by Donovan McGrath

Where Tanzania Taps Its Feet

The focus of this article by Rachel B. Doyle is on the vibrant live music scene in Dar es Salaam. This extract is on the venues, artists and music styles:
The concrete lot next to the Hotel Travertine in downtown Dar es Salaam was full of swaying women in elaborate floor-length gowns trimmed with sequins… Jahazi Modern Taarab were performing a spirited song about love gone wrong, featuring a male-female call-and-response… For certain songs, the crowd rushed to the dance floor en masse. Stop by the hotel on any Sunday and you’ll find the band in full swing … part of a boisterous and exciting music scene that rivals that of any in Eastern Africa… “Tanzanians, they love music. I think they want us to play every day so they can come,” said Jackie Kazimoto, lead singer of Jagwa Music, one of the city’s most thrilling live acts.

Dar’s soundscape is a riot of genres, from modern taarab, which mixes a traditional Swahili sung-poetry style with electronic and Arab-influenced rhythms, to mchiriku, the raw, urban sound that Jagwa Music plays, which is generally found in neighbourhood block parties. You can also dance to classic rumba or bongo flava, the local brand of hip-hop… At the open-air venue Mango Garden, you can enjoy a tasty chicken pilau dish while dancers in matching outfits stomp to catchy Congolese-style rhythms of African Stars Band, whose songs blare from radios across the city…

Leo Mkanyia, a 32-year-old Dar musician, attributes this diversity to the country itself. “We have 125 tribes, and all of them have different tunes, different melodies, different music and traditional music instruments,” he said. I met Leo at Kibo Bar at the Serena Hotel, where he was per­forming for guests as the leader of a five-piece band. “People here are proud of their music. They love their music, and support it.” (New York Times – online 18 March)

Port of Call
Alexander Wooley highlights major problems with goods passing through Dar es Salaam harbour.
Extract: Dar es Salaam had its first boom in 1887 when the German East Africa Company set up operations there, turning the city into the main shipping portal into German East Africa. After World War I, Dar came under British rule and became a provincial trading post… The port has remained important regionally, but has been well off the major shipping routes between Asia and Europe. Now the Tanzanian government wants to change that. It hopes that with a few improvements it can turn Dar into a major regional trade hub, catapulting Tanzania into the global ranks of middle-income countries. Those plans rest on Dar becoming an increasingly important port for six neighbouring countries: Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Malawi, Rwanda, Uganda, and Zambia.

But to get there, Dar has some work to do. The port clears $15 billion of goods each year, but it is woefully inefficient. It is not among the hun­dred busiest ports in the world; Durban, which ranks 42nd in container traffic, is six times busier than Dar. Goods – sometimes entire containers – disappear. Ships sway idly at anchor, gathering barnacles while they wait ten days, on average, before being able to berth in the port and then ten more days to unload cargo and clear it through customs. With rental rates for large merchant ships typically ranging from $10,000 to $20,000 per day, the delays add tens of thousands of dollars to shippers’ costs. The standard international waiting time is two days. In 2012, container vessels at Mombasa, Dar’s only real rival in East Africa, took less than a day to berth ships and three to four days to unload, clear, and transport their cargo. And whereas the Kenyan port charges flat rates, Dar’s fees are based on the value of the merchandise, which partially accounts for why Tanzania’s dock fees are 74 percent higher than Kenya’s.

Last year, a World Bank report estimated that if Dar became as efficient as Mombasa, it would boost the Tanzanian economy by $1.8 billion per year, equivalent to seven percent of GDP. The report noted that the port’s inefficiency, coupled with poor roads and “administrative obstacles” – tariffs, corruption, bureaucracy, and technology gaps – mean that it is nearly two and a half times more expensive to import food from Vietnam to Tanzania than from Germany. Dar’s problems are not just Tanzania’s. Five or six African countries that it serves are landlocked (the DRC has a port on the Congo River at Matadi)… From a distance, Tanzania, with its long coastline and natural harbour at Dar es Salaam, appears primed to avoid these traps. But the view from the ground is different. The country is open to global trade but not always accommodating; goods offloaded after a long stay in Dar must then venture the poor roads that meander across the country to reach their final destination. (Foreign Affairs – online 5 February)

$523m Dar port deal takes a new twist
Extract: ‘Tanzania has cancelled a $523 million tender for the expan­sion of the Dar es Salaam port, arguing that the Chinese contractor had overpriced the project. The government d instead chose Impala Africa, a Congolese firm, in a deal that adds a fresh twist to the planned expan­sion of the port’s berths 13 and 14. Some analysts have questioned how the company [Impala Africa] was chosen to handle such a big project… Transport Minister Harrison Mwakyembe said that the earlier estimates by the Chinese firm, which put the cost well over $500 million, were much higher than what Kenya spent to expand the port in Mombasa…’
(East African 4-10 January)

The 10 Most Powerful Men in Africa 2014

Two Tanzanians are on the Forbes 2014 list: January Makamba and Mohammed Dewji.

Extract: Leonard Ravenhill once wrote “the opportunity of a lifetime must be seized within the lifetime of the opportunity,” and some of the business moguls and entrepreneurs, emerging political leaders, rising corporate titans from Africa are seizing the opportunity of turning the continent around… Our list is distinctive in that it identifies African men who are innovative, courageous, daring and often disruptive in their fields, often times without much fanfare…

January Makamba… is one of Tanzania’s rising stars in government. He is currently the Deputy Minister of Communication, Science and Technology and is rumoured to run for President in 2015. Makamba is a Member of Parliament for Bumbuli constituency. Before running for the Bumbuli seat, Makamba was aide to Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete for five years. Named Young Global Leader class of 2013 by the World Economic Forum, Makamba comes from a political family; his father, Yusuf Makamba
was Secretary General of the ruling CCM party…

Mohammed Dewji… is the Group Chief Executive Officer of Mohammed Enterprises Tanzania Limited (MeTL) and at 39 is the youngest member of the Forbes’ Africa’s 50 Richest list with an estimated net worth of US $500 million. The MeTL Group began as a family business, a small trading company which Mohammed transformed into one of the largest industrial conglomerates in East Africa, with interests ranging from real estate, agriculture, finance, distribution and manufacturing. The company employs more than 24,000 people across Tanzania and according to Dewji, generates annual revenues of US $1.3 billion. Dewji has been a Member of Parliament since 2005. (Forbes – online 31 January)

Fancy a cheeky Tanzanian red? Three Tanzanian wines making a splash
This article mentions African wines beyond the well-known South African Capes.
Extract: Tanzania’s Dodoma region produces three wines – dry white, red and “natural sweet”. Khadija Madawili, technical manager at SABMiller Tanzania, said the red has a smooth, rounded taste and is best with “Nyama Choma,” a local delicacy of roasted spiced meat, while the “natural sweet” is the perfect compliment for light salads or simply enjoyed as an aperitif. The Dodoma region is home to a number of grape varieties, including Chenin Blanc, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Makutupora, a local dry red. Madawili added that the dry earth and sandy soil, combined with low humidity, is perfect for producing dry white and red wines. She said: “We have two harvests a year, in March and August/September. After harvest the farmers leave the plants to rest for only one month.” (CNN – online 9 January)

No homosexuality debate in Tanzanian Assembly
Extract: In Tanzania, the Constituent Assembly has barred any debate on homosexuality. It all started when a member from Zanzibar, Asha Makame, warned the Assembly that there were MPs in the House financed by countries wanting to advance the homosexuality agenda… The Assembly’s interim chairman, Speaker of Zanzibar House of Representatives Pandu Ameir Kificho, said the Assembly was not the right place to discuss sexual behaviour.’ (East African 1-7 March)

Tengeru: A Long lost Polish history

David Meffe tells how a typical European tradition to mark All Saints’ Day also took place in a Tanzanian village.
Extract: In many parts of Christendom, the day [1 November] is a national holiday commemorated by a visit to graveyards, in order to plant flowers and light candles in remembrance and celebration of one’s ancestors. This tradition is especially prominent among the people of Poland. However, one such visit this month took place not in Poland, but curiously enough, here in East Africa, in a small village called Tengeru on the outskirts of Arusha. The community boasts a little known history that begins in war-ravaged Eastern Europe and ends in the shadow of Mt Meru… When Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, many Poles were released from camps in order to raise an army to aid in the national struggle against the Nazis… However… many had nowhere to go and the British, then allies of the Soviets, agreed to a proposal in which refugees from Europe would be spread across the vast British Empire for safety… a group of roughly 5,000 Polish citizens ultimately found refuge in… Tengeru in what was then known as Tanganyika Territory. Here, the Polish refugees lived for nearly 10 years in harmony with the local residents, after which some continued with their journey, finding homes in Britain or America, while roughly 1,000 decided to settle and call Tengeru home for several generations…

[I]n a tiny walled cemetery 149 refugees are buried under white stone crosses or Jewish Stars of David… Today, Tanzanian Simon Joseph is charged with preserving the cemetery and acts as curator for visitors and the hundreds of pilgrims who come every year to pay respects to their long lost ancestors. Joseph inherited the site from his father who lived and worked with the small Polish community for many years… The maintenance and upkeep of the graveyard is funded entirely by the Embassy of Poland in Kenya, as well as by visitor donations… Today, only one living refugee of the Tengeru community remains, 97-year-old Arusha resident Edward Woytowicz… Once Mr Woytowicz dies, he will be the final soul laid to rest among his people, the end of a journey that spanned several thousand kilometres in search of peace and freedom in East Africa…’ (East African 14-20 December)

Tanzania must be a rich country to pay MPs so much
Elsie Eyakuze shares her thoughts on the amount Tanzanian politicians pay themselves.
Extract: If we were all given the ability to vote on our own salaries, who wouldn’t go for the millions? …an infographic available on the Internet showed that Kenyan politicians have awarded themselves a salary that is 97 times the GDP per capita. Tanzania’s politicians, on the other hand, have had to keep up a facade of humility and egalitarianism, which must undoubtedly irritate them. Socialist hangovers are no joke… It was only a matter of time before the prosperity of our neighbours’ political classes would serve as an inspiration to us. And so the news that this current crop of parliamentarians have awarded themselves a severance package of close to $100,000 is only shocking in the sense that we’re a country of people who aren’t used to knowing all that much about what kind of money our politicians make… The question is, how did we end up with a political system with a gaping loophole like this? Our politi­cians literally hold the keys to the public kitty…

