Sunday 21 December 2014

Mwanza notorious for fake goods: TFDA

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Aidan Mhando

MWANZA.Tanzania Food and Drugs Authority (TFDA) has declared Mwanza as the most affected region in counterfeit goods, illicit drugs and expired food smuggled through the porous border in Lake Victoria.

Impromptu operations carried out regularly in Mwanza, Mara and Geita regions found out that the second largest city in Tanzania revealed this status.

TFDA Lake Zone manager Moses Mbamba said recently that the porous border impedes the authority’s campaigns and operations to intercept counterfeit goods and illicit drugs.

Illicit products that have been impounded included: cosmetics, human and livestock drugs, toothpaste, wheat flour, maize flour, canned milk, whereby most of the items were smuggled from Uganda.

Read full story.

Monday 15 December 2014

117 girls take refuge in church to escape FGM

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Anthony Mayunga

SERENGETI. The Anglican Church here has provided shelter to 117 young girls who ran away from their homes to escape female genital mutilation (FGM).

The children, most of them aged between 10 and 15, took refuge at a safe house operated by the Mugumu Anglican Church.

FGM, according to local customs, transforms a young girl into woman, thus eligible to get married.

The coordinator of a programme that helps children who oppose genital mutilation in Serengeti District, Mr Rhobi Samwel, said there were 43 children at the centre while the rest were sheltered by pastors in various areas of the district.

“We have at this centre 43 children from Serengeti and Butiama districts, while a bigger number of them have taken refuge in houses of pastors and other religious personnel,” he said.

Read full story.

Sunday 14 December 2014

Govt to use armed forces to stop illegal fishing in Lake Victoria

From IPP Media/The Guardian, Dar es Salaam
By Prosper Makene 




The government is preparing to deploy soldiers from the Tanzania People's Defence Force (TPDF) on Lake Victoria in a move to combat illegal fishing activities, which have become rampant.

The wanton practice has led to reduction of number of fish in the lake, forcing some fish factories to close down.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with The Guardian on Monday, Livestock and Fisheries Development deputy minister Kaika Telele (photo) said the government has finally decided to involve all the armed forces’ departments - TPDF, Police Force, Prisons, and auxiliary police in combating the menace.

Telele said the decision comes after the government established that similar measures taken by Ethiopian and Ugandan governments proved successful.

“Uganda and Ethiopia have successfully curbed illegal fishing in their respective countries. This has led us to decide to borrow a page from the two in order to save our country,” he said.

Read full story.

Wednesday 10 December 2014

Tanzania's albino community: 'Killed like animals'

From BBC World News, London, UK

People with albinism face prejudice and death in Tanzania. A new campaign is now being launched to end hostility towards the tiny community of about 30,000. BBC Africa's Salim Kikeke met some of them.

Mtobi Namigambo, a fisherman by trade, sits calmly on a stool outside his mud house in Ukerewe island.

Once a sanctuary for albinos, this is no longer the case. His four-year-old son, May Mosi, who has albinism, sits on his lap. Showing off his newly learnt skills, May counts from one to 10, confidently.

Read full story.

Tuesday 2 December 2014

Ministers differ over airport

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Anthony Mayunga

Mugumu. The dispute over the proposed Serengeti International Airport took a new twist here after the minister for Livestock Development and Fisheries joined those supporting the construction.

Dr Titus Kamani, the minister for Livestock Development and Fisheries told residents in Mugumu, the Serengeti District capital, that those who campaigned against the construction of Serengeti Airport were plotting underdevelopment of the district.

“I don’t know what is in their heads, but they have the intention of not wanting Serengeti to achieve development, despite the reserve being home to the world’s most popular animal sanctuary,” said Dr Kamani.

Read full story.

Monday 1 December 2014

Mwanza business college campus to receive infrastructure funding

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

The government plans to solicit funds to improve infrastructures of the Mwanza campus of the College of Business Education.

Speaking over the weekend, deputy minister for Trade and Industries, Janet Mbene said the government will purchase state of the art teaching tools and construct workers’ houses at Kiseke on the outskirts of Mwanza.

Mbene who was gracing the 49th graduation for the college said the government would raise funds from various sources to put in place a modern library, workers offices, hostels and lecture halls on the 4.2 hectare land acquired by the campus.

Read full story.

Saturday 29 November 2014

Few register for local govt polls in Mwanza, Tarime

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Ngollo John and Dinna Maningo

MWANZA/TARIME.The registration of voters for the forthcoming local government elections scheduled for December 14 this year is poor.

This is attributed to rains and poor sensitisation of people on the importance of registering.

An observation by The Citizen on Saturday in various areas of Tarime Town and Mwanza City has shown that some people were neither aware of the voters’ registration nor local government elections.

“Many people know nothing about the registration which started last Sunday and ends tomorrow [today]. Therefore, the turnout is very poor. Either there was not enough sensitisation or people do just ignore the elections, something which is very bad. Some people said they got the information from neighbours,” Mr Mwita Marwa, the registrar at Songambele A registration station in Tarime township said yesterday.

Read full story.

Sunday 23 November 2014

Mwanza City Council to answer corruption charges in parliament

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

Officials of the Mwanza City Council have been ordered to appear before parliament to answer allegations of pervasive mismanagement of public funds in the 2010-2012 fiscal years that was discovered by the Local Authority Audit Committee (LAAC).

Speaking in an exclusive interview with The Guardian yesterday, Mwanza Resident Auditor, Hemed Chuma confirmed the development saying implicated officers in the embezzlement of billions of public funds have been summoned to appear before the Parliamentary committee in Dodoma.

"All council officers of Mwanza City whom the Controller Audit General's Office singled out to have mismanaged public funds that was to implement development projects in the 2010/11 and 2011/12 financial years have been ordered to go to Dodoma to answer the charges," said Chuma who is already in Dodoma.

According to the LAAC Chairman, Rajab Mbarouk Mohamed more that 40bn/- that was allocated for development projects in Mwanza was embezzled.
The committee which visited Mwanza last October reached that decision after the responsible officers led by the former Mwanza City District Executive Director Wilson Kabwe, failed to show up for the scheduled meeting.

Read full story.

