We are talking about a major transformation in the way we think about mental health services in the round, from those people with so-called mild to moderate mental health problems like depression, right through to more serious mental problems,” Farmer said.

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“Sitting underneath this is a real focus on just creating a much more transparent approach to issues like workforce and payment and funding for mental health services, which historically have been set in a bunker, really, compared to the way we think about physical health.”

Farmer said that the £1bn annual investment ministers have pledged for mental health services was not enough to achieve the goals he had set out, but he acknowledged that it was a significant step forward. Most important though would be a “different mindset” when it came to mental health in the NHS.

”What is changing attitudes is the way we as a public think about it and people with their own experiences talking and speaking up about their experiences,” Farmer said. “That is what’s going to change the way we think about mental health problems overall.”

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Focusing on rates of suicide in England, which peaked at 4,881 deaths in 2014 – suicide is now the leading cause of death among men aged 15-49 – the taskforce says every area should develop a multi-agency suicide prevention plan to intervene in high-risk locations and support high-risk groups. Aspects of these plans borrow from successful models at a local level in the UK and in the US.

In the area of perinatal and postnatal care, it calls for new funding to support at least 30,000 more women each year to access specialist services. One in five mothers suffer mental health problems during pregnancy or in the first year after childbirth.

Calling for the NHS to play a greater role in supporting people to find or keep a job, the report describes employment as vital to health and says it should be treated as a health outcome. Up to 29,000 more people per year with mental health problems should be supported to find or stay in work.

Another particular focus is placed on tackling inequalities and groups who are at greater risk, such as black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) and LGBT people.

Recommendations include a “data revolution” to improve transparency and sharing across bodies and the appointment of an “equalities champion” at the Department of Health with a specific remit to tackle health inequalities.

“For too many, especially black, Asian and minority ethnic people, their first experience of mental health care comes when they are detained under the Mental Health Act, often with police involvement, followed by a long stay in hospital,” Farmer and the taskforce’s vice-chair, Jacqui Dyer, a counsellor, mental health service user and carer, state in the report’s foreword.

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The report, and the commitment by the NHS to honour its recommendations, builds on the back of the spending review settlement and its earmarked funding for mental health.

Savings are envisaged for example through reduced emergency hospital admissions. The report says cuts in local authority budgets are leading to rising pressures on important parts of mental health care, such as social care and residential housing.

Simon Stevens, the chief executive of NHS England, said mental health services had historically been the NHS’s “poor relation”, but the service was now committed to putting mental health on an equal footing with physical health by implementing improvements in seven-day crisis care and increases in psychological treatments.

“We asked the taskforce to produce a practical, feasible and affordable set of recommendations. That’s what they have done and the NHS is going to back this,” he said.

The report, which includes recommendations for strengthening the workforce and talks about mental health services as a future “profession of choice”, comes as the junior doctors’ dispute and controversy over the health secretary Jeremy Hunt’s push for a “seven-day NHS” continue to cast a shadow over staff recruitment and retention.

Asked about this, Stevens said: “Obviously the workforce is a crucial part of being able to deliver this strategy. We need to ensure that recruitment into mental health positions continues to be attractive. There is a lot of work to be done with the Academy of Royal Medical Colleges, the Royal College of Psychiatrists and by mental health trusts.”

The taskforce stresses that there are opportunities, “but there are also risks”. It says: “There will be uncertainty about the role and function of commissioning as local geographies change, responsibilities shift and budgets come under pressure.”

One taskforce member, Brian Dow, director of external affairs at Rethink Mental Illness, struck a note of caution, warning that “even the best of reports quickly gather dust on shelves”.

He said: “The important thing now is for all the players in the system to find a way to deliver these recommendations so that we see real change on the ground. That requires a clear plan to measure, report and deliver on the plan. This is an opportunity that must not be lost.”

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Welcoming the target for a 10% reduction in suicides in five years, the Samaritans charity said local multi-agency suicide prevention plans were a critical part of this but there needed to be “a clear long-term financial commitment to carry this through”.

It added: “The plans must be transparent, robust and properly funded to be effective, and designed to have the maximum impact locally.”