Rumour has it that being a politician here is very expensive and sometimes a risky investment… Greed only explains some of the problem, the rest is just an aspect of belonging to a patronage system that is likely to force you to find creative ways to recoup your costs, like a big fat package at the end of your term. Unfortunately, this is not a good time for us to see our politicians put their hands all over our public funds again. Don’t these folks believe in spin doctors? A move like this is going to raise the obvious questions: Just how poor or rich or whatever is this country anyway? How can we afford to pay parliamentarians that kind of money when we can’t seem to do anything halfway decent in the areas of public service that affects the quality of life for the majority? … Maybe we need to coin a term for our particular political principle: Contradictory development. (East African 8-14 February)

Tanzanian citizens will have the right to information – Kikwete
President Kikwete has at last broken the government’s silence on enacting the much sought Freedom to Information legislation. He declared in an interview in London during the Open Government Partnership (OGP) in October, that the government is working on a bill which will be tabled before Parliament in April this year. He was interviewed alongside the Executive Director of Twaweza NGO, Rakesh Rajani
(Media Watch November – December 2013)

by Donovan McGrath
To our readers: If you see an interesting mention of Tanzania in the newspapers and magazines you read, please let us know or send us a copy. Many thanks -Editor.

The poisoned chalice of Tanzania’s land deals
For more than ten years, Tanzania has encouraged foreign investment in land deals with its vision of modernisation and revival of the agri­cultural sector. 4.5 million hectares is being sought by foreign investors for biofuel or food production, encouraged by the 2009 Kilimo Kwanza (Agriculture First) initiative. However, inadequate land-management legislation has seen few success stories in the selling of land.

Extract: ‘… supposed beneficiaries, such as smallholder Ahmed Kipanga, a 37-year-old father of five from the coastal Kisarawe District, feel short-changed.

“I used to till my land and grow enough food to feed my family,” he told IRIN [UN news agency] in Mbeya, 600km south of a home he no longer has access to, adding that he was also able to earn around US$250 selling his surplus crop for each of the year’s two seasons. I just gave my land because we were convinced by a politician that it would make us rich. I knew I would get money for the land, and also get a well-paying job when the [investment] company began operations, they didn’t do anything and they sold our land to another company we didn’t even know,” he added. Kipanga now has no farm to grow food on and struggles to make ends meet by crushing rocks manually. A 7-tonne truckload brings in around $90, a sum he splits with two friends…

Some 27 agricultural investment deals have been signed since 2008, covering 274,228 hectare, according to data compiled by the Land Matrix. Of these, 11 projects have either been abandoned (including a 34,000 hectare Jatropha plantation in Kilwa District), or have yet to start production more than a year after contracts were signed. Just eight are operational.’ (IRIN UN Humanitarian News Network – 7 November)

Tanzania: the ideal destination for drug gangs
‘Tanzanian authorities battle to curb rise in drug smuggling into and out of the country’
Extract: ‘In his speech on the World Day against Drugs on 26 June, Tanzania’s prime minister Mizengo Pinda lamented that drugs are a national tragedy. According to Pinda, more than 10,799 Tanzanians have been charged with drug-dealing in the past five years. And the minister for foreign affairs and international co-operation, Bernard Membe, conceded last year that Tanzania is one of five countries in the Southern African Development Community implicated in illicit drug trafficking…

Last year more than 103 Tanzanians were arrested for cocaine smuggling in Brazil, and 200 in Hong Kong. A recent report of the Tanzania Drug Control Commission indicates that Tanzania has more than 4,684 registered addicts. The main market for drugs is Kinondoni in Dar es Salaam.

The 2013 report of the United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC) indicates that East Africa is a major target for traffickers wishing to enter African markets because of its unprotected coastline, major seaports and airports and porous land borders, which provide multiple entry and exit points. Also attractive to the drug syndicates are inadequate customs controls and cross-border co-operation, as well as weak criminal justice systems… Most ship-borne narcotics are thought to pass through Zanzibar … where they are offloaded and then moved to the mainland in small consignments in boats.’ (Mail Guardian, South Africa – 30 August).

Tanzanian “Beach Boys” in Cape Town
The photojournal describes encounters with a group of up to 100 Tanzanian youths, mainly stowaways, who live rough “under Nelson Mandela Boulevard at the foot of Cape Town, where the high rise buildings end and the docklands begin … [One Tanzanian] …had entered [the UK] through the Port of Hull in 2003 concealed in a Maltese bulk carrier called Global Victory, which he had boarded in the Port of Richard’s Bay on South Africa’s north coast. In his first months in the UK he had lived in Sheffield with a benevolent Cameroonian before bussing to Birmingham, where the Jamaican gangsters around Handsworth had permitted him to hustle small amounts of marijuana. [The mother of his daughter], a second generation Jamaican immigrant, had tried to save him from the streets by convincing her own mother to take him in, but with no other way of making money [he] continued to hustle by day and was eventually done for dealing [and] put on a flight to Dar es Salaam.” (http://africasacountry.com Sept 2013)

Tanzanian ‘mules’ ply Jo’burg streets
‘Tanzania is a transit point for drugs and South Africa is a prominent destination.’ Extract continues: ‘As a Tanzanian, you can’t help but notice the amount of Kiswahili that is spoken in the Jo’burg inner city… Some work as hairdressers or street vendors; others have joined the city’s criminal underworld. A large number are jobless, addicted to drugs and desperate to go home … In July this year, two Tanzanian citizens, Agnes Masogange and Melissa Edward, were arrested at OR Tambo International airport with six bags of tik worth more than TSh7 billion (R42.6-million). According to the South African Revenue Service, this was the largest seizure ever at a South African border… Some Tanzanian mules swallow plastic sachets of drugs and retrieve them later. This can have tragic consequences. Last year, two Tanzanians, Hassan Wanyama and Ali Mpili, died … after the cocaine sachets they had ingested leaked… As a result, all Tanzanians are now coming under suspicion. “At the border, they call us by the name ‘drugs’ and we are searched attentively and differently from others,” a Tanzanian woman said…’ (Mail Guardian, South Africa – 30 August)

During August, September and October 2013, The East African newspaper included a series of articles on music, dance, theatre, poetry and fashion. The following articles have been selected for your interest.

A taste of live music in Dar

Caroline Uliwa shares her experience of live music in a city restaurant. Extract: ‘It is the must-attend event for lovers of live performance in Dar es Salaam. Held every last Friday of the month at Triniti Restaurant in Oyster Bay, “The Beat” brings together Tanzanian artists performing bongo flava, reggae as well as blends of Afro fusion. The gig, hosted by Caravan Records and director Epsen Olsen aka Mzungu Kichaa [Crazy White Man], was started as a platform for Tanzanian musicians to develop their craft. Anyone who has come into contact with Mzungu Kichaa will tell you that though he’s Danish, he could just as well be born and bred Tanzanian. With his fluency in Kiswahili and command of Maa, he is very much a local musician. The night I attended, Twetulobo Band, consisting of five musicians playing Afro fusion and “Kuchele” traditional music from the Coast, was the first act… Malfred picked up from where Twetulobo left off and played songs from his debut album Hisia Zangu (My Feelings) … Then Mzungu Kichaa took the stage … [and] performed songs from his previous album [and his latest album ] Hustle …’ (East African 3-9 August)

In memory of Shaaban Robert
Extract: ‘Tanzanian writer Shaaban Robert, even in death, has been a role model to many Kiswahili writers and scholars in East Africa. Fifty years after his death, his works continue to influence the Kiswahili language and its writers. To keep his literary star shining, Kiswahili scholars and writers from East Africa and beyond … gathered in the Tanzanian town of Bukoba to celebrate his contribution to Kiswahili literature. Hundreds of visitors from Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and Ghana attended the conference dubbed Shaaban Robert Week at St Francis Hall.

Prominent Tanzanian scholars Prof Mugyabuso Mulokozi, Dr S. Sewangi, Dr Y. Rubanza, Dr Aldin Mutembei and Felix Sossoo, from the University of Dar es Salaam, attended the meeting and spoke fondly of Shaaban Robert… Mr Sossoo, a Ghanaian who is a master’s student at the University of Dar es Salaam, mesmerised the conference with his presentation on Kufikirika and Kusadikika, two novels by Robert that have been used as setbooks in schools and colleges all over East Africa. Mr Sossoo, who speaks Kiswahili fluently, studied the language at the University of Ghana for his bachelor’s degree. He now teaches at the University of Dar es Salaam… Robert’s son Iqbal Shaaban, who is a businessman, also attended the conference, in which scholars called for the award of a posthumous honorary doctorate to the writer.’ (East African 21-27 September)

Modern dance keeping teens off Dar streets
Contemporary dancer Isaac Abeneko has found a positive way of engaging the youth in Tanzania …’ Extract continues: ‘… Abeneko noticed the soaring numbers [of street children] and went out on a quest to understand why such children stayed away from the classroom… Abeneko came up with a simple solution – art! Local schools did not integrate art into the curriculum through which such children could express themselves, thereby making the learning experience more interesting… The dancer had just arrived from Senegal, where he had been attending a dance workshop with sponsorship from the Vipaji Foundation, a Tanzanian-based organisation that brings artists together to share their skills… Upon his return, he was expected to share his knowledge with local dancers. That was how Abeneko began teaching dance at Dogodogo Centre, an NGO that empowers street children… At a concert … at the Russian Cultural Centre in Dar es Salaam, the teens from Dogodogo Centre were the main act with their Elimu ni dance, choreographed by Abeneko. … the show stopper of the night was the group of six boys … their Elimu ni dance, whose setting was a classroom, had a clear message about the importance of education…’ (East African 12-18 October)

