Saturday 30 November 2013

Ward medical officers key to reducing child mortality rates

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

Mwanza. Maternal health stakeholders have been urged to effectively engage ward and district health officers as another approach to reduce death among expectant mothers and under five children by 75 per cent as stipulated by the 2015 millennium development goals (MDGs) .

In addition, involvement of ward health officers in strengthening maternal health will improve availability of services rendered to pregnant women and children.

This can influence citizens to contribute their resources to implementing different projects geared toward improving health services.

The resolution was reached during a one day meeting organised by a Mwanza-based NGO, Tandabui Health Access Tanzania, THAT/ AFYA Radio.

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Wednesday 27 November 2013

Experts: Include rainwater harvesting in irrigation plans

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Miguel Suleyman

Agriculture experts have stressed the need to include rainwater harvesting in various irrigation projects in Shinyanga and Mwanza regions.

With major irrigation projects being carried out across the Lake Zone regions, agriculture experts insist that tapping of rainwater, which is wasted in most areas of the zone, can help to offset the costs of irrigation, promote soil conservation and provide an alternative to watering restrictions during a severe drought and, in a small way, reduce flooding and clean streams.

An expert from Ukiriguru Agriculture Research Institute and a breeder of the newly developed cotton seed, UKMO8, Dr Evelyne Lukonge, insisted the improvement of rainwater harvesting technology in the irrigation set up, especially in areas that are far from Lake Victoria.

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Tuesday 26 November 2013

Surgery in a blackout: The doctor healing children's broken hearts

From CNN (Cable News Network), USA
By Teo Kermeliotis and Sara Sidner

The masked man had already cut her chest open when the lights went off, plunging the entire room into darkness.

This was not good. In fact, it was downright dangerous. A power outage is probably the last thing anyone would want to happen midway through surgery, let alone while performing the delicate task of closing a hole inside the heart of a six-year-old girl.

But Dr Godwin Godfrey and his team had come prepared.

"We knew that we always have power cuts in the hospital - they can happen at any time, even at night - so we had prepared a back-up manual handle that we could use to run the pump by hand," says Godfrey, who works at the Bugando Medical Center in Mwanza, north Tanzania.

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Saturday 23 November 2013

'Security firms not registering their staff in social security schemes'

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

Security firms in Tanzania are notoriously not registering their staff in any social security fund against the law and “…even the few which have registered them are not remitting the deducted contributions to the funds.” Parastatal Pensions Fund (PPF) Lake Zone Manager Meshack Bandawe has alleged.

Closing a training programme for KK security guards (a security firm) over the weekend in Mwanza, Bandawe also alleged that the security firms are underpaying the guards well below the minimum wage set by the government and in most cases do not pay on time.

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Filthy latrines behind 80 percent of waterborne plagues - report

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

More than 80 percent of waterborne diseases in Misungwi District are caused by the use of unhygienic toilets, District Commissioner, Mariam Lugaila (Photo) has said noting that 60 percent of the residents in Mwanza use temporary and unhygienic latrines.

The study findings released during the World’s Toilet Day on November 19 which also gave accord to the World Hand washing day on October 21, this year observed to put emphasis on the importance of hygiene and sanitation.

She said the district authority is determined to raise the percentage of hand washing after visiting toilets among its residents from 17 percent to 30 percent.

In that respect, she called on Misunwgi residents to build permanent and hygienic toilets that will keep them and their families away from epidemic diseases like cholera and dysentery.

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Thursday 21 November 2013

New details emerge in Dar passion killing

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By The Citizen

Dar es Salaam. A third victim of Tuesday’s passion shooting in Dar es Salaam died yesterday at the Muhimbili Orthopedic Institute (MOI) where he had been admitted to in serious condition.

The facility’s public relations officer, Mr Patrick Mvungi, confirmed that Kenyan national, Francis Shumila, 41, succumbed to bullet wounds at 6.40am. He was a pilot with the Precision Air.