Monday 10 November 2014

A night at the Speke Bay Lodge

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Elisha Mayallah

Speke Bay Lodge (Photo by: Hans Kristoffersen) 
We recently passed through the southeastern shore of Lake Victoria to explore all the alluring locations and facilities. There was just one spot on our list of places to go to that we had heard much about. This place was touted as a must go to place where many visitors in need of where to stay or break the journey, are said to visit. This is no other than the Speke Bay Lodge.

So we veered off the Musoma - Mwanza highway to find the Speke Bay Lodge, one of those better-known spots situated on Lake Victoria.

We didn’t have any expectations. What we’d seen in a write-up looked good, but as we’d learned in the week of travelling through the Lake Zone, someone else’s ideas and experiences are often vastly different from your own.

Sunset at Speke Bay (Photo by: Hans Kristoffersen)
Aside from wanting to visit the Speke Bay Lodge, I had stumbled upon some enticing photos of the lodge. Based on those pictures alone, I thought that there was no way we could miss such a destination, regardless of the fact that it was only one of two reasons we would drive off the highway.

Yet, just as we arrived, Mr Elirehema Maturo from the Tanzania Tourist Board (TTB) proclaimed that this may be his best place so far to bring his family during the end-of-the-year holidays. On hand to meet us was Mr Jan Scholing, the manager.

Read full story.

Saturday 8 November 2014

Lake Zone schools top Std Seven exam

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Saumu Mwalimu

Dar es Salaam. Eight private schools in the Lake Zone featured in the list of Top 10 performers in the 2014 national Standard Seven examination.

The results released yesterday saw private schools from Mara, Mwanza, Shinyanga and Kagera take up the first seven positions in the ranking. The other two schools that complete the top 10 were from Dar es Salaam and Kilimanjaro regions.

The results cast doubt on the future of public primary schools, which are overcrowded, understaffed and lack qualified teachers. But such schools remain the only choice for the poor, who cannot afford the expensive English-medium schools.

The results announced by the executive secretary of the National Examination Council of Tanzania (Necta), Dr Charles Msonde, reflect the usual pattern - with private schools holding on to their dominance over public schools.

Read full story.

World Bank, Denmark promise $56m for urban project

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Samuel Kamndaya

Dar es Salaam. The World Bank and Denmark have pledged to make available a total of $56 million (about Sh92.4 billion) in support of a project that seeks to improve infrastructure in urban areas in Tanzania.

Denmark will support Tanzania through the Danish International Development Agency (Danida).

The project, known as Tanzania Strategic Cities Project (TSCP), is carried out in eight urban centres of Tanga, Arusha, Mwanza, Ilemela, Kigoma, Dodoma, Mbeya and Mtwara.

However, in Dodoma, the project is implemented by the Dodoma Municipal Council and the Capital Development Authority.

The project was officially launched in September 2010 for implementation in five years. However, the project was successfully implemented in four years (2010 to 2014).

Read full story.

Thursday 30 October 2014

Mwanza ferries become Kenya’s tourists paradise

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Moses Odhiambo

Kisumu. A fleet of luxury speedboats that were rejected in Tanzania and dumped in Mwanza for seven years has become a tourist attraction in Kenya’s section of Lake Victoria, The Citizen can reveal today.

Lake Express II (Photo by Hans Kristoffersen)
The speedboat transport saga rocked the nation in 2004 when the government-through the then Minister for works-refused to allow the vessels to be transported by road to Mwanza. The owners had to chart an alternative route in neighbouring Kenya.

The speedboats finally arrived in Mwanza city in August 2005 - having journeyed by road all the way from Dar es Salaam to Mombasa and on to Kisumu. Once there, the speedboats were assembled and refurbished. Only then did they cruise to Mwanza city - ending months of political bickering among cabinet ministers in the Benjamin Mkapa administration.

Read full story.

Sunday 26 October 2014

LAKE ZONE: 320,000 males undergo ‘cut’ in 3 regions: doctor

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

Some 320,000 men voluntered for circumcision by last month in three Lake Zone regions in a campaign to prevent HIV spread.

The IntraHealth International managing director, Dr Lucy Mphuru, said the campaign was conducted in Shinyanga, Simiyu and Mara.

Dr Mphuru said they targeted the regions after realising that there was extremely low male circumcision rates.

She said male circumcision was important in preventing HIV prevalence apart from other sexually transmitted diseases.

According to Dr Mphuru, in the past many people did not support the campaign, but nowadays many of them were being circumcised.

She said the ministry of Health and Social Welfare was involved in the project, which was funded by the US President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief by the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.

Dr Mphuru said that the campaign had been witnessed by the Population Services International (PSI) ambassador who is also an American singer-songwriter, actress and fashion designer, Amanda Leigh “Mandy” Moore.

“The exercise has managed to reduce the prevalence of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases for males and females by 60 per cent. It is a continuing project and we hope to reach other six regions: Iringa, Tabora, Mbeya, Rukwa, Geita and Mwanza,” said Dr Mphuru.

Read full story.

Sunday 19 October 2014

Why we won’t fly four routes: ATCL

From The Citizen on Sunday, Dar es Salaam
By Veneranda Sumila

Dar es Salaam. Air Tanzania yesterday announced suspension of flights to four domestic destinations for six days as its aircraft goes for scheduled maintenance.

The airline is currently waiting for a leased CRJ-200 which is expected to jet into the country by next Tuesday to replace the bombardier aircraft which has been serving the domestic routes, according to a statement published yesterday.

The affected routes include Kigoma, Mwanza, Mtwara and Tabora.

Read full story.

Sumatra: MV Victoria safe for operation

From The Citizen on Sunday, Dar es Salaam
By Emmanuel Chacha

MV Victoria in Mwanza (Photo by Hans Kristoffersen)
MWANZA. MV Victoria that got technical faults while on its way from Bukoba to Mwanza last Friday night is safe to operate, the Surface and Marine Transport Regulatory Authority (Sumatra) has assured passengers.

The Lake Zone officer in charge for Sumatra, Mr Bahati Musiba, told The Citizen on Saturday that following the problem that caused the 54-year- old ship to delay its trip to Mwanza had thorough inspections done by Sumatra to make sure the ship was technically fit.

