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a la/s April 14, 2016 0


THE Tanzania Police has disqualified itself from an investigation into allegations of impropriety in a controversial contract worth around 37 billion/.


The former Inspector General of Police, Said Mwema

The contract was signed with a Dar es Salaam-based private company, Lugumi Enterprises Limited, for the supply of fingerprint scanners, citing conflict of interest.
The police force said since it was a party to the contract, it could not investigate itself.
The Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) in the Tanzania Police Force, Diwani Athumani, told The Guardian yesterday that the investigation into the contract has been handed over to the government's anti-graft watchdog, the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB).
“We are following the matter closely. Investigations will be done by PCCB because we want members of the public to have confidence in the credibility of the final findings,” he noted.
The contract was sealed in 2011 during the tenure of the then Inspector General of Police (IGP), Said Mwema.
When contacted by The Guardian yesterday, Mwema declined to comment on the allegations of corruption in the deal.
Mwema, who currently serves as chairman of the board of directors of Exim Bank Tanzania, previously worked as the head of the international criminal police organization (Interpol) regional office in Nairobi.
There has been a protracted tug-of-war between the parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and the police force over the investigation.
The Bunge watchdog committee this week issued a new three-day ultimatum to the police force to present the contract with Lugumi Enterprises Ltd by tomorrow for parliamentary scrutiny.
But the incumbent IGP, Ernest Mangu, said the police force was not answerable to parliament and hence would not honour the deadline.
The IGP insisted that the police could only submit the contract to the home affairs minister if he instructed it to do so.
According to the PAC, the Controller and Auditor General (CAG) said in its government audit report for fiscal year 2013/14 that there were serious shortcomings in the implementation of the contract between the police and the private firm.
The scanners were reportedly supposed to be installed in over 100 district police stations across the country, but the PAC said the contract was implemented by just 10 per cent despite already being paid for by about 99 per cent.
Representatives of Lugumi Enterprises, which has been awarded several multi-million shilling contracts by various government ministries and state-run agencies over the past few years, were yesterday not immediately available for comment.
The fingerprint technology was expected to significantly improve police efficiency in carrying out criminal investigations and positively identifying suspects.
There was also conflicting reports on whether or not the police had finally decided to submit the contract to another parliamentary watchdog team, the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Security committee chaired by Adadi Rajabu.
When contacted by The Guardian for comment, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs, Projest Rwegasira, dismissed reports that his ministry had submitted the contract for the supply of fingerprints to the police to the parliamentary Foreign Affairs, Defence and Security committee.
“I have special directives from the Public Accounts Committee. So far I have not submitted the contract to any authority,” he said, without explaining.
A TANGLED WEB
While the police force has dropped the investigation citing conflict of interest, all the key players in the ongoing investigation have tangled relationships between them linking them to the police.
The current IGP, Mangu, and other senior officials of the police force all previously worked under Mwema when he served as the country's police chief
The current PCCB director-general, Valentino Mlowola, previously served in the police as a regional police commander (RPC) and chief of police intelligence when Mwema was the IGP.
Similarly, the current chairman of the parliamentary Foreign Affairs, Defence and Security committee, Adadi Rajabu, is a former Director of Criminal Investigations in the police force, who also reported to Mwema.
This means that is the allegations against the police force over the procurement contract are formally presented to the PCCB and the parliamentary Foreign Affairs, Defence and Security committee, both Mlowola and Adadi respectively would be asked to possibly investigate allegations against their former boss, ex-IGP Mwema.
Parliamentary sources say other high-profile individuals could also be implicated in the deal if the investigations unravel "hidden" faces behind the contract.
According to official records from the government's procurement watchdog, the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA), Lugumi Enterprises, is registered as a service providers to the government for various procurement service.
The company is registered by the government as a supplier of a wide range of services, including office stationery, fumigation services, maintenance of office equipment, provider of firefighting equipment and office consumables and accessories.
PPRA documents show that the firm has over the years been awarded several other contracts by government institutions, such as a contract worth 846.5 million with the Ministry of Home Affairs for the supply of "security goods." The contract was signed on 7 June 2010.
In September 2014, the same company was awarded another contract by the state-run Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH) valued at over 140m/- for the supply of stationery.
The Business Registration and Licensing Agency (BRELA), another government body, signed a contract with Lugumi in December 2014 worth over 20m/- for the supply of diaries, seasonal greeting cards and calendars.
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a la/s April 13, 2016 0



In order to ensure people living with AIDS are not stigmatized by those around them, the society has been urged to change its attitudes and be helpful to them.

UNAIDS International Goodwill Ambassador Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway speaking to the press in Dar es salaam yesterday said having Aids does not mean the end of the world.

She said she was so much impressed with the way PASADA is doing its functions to create hope among of the people who are infected; with assurance of productive life equipping them with necessities and education.

She said it is very moving to see young people with infection having hoped to live with.

Mette-Marrit said that people living with HIV/ AIDS need love and protection like other people and the fight against the disease is not a matter of individuals.

She said there is a huge progress in fighting the diseases and its stigma than years back when she and her husband started a foundation to deal with epidemic.
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a la/s April 11, 2016 0




The Tanzania Breweries Limited (TBL) company paid more government revenues last year than the country’s six major gold mines combined in the latest sign of a hard-to-explain tax rate disparity amid allegations of large-scale tax dodging by the mining firms.







Big companies are the government’s main source of tax revenue despite the presence of a huge informal economy that nonetheless does not generate a proportionate amount of income for the state.

But according to a new report by the state-run Tanzania Minerals Audit Agency (TMAA), the total taxes paid by the top companies dealing in gold mining in 2015 was 355.33 billion/-; a measly sum compared to the 476bn/- paid by TBL as tax during the same year.

In other words, last year the country’s top beer producer alone paid 34 per cent more tax than the entire large-scale gold mining industry, despite the lattyer beuing one of the country’s key economic sectors.

Similarly, while the total value of minerals sold by major gold mines in Tanzania last year was worth $1.63 billion (3.56 trillion/-), the total tax paid by the mining firms represents less than 10 percent of their revenues.

On the other hand, TBL said in its 2015 annual report that it posted total sales of 1.07 trillion/- last year, with the total taxes paid to the government in 2015 representing 44.5 percent of its revenues.

The entire taxation system has been subjected to fresh scrutiny since President John Magufuli’s directive last year for the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) to crack down on tax evasion by big business.

The taxation of the mining sector has recently come under the microscope after the Tax Revenue Appeals Tribunal issued a ruling accusing Tanzania's biggest gold miner, Acacia Mining plc (formerly known as African Barrick Gold) of being engaged in a “sophisticated scheme of tax evasion” to dodge $41.25-million (over 90 billion-) in taxes to the Tanzanian government.

Acacia, which owns three gold-producing mines in Tanzania -- Bulyanhulu, North Mara and Buzwagi -- has vigorously denied the tribunal's tax dodging allegations and said it would appeal against the ruling by Fauz Twaib, a Tanzanian High Court judge.

