Tuesday 16 April 2013

SAUT don sees no point in special probe on F4 exam fiasco

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Anthon Mayunga

The Saint Augustine University of Tanzania (Saut) Vice Chancellor, Dr Charles Kitime, has challenged the government on the formation of the team to probe reasons behind mass failures in the last year Form Four examinations.

Dr Kitime said the formation of the team that will spend taxpayers’ money was meaningless because the cause of the problem was well known.

Speaking to journalists who attended a special training on business reporting in Mwanza, Dr Kitime said the decision shows how the government was not focused on improving the education sector in the country.

“I am surprised to see the Prime Minister forming a special team to probe the reason behind the mass failures in the 2012 Form Four examinations. I think it is well known that we have an acute shortage of teachers, poor learning environments and lack of books just to mention a few,” said Dr Kitime.

Read full story.

Thursday 11 April 2013

Firm opens new route to Mwanza

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

Passengers and traders in the Lake Zone region are set to benefit from direct bus transport services connecting Mwanza and the neighbouring Burundi’s capital city Bujumbura.

Burundi’s transport giant, Otraco, has recently opened a Mwanza-Bujumbura bus service route in its efforts to establish closer business ties between Tanzania and Burundi traders.

Otraco, which stands for Office Transport en Commun, becomes the first Burundian firm to offer the services, as it has been vice-versa for years.

One of the bus operators, Mr Phillip Pascal, told The Citizen they travel twice a week to and from Bujumbura.

However, he urges Burundian traders to explore the opportunity as the business between the two cities is almost a one-way-traffic as Burundian traders imports more from Mwanza while exports hardly nothing to the Lake Zone region.

Read full story.

Thursday 4 April 2013

Bus, train fares to increase by up to 40 per cent from next week

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Ludger Kasumuni

Daladala, bus and train fares will increase by up to over 40 per cent next week.

Commuters using daladalas will from April 12 pay between Sh400 and Sh700 per trip, up from Sh300 and Sh650 respectively, depending on the distance travelled, the Surface and Marine Transport Regulatory Authority (Sumatra) said yesterday.

Schoolchildren will pay a flat rate of Sh200 instead of Sh150.

Fares for long-distance buses will rise by 20.3 per cent, 16.9 per cent and 13.2 per cent for standard, semi-luxury and luxury buses, respectively, according to Sumatra acting director general Ahmad Kilima.

Third-class train fares will go up by 44.1 per cent while second and first-class tickets will cost 25 per cent more.

Mr Kilima said bus travellers will pay Sh58 per kilometre instead of Sh51.64 for luxury buses, while those using semi-luxury and standard buses will pay Sh53 and Sh46.11, respectively, instead of Sh45.53.

For example, the luxury bus fare between Dar es Salaam and Arusha will be Sh36,000 instead of Sh32,000, while travellers using semi-luxury buses between Dar es Salaam and Mwanza will pay Sh61,400, up from Sh53,000.

Read full story.