“On Friday [last week] night when the ship was leaving Bukoba Port the captain experienced some technical faults as its steering was not working and the radar was off. They made consultations with engineers and used emergency service that enabled them to arrive at Kemondo Bay.”

Read full story.

Thursday 16 October 2014

Nyerere defies Gaddafi’s 24-hour threat, captures Entebbe, Kampala

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

As the war continued with Tanzania troops heavily bombing Amin’s forces, Julius Kambarage Nyerere received an explicit threat from Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, which shocked him.

The 24-hour threat was delivered in Dar es Salaam by Libya’s ambassador to Tanzania.

In a note delivered to Nyerere by the Libyan ambassador to Tanzania, Gaddafi demanded that Tanzanian troops be out of Uganda within 24 hours. If this was not done, Gaddafi said, Libya would enter the war on the side of Uganda.

The authors say Nyerere was somewhat taken aback, since he knew that Libya had already entered the war at Lukaya. Nyerere responded by going public with Gaddafi’s threat.

In a nationwide radio broadcast Nyerere disclosed that Gaddafi had warned that the war might spread into Tanzania. “The war is about to take on new dimensions,” Nyerere said, but assured Tanzanians that neither Libyan threats nor actions could change Tanzania’s view of Idi Amin.

Four days later a Libyan TU-22 supersonic bomber took off from Nakasongola air base in Uganda on a mission to bomb the Tanzanian town of Mwanza.

Read full story.

Confirmed: No Ebola case, death in Tanzania

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Emmanuel Chacha

Mwanza. The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare has released the results of the samples sent to Nairobi to establish the cause of the controversial death of Bertha Boniphace (25) who was hospitalized at Geita District Hospital, Geita Region for what was highly rumoured in Geita town that she was suffering from Ebola fever.

The Medical Officer in-charge for Geita District Hospital Dr Adamu Sijaona, told The Citizen on Saturday yesterday that, the results from Nairobi showed that Bertha was not suffering from the Ebola virus, instead she was suffering from viral hemorrhagic fever (VHF).

Read full story.

Wednesday 15 October 2014

Revisit MV Victoria role following near disaster

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By The Citizen

MV Victoria (Photo by Hans Kristoffersen)
MV Victoria, the biggest steamer that operates in the lake whose name it shares, is no longer the once majestic maritime transporter.

For relatively elderly people who saw the now nearly 53-year-old steamer when they were children and young adults, the cruiser approximates scrapyard material.

It is good news that the technical problem that arose in the steamer last Saturday night was detected not long after it had left Bukoba for the journey to Mwanza, and it was diverted to the nearby Kemondo Bay.

Read full story.

Unregistered agencies to face ministry’s wrath

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By  Emmanuel Chacha

MWANZA. Ministry of Labour and Employment has vowed to take legal measures against recruitment agencies that have not complied with the ministry’s directive to officially register their companies.

The Labour and Employment minister, Ms Gaudencia Kabaka, said yesterday that all agencies were required to have been registered with the ministry as early as January of this year. However, she said that only 75 agencies had been registered to date while more than 90 agencies existed, noting that some were still operating illegally.

She made the remarks after meeting with management of SBC Company Ltd (Pepsi), Mwanza branch while deliberating on conflicts between casual labourers and Chasama Solutions Ltd, a recruitment agency, after the latter was accused of mistreating workers.

Read full story.

Tuesday 14 October 2014

Govt bans farming on city river banks

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Saddam Sadick

MWANZA.The government has ordered people engaging in agriculture and other productive activities along Mirongo River to immediately stop to rescue the environment from the current state of deterioration.

The order was issued by the State minister in the Vice President’s Office (Environment), Mr Binilith Mahenge, when he toured the area recently.

During the tour, the minister witnessed the poor state of the environment caused by economic activities, including farming, undertaken nearby the river.

Mr Mahenge said activities carried out by farmers in areas adjacent to the river were polluting the environment.

Read full story.

Sunday 12 October 2014

Panic stricken MV Victoria passengers fail to travel

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

Passengers aboard MV Victoria were panic stricken on Friday after the ship’s electricity system failed, resulting in the vessel to sail very slowly while travelling from Bukoba to Mwanza.

The journey that started at 21:00 hours from Bukoba to Kemondo Bay took an abnormally long time, of four hours instead of two hours.

Third class passengers started crowding for buoys located close to their sections but they were locked, creating fears of what may have transpired if the vessel had sunk. The life jackets in the vessel were reportedly locked and fewer than the number of passengers.

Editha Malima (31) en route to Arusha from Uganda told this newspaper that they knew nothing about the ship’s faulty condition.

“We remained in the ship until 8.00 am thinking we had reached Mwanza only to realize that we were still at Kemondo.

“They didn’t inform us that there were problems with the vessel. We’re just hearing its booming noise thinking we were travelling, while we were not,” she said.

Read full story.

Read also: 'Give MV Victoria new role'.

Plea for funds to tackle harmful fishing

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Jovither Kaijage

Insufficient funds and unreliable transport have been hampering a fight against illegal fishing in Lake Victoria, Mwanza Region, has said, the Fisheries Department in Ukerewe District,

The acting fisheries officer for Ukerewe District Council, Mr Alex Rutagonya, said they needed funds and transport for regular patrols to control illegal fishing in the lake.

“We are always talking about combating illegal fishing, but in reality it is hard to tackle this problem because of inadequate funds.

The council doesn’t earmark enough budgets for this programme and the central government also doesn’t subsidise the district council’s programme in fighting illegal fishing,”
he said.

Read full story.

Wednesday 8 October 2014

Major Mwanza dispensary faces acute water scarcity

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

Families forced to bring water for patients

A major dispensary in Mwanza Region is suffering a dire shortage of water so much that, families of patients admitted there are forced to provide their own water.

Dr. Sylivester Kajoro, who is in charge of the Igokelo dispensary in Misungwi District, admitted to this paper over the weekend that the shortage of water at the dispensary is jeopardising the health of patients there.

“We even ask relatives to bring in water to clean bed sheets for their patients,”
he conceded.

Dr. Kajoro revealed that the dispensary has been using unsafe water fetched from nearby ponds which places patients and staff at risk of contracting communicable diseases.

Read full story.


