Saturday 28 September 2013

Bank employees charged with stealing over Sh600m

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By  Diana Heriel

Five employees of Stanbic Bank were yesterday charged with stealing over Sh600 million.

They pleaded not guilty before Mwanza Senior Resident Magistrate, Angelo Rumisha, and were released on bail until October 21 when their case will be heard.

The accused, who faced nine charges, were alleged to have stolen Sh601.5 million through fraudulent transactions on separate occasions between June 1 and August 16, last year.

Before the court were Ms Maria Caroll Rajabu, 27; Mr Omary Hatibu, 45; Mr Clement Stephen, 45; Ms Elizabeth Ezekiel Mboto, 39, and Ms Priscuss Fidelis Tarimo, 30.

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Mwanza unveils strategies to reduce Arusha’s dominion in Serengeti Park

 From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Melard Karoza

The authorities here have announced strategies that aim to increase the volume of tourists heading to Serengeti National Park via its airport, a move likely to threaten the domination of Arusha as the preferred route.

The strategies include a plan to enhance the western Tanzania route that includes Mahale, Gombe and Rubondo Island, which is mostly favoured by tourists with an interest in the historic MV Liemba.

Announcing the move, Mwanza regional commissioner Evarist Ndikilo, said during the official opening of a Tourism Week fair that the region, in collaboration with Tanzania Tourist Board (TTB), was committed to further promoting the sector and the vast natural attractions available in the entire Lake Zone.

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Thursday 26 September 2013

Mwanza backs stadium's artificial turf installment

From IPP Media/The Guardian, Dar es Salaam
By The Guardian reporter

Mwanza Regional Commissioner’s office has pledged to support the installation of artificial turf on the centrally-located oldest stadium of Nyamagana.

Regional Commissioner Evarist Ndikilo who was accompanied by the city’s mayor Stanslaus Mabula confirmed to the Tanzania Football Federation’s president Leodegar Tenga that the authorities will give boost by contributing a staggering $118,000 for the installation of the turf.

The total cost of the project which is highly funded by FIFA will now hit $ 618,000 as FIFA supports with injection of $500,000 through its Goal Project IV.

The RC and City Mayor who visited the TFF offices in Dar es Salaam yesterday, have jointly confirmed that they will be able to organize fund raising to attain the pledged sum by mid next month.
The two officials were also accompanied by the city’s director Hida Hassan.

The Goal Project IV has been channeled to Mwanza for the refurbishment of the Nyamagana Stadium that came close to extinction through estate developers in 2008.

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Wednesday 25 September 2013

Farmers begin ‘no investment no cotton’ drive

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Miguel Suleyman

Cotton stakeholders here have launched a ‘No Investment No Cotton’ policy in the region’s bid to streamline the contract farming system.

Officially announced in a stakeholders meeting held at Mwanza Hotel over the weekend, the policy gives the right of buying cotton only to ginning companies that provided inputs, insecticides and certified seeds to farmers prior to a planting season.

The Mwanza regional commissioner, Mr Evarist Ndikilo, who chaired the meeting told the stakeholders that companies which did not provide farmers with vital inputs would not be allowed to buy cotton next season.

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Arusha exhibitors likely to hijack Tourism Week show in Mwanza

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Miguel Suleyman

Despite the ministry of Tourism and Natural Resources’ pavilion occupying the biggest space at the Tourism Week Exhibition in Mwanza, exhibitors from Arusha are likely to dominate the show this time in the same manner they did during last year’s debut.

The second edition of the show started on a low note yesterday at Nyamagana Stadium as has always been the trend with the first day. Most exhibitors were still putting final touches to their stands. Some were still installing their pavilions while others were painting and bringing in their products for exhibition.

Most of the exhibitors said they recorded low businesses while others said they received few visitors at their stands.

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Sunday 22 September 2013

Police on the hunt for psycho who butchered Mwanza family

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Miguel Suleyman, The Citizen Bureau Chief

Three members of the same family have been killed at Ihila Village at Buhongwa Ward .

Police are yet to arrest the killer(s) and are investigating the matter, which occurred at around 4 am yesterday.

Family head Jones Elias Lulinga, 44, was stabbed to death while his wife and seven-month-old child Eliud are suspected to have been strangled.

