Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda

The Prime Minister, Mr Mizengo Pinda, has strongly defended allocation of land to big investors, saying the move is the only way to ensure increased large scale agricultural production.

“In Europe only 15 per cent of the people, who are farmers feed the rest of the population.

“In Tanzania it is the other way round, as 80 per cent of farmers feed themselves and 15 per cent of the population comprising people without farms.

“We need to change this trend through heavy investments in the agricultural sector,” he said.

The Premier was contributing in the debate on the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Human Settlements Development for the 2011/2012 financial year.

He also told the House that from now on the ministry would be allowed to retain proceeds accrued from its own sources. In the past the ministry remitted everything to the Treasury.

He said he had visited various investment projects and was convinced that leasing land to investors is a wise decision.

“From what I saw when I visited sugar factories in Kilimanjaro and Kagera, I am increasingly getting convinced that leasing out land to investors especially big ones is the best way forward,” he said.

Mr Pinda said the plantations have created employment and increased supply of sugar in the country.

He, however, warned that land was a public property and whoever is given a piece of land should make sure it is developed or else the government will revoke their leases.

“Some members of parliament have a feeling that the government is not concerned with its land but I would like to assure Tanzanians that we are very much concerned and we will not leave anybody to play around with it,” he said.

About the claims raised by some legislators over the selling out of big chunk of lands in Rukwa and Kigoma, the premier noted that there was no such a thing but said the government was looking for big investors in the two regions.

“We have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with some investors in Kigoma and Rukwa, they are conducting feasibility studies and thereafter we will sit down with them and see the appropriate piece of land that we can lease to them,” he said.

Mr Pinda further said that the two regions have large tracts of land that was currently underutilized.

He, however, noted that the government will make sure that any decision to lease land to investors must benefit local people.

“I come from Mpanda, I know it better and I know the problems facing the Rukwa Region. The MPs should give us time to do what we are doing and you will judge us from the results of our actions,” he said.

He noted further that Tanzanians should stop fighting for land and instead move to other areas within the country with big underutilised chunks of land.

By ABDULWAKIL SAIBOKO, Tanzania Daily News

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