Dance, the modern way
‘Caroline Uliwa was elated to see contemporary dance group Haba na Haba perform in Dar es Salaam …’ Extract continues: ‘… Every year, Haba na Haba holds workshops at which it invites dancers across the country to join renowned choreographers and dancers in learning contemporary dance. It was initiated by Isaac Peter, who later recruited Shaaban Mugado and Malim Masafa to help manage it… Among the pieces that stood out was Maendeleo [Progress], choreographed by Emilie Asla from Norway… The Nyuki [Bees] and Wanawake [Women] sets, with their traditional African dance elements, were equally fascinating… This year, Haba na Haba was sponsored by the Russian Culture Centre, the Vipaji Foundation, Asedeva and the Lumumba Theatre…’ (East African 24-30 August)

Tanzanian model rocks top US fashion show

‘At the recent Washington DC Fashion Week, in a sea of long hair, black clothes and huge floppy black leather bags, Tanzanian-born model Flaviana [Matata, a 2007 Miss Universe finalist] stood out with a nearly bald head and fitted sleeveless dress’ Extract continues: ‘Michelle Obama did not attend the African-American design­er’s Cuban-themed Fashion Week extrav­aganza. But as [designer Tracy Reese’s] most important fan, the US First Lady’s spirit was evident… at the Studio at Lincoln Centre in Washington DC.’ (East African 14-20 September)

A stain on China’s ties with Africa
Christopher Lee calls on Hong Kong to do more to curb the bloody trade in ivory that is decimating Africa’s elephants – first by not buying it, then by doing more to stop the city becoming a node for traffickers. Extract continues: ‘… The visage of Africa is changing too, as more than a million Chinese guest workers now work and live there… Casting a dark cloud over the relationship is the illegal ivory trade, however, I say “trade”, but it’s not a trade. Really, it is theft; theft and exploitation of Africa’s natural resources.

More than 35,000 African elephants are now poached for their tusks every year. This type of killing cannot be sustained… This is the disheartening side of the China-Africa relationship…… authorities [in Hong Kong] seized on of the biggest hauls of smuggled ivory ever. This means Hong Kong is playing a key role as a transit and con­sumption hub for illegal ivory…’ (Sunday Morning Post 10 November)- Thanks to Ronald Blanche for this and the next item – Editor

Chinese in court over ivory haul
Extract: ‘Three Chinese nationals have been charged for possessing 706 tusks from poached elephants. Police and wildlife officers have cracked down on suspected poachers amid a surge of killings of elephant and rhino … The three accused – Huang Gin, Xu Fujie and Chen Jinzhan – were arrested … in … Dar es Salaam. They had hidden the tusks, weighing 1.8 tonnes and worth an estimated US$3.1 million in contain­ers… the trio were posing as garlic importers and marine product exporters…’ (South China Morning Post 11 November)

US embassy bombing suspect charged in New York
Extract: ‘The al-Qaeda terrorist suspect charged with orchestrating the bombings of two American embassies in East Africa in 1998 was led in handcuffs into a courtroom in New York … Twelve Americans were among the 224 victims of the twin bombings of the embassies in Kenya and Tanzania…’ (Times 16 October)

Rats sniff out TB
Extract: ‘… in 2000, APOPO [a Belgian NGO researching ways to detect anti-personnel landmines using rats] established a laboratory at Sokoine University of Agriculture in Morogoro, Tanzania that then developed an extensive training ground and test minefield… Since 2008, around 80 Gambian giant pouched rats have [also] been trained to sniff out the killer disease TB. This disease kills almost 1.5m people each year … [WHO] says a single technician, with a microscope, can do 25 samples a day. A rat can sniff out 10 samples in a minute! … rats are so accurate that they can often identify positive samples that have been overlooked by a clinic… The rats have so far diagnosed more than 3,500 cases missed by local clinics… They cost nearly $8,000 to train, but live up to eight years and are cheap to keep…’ (New African)

Dar plan for satellite city
Extract: ‘… In 2008, the government announced its intention to take over 6,400 hectares of land – [later] increased to 50,943 hectares – for construction of a new city, in an effort to decongest Dar es Salaam. But there was uncertainty over compensation of the 750,000 residents … Those affected by the project will be paid Tsh141 million ($89,000) per acre as compensation … government has been breaking the law, given the secrecy surrounding its implementation. Citing the Urban Planning Act, [Kigamboni member of parliament Dr Faustine Ndugulile] said the law requires government to convene a meeting with residents of the area … But the MP says the government made the announcement through newspaper adverts in October 2008 without convening any meetings with the people to be affected…’ (East African 12-18 October)

Reactions after Zanzibar acid attack
Extract: ‘… Like the rest of the dozen or so tour guides … in historic Stone Town, [taxi driver and tour guide] Mr Ola refused to believe that a local resident could have been behind the acid attack … on two 18-year-old British women… “We’re not that stupid,” Mr Ola said, referring to the islanders’ dependence on tourist revenues. Without the sightseers and beachgoers who swarm the island, he said, “at the end of the day we’re going to eat grass.” … “If we knew who it was,” said another, “we would be the first to punish them.”’ (Herald Tribune 4 September) – Thanks to Elsbeth Court for this item

Tanzania Ranks High in Governance Survey
‘The Mo Ibrahim Index of African Governance has ranked Tanzania number 17 out of Africa’s 52 nations in its 2013 survey.’ Extract continues: ‘The indicators include Safety and Rule of Law, Participation and Human Rights, Sustainable Economic Opportunity, and Human Development. Tanzania received 5 percentage points higher than the African average of 51.6%, and ranked third in East Africa (after Seychelles and Rwanda). Tanzania’s biggest improvements have been in Human Development (welfare, education, and health); and it ranked 12th in the continent for Participation and Human Rights…’ (Tanzania Invest 10 October)

100 most influential Africans
Extract: ‘… How do we determine these people’s influence? One yardstick we used was to emphasise that influence is not about popularity … impact on public, social and political discourse, however, is what largely helps us to determine their influence …’ The only Tanzanian in the top 100 is Patrick Ngowi. Extract continues: ‘… [Mr Ngowi is the] 28-year-old CEO of Helvetic Solar Contractors – a Tanzanian company that supplies, installs and maintains solar panel systems throughout the northern circuit of Tanzania… Combining the abundant natural energy that the African sky provides and the high demand for power, this young man has positioned his business to ensure that demand and supply will have a continuous flow. The interesting story is that Ngowi started his business at the age of 15!’ (New African December)

by Ben Taylor

Respected lawyer, human rights activist and politician, Dr Sengondo Mvungi died in Milipark Hospital, Johannesburg, on November 12th. He had been attacked in his home by bandits nine days earlier, in an apparent robbery. Though he was rushed first to Muhimbili National Hospital, and later to South Africa, Dr Mvungi never recovered from the attack. He died from his injuries a few days later.

Having begun his career as a journalist on the ruling party’s newspaper, Uhuru, Dr Mvungi later switched to the law. After studies in Dar es Salaam and abroad, he taught in the Law Faculty at the University of Dar es Salaam for over two decades. He had recently been appointed Deputy Vice Chancellor of the newly established University of Bagamoyo.
A staunch defender of media freedoms and human rights, his legal expertise and media background made him an obvious appointment to the founding board of the Media Council of Tanzania, where he was very active. He was among the founders of the Legal and Human Rights Centre, and practiced as an advocate of the High Court.

With the advent of multi-party politics, Dr Mvungi joined the opposition, running as the NCCR-Mageuzi Presidential Candidate in 1995. He knew he could never win, but saw value in making a contribution to the slow task of building a new political reality in Tanzania. It was a cause he continued to struggle for throughout his life.

Most recently, Dr Mvungi had been a prominent member of the Constitution Review Commission, bringing his sharp legal mind and unstinting defence of human rights once more to the service of his country.

“His untimely departure leaves us with a serious gap in a situation where we already had too many gaps,” wrote Jenerali Ulimwengu. “Our cumulative and collective actions have created around us an intellectual wasteland in which rather than blooms of flowering thought, angry shrubs produce only prickly and poisonous thorns, testimony to our degeneracy.”

“It may not explain the whole episode but Mvungi was killed by representatives of these shrubs, who may not even fully comprehend the enormity of their actions in terms of the loss inflicted on the nation. How could they ever understand, when all they were looking for was a little cash and some trinkets they could sell to get money to drink and to buy chicken and chips. The cheapness of life implied in their actions speaks to the cheapness of life generally, engendered by a nonchalant system that has manufactured disposable people who dispose of other people.”

Seasoned Tanzanian politician and diplomat, Ambassador Isaac Sepetu, died on October 27th, aged 70. Ambassador Sepetu’s career encompassed a spell as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs during the presidency of Julius Nyerere, Minister of Information in the Zanzibar Revolutionary Government in the 1970s and Minister of Economy and Planning in Zanzibar in the 1990s. He also served as Tanzanian Ambassador to the former USSR and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

To many younger Tanzanians, however, Ambassador Sepetu is perhaps best known as the father of Wema Sepetu, actress, model and former Miss Tanzania. Wema has become a staple of the celebrity-obsessed tabloid media, not least for her relationship with bongo flava star Diamond Platinumz.

Lionel Cliffe: An Africanist scholar and global citizen
By establishing the Department of Development Studies in 1969, the University of Dar es Salaam was stepping into an uncharted territory. The main task of the new unit was to teach an interdisciplinary course on socio-economic development to all entering students. The course would challenge the conservative spirit of the traditional social science disciplines and reflect the goal of building socialism in Tanzania. The first head of this bold academic venture was Lionel Cliffe, a British scholar who had come to Tanzania in 1961.

