Precision Air increases daily flights

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam

By Felix Lazaro

Precision Air has announced it would increase the number of flights it makes daily to Arusha starting today in a bid to meet increasing demand and gain from expanding activities that include linking the northern city to the rest of the East Africa.

According to Precision Air commercial director Patrick Ndekana, there will now be five daily flights to Arusha.

Besides the development, the Airline also announced that it would increase its travel capacity to Mwanza by introducing use of Boeing 737-300 on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays in a bid to meet increasing demand.

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Traders avoid using electronic fiscal devices: survey

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Mlagiri Kopoka

Despite the scorching sun taking its toll on Liberty, the Mwanza City Street is packed with pedestrians and vehicles ranging from light to heavy cargo trucks of different shapes.

Hundreds of traders and porters throng the stores on either sides of the street as if a swarm of bees had raided the city’s consumer goods trade hub.

One does not have to become an economist to perceive that the thriving business on the streets is minting millions of shillings in government revenue daily.

A quick survey around the shops, however, reveals a gross business irregularity. The shops do not use electronic tax register devices as required by the law.

And few of the shops furnished with the devices, the shopkeepers issue hand written receipts to customers in case they demand them.

Yet the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) reports that over 90 per cent of business entities countrywide were registered with the value added tax (VAT) using the electronic Fiscal Devices (EFDs) by December.

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Lake Victoria travel a most risky venture source

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Paul Mabuga

When Special Seats MP Maria Hewa recalled how she cheated death when MV Ulinzi she was travelling in from Mwanza to Ukerewe sank in Lake Victoria, she really meant it.

Hewa recently narrated the ordeal before the National Assembly in the ‘loathed’ Dodoma Capital.

Reading between the lines, her message, in a nutshell, was: sailing on Tanzania waters is not safe to the poor, in particular.

Members of the sunken vessel crew had to exhaust all their skills to prevent officials en route to the Island for burial of a CCM cadre from drowning.

The government vessel sank in the lake in May 2007 with Hewa and other senior politicians from the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi and government officials on board.

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