Tanzania president cancels independence celebration, diverts appropriated $445,000 to needy children’s course

Tanzanian first female president, Sammie Suluhu Hassan, has cancelled the country’s 61st Independence Day celebration scheduled to hold on Friday.

Sammie Suluhu Hassan said $445,000 from the 2022 budget that was earmarked for the celebration would be used to build eight dormitories for children with special needs around the country.

She said the unnecessary extravagance of the celebrations informed her decision to use the allocated budget to handle a more urgent project.

In a statement on Monday, George Simbachawene, the country’s minister of state, said the money had already been disbursed.

“The debates and conferences will be preceded by various schedules for regional and district leaders to carry out social activities in different areas including cleaning hospitals, schools, elderly homes and groups with special needs.

Simbachawene added that the funds will be channelled to the schools through the President’s Office – Regional Administration and Local Government (PO-RALG).

This is not the first time Tanzania has cancelled similar celebrations.

In 2015, former President John Magufuli diverted the Independence Day funds towards the construction of a road in the country’s capital Dar es Salaam.

In 2020, he did the same and directed that the budget be used to support medical facilities.

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