Monday 29 September 2014

6-month fishing bans plan to save Nile perch

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Lucas Liganga

Mwanza. After years of foot dragging, the three countries sharing Lake Victoria are all set to impose six-month annual fishing shut-downs in a bid to save the dwindling Nile perch and other fish species effective next month, The Citizen can reveal today.

However, it isn’t clear whether the long overdue suspensions would be fully observed by fishermen and fish processors in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.

Lake Victoria is shared between Tanzania (51 per cent), Uganda (43 per cent) and Kenya (6 per cent).

The planned six-month annual fishing bans would be implemented over a period of five consecutive years, from 2014 to 2018, according authoritative details gathered by The Citizen.

Read full story.

Tuesday 23 September 2014

SPECIAL REPORT: The making of an ecological catastrophe

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

Mwanza. For years, the success story of the Nile perch has been told in volumes and verses to the extent that this version of reality overshadows the impact of the fish on Lake Victoria.

But, for a predator fish that survives on Charles Darwin’s theory of survival of the fittest because of its feeding habits, the Nile perch has also created another disaster in the world’s second largest fresh water lake.

It is for this reason that some fisheries experts have always believed that there might have been a conspiracy to deliberately plant the Nile perch in Lake Victoria during British colonial rule in the 1950s with the aim of disrupting the lake’s ecological system.

For instance, in May 1997, Seafood International Magazine published an article titled ‘Nile perch: Marketing success or ecological disaster’ in which the author says, “Nile perch first appeared in Lake Victoria in the late 1950s, when it may have been introduced deliberately…The ecology of the Lake has been significantly affected by this action.”

Read full story.

Monday 22 September 2014

Precision Air to launch 2 local routes, shelve Comoros flights

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Veneranda Sumila

Dar es Salaam. Precision Air (PW) has announced to introduce two direct domestic flights and suspend one international route starting Wednesday this week.

The airline will launch direct flights between Dar es Salaam on one hand and Kigoma and Bukoba on the other and suspend its flights to Hahaya in Comoros the same day.

The company said at the weekend that the direct flights were in response to customers’ outcry.

Precision Air, which is listed on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange, has been serving the two local destinations via Mwanza.

Read full story.

SPECIAL REPORT: How Darwinian theory emerged in Lake Victoria as Nile perch disappears

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Lucas Liganga

Mwanza. It rose from the ashes to become the backbone of the Lake Zone economy, supporting 300,000 livelihoods directly and another 3 million indirectly, but the Nile perch is now on the brink of extinction, posing a serious threat to Lake Victoria, the world’s second largest fresh water lake.

The Nile perch, or Lates niloticus, as it is known scientifically, is a large freshwater fish introduced in Lake Victoria in 1954 by the British government to increase the fish population and can grow to a length of two metres and weigh 200 kilogrammes.

During the 1980s and early 1990s, before the introduction of fish processing plants in Lake Zone regions, Nile perch, or sangara as it is known among locals here, was virtually valueless and was favoured mainly by ordinary families, which could not afford more expensive fish like tilapia.

Read full story.

Sunday 21 September 2014

Crash kills retired educationist

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Christopher Maregesi

BUNDA. Retired Bunda District Education officer Laban Bituro, has died and four others seriously injured after two cars were involved in an accident at Suguti River on the Mwanza-Musoma highway in Bunda District, Mara Region yesterday morning.

Mara Regional Police Commander Philip Kalangi said the accident occurred after the driver of a Toyota Noah Zedekiah Otieno, refused to stop to allow traffic police to inspect the vehicle at a road block. In the process, he carelessly drove off in a bid to escape from the police.

Read full story.

Saturday 20 September 2014

South African Airways to increase flight routes, eyes Mwanza, Mbeya

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

South African Airways (SAA) has announced plans to increase flight routes and frequency to Tanzanian destinations that will among other things, boost tourism for the country.

Marking its 20 years of operations in Tanzania late last week, Regional General Manager for Africa and Middle East, Aaron Munetsi, announced plans to have flights from Johannesburg to new routes in the country like Mwanza and Mbeya, among others.

Speaking at the celebratory function held in Dar es Salaam where the airline awarded a wide range of stakeholders with certificates of achievement the Regional General Manager said the airline will continue to increase its activities in the country.

“Apart from enhancing tourism between the two nations, the airline has been and will continue to facilitate development of fisheries, agriculture and mining sectors,” he went on to say.

Read full story.

Sunday 14 September 2014

Confirmed: No Ebola case, death in Tanzania

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Emmanuel Chacha

Mwanza. The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare has released the results of the samples sent to Nairobi to establish the cause of the controversial death of Bertha Boniphace (25) who was hospitalized at Geita District Hospital, Geita Region for what was highly rumoured in Geita town that she was suffering from Ebola fever.

The Medical Officer in-charge for Geita District Hospital Dr Adamu Sijaona, told The Citizen on Saturday yesterday that, the results from Nairobi showed that Bertha was not suffering from the Ebola virus, instead she was suffering from viral hemorrhagic fever (VHF).

“The results show that it was not Ebola as it was previously suspected, although the disease she died from falls in the same group of Ebola, dengue and rift valley fever. It is a tropical disease. Technically, we call it arthropod borne virus spread by a mosquito called Aedes Aegyptyi,” he said.

Read full story.

Tuesday 9 September 2014

Scanners installed at 4 airports to keep Ebola out

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Lugenzi Kabale

The government through its Medical Stores Department (MSD) has imported five ultra-modern walk-through thermal scanners to facilitate the screening of new arrivals at major airports in a bid to keep the country safe from the deadly Ebola virus.

The Ebola thermal scanners have been installed in the country’s four international airports namely Julius Nyerere International Airport (JNIA) where there are two while Zanzibar, Mwanza and Kilimanjaro International airports have been allocated one each. Speaking to the press in Dar es Salaam yesterday, MSD acting Director General, Mr Cosmas Mwaifwani, said the imported machines would bolster the country’s capability to prevent introduction into Tanzania and the spread of the deadly Ebola that is currently ravaging several West African states.

Read full story.

Monday 8 September 2014

Firm urges farmers to grab loan opportunity

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Ngollo John

Equity for Tanzania Ltd (EFTA), a social business company, has called on farmers and traders in Mwanza Region to effectively utilise the machinery loan opportunities that the organisation is currently offering.