Other major gold mines in Tanzania are Geita Gold Mine, which is owned by AngloGold Ashanti, New Luika Gold Mine and the Stamigold Biraharamulo Mine.

Mining companies have long been accused by politicians and activists of being tax cheats in Tanzania, causing the government to get less than its fair share of revenues from the sector.

TBL, which is the country's biggest beer manufacturer, has also recently faced tax dodging allegations from reports published by a local tabloid.

The beer firm, which is majority owned by SABMiller plc, said in a statement last month it has trebled its tax payments to the Tanzanian government over the last 5 years. "Our total tax payments amounted to 476 billion/- in 2015. TBL has also consistently been recognised as the country's most compliant and largest tax payer for five consecutive years," the company said in a statement.

TBL owns four breweries in the country - Dar es Salaam, Arusha, Mwanza and Mbeya. 'COMPARING APPLES WITH ORANGES' According to the TMAA 2015 report released last week, gold production -- which includes gold bars and copper concentrate products -- by major gold mines in 2015 increased by 7.1 percent from 1.27 million troy ounces in 2014 to 1.36 million troy ounces.

Total mineral exports by the six major gold mines last year comprised of 1.37 million troy ounces of gold, 13.8 million pounds of copper and 497,152 troy ounces of silver. The total value of these mineral exports was $1.63 billion.

Ambassador Ami Mpungwe, the chairman of the Tanzania Chamber of Energy and Minerals (TCME), told The Guardian that the fact that one beer maker pays more taxes than the country's entire mining industry was nothing surprising.

"Indeed, TBL is the largest tax payer in the country, more than any other combined industry, not only the mining industry and there are clear reasons for that," he said.

"You need to compare apple for apple but in this case, you are comparing two different industries. Without taking away anything from the beer industry, in this case however, you seem to be comparing the impact of a rapper artist in a crowded stadium and an orchestra performance at a concert hall.

" Mpungwe said TBL as a company in the beverage industry, has a different cost base, just as its products are also different compared to the mining sector.

"In this regard, the initial investment for a beer factory is much smaller compared to mining and it is also one off, save for the normal maintenance, upgrade and expansion costs," he explained.

"Mining risk profile begins at the exploratory phase and requires heavy initial and progressive investments through mining development. Commodity prices are also erratic and the industry does not have any control or room for manoeuvre.

" Mpungwe said it was wrong to just focus on government taxes paid by mining companies, without taking into account the multiplier effect from the mining industry and its broader economic benefits to the nation.

"As a matter of fact, if you take the life of a mine average evaluation distribution model, you will find that taxes and royalties in the mining industry only constitute 15 percent; loans and interests 10 percent; capital reinvestment 5 percent and shareholders get 13 percent, but production cost constitutes 57 percent," he said.

"You need to have a long term view, in order to properly appreciate the contribution of the mining industry, not only to tax revenue but to the greater economy as a whole.

" TRA scrapped plans in 2014 to review mining and gas contracts, after its previous announcement of the move rattled investors in the country's rich gold and natural gas resources.

The tax authority had announced that it was seeking technical assistance to renegotiate mining development agreements (MDAs) and natural gas production sharing agreements (PSAs).

This threatened to duplicate work by the Energy and Minerals Ministry, which also said it was in talks with miners and energy firms to alter deals to give the state more revenue. Investors in Tanzania, Africa's fourth biggest gold miner which has plans to develop huge new gas finds, have complained of shifting goal posts in contracts with the state.

In the tender advertisement posted on its website in 2014, the TRA said the main objective of the contract review was "to secure for the country an enhanced and fair share from the extraction of non-renewable natural resource.

" Mining and energy companies in Tanzania said they have come under increased regulatory pressure in the past few years as the government seeks to increase its share of revenues.

Experts say the government is under popular pressure to spread wealth swiftly from mining and recent gas finds made in the poor country, even though it remains years away from big gas exports. (Don't miss the full Q&A interview with Ambassador Mpungwe in The Guardian tomorrow in the Smart Money business pullo
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a la/s April 06, 2016 0


Dar/Chake Chake/Zanzibar. Zanzibar’s first President Abeid Amani Karume was a lot of things to different people. For some Zanzibaris Karume represented an era prosperity when politics were not allowed to defer development. They still remember him as the man of action.


Mr Hamisi Othman Juma, a Chake Chake resident, says most of the infrastructure in Zanzibar was built by Mzee Karume.


“For the eight years that Mzee Karume had been in power he had built industries and had left plans for future development of Zanzibar which were, unfortunately, ignored by successive presidents.


Karume is the person that you can attribute to every achievement that is today seen in Zanzibar for over 50 years after Zanzibar revolution, says Mr Daudi Ismail, a political expert and a resident of Pemba.


He adds that Karume would always be remembered for speedy building of affordable residential houses, among other projects.


“Karume spoke less politics, and instead was a man of action. Unfortunately our current leaders don’t follow this legacy, instead they focus much on politics than development issues,” he said.


Issa Suleiman Shibu, another Chake Chake resident says Karume initiated the union with Tanganyika, which helped to stabilize Zanzibar politically and economically. The union later became thorny as some challenges emerged and have remained unsolved to this day, Mr Shibu, says.


Zanzibaris’ nostalgic reverence of Mzee Karume is understandable considering the bold popular moves that he took soon after the revolution in 1964. He confiscated land from the rich landowners and distributed it to poor peasants some of whom were, previously, squatters in the same land. Records show that between 1965 and 1967 about 12,028 peasants in Unguja and 1,920 in Pemba had benefited.


Mzee Karume also introduced free education and health services. He also constructed residential buildings to house the poor and started rice irrigation schemes. These moves were deeply popular with Zanzibaris who had spent decades under subjugation in a society in which people were grouped in classes and received privileges in accordance to the colours of their skins.


For some political commentators, historians and academicians, however, Karume was a deeply controversial figure with a mixed legacy that could have been embedded in the DNA of CCM’s politics in Zanzibar today.


They acknowledged that problems with Zanzibar’s electoral politics were aggravated by class and racial politics long before Mzee Karume came to power and were in fact the trigger for the January 1964 revolution. They argue, however, that the leadership style of Mzee Karume and his failure to build political and judicial institutions in his eight years at the helm aggravated the situation and set in motion an unhealthy culture in the electoral politics of the Isles.


In his book Pan-Africanism or Pragmatism? Lessons of Tanganyika-Zanzibar Union Prof Issa G. Shivji writes that Mzee Karume’s legacy in Zanzibar could be described as autocratic because he dismantled all structure of democracy and rule of law in the isles. He, in fact, ruled by decree and gave the Revolutionary Council- whose members he appointed- legislative, judicial and executive powers. The Zanzibar Electoral Commission and the House of Representatives were only established in 1980 after a Zanzibar constitution-the first since the revolution-was created in 1979.


