The Deputy Minister of the Office of the Vice President (Union and Environment), Khamis Hamza Khamis

[su_dropcap style=”flat” size=”5″]T[/su_dropcap]he Deputy Minister of the Office of the Vice President (Union and Environment), Hon. Khamis Hamza Khamis, has announced that a total of 5.3 billion shillings has been received in Zanzibar for the implementation of various development projects.

He responded to a question from the MP from the House of Representatives, Hon. Bakar Hamad Bakar, who wished to ascertain the amount of money received in Zanzibar over the past three years through the International Fund for Environment and Climate Change.
The government has been receiving funds from international sources, including the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the Climate Change Fund (GCF), for the implementation of environmental protection and climate change projects in both Tanzania Mainland and Zanzibar.

He highlighted the districts of Wete and Micheweni (Pemba) as beneficiaries of the Zanzibar component of the Project to Restore Damaged Land and Increase Food Security in Mame areas in the country, with a budget of 1.2 billion shillings.
Furthermore, he has mentioned other districts, namely North A and North B (Unguja), which have benefited from the Climate Change Resilience Project using Rural Ecological Systems (EBBAR), to the value of 1.4 billion shillings, and the Climate Change Resilience Project for coastal residents, to the value of 2.7 billion shillings.

In response to further questions from the MP regarding strategies for expanding the scope of access to funds in Tanzania Mainland and Zanzibar, Hon. Khamis stated that the Office of the Vice President has prepared 13 documents to request funds that will assist in combating climate change.
“The Office of the Vice President has held discussions with the Fund Secretariats responsible for the provision of funds for environmental conservation, as previously mentioned. When we meet with them, we encourage developed countries to provide funds to developing countries.
“Furthermore, the Finance Committee is currently meeting in Arusha. The session commenced yesterday (02 September 2024) and was inaugurated by the Honourable Vice President. These measures are being implemented to address the impact of climate change,” the Deputy Minister stated on Thursday.