Presently, the company’s credit support focuses on supporting farmers and traders to purchase machinery for facilitating their entrepreneurial activities.

The company which was introduced in the country in 2005 has opened a new branch in Mwanza whose operations target farmers, livestock keepers and traders.

Speaking during inauguration of the company’s branch, the branch manager, Mr Peter Temu, said their operations were aimed at solving the problem of lack of capital for business development among the targeted groups.

Read full story.

Meeting with Freemasons, dodging their late dinner

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Richard Mgamba

Along Post Road in Mwanza stands one of the city’s oldest buildings. It hosts the Ladha Meghji Indian Public Library - a house once used in the 1950s by freedom fighters in East Africa to organise the struggle against colonialism.

During my days as the bureau chief for The Citizen and Mwananchi in the Lake Zone, I was a regular visitor to this building. I would chat with Mr Desai - a teacher- turned librarian, who taught in many secondary schools in Tanzania, including the famous Lake Secondary School, a private school that survived the nationalisation wave. Mr Desai and I have known each other since the 1990s, when I taught History and Economics at this school.

Through Mr Desai, I came to know a prominent businessman called Shah, who was also a frequent visitor to the library. He preferred to go there in the evenings. Mr Shah was a humble but wealthy businessman, by Mwanza standards, and was also a regular reader of The Citizen.

Read full story.

Saturday 6 September 2014

Multiple crash kills at least 35

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By  Beldina Nyakeke

Musoma. Thirty five people died and more than 50 were injured in an accident involving three
vehicles at Sabasaba in Butiama District.

The number of the dead could rise because some of the injured are in critical condition. The accident comes about two weeks after 11 people were killed and scores of others injured in Sikonge District, Tabora Region.

Those injured yesterday included two journalists. Ms Florence Focus, who writes for Mwananchi newspaper, suffered head and leg injuries, and Ms Pendo Mwakyembe of Raia Tanzania was hurt in the head and leg.

Witnesses told The Citizen on Saturday that the accident took place at around 10am along the Musoma-Tarime-Mwanza highway and involved two buses and a Land Cruiser. According to Sabasaba resident Magori Daniel, Mwanza Coach and J4 ply their trade between Sirari in Tarime District and Mwanza. The Land Cruiser, which was heading to Mwanza, plunged into a river nearby.

Read full story.

Tuesday 2 September 2014

TCAA probes plane crash in Serengeti National Park

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Katare Mbashiru

Dar es Salaam. The Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA) is investigating the crash of a Kenyan registered plane in Serengeti National Park on Sunday.

The wreckage of the Safari Express Limited Fokker F-27 was sighted yesterday morning about 25 kilometres from the Kenya-Tanzania border. All the three occupants who were on board were burnt beyond recognition, according to Kenyan media reports.

Yesterday, TCAA acting director general Charles Chacha said the wreckage of the aircraft was found within Serengeti National Park, but added that his team was yet to establish if the three people who were on board were killed in the crash.

He said the aircraft departed from Mwanza Airport on Sunday at 7.26pm and that it was expected to land at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) at 8.39pm.

Read full story.

Monday 1 September 2014

Marie Stopes opens new health facility

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

Marie Stopes Tanzania (MST), the country’s largest specialist provider of reproductive health services, has launched a new health facility at Nyegezi in Nyamagana District, Mwanza Region, which will expand health services including family planning, youth friendly services as well as cervical cancer screening and treatment.

According to MST country director Ulla Muller, the new centre has been registered at the level of dispensary and will be operating six days a week to deliver high quality healthcare services to Mwanza residents at affordable prices. Key services include testing and treatment of various diseases.

“Mother and child health clinics, cervical cancer screening and other services will be provided under the ministry of Health guidelines governing operations of dispensaries in Tanzania,” she explained.

Read full story.

 

Mouth-watering fish dish at Faulu Beach Resort

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By  Elisha Mayallah

It was a warm weekday afternoon when we arrived at the Faulu Beach Resort. The resort is located at the popular Luchelele beach front in Nyegezi in a plush, yet unpretentious environment, nearly 17 kms from Mwanza town.

Tucked behind St Augustine University (SAUT), Faulu Beach Resort is famous for its spectacular location, luxurious accommodation and a restaurant, serving authentic local cuisine. Guests can enjoy extraordinary fish as they dine on the spacious sprawling rocks overlooking Lake Victoria.

We were privileged to sample the popular extraordinary tilapia fish menu as suggested by one of our companions, who resides in Mwanza. And a perfect experience is what the restaurant offered.

Read full story.

Saturday 30 August 2014

Give MV Victoria new role

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By staff writer

Yesterday’s edition of The Citizen featured a photograph depicting a hectic scene at Mwanza port, as cargo was being off-loaded from MV Victoria. The thrust of its caption was the fear that the ship was too old and slow to function properly – a fear that, in our opinion, is wholly justified.

The 18th anniversary of MV Bukoba’s sinking, 30 nautical miles (53 kilometres) off Mwanza was marked on May 21, 2014. An estimated 1,000 people perished in Tanzania’s worst maritime disaster so far.

Experts and extra-observant lay persons remarked that it was an accident waiting to happen, citing shortcomings like overloading, inadequacy of life jackets, lack of periodic maintenance and regular inspection of equipment.

Read full story.

Wednesday 27 August 2014

Airport project stalls over funds

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By The Citizen Staff writer

The completion schedule of a project to rehabilitate Mwanza Airport has been interrupted due to government failure to deliver funds to the contractor in time.
                               
This is the second project in Mwanza Region to be disrupted due to financial problems after the construction of Usagara-Kisesa road stopped following a delay by the ministry of Works to compensate villagers who were supposed to be evacuated to pave the way for its expansion.

It was reported that apart from failing to compensate the villagers, the ministry was yet to pay the road contractor, Nyanza Road Works, some Sh4 billion for the completed part of the project.

Read full story.

Tuesday 26 August 2014

NGO to raise Sh1.2 billion for children`s welfare support

From IPP Media/The Guardian, Dar es Salaam
By David Kisanga

SOS Children’s Villages Tanzania in collaboration with Montage Tanzania aims to raise Sh1.2 billion to help support parental care and the wellbeing of children in the country.