The Royal College of GPs said it was particularly encouraged by the proposals to expand child mental health services and provide better support for women with perinatal mental health problems. However, it said the report did not explicitly reflect the role played by GPs in diagnosing and supporting patients with mental health problems.

“We would like to ensure every GP practice has easy access to trained mental health workers who can deliver therapies such as cognitive behavioural therapy and other talking therapies that have been found to be incredibly beneficial for patients,” said the college’s chair, Dr Maureen Baker.

The taskforce’s recommendations were announced after a leaked draft of their findings was reported on Sunday, painting a “devastating” picture of NHS mental health services in England, with soaring numbers of suicides and three-quarters of people with psychiatric conditions not being helped.

NAIBU WAZIRI WA AFYA DK. KIGWANGALLA AUPA SIKU 90 UONGOZI WA HOSPITALI YA MKOA WA NJOMBE-KIBENA KUBORESHA HUDUMA

Naibu Waziri Dk. Kigwangalla akikagua mahabara ya hospitali hiyo ambayo alikutana na matatizo mbalimbali ikiwemo mashine na vifaa kutotumika ipasavyo na kuagiza uongozi wa kufanya maboresho ndani ya miezi mitatu huku akiahidi kuifungia endapo itashindwa kutekeleza maagizo hayo.

Naibu Waziri wa Afya, Dk Kigwangalla akiangalia moja ya maeneo ya wodi hizo ambapo alikuta hali ya uchafu pamoja na kuwa na mpangilio mbovu wa namna ya utoaji wa huduma.

Dk. Kigwangalla akitoa maelezo kwa Mganga mkuu wa hospitali ya Mkoa wa Njombe-Kibena, Dk. Samwel Mgema wakati wa maagizo hayo ndani ya siku 90 na endapo hawatafanya utekelezaji ataichukuia hatua ya kuifungia.

Naibu Waziri wa Afya, Dk Kigwangalla akielekea kwenye baadhi ya majengo ya hospitali hiyo wakati wa ukaguzi huo.

Naibu Waziri wa Afya, Dk Kigwangalla akikagua eneo la kutolea huduma ikiwemo wagonjwa wanaoingia kumuonna Daktari. (Picha zote na Andrew Chale,modewjiblog-Njombe).

Uongozi wa Hospitali ya Halmashauri ya Mji wa Njombe umepewa muda wa siku 90 kurekebisha mapungufu ya utoaji wa huduma za afya, lazima hospitali hiyo itafungwa.

Kauli hiyo imetolewa jana jioni na Naibu Waziri wa Afya, Maendeleo ya Jamii, Jinsia, Wazee na Watoto, Dkt. Hamisi Kigwangalla wakati akizungumza na viongozi Mganga Mkuu wa Mkoa, Samwel Mgema na na Mkurugenzi wa halmashauri hiyo, Imelda Mwenda na watumishi wa hospitali hiyo.

Dkt. Kigwangalla alitoa agizo kufuatia ziara yake ya ukaguzi wa hospitali, vituo vya afya na zahati ili kuweza kubaini changamoto na mafanikio waliyoyapata baada maagizo mbalimbali kutolewa na Serikali.

Miongoni mwa maagizo hayo ni uboreshaji wa huduma kwa kuwepo na vifaa tiba na vya maabara za kisasa, dawa za kutosha, kuaanza malipo ya mtandao.

Katika ziara hiyo Naibu Waziri huyo alibaini kwamba hospitali hiyo haina baadhi ya vifaa vya maabara, ambavyo ni muhimu kwa uchunguzi wa magonjwa mbalimbali, ikiwemo mashine ya CT-Scan na kuwepo kwa vifaa vibovu ambayo havijafanyiwa matengenezo, ukiwemo mfumo mbovu wa ukusanyaji taka ngumu na nyepesi.

“Sijaridhishwa na uendeshaji wa hospitali hii na utoaji wa huduma zinazotolewaa ninakuagiza Mganga Mkuu wa Wilaya, John Luanda kurekebisha mapungufu yaliyopo baada ya miezi mitatu nitarudi nikikuta huduma bado hairidhishi nitakifunga kituo.,” alisema Dkt.Kigwangalla.

