Students demand unconditional loans

Tanzania Higher Learning Institutions Students’ Organization (TAHLISO) has confirmed receipt of loans for 53,000 students for 2015/16 academic year, but 17,000 applicants awaiting documentation formalities are yet to receive a cent about three months into the first semester.

TAHLISO President, Stanslaus Peter called upon the students who missed loans due to failure to submit the required academic documents to the Higher Education Students' Loans Board (HESLB) to immediately do so as the Board was ready to issue the funds.

“We met with the Board this week and we were assured the government has issued part of the funds,” he said, pledging that TAHLISO would make sure that all the qualified students had an access to loans.

Commending the Board for adhering to Treasury directives, Peter said it  has already set a schedule to hear the cases surrounding few students who were denied loans.

He urged the board to ease condition and clearly define criteria under which students are entitled to loans, amid the prevailing confusion over relevant merits.

He said plans were underway for the organization to meet with relevant government bodies to press, among others, for unconditional access to loans to students of higher learning institutions irrespective of  their educational, financial  and family background, courses they pursue or pass grades.

Vice President Juma Omary said they would wage nationwide campaign to court new universities into pressing for the new liberal terms of accessing the loans.

But the controversial loan board got a new boss, Moses Katabaro last week who pledged to do away with strikes in universities, saying the best way for settlement of scores was through negotiations.

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Two Dar hospitals to undertake reconstructive surgery

Two Dar es Salaam-based hospitals, the Aga Khan and Muhimbili National Hospital, have partnered with the Women for Women Programme of the International Society for Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery to offer free reconstructive surgery in the country.

The two-year project will see an initial 35 women and children with deformities resulting from violence, burns and accidents undergo surgery within five days, after which the camp would be shifted to other regions.

Aga Khan Hospital Regional Chief Executive Officer Dr. Sulaiman Shahabuddin told the media in Dar es Salaam yesterday that the surgeries which would have cost each patient Sh3million, depending on the severity of the deformities, would be done at no cost.

He said the preference of using open fires or kerosene for cooking, heating or lighting represented a health crisis in developing countries, and particularly for poor populations in Africa.

A plastic surgery specialist from Muhimbili National Hospital, Dr. Edwin Mrema, told the media that reconstructive surgery aimed to restore physical functions and appearance of the patients, and it would also improve their confidence and quality of life.

He said deformities affected many societies in the country, especially low-income earners unable to meet treatment costs.

“A single surgery which takes not less than 3 hours may cost Sh3m. The surgical initiative will go on for two years,” he said.

He explained that the programme would last for two years, during which free plastic surgery would be offered after every six months.

Three doctors and 6 nurses from MNH would join other doctors at Aga Khan Hospital to provide the service.

A representative from Women for Women Programme of the International Society for Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery said the goal of the collaboration was to share and enhance surgical expertise and address the medical need for plastic and reconstructive surgery patients across the country.

According to the World Health Organization, in developing countries, more women die of complications from burn injuries than they do of HIV/Aids, tuberculosis and malaria combined.

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WB predicts economic boom for Sub-Saharan Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa awaits economic boom this year, given the World Bank’s (WB) prediction of 4.2 per cent growth from 3.4 per cent last year due to stabilization of commodity prices in the region against the world’s flagging trade, capital flows and episodes of financial volatility.

The trend is contrary to other regions in the developing countries where more than 40 per cent of the world’s poor live, that registered a remarkable slowed growth last year, says  WB Group President Jim Yong Kim in the recently released Bank’s 2016 report on Global Economic Prospects.

"Developing countries should focus on building resilience to weaker economic environment and shielding the most vulnerable. The benefits from reforms to governance and business conditions are potentially large and could help offset the effects of slow growth in larger economies," says Kim.

But “compared to six months ago, risks have increased, particularly those associated with the possibility of a disorderly slowdown in a major emerging economy," says the Group’s Vice President and Chief Economist Kaushik Basu in the report, noting that a combination of better fiscal and central bank policies could help mitigating the risks and supporting the growth.

However, he attributes poor performance last year to various factors including falling commodity prices, flagging trade and capital flows, and episodes of financial volatility especially among emerging economies.

But the report also asserts that the sustainable growth ahead will depend on the current momentum in high income countries, the stabilization of commodity prices, and China's gradual transition towards a more consumption and service-based growth model.

Developing economies are projected at 4.8 percent growth in 2016, less than earlier expectations but up from a post-crisis low of 4.3 per cent last year, says the report.

Growth is projected to slow further in China, while Russia and Brazil are expected to remain in recession in 2016. The South Asia region, led by India, is projected to be a bright spot. The recently negotiated Trans-Pacific Partnership could provide a welcome boost to trade.

However, a faster-than-expected slowdown in large emerging economies could have global repercussions, says the report.

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TBS seeks govt approval to hire staff

TBS Director General, Joseph Masikitiko

 The government has been asked to allow the Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS) to recruit more staff that would enable the organisation to better implement its duties.

Chairman of Kisarawe Cassava processors, Filbert Mlay, made the appeal yesterday in Dar es Salaam when briefing reporters on development of the food processing plant in the region.

He said the government must make sure that the standard body has enough staff to implement its duties including removing of substandard goods which have flooded the Tanzanian market.

“I believe the standard body has few staff, that is why it fails to implement some of its activities, I urge the government to authorise the organisation to employ as many staff as it need,” he urged.

Citing, he said in Kenya and Uganda their standard bureaus have over 1000 and 500 staff respectively, despite being smaller in geographical size but at the moment, TBS has recruited only 422 staff.

Seconding the appeal, TBS Director General, Joseph Masikitiko, said up to November last year the organisation had only 222 staff.

He said during the financial year 2014/15 the government issued a permit which enabled the organisation to employ 200 staff.

“Up to January this year, our organisation had a total of 422 permanent staff,” he said.

However, Masikitiko admitted that the government has issued a permit to recruit 136 staff in different categories whereas by June 2016, the total number of permanent employee would stand at 558, however, he said at the moment, the total demand of staff stands at 750.

For many years, the bureau has been operating in difficult conditions, facing acute shortages of human resources to be able to roll out its mission and vision throughout the country.

With less than 400 staff, the bureau has been repeatedly appealing for the government to allow employment of more staff to cater for the growing business operations that demand a powerful watchdog to oversee. 

However experts urge workers of standards body not to compromise on the quality of products since it is an important aspect in the lives of humans and the environment. Financial experts urge TBS to make sure that manufacturers observe the stipulated laws in order to avoid the negative economic effects of

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Zanzibar out to boost health services

 The government in Zanzibar has assured the public that it will continue improving the health sector by recruiting more experienced and qualified health specialists.

“We are determined and working hard to make sure Zanzibar has enough health specialists in all public health centres,” noted Zanzibar President Dr Ali Mohamed Shein.

Speaking recently after laying  two foundation stones for  pediatric and maternal and neonatal wards at the Mnazi Mmoja hospital as part of honouring the 52nd anniversary of the  isles Revolution.

According to Dr Shein, it will be useless to construct hospitals and health centres without having enough health personnel. The Isles’ President noted that despite efforts in hospital construction, the government is also working hard to see that they have enough and qualified health specialists.

He said the move will reduce the number of Zanzibaris who search for service outside Isles; “this will go in line with the purchasing of enough modern equipments,” he added.

In this regard, the president said his government has increased the health budget to curb challenges facing the sector and wants health workers to abide by ethic of the profession.

Dr Mohamed Jidawi said the pediatric and maternal and neonatal wards at Mnazi Mmoja hospital are financed by the governments of Norway and Netherlands. He said the expansion of the buildings is aimed at accommodating and providing better services to the public.

“We are committed to providing better health services to the public,” he said.

Deputy Minister of Health Mahmoud Thabit Kombo assured the public that his ministry will continue working hard to improve the health sector. He said the top priority is to improve the doctor-patient ratio which has been one of the big challenges facing the sector.

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Ugandan govt backs Museveni as appropriate mediator for Burundi

Ugandan Defence Minister Crispus Kiyonga

 Ugandan Defence Minister Crispus Kiyonga has maintained that the country’s president Yoweri Museveni was the right person to mediate the Burundi crisis.

This amidst uproar over President Museveni’s role in the mediation process with many raising eyebrows on the Museveni’s own campaign to run for a fifth term in office.

However Kiyonga insists that Museveni has the moral authority to be facilitator of the crisis mitigation efforts. The impasse was triggered by President Pierre Nkurunziza's decision to run for a third term, a move his opponents deem a violation of the country’s Constitution.

Fielding questions from reporters on Wednesday night at the EAC headquarters, Kiyonga said extension of the presidential term limit in the Pearl of Africa was a non-issue adding that Burundi’s unrest was not attributed to term extension.