Author Hank Chase says in an article entitled Zanzibar Treason Trial published in the journal Review of Africa Political Economy in 1976 that despite Mzee Karume’s bold moves to root out colonial political and economic elements soon after the Revolution his government started assuming a character that led to stifling of mass participation in decision-making as well as eliminating critics of government policies.


One indication of stifling mass participation, Chase writes, is that the Afro-Shirazi Party failed to hold any party conference for all the eight years that Mzee Karume was at the helm. In fact the ASP had not held any meeting for ten years between 1962 and 1972. The first meeting in ten years was held in December 1972 under the chairman of Aboud Jumbe Mwinyi. The conference was attended by President Julius Nyerere and other Tanu leaders, delegates from 12 African countries and representatives of freedom movements and marked a return to mass participation that culminated in the 1979 constitution and the creation of both the Zanzibar Electoral Commission and the House of Representatives in 1980.


“He declared that there would be no elections in Zanzibar for 50 years. The only elections that were allowed in Zanzibar were for the President of the Union,” Prof Shivji writes.


Another author William Smith writes that Mzee Karume was quoted telling a journalis of the Standard newspaper that “Elections are the tools are a tool of the imperialists to sabotage the people.” This could have been in reference to pre-revolution elections where the ASP won the popular votes but could not win enough seats to form the government.


Soon after the union between Zanzibar and Tanganyika in 1964 Mzee Karume decrees to suspend indefinitely the creation of the new constitutions and vesting of legislative powers on the Revolutionary Council. Between 1966 and 1969 several decrees were passed that even tually crippled the powers of the courts. There had existed a judicial system with a highcourt, district, primary and and validity of this system started being gradually eroded by a series of decrees according to Prof Shivji. A Special Court consisting of 14 members all to be appointed by the President was created. It had exclusive jurisdiction to deal with all criminal related matters, political offenses and all offenses under preventive detention. “The special court was not bound by any procedures; it would set its own procedures. Its proceedings were not open to the public and no advocates or public prosecutors were allowed to appear before the court. No appeals were allowed except to the President whose decision was final,” Prof Shivji writes in Pan-Africanism or Pragmatism? Lessons of Tanganyika-Zanzibar Union.


Under pressure from the Union government the court was officially wound up soon enough, but it had already the tone and some government officials went on acting as prosecutors and judges as well as detaining people under the prevention detention decree. ___In 1969 the People’s Court Decree was issued, which established the people’s courts that officially replaced the lower courts while the high court remained in name only. The courts were manned by a chairman and two assistances. But these “officials of the courts” were not required to have any legal qualifications, no advocates were allowed in the courts, according to the decree. The courts determined their own procedures. In the same year another decree was issued which established the supreme council of the Revolutionary Council which were given overriding powers of appeal from the High Court but no decision of the council was final until endorsed by the President himself.


Mzee Karume legacy has nothing to do with current crisis


Zanzibari politicians from across the political divide, however, say the current crisis should not be blamed on Mzee Karume’s legacy. While they praise Mzee Karume’s vision and sacrifice for the country they point fingers at each other as far as the current political stalemate is concerned.


Pandu Ameir Kificho, former speaker of Zanzibar House of Representatives says the vision of Mzee Karume was anchored on seeing that all Zanzibaris lived and work together as equals regardless of their ethnic backgrounds.
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a la/s April 06, 2016 0

ZANZIBAR president Ali Mohamed Shein yesterday dashed hopes for another government of national unity (GNU) in the troubled archipelago, saying doing so would be unconstitutional given his “overwhelming” 91.4 per cent election rerun victory.
The formation of a coalition government between Zanzibar's two leading parties - the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) and opposition Civic United Front (CUF) - succeeded in easing a political stalemate after the 2010 polls similar to the one currently prevailing in the Isles.
That move led to CUF’s secretary general Seif Sharif Hamad becoming the Isles first vice president while several other CUF members were chosen as cabinet ministers and deputy ministers in the GNU.
But this time around, President Shein said here that since no opposition party garnered the required constitutional threshold of 10 per cent of the vote in the March 20 polls rerun, overwhelming winners CCM would go it alone and form its own government.
The polls rerun was boycotted by CUF, which continues to insist that its presidential candidate Hamad was winning in the original election last October which was annulled in controversial circumstances midway during the vote count.
In the absence of CUF, Shein's closest rival in the presidential race, Hamad Rashid Mohamed from the Alliance for Democratic Change (ADC), got a measly 3 percent of the total vote at the election rerun.
In the Zanzibar context, a GNU is a power-sharing system of government which incorporates representatives of political parties that won at least 10 per cent of the presidential vote.
This is according to section 39(3) of Zanzibar’s 1984 Constitution, as amended in 2010, which Shein quoted in his inaugural address to the Zanzibar House of Representatives here yesterday to drum home his assertion that such a power-sharing deal wasn’t possible this time.
He also noted that CCM had a clean sweep of all 54 House of Representative constituency seats as none of the opposition parties managed to get even a single seat.
“Zanzibaris have made their choice by denying such a possibility (of a coalition government) and giving CCM the room to rule the country alone,” he said.
He said the appointment of Ambassador Seif Ali Idd as second vice president was done according to section 39(6) of the Zanzibar constitution, which states that for a person to hold such a post, he or she must be appointed from within members of the House of Representatives and from the political party of the president.
Dr Shein said he was forced to clarify the matter because of claims that he has refused to appoint a first vice president.
“Why should I have to appoint someone who does not qualify for the post? This would be violating the country’s constitution,” he stated.
He also moved to refute speculation that Zanzibar may be forced to go through yet another general election rerun after last month's disputed exercise, insisting that the next election in the Isles will be held in 2020 as scheduled, and not before.
On the niggling issue of donor dependence, Shein said his government will work hard to enable Zanzibar to become financially self-reliant.
According to the Minister for union affairs and the environment in the Union government, January Makamba, Shein has done the right thing in not appointing a first vice president so far because no one (in the opposition) is qualified to hold such a post constitutionally.
Meanwhile, hours after delivering his inaugural speech to the House, Shein appointed seven House of Representatives members, including three opposition presidential candidates who participated in the polls re-run.
Members of the opposition appointed by the president to serve in the House include Hamad Rashid Mohamed from the ADC party, Said Soud Said (African Farmers Party's - AFP), and Juma Ali Khatib (ADA-TADEA).
The other four appointed members are all from the ruling CCM party; former state minister Mohamed Aboud Mohamed, former Tanzania (Union government) presidential hopeful Amina Salum Ali, Moulin Castico, and Ambassador Ali Karume.
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a la/s April 04, 2016 0

The Deputy Minister for Health, Gender, Elderly and Children, Dr Khamis Kigwangala
 The government is working with the private sector to address a massive shortage of nurses and midwives which now stand at 51 per cent.
 