Aliongeza kuwa akikuta huduma hadhirishi atafunga hospitali hiyo licha ya kuwa ya Serikali, hivyo hatasubiri kutumbuliwa jipu.

Dkt. Kigwangalla aliutaka uongozi wa hospitali hiyo kuandaa mpango kazi na mkakati wa kuboresha mapungufu yaliyopo katika hospitali hiyo na kuuwasilisha kwake.

Aliutaka uongozi wa hospitali huo kujenga chumba cha upasuaji cha wakina mama na watoto.

Kwa upande wake Mganga Mkuu wa Mkoa Njombe, Mgema alisema watatekeleza maagizo hayo.

HOYCE TEMU: MISS TANZANIA ALIYEJITOA KUSAIDIA WATANZANIA KUPITIA KIPINDI CHA MIMI NA TANZANIA

Miss Tanzania 1999, Hoyce Temu akimlisha chakula Narsa Ramadhan (2) akiwa na mama yake Tatu Saleh (kushoto) wakati wa hafla ya chakula kilichondaliwa kwa watoto na wazee wanaoishi katika makazi ya wazee na watu wenye ulemavu wasiojiweza yaliyopo Nunge, Kigamboni, jijini Dar es Salaam ikiwa ni mojawapo ya shughuli ya kijamii kuuaga mwaka 2015 na kukaribisha mwaka mpya 2016.(Imeandaliwa na Modewjiblog)

Licha ya kuvaa taji la ulimbwende, Miss Tanzania 1999, Hoyce Anderson Temu amekuwa mfano wa kuigwa kwa walimbwende waliopita wa taji hilo nchini kwa kujitoa kusaidia jamii ya Tanzania kwa kutumia nafasi aliyonayo nchini.

Hoyce ambaye ni mzaliwa wa Arusha amekuwa mstari wa mbele kusaidia Watanzania ambao wanamatatizo mbalimbali kama ya kiafya na elimu ambapo amekuwa akitoa misaada na muda mwingine kutafuta wadhamini ili kusaidia jamii ambayo ameifikia kwa muda huo.

Baadhi ya mafanikio ambayo yamepatikana kupitia kipindi cha Mimi na Tanzania ni pamoja na kupeleka wagonjwa nje ya nchi kwa ajili ya kupata matibabu akiwepo mtoto Hamisi ambaye alimsaidia kwenda kupata matibabu ya mguu wake.

Kupitia kipindi chake cha Mimi na Tanzania kinachorushwa upitia Channel Ten kila siku ya jumapili, saa 9:30 usiku, Hoyce amefanikiwa kuandaa vipindi zaidi ya 1,000 maeneo mbalimbali nchini na katika maeneo yote ambayo ametembelea amefanikiwa kutoa msaada kulingana na mahitaji yanayohitajika.

Miss Tanzania 1999, Hoyce Temu akisalimiana na mmoja wa wazee wenye ulemavu uliotokana na ugonjwa wa ukoma, Mganga Shija (66), wakati alipotembelea makazi ya wazee na watu wenye ulemavu wasiojiweza yaliyopo Nunge, Kigamboni, jijini Dar es Salaam ikiwa ni mojawapo ya shughuli ya kijamii kuuaga mwaka 2015 na kukaribisha mwaka mpya 2016.

Uamuzi wa Hoyce kuwa na moyo wa aina hiyo ulikuja baada ya kutambua nafasi aliyonayo kwa jamii na kuona wingi wa matatizo waliyonayo Watanzania wenzake na hivyo kufikia uamuzi wa kuanzisha kipindi ambacho kwa sasa kina zaidi ya miaka 5 na bado ameonyesha nia ya dhati kuendeleza kipindi hicho.