After teaching at Kivukoni College and a spell in the civil service, Lionel had joined the Department of Political Science of UDSM in 1964. Lionel was a socialist, sympathetic to Mwalimu Nyerere’s policies, and a firm supporter of the liberation of Africa from external domination. Right from the start, he undertook pioneering socio-political research and became involved in the effort to make the university curricula more relevant to national needs. The book One Party Democracy: A Study of the 1965 Tanzania General Elections (East Africa Publishing House, Nairobi, 1967) that he edited and co-authored and which contains several detailed investigations and political analyses is regarded as a pioneering work in the field that also provides a bright insight into the political dynamics of Tanzania of that time.

Lionel was not just an armchair academic. As a leftist student activist at the UDSM at that time, I vividly recall him providing much needed support to progressive student groups in ways more than one. Our student magazine, Cheche, had no external funder and was perpetually short of resources needed for bringing an issue into print. Though we did the printing ourselves, paper was expensive. Lionel helped out by selling printing paper from the departmental stock to us at the wholesale price.

By the time Lionel left the university in 1972, Development Studies had become an integral part of the local academic scene, and universities the world over began to imitate the department. Lionel edited (with John Saul) Socialism in Tanzania: A Interdisciplinary Reader, which remains a standard reference work for anyone interested in the post-Independence history of Tanzania and a relevant text for present day students of development studies, economics, education and political science that focus on Africa.

I pen these words with a heavy heart because Lionel Cliffe passed away after a brief illness on October 23, 2013. Until his death, he was engaged in African issues. Among his many achievements, he was a founder editor of the Review of African Political Economy and the first Director of the Centre for Development Studies at the University of Leeds. Over the years, he had established a distinguished academic reputation, and published on a range of issues spanning from land tenure and reform to political affairs and external barriers to development. He remained a champion of social and economic self-determination for the people of Africa and took a sharply critical stand on the Western strategies that promoted continued domination over the continent.

I last met this fine, ever smiling, soft-speaking human being in April this year. He was in Dar es Salaam to attend the annual Mwalimu Nyerere Intellectual Festival at the UDSM. He had regularly visited many countries in Africa over the years, maintaining strong links with progressive African scholars striving for social and economic justice.

Lionel engaged with us on an equal footing; at times we critiqued him, and at times, he critiqued us; but in the spirit of comrades undertaking a joint long term journey. He had the outlook of and functioned like a global citizen. At his passing, Africa has lost a good comrade; an upright champion our people’s rights. Let us pay homage to this stellar specimen of humanity by drawing sound lessons from the work of activists scholars like him and begin to recreate an African academia that will challenge the neo-liberal establishment and truly champion the rights and needs of the people of Africa.

One thing I am certain of: Wherever in the heavens he has landed, Professor Lionel Cliffe is already busy establishing an inter-galactic Institute of Development Studies, and boldly challenging the status quo. Most likely, he has us within his sights too. Let us then once more elicit his usual broad grin by retaking similar steps on this planet.
Karim F. Hirji
(Abridged, with permission, from a longer obituary in Pambazuka News)

by Donovan McGrath

I eat halal meat, and I just know these recent religious tensions aren’t kosher. Elsie Eyakuze shares her thoughts on recent religious tension in Tanzania.
Extract: “Let’s admit: We’re not coping well with our diversity anymore. There are some who will say that we never have been the haven of peace and tolerance that we purport to be, that we are rather fragile. There might be some truth to that. It is unlikely that Tanzania in its 50-odd years of Independence has managed to magically resolve one of the most intractable social divides… Since we no longer have the unifying elements of a socialist regime marching us through poverty to rely on anymore, it looks like we’re starting to take care of some of the business we never got around to in the tender period of our early nationhood.
Now identities are cropping up, and they’re always so obvious aren’t they? If not tribe, then religion. I respect the benefits that a strong iden­tity, a set of beliefs can confer on people. Just not at the cost of the col­lective good. That is what is frightening about the recent accumulation of stories about religious strife – it is not in keeping with our reverence for the quiet life. The secular life. The separation of church and state, and all that entails.
…We have stepped all over Zanzibar’s frail sovereignty to avoid even the hint of encroaching theocracy… I don’t know many Tanzanians who can look at their clans and not stumble across at least two major religions, an aunt who is a charismatic pastor, a couple of closet atheists and a handful of mixed marriages…. Which makes me wonder who is looking to benefit from the destabilisation that religious strife offers? … I can’t bring myself to imagine that we would be so stupid as to fall into the trap of religious strife … People of true and deep faith tend to be rather difficult to annoy to the point of violence. Which makes religious conflict one of the biggest contradictions I have ever encountered…”
(East African 6-12 April)

Radical preacher wanted over Zanzibar acid attack shot in police raid
“A radical Muslim preacher wanted for questioning over the acid attack on two British tourists in Zanzibar was shot … as he fled police trying to arrest him [in Morogoro].’ Extract continues: ‘Sheikh Issa Ponda is understood to have survived the raid and was on the run but injured police sources told The Daily Telegraph. He had visited Zanzibar in the weeks running up to the attack on Katie Gee and Kirstie Trup … Ponda earlier this month met with the imprisoned leaders of a Muslim separa­tist group, Uamsho, who police believe may have inspired the attack on the two women. (Telegraph online 10 August). (Editor’s note: there has been considerable concern in Tanzania regarding the portrayal of this acid attack in the UK press, including this article from the Telegraph. In particular, several British papers insinuated, as this article did, that the arrest of Sheikh Ponda was connected to the acid attack. The Tanzanian police have strenuously denied this connection.)

Why Dar is hot, and the rest of us are not
According to the East African, as far as African diplomacy goes Tanzania right now is that girl on the dance floor that every boy wants to dance with. If it is a Chinese leader coming to Africa, he must stop in Dar es Salaam. If it is a Western leader visiting, tea with the President at State House on Ocean Road will inevitably be on the cards. And now in the first week of July not only has US President Barack Obama decided to cherry pick only Tanzania to visit in the region, but former American president George Bush and his wife Laura will also be in town for a First Ladies conference.
An earlier article entitled ‘Why Obama chose Tanzania for his Africa tour’ explored three possible reasons why Dar is hot. First, it has vast oil, gas and mineral reserves that have been discovered in recent years, so the Americans don’t want the Chinese to feast on the goodies alone. They want a piece of the action. Second, its leaders are not involved in any major domestic or international controversy… Third, it is the most stable country in the region … the only country in the region whose political reserves have not yet been tapped out. Rwanda has to keep 24 hours DRC watch as well as peacekeeping in Darfur and the two Sudans’ border; Uganda, Burundi, and Kenya are still wading through Somalia’s murky political waters. And Tanzania has the largest unspent store of energies that can be unleashed through political reforms.” (East African 8-14 June).

Violent Episodes Grow in Tanzania, an African Haven
“As one of the leaders of an acrimonious doctors’ strike in Tanzania, Dr. Stephen Ulimboka was not entirely surprised when a group of armed men appeared, unannounced, at a meeting and arrested him. But when he saw that the car they were forcing him into had no license plates, fear truly hit him. … Tanzania has a reputation abroad as an island of stability in the often-chaotic region of East Africa. … President Obama arrives here on Monday to a country where human rights groups and the largest opposition party say episodes of intimidation and suppres­sion of political opponents are growing.
“The international community believes there is peace in Tanzania,” said Willibrod Slaa, the secretary general of the opposition party Chadema. “There is fear, not peace.”… Journalists have been attacked and in at least one instance killed while working. Last July, the government banned an independent weekly newspaper, Mwanahalisi, which had been reporting aggressively on Dr. Ulimboka’s kidnapping, linking the crime to the government. President Jakaya Kikwete denied any con­nection. … Analysts say the very real prospect that voters will choose another party in the next election, in 2015, has rattled some members of the government, particularly those who are afraid that a new party in power could mean aggressive investigations and prosecutions.” (New York Times 30 June)

Tanzania settles human trafficking case of former diplomat
President Obama can go to Africa next week with a clean conscience. The government of Tanzania, which had been in a years-long dispute with the State Department over a human trafficking judgment against one of its diplomats, has settled the case on the eve of the presidential trip. Diplomat Alan Mzengi in 2008 was ordered by a U.S. court to pay a $1 million judgment to a domestic servant he and his wife held against her will at their Bethesda home for four years while he was posted in Washington. The woman was maltreated and eventually escaped, but Mzengi didn’t pay the default judgment and instead returned to Tanzania, where he was reportedly working as an advisor to the presi­dent.
The victim was willing to accept only the $170,000 in back wages she was owed, but, despite years of efforts by the State Department, no serious offer emerged. Finally, Tanzania this week paid the $170,000; according to people familiar with the agreement, Mzengi himself paid a small amount of the total and his government provided the rest. The victim’s pro bono lawyer, Martina Vandenberg, said it was the first such payment for a case of diplomatic human trafficking in the United States.” (Washington Post 21 June)

Obama hopes to tap into Tanzania’s boom
“Discovery of large energy deposits and secession fears in East African country form backdrop for US president’s visit. … Obama is visiting Tanzania months after China’s new president, Xi Jinping, had finished a tour of the resource-rich country. As China continues to expand its foot­print on the African continent, the United States is moving to strengthen ties with countries it has had good relations with over the years. … The US government understands that there are political schisms and corrup­tion in Tanzania, but the country’s stability is important for US business interests and foreign policy, given the risk of terrorism on the coast of East Africa and the ongoing efforts to find peace in the Great Lakes region, as Tanzania shares borders with eight other countries.
… Despite the corruption and likely instability in the future, President Obama’s decision to visit Tanzania will be viewed by many as good judgment. The fact that Tanzania has held five successive democratic elections in a region plagued by political instability and tribal disputes does not only make it a good investment destination, but also gives it legitimacy and moral authority to broker peace in Somalia, where the United States is battling groups affiliated with al-Qaeda.” (Al Jazeera 30 June)