Dr Khamis Kigwangala, the Deputy Minister for Health, Gender, Elderly and Children, announced yesterday in Dar es Salaam during the inauguration ceremony of the Salama House to support the Aga Khan University’s Health Programmes in East Africa.
 
The house, fully financed by the Federal Republic of Germany at a total cost of €1.2million, will provide a modern science lab and skills lab - essential for modern nursing pedagogy- increasing the number of enrollment from the current 43 to 60 students.
 
“We are looking to increase training of nurses and midwives at all levels both in rural and urban areas. There will also be special focus on developing community health workers and traditional birth attendants,” Dr Kigwangala said.
 
The deputy minister said the government will, during this financial year, hire over 10,000 health officials.
 
Dr Gerd Muller, the Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development of the Federal Republic of Germany, speaking at the ceremony, said his government was concerned with the level of community health especially in rural communities.
 
“We have to double training capacity of nurses and midwives... the programme should target rural areas,” he said. “We need access to health services for all people, not only those in urban areas.”
 
Dr Muller announced that his government in collaboration with their Tanzanian counterparts would work on modalities to initiate an exchange programme for nurses and midwives.
 
“There are competent nurses in Germany who don’t get places for practical training; we hope this is an area that we can all benefit from,” the minister stressed.
 
The minister noted the high rate of maternal mortality in the country, calling for strategic cooperation to reduce the menace.
 
Al-Karim Haji, the vice president - Finance and chief financial officer at the Aga Khan University announced that the institute had secured a €17million grant from Germany to improve nursing and midwifery in the East African Community (EAC).
 
He detailed that as of now at least 600 students from Tanzania and 2,100 from EAC have benefited from AKU training.
 
“We’re working to harmonise nurses and midwifery standards and training among EAC member states. We receive numerous support from all the benefiting members,” he said.
 
Dr Richard Sezibera, the outgoing EAC secretary general, told the gathering that the region was working on improving the sector and others.
 
According to him, health is critical for the function of the Common Market and harmonising the sector would eliminate the need for Yellow fever vaccination requirements for travelling in the region.
 
The secretary general said the region had also received €60million from the Federal Republic of Germany to strengthen the immunisation campaign in the East African Community.
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a la/s April 04, 2016 0

Christof Schenck, CEO of Frankfurt Zoological Society
 The German government has donated an aircraft to Tanzania to reinforce anti-poaching efforts in Selous Game Reserve, located in southern part of the country.
 
Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development of the Federal Republic of Germany, Dr  Gerd Müller, handed over a symbolic key of the ‘Husky aircraft’ worth 498,292,000/- to Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, Prof Jumanne Maghembe. 
 
According to their joint statement issued yesterday , the aircraft will be deployed by Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS) in close cooperation with the Tanzanian Wildlife Management Authority (TAWA) for surveillance of wildlife in the Selous Game Reserve and to support the fight against poaching.
 
Speaking at the hand-over ceremony held at Matambwe Airstrip in the game reserve, the German Minister said: “Poaching threatens biodiversity in many of Africa’s remaining wilderness areas and undermines security of nations and the livelihoods of people.”
 
Müller added: “Handing this aircraft over to the Tanzanian authorities and FZS is an important cornerstone of our longstanding support for the Selous Game Reserve and the adjacent communities.”
 
 “For a large area like the Selous Game Reserve, one of the largest uninhabited protected areas of Africa, aerial surveillance is vital,” said Minister Maghembe. He thanked the German government for the support in countering the recent upsurge in poaching. 
 
“This aircraft will also help the Tanzania Wildlife Management Authority carrying out wildlife and habitat monitoring in the Selous as one of Tanzania’s biodiversity hotspots of global relevance,” he added.
 
The group visited the Rufiji River in the Selous Game Reserve to discuss the conservation challenges on-site. They also met with representatives of the private sector to explore ways to combine wildlife conservation and sustainable tourism. The German Ambassador Egon Kochanke underlined that “The Selous Game Reserve is not only one of the largest protected areas in Africa but also the centrepiece of the new Tanzania Wildlife Authority.” 
 
The area has been hit very hard by poachers: Between 2009 and 2014, the population of approximately 45,000 elephants at that time has been decimated to approximately 15,000. Today, all of Tanzania is estimated to have about 45,000 elephants, 60percent less than in 2009.
 
“Poaching is a severe threat to biodiversity,” said Christof Schenck, CEO of Frankfurt Zoological Society, “not only because it can lead to local extinctions of targeted species like elephant and rhino, but because their disappearance can harm the ecosystem altogether. Frankfurt Zoological Society is committed to contribute to halting the deterioration of the Selous.”
 
In 1982, the Selous was recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Today, the Selous is regarded as a World Heritage Site ‘in danger’. By UNESCO standards, extraction of mineral resources and large-scale land use change are prohibited. “Now is the time to enhance protection of the area to enable wildlife populations to regrow and to restore the secured status of the World Heritage Site,“ says Schenck.
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a la/s March 30, 2016 0



Minister of State in the President's Office (Local Governments and Regional Administration), George Simbachawene

Mwanza, Arusha and Singida are the regions with the highest number of government ‘ghost’ workers, according to reports submitted to the central government as part of a national civil service audit aimed at pruning the state payroll.

The reports prepared by regional commissioners across the country and delivered to the Minister of State in the President’s Office (Local Governments and Regional Administration), George Simbachawene, show that there are over 2,500 ghost civil servants in Tanzania Mainland alone.

The regional breakdown shows Mwanza with the highest figure (334), followed by Arusha with 270 and Singida with 231 non-existent but paid government employees, respectively.

The revelations were made within two weeks of President Magufuli ordering the newly-appointed regional commissioners to identify and remove all ghost workers at local government level as part of a wider crackdown on public salary fraud.
According to the RCs’ reports, the payments to these ‘ghost’ workers have led to billions of shillings going down the drain each month, with Arusha region losing 1.1bn/- in this month of March alone.

Dar es Salaam region recorded 73 ‘ghost’ workers culminating in a monthly loss of 316 million/-, with Kigoma (171 workers - 114m/- lost per month); Kilimanjaro (114 workers – 281m/- lost per month); and Kagera (14 workers - 49m/- lost per month) also prominently exposed.

For other regions, the breakdown was as follows; Lindi (57 ‘ghost’ workers - 36m/- lost per month; Ruvuma, (37ghost workers - 58m/- lost per month) Katavi (21 ghost workers - 20.7m/- lost in six months), Manyara (55 workers - 142m/- lost per month).

Mara (94 ghost workers with a loss of 121m/- in the month of March), Mbeya and Songwe (98 ghost workers with a loss of 121/- per month), Njombe (34 ghost workers with a loss of 20m/- in the month of March).