Kwa kutambua huduma yake kwa jamii, Mwenyekiti wa Kamati ya Miss Tanzania, Hashim Lundenga aliwahi kunukuliwa akimtaja Hoyce Temu kama mlimbwende bora kuliko wote wakati alipotembelea kituo cha Nunge kilichopo Kigamboni, Dar Es Salaam kinachotumika kutunza wazee wasiojiweza na walemavu wasiokuwa na uwezo.

Pamoja ya kujitoa kusaidia Watanzania wenzake walio na uhitaji na kutumia muda wake mwingi katika huduma za kijamii, baadhi ya watu wasio na nia njema na Hoyce wamekuwa wakimwandika vibaya ilimradi tu kumchafulia jina katika jamii inayomzunguka.

Mtangazaji wa kipindi cha Mimi na Tanzania, Hoyce Temu akirekodi moja ya kipindi chake cha Mimi na Tanzania na mtoto ambaye aliaga dunia kabla ya matibabu.

Kama Watanzania ambao tunapenda kuona huduma za kijamii zinaboreshwa kupitia kwa Hoyce Temu na kipindi chake cha Mimi na Tanzania tuna wajibu wa kuhakikisha tunaungana kwa pamoja kumsaidia Hoyce kama mwanamke shujaa na mwenye moyo wa huruma kuwasaidia Watanzania ili kufikia malengo ambayo ameweka kuisaidia jamii..

Muungano wa Watanzania ndiyo pekee utakaozidi kumfanya Hoyce kuwa na moyo zaidi wa kusaidia Watanzania wenzake wenye uhitaji na amekuwa mtu ambaye anaonekana kuzingatia maoni ambayo anapewa na Watanzania wenye nia njema na yeye ili kuzidi kuwa mtu mwema katika jamii ya Tanzania na dunia kwa ujumla.

Hata hivyo licha ya watu wachache kumchafua amekuwa mtu ambaye hajishughulishi kuwajibu wenye nia mbaya na mipango yake kuwasaidia Watanzania na muda mwingi kuendelea kuitumia jamii na kufanya kazi kwenye kitengo cha Mawasiliano na Mahusiano katika ofisi za Mkuu wa Umoja wa Mataifa (UN) nchini.

Pia licha ya kazi anazofanya Hoyce kwa sasa anatumia muda wake mwingine kuongeza elimu yake kwa kuchukua PHD ya mambo ya Mawasiliano.

WAZIRI UMMY MWALIMU ATEMBELEA MUHIMBILI KUKAGUA UTEKELEZAJI WA AGIZO LA RAIS MAGUFULI

Waziri wa Afya, Maendeleo ya Jamii, Jinsia, Wazee na Watoto, Ummy Mwalimu ametembelea hospitali ya Taifa Muhimbili kukagua utekelezaji wa agizo la Rais John Magufuli la kuwataka watumishi wa wizara hiyo waliokuwa wakilitumia jengo la Kitengo cha Afya ya Uzazi na Mtoto kuhamisha ofisi zao na kuliacha kwa ajili ya matumizi ya wodi ya wazazi.

Akizungumza na waandishi wa habari, Dar es Salaam leo katika hospitali hiyo, Waziri Ummy amesema kuwa mpaka kufikia kesho tayari jengo hilo litakuwa limeanza kutumika kwa kuwa watafanya kazi ya kuhamisha makabrasha ya watumishi hao usiku kucha kuhakikisha agizo la Rais John Magufuli linatekelezwa mara moja.

Picha mbalimbali zinaonesha Waziri Ummy Mwalimu akikagua utekelezaji wa agizo la Rais John Magufuli pamoja na watumishi na vibarua wakihamisha nyaraka na makabrasha mbalimbali kutoka kwenye jengo lililokuwa likitumiwa kama ofisi na watumishi wa wizara hiyo katika Hospitali ya Taifa Muhimbili, Dar es Salaam.

WAKULIMA MBOZI WALIA NA MBEGU FEKI

Na Esther Macha,Tunduma

MAWAKALA wa forodha wanaotoa huduma kwa wateja katika mji wa Tunduma Mkoani Mbeya wameonywa kuacha lugha chafu mbazo zinaweza kukimbiza wageni toka nje ya nchi wanaofika katika mpaka huo kupata huduma .