“In Uganda we do not believe in term limits neither do we think Museveni is a problem, the most important thing is to look what we have set out to do and achieve and not delve on term limits,” asserted the defense minister.

According to Kiyonga, extension of term limits is also common practice in European countries, maintaining that President Museveni has the right to lead the mediation.

Last year, the US questioned Uganda’s role in the mediation after its president relegated his role as mediator in the crisis to the backburner while he concentrated on his re-election campaign.

US assistant secretary of state for African affairs Linda Thomas-Greenfield previously told a US Senate panel that the Ugandan leader's re-election bid this year had "very much distracted" him from his role as EAC mediator of the crisis.

Uganda's state minister for international affairs Henry Okello Oryem was however quick to reject the accusations saying Museveni maintains a keen eye on Burundi because he receives intelligence briefs on the situation.

He added that based on such reports, if the president "evaluated the situation in Burundi as degenerating into genocide, he would not hesitate to deploy Uganda People's Defence Forces (armed forces)".

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How govt plans to expand tax base

  Mulls regulatory body for the sector

Finance and Planning Minister, Dr Philip Mpango

The government will from next financial year impose tax on the real estate sector in a move aimed at expanding the tax base and reducing foreign dependency on funding the budget.

The move will also see more tax being collected from non-tax avenues including tourism, forests and tourist visas.

The government is already drafting a Real Estate Agency Bill to be tabled in the National Assembly this year.

The newly appointed Finance and Planning Minister, Dr Philip Mpango, told The Guardian on Sunday that the government has been losing a lot of tax in the sector which would have helped to fund various development projects.

Mpango said however that revenue collection from real estate was hindered by lack of legal ownership of properties to enable smooth tax payment.

“The real estate sector is a great opportunity for the government to improve tax collection. For a long time the government has failed to do so because owners fake property ownership,” he said.

The minister said the sector had the potential to boost revenue, adding that there was therefore need to address the property ownership issue if the government really intended to benefit from revenue collection from it.

He said the faking of names of owners on title deeds made it hard for the tax authorities to know the real owners of properties and so hindered tax collection efforts.

“My office, in collaboration with the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) has launched an investigation to identify real owners of properties with a view to collecting due tax,” the minister said.

“We plan to start collecting tax from the real estate sector with effect from the forthcoming financial year. It is one of the areas where huge revenue collection is being lost. Tapping into the sector would go a long way to boosting revenue,” he added.

Dr Mpango indicated that the government would introduce a better system in the registration of properties, saying tax from the sector was being lost through unregistered properties.

“We are currently undertaking the laborious task of identifying the real property owners because these people are responsible for denying the government huge sums in revenue, which would have come in handy in funding development projects for the people,” he said.

“We are devising effective strategies which will force each property owner to pay due tax.

We have come to realize that effective tax collection from the sector will give remarkable boost to the country's economy,” the minister added.

TRA Acting Commissioner General Alphayo Kidata, for his part, reiterated that a Real Estate Agency Bill was currently being crafted and would be tabled in the National Assembly this year.

The TRA chief said the Bill, if passed into law, would facilitate the collection of revenue from the real estate sector which, in turn, would cut donor dependency in budget support.

“Plans are under way to table the Bill in Parliament in due course. It will compel property owners to pay tax and empower TRA to prosecute defaulters,” Kidata said.

In a related development, Lands, Housing and Human Settlements Development Minister William Lukuvi has directed the ministry’s top leadership to prepare a Real Estate Regulatory Authority Bill draft and submit it to his office as soon as possible.

Lukuvi told reporters that creation of a regulatory body was vital for controlling the booming construction sector.

Lukuvi noted that  there was frantic competition in the construction of high-rise buildings in towns and cities across the country, adding that there was a need for a regulatory body of the sector as currently the developers decided when, what and where to construct and even how much rent to charge.

But an expert in taxation who preferred anonymity said the government could do away with donor dependency entirely in its budget if it explored all sources of revenue.

Giving an example, he said there were a number of people owning social halls in urban areas who paid little tax or did not pay a single penny to the government.

“During weekdays and weekends social halls are occupied with functions, such as workshops, seminars, wedding ceremonies, kitchen parties, send-offs, etc. Very unfortunately the government earns nothing,” he said.

Private parking yards is another area where the government could come up with a special arrangement to collect tax. He said there were people who had established parking yards in residential areas where total turnover was huge in one month.

Given the goal set by the government to collect tax amounting to Sh2 trillion per month, the nation could tremendously reduce donor dependency.

Simple calculations show that if the goal of collecting Sh2trillion was realized, the government would hit the Sh24 trillion mark. The current 2015/2016 budget stands at Sh22.4 trillion.

However, Minister Mpango says even if such revenue target was met donor dependency might not be eliminated entirely, especially for mega projects involving infrastructure, such as railways and harbours.

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Health of staff directly linked to job performance - experts

 Tanzania businesses, government agencies and social organisations have been urged to embrace workplace wellness programmes to improve productivity and efficiency.

A Dar es Salaam-based sector specialist Bhakti Shah made the call over the weekend when speaking with ‘The Guardian.’

Shah said when health and well-being are actively promoted, businesses and organisations report 2.5 times better performance, organisations are seen as 3 times more likely to be productive, employees are 8 times more likely to be engaged, organisations are seen as 3.5 times more likely to encourage creativity and innovation and organisations are 4 times less likely to lose talent within the next year.

“It is vital that Tanzanian businesses, government agencies and social organisations embrace workplace wellness programmes to improve productivity and efficiency,” she said.

According to the World Economic Forum report : “Wellness Imperative – Creating more effective organizations” new research indicates that wellness is an extremely powerful element that can play a significant role in employee engagement, organisational productivity, talent retention and creativity and innovation.

The specialist also cited the Harvard Business Review as enlisting six strong pillars to support strategically integrated workplace wellness programmes, regardless of the size of an organization or business.  They are first, multi-level leadership – from the C-suite to middle managers to the people who have “wellness” in their job descriptions.

Secondly is Alignment which she described as a wellness programme that identifies with the company’s identity and aspirations and thirdly she cited Scope, Relevance and Quality; “this takes a holistic and individualised approach which goes beyond diet and exercise.

She also highlighted Accessibility that she described as the ease of access and convenience matters. Also on the list is Partnerships that Shah, who is also the Managing Director of Impactafya, a workplace wellness service provider based in Dar es Salaam, described as the active collaboration with internal and external partners to enhance the wellness programme adopted by a given organisation.

Finally, she emphasised Communication saying; “Wellness is a mission and a message to be delivered with sensitivity, creativity and diversity.”

She said according to a joint WEF/WHO report, Dow Chemical (a US based firm) directly links the health of its staff to its business goals.

  

“The Mission Statement of Dow’s Employee Health Programme states that - Dow businesses have a competitive advantage through health,” she pointed out. 

According to her,  the firm’s integrated health strategy focuses on all employees, retirees, and family members and provides 3 main outcomes—health status improvement, positive net value for the company such as improved cost-effectiveness and finally, high perceived value that relates to improved recruiting and retention of employees and employee morale.

She cited Dr Catherine Basse, the Global Director for Health at Dow Chemicals who notes that between 2004 and 2008, employees at Dow Chemicals that were considered high-risk, reduced their risks by 15 percent, while low risk employees reduced their risk by 18 percent and that between 2004 and 2010, the firm’s health strategy saved more than US$100 million in U.S. healthcare costs. 

“Dow Chemicals has demonstrated that a comprehensive approach to employee health is not only possible, but can be highly successful,” she summed up.

The sector expert emphasised that successful programmes help employers develop and maintain a healthier, more productive workforce as well as a culture that support healthy lifestyle behaviours. 

Providing resources and benefits to employees not only encourages participation, but keeps them actively engaged.  The key is developing a corporate wellness programme that’s embedded in the corporate culture, creating opportunities to meet the needs of the employees, no matter where each individual sites in the company structure.

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District destroys illegal fishing equipment valued at over 41m/-

 The fisheries department in Sumbawanga District, Rukwa Region has destroyed 52 unauthorised fishing nets and other illegal fishing gear estimated to have a total value of 41m/-.

Fisheries Officer in Sumbawanga District Council, Kulwa  Lukuba said the fishnets were seized following an impromptu operation on the shores of Lake Rukwa which he said has of recent times being overwhelmed by illegal fishing gear.

“As fisheries experts, we’re worried with the current stock of fish in this important water body that’s why we carried out this operation,” he said warning that stock of fish in the southwest lake is dwindling at alarming rates.

He said fisheries experts and police officers managed to seize unfriendly fishing gear left behind by unscrupulous fishermen who ran off and are still at large.

