TABORA URBAN CONSTITUENCY GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION

Tabora Urban Constituency (TUC) is situated at the centre of Tabora Region, which in turn is located in Mid - Western part of the United Republic of Tanzania. It is located between latitude 4°52' - 5°9' south and longitude 32°39' - 33°0' east. TUC shares a boarder with Tabora South Constituency in the South, Igalula Constituency in the South East and Tabora North Constituency in the North, West and North East. TUC is also known as Tabora municipality.

LAND AREA

Tabora Urban Constituency has an area of 1,092.26 sq. km. The bulk of the land area has a gently rolling topography with swampy lowlands (Mbugas). There are however some small hills.

CLIMATE, SOILS AND VEGETATION

Tabora Urban Constituency has a warm climate with temperatures reaching their peak in September - October, just before the onset of the rainy season. There is a slightly cooler period from May to July, marked by onset of dry winds which continue until October. Rainfall is seasonal, falling almost from November to April.

Soils vary widely, ranging from sandy loam's to heavy (black/dark brown) soils in poorly drained areas. Vegetation consists of upland vegetation, which include woodland, bushland thicket,  grassland; lowland or wetland vegetation consisting of wooded grassland and swamps. Woodland is the natural vegetation over most of the region and can be divided into two groups:-

Miombo woodland and Acacia;

Cambretum and Albizia species.

ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS

Tabora urban constituency is divided into one division and twenty one wards and twenty three villages.

ETHNICITY

The name Tabora originated from ''Matoborwa'' meaning dried cooked sweet potatoes, which was a staple food for Nyamwezi people who form the large population of TUC. Visitors could not pronounce the word ''Matoborwa'' instead they called it ''Toborwa'' which later on came to be known as Tabora. The name Nyamwezi also came into history around 1830 after formation of Kahama town which is also occupied by Nyamwezi people. As people were travelling to and from Kahama Arabs used to ask them, ''where were they going or coming from?'' The answer was '' Unyamwezini,'' meaning a place where the moon rises.

In the town  there are other ethnic groups including Manyema, Tutsi, etc

POPULATION

According to the National census of 1988, TUC had 136, 295 people. This figure is estimated to have reached 199,500 by 1998 and it is over 200,000 in 2001.

ECONOMY

The main economic activities of TUC are agricultural production and livestock keeping. Other activities are beekeeping, fishing and lumbering. Subsistance farming is the main form of farming.

Food crop production of which maize is the leading staple food is mostly aimed at meeting the family's food requirements, Tobacco and paddy are major cash crops.

Livestock keeping is the second predominant economic activity. The cattle population, which is made up of indigenous breed, is kept as evidence of personal wealth and prestige in a traditional way. The natural forests, which provide high quality hardwood for timber and fuelwood, are also a source of beekeeping for honey, beeswax, and wildlife. Fishing potentials are not fully exploited and fishing is confined to Igombe and Kazima dams.

Industry trade and mining activities are carried out at a small scale despite their high potential. The big industrial establishment in the constituency was the Tabora Textile Company (TABOTEX) which was engaged in cotton spinning and employed over 1000 during its good old days. It has since closed shop and is waiting for an investor.

Major food crops produced include maize, paddy, sorghum, cassava, groundnuts, sweet potatoes and beans.

ECONOMIC INFRASTRUCTURE

Tabora Urban constituency has a lot of development potential but its economic infrastructure is very much underdeveloped thus making the constituency ''an island within the vast sea'' of Tanzania. Some call it a sleeping giant. The communication system of the region has three aspects: railways, air and road transport.

The railroad is the key medium for transport into or out of TUC. The commercial airport located in Tabora town caters only for small planes and is unreliable during the rainy seasons. Roads joining TUC with other constituencies and regions are also poor.

Telephone, fax and data services are available in Tabora town being offered by two companies, the Tanzania Telecommunications Company Limited (TTCL) and Vodacom (Tanzania) Limited.

There are two main sources of energy used mainly by the people in the TUC; electricity and fuelwood (including charcoal). The use of electricity is limited to residents of the Tabora town and is supplied by Tanzania Electric Supply Company (TANESCO).

POTENTIAL INVESTMENT AREAS

Potential investment areas include agriculture, livestock development, forestry beekeeping, mining, industrial development, roads, telecommunications, energy, health, water supply, education, poverty alleviation, etc