Hayo yamesemwa jana na ofisa elimu kwa mlipa kodi wa mamlaka ya mapato (TRA)Mkoa wa Mbeya , Kissa Kyejo wakati wa semina ya uhamasishaji na sheria na taratibu katika shughuli za mawakala wa forodha na viongozi wa TRA.

Alisema kuwa mawakala wote wa forodha ni muhimu kuwa na lugha nzuri kwa wateja kwani mpaka huo umekuwa ukitoa huduma kwa wageni mbali mbali .

“Sehemu kama hii ambayo ina mchanganyiko wa watu na wanaotoka maeneo mbali mbali hapa nchini muhimu samba lugha nzuri ikatumika kwa wateja kwani vinginevyio tutapoteza wageni wengi wanaotoka nchi za jirani”alisema Ofisa huyo

Kwa upande wake Ofisa Mfawidhi wa forodha wa mamlaka ya mapato Tanzania (TRA)Mkoa wa Mbeya ,Cosmas Magori alisema katika utendaji ni vema kila wakala wa forodha kufuata misingi na taratibu za kazi ili kuweza kujiletea nidhamu ya kazi.

Alisema kuwa mambo muhimu yaliyokuwepo katika semina hiyo ni pamoja na huduma bora kwa wateja,uvaaji wa sare na vitambulisho lengo likiwa ni kuboresha huduma hasa wageni wa nje na ndani ya nchi .

Akizungumzia kuhusu rushwa ,Magori alisema hatapenda kuona kitengo cha forodha wanakuwa vinara wa kuombna rushwa kwa wageni na madereva wanaofika kwao kuomba huduma.

“Naombeni mbadilike katika hili sitapenda kusikia wageni wakilalamikia suala la rushwa kuanzia leo hili lianze utekelezaji mapema ,tufuate maadili ya kazi ili kulinda heshima “alisema Meneja Magori.

Na Esther Macha, Mbeya

SHIRIKA la Ugavi wa umeme Tanzania (Tanesco) mkoa wa Mbeya limesema kuwa katika mwaka ujao wa fedha litaanza mchakato wa kubadilisha na kuifanyia marekebisho miundombinu ya umeme ya zamani ili kuendana na mahitaji ya sasa.

Akizungumza juzi kwenye mkutano wa Tanesco na wateja wakubwa wa huduma ya umeme jijini hapa Meneja wa Tanesco mkoani Mbeya Mhandisi, Francis Maze alisema kuwa shirika hilo limedhamiria kutoa umeme wa uhakika katika kipindi kisichozidi miaka miwili kuanzia mwezi julai mwaka huu.

Alisema katika mwaka wa fedha 2016/2017 shirika hilo limetoa kipaumbele kubadilisha mifumo ya miundombinu ya zamani kwa sababu ina inashindwa kuhimili kiwango cha umeme kinachotumika sasa kutokana na kuongezeka kwa watumiaji wa huduma hiyo mkoani Mbeya.

“Mkoa wa Mbeya una mfumo wa zamani wa kusambaza umeme tunatakiwa kufanya marekebisho makubwa, nyaya zilizizopo ni ndogo haziendani na mahitaji ya umeme yanayohitajika kwa sasa, hivyo kuanzia julai baada ya kuanza mwaka wa fedha tutaanza zoezi hilo na inaweza kutuchukua miezi 24 kumaliza lakini tumeandaa mkakati angalau tutumie miezi 12 kumaliza” alisema.

Maze alisema Tanesco itatoa tenda kwa wakandarasi Binafsi kufanya kazi hiyo ili kuweza kumaliza kwa muda uliopangwa na kwamba watangaza tenda kubla ya mwezi Mei mwaka huu.

Akizungumzia hali ya umeme mkoani hapa alisema kuwa upo wa uhakika kwa sasa baada ya kufunga Transifoma mpya ya megawati 60 kwenye kituo kikubwa cha Mwakibete kilichopo Sae jijini Mbeya.

