Remits of BUDEFO Think Tanks
REMITS OF BUDEFO THINK TANKS
One of the resources Kagera has in abundance is a huge army of accomplished professionals in diverse fields of human endeavour. BUDEFO has decided to tap into this resource by establishing technical Think Tanks to think through and chart the course of action. Their remits, which are by no means meant to be restrictive, are as outlined below:
Education
- Primary and Secondary Education
- Pursuit of excellence – quality issues
- Expansion – planned and controlled
- Staffing – issues of quality and adequacy
- Centres of excellence – like pre-independence Tabora and Pugu
- Computer education and information technology
- Scouting for and developing prodigies in Mathematics and Science
- Resource mobilization
Technical Education and Vocational Training
- Type of skills and optimum mix – market needs
- Teachers – issues of availability and quality
- Feasibility of one vocational training centre per district
- Resource mobilization
Agriculture and Livestock
- Food security – containment of plant diseases and promotion of resistant varieties
- Revamping coffee
- Crop diversification – promotion of high-value crops like vanilla
- Programme for serious value addition
- Horticulture – value chain issues
- Optimization of intercropping – productivity issues
- Promotion of indigenous chicken rearing for egg production
- Farmers’ education
Water Supply
- Design and promotion of simple rain-harvesting and water filtration systems
- Compiling data of water sources – springs, brooks, rivers, lakes, underground, etc.
- Possibility of reviving Kajunguti irrigation
- Resource mobilization
Rural Energy
- Green energy like solar, bio, etc – practical issues
- Quickening pace of electrification – mobilizing people to wire their houses
- Promotion of uses other than lighting – practical possibilities
Community Health
- HIV/Aids – prevention of new infections
- Practical measures to curb malaria
- How to work with local authorities to ensure each household has a decent toilet
- Promotion of Health Insurance for rural households
- Examination of existing health delivery system and recommending measures for improvement
Cultural Heritage
- Working with paleontologist Peter R. Schmidt to plan and execute a cultural museum in Bukoba Municipality
- Identification of Haya literature
- What can be borrowed from sister languages like Lunyankore, Lunyoro, Lutooro and Lukiga to enrich Luhaya
- Undertaking a comprehensive lexicology of the Haya language with a view to standardizing it
- To promote indigenous dance and music like akasimbo, lukobe, enanga, amakondere, omutooro, etc.
Business and Entrepreneurship
- Promotion of business investments in Kagera
- Developing potential entrepreneurs through training and seminars
- Working with Mkombozi Bank in Bukoba to establish mechanisms for assisting entrepreneurs, especially women and youth
- Promotion of SACCOS and grassroots micro-savings and credit groupings.
- Developing markets for sundry products including those across the border.