THE Minister for Information, Technology and Communication Dr Faustine Ndugulile has said 94 percent of Tanzanians have been reached by the telecommunications service thanks to a job well done by the Universal Communications Fund (UCSAF).
Dr Ndugulile made the remarks during a visit to the UCSAF pavilion at the ongoing 45th Dar es Salaam International Trade Fair (DITF).
He said through dedicated work, UCSAF has enabled a network of communication services to reach 60 per cent of Tanzania’s geographical area.
“UCSAF’s role is to provide telecommunications services in remote areas that are not commercially viable, mobile operators are operating profitably but there were rural areas that were not commercially attractive and do not provide communication,” said Dr Ndugulile.
He said the government’s current plan was to ensure that all areas bordering the neighbouring countries where its citizens receive radio broadcasts from neighbouring countries be provided with communications and ensure they get access to local communications.
He said the government through UCSAF wants to focus on addressing all radio stations in the country which has started with the Tanzania News Agency (TBC).
For her part, UCSAF Chief Executive Officer Justina Mashiba said the aim of the fund’s participation in the saba saba exhibition was to inform the public about the government’s efforts through UCSAF to ensure better communication for all people and the whole country.
She said UCSAF’s primary role was to address the challenges of mobile telecommunications, the challenge of radio listening in rural areas to ensure access to such essential services as in other parts of the country such as urban areas.
She said in the pavilion UCSAF has been successfully visited by more than 500 visitors and out of them, 63 had communication challenges in their areas. She said UCSAF has accepted the challenges and will work on them on time.