Monday 28 September 2009

MRBA set to hold general election

From The Citizen, Dar es Salaam
By Fadhil Iddy, Mwanza

Mwanza Regional Basketball Association (MRBA) has called upon members to pick nomination forms to contest for various posts in the general election pencilled for next month.

The elections take place following a directive made by the Tanzania Basketball Federation (TBF) to all affiliate regional associations.

The aim is make the associations being eligible voters for the federation's planned election towards to the end of this year.

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Mwanza marathon winners to get 1m/-

From ThisDay, Dar es Salaam

WINNERS of the men’s and women’s Rock City Marathon planned for Sunday in Mwanza will each walk away with a 1m/- cash prize.

Event coordinator Philipo Simon said in Dar es Salaam yesterday that the runners-up in both categories will each get 500,000/- while the third placed winners will be given 300,000/- each.

He said the 21kilometre race will start at the Kirumba Stadium while the other races will start in town, pass through several streets and end at the stadium.

Other events on the day include a 5km fun race, 3km classic corporate race and a 2km race for people with physical disabilities.

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Friday 25 September 2009

High Court sets free three jailed minors

From The Citizen, Dar es Salaam
By Mussa Juma, Bunda

The High Court in Mwanza, has pardoned three children, including a Standard Seven pupil jailed for three years last year, after being convicted of grazing in the Grumet Game Reserve area leased to a foreign investor.

The children, Juma Sylvester, 15, who was studying at Mariwanda B. Primary School, Ndamo Wambu, 16, and Hurushi Wambu, 17; were sentenced on August 4, last year, by the then district magistrate, Mr Joseph Maganga. They had pleaded guilty to the charges.

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Wednesday 23 September 2009

Three men to hang for Tanzania albino murder

From Reuters Africa, Dar es Salaam
By George Obulutsa

Tanzania's high court on Wednesday sentenced three men to hang for the murder of a 13-year-old albino boy, killed for his body parts in the country's northwest, local media and a rights group said.

At least 53 albinos have been killed since 2007 in the east African nation and their body parts sold for use in witchcraft, especially in the remote northwest regions of Shinyanga and Mwanza where superstition is rife.

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Read also:
Three sentenced to hang for murder of an African 'ghost' - from The Independent, London, UK

Monday 21 September 2009

Loans scheme benefits SMEs

From The Citizen, Dar es Salaam
By The Citizen Reporter

Five businesses owned by budding entrepreneurs have received loans from Twiga Bancorp through the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Credit Guarantee Scheme (SMEs-CGS), the bank's CEO has said.

Mr Hussein Hassan Mbululo said during the launch of Ekama Suites Lodges at Kijitonyama in Dar es Salaam that four of the businesses were in Mwanza while one was in Dar es Salaam.

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Friday 18 September 2009

Team to probe embezzlement allegations

From The Citizen, Dar es Salaam
By Beatus Kagashe

Tanzania Telecommunications Company Limited (TTCL) has sent auditors to Mwanza in a move to ascertain the loss that three top officials have allegedly caused the state firm.

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Wednesday 16 September 2009

Tanzania Moves to Build Laboratory Capacity

From PBS NewsHour, Washington D.C., United States
By Talea Miller

Shortages in laboratory supplies and trained technicians in Tanzania cause delays and gaps in diagnosis that can put patients' health at risk.

At Mwanza's Bugando Hospital, one of the largest in Tanzania, laboratory workers sometimes must wait months for necessary supplies to run common medical tests.

Omany Kapande, a lab technician, said delays in the supply line and a lack of training slow productivity.

"We will perform tests but be waiting for the reagents for up to three months" said Kapande.

The CD4 count machine used to determine the level of an HIV infection couldn't be used for a month because the chemicals were not available. The hospital and surrounding facilities that rely on the lab had to make treatment decisions without knowing CD4 counts of patients during that period.

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Tuesday 15 September 2009

Controversy brewing over airport plans in Greater Serengeti

From eTurboNews Group, Haleiwa, USA
By Wolfgang H. Thome

Old plans, brought down by committed conservationists and angry area residents a few years ago, seem to rear the ugly head again, as efforts to build a major airport in the Serengeti district region are apparently once again being tabled.

