Government spends US$38 million on research facilities

Tanzania’s government has spent Sh61.2 billion (US$38 million) on rehabilitating agricultural research institutions and on the Nelson Mandela African Institute of Science and Technology. The aim is to increase higher education and research capacity so that the country can become self-sufficient in scientific expertise.

Out of the funds, Sh57 billion was spent on upgrading the Nelson Mandela African Institute of Science and Technology in Arusha. Minister for Communication, Science and Technology Professor Makame Mbarawa told University World News that the remaining Sh4.2 billion was being spent on refurbishing other research institutions.

The institutions include Naliendele in the Mtwara region, Makutupora in the Dodoma region, Uyole in the Mbeya region, Ilonga in Kilosa and the National Livestock Research Institute based in Mpwapwa in Dodoma.

“We are going to launch a project for the rehabilitation of the agricultural research centre in Zanzibar very soon. This is one of the notable achievements of my ministry as we enter the new year,” said the minister.

He also said that upgrading of the Mbeya University of Science and Technology had been completed and that the institution would offer various degree courses in science subjects.

Professor Burton Mwamila, vice-chancellor of the Nelson Mandela African Institute of Science and Technology – NM-AIST – said most of the funds had been used to build the institute, which is at an early stage of development and requires huge financing for capacity building.

The institute is one in a network of Pan African institutes of science and technology located across the continent.

Construction work at NM-AIST began in 2009, including upgrading old buildings at the site at a cost of US$60 million. It was set up as an “autonomous regional research-intensive institution that caters for the East Africa region”, Mwamila said at the time.

Full operation of the institute began in October 2012, when the first cohort of 83 students was enrolled. Only postgraduate students are admitted – into both masters and PhD programmes.

While the priority is to admit students from East Africa, the institution also accepts students from other parts of the continent.

Speaking at the official launch of the institute in November 2012, Tanzanian President Jakaya M Kikwete stressed the importance of investing in science and technology to enable the nation to achieve its development goals.

The institute – the brainchild of the late Nelson Mandela – aims to train the next generation of African scientists and engineers with a view to profoundly contributing to Africa’s development through the application of science, engineering and technology, or SET.

NM-AIST’s objectives include increasing the number and improving the quality of science and engineering graduates, catalysing the development of world-class science, engineering and technology in Tanzania and across the continent, and providing advanced facilities for postgraduate studies and research.

The institute’s first graduation ceremony was held last month, with 44 students graduating.