SOS National Director, Anatoli Rugaimukamu told reporters end of this week in Dar es Salaam that the fundraising campaign to be carried out in the organisations four village centers of Mwanza, Arusha, Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar will also help to support children threatened of losing parental care.

He said the theme of the campaign “Care for me, your contribution can achieve a Solution” is set to reach as many children as possible who are in need of shelter, health and education. “Our mission is to build families for children in need, help them shape their own future and take part in the development of their communities, “he said.

Read full story.

Monday 25 August 2014

Striking traders reopen shop

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

Striking Mwanza traders who threatened to close shop indefinitely have resumed work two days after the strike started.
 
The Chairman of the Traders Union Christopher Wambura (photo) said over the weekend that they had decided to call off the strike after the city council authority agreed to work on their demands.
 
“However, we have given them three weeks to work on our demands short of that we will resume the strike and this time we would not listen to anybody,” he threatened.
 
Wambura said in their meeting with the city council it was resolved that waste levy that was 15,000/- would be reduced to 8,000/- and trucks would now be allowed to offload at night which was previously prohibited.
 
“Fee for toilet facilities is to be reduced to 200/- from 300/- per,” Wambura said.

Read full story.

Sunday 24 August 2014

Encroachers must be kept away: Pinda

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Aidan Mhando

Mwanza. The Prime Minister, Mr Mizengo Pinda, has tasked the Mwanza Regional Commissioner, Mr Evarist Ndikilo, to make sure that no one invades the area reserved for expansion of the airport.

Speaking when inspecting the expansion of the airport project, Mr Pinda said the government would not like to be subjected to a situation where it would be required to compensate people who had invaded the area.

The project to expand Mwanza airport is supervised by Engineering and Contraction (Unetec) from United Arab Emirates as consultant. The project started in 2012 and is expected to be completed at the end of this year at the cost of Sh105 billion. Out of the amount the government has dished out Sh85 billion.

Read full story.

Usagara-Kisesa road stalls over lack of funds for compensation

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Emmanuel Chacha

MWANZA. The construction of Usagara-Kisesa road has been suspended following the delay by the ministry of Works to compensate the villagers who are supposed to vacate their land for the project.

It is understood that apart from the compensation the ministry had also not paid the contractor, Nyanza Road Works, more than Sh3.8 billion for the completed construction work due to financial constraints.

Out of Sh922.8  million that the ministry was supposed to compensate the villagers only Sh133 million was paid while the contractor had only been paid Sh173 million out of Sh4 billion after completing the construction of 8 kilometres.

Read full story.

Saturday 23 August 2014

Traders in Mwanza still on strike, second day running

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

Shops remained closed for a second day running yesterday as traders continued with their protests
here against imposition and alleged harassment by city authorities.

Plea by the Tanzania Chamber of Commerce Industry and Agriculture (TCCIA), Mwanza chapter to open the shops as city authorities continued to work on their demands met a deaf ear as the traders stuck to their guns.
 
Early in the morning yesterday TCCIA officials using a public communication system went around the Central Business District’s streets appealing to traders to open their businesses but not a single shop was opened on the day.
 
City council officials and the traders’ representatives locked themselves up in the city hall to discuss the issue but until we went to press the standoff still remained as there was no solution in sight.
 

Thursday 21 August 2014

Deadlock paralyses Mwanza City, consumers stranded

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

Activities in the Central Business District of Mwanza came to a grinding halt yesterday barely a day after this paper published a story about intent by the city traders to close their shop indefinitely.
 
Mwanza is the biggest market among the Lake zone regions and also serves as a major trade hub for neighboring countries but the strike, protesting tax imposition and alleged harassment by city authorities has brought business there to an absolute standstill leaving consumers stranded.
 
The affected areas are Lumumba, Lwagasore, Pamba , Kenyatta roads, Makoroboi, Nyerere road, Liberty and the central market.
 
Commenting, a trader, one Mukeshi Vunja said they are tired of being harassed by city militia who vandalize their stores, intimidate the owners and illegally confiscate goods in the pretext of enforcing taxation laws and licensing orders.
 
Vunja said that sometimes the city militia confiscate even their customers’ goods and force them made to pay huge fines to recover them.
 
Read full story.

Read also: 'Mwanza traders close shop indefinitely protesting taxes' here

Sunday 17 August 2014

Mwanza landslide kills four, injures two following downpour

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Emmanuel Chacha

Mwanza. Four people died and two others were seriously injured in a landslide caused by downpour at Mabatini suburb on Friday night.

Speaking on the scene of the landslide, Nyerere A Street chairman Hassan Maulid said that during the rainfall a heavy rock fell from the nearby hill and knocked another rock which rolled down, crushing houses along its path.

He said people who were killed were in houses belonging to Mr Joseph William and Mr Lameck Samson.

He named those who lost their lives as Kelfine Masalu and Emmanuel Joseph, both members of Mr William’s family and Sai Ochieng and his wife Kwinta Ngwenko whose four-year-old child was slightly injured.

Read full story.

Friday 15 August 2014

How Chinese firms win lucrative deals

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

At the heart of Mwanza on the southern shores of Lake Victoria, two modern buildings, one along Kenyatta Road, and the other one located at the junction of Kenyatta and Post roads, grace the country second largest city.
They are both owned by the two of the country’s hugest pension funds, the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) and Parastatal Pensions Fund (PPF).

These two buildings, which cost roughly $40 million, have one thing in common: they were built by Chinese construction companies eight years ago.  But, the financing wasn’t a loan from China - it was money locally raised through monthly contributions from men and women who work in both private and public sectors.

Along the Makongoro Road, on the highway to Mwanza Airport, to the left, there’s an ongoing construction of a multimillion-dollar market. The financer is a pension fund, which raised its billions through monthly members’ contributions.

Read full story.

Friday 25 July 2014

Hospital ship promises ‘mobile’ healthcare for Lake Victoria islanders

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Emmanuel Chacha

Mwanza. The Christian Life World Mission Frontiers - Tanzania Chapter plans to unveil a hospital ship (photo) that would provide mobile medical services to people living in Lake Victoria islands.

