Jetlink begins flights to Mwanza

From Daily Nation, Nairobi, Kenya
By NATION Reporter

Regional airline Jetlink has introduced two new direct flights from Nairobi to Mwanza in Tanzania.

“Clients have been travelling by road for over seven hours and we are introducing a new means through which they will take 30 minutes to be in Mwanza, starting on the 15th of November,” said managing director Elly Aluvale.

He said another flight will also depart from Kisumu to Mwanza.
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Meeting seeks to boost use of Lake Victoria resources

From Saturday Nation, Nairobi, Kenya
By KABURU MUGAMBI

East African Community will hold a three-day investment meeting at the beginning of December to look for ways of increasing investment in Lake Victoria basin.

Lake Victoria Basin Investment Forum to held between 5th and 8th, 2010 in Mwanza, Tanzania, is aimed at promoting increased trade and investment in the lake basin as well as encouraging knowledge exchange.

The event will bring together regional, international and business leaders to discuss opportunities in transport, tourism, fisheries, trade and investment.

East Africa Community’s Lake Victoria Basin Commission executive director Tom Okurut on Friday said the basin has a market potential of $40 billion (Sh3.2 trillion) and a wealth of resources of economic importance.

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Man held for killing wife

From Daily News, Dar es Salaam
By NASHON KENNEDY in Mwanza

POLICE have arrested Lete Rubeleje (31), a resident of Kisabo in Magu District for allegedly killing his wife, Mwanza Regional Police Commander (RPC), Simon Sirro has said.

The RPC told reporters on Wednesday that the incident happened on October 20 at around 7.00 pm in the house of the suspect.

Mr Sirro said that Rubeleje killed his wife after a brawl. She died on the spot. “Preliminary investigations showed that jealousy was behind the killing as the couple often fought each other,” narrated Mr Sirro.

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Lake Victoria forum to showcase EA potential

From East African Business Week, Kampala, Uganda
By Mark Muhumuza

The EAC will host the inaugural Lake Victoria Investment Forum in Mwanza Tanzania to present investment opportunities around the world’s second largest fresh water lake.

The forum to be held under the theme “Realizing Economic Benefits in the EAC Common Market through the Lake Victoria Basin” is another effort to attract investment in the Lake Victoria Basin.

The Lake Victoria basin is an investment hub within the East African Community for its market of an estimated 30million an estimated annual GDP of $40m covering an area of about 194,000 square kilometres.

“The focus of the Lake Victoria Investment Forum will be to highlight the investment opportunities around the basin to delegates from around the world,” says Tom Okurut the executive director East African Community Lake Victoria Basin Commission (LVBC).

The potential of the Lake Victoria Basin is vast especially in the area promoting trade within the East African Community.

Water transport is the cheapest mode of transport but with the EAC it is predominantly road and air transport. These forms of transport are much more expensive compared to rail and water transport.

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Police shoot dead 6 suspected robbers

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Anthony Gervas

Police in Mwanza Region have shot dead six suspected gangsters in their hideout at Samina forest, 20 kilometres from Geita town.

The gangsters had laid huge stones across the Katoro-Geita road on Thursday night with intent to rob passengers on vehicles plying the road, according to the police.

Speaking to journalists at his office in Mwanza yesterday, the regional police commander, Mr Simon Sirro, said the suspects were found at their hide out by a special unit after a tip-off from the members of the public.

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Mwanza to spend almost 20 million on tourism promotion in Tanzania

From eTurboNews, Haleiwa, USA
By Wolfgang H. Thome

The Mwanza municipality and some of its neighbors has committed nearly 20 million Tanzania Shillings (US$13,324) to promote their area more aggressively in Tanzania, aimed to attract more visitors coming to spend time on the shores of Lake Victoria. Located on Africa’s largest lake and being a potential springboard into the Serengeti and other parks, Mwanza is still largely unexplored by visitors, leave alone foreign tourists, who often have little idea about the location of the municipality nor added facts about nearby attractions.