Whatever ulterior motives the promoters may have could neither then nor now be established with certainty, but suspicion is well advised when dealing with such grandstanding.

But what more level headed and well informed individuals from Tanzania have pointed out to eTN is the fact that there are international airports between Arusha and Moshi (Kilimanjaro International) and in Mwanza at Lake Victoria offering enough spare capacity for international flights into the country for years to come.

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Monday 14 September 2009

Canadian group vows to fight Tanzania albino murders

From Canada.com Network, Ontario, Canada
By George Obulutsa, Reuters

A Canadian rights group says it will not rest until there is an end to the murder of albinos in Tanzania - a minority often hunted down for their body parts to be used in witchcraft.

Since 2007 at least 53 albinos have been killed in various parts of the east African nation, with most incidents occurring in the remote northwest regions of Shinyanga and Mwanza, where superstition is deep-seated.

"We will not rest and we will not silence our voice until every single one of those 53 victims has received the vindication due to them ... We will not rest until albinos can walk safely in this country," - Peter Ash, founder and director of Under The Same Sun, told Reuters in an interview.

Picture text: Peter Ash, founder of the non-profit organization Under the Same Sun meets a little girl with albinism in the Mwanza region of Tanzania where the majority of the murders have occurred in this October 2008 handout photo.
Photograph by: Handout, Rick Guidotti/Positive Exposure

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Saturday 12 September 2009

Minister queries status of ship

From The Citizen, Dar es Salaam
By Paulina David, Mwanza


The minister for the East African Cooperation, Dr Diodorus Kamala has expressed dissatisfaction with failure by theCommunity (EAC) Research Vessel, RV Jumuiya to achieve its assigned tasks in time.

Dr Kamala said shortly he inspected the research vessel at Mwanza South Port on Thursday that the vessel has so far not recorded any meaningful work, as it had only surveyed Kisumu and Mwanza Ports instead of the entire lake.

RV Jumuia is equipped with a weather station to provide the EAC partner states with latest meteorological information to guide economic activities by about 30 million East Africans residing on Lake Victoria basin.

Dr Kamala said he would take the issue to the forthcoming meeting of the EAC Council of Ministers for deliberations.

The minister appeared surprised on noting that some parts of the research vessel were replaced with others immediately after the vessel arrived in Mwanza city, questioning the whereabouts original parts alleged to be faulty.

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She will get to help youngsters

From The Evening Courier, Halifax, UK
By Colin Drury


A TEENAGER who spent two months doing voluntary work in Tanzania has been offered a full time job there.

Sophie Whittaker, 19, of Mytholmroyd, impressed so much during her time at the Mwanza City boys orphanage she has been asked to go back on a permanent basis.

The former Calder High pupil will start a job at Kuleana Street Children in December after she finishes a gap year travelling around South East Asia and Australia.

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Thursday 10 September 2009

TCCIA: Make use of trade pact

From The Citizen, Dar es Salaam
By Jane Kajoki, Mwanza

Mwanza Region has benefited from EPA funds by improving the infrastructure and producing quality cotton, dubbed 'white gold' in the region.

Members of the business community here have been urged to exploit opportunities offered by the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) to bolster their enterprises and invigorate the country's economy.

The private sector development advisor with Tanzania Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (TCCIA), Mwanza chapter, Mr Tamim Amijee, said they are also entitled to support from the agreement.

He said they could obtain funds from the European Union (EU) and African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) trade regime if they devised reasonable business plans.

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Poll 'a timely wake-up call for MPs'

From The Citizen, Dar es Salaam
By Mkinga Mkinga and Bernard James

The Synovate survey indicated that MPs from Iringa, Unguja, Dodoma, Manyara, Morogoro, Rukwa, Ruvuma, Mtwara, Mwanza and Tanga are more in danger of losing their seats than those in other regions.

A study indicating that over half of the serving MPs might lose seats were elections held today has been described by some intellectuals as a wake-up call to them before next year's polls.

In random interviews conducted by The Citizen yesterday, they indicated that the trend indicated narrowing chances for the ruling CCM to win next year's general election by landslide.

But others said the study can only be taken as a challenge and not the voters' verdict on their MPs.

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3,000 set for Rock City Marathon

From The Citizen, Dar es Salaam
By The Citizen Reporter

Over 3,000 runners have confirmed participation at the Rock City Marathon, which is set to take place on October 4 in Mwanza.

