KIKAO CHA BARAZA KUU LA UWT TAIFA LEO DODOMA

Katibu Mkuu wa Umoja wa wanawake Tanzania (UWT) Amina Makilagi akizungumza wakati wa Kikao cha kawaida cha Baraza Kuu la Jumuiya hiyi Taifa, kilichofanyika Makao Makuu ya CCM mjini Dodoma, leo Oktoba17, 2017. Kulia ni Katibu wa NEC Oganaizesheni Pereila Silima na katikati ni Mwenyekiti wa muda wa kikao hicho Diana Chilolo. (Picha na Bashir Nkoromo)

TRA YALALAMIKIA MWITIKIO MDOGO MATUMIZI YA EFD

MENEJA wa Mamlaka ya Mapato Tanzania (TRA) mkoa wa Iringa, Lampson Tulianje amesema kuwa wafanyabiashara wa hoteli mkoani hapa wana mwitikio mdogo wa kutoa risiti za EFD baada ya kufanya ukaguzi katika maeneo mbalimbali na kubaini hilo.

Akizungumza mara na wanahabari mara baada ya kufanya zoezi la ukaguzi wa hoteli mbalimbali mkoani hapa, Tulianje alisema kuwa wafanyabiashara wanaouza bidhaa zao pasipo kuwapatia risiti za mashine za Kielektroniki (Efd) wateja wao mara kwa mara hali inayokosesha TRA mapato.

Alisema kuwa kampeni hiyo imeendelea kufanyika katika hoteli zote mkoani hapa kwa kushtukiza hali ambayo wanakutana nayo ni wafanyabiashara hao kutoa risiti kwa wateja wachache tofauti na wanavyowahudumia wateja wengi kwa siku.

Alisema kuwa kutona na hali hiyo TRA mkoa wa Iringa itaendelea kufanya zoezi hilo kuhakikisha wafanya biashara wanazingatia sheria, kanuni na taratibu za biashara katika mauzo ya bidhaa zao kwa kutoa risiti kwa kila mteja wanayemhudumia.

Tulianje alisema kuwa kila bidhaa inayouzwa inapaswa kutolewa risiti, zikiwamo bia hivyo, maafisa wa TRA watafanya kazi usiku na mchana kuhakikisha wafanyabiashara wote ambao wanahitajika kutumia mashine hizo wanatumia ili kuingizia mapato serikali.

"Lengo la TRA sio kuwafungia biashara hawa wafanyabiashara lakini endapo watashindwa kufata sheria hatua stahiki zitachukuliwa bila hofu yoyote na hatupendi kuwapiga faini lakini italazimika kufanya hivyo, kwani tunasimamia sheria na imeonekana idadi kubwa ya wafanyabiashara mkoani hapa hawatumii mashine za EFD kama ambavyo inatakiwa,"alisema.

Alitoa wito kwa wafanyabiashara na wananchi kuhakikisha wanatoa na kuchukua risiti wakati wowote wanapouza au wanapofanya manunuzi na endapo wafanyabiashara ambao mashine zao zimeharibika wanapaswa kutoa taarifa TRA kwa barua na sehemu waliyonunua mashine ili kuhakikisha hawatozwi faini kwa kutotumia mashine hizo.

TRA IRINGA LAMENTS ON THE LOW USAGE OF EFDs BY TRADERS

TRA Iringa regional manager, Lampson Tulianje (Photo by Friday Simbaya)

The Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) in Iringa region has lamented on the poor response on usage of electronic fiscal devices (EFDs) which denies the government some revenues.

TRA Iringa regional manager, Lampson Tulianje, said the local businesses especially hotel's have a slight response to issuing EFD receipts as it was observed during the survey conducted in various areas the region.

Speaking to journalists yesterday after conducting a multi-hotel audit exercise in the region here, Tulianje said that traders who sell their products without giving their customers electronics receipts regularly were breaking the law of the country.

He said that the campaign has been carried out in all hotels in the region here by surprise and they detected the traders were offering receipt to a few customers although they serving many customers a day.

He said that in the case of TRA, they would continue to do so to ensure that traders comply with the rules, regulations and procedures for the sale of their products by issuing a receipt to each client who they served.

Tulianje said that all the goods sold should be issued with receipts, urged that TRA officials will work night and day to ensure that all traders who are required to use the machines to so. 

"The goal of TRA is not to close up businesses but to make they comply with the rules and regulations, since we are enforcing the law and it has proved that a large number of traders in the area here do not use EFD machines as they should," he said. 

He appealed to sellers and buyers to make sure that they issue and take a receipt respectively whenever they buy or when they make a purchase and if traders whose machines have been damaged should report to TRA to avoid fined by not using the machines.

RC MASENZA HAILS USAID NAFAKA MAIZE FORTIFICATION PROGRAM IN IRINGA

Maelezo ya picha:Iringa Regional Commissioner, Amina Masenza (with plastic bucket)launching maize fortification program at Ruaha Milling Company Limited in Iringa yesterday. (Photo by Friday simbaya)

 

Maelezo ya picha: Group photo - Iringa Regional Commissioner, Amina Masenza in a group photo with millers and some of regional nutrion committee members during the launch of maize fortification in Iringa recently 

By Friday Simbaya, Iringa

IRINGA Regional Commissioner Amina Masenza has hailed the maize fortification program in Iringa and said food supplements are one of the most effective ways to improve nutrition and eliminate problems associated with poor nutrition. 