The sectary for Tanzania Chapter, Mr Frederick Ntakabanyula, told The Citizen that the programme is new in Africa, adding that it will be launched on Saturday next week, but the services will officially commence early November, this year.

“This comes after a series of surveys revealed that islanders were encountering numerous diseases but couldn’t access proper medical services due lack of dispensaries and health centres in their areas as well as lack of reliable means of transport,” he said.

Read full story.

Thursday 24 July 2014

Cash boost for Mwanza traders

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

Mwanza. The Bank of Baroda has promised to issue concessional loans to small and medium entrepreneurs in Mwanza Region in order to improve their businesses.

The bank manager for Mwanza branch, Mr Asheri Warioba, however said the best way to assist the small and medium entrepreneurs was for them to form groups before seeking the loans.

He made the remarks during the inauguration of the bank’s new branch in Mwanza, which is the fourth in the country after Dar es Salaam where there are two and another one in Arusha.

Read full story.

Fastjet adds new Mwanza flights as demand surges

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Veneranda Sumila

Dar es Salaam. Fastjet is adding four return flights every week between Dar es Salaam and Mwanza to meet the growing passenger demand.

According to a statement, the extra flights will start on August 1 and will be operated on Sundays, Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays.

“Our customers can start purchasing tickets. They are on sale starting today,”
the statement quoted Fastjet chief commercial officer Richard Bodin as saying.

Fastjet will also operate an additional return flight on Sundays between Dar es Salaam and Lusaka.

“Tickets for this flight will also be available to purchase from today. We are thrilled to add these flights to our schedule.

Thursday 17 July 2014

Anglican Tanzania okays female bishops

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

Mwanza/Mbeya/Dodoma. Anglican bishops in Tanzania say the church’s decision to allow female bishops is a significant development in the quest for human equality.

The Synod of the Church of England, the seat of power for the Anglican Church, ended one of its longest and most divisive disputes on Monday with an overwhelming vote in favour of allowing women to become bishops.

The long-awaited change marks the completion of a process that started more than 20 years ago with the ordination of women as priests.

In separate interviews with The Citizen yesterday, Anglican bishops of Victoria Nyanza and Mara dioceses welcomed the move.

Read full story.

Thursday 3 July 2014

Precision Air to resume Kigoma flights

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By  Ludger Kasumuni

Dar es Salaam. Precision Air has announced its resumption of Kigoma flight.

It will also increase frequencies between Mwanza and Nairobi effective August 1.

It will be operating three flights a week from its Mwanza mini-hub to Kigoma and 14 flights a week between Mwanza and Nairobi.

The firm’s group CEO Sauda Rajab said in a statement yesterday that the airline would be flying to Kigoma on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays with passengers from Mwanza Airport.

Read full story.

Monday 30 June 2014

Ng’wanakilala to be buried in Dar tomorrow

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Emmanuel Chacha

Mwanza. Messages of condolence poured in yesterday for veteran journalist Nkwabi Ng’wanakilala who died in Mwanza on Friday night.

His body will be flown today to Dar es Salaam, family members said yesterday.

The deceased, who was a senior lecturer at St Augustine University (Saut) and former director general of Radio Tanzania Dar es Salaam (RTD), will be buried tomorrow at his Kibamba family home.

His son, Lugendo Ng’wanakilala, said in Mwanza that members of the Saut community would pay their last repects to the fallen journalist today morning at his residence at Malimbe. A number of people including lecturers and students, gathered at his home soon after news of his death spread in Mwanza.

Read full story.

Saturday 28 June 2014

'I love Mwanza' film launched in Mwanza

From IPP Media/The Guardian, Dar es Salaam
By Joseph Mchekadona 

The Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Bernard Membe (photo) launched a film entitled ‘I Mwanza in the lake Victoria sprawling city Mwanza yesterday.


During the launch the Minister said the government has put in place measures to mitigate challenges faced by artists and related entertainment industry in the country.

He urged artists to work closely with the government so that they can benefit from the sports diplomacy program, saying the program will link local artists with their foreign counterparts.
‘The government knows that there are many challenges which artists in the country are facing, let me assure you that we are committed to solve them and soon you will start enjoying benefits of your hard works’, he said.

Read full story.

Tuesday 24 June 2014

Lost student leader found unconscious

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Aidan Mhando

Mwanza. A student government president of the Catholic University of Health and Allied Sciences (Cuhas) at Bugando, Mr Musa Mdede, who went missing since June 17, has been found while unconscious at Usagara area.

Mr Mdede, who doubles as chairman of the Tanzania Higher Learning Institutions Students’ Organisation (Tahliso), allegedly disappeared as he finalised his application for candidacy in a bid to seek re-election. The student government election was scheduled for June, 29.

Read full story.

Cotton price up as buying season starts

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

Mwanza. Cotton price has increased from Sh700 per kilogramme last buying season to Sh750 as the new 2014/15 season starts.

Cotton stakeholders agreed on an indicative price for this season which commenced from June 18, 2014, to be pegged at Sh750 per kilogramme of the traditional product, saidMr Gabriel Mwalo, Acting Managing Director for Tanzania Cotton Board (TCB).

The stakeholders included cotton buyers through Tanzania Cotton Association (TCA), Tanzania Cotton Growers Association (TACOGA), Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives and the Tanzania Cotton Board, he said.

Read full story.

Wednesday 18 June 2014

Experts discover rare mouth disease

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Syriacus Buguzi

London. A rare disease affecting the eyes and the mouth has been diagnosed in a 31-year-old man in Mwanza but medical experts fear there could be more patients with this condition.

Known as Behçet’s Disease (BD), the condition has no specific cause but is believed to arise when small blood vessels underlying the soft skin of the mouth and eyes get a reaction that is associated with disorders in the body’s defence system.

Victims of BD suffer itching mouth ulcers which may gradually involve the tongue and lips. It also affects the private parts but it can be cured, according to medical reports.

Read full story.

Friday 13 June 2014

Police in bloody clash with hawkers

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Emmanuel Chacha

Mwanza. The city centre here yesterday was once again rocked by violence as small traders commonly known as machinga, fiercely protested authorities’ decision to demolish their stalls along Makoroboi Street.

