The Geita Town Council is set to spend over 3.07bn/- within five years (2017-2022) for providing interest free loans to special groups namely youth, women and people with disabilities.
The Council’s Public Relation Officer, Mr Albert Auson presented the report over the weekend on development projects to the Association of Local Authorities of Tanzania (ALAT) officers.
He said of the amount, 1.5bn/- was issued to women 1.3bn/- to youth and 169.5m/- to people with disabilities.
The ALAT Chairman, Murshid Mgeze, urged the councils to conduct regular monitoring of loans for the groups’ projects for them to achieve the expected goals.
Mr Mgeze said ALAT in collaboration with the National Microfinance Bank (NMB) has developed a digital system that will help councils to effectively monitor loans issued to specific groups and reduce embezzlement.
“We also urge all beneficiary groups to make good use of the money for personal and national development. Let them be creative and make a productive investment,” he advised.