Simiyu (33 ghost workers with loss of 320m/-), Tabora (48 workers with loss of 118m/- per month), Morogoro (122 with loss of over 450m/- in March), Lindi (57 ghost workers with loss of 36m/- per month), and Dodoma (139 workers with loss of 287bn/- over six months).

Monthly loss figures could not be immediately ascertained for some regions like Singida (231 ghost workers), Mtwara (17 ghost workers), Tanga (104 ghost workers), and Coast (150 ghost workers). Surprisingly, no ghost workers were identified in Shinyanga region, leading to the authorities pledging to delve deeper.

Speaking after receiving the reports, Simbachawene commended the RCs for doing a good job and urged them to continue serving the public with integrity and dedication.

“You should use all the authority invested on you to ensure that everything is done properly in your regions,” the minister said.

While swearing in the RCs at State House in Dar es Salaam recently, Magufuli instructed them to clamp down on crime, saying there was no reason for Tanzanians to continue to suffer from poverty and insecurity.

Saying the country's youths shouldn’t be allowed to remain idle, the president ordered the RCs to find ways of putting young Tanzanians to work "even by force."

“I am giving you 15 days to fix these problems," Magufuli told the RCs.
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a la/s March 28, 2016 0

African bush elephants at Lake Manyara National Park
 ELEPHANT poaching in Tarangire National Park has gone down for the past two years due to various measures to contain the rampant wildlife killings.
Park tourism officer, Geoffrey Mboma, said that between July 2014, and early this year only four were killed by suspected poachers.
 
The killing of elephants in Tarangire National Park for their tusks has been largely contained, according to the official.
 
Falling within the Tarangire-Manyara ecosystem, the wildlife sanctuary is reported to have the largest number of jumbos compared to other animal sanctuaries in the country.
 
The park is home to nearly 5,000 jumbos and is also famous for tree-climbing pythons.
 
He said that indiscriminate killing of animals for their trophies has also been contained due to intensified patrol and involvement of the local communities in conservation.
 
The chief park warden, Stephano Qolli, stressed on the need for the wildlife corridors linking Tarangire with other protected areas to be safeguarded in order to minimise the impact of human activities inside and around the park.
He said the animal pathways, mainly linking Tarangire and Lake Manyara National Park, have been turned into human settlements while livestock grazing inside the park was now common despite being prohibited.
 
The park official expressed concern that increased human activities may be one of the reasons for the declining number of wild animals in the park and the adjacent protected areas.
 
“Once there is an ecological disturbance through increase in human activities, the animals would simply migrate to other areas or get killed when they wander into the villages,” he pointed out, without giving any statistics.
 
He pleaded with the Tanzania National Parks (Tanapa) and the relevant ministries, including Natural Resources and Tourism as well as Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries to coordinate on how to address invasion of protected areas by livestock keepers and farmers, saying it defeated the whole purpose of conservation.
 
Tarangire is the sixth largest national park in Tanzania after Ruaha, Serengeti, Mikumi, Katavi and Mkomazi. The name of the park originates from the Tarangire River that crosses through the park, being the only source of water for wild animals during dry seasons. 
 
It covers an area of 2,850 square kilometres and recorded 161,792 visitors in 2012. It was established in 1970.During the dry season thousands of animals migrate to the Tarangire National Park from Manyara National Park.
 
It lies a little distance to the south east of Lake Manyara and covers an area of approximately 2,850 square kilometres (1,100 square miles.).
 
  The elephant population in the country fell to 43,000 in June 2015 from 109,000 in 2009.  
 
In February, this year an investigation into the death of a British helicopter pilot who was looking for poachers near Serengeti National Park had uncovered a criminal poaching ring led by a rogue intelligence officer, the Tanzanian authorities said recently.
 
After a weeklong manhunt that involved house-to-house searches in villages surrounding the reserve, at least nine people have been arrested in connection with the death of the pilot, including the suspect, a former police officer who used his current position as an intelligence officer with a regional conservation authority to help the poachers travel undetected, said Lazaro Mambosasa, the regional police commissioner. With the arrests, the authorities said, the ring has been dismantled.
 
The pilot, Roger Gower, 37, was shot on Jan. 29 while conducting anti-poaching surveillance over the Maswa Game Reserve. He and a colleague, Nick Bester, came across a newly killed elephant and circled back to take a closer look, and their helicopter was shot at by poachers who were apparently still at the scene, the police have said. A bullet from a .458 hunting rifle punctured the floor of the helicopter and ripped through   Gower’s leg and shoulder. He managed to land the helicopter but died from his injuries before help could arrive.
 
Among those arrested was the gunman, Njile Gonga, 28, who led the police to the rifle, hidden on his roof, and to tusks he had taken from the elephant,   Mambosasa said.
 
The country’s National and Transnational Serious Crimes Investigation Unit teamed up with the police and the local authorities to find the suspects, one of whom was chased hundreds of kilometers to the Tanzanian capital, Dodoma.
“We took this very seriously,” said Maj. Gen. Gaudence Milanzi, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism. “We put a lot of effort into catching these poachers.”
 
Poaching is a serious problem in Tanzania. According to the most recent elephant census, published in June 2015, the country has 43,000 elephants, down from 109,000 in 2009.
 
In November 2014, the country formed a task force to investigate poaching. The task force has made a number of high-profile arrests in recent months, including that of Yang Feng Glan, a Chinese citizen had been suspected of exporting thousands of tons of ivory to China. Since the task force was formed, it has made more than 1,000 arrests.
 
  Gower worked for the Friedkin Conservation Fund and grew up in Birmingham, England. He trained as an accountant, but on the day he qualified for the job, he quit and started traveling the world, his brother Max Gower said in an interview. His travels eventually took him to Florida, where he trained to become a helicopter pilot. “He was very much his own man,” his brother said.
 
  Gower had worked in East Africa for the last seven years, spending time in Kenya and Tanzania. “Going to Tanzania, he had an opportunity to fly and look after animals and to watch animals, and it was a lot of things he loved all rolled into one,” Max Gower said.
 
  Gower’s body was returned to England. The family has set up a crowd funding campaign in his honour that has already raised more than 50,000 pounds, or $72,000, money they hope will be used to help combat poaching in Tanzania.
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a la/s March 22, 2016 0

The Dar es Salaam Rapid Transit (DART)
 The Dar es Salaam Rapid Transit (DART) Agency has pledged to invest in education to protect the scheme’s infrastructure and the users.
 
The agency’s Infrastructure management manager, Engineer Mohamed Kuganda, said recently during a tour of the bus rapid transit (BRT) scheme in the city that the agency prioritised public education for all road users to minimise acrimonious relations, avert accidents and protect the infrastructure.
 
 “Education is key to our success.  We are targeting every user.  If everyone will do the right thing, the infrastructure will be safe and users will face minimal inconveniences,” he said.
 
 The tour, being conducted in phases, brought together representatives of transport agencies to make them conversant with the nature of the infrastructure and the traffic signs.  The tour started at Kimara Station to Morocco Station.
 
