Youthful innovation: Eat without cheating

TALENTED youth have invented an online platform dubbed ‘Wezesha Sasa’ which works as a money monitoring tool in fundraising campaigns to avoid possible cheating.

Under their company, Time Tickets, the experts on Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) crafted the technological instrument to guarantee openness and accountability when people organize fundraising campaigns to finance particular development activities in the country.

Their idea stems from dishonesty, also the brainchild of the current wave of mobilizing for funds through fundraising kicking off waves across the country-- but of which is riddled with lack of openness whereby people often question whether their money was properly managed and used for its intended purpose.

“For one, some collectors could cheat over the amount raised … disclosing less than what was actually collected at the end of the fundraising campaign,” the innovators say.

The Time Tickets Company managing director, Mr Josephat Mandara, yesterday said: “The Wezesha Sasa will remove such doubts among the contributors,” adding that it would ensure that fundraising practices live up to the highest possible standards and meet the expectations of the public in the social development agenda.

Describing to the journalists how the system works, the firm’s Sales and Marketing Director Mwasapi Kihongosi said the fundraisers enter into a contract with their company, which will then collect funds through their online platform on their behalf. Thereafter, the particular fundraising campaign is given its reference number that the contributors could use to donate through mobile money.

“The platform embraces openness and accountability as it provides updates to all contributors regarding the collections as well as spending of the money,” Mr Kihongosi said, at a news conference in Dar es Salaam.

All that the contributors would do to access the updates is “go to the webpage, www. wezeshasasa.com, and click on the particular fundraising campaign for getting the updated information.”

The webpage is automatically updated after each contribution; giving a name of the contributor, amount donated and total amount reached by the fundraising campaign.

Business Development Advisor Avit Buchwa says all the money is collected through a dedicated secure payment processor – which then keeps organizers “alert with 24/7 access to customized dashboard and reports.”