An Electric Moment for Tanzania Lingers
“The curving stretch of road along the Indian Ocean behind the State House was once simply called Ocean Road. Now, a black-and-white­striped post holds a sign bearing its new name: Barack Obama Drive. … After Mr. Obama headed back to the United States on Tuesday – ending a trip to sub-Saharan Africa that also took him to Senegal and South Africa – the American flag still waved alongside the green, yellow, black and blue of the Tanzanian flag, under the ubiquitous signs with Mr. Obama’s face and the Swahili word for welcome, “karibu.” … Mr. Obama retains the kind of celebrity status here in East Africa that he once enjoyed in Europe and other parts of the world, making his visit a public event as much as an act of diplomacy. The cheering throngs welcoming him to Tanzania were much larger and louder than those he saw on the first two stops of his trip.” (New York Times 2 July)

Funded at last! Zanzibar Cathedral
Extract: “In 2007 CED [Christian Engineers in Development] was asked to look at whether we could assist in efforts to conserve and repair Zanzibar Cathedral. The costs are considerable and CED had been sup­porting the Cathedral and Friends of Zanzibar Cathedral to find funding with the expectation that the EU would make a call for heritage projects and fund a large portion of the work. The Cathedral organised a spon­sored climb of Mount Kilimanjaro which raised around $20,000 … the World Monument Fund (WMF) … has taken a broader interest in the project and its significance on the World stage…
The works principally involve the tying of the barrel vault arch roof of the Cathedral, which is formed of approx 600mm thick coral and lime concrete, with high tensile steel bars (to be imported). Plan one is to provide steel thrust palates at either end of the tie rods, but if the wall construction proves to be very poor, then plan two may have to swing into operation – the casting of large reinforced concrete beams to spread the load. We hope and pray the project does not necessitate this!” (CED Newsletter No 97, May 2013)

The Bully of Zanzibar
“House crows compete for resources with other birds, prey on their eggs and chicks, and regularly raid poultry.” Extract continues: “When David Livingstone arrived on the island of Zanzibar in 1866, he was so appalled at the filth and the stench that he called it “Stinkibar” … In an attempt to clean up the island, the colonial governor of the time [who had seen crows eating rubbish in India] .. introduced the Indian house crow [in 1891] to clean up the filth, little knowing the havoc it would wreak in Zanzibar and beyond… “By 1917, the house crows were offi­cially declared a pest in Zanzibar …” [and] has been called the world’s most destructive crow. This aggressive monster is unafraid of humans … They are known to gouge out the eyes of infant cows, sheep and goats … it is difficult to bait the house crow because it can recognise human faces… Thriving on human waste … [t]he only thing known to repulse house crows is the avicide Starlicide, manufactured in America to get rid of the European starling… It worked well until the infamous 9/11 terror attacks, when the poison was banned for export by Americans for fear it could be used for other purposes… Kenyan authorities have taken no initiative to fight the menace. But [Tanzania] is killing one million birds a month…” (East African 20-26 April)

Not all Tanzanians have the ‘r’ problem – Ebby Exaud shares his experience with Swahili during a stay in Kenya.
Extract: “I went to Kenya to study for a bachelor’s degree six years ago, and, at first, I was surprised at the way everyone changed their intona­tion on learning that I was Tanzanian. “Naomba nikusarimie.” “Umerara poa ndugu yangu?” “Naomba nikuombe uniretee kazi yangu.” (May I greet you? Did you sleep well, my brother? Can I please ask you to bring back my work?) I don’t know who told these people that all Tanzanians speak like that. And I am not referring to the courtesy in speech but replacing “l” with “r.” It took me a long time to explain to them that not all Tanzanians have the “r” problem. It mostly comes from Sukuma who do. But it never stopped. The good thing with being a Tanzanian in Kenya is that you are considered the Kiswahili guru. I was always happy to teach my Kenyan friends proper grammar. I could not get over how they always said “mandizi” as the plural for “ndizi.” In Kiswahili mufti, the plural for ndizi is ndizi.
I had three roommates at the university, all Kikuyu… They said if I wanted to have a comfortable stay at the university, and in Kenya, I had to learn the language… My Kikuyu lessons didn’t last too long … just two days… I asked them to teach me how to say “Good night” in Kikuyu. Happily, they told me it was “Koma ngui ino.” So I sent Wahura [a Kikuyu girl] a “good night” text message in Kikuyu and she did not reply that night. In the morning, I learnt what I thought was a good night message actually meant, “Sleep, you dog”! She had a good laugh when she realised I had not meant to insult her. But it marked the end of my Kikuyu lessons. To this day, I do not know how to say “good night” in Kikuyu.” (East African 25-31 May).

Tanzanian artist draws out the life in women
Extract: “…In Tanzania, the Tingatinga style of art, named after its founder, Edward Said Tingatinga, was developed in the second half of the 20th century. And now, there is a new generation of artists who have created their own style. Among them is Beata Munita, a self-trained painter who has been working on canvas since 2009. Munita has a unique style in her use of colours, brush stroke, and mosaic back­grounds. The artist says she paints the stories of African women and their role in society. The purpose of her work is to express all aspects of women as mothers, workers, home makers and wives… Munita show­cased her art at the Alliance Francaise in Dar es Salaam. It was her first exhibition The 360 Degrees Woman.” (East African 29 March)

Young African Millionaires to watch in 2013
This online edition of Forbes featured ‘a handful of young African entrepre­neurs who’ve legitimately built multi-million dollar companies while in their 20s and 30s. Tanzanian Mohammed Dewji is among them.
Extract: “Dewji, 38, a Tanzanian businessman and politician, is the CEO and leading shareholder of Mohammed Enterprise Limited (METL), one of the largest industrial conglomerates in East Africa. His father, Gulam Dewji, founded the conglomerate decades ago as a trading com­pany but “Mo” as he is popularly called, now calls the shots… METL, which records an annual turnover of close to $2 billion, owns 21st Century Textiles, one of the largest textile mills in sub-Saharan Africa by volume… The group employs over 24,000 full-time employees… Mo Dewji [is also] a Member of Parliament for Tanzania’s Singida Urban constituency…” (Forbes magazine – online 15 July)

The Mtwara boom
Thousands of tonnes of drill pipes are neatly stacked in a yard at Mtwara port in southern Tanzania, waiting to be loaded onto vessels supplying gas rigs 100km (60 miles) offshore. There drill bits, guided with centi­metre-level accuracy, will bite into the seabed 2km underwater and then penetrate the reservoirs of gas that locals hope will fuel a long-awaited leap forward. When the British colonial authorities opened the deepwa­ter port at Mtwara in 1954, partly to replace a naval port at Simonstown in South Africa, it was billed as a turning-point for East African trade. But the port decayed and Mtwara and its cashew-growing hinterland were neglected by Tanzania’s rulers after the country became independ­ent, initially as Tanganyika, in 1961.
Work on a road linking Mtwara to Dar es Salaam, the commercial capital, began half a century ago and is still unfinished. Most tellingly, Tanzania’s education system has failed to equip the local Makonde peo­ple with skills. But the scale of the coming gas bonanza bears no com­parison with anything in the past. Tanzania’s gasfields abut even richer ones in the waters of neighbouring Mozambique. Britain’s BG and Norway’s Statoil have won licences to exploit the bulk of the gas found so far. Tanzania’s government wants the companies to put some of the gas to use in Tanzania and to invest in local infrastructure. Exporting the rest will mean constructing a liquefied-natural-gas plant that will be the biggest project in Tanzanian history.
The government has also signed up a Nigerian company (Dangote) to build a cement factory near Mtwara. A new railway will have to be laid to carry material from the port to the factory. Within a few years coal, ores, timber and food should be shipped out of Mtwara in greater quantities than before.” (The Economist 20 April) -Thank you John Walton, Simon Hardwick and David Leishman for this item – Editor

Africans moved aside for land
This issue looks at the forced movement of people from their land. In Ethiopia cattle-herders are being resettled into “main villages” to free up vast tracts of land to foreign corporations, while in Tanzania Masai herders are being evicted to allow a big-game hunting firm exclusive access to Masai village land (see TA 95,96 and 105)
“Masai herders may be victims of deal with Dubai hunting firm”. Extract continues: “Tanzania plans a new “wildlife corridor” on 600 square miles of Masai village land in the Loliondo Region … will evict 30,000 Masai – and allow exclusive access to the Ortello Business Corporation (OBC), a big-game hunting firm owned by the royal family of Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Tanzania’s tourism minister, Khamis Kagasheki … announced the creation and sale of the wildlife corridor as a kind of fait accompli…. Tanzanian officials claim the Masai are squatters on government land and that their cattle overgraze and threaten the health and migration of herds of wildebeest. Many biologists argue that the Masai, who do not hunt, pose little threat to the ecology and lived alongside wildlife, including the wildebeest, for centuries. Nomadic cattle rearing is a highly productive use of arid lands, well adapted to the inconsistent local weather patterns, they argue.
‘The way the Masai manage the range actually encourages wildlife,’ says University of Washington expert Benjamin Gardner. In recent years, the government of Tanzania has earned far more cash from tourism than from cattle, and the Masai argue that officials are taking their land under the rubric of environmentalism to line their pockets. The OBC has operated in Liliondo since 1992 and pays so well that Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete sent in national police during a 2009 drought to keep cattle and locals away from water resources near the hunting camp.
… The government might rethink its decision after an online petition received two million signatures and as Masai threatened to leave the ruling party, Chama Cha Mapinduzi … Tanzania’s mission in the United Nations issued a statement upholding Minister Kagasheki’s decision that evicting the Masai was an ecological necessity… Ced Hesse, principal researcher on dry lands and pastures for the Britain-based International Institute for Environment and Development, says Tanzania’s position is ‘not founded in any scientific evidence’.” (The Christian Science Monitor Weekly 10 June) -Thank you R J Searle for this item – Editor