The delegation included representatives of DART, the Traffic Police department, Tanzania Roads Agency (Tanroads) and the project’s consultant (SMEC). Kinondoni Regional Traffic Police Commander, SSP Awadhi Jihad, said the police would work on the challenges spotted, adding that the tour had been an eye-opener.
 
 “This scheme has many features that other ordinary roads do not have.  We have learnt a lot,” he said, adding that the traffic police would endeavour to teach road users the right way of using the scheme’s roads.
 
“Essentially we enforce traffic laws and regulations.  We shall try hard to educate road users, especially drivers,” he pledged, warning that stubborn users would face stern action.
 
 “Stubborn drivers of all shades who break the law deliberately will be fined and where necessary we shall take them to court for stiffer punishment,” he warned.
 
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN
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a la/s March 10, 2016 0





MINISTER for Energy and Minerals, Prof Sospeter Muhongo

A $1 billion project that would have propelled Tanzania into the world's top ten uranium producers has been delayed due to a slump in global prices for the potentially-precious metal, dealing a new blow to the country's fledgling mining sector, officials said yesterday.

Toronto-based Uranium One, the world's fourth-largest uranium producing company which initially planned to begin constructing Tanzania's first uranium mine along the Mkuju River in Ruvuma region in 2013, have announced that the project would now be put on hold until its global industry outlook recovers.

Feroz Ashraf, chief executive officer of Uranium One which is Russian-controlled, confirmed on Tuesday that the company wont start building the planned Tanzanian mine unless spot uranium prices rise by at least 70 per cent - to above $55 per pound - from current levels.

Uranium currently trades at around $32.15 per pound on the global market.

"When people realize the price is going to go up, it's going to go up faster than you and I can dream about," Ashraf said in an interview with Reuters during the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada convention in Toronto.

Several of the world's biggest uranium producers say they are also taking a cautious approach to building new mines, preferring to shave expenses and wait for higher prices despite forecasts for a supply shortfall by the end of the decade.

France's state-owned Areva SA will trim 100 to 200 more jobs this year and stay out of the hunt for new uranium mine exploration projects.

Spot prices for uranium, which is used to make fuel for nuclear power production, have been depressed since the 2011 Fukushima disaster in Japan which led to the shutdown of that country's reactors and generated burdensome stockpiles globally.

Demand is growing rapidly, however, with China in particular aggressively building reactors.

Uranium One's Tanzanian unit, Mantra Tanzania, initially announced that it hoped to start building the Mkuju River mine in 2013, and that - once completed - it would catapult the country to number 3 in Africa in production of uranium oxide, after Niger and Namibia.

The project in southern Tanzania has an updated resource of 119.4 million pounds of uranium. Construction of the mine was estimated to take two years.

Tanzania's mining sector has struggled over the past few years, losing its dominant position as the country's biggest foreign exchange earner largely due to falling global gold prices and a decline in production.

Mining is currently the country’s No.3 source of foreign exchange, after the tourism and manufacturing sectors.

In 2012, the World Heritage Committee accepted a boundary change for the Selous Game Reserve to allow for uranium exploitation directly south of the 50,000-square kilometer world heritage site, one of the largest protected areas in Africa and hitherto relatively undisturbed by human impact.

But the project was initially delayed by cumbersome regulatory licensing procedures. Environmental groups had also opposed the mine's construction in a world heritage game reserve. Contacted for comment on what the latest delay announced by Uranium One may mean for the government, Ministry of Energy and Minerals spokesperson Badra Masoud said she would respond later yesterday, but had not done so by press time
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a la/s March 06, 2016 0

