TRA bid to recover Sh9bn diamond tax flops

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Bernard James, The Citizen Reporter

Evidence of how Tanzania has not fully benefited from its vast mineral wealth continues to emerge, the latest being the government’s failed bid to recover Sh9 billion in an unpaid taxes dispute arising from the sale of diamonds in the United Kingdom.

The Tax Revenue Appeals Board (Trab) recently ruled in favour of Williamson Diamond Limited, nullifying a Sh9 billion tax liability the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) had imposed on the company over allegedly unremitted tax.

This comes just a year after the government closed down its London-based diamond sorting firm, Tansort, over its failure to generate revenue.

However, the TRA, determined to recover the money, has appealed against the decision at the Tax Revenue Appeals Tribunal (Trat), the hearing of which is scheduled to start tomorrow in Mwanza City.

The matter dates back to 2008, when TRA’s tax investigation department in Mwanza moved to audit Williamson Diamond Limited for the period from 1999 to 2006.

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Soft-drinks maker runs campaign

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

The Nyanza Bottling Company Limited (NBCL) in Mwanza yesterday conducted a campaign to ensure sellers of its Coca Cola products throughout the company’s territory observed the set prices for returnable 350ml glass bottles.

Sales and marketing head Bhubhinder Singh said the company’s sales executives were visiting shops, roadside vending stations, bars, and other selling points to emphasise the need for all sellers to abide by the authorised price of Sh500 for every 350ml glass bottle.

“After realising that some businesspeople are charging consumers more than Sh500 per bottle, we have decided to embark on this awareness campaign to get consumers and the general public to understand our official price,” he said.

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ATCL sued for USD 5.7m

From IPPMedia/The Guardian, Dar es Salaam
By Dominic Nkolimwa

Air Tanzania Company Limited (ATCL) is being sued in American and South African courts for failing to pay USD 5.7million after breaching contracts.

Transport Minister, Omari Nundu told The Guardian in an exclusive interview yesterday that Celtic Capital Air Corporation of the US for failing to pay the debts amounting to USD 1.5milion after alleged breach of contract for lease of planes in March last year.

He said South African Airways is suing ATCL for failing to pay USD 4.2 million.

Nundu said Celtic Corporation had leased two Boeing 737-200 planes to ATCL.

“ATCL leased two planes from the Corporation, but as time went by it stopped using one of them,” he said adding: "The contract for the second air craft lapsed in March 2010 following the plane crash at Mwanza airport.

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New Mwanza, Dar es Salaam air route launched

From Daily News, Dar es Salaam
By EVANCE NG'INGO

AN airline company known as Fly 540 launched direct flights between Dar es Salaam and Mwanza on Friday.

The company will operate eleven flights a week and has capacity to carry 28 passengers.

The General Manager for Fly 540, Brown Francis, told reporters at Mwanza Airport that their route to Mwanza aimed at enabling ordinary people from Mwanza and Bukoba to have the access of flying to Dar es Salaam by plane.

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It`s a blame game over cement as arrests continue

From IPPMedia/The Guardian on Sunday, Dar es Salaam
By Staff writer

The Weights and Measures Agency (WMA) arrested 21 traders for stocking underweight cement last year.

According to the WMA, the arrests were made in six regions of the country where the routine inspections were conducted.

The arrests were made even as the cement manufacturers, transporters, traders, the Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS) and other cement industry stakeholders continue to kick dust on the real cause behind the existence and sale of bags of underweight cement in the country.

The law requires that cement be packaged in bags weighing 50kg each, but the WMA has revealed that it has found and confisticated bags weighing as low as 39 kg in Mara Region and as low as 42 kg in Arusha town.

The WMA also collected over Sh4.7m in fines from the cement stockists who were nabbed in Arusha town, Ilemela and Nyamagana areas of Mwanza, Mbeya region, Morogoro region, Nyakato and Nyasho areas of Mara region and in Tegeta and Kawe areas of Kinondoni municipality in Dar es Salaam.

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Cashier vanishes as water authority loses Sh370 million

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Frederick Katulanda

A cashier for the Mwanza Urban Water and Sewerage Authority (Mwauwasa) has disappeared amid investigations on a loss of over Sh370 million.

Information reaching this paper said the disappearance of the cashier, Mr Moses Ndaki, came soon after the board had resolved that he hands over the office to another cashier. The information was confirmed by the authority’s board chairman, Dr Charles Kitima, and the Mwanza acting regional police commander, Mr Nonosius Komba.

According to Dr Kitima, the board had decided to make changes which required Mr Ndaki to hand over money as well as paid water bills to a new cashier. This arose out of its dissatisfaction with the authority’s collection of water bills payments.

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Faculty set up to boost textile industry

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

In order to develop textile industry in Tanzania, the government has set up the faculty of textile engineering at the University of Dar Es Salaam (UDSM), which will begin enrolling students in September this year.

Speaking to The Citizen on the cotton and textile development programme in Mwanza yesterday, Mr Ibrahim Seushi of the Tanzania Gatsby Foundation, the main financiers of the programme, said the faculty has been established to ensure that value is added to the cotton produced in the country.

He said the foundation has fully sponsored eight members of the UDSM College of Engineering and Technology (Coet) to attend training on Masters and Doctorate degree levels at Manchester University in United Kingdom, in order for them to spearhead the establishment of the faculty.

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Introducing Mwanza City Tours

From Mwanza Guide 'online', Mwanza and Grenaa (Denmark)
By Hans Kristoffersen, editor

We are proud to introduce a new event/activity in town:

MWANZA City TOURS

The first one (out of six) - the ’history tour' will take you through the periods of Germans, British, Indians and early Tanzania. Discover Mwanza from unknown or forgotten angles.

Visit 'Mwanza City Tours'

BREAKING NEWS: Govt issues alert on yellow fever outbreak

From IPPMedia/The Guardian, Dar es Salaam
By Gadiosa Lamtey

Health and Social Welfare ministry has warned people living in areas bordering Uganda to take precautions on a possibility of yellow fever outbreak, following reports of eruption of the disease in the neighbouring country’s border districts.

Ministry’s permanent secretary Blandina Nyoni told a news conference yesterday in Dar es Salaam that the alert covers Kagera, Mara and Mwanza regions and those travelling to and from Uganda.

Already, more than 48 people out of 187 infected have lost their lives in northern Uganda after contracting the disease.

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Home Business International Business Growing economies increase opportunties for airlines in EA airlines’ market

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Wangui Maina, The Citizen Correspondent

East Africa’s growing economies have led to increased activity in the aviation sector in the region with airlines positioning themselves to tap into the growth.

The regional market has been the preserve of a few airlines which have kept air fares high, but the scene has changed in the past five years giving travellers more options.

Rwandair, Fly 540, Air Uganda, Jetlink and Kenya Airways have boosted their presence in the region by moving to new routes.

They aim to tap into the growing travel in the regional cities of Entebbe, Juba, Kigali, Mwanza, Zanzibar and Dar es Salaam setting the stage for a battle for control of the regional market that for a long time remained in the hands of Kenya Airways.

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