DUAL CITIZENSHIP REPORT

Thursday, 02 August 2007
SUKHDEV CHHATBAR in DodomaDaily News; Wednesday,August 01, 2007 @00:02
THE dual citizenship report has been finalised and presented to the cabinet for scrutiny. Presenting expenditure estimates for the Ministry of Home Affairs for 2007/8, the Minister, Mr Joseph Mungai, said Zanzibar’s views on the subject would be taken into consideration before arriving at the final decision. He did not disclose what those views were. Proponents of dual citizenship lobby to allow Tanzanians abroad to invest back home and boost the economy, not as foreign investors but as nationals. The citizenship law of 1995 does not provide for dual citizenship. Tanzanians living abroad have been lobbying for sometime now to allow them bring their estimated $2.5 billion wealth and expertise into the country. Most of them had left the country in the early ’70s and ’80s. Mr Mungai also said that national identity cards (IDs) project has made headway and is expected to be ready by 2009. It is estimated that the project will cost the government about $35 million. “We have already acquired a building for the project,” he added. In collaboration with the ministry of Civil Service Management and other stakeholders, efforts were underway to form an agency which would supervise the distribution of the IDs, he said. To improve work of the immigration department, Mr Mungai said that construction of Immigration offices in Dar es Salaam has already started. The immigration college’s rehabilitation was in the final stages in Moshi and planned to be opened next month. The department will also recruit 374 officers and planned to send 140 others for different refresher courses. The prisons department will employ 812 new officers and train 300 to augment critical shortage of staff and to offer better services. The government will also rehabilitate and improve roads to high-security prisons in Maweni (Tanga), Uyui (Tabora), Ukonga (Dar es Salaam) and special prisons at Isanga (Dodoma), Lilungu (Mtwara) and Keko (Dar es Salaam). To reduce prison congestion, the home ministry would apply non-custodial sentences (such as fines, canning and compensation) and setting free accused if the prosecution fails to prepare a case within 60 days. The fire-brigade unit will be equipped and that all brigades will now be pooled under one authority. Mr Mungai also said that the government was committed to close all refugee camps in the country by end of the year.