“Among the fishing gears include canoes, which were loaded with 41 unauthorized fishnets and 11 mosquito nets,” he detailed. 

Lukuba said that fishermen have been using unauthorized fishnets which end-up fishing even the small fish which threatens survival of  the entire fishing industry.

He cited education for the fishermen as a solution to the illegal fishing at the lake.

Fisheries experts at the lake  which lies in the Rukwa valley along the same ecosystem as the Katavi National Park, are also worried of the increasing human activities near the lake.

He cited settlements and farming that he said cause environmental degradation around the lake.

Recently, authorities in Rukwa Region suspended fishing activities at Lake Rukwa for three months effective this January to April 30 in a bid to increase fish stock in the fresh-water body.

Lake Rukwa is one of the important source of revenue for local government authorities and the central government, but is now overwhelmed by a number of challenges including dwindling of fish stock as a result of overexploitation, illegal fishing practices and habitat destruction.

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Ministry paying close watch to 'Uhuru road'

The Minister for Works, Transport and Communication Prof Makame Mbarawa

 The Minister for Works, Transport and Communication Prof Makame Mbarawa has urged contractor working on expansion of the 4km- section of road from Mwenge to Morocco in Dar es Salaam to ensure it meets required standards and is completed in time.

Prof Mbarawa made the call when he inspected the project over the weekend in the city. While on site, the minister urged the Tanzania National Roads Agency (TANROADS) in Dar es Salaam to pay closer attention to the project so that it’s completed within the set time and to the expected standards.

He said legal actions will be taken against all officials found to delay or sabotage the road construction project.

 “Your priority should  be on quality and speed so that this important road section is completed within the projected time-frame,” Prof Mbarawa said.

In a related development, the minister went on to urge the Tanroads staff to ensure long queues at the various Weigh Bridge stations across the country are reduced.

He also urged them to curb corruption at all levels of the authority warning legal action against violators.

Speaking to executives of the Road Fund Board (RFB), Minister Mbarawa implored the need for the board to ensure that all the money allocated to local authorities is wisely spent and roads are built to required standards.

“The money allocated for those roads should meet the required standards. Value for money needs to be seen in these projects,” the minister stressed.

The RFB manager, Joseph Haule said his board is determined to ensure that all ongoing road construction works are to standard and are completed within set time frames.

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TBS orders reshipment of poor oil lubricants

Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS) has ordered reshipment of more than 16,000 litres of engine oil lubricants back to the country of origin for failure to meet the quality standards.

TBS Director General, Joseph Masikitiko told reporters in Dar es Salaam on Friday that the consignment imported to the country by Hass Petroleum (T ) from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was utterly unfit for  the local market consumption.

It is the second time in a week of a countrywide crackdown on imported sub-standard oil and the related products launched by TBS that the consignment from the same country is rebounded back from the Dar es Salaam Port.

Last week TBS stopped off-loading over 37,500 metric tonnes of substandard petroleum products from aboard MT Ridgebury John B vessel docked at the port from Nigeria for failure to meet quality standard requirements.

However, the quality controllers ordered the return of the oil lubricants to UAE at the expense of the importing company, namely Hass Petroleum as per directives reached on December 31, Masikitioko said.

“Importers of oil lubricants and other goods should make sure that all imported products meet the required standard before entering the local market,” he said, adding that it was high time stakeholders came with clear strategy to stop the flow of poor quality commodities into the country.

Stakeholders are worried that fake lubricants are overpowering the genuine market in Tanzania, calling for concerted efforts to stop the ill before it grounds automobiles whose engines are bound to die from exhaustive use of the fake oil, before the environment is entirely polluted and state coffers become dry of foreign currency.

He said the government would continue with certifying lubricants using available certification schemes and would make follow ups to verify overseas certification of lubricants prior to their departure for Tanzania.

“We are ready even to incur costs in this exercise which would ensure that there are no substandard oils imported or sold in Tanzania,”  the General Manager of General Petroleum Tanzania Limited, Irfan Khan said this week while suggesting  close cooperation between the government and local dealers  to apprehend the culprits.

A survey carried out by the American Petroleum Institute (API)  and ACEA Sequences and Equivalence about two years ago in Kilimanjaro and Arusha Regions revealed that more than 90 per cent of imported oils to Tanzania were substandard.

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Help Dar demolition victims, CUF tells govt

CUF Deputy Secretary General Magdalena Sakaya addresses the media in Dar es Salaam yesterday about the demolition excercise baing carried out by the goverment in the city.(Photo: Michael Matemanga)

The Civic United Front (CUF) yesterday called on the government to immediately offer humanitarian aid to hundreds of families whose houses have been demolished in a clean-up exercise along Msimbazi valley in Dar es Salaam.

The CUF call comes barely two days after the government announced new guidelines that would see holders of legal title deeds relocated to other areas.

The opposition party observed that the ongoing exercise countrywide had failed to consider the rights and humanity of the victims, some of whom legally owned the plots in question.

Magdalena Sakaya, CUF Deputy Secretary General (Mainland), told the press yesterday in the city that the demolition exercise also violated the country’s constitution, Section 3 (12) and (13) that emphasises respect for humanity.

“The government should stop the countrywide demolition campaign and make an analysis before resuming the exercise.

We have heard about human rights violation cases where the exercise has been implemented in Dodoma and Dar es Salaam … this has to come to an end immediately,” she said.

Sakaya said the demolition exercise had left scores of  Tanzanians, mostly lower-income earners, homeless, who were unable to build houses even if they had been given a five-month ultimatum to vacate the areas.

She said government officials responsible for issuance of title deeds, knowing the places in question were hazardous for human settlement, had to be held accountable.

“The government’s failure to invest in land surveying and mapping to cub unplanned human settlement is the cause of all these demolitions affecting innocent people,” she said.

“You can be surprised that Dar es Salaam and several other cities and urban centres have no proper master plan yet the government come force to evict residents who have sought hospitality for more than a decade.”

Meanwhile Alliance for Change and Transparency (ACT-Wazalendo) has also challenged the ongoing demolition process along the valley saying the government authorities need to bear the responsibility and not residents.

ACT-Wazalendo deputy secretary general, Msafiri Mtemelwa told the press yesterday in the city that such authorities have sabotaged the national economy and should be held accountable.

He said his party believes in patriotic and integrity for every leader to perform his/ her duties by following the country laws.

However, Mtemelwa appealed the government to have humankind and help those victims of demolition by allocated the safe places for living before shifting them, and ensure for their safety.

In a related move, he advised the government to investigate and verify the entire exercise of given out plots to flood victims of 2012 at Mabwepande in the outskirt of Kinondoni district in the city, to find out if they divided and given out to the targeted people.

“There is hearsay that those plots at Mabwepande were given out to non-victims of flood, and divided to those with power” he said.

Meanwhile, Mtemelwa said they have received new members who defected from their previous parties to ACT-Wazalendo, those defected are from National Convention for Construction and Reform Mageuzi (NCCR- Mageuzi), Tanzania Labour Party (TLP) and United Peoples Democratic Party (UPDP).

One of the ACT-Wazalendo new member,  Getrude Pwillah, who was NCCR-Mageuzi Women Wing Secretary General said, “I decided to join this party because of being attracted with its policies”.

Despite claims by the Dar Es Salaam Regional Commissioner Saidi Meck Sadiki  early last week that all the December 2012 flood victims secured plots, CUF deputy secretary general says the majority were not given plots at the designated area at Mabepwande yards in Kinondoni district.

However, the government figure indicates that only 150 victims at Mabepwande obtained title deeds from the Lands ministry out of over 1,200 victims.

Mwajuma Ismail (35), a victim of the Mkwajuni demolitions in Kinondoni district, said she was unsure about the fate of her eight-year-old daughter, adding that she depended on a good Samaritan.

She told The Guardian that her daughter was scheduled for classes tomorrow but there was no hope whether the school girl would join other kids when the school opened.

Already the government has vowed to take disciplinary measures against government officials who issued non-sanctioned permits and title deeds.

A total of 774 houses have so far been demolished in a campaign that kicked off less than two months ago.

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Dodoma residents call on JPM to dissolve CDA

The residents of Nkhungu C in Dodoma municipality have called on President John Magufuli to dissolve the Capital Development Authority (CDA), saying it has failed to improve their residential areas.

This comes less than a week since over 1,000 residents of Ng’ong’ona ward resisted a move by CDA to develop their area, accusing the authority of giving them a raw deal.

But Nkhungu residents who spoke to The Guardian on Sunday on Wednesday evening said CDA had failed to settle land disputes in their area and instead fuelled them.

Some of them argued that they had lived in the area since 1942 and had witnessed CDA repeatedly taking photographs of their land with promises to survey the land, but had all along failed to do so.