Mwanza Regional Athletics Association's (MRAA) chairman Silas Lucas said yesterday most of the runners were registering for the five-kilometre fun race.

Lucas expressed his satisfaction with the number of competitors who have so far confirmed participation, lauding Mara for a great response.

"It's amazing to have 250 participants from Mara, I'm quite impressed and hope that the runners from other regions will go on registering,'' he said.

He stressed: "So far the turnout is very encouraging. We're looking forward to having over 10,000 runners in all four categories."

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Keep Fake Products Out

From The Citizen, Dar es Salaam
Editorial

The crackdown on fake and expired drugs that resulted in the seizure of 319 types of bogus malaria medicines and antibiotics worth Sh9.5 million is a great achievement.

It not only confirms the ability of those charged with ensuring that only safe medicines are sold in the country, but is also a healthy stroke against the deadly merchandise.

Although the value of the seized counterfeit drugs and cosmetics may appear little, of more importance to us is the removal of the risk posed to the health of the gullible users.

Interestingly, Directorate of Criminal Investigation boss Robert Manumba says the operation only covered Dar es Salaam, Mbeya, Arusha, Mwanza, and Shinyanga. The problem could be much bigger, especially in the border regions of Kigoma, Sumbawanga, Kagera and Mara.

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Wednesday 9 September 2009

Grounded MV Kalangala Renders Over 300 Jobless

From The Monitor, Kampala, Uganda
Al Mahdi Ssenkabirwa & Martin Ssebuyira

Over 300 employees have been made redundant after Uganda's only active vessel on Lake Victoria, MV Kalangala failed to resume operations. Employees of Mulowoza and Brothers, the firm that manages the ship on behalf of government, tour agents, restaurants and vendors were rendered jobless after the MV Kalangala failed to resume operations on August 31 as had been promised by government.

"People using the ship could always have lunch on the way, buy our crafts and hire youths to carry their luggage but all these people earn nothing now," Ms Nalongo Nalumyanso, a vendor at Nakiwogo waterway told Daily Monitor on September 5.

She said they now sell their merchandise to farmers from Buwaya who take them at a cheaper price, leading to losses. The ship suspended operations on August 17 to allow for its annual inspection and enable it get a new license after the existing one expired. Ms Susan Kataike, the Ministry of Works publicist said last week that when the ship returned from inspection in Mwanza, Tanzania, engineers noticed some mechanical problems which they ordered government to rectify before the ship is licensed to resume carrying passengers.

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Monday 7 September 2009

Rites hits TRL with Sh14bn lease bill

From The Citizen, Dar es Salaam
By Beldina Nyakeke

On Saturday, angry TRL passengers temporarily paralysed activities at the Dar es Salaam railway station after their journey to Mwanza and Kigoma was cancelled following the strike.

Rail India Technical and Economic Services (Rites) is demanding $10.42 million (about Sh13.6 billion) from Tanzania Railways Limited (TRL), being payment for locomotives and passenger coaches it has leased the cash-strapped firm.

The debt has prompted the TRL management to write to the Government through Railway Assets Holding Company (Rahco), informing it that it will suspend indefinitely all services with effect from Thursday.

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Thirty runners for Rock City half marathon

From ThisDay, Dar es Salaam

OVER 3,000 runners have confirmed participation in the Rock City Half Marathon set for October 4 in Mwanza.

Mwanza Regional Athletics Association (MRAA) chairman Silas Lucas said yesterday most of the runners will compete in the five-kilometre fun race.

Silas said 250 runners from Mara Region will also compete in the half marathon.

- 'The turnout has been very encouraging so far. We expect over 10,000 runners from within and outside the country in all four races,' he said.

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Friday 4 September 2009

Magistrate Arraigned for Bribery

From The Citizen, Dar es Salaam
By Patty Magubira

Mwanza - Aprimary court magistrate and a district court secretary have been arrested and prosecuted on corruption charges.

The two Judiciary workers, who were arraigned on Monday for soliciting and receiving Sh60 million bribe, are Misungwi Primary Court Magistrate Restuta Kamani, 40, and a stenographer with geita district court, Scholastica John, 40.

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