FREE poultry inputs, including vaccines , will be availed by the government to boost the sub-sector productivity and inch up in export markets, leading presidential candidate Samia Suluhu Hassan has declared.

Addressing a series of campaign rallies yesterday, the CCM candidate said that 700 agricultural extension officers have been deployed to support farmers, with the Nyanza Cooperative Union and several cotton ginneries being revived to strengthen the cotton value chain.

The government will use Lake Victoria water for irrigation and support the national water grid, for stable water supply in domestic and agricultural use, she said, urging members of the public to wake up early and turn out in large numbers to vote for CCM candidates on October 29, to hedge against disturbance to peace and progress.

“We must all walk together and vote as one family to secure a resounding victory,” she said, while party secretary general Dr Asharose Migiro said Mwanza voters are well prepared to show their trust in the president’s leadership.

Dr Bashiru Ally, a former State House chief secretary and earlier, party secretary general, praised the president for steering the nation through challenges with strength and vision.

 “Samia has passed through many tests and emerged stronger. We must not allow those who want to shake our peace to distract us,” he emphasized.

Mary Masanja, Special Seats parliamentary candidate for the region, lauded the president’s efforts in empowering women and improving the fisheries sector, while the president reiterated efforts in strategic areas with the potential to transform the region’s economy, as the standard gauge railway (SGR), major investment in Lake Victoria transport and the expansion of Mwanza airport to international standards.

She said the government had invested 5.6trn/- in various projects across the region over the past few years, elevating Mwanza into one of the country’s fastest-growing economic zones.

Lake Victoria transport and fisheries development have seen major investments, including the rehabilitation of the MV Umoja cargo ship costing 19.8bn/-, and now carrying up to 1,200 tonnes of cargo.

It serves Tanzania and Uganda ports, while the construction of the new MV Mwanza, pegged at 120.6bn/-, is nearing completion, a vessel slated to accommodate 1,200 passengers, 400 tonnes of cargo and vehicles, greatly improving lake connectivity and trade.

She spoke of wide-ranging achievements in health, education and energy, noting that at the Sekou Toure regional hospital, a five-storey mother and child health building has been completed and equipped with modern facilities, while over 9bn/- has been directed to the Bugando Medical Centre to expand critical care services.

 “Today, cancer patients in the Lake Zone no longer have to travel to Ocean Road Cancer Institute in Dar es Salaam for treatment. They receive quality care right here in Mwanza,” she remarked, pointing out that Nansio Hospital in Ukerewe will be upgraded and a new specialist hospital.

She similarly highlighted three new vocational training colleges, several primary and secondary schools and new rural roads constructed to boost skills, mobility and productivity.

All areas in the region are now connected to electricity, with new clean energy initiatives being introduced, while a double lane road on both sides with a bus rapid transit (BRT) corridor constructed from Mwanza city centre to outlying areas, alongside numerous rural road projects likely to open up the economy, she added.