One of the residents, Bihaware Aire, alleged that the development authority issued numbers for survey exercises in 1998, 2000 and 2005 but had not done any survey wok but instead had embarked on the demolition of their houses.

“They first marked our house when I was still young but now I have three children and nothing has been done,” said Bihare.

She called on the relevant authorities to intervene so CDA surveys the area and allows them to carry on with development activities on their plots.

 Rashid Futo, another resident, also observed that it was quite absurd for them to live in such a poor state while CDA had not revealed plans to survey the area.

He noted that even some of them with financial ability to build good houses could not do so since the authority had not demarcated their land, and they feared that their structures would be later demolished if they built on unsurveyed plots.

 “We have lived here for decades but our plots have never been surveyed. Some of us have money but cannot build proper houses for fear of being demolished later,” he said, adding that the pace of fifth government on such buildings was quite threatening.

CDA director general could not be reached for comment on the matter, nor could the authority’s public relations officer, Angela Msimbila, when reached on phone.

This is the second revolt against CDA by town residents this week after the residents in Nhg’ng’ona ward in the municipality stopped it from surveying the area, saying they were not getting their rightful deal.

Over 1,000 residents on Monday protested against CDA, adding that they would only listen to Minister for Lands, Housing and Human Settlement William Lukuvi.

They said CDA had become a problem by forcing them to move to different areas without giving them permanent residential places.

Jonas Jale, one of the residents, said they had differed with CDA over the amount of compensation, saying what the authority was offering them was too little.

“We do not want to hear anything about CDA because of their poor compensation rates,” he said.

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Help Dar demolition victims, CUF tells govt

CUF Deputy Secretary General Magdalena Sakaya addresses the media in Dar es Salaam yesterday about the demolition excercise baing carried out by the goverment in the city.(Photo: Michael Matemanga)

The Civic United Front (CUF) yesterday called on the government to immediately offer humanitarian aid to hundreds of families whose houses have been demolished in a clean-up exercise along Msimbazi valley in Dar es Salaam.

The CUF call comes barely two days after the government announced new guidelines that would see holders of legal title deeds relocated to other areas.

The opposition party observed that the ongoing exercise countrywide had failed to consider the rights and humanity of the victims, some of whom legally owned the plots in question.

Magdalena Sakaya, CUF Deputy Secretary General (Mainland), told the press yesterday in the city that the demolition exercise also violated the country’s constitution, Section 3 (12) and (13) that emphasises respect for humanity.

“The government should stop the countrywide demolition campaign and make an analysis before resuming the exercise.

We have heard about human rights violation cases where the exercise has been implemented in Dodoma and Dar es Salaam … this has to come to an end immediately,” she said.

Sakaya said the demolition exercise had left scores of  Tanzanians, mostly lower-income earners, homeless, who were unable to build houses even if they had been given a five-month ultimatum to vacate the areas.

She said government officials responsible for issuance of title deeds, knowing the places in question were hazardous for human settlement, had to be held accountable.

“The government’s failure to invest in land surveying and mapping to cub unplanned human settlement is the cause of all these demolitions affecting innocent people,” she said.

“You can be surprised that Dar es Salaam and several other cities and urban centres have no proper master plan yet the government come force to evict residents who have sought hospitality for more than a decade.”

Meanwhile Alliance for Change and Transparency (ACT-Wazalendo) has also challenged the ongoing demolition process along the valley saying the government authorities need to bear the responsibility and not residents.

ACT-Wazalendo deputy secretary general, Msafiri Mtemelwa told the press yesterday in the city that such authorities have sabotaged the national economy and should be held accountable.

He said his party believes in patriotic and integrity for every leader to perform his/ her duties by following the country laws.

However, Mtemelwa appealed the government to have humankind and help those victims of demolition by allocated the safe places for living before shifting them, and ensure for their safety.

In a related move, he advised the government to investigate and verify the entire exercise of given out plots to flood victims of 2012 at Mabwepande in the outskirt of Kinondoni district in the city, to find out if they divided and given out to the targeted people.

“There is hearsay that those plots at Mabwepande were given out to non-victims of flood, and divided to those with power” he said.

Meanwhile, Mtemelwa said they have received new members who defected from their previous parties to ACT-Wazalendo, those defected are from National Convention for Construction and Reform Mageuzi (NCCR- Mageuzi), Tanzania Labour Party (TLP) and United Peoples Democratic Party (UPDP).

One of the ACT-Wazalendo new member,  Getrude Pwillah, who was NCCR-Mageuzi Women Wing Secretary General said, “I decided to join this party because of being attracted with its policies”.

Despite claims by the Dar Es Salaam Regional Commissioner Saidi Meck Sadiki  early last week that all the December 2012 flood victims secured plots, CUF deputy secretary general says the majority were not given plots at the designated area at Mabepwande yards in Kinondoni district.

However, the government figure indicates that only 150 victims at Mabepwande obtained title deeds from the Lands ministry out of over 1,200 victims.

Mwajuma Ismail (35), a victim of the Mkwajuni demolitions in Kinondoni district, said she was unsure about the fate of her eight-year-old daughter, adding that she depended on a good Samaritan.

She told The Guardian that her daughter was scheduled for classes tomorrow but there was no hope whether the school girl would join other kids when the school opened.

Already the government has vowed to take disciplinary measures against government officials who issued non-sanctioned permits and title deeds.

A total of 774 houses have so far been demolished in a campaign that kicked off less than two months ago.

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Rain leaves 700 homeless in Dodoma

TMA Director General Dr Agnes Kijazi

 AT least 778 people have been rendered homeless following a downpour that hit the region on Sunday night.

The heavy downpour caused havoc at Mpunguzi and Matumbulu wards in the Dodoma municipality destroying 70 houses, leaving 300 people without shelter and food, Ward Executive Officer, Dionisi Samo confirmed yesterday.

The area residents attributed the regular flooding in the ward due to poor drainage along the Dodoma- Iringa highway, blaming the contractor building a small bridge that did not allow water to pass freely.

Samo said strong floods went beyond the tunnels on the roadsides, flowing into residential areas at night when the villagers were all asleep, felling mud-walled houses in the area. 

“The last night rains had caused more problems as on 1st January this year, where some 48 houses were destroyed, leaving many people homeless,” he said, noting that the problem had been caused by poor drainage system.

The resident responded angrily yesterday morning following the wreckage caused by the rains as they closed the Dodoma-Iringa road for three hours until when police went to the scene.

The ward leader added that the problem was due to the small bridge designed by the contractor who built the road, adding that water always overflow into people’s residences in every rainy season.

He added that despite having reported the matter to the relevant authority, no action had been taken to rescue the  villagers from repeated destruction that could have   killed dozens of villagers.

The heavy rains caused flooding in Mpunguzi, Matumbulu and Nzuguni wards in Dodoma municipality and Kigwe ward in Bahi District.

Kigwe ward councilor, Paschal Sijila told this paper that 270 houses were destroyed in the area rendering 460 people homeless. 

He said the Sunday flooding was the second this rainy season which began late last year, terming the latter as the heaviest destruction so far.

“We request the government to immediately  rescue villagers who had no place for shelter, food and other basic needs,” said Silija.

Elsewhere, in Makulu some 18 houses were swept away by floods while in Nzuguni area, the flood  waters destroyed  the bridge.

The heavy rains came almost at the right time that the Tanzania Meteorological Agency (TMA) had predicted. 

Issuing weather forecast for the next three months, TMA Director General Dr Agnes Kijazi said the rains would start in September and continue through to December.

 “There will not be an El Nino as feared but there will be extra heavy rains across many parts of the country,” she said and warned that; “due to pollution of water sources, water shortage and poor sewage management are also likely to occur.”

 “There will be normal and above average just as in Dodoma and Singida regions where the rains will begin in the early weeks of November,’ she added.

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Revealed: Where rich Africans hide their billions

British Prime Minister David Cameron

 THIRTY per cent of all African financial wealth is held in offshore banking, costing an estimated $14billion (30.8trillion/-) in lost tax revenues every year, says a new report released yesterday by Oxfam International.

It says that in South Africa, the continent’s economic superpower, the inequality is particularly staggering –with just two men owning the same amount of wealth as the poorest half of the over 50 million population.

“The inequality in South Africa is particularly staggering: the richest 10 per cent of the country’s population (3.7 million people) had an income of $36 billion while the poorest 50 per cent (19 million people) had an income of only $9 billion,” says the report.

It adds that this means that some 3.7 million mainly White people earned four times more than 19 million mainly Black people.

Going by the report, the richest 10 per cent of the South African population had an income of $69 billion by 2011, while the poorest 50 per cent had an income of $11 billion. Five million still mainly White people were now earning six times more than 25 million mainly Black people, it notes.

