Development of the central corridor route to the sea

From The Independent, Kampala, Uganda


Uganda depends for over 90% of its seaborne (import/export) traffic transport on the Northern Corridor that is through the Port of Mombasa. Less than 1% of her seaborne traffic volumes are through the Port of Dar es Salaam. This over dependency on the Northern Corridor makes the Country’s trade vulnerable to the socio-economic environment in Kenya, the route monopoly and the transport logistic limitations. The Government policy is therefore to strengthen the use of Central Corridor as a second route to the sea and mitigate such undesirable effects to the economy.

The Central Corridor Route comprises: The Rail/Marine/Rail: Kampala - Port Bell/Mwanza - Dar es Salaam Route 1229 km. Rail/Marine/Road: Kampala -Port Bell - Mwanza/Dar es Salaam route 1503 km.
All Road Kampala: Mutukula - Bukoba - Isaka - Dodoma - Dar es Salaam 2012 km. New Rail/Marine/rail - Kampala - Port Bell - Musoma - Arusha - Tanga.
New Road/Rail/Marine/Rail or Road Kampala - New Park - Mwanza - Dar es Salaam 1235 km to be developed.

The most feasible alternative route to Dar es Salaam is therefore via Lake Victoria to Mwanza connecting by rail or road to Dar es Salaam.

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Wirral woman's life-saving mission to Tanzania

From Wirral Globe, Birkenhead, UK

THE FORMER deputy headteacher of Wirral Girls' Grammar School is on a mercy mission in Tanzania.

Jenny Schwarz (picture) joined an international group of 24 Rotarians is helping to renovate a hospital on a remote island in Lake Victoria.

"I never imagined that I would experience such a magical moment, witnessing the birth of a baby to a complete stranger".

"I would treasure the memory and keep the image of her contented face alongside that of her baby in my mind for ever," says Jenny Schwarz, former deputy head, of Wirral Girls’ Grammar School.

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Rotarians send aid to Tanzania

From Craven Herald, Craven, UK

Settle Rotarian Sandy Tod is part of a team of 24 Rotarians and non-Rotarians, including doctors, engineers and education specialists, who have travelled at their own expense to the island of Ukerewe in Tanzania.

Group members - including two Rotarians from Sweden - are refurbishing the island’s hospital and installing surplus medical equipment from the UK worth a quarter of a million pounds.

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Papers now teaching aids

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Jane Kajoki, Mwanza

Netherlands Development Organisation, SNV, has trained 36 primary school teachers from Mkolani, Buhongwa and Sangabuye wards in Mwanza City in using newspapers as a teaching aid.

SNV communication official, Ayeta Anne Wangusa, said the objective of the training was to inculcate the reading culture in pupils for them to become conversant and inquisitive about local and foreign affairs.

Empirical evidence has indicated that the use of newspapers for teaching pupils boosted the pupils intellectually as well as their reading culture, confidence and vocabulary, she said.

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Bringing albino-killers to justice

From Maclean's Magazine, Toronto, Canada
By Katie Engelhart

In the past two years, 53 albinos have been killed in Tanzania. No one has been brought to justice for committing these murders. Until now.

Last Wednesday, a Tanzanian court sentenced three men to death for killing a 14-year-old albino boy, Matatizo Dunia from Shinyanga, in brutal fashion - they kidnapped him, then cut his body into pieces. An equally barbaric case is also garnering national attention: Mariam Emmanuel, a five-year-old girl, was butchered by a group of machete-wielding men in Mwanza.

The culprits divided the girl’s body up among themselves and drank her blood while her siblings watched. Murdered albinos are usually sold at high prices to witch doctors, who grind up the body parts and brew them into potions that they believe carry magic powers.

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Fund dishes out Sh6bn in Aids support

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

The Rapid Funding Envelope (RFE) has announced the release of Sh6.3 billion to fund HIV/Aids activities by civil society organizations in Tanzania. The 30 grant awards will be implemented in collaboration with the Tanzania Commission for AIDS (Tacaids) and the Zanzibar AIDS Commission.

According to a statement issued by the RFE office, the 30 grants awarded will target activities for combating the spread of the HIV epidemic in the population.

It said the grants will support activities focusing on prevention, advocacy and IEC, care and support, impact mitigation as well as institutional strengthening.

The grants were selected through a competitive process responding to a call for proposals issued in the media from May 11-13 this year.

Regions that will benefit from the grants have been named as: Morogoro, Zanzibar, Mara, Mbeya, Kilimanjaro, Dar es Salaam, Tabora, Tanga, Dodoma, Iringa, Pwani, Kagera, Kigoma, Mtwara, Rukwa, Manyara and Mwanza.

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Kikwete: No rift in CCM

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

President Jakaya Kikwete has played down reports of wide rifts within the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi which he heads as its national chairman.

Addressing Mara CCM regional leaders in Musoma on Monday evening, President Kikwete said what was happening in the party was wrangling pitting two camps made by different Members of Parliament.

In the event held at regional commissioner's residence, President Kikwete said, however, that he was not happy with the MP's camps.

"There is no rift in CCM. Let me ask you, are you divided in Mara? Is there a rift in Mwanza? Or are there divisions in Tanga? Or have you heard that there are divisions in Singida? What is seen as division is portrayed by newspapers only and within Parliament," said President Kikwete.

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