The Karagosis are back
Up to the 1960s in Zanzibar, the Karagosi [Puppets: from Turkish Karagöz] show was the main Eid attraction, both for kids and grown-ups at Mnazi Mmoja grounds, followed by a ride on the wooden merry­go-round and a picnic on the grass with family and friends. Extract continues: ‘The Karagosi show is a revival of the old customs. The performance combines live actors and puppets on stage together in a funny, enchanting performance. The organizers are Creative Solutions and dramatist Issak Esmail Issak collaborating in their second summer production, “Ruya na Rabia”. The action takes place in the 30s and 40s in Makunduchi village on southern Unguja. The play is based on one of several published short stories by Issak Esmail Issak. The language is Swahili.
Ruya and Rabia are twins. One of them influences the other in habit and action so strongly that no one is able to tell them apart. Soon Rabia is lost at sea during Mwaka Koga (finalizing the year after Ramadhan and Eid). Ruya grieves and becomes ill. When she recovers she discov­ers she has inherited Rabia’s magic, whereby she is able to make those near her imitate all her actions… Ruya and Rabia is a comedy for young and old, played by trained young Zanzibari actors, exquisite puppets created by Aida Ayers at Creative Solutions and with original freshly composed music. The show was performed at Creative Solutions Centre at Mangapwani”. (Habari 2/2013)

by Donovan McGrath

Tanzania faces fresh pressure over airport – East African (5 January 2013).
Extract: ‘Tanzania is facing renewed pressure to shelve the construction of an international airport next to the world famous Serengeti National Park … “The government is facing real pressure from some circles, but it will go ahead despite all these,” [said Deputy Transport minister Charles Tizeba]. Construction of the $350 million airport was expected to start early this year … The Friends of Serengeti movement has repeatedly denounced having an airport so close to the World Heritage Site, saying it would attract more human activity near the fragile Serengeti-Mara ecosystem. Opponents of the project say the landing and takeoff of large planes in Mugumu could damage wildlife migration patterns…’

Fastjet threatened with licence removal – Independent (6 February 2013)
Extract: ‘Major turbulence yesterday hit Fastjet, the African budget airline backed by easy-Jet founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, as a legal dispute saw the former owner of its Kenyan business threaten to take away its licence. Fastjet’s Africa operations have been licensing the Fly540 brand from Five Forty Aviation – majority-owned by chief executive Don Smith since 2008. But Five Forty claims Fastjet has not filed safety reports for the past three months and that one plane, “which flew with defects from Tanzania and landed in Nairobi on 14 December, should not have flown”. It also alleges Fastjet owes it $7.7m (£4.9m) in licensing fees …’ Thank you Roger Nellist for sending this article – Editor

Tanzania leads East Africa in switching to digital television – East African (5-11 January 2013)
‘Other countries have been held back by the pricing of set-top boxes or logis­tics.’ Extract continues: ‘Tanzania is the first East African country to switch off the analogue television signal despite fears that the pricing of set-top boxes would disrupt the process… The Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) switched off the analogue signal in Dar es Salaam on December 31, 2012 at midnight but said it will take a phased approach in order to ensure the process is smooth. But there were reports of technical hitches … TCRA linked the hitches to the lack of public awareness on installation of the set-top boxes rather than quality of devices or frequencies…’

West Cork volunteers install solar-powered plant in Tanzania – Southern Star (8 December 2012)
It is always nice to see Tanzania featured in local press. This little piece, which comes from Ireland, came a bit late to be included in TA 104, but here it is!
Extract: ‘… Two volunteers from West Cork, Xavier Dubuisson … and Sean Coomey … travelled to Tanzania to install a solar power system at a primary school run by the African Benedictines. The project was an international co-operation between Cork charity Solar Without Frontiers (SWF), Glenstal Abbey, St Ottilien Archabbey in Germany and the Mvimwa Abbey in Tanzania. SWF, set up by a group of sustainable energy specialists in Co Cork, aims to bring solar energy to disadvantaged communities in Africa… The school in Mvimwa caters for approximately 470 pupils, aged between four and 13. Boarders from all over Tanzania as well as local students attend the school, which is recognized as a centre of excellence in education in Tanzania… SWF estimate that the solar PV system will meet approximately 90% of the school’s electricity demand, resulting in a saving of £3,700 in diesel fuel cost.’ Thanks to Ann Moriyama for this article – Editor

When Dar, the haven of peace, was the Mecca of revolutionaries – East African (5-11 January 2013)
Extract: ‘…Right through the 1960s and 70s, the country’s capital Dar es Salaam attracted the global revolutionary set like a beacon. Among them was the late Guyanese historian Walter Rodney, the 32nd anniversary of whose assassina­tion was marked in June [2012]. He was among numerous academics, intellec­tuals, political activists, freedom fighters and dreamers from around the world who settled in Tanzania at different times during the Ujamaa era… Revelling in an atmosphere that not only fuelled their idealism but also served as a hothouse to incubate ideologies and movements they believed would change the world… The Organisation of African Unity Liberation Committee – earlier based in Accra, Ghana – moved its headquarters to Dar-es-Salaam. Tanzania became a reliable rear base for Namibia’s South West African People’s Organisation (Swapo) and the Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (Frelimo) as well [as] South Africa’s African National Congress (ANC), the Zimbabwe African National Union (Zanu), the Zimbabwe African People’s Union (Zapu) and the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA)… Having oper­ated from Tanzania for many years, people like current Namibian president Hifikepunye Pohamba and his predecessor Dr Sam Nujoma retain fond memories of their years there… The late president Julius Nyerere’s leadership had made it clear that freedom for the country was meaningless as long as other African countries remained under colonial rule. It therefore welcomed African freedom fighters with open hands, including some who would eventu­ally perish in the course of the struggle. Among them was Eduardo Mondlane, the former Frelimo president who was assassinated in 1969 by a parcel bomb sent to him at the Frelimo headquarters in Dar es Salaam… Apart from the hands-on freedom fighters and activists, many distinguished academics and intellectuals were also drawn by the political environment in Dar. Thus Walter Rodney, who influenced so many African Independence-era intellectuals with his 1972 treatise How Europe Underdeveloped Africa, had two stints teaching at the University of Dar es Salaam. According to Horace Campbell, a renowned scholar … Rodney’s time in Tanzania was “perhaps the most important in the formation of [his] ideas”, and while based in Dar, “he was at the forefront of establishing an intellectual tradition which still today makes Dar es Salaam one of the centres of discussion of African politics and history.” …’

Transporting dinosaurs the hard way – Guardian (online 6 March 2013)
Dr Dave Hone takes a look at the issues facing palaeontologists past and pre­sent when it comes to moving fossils. Extract: ‘A key problem with excavating dinosaurs and other fossils is that these tend to be in remote places… That means that once you have dug up your bones and wrapped them in a protective plaster jacket, you need to get them to a road in order to get them to a museum. Off-road vehicles help of course, but can’t always get that close to the site… Naturally modern machinery makes a big difference, but even back in the late 1800s and early 1900s there were typically large numbers of horses (or camels in Asia) available, and distances to some form of road or railway were not too prohibitive. However, one major expedition really took the biscuit, cake and most of the sweet trolley when it came to transporting bones, and recently I was lucky enough to catch up with the last vestiges of their efforts. Descend to the bone cellar in the Berlin Museum for Nature today and there are a couple of neat racks of bamboo cylinders on the shelves representing the last of the dinosaur remains collected in east Africa over a century ago. Back in the first decade of the 1900s, a team of German palaeontologists began excavating what would prove to be one of the great dinosaur field sites in what is now Tanzania. Huge numbers of colossal bones were uncovered … and in just a few years of excavation they had amassed a collection of thousands of individual specimens (though sadly many were lost in World War II bombings). However, the terrain was horrific and funds were relatively low, and pack animals didn’t do well in the heat. So how do you transport single bones that weigh several hundred kilos some 60 kilometers (as the crow flies) to the coast? The solution was to have them carried by hand. A near army of locals were hired to help dig out the material and still more were employed to carry the bones out of the field. Local bamboo was cut and held together with wire to create cylinders that could be carried by a single person. The cylinders were then walked out in trains of people to the port of Lindi where they were packed into crates and shipped to Germany. Larger cases were created that could be carried by two to six people (and on one occasion eight), but beyond this they became too hard to manipulate over the rough ground and so setting a relatively low size limit on what could be carried. The biggest bones were therefore carefully broken into smaller chunks, marked up, and then reassembled back in Berlin. All together it required more than 5000 man-journeys (it was a four day walk to the coast) to shift 185 tons of material in 4300 individual containers in under five years. So many of these were taken out in such a short space of time, and so much work was required in Berlin to open, prepare, clean and mount the fossils that not all of the containers were ever opened. Fortunately while there may be a few still sitting unopened, their contents are not a mystery as a few years ago the museum had them CT scanned so we do know what is in there… Even with hundreds of bearers, the idea of carrying the best part of two hundred tons of bones cross-country for tens of miles seems staggering, and my respect of their achievements is colossal: the material is in superb condition. Still, I wouldn’t have minded a spare helicopter on a couple of my last few trips to ease the burden.’ Thanks to Tim Brooke for this item – Editor

Ngorongoro project on the spot – East African (19-25 January 2013)
Extract: ‘Controversy surrounds a TShs5 billion ($3.154 million) livestock project in Tanzania’s Ngorongoro Crater initiated three years ago, with claims of irregularities and misappropriation of funds. The Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority (NCAA), which was to establish a 3,000 hectare livestock ranch for the Maasai community in the tourist site, is now trading accusations with the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) over the stalling of the project. In 2009, the government directed the NCAA to spend the cash on establishing a ranch that would be used to transform Maasai livestock hus­bandry in Ngorongoro. It was to be operational in July 2011, with a capacity to contain 70,000 cattle. But, a year and a half later, with nearly TShs2 billion ($1,261 million) spent, there is nothing to show for it. The East African has been informed that the funds were spent to pay a consultant and to conduct a study tour of France by elders from the Maasai community. The [PPRA], a parliamentary committee and the state are now suspecting swindling of some of the money. However, the NCAA management denies any impropriety, instead accusing the PPRA of interfering with the project in the implementation phase over procurement technicalities…’

Two tons of ivory seized at Kenya port – Evening Standard (16 January 2013)
Extract: ‘Kenyan authorities have seized at least two tons of illegal elephant ivory in Mombasa. Port customs officers impounded 638 pieces from Tanzania in a container bound for Indonesia that was said to be carrying “decoration stones”… There is a growing demand in China for ivory trinkets.’