The report further reveals that two White men – Johan Rupert and Nicky Oppenheimer – owned the same amount of wealth as the poorest 50 per cent of the population last year, even as the group noted that this referred to “asset and not income inequality”.

It says getting hold of the proper level of taxes will be “vital” if world leaders are to meet their goal of eliminating extreme poverty by 2030, as set last September. 

The aid group meanwhile reported yesterday – the eve of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos – that the richest one per cent of the world’s population now own more than the rest of humankind combined.

“Runaway inequality has created a world where 62 people own as much wealth as the poorest half of the world’s population – a figure that has fallen from 388 just five years ago,” the anti-poverty agency said in its report, published ahead of the annual gathering of the world’s financial and political elites in Davos.

The report, entitled “An Economy for the 1 per cent”, states that women are disproportionately affected by the global inequality.

One of the other key trends behind rising inequality set out in the Oxfam report is the falling share of national income going to workers in almost all developed and most developing countries. The majority of low paid workers around the world are women.

World leaders have increasingly talked about the need to tackle inequality, but “the gap between the richest and the rest has widened dramatically in the past 12 months”, reports Oxfam.

Oxfam’s prediction, made ahead of last year’s Davos meeting, that the richest one percent would soon own more than the rest of us, “actually came true in 2015,” it added – a year earlier.

The number of people living in extreme poverty halved between 1990 and 2010 but the average annual income of the poorest 10 per cent has risen by less than $3-a-year in the past quarter of a century. This represents an increase in individuals’ income of less than one percent a year, according to the report.

More than 40 heads of state and government will attend the Davos forum, which was set to open late today and end on January 23.

Those heading to the Swiss resort town for the high-level annual gathering also include 2,500 “leaders from business and society”, the WEF said in an earlier statement.

WEF founder Klaus Shwab has said the theme – the Fourth Industrial Revolution – “refers to the fusion of technologies across the physical, digital and biological worlds which is creating entirely new capabilities and dramatic impacts on political, social and economic systems”.

Oxfam International Executive Director Winnie Byanyima, who will also attend Davos having co-chaired last year’s event, said: “It is simply unacceptable that the poorest half of the world’s population owns no more than a few dozen super-rich people who could fit onto one bus.”

World leaders’ concerns about the escalating inequality crisis have “so far not translated into concrete action – the world has become a much more unequal place and the trend is accelerating”, she warned.

She said that, as a priority, Oxfam demands an end to the era of tax havens which has seen the increasing use of offshore centres to avoid paying taxes.

“This has denied governments valuable resources needed to tackle poverty and inequality,” the Oxfam report notes.

Byanyima challenged those attending the Davos meeting “to play their part in ending the era of tax havens, which is fuelling economic inequality and preventing hundreds of millions of people lifting themselves out of poverty”.

Oxfam says that 53 of the 62 people believed to hold as much wealth as the poorest 50 per cent are men and just nine are female, “highlighting that women are ill-represented even at the highest levels”.

Prominent Davos guests include British Prime Minister David Cameron, US Vice President Joe Biden, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls and newly elected Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

President Mauricio Marci of Argentina, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras are also due to attend.

Oxfam, an international confederation of 17 organisations working together with partners and local communities in more than 90 countries, says it had calculated the wealth of the richest 62 people using Forbes’ billionaires list.

The aid group is a global movement of millions of people who share the belief that, in a world rich in resources, poverty isn’t inevitable.

Accordingly, concerned that one person in three in the world lives in poverty, it is determined to change that world by mobilising the power of people against poverty.

• Additional report by M&G Africa

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Simbachawene fires Kigoma, Mpanda municipal directors

The Minister of State (Regional Administration and Local Government), George Simbachawene

 The Minister of State (Regional Administration and Local Government), George Simbachawene, has sacked two district executive directors (DED) for among other reasons misappropriation of  300 million/-.

The district directors who faced the axe include Kigoma Municipal director, Engineer Boniface Nyambele and his Mpanda counterpart, Suleiman Lukanga.

The announcement was made here yesterday by the head of government Communication Unit Rebecca Kwandu, on behalf of   Simbachawene, saying the two directors were sacked on allegations that they made decisions that saw the government lose a lot of money.

“The duo have been disciplined following serious allegations of misappropriation of government funds as well as making irrational decisions that had cost the government millions of money,” she noted.

She explained that Engineer Nyambele was accused of selling houses belonging to the municipal authority without following due process and without the minister’s knowledge according to the regulations.

Lukanga is accused of purchasing two vehicles at the cost of  92,750,000/- and misappropriation of 294 million/- meant for the irrigation project.

Simbachawene had therefore appointed head of water department, Sultan Ndilowa as acting director which was vacant hitherto  by   Nyambale while the Katavi Regional Administrative Secretary, Lauteri Kaoni  was appointed acting   district director for Mpanda.

“The appointment follows the sack  of the two directors as the government continues with investigations on the allegations against them and once proven legal matters will follow,” said Kwandu.

On the same note,   Simbachawene appealed to all district directors in the country to be keen while performing their duties and that they should follow the laid down procedures follow.

“The government shall not hesitate to take disciplinary measures of public servants who shall violate the law and regulations, procedures by being self centred,” she added.

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31bn/- to support construction of Arusha regional referral hospital

Regional Administrative Secretary of Arusha Adoh Mapunda

 The Tanzania Investment Bank (TIB) has agreed to provide 31bn/- to finance construction of the Arusha Regional referral hospital which will be erected at the current premises of Mount Meru Regional Hospital.

Speaking to reporters at the start of the week, Arusha Regional Commissioner Felix Ntibenda, said the money is a loan and all procedures to secure it have been completed.

“Very soon a pact will be signed between the bank officials and the Regional Administration Secretary (RAS) for the construction to start,” the RC said.

Ntibenda said the authorities continue to improve buildings and health service delivery at the hospital ahead of construction of the referral hospital. He cited among other improvements,  introduction of an MSD pharmaceutical depot that is at 95per cent completion and is already preparing to open soon.

“It will make access to medical services more affordable and spare the public the high prices at  the private stores,” he said.

Regional Administrative  Secretary of Arusha Adoh Mapunda placed the loan signing sometime next week at which point, the bank will announce a tender to find a contractor to build the hospital.

He congratulated stakeholders who have contributed to the ongoing renovation at the regional hospital while the regional engineer, Edward Mwabomba, noted that the hospital was built back in 1915 and is considerably depleted.

“The hospital was built as barracks to treat casualties of the First World War...the plan is to now build new buildings and demolish the old ones,” he said.

He said the new building will consist of eight sites including staff quarters, training, recreation and other amneties like parking lots.

“These buildings will reduce the burden of patients especially women during delivery and reduce deaths during childbirth,” he said noting that the main section will be a five storey building.

 On his part, doctor in charge at the hospital Dr Jacklin Urio said the 500-bed hospital serves 1.6 million people a year and that population growth is overwhelming the facility.

He said the new referral hospital will have 600 beds, 50 beds will be for intensive care (ICU), the third floor will be for VIPs including national leaders and internationals.

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Polish country's image abroad, plead tourism stakeholders

 TANZANIA has been challenged to develop a board charged with ‘polishing’ the country’s image abroad.

Speaking to The Guardian over the weekend in Dar es Salaam Scholastica Ponera the managing director of the Pongo Safaris and Tours said Tanzania needs a special body that will speak of the country’s to international visitors.

“Relying on western media is costing Tanzania and Africa in general,” she said.

“In most cases, western media paint Africa with negative image and that’s why it is high time we come up with a body that will polish the image of the beautiful and resource-rich country and Africa at large,” the tour operator urged.

She said misinformation by western media has left many international visitors to think that Africa is just one country that is plagued with a manner of social plight and diseases, “And this has affected tourism in the past two years, many feared to come to Africa because of Ebola which only affected a handful of countries,” she said.

“Western Media should understand that Africa has many countries with its own operations so it’s wrong to brand Africa as a one-nation continent,” she added.

“As tour operators, we need a bureau that will neutralize all negative stories advocated by western media,” the official said.

 “If they continue to report bad issues and make Africa seem to be one country how do you expect Tanzania to receive more tourists arrivals?” she queried.

“While I was in the USA last year attending the international workshop on Women in Travel- Women in Power Educational panel discussion, I used the opportunity to create awareness that Tanzania is an independent country and we are far from the countries affected by Ebola,” she said.

“I told them of the peace in the Tanzania, the beauty of the country and the natural resources including wildlife and so, many have now come to visit Tanzania,” she attested.

Data from the ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, availed to The Guardian shows that the number of tourists arrivals in Tanzania from UK, USA, German, Italy, France, Australia, China, India and Spain for 2014/2015 indicate that the number of international visitors from UK that visited Tanzania in 2014 decreased from 70,379 visitors in 2013 to 60,034 visitors in 2014.