Alisema kabla ya mwezi Augusti mwaka huu wataboresha miundombinu inayopeleka umeme viwandani, ikiwa ni pamoja na kubadilisha nguzo ili wawe na hali bora ya umeme kwa kuwa wao ndio wateja wakubwa wa Tanesco.

Kwa upande wake Meneja wa umeme wa kiwanda cha Sementi cha Mbeya ambao kwa mujibu wa Tanesco ni walipaji wakubwa wa umeme mkoani Mbeya Daud Rwebangila alisema kuwa changamoto kubwa wanayokumbana nayo ni kupata umeme ambao haujatulia hali inayowawia vigumu kwenye shughuli za uzalishaji kiwandani hapo.

Alisema kuwa changamoto hiyo imekuwa iksababisha kusimamisha kazi kwa muda wa masaa kadhaa na wakati mwingine baadjhi ya vifaa kuungua.

“Sisi kama wateja wakubwa chanagomoto kubwa tunayoipata ni umeme unaochreza wakati shuguli za kiwanda ikiendelea hali hii inasababisha vifaa vyetu kuungua na wakati mwingine tunalazimika kusitisha shuguli za uzalishaji kwa muda, tunaomba hili lirekebishwe” alisema.

MWISHO 

Na Esther Macha,Mbozi

WAKULIMA wa vijiji vya kata ya Isansa na Magamba Wilaya ya Mbozi Mkoani Mbeya, wamelalamikia wakala wa mbegu ya Kibo Seeds kuwauzia mbegu feki ambazo hazikuota, ambapo wamelazimika kuingia gharama ya kununua mbegu nyingine na hivyo kuwasababishia hasara ya mamilioni ya shilingi.

Wakizungumza na waandishi wa habari jana wakulima hao ,walisema kuwa waliuziwa mbegu aina ya Kitale Haibrid 614 ambayo inazalishwa na kampuni ya mbegu ya Kibo Seeds ya nchini Kenya.

Mmoja wa wakulima hao, Elia Shipelele alisema kuwa baada ya kugundua kuwa mbegu hizo ni feki walilaziika kutafuta begu zingine na mbolea ili kuendana na msimu wa kilimo.

Hata hivyo mkulima huyo aliiomba serikali kuangalia uwezekano wa kufanya ukaguzi wa mbegu kabla kupeleka kwa wakulima ili kuweza kuepuka hasara.

Kwa upande wake Ofisa kilimo na mifugo wa kata ya magamba ,clemence Mamuya alikiri kuwepo kwa tatizo hilo akidai kuwa na yeye ni miongoni kwa wakulima ambao wamepata hasara hiyo.

Alisema kuwa kutokana na tatizo hili ni vema serikali ikawa na mkakati wa kuyafuatilia makapuni na mawakala wanaosambaza mbegu kwa wakulima ili kuondoa sintofahamu kwa wakulima.

Akizungumzia malalamiko hayo Mkurugenzi wa Kampuni ya Meru green Care Victor Lema Kampuni ya Meru Green Care alisema suala hilo wamelisikia kutoka kwa wakulima .

Aidha Lema alisema kuwa baada ya kupata malalamiko hayo alichukua hatua kwa kwenda ofisi ya kilimo wilaya na kuamuliwa kuwasiliana na kampuni ya mbegu ya Kibo seeds ambao walitaka idadi ya majina ya wakulima waliopatwa na tatizo hilo.

Hata hivyo Lema alisema jumla ya wakulima 80 wameathirika na tatizo hilo la mbegu feki katika wilaya ya Mbozi.

MBOZI FARMERS UP IN ARMS WITH FAKE SEEDS!

At total number of 8o farmers from Isansa and Magamba wards, Mbozi District in Mbeya Region, have complained about the Kibo Seeds Company through its agents for selling fake seeds that did not geminate, where they were forced to incur the cost of buying another seeds and thus exposing them to the loss of millions of shillings.

Speaking to the Guardian on Sunday yesterday, the farmers said the seed agents had sold them Kitale Hybrid 614 variety seed which is produced by Kibo Seed Company from Kenya. 