Call of the wild: family of gorillas to be freed in African – Times (24 October 2012)
Extract: ‘…An 11-strong family of gorillas … will be released into the wild after living in captivity at a wildlife park. The group is headed by Djala, a 30-year­old male rescued from poachers in Africa and taken to the wildlife partk at Port Lympne, Kent, in the 1990s. His family consists of five “wives” and five offspring aged between 6 years and 8 months. They were all reared in captiv­ity… The release [in Africa], planned for early [2013], is the first time a rein­troduction of a family group has been attempted the conservation organisation [the Aspinall Foundation] said… The foundation, which runs a captive-breeding programme [as part of its Back to the Wild initiative], has already released 3 black rhino into the wild in Tanzania … where it says they are doing well…’
Thanks to John Sankey for this item – Editor

Kiswahili, lingua franca on a roll: Kiswahili has spread beyond region, thrives in unexpected places – East African (1-7 December 2012)
Ciugu Mwagiru writes about the swift spread of Kiswahili. Extract: ‘For those concerned about the loss of African heritage and our rapidly vanishing languages and cultures, the best news of the decade is that Tanzania plans to promote the teaching of Kiswahili in foreign countries and will be setting up offices for that purpose through its embassies abroad. Amos Makalla, the coun­try’s deputy Minister for Information, Youth, Culture and Sports, said recently, the project will kick off “very soon” with the opening of a teaching office in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa, which also hosts the headquarters of the African Union… Tanzanian parliament ratified a protocol on the establishment of the East African Kiswahili Commission, which seeks to recognise Kiswahili as the regional bloc’s lingua franca. Tanzania became the second country to ratify the protocol after Kenya… The Ugandan parliament has yet to ratify the new protocol… Rwanda and Burundi … have already sought the green light from the East African Community Secretariat to embark on the promotion of Kiswahili in their countries… Kiswahili has become the second language for millions of people in East and Central Africa, where it is either an official or national language… Already an official language of the African Union, along­side English, French, Arabic, Portuguese and Spanish, Kiswahili has grown fast and now thrives in unexpected places: Libya, the Comoros Islands, Mayotte, Mozambique, Oman, Rwanda, Somalia, United Arab Emirates and even South Africa, Canada and the US… At the global level, Kiswahili has grown fast, and today, estimates show it is spoken by some 120 to 150 million people, a huge jump from 2007 figures. In that year, Kiswahili was estimated to have six mil­lion native speakers and 40 million second language speakers…’

Politics: President Kikwete’s loss of CCM influence means he will not be able to pick his successor – Africa Report (No 46 December 2012-January 2013)
This article was published in the Country Profiles/East Africa section in The Africa Report magazine, under the subheading: Constitutional Conflicts.
Extract: ‘Party Chairman Kikwete seems to have little influence in determining who will succeed him after his second five-year term ends in 2015, due to his declining popularity and power within the CCM. He has publicly complained that corruption and internal divisions may soon shake the party’s power. Former prime minister Edward Lowassa, who resigned in 2007 over corruption, is seen as the CCM’s leading presidential candidate… Other leading contenders are foreign affairs minister Bernard Membe and East African cooperation minister Samuel Sitta. Although nobody has publicly declared their intention to run for office, the potential presidential candidates have already started mounting campaigns with the party. An ongoing process to write a new constitution will continue with the Constitutional Review Commission (CR) touring the country to garner views… However, the constitutional review process has motivated separatist movements and radicals in Zanzibar who want the isles to be granted full independence…’

Should I stay or should I go? – Africa Report (No 46 December 2012-January 2013)
Extract: ‘The secession debate is taking centre stage in Zanzibari politics as a growing number of radicalised movements spread to the mainland. Mainlanders are increasingly sceptical of the union with the islands, which include Zanzibar and Pemba, while Islamic separatist movement Uamsho is questioning the authority of the National Muslim Council, which they perceive as pro-government… There have also been allegations that top leaders in the islands’ leading opposition party, the Civic United Front, as well as in the ruling CCM, are providing support to the separatist movement…’

$21m bailout to rescue Tazara from collapse – East African (9-15 February 2013)
‘This is the newest and most outreaching of railway systems in the Comesa and SADC sub-regions.’ Extract continues: ‘A total of $21.2 million will be injected into the troubled jointly owned Tanzania Zambia Railway Authority (Tazara) in a bailout plan agreed by both countries… Slightly under half of the amount ($10 million) will be contributed equally by the Zambian and Tanzanian govern­ments … while the rest ($11.2 million) would come from “smart partnerships.” … The cash injection will rescue Tazara from its current hand-to-mouth modus operandi and set it on the path to recovery …’

by Donovan McGrath

Kicking them off their land
On 13 August 2012, the online campaign organisation Avaaz.org sent a global message over the internet saying: ‘Middle Eastern kings and princes are about to force up to 48,000 people in Tanzania from their land to make way for corporate sponsored big game hunting. But Tanzanian President Kikwete has shown before that he will stop deals like this when they generate negative press coverage.’ The online reader is then asked to ‘Click to deliver a media blitz that will push President Kikwete to stop the land grab and save these Maasai.’ – Habari (Sweden-Tanzania Society, Nr 3 2012). As at the beginning of December over 900,000 people have signed the online petition.

Malimu’s legacy: Socialism, restraint and fitness

In a well-written piece, journalist Elsie Eyakuze shares her thoughts on the build up to Nyerere Day. Extract: ‘…This month the Tanzanian media has seen an increase in Nyerere content. We’re about to commemorate Mwalimu on the 13th anniversary of his passing, in the fine tradition of deifying the founder of the nation…During the weeks building up to the day itself, the archives open wide and out flows a stream of footage of the first president. Black and white reels of historic visits to this or that country, with this or that revolutionary leader. There he is peering interestedly at a farm or factory, striding along and brandishing his baton. That baton! … Nyerere intuited that said people appreciate a little flash in a leader, some visual markers of his uniqueness. The short-sleeved socialist suit was his most fiendishly sly gift to the political class. A slim man, Nyerere managed to choose a style of clothing that was entirely hostile to excess and the potbellies it generates… Socialism, restraint and fitness have never had a better meeting ground.

The best material, of course is made up of Nyerere’s public addresses. This is the age of 30-second attention spans, when grand oratory has fallen out of fashion. But Mwalimu found a way around this limitation: he was a quipper… What is hard to explain is how this great man of another era manages to remain genuinely popular today. The majority of Tanzanians living now were born long after he gave up the reins of power. His economic policy was a disaster that we’re still recovering from, and there are things about the Ujamaa villagisation exercise, among other initiatives, that do not reflect well on Mwalimu. And yet here we are, continually riffling through the stacks of material he left behind whenever we are in need of clarity about Tanzanian politics and other things more universal. Why? Maybe it was the simplicity of his era that allowed him to develop a leadership style that was distilled and potent. There were no opinion polls on his popularity to confuse matters, no investigative journalists, none of the screeching catfights of a nascent multiparty democracy. Things moved slowly then, so speeches could be written and delivered that had deep thought behind them, not just bullet points and key words. Leadership had to be demonstrated consistently, and courage probably still had a place in policy-making. And, of course, the scale of ambition in political life was entirely different: Rather than simply looking to survive another election it was possible to pursue the really big visions, like dignity or integrity or self-reliance. We don’t make them like that anymore, and clearly we wished we did. Happy Nyerere Day.’– East African (October 13-19, 2012).

Tanzania’s invisible web revolution
‘East African governments are in the grip of internet fever. They have built thousands of miles of fibre-optic cable and intend to connect even the most remote villages to super-fast broadband. So is the web really transforming lives?’ Extract continues: ‘… Tanzania borrowed $170m (£105m) from the Chinese government and raised a further $80m to build a vast fibre-optic cable network, stretching 7,500km (4,600 miles) in a ring around the country. It hopes to transform Tanzania into a tech powerhouse to rival its neighbour Kenya, which built a smaller network more quickly and is already regarded as the regional hub for technology.

But there are already worrying signs for the government. The people of Bagamoyo are concerned that the government is doing too little to promote its vision. Rehema Nzige, who teaches Information and Communications Technology (ICT) at Bagamoyo’s Institute of Arts and Culture, says she has heard little about the new broadband network… The lack of engagement is partly because the internet is intangible, and the work to build the new infra­structure has largely involved burying cables in remote areas away from the cities. It is a quiet, invisible revolution, but its effects are definitely beginning to be felt in Bagamoyo, where trade in cheap Chinese smart phones is booming, and internet cafes are starting to struggle. “People used to come to check their mail, Facebook and the like,” says Mahbub Nurdin Faqi, who runs the Sunrise web cafe. “But now everything is on the phones. People only really come to our cafe to print out an attachment or to send a document.”… The first undersea cable arrived only in 2009, so it is an impressive feat of engineering – carried out by Chinese firm Huawei – to have laid so much cable… “Communication is everywhere in Tanzania,” says Science Minister Makame Mbarawa. “All mobile phones around here have the internet. Villagers are using the internet and their phones to find out the price of things at the market before they even set out. Farmers are using the internet to plan better for what weather is coming.” Phones apps have been developed to help farmers, but it is hard to judge how successful they will be. Mr Mbarawa raises an important point about the internet in Tanzania. It is almost exclusively mobile, fixed lines connected to homes hardly exist… What the government really wants is to connect all schools, colleges and universities, and create scientific research centres and modern public libraries. It wants hospitals and health centres linked up, and wants to bring cheap, quick internet connections to everyone in Tanzania… A tall order for a country that still ranks among the world’s poorest… [S]o far the real revolution is largely limited to the cities…’ – BBC News Africa (online 2 October 2012) Thank you Tim Watkins-Idle for this article – Editor.