Also, the number of international visitors from German that visited Tanzania in 2014 decreased from 53,951 visitors in 2013 to 47,262 visitors in 2014. The number of tourists from Australia that visited Tanzania in 2013 declined from 20,034 visitors to 19,787 visitors in 2014.

However, the number of tourist’s arrivals from France to Tanzania increased from 33,335 visitors in 2013 to 33,585 visitors in 2014 as did the number of international visitors from China that visited Tanzania in 2013 increased from 17,336 visitors to 21,246 visitors in 2014.

The number of international visitors from Spain that visited in Tanzania in 2013 decreased dramatically from 13, 144 visitors to 8,757 visitors in 2014, while the number of international visitors from USA that visited Tanzania in 2013 go up  from 100,370 visitors to 124,218, while  India  increased from 27,334 visitors in 2013 to 27,327 visitors in 2014.

Presently tourism is one of Tanzania’s fastest growing economic sectors that accounts for 17.5 per cent of the GDP.  Also last year, the country hosted about 1.14 million holidaymakers and business travelers who earned the economy nearly US$1.9 billion.

The sector directly employs close to half a million people and contributes to almost 25

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TAA director general Suleiman dies while swimming

The Director General of Tanzania Aviation Authority (TAA) Eng Suleiman Suleiman

 The Director General of Tanzania Aviation Authority (TAA) Eng Suleiman Suleiman has passed away. The TAA boss died yesterday morning in an accident while swimming in an exercise in Indian Ocean.

Confirmed information said that Eng Suleiman was taking part in daily physical fitness training in the ocean.

Speaking to this paper earlier yesterday, TAA Director of Law and Relations Ramadhan Maleta said the management has received the information with shock.

According to him, the DG often used to take swimming exercises every morning along the Indian Ocean with colleagues.

“He would normally join colleges in swimming exercises by crossing Magogoni Creek from Ferry area to Kingamboni and back,” he said.

“As usual he got up early in the morning yesterday for his swimming exercises but in the mid of the exercise his colleagues saw him losing power … they asked for help from fishermen who were in the area to take him out of the ocean for first aid,” he said.

They then rushed him to Aga Khan Hospital for treatment, but upon reaching there, he was confirmed dead.

According to Maleta, Eng Suleiman was among the few experts in matters pertaining to aviation in the country and was hardworking and a focused leader.

The late Suleiman was buried at Kisutu cemeteries yesterday evening. He left a wife and three children, According to Maleta.

Before joining TAA, Eng Suleiman had also worked as secretary general of Simba Sports Club.

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Govt pledges 2bn/- annual subsidies to Women Bank

TWB Managing Director, Margaret Chacha

 The government has promised to support Tanzania Women Bank (TWB) with 2 billion every year in subsidies to help the bank expand and benefit more women.

The announcement was aired yesterday in Dar es Salaam by Ummy Mwalimu the Minister for Health, Community Development, Gender, the elderly and children when she visited the bank with her Deputy Minister Dr Khamis Kigwangalla and accompanied by other officials from the ministry.

Minister Ummy congratulated the bank for having good banking services especially for women entrepreneurs who are small and medium entrepreneurs.

She said the government through her ministry has strategies to give the bank more support so as to enable it  increase centres countrywide particularly in the regions, districts and villages.

She also urged government institutions and parastatals to open accounts with the bank and channel salaries through the bank. She summed up commending the bank for providing various types of loans including surveyed plots, they can use to access bank loans.

Managing Director of the bank, Margaret Chacha said the bank got a clean audit report from the Controller and Auditor General of the government.

The bank got a profit of 141 million in 2014 a success it attributed to growth in rural settings and also improved banking services through Information and Communication Technology (ICT).

The bank has succeeded to increase its assets from zero in 2009 to 27 billion by 31 December 2014. Customer deposits increased to 27 billion in 2014 from 45,000 accounts. The capital from shareholders increased from 2.8 up to 8.7 in 2014.

However, the bank still needs to increase its capital base to reach 15 billion as stipulated by the Bank of Tanzania.

Collection of revenues grew to 7 billion in 31 December, 2014 while infrastructure at the bank also grew to reach two branches in Dar es Salaam and centres for service provision across 7 regions including Pwani, Mwanza, Dodoma, Mbeya, Iringa, Ruvuma and Njombe. 

The bank has 5 Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) through a network of Umoja Switch which has more than 200 machines all over the country.

The bank also cooperates with telephone networks so customers of the bank can perform transactions via their mobile phones.

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'Joint stakeholder efforts needed to ensure women secure land rights'

Grace Ngonyani, a programme Officer in Tanzania Media Women Association (Tamwa) in Zanzibar

 JOINT interventions from different stakeholders on land rights are required in ensuring that women are provided with intensive education on the rights of land ownership.

Grace Ngonyani, a programme Officer in Tanzania Media Women Association (Tamwa) in Zanzibar cited lack of education and awareness in women on land issues as one of the factors that continue to fuel gender based violence at a seminar organised by the NGO.

She noted that majority of women in Zanzibar are denied their rights to own land.

“Land ownership among women is still one of the problems that have continued to increase and fuel GBV, majority of women are suffering from this factor,” stressed Ngonyani.

The seminar was meant to create awareness hence provide women with education on the rights of land ownership.

According to her, affecting women most is the issue of lack of education and awareness to where they can report such cases.

Ngonyani noted that Tamwa has been receiving many cases from women who have no knowledge on where to report their cases.

She said the association has managed to assist 45 women who were experiencing problems in securing their land rights.

Explaining, Ngonyani said that there are many women who still suffer from this situation due to lack of education and knowledge on where to report their cases.

She said most of the acts are conducted by their spouses who continued to say that women have no rights to own land.

The Tamwa programme officer also pointed out that the association is working hard and tireless to help women to get their rights on land.

Ngonyani added: “Tamwa believes that intervention between different stakeholders will be a big help in creating awareness and education in providing women to know their rights in land ownership.”

Contributing in the discussion, Bahati Issa Suleiman, a participant from Kokoni, said the problem has continued to affect many women resulting in outbreak of violence among them.

“I have a case where my husband stole my land certificate and changed the ownership name. It is sad that without him knowing, I worked hard to get my rights from authorities without any help,” she cried.

According to her, she asked support from Tamwa to help her acquire her property.

Responding to questions from the audience, official from the Land Commission, Hassan Nassor said many women still do not have knowledge on where to report such cases whenever they arise.

“The ministry through the Commission of Land has started disseminating education to the public especially women on land ownership,” he said.

Nassor called upon women to report such cases to the Commission immediately whenever they come across them.

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EAC committed to boosting food security, nutrition

EAC Deputy Secretary General, in charge of Productive and Social Sectors, Jean Baptiste Havugimana

 THE East African Community (EAC) has expressed its commitment towards enhancing food and nutrition security and facilitating trade within the region and beyond.

EAC Deputy Secretary General, in charge of Productive and Social Sectors, Jean Baptiste Havugimana made the remarks in Arusha at the official opening of the 9th meeting of the EAC Sectoral Council on Agriculture and Food Security.

Echoeing the critical role of agriculture and food security in the region said the trading bloc’s secretariat will collaborate with Partner States to spur efforts towards enhancing the sector and facilitating trade within the region and beyond.

Head of Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Owora Richard Othieno said that the meeting is aimed at reviewing the progress made in implementing Council decisions and consideration of other issues of regional importance in the areas of agriculture and food security including crops, livestock and fisheries and related issues.

According to him, the meeting is being conducted through the sessions of senior officials from January 18 – to 20, 2016, Permanent/Principal Secretaries session on January 21, 2016 and the Ministerial/Cabinet Secretaries’ session on January 22, 2016.

Agriculture is one of the region’s most important sectors, with about 80 percent of the population of the East African Community Partner States living in rural areas and depending on the sector for their livelihoods.

The sector accounts for about 35 percent  of the GDP in Burundi, 27 percent  in Kenya, 30 percent  in Rwanda, 25 percent  in Tanzania and 25 percent  in Uganda, (2015 figures), although its contribution to these economies continues to decline.

Since agriculture employs over 80 percent of the rural population – majority of whom are poor–development of the agricultural sector presents a great opportunity for poverty reduction in a sustainable manner, he said. The sector also contributes to foreign exchange earnings, employment and provides raw materials for agro-based industries.

The agricultural sector is dominated by smallholder mixed farming of livestock, food crops, cash crops, fishing and aquaculture. 

The major food crops are maize, rice, potatoes, bananas, cassava, beans, vegetables, sugar, wheat, sorghum, millet and pulses. Some of these are also sold and could be regarded as cash crops. 

