Adeladius Makwega – Mbagala
One Sunday, Mwanakwetu attended mass at Malya Catholic Church. On that day, the place was very lively—people everywhere, the sounds of motorcycles and bicycles all day long, as people went to the market to buy and sell various goods.
“The area of Malya, located in Kwimba District in Mwanza Region, is well known for agriculture and livestock keeping. It is also crossed by both the modern railway and the old colonial railway, with the sound of trains often being heard.”
As Mwanakwetu was leaving church that Sunday, in front of him were two women talking:
“This Attorney General has helped us by building a police station. Here in Malya, crime is not that high, and the old police post was enough. He could have helped build even another dispensary so that we could receive treatment, or at least improve the Malya ward health center…”
Dear reader, at that time this area was home to the Attorney General under President Samia Suluhu Hassan, Dr. Eliezer Feleshi, who held that position from 2021 to 2024, when President Samia was completing the term of President Magufuli after his passing.
Remember, Mwanakwetu is leaving church while these two women are speaking:
“Educated people focus all their thinking on security—that’s why he remembered to build a police station. But the presence of a police station is also security for his own investments here in the village…”
Have you ever heard of the Catholic Church building a police station? The Church usually builds hospitals, schools, and institutions that directly touch human welfare.
As these women continued talking, another woman who had been silent added that security is indeed important, but what mattered most was that there was already an existing police post, which was sufficient. At most, it could have just been renovated—and instead of building a new station, that space could have been used to build a dispensary. With that, Mwanakwetu agreed.
Soon after, the women began greeting people nearby, and Mwanakwetu passed them as he continued on his way.
Why did Mwanakwetu remember this incident?
Recently, the Controller and Auditor General of the United Republic of Tanzania, Dr. Charles Kichere, said:
“The construction project for the Arusha stadium, initially estimated at 187 billion Tanzanian shillings, had its contract signed at 338.54 billion shillings—an increase of 81 percent.”
After this report was made public, the Permanent Secretary of the ministry responded, saying that the increased cost was necessary to meet CAF standards.
However, the way the issue was raised and the response given left Mwanakwetu with doubts, prompting deep reflection—and reminding him of those women and the construction of the new police station in their village.
“Normally, for the CAG to raise an issue, it may have first been identified by the ministry’s internal auditor and responded to—but the response may not have been satisfactory. Then the CAG reviews it, is given the same response, and remains unconvinced. Or perhaps the CAG himself identified the issue, requested clarification, and was not satisfied with the explanation—hence the matter remained in the audit report and was presented publicly.”
These are Mwanakwetu’s thoughts.
In truth, audit queries are not answered through the media—you respond with full documentary evidence, such as those CAF requirements, directly to the auditor.
“How did the cost initially remain low and then nearly double?”
If this had been properly explained, Dr. Kichere would certainly have understood. After all, he is among the top-performing former students of Tambaza Secondary School. Those who studied there in Dar es Salaam may recall.
The issue of rising costs for the Arusha stadium is similar to the concerns of those Catholic women in Malya:
“There is already a police station—why doesn’t our own son, who was born here, build us a hospital instead?”
These are people’s concerns, and when you hear them, you respond. These questions are valid, regardless of whether the money is private or public. The key question remains: why did the cost nearly double?
There are many speculations:
“Perhaps while the Arusha stadium is being built, another similar stadium is being constructed elsewhere in the country using the additional funds.”
From another perspective, society clearly understands that the Ministry of Information, Culture, Arts, and Sports is not a Union matter. This leads to further speculation:
“You know, before anything is implemented, there are initial stages—people see the plans. Perhaps someone in authority liked the design and decided to replicate it elsewhere.”
These are just speculative thoughts from another angle.
Finally, Mwanakwetu notes something important: the Ministry of Culture, Arts, and Sports (now the Ministry of Information, Culture, Arts, and Sports) has been led by several ministers, including Hon. Mohammed Mchengerwa, who served from January 10, 2022, to February 14, 2023—a period of 13 months—before moving to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism.
During that time, were there strategic projects like the Arusha stadium? What was the situation? If such projects existed, were they completed on time? What were the costs? And what was the experience of those living near these projects? Because those people are like the women who observed the construction of the police station in Malya.
For today, dear reader, that is enough.
Mwanakwetu says: regardless of who provides the money, it would be better to build modern hospitals so that Tanzanians can receive free treatment, rather than engage in projects whose costs double.
Mwanakwetu, are you there? Remember:
“If he had built us a modern dispensary, we would be treated for free.”
I wish you a good day.
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