She said that experts said that children with improved nutritious care, especially during the first 1,000 days of their lifetime, ie from the mother's pregnancy to a child who is two years; they earn lasting benefits throughout their lives. 

Feed the Future Tanzania USAID Nafaka in collaboration with the government of Tanzania has launched maize fortification program in Iringa on Friday last week.

The launch is the result of joint effort among Nafaka Project, the Iringa Nutrition Committee, President’s Office Regional Administration and Local Government, Tanzania Food and Drugs Authority, Tanzania Bureau Standards (TBS) and other USAID partners such as Mwanzo Bora.

She said some of those benefits were; positive development of the brain, good ability to deal with illnesses, good intellectual capacity (IQ}, ability to effectively learn and the ability to invest in adulthood.

Masenza said that nutrition investments have also helped raising the GDP by 2 to 3 percent each year. 

“In addition, economists tell us that delivery of vitamins and minerals for children under five is a better investment strategy for nutrition. Each US dollar ($ 1) deducted through the strategy will earn US $ 30 later; this is a huge amount of profit in any formulation,” she stated.

She said that the Fifth Phase Government recognizes the importance of investing in nutrients as a single strategy for achieving the Government's goal of achieving the medium- economy and industry by 2025. 

During the inauguration, the Regional Commissioner of Iringa, Amina Masenza who was the Guest of Honor called upon all the implementing partners including the millers to work together to ensure the quality of the product is no compromised for the benefit of all consumers in the region.

Malnutrition exists in many countries around the world, but it is worse in developing countries including Tanzania. 

The recent figures have identified the decline in national malnutrition rates especially for children less than 5 years of age.

Despite the decline in these rates, it is estimated that there are more than 2.9 million children in the country, 382,500 have slums and 106,000 facing severe malnutrition. 

A national study also revealed that more than 50% of children under 5 years of age have high blood deficiency (red blood pressure below 11.0 grams per deciliter).

This national study has noted that the status of women's nutrition is still bad in Tanzania. 3% of women are very short when 10 percent are thin (3 percent are thin or very thin - weight ratio and 17m2 / kg). 

Malnourished women are more likely to give birth to less weighty children and thus to infect malnutrition from one generation to another. 

The study also noted that at least 45 percent of women in age (15 years old) showed that they had anemia, 30 percent showed that there was anemia, 11 percent showed that blood deficiency was 1 percent they had very high blood pressure.

Earlier on, USAID NAFAKA Director for Business and Finance, Silas Ng'habi said that the program for improving nutrition is implemented in the regions of Iringa, Mbeya and Njombe. 

He said that the program is the result of a survey conducted in 2011 and its implementation started in 2013 where it was officially launched by the Retired President of Tanzania, Dr. Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete.

Ng'habi said the achieved the objectives of this program, NAFAKA developed a process for identifying maize millers in September 2016 where a list of 120 processors in the regions of Morogoro, Dodoma, Iringa Njombe and Mbeya was completed. 

He said that NAFAKA identified eight (8) maize processing companies in Iringa and one from Makambako, Njombe with a total of shillings 167,768,059 / = for distributing machine for processors.

Analysis of beneficiaries of the grant plan considered a variety of criteria including the following: 5-10 tons per day, being in the business for not less than three years, being ready to make maize purchases from smallholder farmers in project areas. 

Other criterion a miller to meet was the procedure for regulation and processing standards of the Tanzania Food and Drugs Authority.

However, Tanzania has introduced a mandatory food fortification programme to tackle the country’s high rates of under nutrition. 

The experience from other countries shows that fortification can add vital micronutrients into commonly eaten foods at a low cost. 

However, getting food-processing companies to comply with the programme will be a major challenge, and this will be even more difficult in the informal markets used by poor people, who are most vulnerable to undernutrition. 

This policy briefing recommends that stakeholders in government and development partners need to implement specific, evidence-based approaches to cover these markets. 

As part of their strategy, they should also support other channels beside fortification to reach very poor and rural populations.

End

HABARI MPYA: MBOWE AZUNGUMZA TENA KUHUSU LISSU!

Trump Says There’s ‘No Such Thing As Obamacare Anymore’ One Month Before Enrollment Starts

President Donald Trump falsely claimed on Monday the Affordable Care Act no longer exists, a statement that follows a long list of actions his administration has taken to undermine the law. 

“Obamacare is finished. It’s dead. It’s gone. You shouldn’t even mention it. It’s gone. There is no such thing as Obamacare anymore,” Trump insisted during a meeting with his Cabinet at the White House.

Contrary to the president’s claims, Obamacare is still the law of the land. In most states, consumers can sign up for health insurance coverage for 2018 from Nov. 1 to Dec. 15.

That’s not to say that it will remain on solid footing. Trump’s administration inflicted two separate blows on the law last week, sowing further instability in the health insurance exchanges set up under Obamacare. 

The White House announced Thursday it would halt subsidies that low-income Obamacare consumers rely on, a move that Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) saidwould threaten “the ability of vulnerable people to receive health care.” Trump also signed an executive order on Friday that will allow insurance companies to offer cheaper, less comprehensive health insurance plans.