Wednesday 24 November 2010

Ethiopian Airlines adds more flights to Tanzania

From eTurboNews, Dar es Salaam
By Apolinari Tairo

Ethiopian Airlines has increased its flight frequencies to Tanzania, targeting the northern tourist circuit regions of Kilimanjaro and Arusha and the Lake Victoria city of Mwanza.

The airline has announced its 12 departures per week from Kilimanjaro International Airport (KIA), which connects Tanzania's northern tourist sites with the rest of the world.

Read full story.

Monday 22 November 2010

Delays, cancellations irk Precisionair passengers

From Daily News, Dar es Salaam
By MASATO MASATO

AIR travelers using Precision Air services have for the last two weeks experienced hard times as they had to cope with flight delays, reschedules and cancellations that marred the airline’s service provision.

Aggrieved customers in Dar es Salaam, Mwanza and Arusha called the 'Daily News' in almost the entire of last week, complaining over the poor services that the airline was subjecting them to.

A traveller from Dar es Salaam to Mwanza, Mr Damas Mwita, for instance, said he was booked to depart at the Julius Nyerere International Airport (JNIA) on November 11, this year, at 5:40pm but the journey never materialised.

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MPs call for govt action on banditry

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Beatus Kagashe

The NCCR Mageuzi MPs have urged the government to form a special police zone comprising Kigoma and Kagera regions as a way of curbing incidents of armed robberies which threaten lives and the economic development in the two regions.

They also called on the Police Force to increase patrols in forests through which roads pass in Kigoma, Mwanza, Kagera and Tabora regions, where most of the robbery incidents have been taking place.

The Kasulu Urban MP, Mr Moses Machare, told reporters at the party’s headquarters yesterday that should the two suggestions be implemented, they would help to end the acts, blamed on the influx of illegal immigrants from neighbouring countries.

“As MPs from Kigoma Region we have been saddened by a recent robbery incident in which two people lost their lives and several others were injured. The acts continue to create fear among residents whose economic activities are interrupted because of lack of security in the area. We need the government to take the situation seriously,” he said.

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Wednesday 17 November 2010

12th Annual Mwanza Grand Charity Ball 2010

Mwanza Guide 'online' information
By Nina Hjortlund

This year’s Mwanza Grand Charity Ball will be held on Saturday 27th November 2010. The venue is as last year the Nyumbani Hotel in Mwanza.
The Ball is an evening where the people of Mwanza gather together for a night of fun and entertainment as well as raising money for various charities within the Mwanza & Lake Zone area.

Thanks to generous contributions last year the Mwanza Charity Ball raised an incredible 43 MILLION SHILLINGS which was given to charities representing orphans, women and the homeless in education and health.

This year we are bringing an international DJ who has previous played in New York, Berlin and UK to entertain on the evening.

And of course we have our usual auction, silent auction and raffle with some incredible itmes and prices.

You can still donate to this years Mwanza Grand Charity Ball - please contact Nina Hjortlund to get further details.

Visit the 'Mwanza Grand Charity Ball' event on Facebook.

Monday 15 November 2010

International Flights Start At Kisumu Airport

From Daily Nation, Nairobi, Kenya

Kisumu Airport starts offering international services on Monday (today) when an airline launches flights to Tanzania.

Currently being upgraded to meet international standards, the airport has been offering domestic flights.

With the launch of a direct flight to Mwanza in Tanzania, Jetlink Express Airline will be seeking to realise its ambitious expansion programme.

Read full story.

Thursday 11 November 2010

Bugando's heart surgeries

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Ray Naluyaga, The Citizen Bureau Chief

Mwanza. The Bugando Medical Centre is now performing heart surgery for children whose body weight does not exceeding 10 kilograms, it has been learnt.

Speaking during a press conference on International Medical Students’ Scientific Conference scheduled to begin today, Prof William Mahalu said the hospital has so far performed 91 closed heart operations and another 13 since 2007.

“These operations have been made a success under the supervision of one doctor and two nurses, we are currently recruiting more staff in order to be able to perform more operations,” he said.

Under the available staff, the hospital conducts only one operation a week.

Prof Mahalu told journalists that the beginning was not easy as patients believed that such operations cannot be done within the country.

Read full story.