The National Irrigation Commission has allocated 25 sites in six regions to develop paddy and sugarcane irrigation farming as part of Big Results Now (BRN) implementation drive.
Irrigation scheme
The commission’s Engineer, Seth Lusweme, who is also the former Acting Director of the Commission under the Ministry of Water and Irrigation said the 25 big farms would be located in Coast, Morogoro, Mara, Mtwara, Iringa and Kigoma regions reputed for their suitable condition for irrigation schemes.
“The National Irrigation Commission wants to see all areas that have irrigation potentials are utilised,” he said.
“Through the BRN, we will emphasize on improving irrigation scheme technology so as to provide good water control by delivering water closer to the plant root which will also enable the farmer to grow crops with much less water, which in the end generates more yields,” he said.
According to him, Tanzania utilizes only 1.6 per cent of the land which is suitable for irrigation farming, saying much has to be done to increase the areas for irrigation.
But his commission was making all efforts to ensure irrigation schemes would be improved and less rain water used in agricultural activities, he said.
“To improve irrigation schemes in the country, the government formed the National Irrigation Commission to implement all activities of irrigation farming on discovering its importance in boosting production,” he said.
Prof. Andrew Temu, an agricultural economist from Sokoine University of Agriculture advised the government to give investment in irrigation the first priority if it was serious in solving food insecurity and generate earnings from food exports.
But the professor was just echoing the environmentalists who had been insisting on irrigation farming as a way to prevent climate change and overcome its impact.
Faisal Issa from the Forum CC in climate change had earlier said that irrigation would not only speed up the economic growth, but withstand turbulent of the climate change if $125m is invested in one agricultural plan to adapt to climate change for the next five years.
He was speaking about an agricultural resilience climate plans 2014/19 report that cited irrigation potential area in Tanzania as 30 million hactares.
Under BRN, the area under irrigation is expected to increase by 389,000 hectares, in addition to the current 450,392 hectares.
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a la/s March 06, 2016 0
BERTHA, a Kiwalani resident on the outskirts of Dar es Salaam, was very worried. She had a genuine reason to be because her boyfriend Erick (not his real name) was threatening to dump her unless she shaped up by losing weight.
Minister of the Ministry of Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children, Ummy Mwalimu
She said Erick fancied slim girls, but she was getting plump owing to, ironically, the good life he was giving her. So, something had to be done to save her relationship, and be done fast.
That is when she contacted her friend, Mwanaidi, who lives in Sinza, another city suburb. Mwanaidi laughed off her friend’s worries, assuring her that her worries were as good as over. Hadn’t she heard about the wonder slimming drugs yet?
However, after Bertha had taken several doses of the ‘wonder’ drug she was disappointed that it wasn’t working as fast as she had hoped, and Erick was getting impatient.
After several weeks of experimenting with the drug, it dawned on her that she had been taken for a ride. And what an expensive ride! Luckily for her, Erick later recanted dropping her, telling her, “Tumetoka mbali na wewe switi.”
Other girls may not be as lucky as Bertha was. People anxious to lose weight have been cautioned against ‘experts’ visiting homes or advertising their wares in tabloids to canvass for customers and promising them of immediate and sure results.
Government authorities say such people are charlatans out to make a fast buck from unsuspecting but desperate people who, for one reason or another, would like to lose weight fast without having to go through a regime of punishing exercises, as others do at gyms or during their spare time at home.
The official agency charged with overseeing the use and trading in drugs, Tanzania Food and Drugs Authority (TFDA) is categorical that none of the so-called experts roaming the streets looking for clients has ever tendered their drugs and other medicines to them for testing, verification and subsequent authorisation for use in the country.
“These people who claim to offer such wonder drugs lack both professionalism and honesty, putting human health at risk,” a TFDA official told this writer recently in an interview.
But the crafty lie is not confined to fast slimming; it also involves other areas such as ‘wonder drugs’ to boost the bust for women; medicines to lose gray hair for both men and women; drugs to improve erectile function for men, etc, etc.
Thus, according to the TFDA official, the majority of adverts on social media networks and local Swahili tabloids, with some glued on trees and walls along the road sides, will soon face the wrath of the law.
The official said such slimming drugs posted on Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp and different blogs are not recommended for body reshaping through burning of body fat and calories to result in the loss of weight.
Dr Francis Didas, a consultant at Cloud9 Wellness Clinic, told the Guardian on Sunday that no medical studies had yet proved that one could change their body and its parts by using drugs.
Interviewed professionals said the efficacy of such drugs was neither certified, nor were the ingredients established.
They added that even the doses prescribed were equally a matter of guesswork, warning that the use of such drugs could lead to heart attack, blood pressure, rapid heartbeats, liver and kidney complications.
“Such a reaction can happen over time and the users might not even be able to associate the side-effects with their indiscriminate use of such drugs,” Dr Didas clarified.
He said, for instance, that after slimming drugs had been administered, diarrheoa might soon follow.
“People are made to believe that diarrheoa enhanced discharge of body fats with subsequent loss of weight, which is entirely not true,” he noted.
“No research has ever establishing that diarrheoa can remove fats from the body. Such slimming drugs have been forbidden in some developing countries because of their serious negative impact on human health,” he added.
The medical professional added that the best way to lose weight was through physical exercises with a controlled diet, in addition to medically advised supplements.
However, the social media is awash with advertisements and online sale of such products claiming to reduce the belly, body fats and others like enlarging hips and other body organs at very high cost, both financially and healthwise.
The charlatans display luring prices of their products, promising prompt results. For example, a gel tube for hips enlargement is sold at between Sh200,000 and Sh100,000 while drugs for elongating or thickening the male sexual organ go for Sh100,000 per dose.
Fat control drugs fetch Sh80,000 per dose while those for removing a potbelly attract Sh90,000 and those for banishing gray hair can be acquired for Sh100,000.
Those keen on enlarging their sex organs should be ready to part with Sh100,000; drugs for shapely legs sell for Sh100,000 and anti-wrinkles drugs go for Sh80,000.
Surprisingly, and this is what dupes most people into having unshakable confidence in the efficacy of the wares on sale, dealers and their run their business with no qualms whatsoever, insisting that the quality of their products had been certified by TFDA.
However, TFDA has strongly denied ever having certified such drugs, insisting that it was yet to issue any approval for any of the drugs being peddled.
TFDA Public Relations Officer Gaudensia Simwanza told this paper that the Authority had never issued any certificate for any of the drugs, stressing that users ran very serious health risks.
“The drugs are unsafe and the Authority is working on the modalities to book salespeople and their agents who continue to put people’s health at risk.
They want to make profits at the expense of other people’s health,” Simwanza explained.
Minister for Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children Ummy Mwalimu confirmed to the Guardian on Sunday that the Authority was yet to authorize a single drug commendable for body configuration.
“The public should avoid the use of such chemicals in order to protect themselves from other effects brought by the use of prohibited drugs. Despite the fact that most of them operate online to complicate their arrest, we will definitely get them and bring them to justice. Let the general public assist on this,” Ummy insisted.
Meanwhile, two dealers identified as Farida and Celestine, were adamant in a telephone interview that the safety of their products was certified, adding that the booming business had earned them a good life. They said that they got their supplies from Dubai and insisted that they had no plans to abandon the business.
“I embarked on this business three years ago and my clients always look for me after they have been satisfied with the way my drugs work. This business is superb.
I pay school fees for my children and lately I managed to buy a car worth Sh12m. Now I am planning to build a house. The clients are many and there is no need for you to worry about the safety of our products,” Farida proudly said.
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a la/s March 01, 2016 0

Arusha Regional Police Commander Liberatus Sabas
 Police have killed three suspected bandits armed with AK47 rifles, explosives, machetes and other traditional weapons in Engosheraton-Sinoni in the outskirts of Arusha City. 
 
Police said they have an accomplice in custody, a woman identified as Nasra, in connection with the incident.
Arusha Regional Police Commander Liberatus Sabas identified one of those killed as Athuman Ramadhani (26) alias ‘Kassimu.’
 
He said others were yet to be  identified and their corpses were in the morgue at Mount Meru Hospital in Arusha Region for investigation and provide an opportunity for citizens to identify them.
 
The woman in police custody is said to be the wife of Athuman Ramadhani who died during the gun exchange with the police.
 
Referring to the incident, Commander Sabas said early Saturday morning they received information from a concerned citizen who claimed that there was a boy suspected to be involved in criminal activities at Engosheraton – Sinoni Ward,.
 
He said they laid a trap and were able to arrest Athuman after he was found with Explogil TMV6 explosives, 17 water explosives and 10 long ranges explosives. Other items found on him were two big coats and facial masks.
 
During interrogation the suspect told the police that there were other two colleagues he cooperates with in criminal activities.
 
“We set up a trap at 11.00 at night. Accompanied by the suspect, we went to his home located near Fire and Rescue office area where the suspect claimed to house his colleagues,” he explained. 
 
“The police knocked on the door and when it opened, Athuman shouted ‘Takbir!’... after that the suspects started shooting at the police who had gone to arrest them,” he said.
 
Sabas said using military techniques and tactics, the police were able to stop the attacks, entered the house and found two teenagers who had been wounded by bullets.
 
Unfortunately, he said, during the gun exchange one police officer got shot by the suspects’ bullet whereas Athuman and the other three suspects died while being rushed to the hospital.
 
Commander Sabas said the raids took place in the room of the two criminals; the police found five uniforms of the Tanzania People’s Defence Forces (TPDF), five caps, facial masks, one pair of karate garb and one motorcycle with a fake licence plate---MC 983 BMK.
 
He mentioned other items that were found as two black flags with Arabic inscriptions used by terrorist groups, a metal box and passport belonging to Abrahaman Athuman Kangaa which was issued on April 2, 2013.
 
Other items were five mobile phones, of which one belonged to the late Mary Joseph, who died in a shooting by unidentified people on February 20, this year, in Engosheraton-Sinoni area.
 
He also said the police also found a package with gunpowder, one huge knife and paper with a threatening message saying: “My advice to old man Kova, prepare a funeral committee for your police officers. When we are done, we will come for you.”
 