Anti-riot police responded with teargas to calm down the situation. The violence erupted around 9pm and it lasted five hours, compelling business activities to stop as many shops were closed and people vacated the areas in fear.

The popular Nyerere Road in the central business district was temporarily closed and the whole Makoroboi Street was evacuated as police tried to disperse the machinga by firing teargas while the traders resisted with stone throwing.

Read full story.

Sunday 8 June 2014

Magu, where elderly women are labelled witches

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Esther Mngodo

In Mwanza Region’s Magu district, you cannot avoid being called a witch if you are a woman. When your husband dies, you are the one who killed him. And if his wife dies, then it is his mistress that killed her.

Blandina Lucas, 42, a traditional healer in Kahangala village says it scares her that she is a woman; it scares her that she is getting old; it scares her even more that her husband might die before she does. The thought of this terrifies her.

“I am afraid of what might happen to me when I get old, or if my husband dies before I do – God forbid. They will call me a witch of course. And then my life will be over. Even now, when my children go to draw water nearby, people call them names saying that ‘your mother is a witch’. It will worsen when I get older and that scares me,” she says.

Read full story.

Thursday 5 June 2014

400m/- set aside for war on illegal fishing

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

At least 400m/- has been set aside to fund the war against illegal fishing and almost 400 illegal nets along with other banned fishing gear were destroyed over the weekend in Lake Zone as the government beefs up efforts to curb illegal fishing in Lake Victoria.

The exercise took place at the Buhongwa dumping site on the outskirts of Mwanza following the confiscation of the gear from various fishing sites around Lake Victoria.

Minister for Livestock and Fisheries Development, Dr Titus Kamani, who witnessed the exercise, said the government will no longer condone illegal fishing that is severely harming marine life at the lake and warned that legal action would be taken against fisheries officers who protect uncertified fishermen.

Dr Kamani said the destroyed nets pose great threat to aquatic life and went on to call on investors in the industry to supplement government efforts in its endeavours to curb illegal fishing by among other things, buying fish from suppliers who use illegal methods.

He said the government would ensure that fishing on Lake Victoria and elsewhere is conducted in a sustainable manner that guarantees availability in all the country’s water bodies at all the time.

Sunday 1 June 2014

Meet Bahati, the 2014 lucky winner of Mama Shujaa wa Chakula Award

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Devotha John

It is widely believed in Africa that a person’s name determines their destiny. And this seems to be true for Bahati Muriga, 40, a resident of Ukerewe in Mwanza whose name Bahati, means good luck in Swahili.

The mother of three recently scooped the 2014 Female Food Hero Award (Mama Shujaa wa Chakula) and went home with Sh 30 million in total.

Bahati, who believes that every opportunity that comes in life gives one a chance to win, beat 19 other contestants in the highly contested Mama Shujaa wa Chakula reality competition TV show. She won the Sh 25 million prize offered by the organisers of the competition, Oxfam, definitely saying goodbye to poverty.

Read full story.

City life is about to get a major facelift

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Sturmius Mtweve

Dar es Salaam. The World Bank has approved a $50 million (Sh80 billion) credit line from the International Development Association (IDA) to support Tanzania’s efforts to improve the quality of life for urban residents.

This is expected to be achieved through better management of finances and improved infrastructure.

The project will benefit some 1.4 million Tanzanians, nearly half of them women. It will be implemented through the Tanzania Strategic Cities Project that focuses on eight urban centres--Mwanza, Arusha, Mbeya, Mtwara, Kigoma, Tanga, Dodoma and Ilemela.

Read full story.

Friday 23 May 2014

ACB to open new branch in Mwanza

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Alawi Masar

In a bid to reach more Tanzanians, Akiba Commercial Bank (ACB) plans to open a branch in Mwanza Region this year.

ACB head of marketing and communications Fredrick Archard, said the opening of Mwanza outlet will enable the bank to have a total of 17 branches countrywide.

“This is inline with the government’s call for inclusive finance. Akiba Commercial Bank wants to see more people in the country access financial services,”
he said in a statement yesterday.

He noted further that Mwanza is among the fastest growing regions in Tanzania pushed by investment attractions, hence the need for banking services by entrepreneurs. Tanzania has over 50 banks that are mostly concentrated in the commercial capital, Dar es Salaam, leaving majority of the citizens in rural areas unbanked.

Read full story.

Tuesday 13 May 2014

Marine commuters transport in pipeline

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Mariam Juma

Mwanza. Tanzania Electrical, Mechanical and Services Agency (Temesa) is planning to establish marine commuter transport services along the shores of Lake Victoria.

The project has been included in the agency’s 2014/2015 operating plan.

The plan was recently unveiled by the regional manager for the agency Mr Amon Senkoro, who said they were looking for a consultant engineer who could build the transportation infrastructure from Kirumba to Luchelele.

“The process of finding a consultant engineer is underway and we have asked city authorities to survey areas where landing sites could be constructed as suggested by Temesa,” said Mr Senkoro.

Read full story.

Sunday 11 May 2014

900 wardens to fight poaching

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Alex Bitekeye

The government will employ 935 game wardens in a fresh bid to curb poaching, Tourism and Natural Resources Minister Lazaro Nyalandu said yesterday. The wardens will be recruited in two phases--435 in May and 500 in July.

The minister was speaking on the sidelines of a two-day national conference on anti-poaching and conservation of elephants that has drawn local and international conservationists. “What I am seeing at last is that our dream of stopping poaching is now becoming a reality,” said the minister.

The government will buy two helicopters to support the anti-poaching drive and has already received one--a Robertson 44. According to Mr Nyalandu, the ministry has received $5 million (about Sh8.5 billion) from the Howard Buffet Foundation to buy the helicopters.

Some of the money will be spent on hostels for 300 students at Pasiansi Wildlife College in Mwanza and establishing a Cheetah Protection Project. Mr Nyalandu also spoke of the government’s plan to use drones to fight poaching in the vast Selous Game Reserve. “We think that the drones will help us more in curbing poaching, especially in the Selous,” said the minister. He declared zero tolerance on corruption and incompetent personnel.

Vice President Mohamed Ghalib Bilal said the future of wildlife in the country, particularly elephants, depends on effective security measures to ensure their survival in their natural habitat.

Read story in The Citizen