One of the farmers, Elia Shipelele said that when he discovered that the seeds were counterfeit he sought for other seeds and fertilizer in order to conform to the farming season.

However, Shipelele has asked the government to look into the possibility of conducting inspections to the seed companies and seed agents before sending seeds to farmers in order to avoid losses.

For his part, Agricultural and Livestock Officer of Magamba Ward, Clemence Mmuya admitted the existence of the problem and claimed that he was among the farmers who had been affected by the fake seeds.

Mmuya said that due to the problem the government should make close follow-ups of the seed companies and its agents who supply seeds to farmers in order to remove uncertainty for farmers.

Referring to the complaints, Meru Green Care Company Director, Victor Lema said he also heard the complaints from farmers about the fake seeds.

Moreover Lema said that after receiving the complaint took steps to go to the district agricultural office who decided to contact the Kibo seeds company who wanted a list of names of farmers who have been suffered from this problem.

However Lema said a total of 80 farmers were affected by the problem of fake seeds in Mbozi district.By Friday Simbaya, Tunduma

Customs agents who provide customer service in the town of Tunduma Mbeya region have been warned to stop hash words that can repel visitors from abroad who arrived in the country to get services.

This was said yesterday by the education officer for the taxpayer from the tax authority (TRA) Mbeya Region, Kissa Kyejo during the sensitization workshop with the rules and procedures in the activities of customs agents and officials of the TRA.

Kyejo said that all customs agents are important to have a good language for customers who come into the country to seek for various services.

"Places like this that has a mixed of different people and those from various areas in the country it is important use good language applied to customers because we are going to lose so many visitors from neighboring countries," said the officer.

For his part, the customs officer in charge of the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) of the Mbeya Region, Cosmas Magori said performance is good every customs agent adheres to the principles and procedures of work in order to bring about labor discipline.

He said that the most important things that existed in the seminar include better service for customers, the wearing of uniforms and identity cards aim to improve services especially foreign visitors and locally.

Concerned about corruption, Magori said he would not like to see customs unit to have corrupt leaders and drivers for guests who come to them to request services.

“I urge you to change in this, I will not like to hear guests complaining corruption from today start at this early implementation, follow work ethics to protect the honor" said Manager Magori.

By Friday Simbaya, Mbeya

Tanzania Electrical Supply Company (TANESCO) in Mbeya region said that in the next fiscal year will start to change and restructure its old electricity infrastructure to cope with the current demand.

Speaking yesterday at a meeting of TANESCO and big customers, Mbeya Tanesco Manager Engineer, Francis Maze said that the organization seeks to provide reliable electricity in a period not exceeding two years starting in July this year.

Engineer, Francis Maze said in the 2016/2017 financial year the organization has given priority to change the old infrastructure systems because it fails to withstand the current rate of electricity consumed due to the increase in users of the service in Mbeya.

"Mbeya region has the old system of supplying electricity we have to make major adjustments, cables are smaller incompatible with the requirements of the electricity needed at the moment, so from July after the start of the fiscal year we will begin the exercise and could take us 24 months to finish, but we have developed a strategy that will send us at least 12 months to finish "he said.

Maze said Tanesco will announce the tender to provide for a private contractor to do the work in order to finish on time and that they will announce tender in May this year.

Referring to the power situation in the region he said that there is currently certainty in electricity supply after TANESCO have installed new 60 megawatts Transform on at Mwakibete Sae area in Mbeya City Council.

He said before the month August this year they will improve the infrastructure that supply electricity to industries, including changing the eclectic poles that will improve conditions for the electricity to the biggest consumers of TANESCO.

For his part, electrical manager from Mbeya Cement Plant, Daud Rwebangila said that the biggest challenge they face was getting electricity which is not stable enough and it is hard for them on productive activities. 

Rwebangila said that this challenge has been made them to stop work for several hours and sometimes unstable electricity supply cause damage to the electricity devices.

"We as big consumers we get great challenges of unbalanced electricity supply while factory activity is going on. This leads to burning of our equipment and sometimes we are forced to suspend production for some time. We want this kind of situation to be rectified once and for all," he lamented.

END