Sunday 7 November 2010

Poverty major concern in rich Lake zone area

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Ray Naluyaga, Citizen Bureau Chief

The strong showing of opposition parties during the just ended elections in the Lake Zone reflects popular disenchantment with CCM government’s mineral policies.

There is abundance of minerals wealth in the Lake Zone but the majority of people remain poor, a factor that seems to be driving many to join opposition ranks to seek policy change.

Speaking at different times with The Citizen on Sunday residents and political analysts in Mwanza concurred that the issue of wealth distribution remains a major political concern.

Mwanza Anglican church priest and political analyst Mr Godfrey Salum said that many villages surrounding mining sites in the Lake Zone have no basic infrastructure.

He mentioned communities like Karumwa in Geita district where electric cables pass over the village sky to the mines but the local people have remained for centuries without reliable power.

Read full story.

Wednesday 3 November 2010

CCM loses over 20 seats

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Florence Mugarula

The ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) had lost over 20 parliamentary seats to the opposition in the election results released by yesterday. The 26 seats the ruling party failed to win in Sunday’s General Election were among the 105 constituencies, whose results had been announced by the National Electoral Commission (NEC) in Dar es Salaam by last evening.

There was still a possibility of the top four opposition parties - Chadema, Civic United Front (CUF) and NCCR-Mageuzi - grabbing a few more seats when the results for all the 239 constituencies on the Mainland and Zanzibar, are announced.

Among the key constituencies CCM lost are in the Lake Zone. They include two seats in Mwanza City, where the minister for Home Affairs, Mr Lawrence Masha, was beaten in Nyamagana by Chadema’s political newcomer, Mr Ezekiel Wenje, and Ilemela, where a former Cabinet minister, Mr Anthony Diallo, also lost. Another Chadema newcomer, Mr Highness Simon, won the Ilemela seat.

Read full story.

Tuesday 2 November 2010

Tanzania Police Battle Protesters Over Delayed Poll Results

From NASDAQ/Wall Street Journal, New York, United States
By DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

Tanzanian anti-riot police battled protesters in major cities across the country late Monday, after results for the Oct. 31 presidential and parliamentary poll results were delayed, officials said Tuesday.

Speaking by phone from the gold mining region of Mwanza, a police officer told Dow Jones Newswires that anti-riot police fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse thousands of opposition protesters in the city of Mwanza.

"The police also dispersed similar protests in Dar Es Salaam and Arusha, the situation is still tense," he said.

Election observers said Tuesday that although the Oct. 31 polls were largely peaceful and orderly, tensions are mounting as people await the results of the hotly contested polls.

Read full story.

Chaos reign as NEC delays releasing results

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By The Citizen Team

Chaos reigned in Mwanza city and some other lake zone districts as impatient youths protested the delay in announcing election results by Electoral Commission officials.

Two vehicles, a Nissan Patrol and a saloon car said to belong to the Ilemela Deputy Returning Officer Paulo Masangu was burnt using a petro bomb and as many as 10 other cars had their windows smashed by stones as thousands of opposition supporters in Ilemela and Nyamagana constituencies demanded immediate release of results.

Anti riot police were forced to fire teargas canisters to disperse the crowds that however overwhelmed them, leading to nearly 40 minutes of cat and mouse chase along the streets. Police feared the rioters had hidden petro bombs around the building.

Read full story.
SEE RECENT UPDATE: The long, agonising wait for results (From The Citizen Daily)

Tanzanians protest at delay announcing election results

From BBC World News, London, UK

Opposition supporters have held protests in several parts of Tanzania at the slow pace of announcing the result of Sunday's general election.

Police fired tear gas in Mwanza, while there have also been protests in parts of Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar.

The head of the election commission told the BBC that the problems have occurred in a small number of areas and overall, the vote passed off smoothly.

Read full story.

Monday 1 November 2010

NMB opens business club in Mwanza

From Daily News, Dar es Salaam
By Daily News Reporter

THE National Microfinance Bank (NMB) has opened more business clubs in a bid to create a platform for its customers to share knowledge and skills.

The initiative dubbed NBM Business Club also intends to equip its micro, small and medium entrepreneurs with opportunities and linkages to improve their businesses.

Speaking at the launch of a new business club in Mwanza recently, the Bank’s Head of Small and Medium Enterprises, Mr Filbert Mponzi, said that the idea has helped majority of the customers.

“We are excited that the idea has proved to be of big importance to our customers”, he said.

Read full story.