He said they found AK 47 rifles used to attack the police with registration number 1998-AFV0822 with its magazine and 18 rounds of ammunition.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN
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a la/s February 18, 2016 0




The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, Maj. Gen. Gaudence Milanzi, said this in Dar es Salaam while briefing members of press on the 2014’s tourism survey report.

He said that the survey was conducted by the ministry in collaboration with the Bank of Tanzania (BoT), the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Immigration Department and the Zanzibar Commission of Tourism (ZCT).

Maj. Gen. Milanzi noted further that Zanzibar earned 269.3million US dollars in 2014, up from 210.5 million US dollars in 2013. He noted that an average expenditure of a tourist per day in 2014 stood at 221 US dollars down from 284 US dollars reported in 2013.

The PS pointed out that 15 major tourist markets contributed by 82 per cent of all the international tourists, adding that Zimbabwe, China and Holland were new markets of tourists in the group of 15 major markets in 2014 which have taken over from Sweden, Switzerland and India which were in the group in 2013.

He noted that wild animals’ tourism in the Tanzania mainland contributed by 43.5 per cent and most of the tourists in the area in question came from United Kingdom, France and Italy.

PS Milanzi noted that most of the tourists were irritated by the lack of credit card services in most of the destinations whereby 87 per cent of tourists were forced to pay using cash money. “For the tourism sector to grow, it must be advertised vigorously domestically and internationally. These challenges should be keenly dealt with while expanding our focus to cover not only wild animals but all other attractions including our beautiful beaches,” he added
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a la/s February 18, 2016 0
 
They are Peter Kabi (45), a businessman, Leonidia Loi Kabi (46) a businesswoman and Simoni Malisa (46), a driver.
It is alleged that at the time of their arrest, they had pretended to be transporting a deceased in a coffin covered with the national flag. Before Principal Resident Magistrate Huruma Shaidi, the accused persons denied the charges.
They were remanded until next Monday when they will be joined by another suspect, Charles Wainaina, who could not be brought to answer the charges. Senior State Attorney Paul Kadushi, for the prosecution, informed the court that investigations into the matter have been completed.
The prosecutor alleged that the accused persons committed the offence of leading organized crime on diverse locations on October 27, 2012 in Dar es Salaam and Iringa Regions.
Jointly and together, according to the prosecution, the accused persons willfully organized and managed a criminal racket of accepting, collecting and selling government trophies involving 210 elephant tusks weighing 450.6 kilogrammes and five pieces of elephant bones, all valued at 2,230,338,000/-.
The prosecution claimed that the accused persons engaged in dealing with such government trophies without a permit from the Director of Wildlife.
It is alleged further that on the same day at Kimara in Kinondoni District, within the City of Dar es Salaam, jointly and together, the accused persons were found in unlawful possession of the elephant tusks and elephant bones, property of the United Republic of Tanzania without permit.
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a la/s February 07, 2016 0



DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania – Tigo Tanzania, last week announced free WhatsApp services for all its users which is a first for a telecom in the country.

Making the announcement in Dar es Salaam, Tigo General Manager Diego Gutierrez said all Tigo customers subscribing to the company’s weekly and monthly packages will be entitled to free WhatsApp service. Tigo has over 10 million subscribers.

WhatsApp, the most popular mobile messaging application has over eight million users in Tanzania and in excess of 900 million globally. The social media service enables users to exchange media, texts, video clips and voice calls.

He said, “From now onwards, all Tigo customers buying any of our weekly or monthly packages will be eligible to enjoy free WhatsApp. This of course, is for customers with data enabled devices.”

Gutierrez said, “Free WhatsApp service to our customers demonstrates our commitment in promoting digital lifestyle transformation and leadership in delivering cutting-edge technology and innovation.”

To enjoy the service, according to the general manager, all a Tigo customer needs to do is to subscribe to a weekly or monthly packages via *148*00#, Tigo-Tigo Xtreme/MiniKabang Weekly or Monthly plus FreeWhatsApp. The service is available on iPhone, Blackberry, Android and Nokia Symbian60-phones, he said.

WhatsApp is a sister application to Facebook, the social network that Tigo partnered with in 2014 to become the first telecom in the country to give its customers free Facebook access in Kiswahili.

Tigo Tanzania is the leading innovative telecommunication company in the country, distinguished as a fully-fledged digital lifestyle brand.

Offering a diverse product portfolio in voice, SMS, high-speed internet and mobile financial services, Tigo has pioneered innovations such as Facebook in Kiswahili, TigoPesa to mention a few. In the past three years the company has launched over 500 network sites bring to over 2000 the total of its network sites. It plans to double its investment by 2017 in terms of coverage and additional capacity networks for deeper penetration in rural areas.

With over 10 million registered subscribers, Tigo directly and indirectly employs over 300,000 Tanzanians including an extended network of customer service representatives, mobile money merchants, sales agents and distributors.Tigo is the biggest commercial brand of Millicom, an international company developing the digital lifestyle in 12 countries with commercial operations in Africa and Latin America and corporate offices in Europe and the USA.
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a la/s February 07, 2016 0
Tanzania Commission for Universities (TCU), the national high education overseer has decried its own failure to meet the five-year plan for the nation’s 51 high academic institutions to produce a minimum of 80,000 skilled  graduants to address the demand for skilled personnel.  
But despite the good number of high academic institutions in Tanzania, the current pattern of the programmes they offer is visibly skewed towards general education as opposed to more specialized disciplines, TCU says.
The five-year plan marking its deadline this year required universities to enroll and train into competence some 80,000 nationals in various disciplines, but there were only 218,959 students of all levels and disciplines in all universities and colleges in the country by last year, while only only 65,000 students have been enrolled this year.
“This calls for enormous additional investments in the higher education sub-sector,” said TCU Executive Secretary Prof Yunus Mgaya in Dar es Salaam yesterday while lauding the Aga Khan University (AKU) for its significant commitment to an ambitious expansion plan in Tanzania and East Africa to recruit future intellectuals.
“We need to have a strong skilled human resource base as projected in the Tanzania first Five Year Development Plan (2011/12 – 2015/16), that among others, focuses on employment of more than 90,000 qualified teachers by the year 2025,” he said during the 11th convocation ceremony of the University.
AKU has awarded degrees to 84 graduands from the Institute for Educational Development, the School of Nursing and Midwifery and the Postgraduate Medical Education programme this year, including 61 with M.Sc in Education, 22 post-RN B.Sc in Nursing and one with Master of Family Medicines, marking the alumni of 552 in the university Tanzania’s chapter.

In spite of the success story, AKU is working out plans to establish principal East African campus in Arusha, a campus for the Institute for Educational Development in Dar es Salaam, a new Aga Khan University Hospital in Kampala and to launch new medical and nursing education programmes in line with expansion of the existing programmes.
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