The motive for the killings that has caused fear and panic in the area couldn’t be immediately established as the 12 year-old survivor Debora Elias was asleep when the deaths occurred.

Regional crime officer Joseph Konyo said it was too early to comment on the motive behind the killings as strategies to arrest the killers were on course.

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What's in a name: Mwanza, Mara at loggerheads over Serengeti

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Miguel Suleyman

A dispute over Mwanza’s intention to rename its airport Serengeti resurfaced ahead of the start of this year’s World Tourism Week which begins here today at Nyamagana Stadium.

Serengeti, Tanzania’s most popular national park and a world heritage site, sparked off the debate between Mwanza and Mara regions due the former’s intention to change its airport name to Serengeti.

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Saturday 21 September 2013

JK launches 60MW Nyakato power plant

From IPP Media/The Guardian, Dar es Salaam
By The Guardian reporter 

President Jakaya Kikwete has reaffirmed that for Tanzania to acquire meaningful development then the country must increase power generation, distribution and consumption, pointing out that electricity is not a luxury but rather a necessity.

The president made the remarks yesterday during the official launch of the Nyakato power plant that has the capacity of generating 60 megawatts of electricity and will be connected to the national grid.

President Kikwete, who is on a five-day tour of Mwanza region said the power plant will increase the reliability of power supply in the Lake Zone.

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Saanane Island officially declared 16th National Park

From IPP Media/The Guardian, Dar es Salaam
By Lusekelo Philemon 

The government has officially declared Lake Victoria’s Saanane Island, (photo) as the country’s 16th National Park.

The new Saanane Island National Park has an area of 2.18 square kilometres will now include the total areas of the former Saanane Island Game Reserve, Chankende Islands and parts of Lake Victoria water surrounding Saanane and Chankende islands.

According to TANAPA’s Public Relations Manager, Pascal Shelutete, the move follows Government’s Notice Number 227 issued recently.

"…the resolution to establish the park was passed by the National Assembly October last year," Shelutete said in a statement.

Historically, Saanane Island was managed as a zoo in 1964 and elevated to the status of a Game Reserve in 1991. In 2006, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism directed Tanzania National Parks to assume full responsibility of managing and overseeing the overall running of the game reserve and initiate the process of elevating it to the status of a National Park.

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Mwanza plans to upgrade airport road to four lanes

From IPP Media/The Guardian, Dar es Salaam
By Lusekelo Philemon 

To meet the demands of increasing traffic, authorities in Mwanza have laid out a plan to expand the existing roads as well as to construct new ones and generally modernising infrastructure across the rapidly growing city.

To start with, authorities plan to construct four-lanes from the international airport to the Central Business District and 10bn/- has been allocated for the purpose. Upon completion would greatly ease traffic in the country’s second largest city.

Noting that Mwanza is one of the fastest growing cities in sub-Sahara Africa, Mwanza Regional Commissioner, Eng Evarist Ndikilo (photo), acknowledged that it calls for planners to develop the best approaches to overcome inevitable urban challenges bound to grapple the lake city.

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Friday 20 September 2013

7 polluting gold mines hit with Sh450m fines

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

Mwanza. The National Environment Management Council (Nemc) has slapped fines totalling Sh450 million on seven gold mines for environmental pollution that threatens biodiversity and human health.
The fine, the first of its kind, came after a three-week investigation, according to the head of a National Environment Management Council task force, Dr Yohana Mtoni. He told reporters yesterday that six of the gold mines were foreign-owned.

The mines belong to the South Africa-based AngoGold Ashanti, London-based African Barrick Gold, Australia-based Resolute Limited and locally-owned El-Hillal Minerals Limited.

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Saturday 7 September 2013

It’s a tricky affair doing business on Lake Victoria

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Miguel Suleyman

Sex-for-fish deals are the only way to ensure women in the region can get a regular supply. But is this how things should go?


A drop in the supply of fish in Lake Victoria has resurrected the notorious fish-for-sex deals known locally as “jaboya”. A survey at landing sites in Mara, Geita and Mwanza indicates a sharp rise in the practice since March, when the fish shortage picked up pace.
Local groups have tried to put an end to the shady deals, but matters are complicated by the way the system works and the players involved.  “It is hard to curb the practice since it appears to be a survival mechanism for women” says Baraka Almas of a non-governmental organisation, Supreme.  “It is a complicated system.”