Gas route: Tanzania favours Mwanza

From East African Business Week, Nairobi, KENYA

CHANCES of extending the gas pipeline from Dar es Salaam Mombasa look very slim after realisation by the Tanzania government that it would be more beneficial to construct a pipeline to the Lake Zone area through the Central Corridor.

According to senior government officials who are privy to the process, the Government wants to have the pipeline through Dodoma, Singida and other regions to run up to Mwanza built before any plans to extend it to Mombasa are taken on board.

"Local experts have convinced the government that it would be more advantageous to have the gas pipeline built through the Central Corridor than one that runs from Dar es Salaam through Tanga to Mombasa," said one of the officials who attended last months Sectoral Council on Energy meeting.

The official further said that even though the study for Dar es Salaam-Tanga-Mombasa pipeline was done whereby it showed the project was viable "the study noted that Dar es Salaam, from where Mombasa was to be connected, was having gas constraints but they still recommended the project was economically justified."

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Mwanza TFP inferno exposes fire brigade constraints

From Daily News, Dar es Salaam

By SWAUM MUSTAPHER in Mwanza

FIRE erupted here on Saturday afternoon at Tanzania Fish Processors Limited (TFP) along Voil Street in Mwanza.

The Assistant Manager in the company’s production section, Mr Antony Nyingi, said that the fire broke out at around 2.30 pm and it was not yet known what caused it.

“The whole store caught fire and till now we do not know the value of the property destroyed and the source of this fire has not been established,” he said.

The fire started in the fishing gears’ store which keeps equipments like freezing boxes, taps, fish salt and buoys and fish nets.

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Cotton buyers see hopes for better pay vanish

From Daily News, Dar es Salaam

By MASATO MASATO

EXACTLY 30 days after the 2011/12 cotton buying season kicked off in the Western Cotton Growing Zone last month, the cash crop growers in Shinyanga, Mwanza, Mara and Kagera regions have pocketed 55bn/- out of at least 300bn/- that they initially envisaged to earn by the end of the season.

The crop buying season started on June 20, 2011, with cotton growers expecting to earn at least 300bn/- from the sale of over 250,000 tones of the cash crop at an average farm gate price of 1,100/- per kilogramme.

“The season is not good even though we have performed relatively better than last year in terms of the buying speed,” Tanzania Cotton Board (TCB) Director General Marco Mtunga told the 'Daily News' over a telephone interview from the lakeside city of Mwanza on Wednesday.

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Low supply affects fish processors

From Daily News, Dar es Salaam

By FINNIGAN WA SIMBEYE

IN the past five years, 15 of the 25 Lake Victoria fish processing factories have closed down, the remaining are operating under capacity as greed depletes Nile perch and Tilapia on the world’s second largest fresh water body.

“We can’t close down, it’s not true,” said Harko Bhaghat, Chairman of Lake Victoria Fish Processors’ Association. Mr Bhagat said although fish stocks have depleted to record lows, suspending commercial fishing is not an option for any stakeholder.

“Logistically it’s not possible because it will hurt processors, the government and the fisherman most,” Bhaghat argued as Minister for Livestock and Fisheries Dr David Mathayo prepares to present his ministry’s 2011/12 budget estimates in Dodoma this week.

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When riots brought Rock City to its knees

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam

By MLAGIRI KOPOKA

Riots are slowly becoming common way of life in Rock City, something that I guess has lingered on from last year’s polls.The ruins of CCM Isamilo building on Makongoro Road tells how there is a Benghazi in the making in Bongo.

But let me start from where I left, you remember I told about how that ride home came to an abrupt end. Well, only the careless driver got injured.

The poor fellow was hit on his face by the wind screen as the daladala crashed into the back of the truck.

I found my initial anger towards the driver evaporating when I saw his swollen face.

I actually found myself saying ‘ pole,’ to the guy something that irritated me on a second thought, it must have been a slip of the tongue.

But all the same everyone getting off the bus was saying,

“Pole dereva,”

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NEW visa fees for Kenya

Mwanza Guide 'online' information:

Visa fees for KENYA:

With effect from July 1st this year (2011) - are visa fees for Kenya exceeded by 100%.

Transit visas: US$ 20
Single entry visa fee (valid for three (3) months to Kenya - and also for re-entry from Tanzania, Burundi, Uganda and/or South Sudan) as long as the visa is valid: 50 US$.

Be aware that having expiration date in your visa in (date/month/year) in clear writing - otherwise, you will probably be cheated by customs officials in Nairobi when returning e.g. from Mwanza.

Personal experience few days ago - while re-entering Kenya from Tanzania (Mwanza).

Regulating street trading: A thorn in the flesh of public authorities

From Daily News, Dar es Salaam
By LUSUGA KIRONDE

LAST weekend witnessed one of the most serious riots in recent times, in the city of Mwanza, involving street traders. Millions worthy of property was destroyed. The incident was to some extent depicted as being politically motivated. On the other hand it attained racial tones, with most of the property that was destroyed belonging to the Indian community.

Given the political spectrum of Mwanza, it was easy for some key officials and politicians to blame this on political foment. Yet, our urban areas have a long history of resorting to forceful eviction of street traders only to realize that sometime after, the traders are back from where they were evicted. Regulating street trading has become a thorny issue.

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