skip to Main Content
Simu: +255 653 200 211 | Barua Pepe: info@buhafmradio.co.tz  

Writers: Adella Madyane and Prosper Kwigize

The German government has provided Euro 11.500 million equivalent to TZS 28.8 million to empower youth in Kigoma region on waste management through an art craft project that aims at conserving the environment as well as increasing both youth and women economic stabilities.

As it is known that three million of bottle waste are dumped annually in Tanzania and they take more than 500 years to be totally destroyed irrelevant to plastic bags which can never be destroyed.

Speaking during the visit of seven members of parliament committee on economic cooperation and development in Kasimbu ward Kigoma Ujiji Municipal, the head of delegation Knut Gerschau said they have chosen Kigoma because of it being among the most poverty affected regions.

The Head of MP delegation Hon Knut Gerschau (left) speaking before the Region Commissioner Thobias Andengenye

He said the region is among the regions with high rates of unemployed youth and with limited access to jobs, a reason which pushed many of them to move to Dar-es-Salaam in order to find a job and earn money.

“The small-scale waste management project will tackle the unemployment situation for young people and start earning money by enabling them to carry out waste collection and save the environment by transforming wastes into products that are useful everyday” highlighted Gerschau.

Stressing on the matter, Meinolf Kuper the founder of AfriCraft based in Dar-es- Salaam said about 20 percent of staffs are originated in Kigoma and they ought to bring products in Kigoma where the recycling and waste collection will be done and AfriCraft Dar-es-Salaam will come to buy and thus the whole value chain addition will be done in the region so as to increase the employment opportunities to youth.

Mr. Meinolf Kuper (left) giving details about the performing arts project and how it will benefit the youth and reduce poverty by using waste

“We found a group of young entrepreneurs making tires wires into jikos and instead of burning them they also made shoes, we were interested and decided to take them to Dar-es-Salaam and equip them with more knowledge and now they are making lampshade, candle holder, paper basket and concrete bags so that they can be part of total production” said Kuper.

The founder insisted that there lots of raw materials about 40 percent making it easy for productivity and that the replication is also ease because there is linkage with the head offices in Dar-es-Salam for supply and chain marketing insisting that there are well organized systems of reaching to the markets like in hotels both in Tanzania and outside Tanzania to local buyers, tourists as well as international buyers for project  sustainability.

The youth of Kigoma transforming waste into valuable products through handicrafts to bring them income

On his side Kelvin Nicholaus chief executive officer at AfriCraft based in Dar-es-Salaam said the project in Kigoma started in November 2022 and currently the project is engaging eight youth to be increased up to 50 as the project expands and that youth are offered with skills that help in sorting, recycling and adding value to waste which will empower them economically, reduce the threats to public health and saving environment.

On his side Regional Commissioner Thobias Andengenye advised that there should be direct involvement between government and other non-government organization as well as AfriCraft in making municipal clean and reduce the acts of polluting environment and that there is still an existing gap to other district within the region where AfriCraft and other stakeholders can embark on the opportunity to make different in empowering youth and saving the environment

The Kigoma regional Commissioner Hon. Thobias Andegenye (right) reading the government’s statement about better cooperation between Germany and Tanzania

Milka Enoch a tailoring worker at AfriCraft based in Kigoma said they want to be unique in making production like the same bags for lime can be used as a bag for shopping or clothes keeping and that she can earn TZS 10,000-15,000 per day which she never owns before.

Naomi Manywili street committee member in Kasimbu ward said the project will bring more opportunities to youth especially those who graduated from standard seven and ordinary level of secondary education and failed to join further studies and that the notion that people in Ujiji is no longer existing for that generation had passed and existing generation is of hard workers so the sponsors should wait for positive impact of the project.

The parliamentarians from various political parties have expressed their satisfaction with the way project funds are being used and have also left a specific political lesson in the way many parties cooperate in basic national and international issues.

RC Kigoma and the German MPs entering the ArtCraft Center at Ujiji Kigoma

This is the first time for the German parliamentary committee to visit the Kigoma region and inspect the projects that the government of their country has funded.

The parliamentarians from various political parties have expressed their satisfaction with the way project funds are being used and have also left a specific political lesson in the way many parties cooperate in basic national and international issues.

A total of six parliamentarians who make up the parliamentary committee for economic cooperation and development from the parties SPD, AfD, CDU/CSU, FDP, and Die Linke of Germany are on a visit to Tanzania where, among other things, they will visit the old ship MV Liemba made in Germany more than 100 years ago.

Kigoma is one of the places in Tanzania with many indicators of the history of German colonialism in the East African region, including the MV Liemba Ship which was previously known as the MV Goesen, Rail and Medium as well as the buildings used by the rulers during the colonial period in the area Lake Tanganyika before Germany was removed by British colonial rule.

Back To Top
Buha FM · Buha FM Radio Sauti Ya Kigoma