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Vodacom boosts Mwanza cycling

From Daily News, Dar es Salaam
By LYDIA SOLOMON

THE fifth edition of the Vodacom Mwanza Cycling Challenge will take place on November 12 and 13 in the rocky city region, revealed the event organizers.

Briefing reporters in Dar es Salaam, Vodacom’s Head of Sponsorship and Communication George Rwehumbiza said sponsors has dished out about 50m/- to facilitate the competition, which is expected to attract hordes of participants.

The money would cater for promotion of the event, preparations and prizes. Again this year, the tournament would have three categories as last year. The categories are men, women and disabled.

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TCB wants more effort on coffee farming

From Daily News, Dar es Salaam
By MUGINI JACOB in Musoma

LACK of supervision from District Commissioners (DCs) and District Executive Directors (DEDs) on coffee farming has been cited to be one of the major obstacles hindering the development of the cash crop in Mara and Mwanza Regions.

"Coffee is state's foreign earner and if DCs do no know any thing about it or DEDs who are the directors of development plans, what do you expect?", the chairman of Tanzania Coffee Board (TCB), Mr Pius Ngeze, wondered when speaking at a high profile coffee stakeholders' crucial meeting that met to chart strategies meant to promote the cash crop in the two lake zone regions in Tarime late last week.

Mr Ngeze urged the DCs and DEDs to be in front line in promoting coffee in their working places.

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Ten feared dead in mine pit, two bodies recovered

From Daily News, Dar es Salaam
By DAVID AZARIA in Mwanza

TWO Gold Miners died on Thursday when they were buried alive while mining at Geita Gold Mine in Mwanza Region.

According to report released to the media, about ten gold miners are feared buried but one of the miners was rescued alive.

Only two bodies had been recovered. The deceased were identified as Musa Malele (25), a resident of Mhama village and one who was identified by one name only as Mashimba, a resident of Bugarama District in Shinyanga Region.

Police in Geita District confirmed the incident saying that it occurred on Thursday at around 8 in the morning at Nyaruyeye village in Nyarugusu ward. The mine pit is owned by Masasi John (37) a resident of Nyarugusu village.

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Tap Lake Victoria tourism potential

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam

One of the most remarkable things about our country’s tourism is its vast potential that still remains unexploited. The northern circuit is, of course, the most popular, as it includes the Ngorongoro Crater, Mt Kilimanjaro and the Serengeti, which have legendary reputations worldwide. But this is only a fraction of what this huge country has to offer.

Another major site is Lake Victoria, which this country shares with Kenya and Uganda, though it has the bulk of the waters. Not enough has been done so far to exploit the tourism potential of this third largest fresh water lake in the world. For a start, the lake is endowed with a variety of fish species. They include the tilapia, sangara, ‘furu’, ‘ningu’, ‘nembe’, ‘mbumi’, and the richly delicious ‘kamongo’.

Tourists and business people could be enticed to visit Mwanza to view the enchanting waters and the magnificent afternoon waves in boat rides and sample the fish either cooked, fried or charcoal-roasted. The lakeside city is easily accessible by air, train, tour van or regular bus service.

It’s, therefore, disappointing to note that the city has been losing tourism revenue because of the prevalence of bilharzia in the lake. Although the disease is not a major killer, it can damage internal organs and, in children, impair growth.

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IRS project to combat malaria in Lake Zone

From Daily News, Dar es Salaam
By NASHON KENNEDY in Mwanza

MALARIA remains a serious pandemic, affecting some parts of the world including the Eastern and Central Africa and continue to claim lives of millions of people. It is a major Public health problem for the Sub-Saharan Africa countries.

About one million people are dying annually and more than 400 million cases of malaria reported every year. It also causes one third of deaths among children under five years of age. According to the HIV/Malaria Indicator Survey for 2008/09, the disease is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality among outpatient and inpatient admissions in Tanzania.

