Friday 31 December 2010

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Happy New Year from Mwanza Guide 'online'

We are looking forward to update you in 2011.

Joseph Laurent, director
Hans Kristoffersen, editor
Jane Larsen, webmaster

Police gun down two after fire exchange

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

Police in Mwanza Region on Wednesday afternoon killed two suspected armed robbers, while one escaped after a three-and-a-half hour exchange of fire between the groups at Kanyama Village in Kisesa Ward, Magu District.

Speaking to journalists at his office yesterday morning, the region’s police commander, Mr Simon Sirro, said they suspected that the robbers are from a neighbouring country and well trained soldiers.

Sirro, who led the fire exchange, said the robbers had at 1.30pm conducted a highway robbery on a saloon car driven by Mr Elias Swai where they managed to get away with Sh4.2 million.

“Few minutes later, they invaded another car driven by Davis Ashok but found nothing to steal,” he said.

According to Sirro, the Police was informed of the incident by wananchi and immediately went to the scene. The robbers were seen hanging around a small shop in the village from around 10am.

He said when the police arrived the robbers ran away and hid at a bush near Kanyama Primary School where the fire exchange started.

Read full story.

MV Kalangala finally reaches Mwanza for inspection

From Daily Monitor, Kampala, Uganda
By Martin Ssebuyira

MV Kalangala ship that has been grounded for four months has been taken to Mwanza for the annual inspection and renewal of its licence.

Ministry of Works and Transport public relations officer, Mr Susan Kataike, said they are done with the repairs of the engines and had taken the vessel for the mandatory intermediate docking survey in Mwanza, Tanzania.

“I can’t say the vessel has been inspected by now or not because there are many vessels that go for the same inspection but what I am sure of is that, the vessel will resume operations before the end of January,” Ms Kataike said in an interview. “We urge our people to be patient because the inspection is for their own safety.”

Read full story.

Wednesday 29 December 2010

Address educational hurdles

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam

Keeping a 16,000-strong force of newly graduated secondary school teachers idle while thousands of schools around the country face a critical shortage of teaching staff would puzzle every right-minded person.

But the question that comes up immediately is why should resources be wasted to train teachers and abandon them at the time they are anxious to put their skills to work?

All primary and secondary schools in the country are literally understaffed and, at the end of every academic year, hordes of students pass out while they are still illiterate.

Mwanza Region has illustrated the pathetic situation of its schools with statistics that could tell the same story in other regions about the deficit of both teachers and classrooms.

Read full story.

Food prices go up despite ample supplies

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

Despite an abundant supply of food in markets this month, food prices here have continued to rise.

According to the region’s agricultural engineer, Mr Alphonce Chotta, food prices rose from about 60 to 70 per cent from July this year.

Presenting a report on the food status at the Mwanza Regional Consultative Committee (RCC) over the weekend, Mr Chotta said in July this year, a kilogramme of rice was sold at between Sh500 and Sh700. But this month the same quantity was sold at between Sh800 and Sh900.

“The challenge the region faces is the tendency by farmers to sell all their farm produce without regard to their household needs, while those with food shortages do not cultivate crops that mature early to fill the gap,” he said.

He said this has to a large extent contributed to the rise of food prices in the region.

Read full story

Friday 24 December 2010

Tanzania on alert after Nairobi blast

From CapitalFM, Nairobi, Kenya

Tanzanian police urged vigilance during the festive season after a Tanzanian citizen detonated a grenade on a bus in Nairobi, killing himself and two other people.

"We have to be very careful and avoid crowds. People should exercise utmost care, since terrorists tend to target huge crowds," Robert Manumba, director of criminal investigations, told reporters late Wednesday.

Kenyan police identified the man who set off his Russian-made grenade while boarding a Uganda-bound bus in central Nairobi Monday as Albert John Olando Mulanda, a native of the northern Tanzanian city of Mwanza.

Read full story.

Monday 20 December 2010

Saanane Changes Status First National Park in the City

From AllAfrica/Arusha Times, Arusha

After playing in the shadows of the vast Serengeti as an added destination for tourists on the former's program the Saanane Island of Mwanza is about to play its own fiddle.

The rocky island located on Lake Victoria is on the verge of becoming a full fledged National Park and according to the Arusha-based Tanzania National Parks Authority, the new status will take effect anytime in 2011.

Saanane which is being upgraded from its previous status as forest reserve and wildlife aclimatization zone, will increase the number of National Parks from the current 15 to 16 next year. It will be the second National Park to stride Lake Victoria, Africa's largest water body after Rubondo Island.

Read full story.

Monday 13 December 2010

Furniture dealer eyes production

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Al-amani Mutarubukwa

The Living Room, one of the largest home and office furniture dealers in the country, is set to start a workshop that will manufacture office furniture locally, a senior official of the company has said.

Mr Nishit Kanibar, the executive director of the Living Room, said the company was prepared to expand its furniture production and distribution, to target private and government offices. “We have seen the potential…Beginning next year, we shall be able to produce high quality office furniture locally, which will be suitable for government offices,” he said. Recently, the government announced that all of the furniture in its offices should be bought from the local market, to stimulate the local furniture industry while avoiding importation costs.