Doctors lost an overnight battle to save the life of the man who was hit by three bullets, one on the head, another on the stomach and yet another on his arm. Shumila’s death follows that of Alfa Alfred, 34, and Gabriel Munisi, both of whom died at the scene of the dramatic shooting on Tuesday.

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Wednesday 20 November 2013

Man shoots dead his lover’s sister, turns gun on himself

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Henry Mwangonde

Dar es Salaam. A Mwanza businessman yesterday shot dead his lover’s sister and injured her mother before killing himself at Ilala, according to police. A driver caught in the drama was also injured.

Gabriel Munisi sprayed a vehicle with bullets in the 7am attack. There were four people in the vehicle, including his lover Christina Nandonewa, her mother Hellen Eliezer, sister Alpha Alfred and driver Francis Mishumila.

The five were leaving home for the airport, where Nandonewa was to board a plane for Cyprus, when Munisi approached and started firing at the car. Alfred died instantly, according to Ilala Regional Police Commander Marieta Minangi. Munisi then turned the trigger on himself.

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Tuesday 12 November 2013

Air transport brings new hope to Mwanza

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Miguel Suleyman

Mwanza. Improved flight service to and from Mwanza has relieved pains inflicted by the virtual collapse of century-old railway services, a situation stakeholders claim will be luring more investments in the tourism sector.

Since gaining city status some years back, Mwanza City has been striving to enhance tourism and make it the area’s fourth source of income after agriculture, fishing and livestock rearing. Amadeus East Africa, one of the major players in the tourism sector, claimed through its country manager, Mr Renatus Kyakalaba, that Mwanza was fast advancing as an investment hub with the readily available air transport spearheading its goal to become the busiest tourism hub in west of Tanzania .

Mr Kyakalaba was speaking to tourism stakeholders in Mwanza during an occasion to mark the 10th year of Amadeus in East Africa.

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Theft case against Canadian adjourned

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Diana Heriel

Mwanza. The trial of a Canadian woman, Randal Dunn, 33, charged with theft of Sh30 million was postponed again as the court awaits concrete evidence to prove her guilty.

Dunn, who was manager of Monarch Hotel, is indicted for stealing from her employer Sh30 million.

Government prosecutor Juma Sarige requested the court to once again postpone the trial, claiming that the evidence provided was too weak to support her conviction.

It is alleged in the case filed at the court by Oswald Masatu, the owner of Monarch Hotel, that the accused allegedly stole Sh30.5 million during her tenure as manger of Monarch Hotel.

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Sunday 10 November 2013

Stop using children in mining, Kikwete urges

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Salum Maige and Jackline Masinde

Geita. President Jakaya Kikwete yesterday officially launched the promotion of new Geita region. During the occasion he also strongly warned against child-labour reportedly fostered by the region’s gold mine sites.

Alarmed by absenteeism from school and child labour in the pockets of mine sites in the region, President Kikwete ordered Geita municipal council to implement by-laws that put to task parents found to have denied their children access to school by making them work in the mines and fishing points.

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Saturday 9 November 2013

Concert to help build centre in Africa

From Canstar Community News, Winnipeg, Canada
By Cindy Chan

A local non-profit wants to help opportunities grow in Tanzania through an upcoming concert at the West End Cultural Centre (WECC).

Growing Opportunities International (GO!) is hosting "Listen Local! Grow Global!" a benefit concert at the WECC (586 Ellice Ave.) on Nov. 30.

The concert will feature hypnotist Jesse Lewis, musician Elsa Kaka, and two documentaries by Furst. There will also be a silent auction and refreshments for purchase.

Founded in 2010, GO! is a non-profit and volunteer-run organization that partners with individuals in developing countries with visions and goals of making their communities a better place. For example, GO! has helped a volunteer nursery school teacher in Rwanda build a two-classroom schoolhouse.

"(The teacher) had been teaching 80 nursery school kids in her backyard for five years," GO! co-founder Amanda Furst (photo) said.