Cash crops include: tea, cotton, coffee, pyrethrum, sugar cane, sisal, horticultural crops, oil-crops, cloves, tobacco, coconut and cashew nuts.

Agriculture and Food Security is a key area of cooperation as outlined in Chapter 18 (Articles 105-110) of the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community, and key among the objectives of the EAC is the achievement of food security and rational agricultural production.

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Dar building 2013 condemned finally to be demolished at 1bn/-

Minister of Lands, Housing and Human settlement Development William Lukuvi

 The Ilala Municipal Council (IMC) has finally contracted a local company, Pat-Interplan to demolish the  condemned 16- storey  building along Indira Gandhi  Street  in  Dar es Salaam at a cost of1bn/-.

The development follows a visit by Minister of Lands, Housing and Human settlement Development William Lukuvi to the site last week at which the minister gave the City Council 18 days to demolish the building.

IMC Director Isaya Mngurumi told The Guardian in a telephone interview yesterday that the Council had already awarded the local company a tender to pull down the 16 storey building and that IMC is now finalizing the procurement procedures to facilitate the demolition.

“Currently experts are doing an environment impact assessment before embarking on the demolition,” he said noting that the cost of the demolition will be compensated by the owner of the building, one Ally Raza.

In March 2013, a 14-storey building constructed opposite to the condemned 16- storey building collapsed and killed 36 people and injured many more. 

Two months later in May the Ilala municipality issued a one-week demolition notice to the owners of the 16 storey building to demolish it.

Former Ilala Mayor Jerry Slaa said that the decision to issue the notice was reached after a meeting with the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Lands, Natural Resources and Environment. The notice was sent to Ally Raza, owner of the building and to NHC who own the plot number 1662/75 at Indira Gandhi, Ilala municipality where the building stands.

However, the demolition order has taken almost three years now after the building’s owner challenged the IMC decision in Court and lost.

The awarding of the tender to a local company is also a matter of contention since the Council had earlier said it is only interested in working with foreign companies since most local ones cannot undertake the demolition.

“The nature of the building needs companies to have modern equipment to minimize risk of demolishing nearby buildings and destroying properties,” the Council had argued. No explanation was offered as to .

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It's free tuition, not free education, parents told

 MISCONCEPTIONS are running rampant over the free education policy with parents and guardians misinterpreting it to mean zero expenditure.

A survey conducted by The Guardian over the weekend in several regions of the country had revealed that many initially celebrated the announcement of free education but now they are confused and shocked to learn that ‘free’ actually meant ‘free tuition’ but other expenses remain intact.

After schools opened last week, reality dawned and parents and guardians woke up to the realization that they still have financial responsibilities at the schools.

Rose Luhago, a resident of Ngano village in Ismani Constituency, Iringa Region is one such parent, she said she was shocked when her daughter was sent back home after she reported to school last week because she had no hostel fees.

“My daughter is studying at Ismani Secondary School which is a community school.  We used to pay 400,000/- in hostel fees and food per year but when the government announced free education we thought that we are not going to pay for anything,” she admitted.

Luhago said that after the announcement that education would be free, she did not budget for her daughter’s education and used all the money she had for other expenses. 

“Now I have to revisit my budget after realizing expenses such as food and boarding fees in schools such as the one my daughter studies at, are still there,” she lamented. The businesswoman said the government should have made it clear that in some public schools, there are expenses that will remain the parent’s responsibility. 

Another parent in Handeni District, Tanga Region Ramadhani Juma said he was not aware any other school expenses would remain other than buying of school uniforms for his two children.

 “I thought parents were no longer required to pay for anything at school but I am surprised that I have to pay for food (lunch) and stationeries which I thought would be provided at the school,” he said.

A teacher at Umoja Primary School in Tabata in the outskirts  Dar es Salaam said parents stopped contributing for the school’s security guard since October last year during the General Election campaigns when contestants started pledging free education.

“We are facing problems at our school because we don’t have a security guard, parents stopped contributing for the service three months ago as a result some school properties have been stolen such as our water tank,” said the teacher who sought anonymity. 

She said they used to pay the security guard 300,000/- per month and the school owes the guard salaries for three months; this despite the government’s 622,000/- in capitation money to the school.

“The government has banned all school contributions but it has not said how the financial gap so created will be covered,” she said noting that the total capitation provided by the government is not enough to cover the vacuum created by the free education policy let alone all other expenses.

Another teacher at Tabora Girls Secondary School in Tabora Region who also opted for anonymity said with the ban of school contributions the school opted not to collect uniform fees from parents but as a result, “... we are facing a challenge of school uniforms since we let parents buy them on their own now the colours no longer match especially for the newcomers in Form One,” she said noting the school uniform is blue skirts now the girls wear all manner of blue—dark, light, navy and anything bluish.

Other than the uniform issue, the teacher said all other operations are proceeding with no glitches and that the school has received 26m/- out of their allocated 35m/- in capitation. 

Reached for comments, Member of the East African Legislative Assembly Nderakindo Kessy said there was need for the government to engage experts before implementing the free education policy. She said free education is contained in the new education policy of which stakeholders had questioned its implementation.

According to Kessy, the government had not done a thorough research to establish challenges facing the sector and how to best address them.

“Free education was a political statement which lacked research that is why it had resulted into these challenges,” she said.

“The government needed time before it started implementing the policy, it was supposed  to   ensure that all schools across the country  have all basic needs such as desks, food and other important infrastructure,”  she added and noted that the education sector is facing numerous challenges and provision of free education is not enough to tackle them.

On her side, Tanzania Education Network Coordinator Cathleen Sekwao said the government decision to subsidize education was welcomed but it should also encourage community participation so as to improve the sector.

“If the government is providing free education it should also finance all the other education needs … I don’t think at this moment the government is capable of financing free education 100 per cent without involving the community,” she said.

Mid December last year, the government released a circular on the free education policy that begun this month. Signed by Commissioner of Education, Professor Eustella Bhalalusesa, the directive revoked all other previous circulars that were providing for various contributions by parents and guardians in public schools.

According to the circular, parents are responsible for buying school uniforms, stationeries, food and medication for day scholars.

Parents are also required to provide their children with transportation to and from school for day scholars and for boarding students during holidays. They are also supposed to buy mattresses, bed sheets and other boarding necessities for borders and those leaving in hostels.

Ministry of Education and Vocational Training is responsible for setting aside funds for national examinations basing on the number of students as well as controlling education quality and  monitoring  and assessment of implementation of the free education policy.

“Provision of free education means pupils or students will not pay any fee or other contributions that were being provided by parents or guardians before the release of the new circular,’’ reads the circular in part. 

Before the release of a new circular, secondary school students studying in day schools were paying 20,000/- fee while those in boarding schools were paying 40,000/-.

It was reported last week that more than 300 pupils selected to join secondary schools in Mbozi District will not begin studies as scheduled due to lack of classrooms. The pupils have been selected to join four different secondary schools but they will not be able to because the schools do not have sufficient classrooms to accommodate them.

 Education Officer for Secondary Education in the district Honsana Nshullo said there are a total of 322 pupils who have been left out but reassured the public that construction is underway to increase the number of classrooms in the schools.

 The council executive Director Edina Mwaigomole told The Guardian over a telephone interview that villagers should continue to contribute money for completion of the classrooms because according to him, the council has no money to finish the remaining construction work.

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PAPU: ICT has greatly improved postal services in Africa

Secretary General of Pan African Postal Union (Papu) Younouss Djibrine

 INFORMATION and Communication Technology (ICT) is no longer a challenge to the postal services in Africa and elsewhere in the world but an opportunity.

"ICT has long been perceived as a threat to us from the beginning but we see it as a facilitator to improved postal services, the Secretary General of Pan African Postal Union (Papu) Younouss Djibrine declared here on Monday.

Speaking at the 36th anniversary since the agency was established here, the official said many post offices have now digitalised many of their services, implying that the modern technologies have facilitated rather than constrained the sector.

He told stakeholders that although the volume of mails have decreased the world over with the coming of new and faster communication technologies, postal services would remain to play their role of linking people and their businesses for generations to come.

Papu, which is a specialised agency of the African Union (AU), was formed on January 18, 1980 in Arusha where its headquarters has been located ever since. 

It is one of several regional and continental inter-governmental bodies based in Tanzania’s safari city.

Djibrine said contrary to fears that the digital age has come to decimate the mail business, the postal fraternity in Africa has been under transformation “in response to the ever changing customer tastes and evolving business environment”.

The areas mostly affected in the reform agenda, according to him, are operational, organisational and management with the objective of aligning them to technological innovations rather than declining business due to entry of digital age.