Mr Nishat was speaking yesterday at the launch of the new luxury Italian furniture brand, Softalia, which will now be available at the Living Room stores in Dar es Salaam, Mwanza and Arusha.

“Sofitalia brand, which is known in the world for its perfect synthesis of innovation, design and style through affordable prices, will now be available in the Tanzanian furniture market,” said Mr Vincenzo Tito, the Sofitalia Sales manager for the Middle and Far East.

Read full story.

Thursday 9 December 2010

Forum advises EAC on attraction of investment

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

The East African partner states have been urged to devise mechanisms with clear incentives for attracting investors in the energy sector in Lake Victoria basin.

This has been listed as one of the resolutions reached at the end of the three day first lake Victoria Basin Investment Forum yesterday in Mwanza.

The forum which brought together 500 participants from the East African partner states said this is in cognisant with the fact that the EAC partner states in general and Lake Victoria Basin in particular has a major energy deficiency yet energy is key in driving socio economic development.

Reading the resolution on behalf of the delegates, Dr Doreen Okero, an HIV/Aids specialist said the EAC governments together with the private sector should make agriculture a viable enterprise by infusing the use of science and technology.

Read full story.

Tuesday 7 December 2010

Lake Victoria Investment Forum Kicks Off in Mwanza

From East African, Nairobi, KENYA
By Gashegu Muramira

The first ever Lake Victoria Basin Investment Forum begun yesterday in Mwanza, Tanzania with delegates emphasising the need to fight poverty in the region through investing in the Lake.

The four-day forum being held under the theme; "Realizing Economic Benefits in the EAC Common Market through the Lake Victoria Basin," was opened by the Chairperson of the EAC Council of Ministers, Hafsa Mossi.

It has brought together over 300 investors and potential investors from within and outside the region.

The Secretary General of the East African Community (EAC) Juma Mwapachu said that if the region is to overcome the increasing unemployment challenge, there is need for social entrepreneurs, arguing that the Lake is a public good.

Read full story.

Kategaya challenges donors to invest in EA

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

Mwanza. The Ugandan Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister in charge of East African Affairs, Eriya Kategaya, has criticised the European Union and United States for demanding African democratisation for investment.

Speaking during the first Lake Victoria Basin Investment forum yesterday, Mr Kategaya said same countries which demand African countries to be democratic are fighting for investment space in China.

“Among the countries known to be undemocratic is China but they go there regardless,” he said.

Mr Kategaya told delegates from the five East African States that the European Union has set aside Euro 168 million for training and financing election observers throughout the continent while they know well that African villages have no electricity.

“What will these election observers be able to observe at the time when areas and places they should be observing are dark?” he quipped.

He said the Lake Victoria basin is among the richest in resources and investors should first consider opportunities available in investment which will eventually help in economic growth and poverty alleviation.

Read full story.

Monday 6 December 2010

RUBONDO - The Jewel of Lake Victoria

Mwanza Guide 'online' update
By Hans Kristoffersen, editor

Rubondo Island, in the southwest of Lake Victoria, is Tanzania's tenth National Park. The island provides an unforgettable experience for visitors, combining the breathtaking natural beauty of a forest refuge with the relaxing tranquillity of sandy lake-shore beaches.

Mwanza Guide 'online' is now providing a low-cost 3 days/2 night's safari to the National Park - as an alternative to Serengeti NP.

Enquiries and further information: safari#6@mwanza-guide.com

Visit Rubondo Island online.

Visit Rubondo Island in pictures on Facebook.

Jetlink gets licence to fly globally


 From Daily Nation, Nairobi, Kenya

A local airline has been given the go-ahead to start international flights.

Jetlink Express received a three-year licence from the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority to operate scheduled flights for both passengers and freight.

Consequently, the company is mapping out new routes in the region in a strategy that will put it in competition with national carrier Kenya Airways.

Apart from the four routes, including Mwanza and Hargeisa, that it has already launched, the airline is engaging governments in talks to get landing rights.

“We are driven by a vision to become one of Africa’s best regional Airlines by delivering customer satisfaction to our growing client base,” Jetlink managing director Captain Elly Aluvale said.

Read full story.

Thursday 2 December 2010

Build roads to promote tourism - players

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

Mwanza. Investors in the hospitality industry are happy with President Jakaya Kikwete’s creation of the ministry of Works.

They say since the ministry will be involved in developing roads and airports, more investors will be attracted in the Lake Zone.

One of them, Mr Manoj Mehta, told The Citizen during the first anniversary of Malaika Beach Resort (photo), the only five-star hotel in the Lake Zone, that lack of a reliable airport had been an obstacle to the growth of tourism.

Mr Mehta, who is the resort’s managing director, said the tapping of enormous economic potential of Mwanza would require the improvement of infrastructure.

“There is no easiest way of exposing the enormous tourism and hotel industry this region can now offer if the airport isn’t developed,” he said.

Built on the shores of Lake Victoria at a cost of Sh4 billion, Malaika Beach Resort is wholly owned by locals. It has 100 employees - 97 per cent of them Tanzanians.

Read full story.
Photo by Hans Kristoffersen (Copyright 2010)