It accounts for up to 40 per cent of all outpatient attendances in the country. Many parts of the mainland, including the uplands, report malaria transmissions throughout the year although it occurs more frequently during and after rainy season. Malaria pandemic is caused by four species of plasmodia parasites that are transmitted by Anopheles mosquitoes.

Plasmodium falciparum is the most common for the transmission of the disease. It causes severe malaria, and is fatal if not diognised promptly and properly managed. The most severe cases occur among persons who have not yet developed sufficient immunity to malaria through previous exposure. Children under five years of age are at highest risk, followed by pregnant women because of their reduced natural immunity levels, where one fifth of deaths reported are of the pregnant women.

Malaria causes loss and economic burden in the country, ranging from school nonattendance to low productivity at workplaces. It also reduces agricultural production and other economic output; additionally, the accumulated effect in the long term may decrease national economic capacity and development.

In Mwanza region, it contributes to 39.4 per cent and 48 per cent of all outpatient attendances in less than 5 yrs and above 5yrs of age. It also contributes to 33.4 per cent of children under five and 42.1 per cent for 5 yrs and above of all admissions in health centres.

Mwanza Region Commissioner (RC) Abbas Kandoro says the disease killed more than 1500 people in 2009.

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Uganda gets passenger ship to ply East Africa

From The New Vision, Kampala, Uganda
BY PATRICK JARAMOGI

The first passenger ship to link Uganda to Kenya and Tanzania will start operations next month, New Vision has learnt. Anthony Esenu, the chairman, board of directors of EarthWise Ferries Uganda, which will man the ship, told New Vision that the 150-passenger ferry would reduce the current travel time on Lake Victoria by at least 60%.

“People travelling to Kalangala have been spending three hours on water from Entebbe on the MV Kalangala. This new ship will spend 45 minutes,” said Esenu.

“In fact, by the time the MV Kalangala docks Kalangala, we shall have made four trips from Port-Bell in Luzira,” he said.

It will also take the ferry three hours to reach Kisumu compared to the 10 hours small boats take, while travelling to Mwanza will be reduced from 20 hours to 10 hours.

The ship is currently being re-assembled at Garuga along the shores of Lake Victoria. Built in the US, the ferry will ply Port-Bell, Mwanza, Kisumu and Bukoba in Tanzania.

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Mwanza in tourism promotion bid

From Daily News, Dar es Salaam
By NASHON KENNEDY in Mwanza

MWANZA Region has reserved some 19m/- for the promotion of its tourist attractions within and outside the country.

Addressing the region’s Second Tourism Forum here recently, Mwanza Assistant Administrative Secretary (Planning and Co-ordination) Ms Isabela Mariki, said the move was in line with their 2010 - 2013 Strategic Plan.

In 2004, the region organized an investors’ forum which charted strategies aimed at making the region a leading tourist destination that would outshine Dar es Salaam, Arusha and Kilimanjaro.

She said the forum looked into a possibility of investments in the hotel industry, preferably upgrading it to between 3 and 5 star hotels and expansion of Mwanza Airport.

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Mwanza set to boost Lake Victoria tourism

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Sheilla Sezzy

Mwanza Region has been losing tourism revenue from Lake Victoria attractions due to high prevalence of bilharzia.

Scientifically known as schistosomiasis, bilharzia is a parasitic disease caused by several species of tremotodes a parasitic worm of the genus schistosoma.

Although it has a low mortality rate, schistosomiasis often is a chronic illness that can damage internal organs and in children, impair growth and cognitive development.

According to a medical researcher, Mr Nicholas Lwambo, from the Mwanza Medical Research Institute, the disease has caused tourists to avoid swimming or doing water sports in Lake Victoria.

“Tourism is money. I advise Mwanza regional authorities to address the matter seriously in order to reverse the lost opportunity from tourism income,” he said.

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