Thursday 30 January 2014

Lake regions’ cross-border trade dips to Sh3bn in 2013

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam 
By Miguel Suleyman

Mwanza. Lake Zone regions recorded a slump in revenues collected from cross-border trade, from Sh3.840 billion, as the balance of trade in 2012 dropped to Sh3.319.5 billion by the end of December, 2013.

Economists noted that the slight downslide was mostly attributable to a decrease in the export volume of minerals to foreign markets, according to the zonal economic performance report released by Bank of Tanzania (BoT) economist Musa Mziya. Lake Zone regions, especially Shinyanga, Geita and Mara, boast a number of mining projects for gold, diamond and nickel.

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THINKING CRITICALLY: Criminalising Kiswahili in aviation

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Dr Azaveli Lwaitama

A sad incident was witnessed at Mwanza airport last Sunday, and left one wondering about the extent to which the struggle for self-determination and full human dignity for peoples of African ancestry is still unfinished business. In essence, the incident seems to be an illustration of the extent to which advocacy for the use of Kiswahili as an international aviation language may, absurdly, lead to one being treated as a criminal.

An airhostess with a local airline threw off the plane a passenger whose “crime” was to politely ask why instructions to passengers sitting next to emergency doors could not be given in Kiswahili. In this incident, the airhostess did actually have her egoistic wish realised and the passenger, who incidentally has been a teacher of English for the better part of his adult life, was unceremoniously bundled off the plane minutes before takeoff.

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Tuesday 28 January 2014

Truckers end strike on Nzega-Tabora road

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Bernard Lugongo

Reassurance by the Police Force that there will be adequate security and intervention by Tanzania Truck Owners Association (Tatoa) has finally brought normalcy to Nzega-Tabora road on which traffic had been brought to a halt by boycotting lorry drivers.

At least 1,000 vehicles and over 3,000 passengers were stranded since Sunday on the key Mwanza-Dar es Salaam trunk road at Ngonho Village in Nzega District, Tabora Region as enraged drivers pulled over and put ignition keys in their pockets to compel authorities to flush out thugs who repeatedly carjack and rob motorists in the area. The boycott was staged from Sunday after gangsters attacked three trucks and seriously injured the drivers, robbing them of their money and other possessions. The protesting drivers were angered by the regular attacks in the area. In the latest attack, thugs attacked drivers by severing their ears and piercing their eyes with sharp objects.

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Mwanza water authority tops in revenue collection

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Miguel Suleyman

Mwanza. The Mwanza Urban Water and Sewerage Authority (Mwauwasa) has emerged tops in revenue collection among water supply firms in the country.

Mwauwasa’s 2013 collections stood at 106 per cent of its target against the national average of 89 per cent, according to a report issued by the Energy and Water Utilities Regulatory Authority.

Mwanza beat its closest challenger, Shinyanga, which collected 103 per cent of its target followed by the water authority in newly established Njombe Region with 101 per cent.

The worst performance was recorded in Songea where collections were only 70 per cent of the target.

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Saturday 25 January 2014

Govt acts as losses mount after devastating floods

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

Dar es Salaam/Morogoro/Dodoma/Mwanza. The government swung into action yesterday, delivering relief food to 3,000 displaced families and deploying machinery to repair the damaged sections of Dumila bridge that cut off transport on the Morogoro-Dodoma highway.

Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda and Minister for Works John Magufuli, accompanied by other top officials of the regional administration, visited the washed-out section of the highway as restoration efforts got underway.

Traders, including those operating in neighbouring landlocked countries, counted their mounting losses as the road remained impassable for the second day running. Hundreds of passengers were stranded in Dodoma and Morogoro as some buses suspended operations. Those still on the road raised the fare by more than 100 per cent because they had to get to their destination via longer routes.

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Sunday 19 January 2014

Cleric jailed for years over forgery

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Diana Heriel

Mwanza. A resident magistrate court here has sentenced Unguja East resident, Shariffu Mohamed, to three years in prison for forgery and illegal possession of properties.

Mohamed, 61, the Imam at Masjid Noor Madrasat in the city, was found guilty of forging an inheritance document that declared him heir to the late Mariam Masanja’s properties, instead of the deceased widower Faraj Ahmed.

Before resident magistrate Soniva Mwajombe, the government prosecutor Juma Sarige claimed that the accused forged the letter claiming that he was the heir of the late Mariam Masanja’s properties and took a house number 014/200 and two vehicles, all under management by Faraj Ahmed.

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Friday 17 January 2014

Money made from scavenging at city dumpsite

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Lugongo Juma & Kagoma Alex of Saut

Mwanza. To some people, it could be mere trash yet to others it is a lucrative business. At Mkolani Ward’s Buhongwa dumpsite in Nyamagana District, you are likely to see a number of people scavenging for garbage.

One of them is a 15-year-old girl who has been collecting used plastic bottles and plastic bags for three years now. “The business pays,” she says. She earns Sh150 from every kilogramme of plastic bottles she sells.

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Wednesday 15 January 2014

Father arrested over brutal killing of six year-old girl

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Jackline Masinde

Geita. Police here are holding a resident of Kabumba Village, Cornel Elias, 30, for allegedly caning his six-year-old daughter Josephine to death after he caught her playing in a paddy field.

The brutal killing of the child came even as Tanzania Media Women’s Association (TAMWA) and civic organisations are trying to use media to campaign against escalating cases of gender-based violence.

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Tuesday 14 January 2014

Dar, Toronto in Sh21bn health project

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Miguel Suleyman

The governments of Tanzania and Canada have injected a total of $13.1 million (about Sh21 billion) in a maternal, newborn and child health programme that benefits over 700,000 people in five districts in Mwanza and Rukwa regions.

Jointly implemented by Plan International, US-based health organisation -- Jhpiego -- and Africare, the programme known as ‘Uzazi na Mwana’, has so far reached 300,000 mothers, 80,000 men and 325,000 children in Ilemela and Sengerema districts in Mwanza Region; Nkasi in Sumbawanga Rural and Kalambo in Rukwa Region.

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Wednesday 8 January 2014

Owners of 157 plots likely to lose the land

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Frederick Katulanda

Owners of some 157 plots are likely to lose their land if plans by Mwanza City Council to confiscate the plots will be effected.

Reports say the owners have failed to complete their payment for the plots.

According to the city council’s report, the plot owners owe the council Sh368 million being the value of the 157 plots issued in 2012 and 2013.

They were supposed to have completed the outstanding amount by December 2013.

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Wednesday 1 January 2014

Mwanza shopkeepers protest against EFDs

From IPP Media, Dar es Salaam
By The Guardian Reporter

Business came to a standstill here yesterday as traders closed their shops to protest against the use of electronic fiscal devices (EFDs).

The shops and markets in the central business district and on the outskirts of the rock city remained closed for the whole day.

The businessmen told The Guardian that they cannot afford to buy the devices and that they were being harassed by authorities.

Speaking to reporters the leader of the businessmen Christopher Wambura said they have decided to close their shops after efforts to meet the authorities over their concerns proved failure.

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