Now, that school has 70 students studying in it every day.

Furst said the benefit concert is one of many fundraisers to help build a community centre and home for street kids and orphans in Mwanza - northern Tanzania.

"We’re still in the construction process. We have a field cleared out, but we haven’t started fully on construction," Furst said.

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Friday 8 November 2013

Barlow murder trial postponed again

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Diana Heriel

Mwanza. The murder trial of former regional police commander Liberatus Barlow was postponed for the 29th time on Monday pending investigations into chemicals contained in bullets that killed him.

Before senior resident magistrate Angelo Rumisha, government prosecutor and attorney Castus Ndamugoba requested the court to postpone the case because the investigations had not yet been completed.

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Thursday 7 November 2013

TZ farmers set to reap big from superior cotton seeds in 2014

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By  Miguel Suleyman

 A new and superior certified cotton seed, UKMO08, which has been bred by Ukiriguru Agricultural Research Institute, will be used by farmers effectively from the coming planting season.

The new cotton seed replaces the aged UK 91, which officially expires this season.

The new seed was unveiled this week in Mwanza during a training programme to farmers and field officers from 31 cotton-growing districts in the western Tanzania Cotton Growing Zone (WCGZ) held here at Victoria Palace.

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Tuesday 5 November 2013

Farmers oppose seed price, contract farming

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Citizen Reporters

Kahama/Mwanza. The widely accepted contract farming system now faces stiff opposition in Shinyanga and Simiyu regions, where cotton farmers reportedly issued public statements opposing the system.

People who claim to be cotton farmers have publicly denounced both the system and the quality seeds produced by Quton Seed (T) Limited, which were highly recommended during a series of stakeholders meetings in the western cotton growing zone.

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Mwanza records success in curbing crime, say police

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Miguel Suleyman

Mwanza. Amid spiralling crime levels in big cities, the crime rate in Mwanza, the second largest city in the country, has gone down, despite many incidents of machete attacks in the region’s poor rural.

Mwanza acting regional police commander Joseph Konyo, said the crime rate this year has not surpassed figures of 2011 and 2012, as most reported incidents in the city’s two municipalities, Ilemela and Nyamagana, were minor incidents.

Speaking at the weekend during the official handing over of a police post constructed by the Parastatal Pension Fund (PPF), Mr Konyo said no incident of a serious organised crime has been recorded in Mwanza since the killing of the then regional police commander, Mr Liberatus Barrow in 2012, a situation he claimed to show the success of efforts to combat crime.

“Even though this scenario might, on the face of it be construed to mean crime has gone down, indeed crime in the first, second and third quarters of the year has decreased,” said Mr Konyo.

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Firm uses Sh9bn on water project

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Jackline Masinde

Geita. Geita Gold Mine (GGM) has completed its part in the implementation of a project to tap Lake Victoria water for supply to Geita Municipality.

The remaining part of the project was supposed to be implemented by the government after the firm had finished installing machinery and pipes that supply water from Lake Victoria, just five kilometres from Geita Municipality.

The company’s public relations officer, Mr Tenga Tenga, told The Citizen at the weekend, that GGM resorted to complete the project to sort out the long existing water problem in the newly promoted region.

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Friday 1 November 2013

Geita miner to spend Sh4 billion on girls secondary school

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

Geita. Construction of Nyankumbu Girls’ Secondary School in Geita will be completed early next year, it was revealed yesterday, bringing a ray of hope to thousands of girls who walk long distances in search of education.

The project is undertaken jointly by Geita Gold Mine (GGM) and the Geita District Council. The two signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in November 2007 under which they agreed that Geita District Council would provide land for development while GGM would construct the school and dormitories.

“Construction will be completed next March. We’ve spent about Sh4 billion so far,” GGM communications manager Tenga Tenga said in a statement. Under the MoU, the district council would also fully manage the 500 girls capacity school once built including providing teachers, stationery and equipment.

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