WARIOBA STRESSES MILITIA TRAINING
Prime Minister and First Vice-President Joseph Warioba has called on the Tanzania Peoples Defence Forces (TPDF) to step up militia training in order to contain incidents of burglary and crime in general. Mr Warioba, who was speaking at the Monduli Military Academy on September 24th 1988, said that in times of peace defence forces should be utilised in internal security matters. He therefore urged the TPDF to understand the new militia policy – Daily News
AN OPEN UNIVERSITY
The Daily News reports that Tanzania’s Ministry of Education has appointed a 14 man task force ‘that will be responsible for the setting up of an Open University.’ The Chairman is the former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Dar es Salaam, Mr. Nicholas Kuhanga.
PRESIDENT MWINYI AND MOTHER TERESA
As President Mwinyi’s motorcade was leaving State House to drive out for lunch on its way to the airport on October 31, 1988 the President heard that Mother Teresa, who was in Tanzania for one day to attend a ceremony in which eight new sisters of her order took their vows, was just entering the gates. He thereupon immediately demonstrated his respect for old ladies (Mother Teresa is 79) by breaking his journey and returning to State House to welcome her. Mother Teresa looked delighted by the President’s gesture. “I have nothing to give you. But this is what I have” she said. She presented the President with a statue of the Virgin Mary – Daily News
BRITAIN DOUBLES AID TO TANZANIA
Sir Geoffrey Howe visiting Dar es Salaam in September 1988 announced that British project aid would be increased to £18.0 million in the 1988/89 year, a 50% rise on the previous year. Sir Geoffrey also handed over 15 new trucks (part of a consignment of 30) for use by the Cooperative Unions in the Western cotton growing areas.
Speaking about the Economic Reform Programme at a dinner hosted by the Tanzania Government the Foreign Secretary said that he would like to salute the courage of President Mwinyi and all Tanzanians in pursuing “this hard but necessary road.”
DEALING WITH CRITICS
Zanzibar Chief Minister Dr. Omar Ali Juma has said that his government will not resort to repressive measures to deal with a clique of critics as long as actions by these adversaries do not develop into conspiracy or sedition against the state.
“The government has no intention of enacting a detention law or embark on mass arrests of dissidents because this will abort the democratisation process” he said.
The government was keeping dossiers on people engaged in anti-government activities to ascertain that their actions would not breach peace and security in the Isles – Sunday News
FIGHTING CASHEW NUT DISEASE
A fungal mildew disease of cashew nuts, known as Powdery Mildew is considered by the Ministry of Agriculture to be the main cause of the drastic reduction in cashewnut production in Tanzania from 145,000 tons in 1974 to 22,000 tons last year.
Now, in a project jointly financed by the government and the World Bank, a serious attempt is being made to check the disease. Dr. A.B. Shresta, an agronomist with the FAO has said that trials carried out in 1986 and 1987 showed that, where crops were sprayed with sulphur compounds, increases in yields of between twenty five and eighty per cent had been achieved.
According to Deputy Agriculture Minister, Amran Mayagila, large quantities of sulphur dust and blowers have been imported and a major campaign has been launched – SHIHATA