“The advent of the digital age, particularly the Internet, has fuelled the pressure, the pace and the need for change,” he said, adding that postal offices have taken advantage of the ICT platforms and innovations to respond to the needs and expectations of the market.

“Postal offices now are real business and modern communication centres providing easy access to e-mails, Internet surfing, electronic money transfers, binding mail, settlement of utility bills, ICT use training, e-government and the like,” the Papu boss pointed out.

The director general of the Tanzania Communication Regulation Authority (TCRA), Dr Ally Y. Simba said the postal sector has, besides its core activity of mail transfer, is now playing a key role in socio-economic development of the people through money transfers, micro credit transactions, pension payments and allied services.

He said although the sector in Tanzania is partly liberalised with the Tanzania Postal Corporation (TPC) remaining the public postal operator, TCRA is mandated to regulate it in order to protect consumers from monopoly abuse and investors from what he described as “opportunistic behaviours”.

Under the existing arrangements, the courier services in Tanzania are provided by the private sector. 

Todate, TCRA has licensed six categories of private postal courier services into those offering international, East Africa, domestic, inter-city, intra-city services as well as inter-city transporting.

A representative of the Post Master General, Hudson Mwakitalu said TPC was committed to spearhead reforms of postal communication services in the ever-changing socio-economic environment.

"TPC's commitment is in line with priorities of the new fifth phase government of President John Pombe Magufuli to guarantee provision of services linked to common needs of the people,” said the official who is the corporation's assistant regional manager for Arusha and Manyara regions.

According to Papu, postal services in sub Saharan Africa have a low annual growth of 2.5 per cent though the continent has a large potential market.

On average, one post office in sub-Saharan Africa serves approximately 65,000 inhabitants, covering 1,590 kilometres.

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Govt pledges 2bn/- annual subsidies to Women Bank

TWB Managing Director, Margaret Chacha

 The government has promised to support Tanzania Women Bank (TWB) with 2 billion every year in subsidies to help the bank expand and benefit more women.

The announcement was aired yesterday in Dar es Salaam by Ummy Mwalimu the Minister for Health, Community Development, Gender, the elderly and children when she visited the bank with her Deputy Minister Dr Khamis Kigwangalla and accompanied by other officials from the ministry.

Minister Ummy congratulated the bank for having good banking services especially for women entrepreneurs who are small and medium entrepreneurs.

She said the government through her ministry has strategies to give the bank more support so as to enable it  increase centres countrywide particularly in the regions, districts and villages.

She also urged government institutions and parastatals to open accounts with the bank and channel salaries through the bank. She summed up commending the bank for providing various types of loans including surveyed plots, they can use to access bank loans.

Managing Director of the bank, Margaret Chacha said the bank got a clean audit report from the Controller and Auditor General of the government.

The bank got a profit of 141 million in 2014 a success it attributed to growth in rural settings and also improved banking services through Information and Communication Technology (ICT).

The bank has succeeded to increase its assets from zero in 2009 to 27 billion by 31 December 2014. Customer deposits increased to 27 billion in 2014 from 45,000 accounts. The capital from shareholders increased from 2.8 up to 8.7 in 2014.

However, the bank still needs to increase its capital base to reach 15 billion as stipulated by the Bank of Tanzania.

Collection of revenues grew to 7 billion in 31 December, 2014 while infrastructure at the bank also grew to reach two branches in Dar es Salaam and centres for service provision across 7 regions including Pwani, Mwanza, Dodoma, Mbeya, Iringa, Ruvuma and Njombe. 

The bank has 5 Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) through a network of Umoja Switch which has more than 200 machines all over the country.

The bank also cooperates with telephone networks so customers of the bank can perform transactions via their mobile phones.

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Three in custody over human trafficking

 Three people yesterday appeared before the Kisutu Resident Magistrate Court in Dar es Salaam charged with human trafficking and smuggling of 540m/- worth of narcotics.

Prosecution led by State Attorney Credo Rugaju named the accused as Mohamed Omary (39), a resident of Tegeta, Akida Mtoro (25) of Kunduchi Ununio and Nassoro Selemani (25) of Magomeni suburb, all in Dar es Salaam.

Before Resident Magistrate Thomas Simba who read the charges against the accused on behalf of resident Magistrate Hellen Riwa, it was alleged that, the accused committed the offence between April and August 17, last year in Ilala and Kinondoni districts.

It was alleged that on the material day, the accused was found trafficking into the country nine kilogrammes of heroin worth 540m/-.

On the second count the accused is charged with trafficking one person contrary to section 4(1)a of the Anti-trafficking Act.

It was alleged that on the same date and place, the accused together transported the victim, one Mwinyimkuu Mohamed Ubaya from Dar es Salaam Tanzania to Pakistani for the purpose of debt -bondage in connection with trafficking   of the narcotic drugs.

The accused were not allowed to enter any plea because mandate to hear the case is with the High court. The mandate maybe switched when the Director of Public Prosecutions issues a certificate for the magistrate court to conduct the case.

According to the prosecution, the investigation into the case is not complete and Magistrate Simba adjourned the case to February 1, this year.

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BoT: 'Swiss Billions' probe complete

Zitto Kabwe

 The Bank of Tanzania (BoT) has completed investigations on individuals believed to have stashed billions of shillings in offshore banks, the Guardian has learnt.

In 2012, the National Assembly tasked the government to conduct thorough investigation to establish the names of Tanzanian personalities holding 13trn/- in offshore bank accounts.

“Findings of the report on ‘Swiss Billions’ will be handed over to relevant state organs for further action”,   BoT Governor, Benno Ndulu told the Guardian in Dar es Salaam yesterday. 

According to the Governor, the central bank will not present the report to the National Assembly but interested parties including lawmakers are allowed to use parts of the BoT findings in the august House.

The anticipated report is expected to reveal who owns the money in foreign bank accounts and steps to retrieve ill-gotten wealth back into the country. 

The major objective of the investigation was to establish if the opening of the accounts followed proper procedures, and whether the money so stashed accrued legally.

The government agreed to carry out the assignment following fierce debate over a private motion tabled by Zitto Kabwe who was the MP for Kigoma North (Chadema).

According to the document that Zitto used when tabling his private motion in Parliament there was evidence that some top government officials and businessmen benefited a lot from such deals.

Zitto claimed to have all the documents to support his claims and promised to adduce them to the select committee. He said the money amounting to 13trn/- was stashed away in foreign accounts abroad including New Jersey Island, Mauritius, Cayman Islands and Switzerland.

Zitto cited the Global Financial Integrity (GFI) report of 2008 which stated that a total of US $8 billion—enough to offset the public debt by 80 per cent—had been stashed abroad between 1970 and 2008.

Zitto’s document provided further that Germany and the United States managed to buy CDs from former Swiss bank officials before they learnt that there were some individuals who had stashed money away into Swiss banks in order to evade tax. 

That event prompted Germany to enter into a special agreement with the Swiss government to facilitate an exchange of financial details of individuals with accounts in Switzerland for tax remittance purposes.

In March last year, the Attorney General, George Masaju was quoted saying findings of the report were to be tabled in the parliament in April, 2015.

The development on the alleged hidden cash comes amid a new report by Oxfam International which shows that thirty per cent of all African financial wealth is held in offshore banking, costing an estimated $14billion (30.8trillion/-) in lost tax revenues every year.

It says that in South Africa, the continent’s economic superpower, the inequality is particularly staggering –with just two men owning the same amount of wealth as the poorest half of the over 50 million population.

Commenting, Kigoma Urban legislator Zitto Kabwe urged the government to make the reports public. He said the move would help authorities to take stern measures to curb the vice.

“…of illicit financial flows harms the economy” said the MP insisting that as a country we have to deal with the issue as a matter of urgency. 

Zitto who is the National Leader for ACT-Wazalendo said that when he was chairing the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) he directed the Central Bank to conduct a study on the issue of illicit financial flows.

The report isn't made available publicly and I wish it was” he said.

He said the parliament has previously directed formation of a task force to probe the matter but yet the report is not public

Going by the report, the richest 10 per cent of the South African population had an income of $69 billion by 2011, while the poorest 50 per cent had an income of $11 billion. Five million still mainly White people were now earning six times more than 25 million mainly Black people, it notes.

The report further reveals that two White men – Johan Rupert and Nicky Oppenheimer – owned the same amount of wealth as the poorest 50 per cent of the population last year, even as the group noted that this referred to “asset and not income inequality”.

It says getting hold of the proper level of taxes will be “vital” if world leaders are to meet their goal of eliminating extreme poverty by 2030, as set last September. 

It said the number of people living in extreme poverty halved between 1990 and 2010 but the average annual income of the poorest 10 per cent has risen by less than $3-a-year in the past quarter of a century. This represents an increase in individuals’ income of less than one percent a year.

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