TZ losing its wildlife to cash-rich Asia, Far East as demand buoys local poaching

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

Mwanza. The presence of lucrative markets for game has been pointed to foster poaching that endangers wild animals.

Speaking during an official opening of a workshop organised by Tanzania National Park Authority (Tanapa) and attended by stakeholders from natural reserve conservation areas at Gold Crest, Mwanza Regional commissioner, Evarist Ndikilo, called for intervention from the international community to stop those markets and save wildlife and natural attractions from extermination.

Various countries in southern Asia and Far East have been alleged to provide good markets for game products, the leading of them being elephant tusks, rhino trophies, skin products and other forest products.

Photo by: Hans Kristoffersen (COPYRIGHT). Location: Rubondo Island National Park

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462 fake nurses flee Bugando Hospital, Mwanza

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By The Citizen's Reporters

The Pharmacy Board of Tanzania has caught 462 nurses working in the Lake Zone’s major health facilities with fake certificates.

The board’s crackdown aimed at nabbing people who illegally run medical and pharmacy businesses, also impounded 76 fake certificates, according to the board’s public announcement to the press yesterday.

The exercise’s coordinator from the board, Richard Selumbe, told The Citizen that during the exercise they carried out inspections on 1,206 assistant nurses serving at Bugando Hospital, the Lake Zone’s biggest referral centre, where they found only 743 nurses with genuine certificates. The remaining 386 who were suspected to have fake certificates fled their work stations fearing the board’s test.

“We are holding 76 fake certificates owned by those who were inspected, but we couldn’t get 386 others since their owners fled. The total number of owners of the fake certificates reached 462,” noted Serumbe.

He said most of the fake certificates show the nurses studied at the African Inland Church’s medical school, whose location Serumbe said was still undisclosed.

“Its location is said to be in Mwanza, but conflicting reports say it is in Magu while others claim the college is in Shinyanga,” noted Serumbe.

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Mwanza embarks on campaign against gender-based violence

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam

Forty six policewomen from Ilemela and Nyamagana districts in Mwanza Region yesterday attended a daylong training in techniques for fighting against gender-based violence (GBV).

Conducted by experts from GG Trust, the training provided free self-defence training in response to increasing GBV incidents in the Lake Zone regions.

GG Trust president, Ms Stella Mathias, who led the experts, said that the policewomen would impart the learned defence skills and techniques to women in other parts of the region.

“After in-depth research, it was established that most women in poor rural areas are vulnerable to rape and other forms of gender-based violence. This training aims to give them best techniques against the molesters,” she said.

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