Parliamentary committee orders construction of police station at Mkulazi sugar plant

A Tanzanian parliamentary committee has ordered urgent action to build a police station at the Mkulazi sugar factory, saying security must keep pace with the scale of the investment.

The Permanent Parliamentary Committee on Industry, Trade, Agriculture and Livestock issued the directive after visiting the plant in Morogoro on September 6, 2026, to assess production. Committee deputy chair Mariam Ditopile said members were satisfied with the factory’s production progress but insisted that security receive priority.

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Good roads will make it easier to transport sugar cane from farms to the factory, as well as seeds and agricultural inputs, a step that will help increase farmers’ productivity.

Ditopile said a police station near the plant was necessary because of the investment’s size and the factory’s importance to increasing sugar production in Tanzania. The committee also instructed the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Construction and the Rural and Urban Roads Agency, known as Tarura, to improve the roads linking the factory with small-scale sugar-cane farmers.

“Good roads will make it easier to transport sugar cane from farms to the factory, as well as seeds and agricultural inputs, a step that will help increase farmers’ productivity,” Ditopile said.

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The factory is doing well in production and markets exist, but we have seen that this product is not as visible as expected. The Sugar Board and factory management must be more creative in promoting it.

She also called for more creative marketing of Mkulazi’s sugar. Although the factory is performing well and markets exist, she said the product is not as visible as expected and urged the Sugar Board and factory management to promote it more effectively.

Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture Athumani Kilundumya agreed that the police station should be built quickly. He said the nearest existing station was far from the factory, creating a need to protect the investment and improve security for employees and nearby residents. Kilundumya said the government and shareholders had invested more than 354 billion shillings in the factory, sugar-cane farms and supporting infrastructure.

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Information I have received shows that there is a long distance between the factory and the police station outside it, making it important to have a police station at the factory to protect the investment and strengthen security for workers and nearby residents.