The world goes to Bagamoyo
A festival that began under a mango tree now draws international partici­pants to the newly-built multi-million shilling theatre at Bagamoyo. Extract: ‘Cultural groups from across Africa and Europe gathered at the Taasisi ya Sanaa na Utamaduni (Bagamoyo Institute of Arts and Culture, known as Tasuba) from September 24 to 29. Participants showcased traditional dance and music performances, acrobatics, exhibitions and workshops. The one-week event is the biggest arts festival in Africa… With cultural groups from Kenya, Malawi, France, Zambia, Sweden, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Denmark, Uganda, Norway, Ethiopia, South Africa and local traditional cultural groups, the festival drew large audiences. This year, Tasuba … chose the theme “Arts for Promoting Tourism.” The festival dates back to the early days of the Bagamoyo College of Arts, when it was established to display the works of the students and teachers at the institution.

Since the event started in 1982, the festival has grown to an annual one-week event … Due to the lack of sponsorship, the institute says it would like people from the community to take part in the festival and help create a heritage that includes African, Arab, Latino and European culture.’– East African (October 6-12, 2012).

Zanzibar refugees back
Extract: ‘Thirty-eight Zanzibaris who fled political violence in 2001 and spent a decade in Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya returned home . . .’ Special humanitarian flights were organised by the UN. ‘However, scores of relatives and friends who turned up at [Zanzibar Airport] were disappointed as tight security and protocols prevented them from meeting their loved ones immediately upon their arrival. . . More than 2,000 supporters of the opposition Civic United Front (CUF) fled Zanzibar at the height of post-election violence in 2001, with many seeking refuge in Kenya, where they lived in Dadaab, the world’s largest refugee camp.’ – Habari (Sweden-Tanzania Society, Nr 3 2012).

Tanzania completes population census
Extract: ‘The Tanzanian government has projected that the just concluded census will show a 33 per cent increase in population since the last count 10 years ago. An official at the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) told The East African that the country probably has 45 million people, compared with 34 million in 2002… Tanzania conducts a census every 10 years, but this has not been regular due to financial constraints. The country held its first national population census in 1967. There have been mixed reactions with some people refusing to be counted … Some people have already been taken to court for refusing to be counted… The seven-day census was conducted throughout the country, and President Jakaya Kikwete had urged people to stay at home and be counted.’ – East African (September 1-7, 2012).

British tourist, 61, stung to death by swarm of bees on holiday in Tanzania
Extract: ‘A British tourist holidaying in Africa has been stung to death by a swarm of bees. Mick Bryan, 61, and his 43-year-old wife Jacqueline were attacked at a campsite in Tanzania. The couple, from Ramsey in Cambridgeshire, were about to have lunch when the swarm descended and started to sting them. Mrs Bryan ran for help but her mechanic husband … collapsed and died later in hospital…’– Daily Mail (online 25 January 2012).

National parks and wildlife under threat from global climate change
The photograph accompanying this article shows hippos and flamingos scratching around in a wide dry area of Lake Manyara. Extract: ‘…The water depth of Lake Manyara, which makes up two-thirds of Manyara National Park, has shrunk by 200 times since 1920 due to persistent drought, threatening the survival of the park. Lake Manyara National Park attracts over 100,000 tourists per year, nearly 10 per cent of Tanzania’s annual tourists. Yustina Kiwango, Lake Manyara National Park Ecologist, said that initially the lake’s depth averaged six metres but lately the water’s depth has been at just 0.3 metres, a twentieth of its original depth… Allan Kijazi, director general of Tanzania National Parks, told The East African the authority is building dams and drilling boreholes in the national parks to provide additional water sources for the animals. Mr Kijazi said that the other national parks hard hit by global warming are Serengeti, Mkomazi, Mikumi and Saadani … Conservationists are worried about the survival of wild animals, saying if the situation continues, the country faces losing its wildlife, which will adversely affect tourism.’– East African (October 6-12, 2012).

Big Hitter: First Afghan Champ
Extract: ‘Afghan Hamid Rahimi celebrates after winning the first professional men’s boxing match ever in the country. Rahimi beat Tanzanian Said Mbelwa in Kabul for the WBO intercontinental middleweight belt.’– Times.

Walk This Way
The following is taken from an interview by Aboubakar Omar Famau, who speaks to retired diplomat Walter Bugoya, a confidante of former Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere, about Tanzania’s ‘second independence’. Extract: During the period of the Arusha Declaration (1967), Walter Bugoya was a civil servant who was also involved in the party (TANU). Mr Bugoya described Nyerere’s mood on the day of the declaration: ‘… he was at his best. Of course he was a fantastic speaker… he also had a fantastic sense of humour and people were just mesmerised, because also these were the preoccupations of the people.’ Bugoya’s most vivid memory was of Nyerere’s speech at Mnazi Mmoja ground…’ it must have started at about 4pm, but we had all been gathered there for three hours before. Nyerere began as a typical teacher, explaining the background of the declaration – where we had come from, the developments that we had made and why this was now the declaration upon which we were going to build a society of equal people. After the declaration – I think the speech ended at 7pm – the banks were taken over, they were nationalised…..All the banks were surrounded by the military and for some of us who were very excited we thought: “Oh … there you are, this is fantastic, we are taking over.” … there were massive demonstrations across the country supporting the declaration. And it went on for, gosh, years – us discussing the declaration… this was the new independence… Before, independence was basically the end of colonial occupation.’ Asked if the state had enough money to invest on behalf of the people, Bugoya said, ‘The state could borrow from different sources… Don’t forget the world then was divided basically into two camps: socialist and capitalist… the socialist economy seemed to us more rational. That is why the Arusha Declaration was drafted. It was our blueprint for building a socialist society.’ When asked how important the Arusha Declaration was to the history of Tanzania, Bugoya said, ‘It was extremely important. It changed the mind-set of our people. Even today, so many years afterwards, attempts to kill the declaration amount to nothing.’ The retired diplomat thought it was a good question when he was asked if the declaration had done what it should have for the Tanzanian people: ‘There are some people in this society who think it did more harm than good. I don’t share that opinion at all. I think that the declaration was the basis of the society. Whether one was rich or poor, one felt free and did not fear leaders- and you even had a certain degree of gender equality.’ The final question was if the interviewee had ever heard Nyerere admit that the declaration did not work. Bugoya, who was a close associate of Nyerere and his one-time speech writer, replied: ‘No, no. If you look at the statement Nyerere made ten years later, he admitted that mistakes had taken place and he was aware of the shortcomings of socialism. But he did not agree that socialism had failed. In fact, I would argue that how could socialism have failed when it never actually happened in the first place?’ -BBC Focus On Africa (October-December 2012).

Peter Andre visits Zanzibar
Extract: ‘After a chance meeting between Peter Andre and the chairman of Health Improvement Project Zanzibar, the Mysterious Girl singer agreed to get behind the charitable cause. The two men have been visiting Zanzibar together so that Peter can see the project and the difference it makes to the 60,000 residents. Naturally, the tanned singer took along his TV crew to film his good work for his ITV2 show Peter Andre: My Life… The first image that he posted was of him sitting with four children outside an orphanage. He said: “Here I am in Zanzibar working with my friend Dr Ru. We WILL make a difference”. . He posted a picture of himself in a hospital and said: “One of the many malaria infected children I have met in Zanzibar … Emotional but incredibly reward­ing.” Whilst on the island Peter made time to stop at one of his idols homes as he stood outside the house that Freddie Mercury once lived in. The former Queen front man was born in Zanzibar and raised in that house until his family moved to India… He said: “Loving Zanzibar. Visiting a school in Makunduchi. One of best days ever today”. — Daily Mail (online 8 February 2012).

The self-destructing syringe

According to the World Health Organisation, 1.3 million people a year die because of the re-use of syringes. A British designer aims to change that and he has produced a video, distributed by the charity SafePoint, which highlights the campaign by the British inventor of the ‘auto-disable syringe. He writes in the British Guardian as follows:

Tanzania is to become the first coun­try in the world to move exclusively to using syringes that self-destruct. Marc Koska, the designer, went to the Tanzanian Minister of Health to show her a video of a nurse injecting a man who had HIV and syphilis with antibiotics – and then reusing the needle on a one-year-old baby… She was distraught and said: “What are we talking about here? What’s the solution? Let’s get on with it.” A meeting scheduled for 10 minutes went on for two hours.

Koska went to the ministry with figures and explained that the clearest evidence of danger is the gap between the numbers of injections and the numbers of imported needles. “Tanzania has 45 million people and they are importing 40m syringes. With an average of five injections each a year, they need 220m,” he said. “This is not about routine childhood immunisation, for which safe syringes such as Koska’s are provided along with the vaccines, usually by Unicef, the biggest procurer.” But “they forgot the other 90%”, he said. To put it in his own colourful terms, “no one gave a rat’s arse” about what happened to children after the immunisations. In developing countries, treatment is often by injection rather than pills. “The village quack has one syringe for 200 people,” he said. “I’ve seen him take it out of his hair, use it and then stick it back in the roof of the hut where the insects are. The healthy start to life that children are given is so easily undermined.” He went on: “There is a commercial conundrum at the heart of the problem. At 3p each, syringes are very cheap to make. They are manufactured by a small number of big companies which use them as a loss leader – they package the syringes together with blood bags or catheters and charge more. Although auto-disable syringes are now as cheap to make, it involves changing over the production process, which is expensive. Companies also sell fewer syringes in the long run – because people get well.” Koska has his own company, but his charity supports the use of any quality-assured brand of auto-disable syringe. Koska hopes to persuade families to demand safe injec­tions from needles carrying a LifeSaver kitemark. In Tanzania, health workers will ask people given such injections to send a free text to the health ministry. Health workers who get 500 text “votes” receive congratulations and a status-conveying badge. Koska tells of seeing parents asked to choose the needle to be used on their child from a tray of reused ones. If families understood the danger, they would insist on a new one. Twenty-seven years ago Koska was kicking his heels in the Caribbean after a privileged upbringing, looking for something interesting to do with his life. “I had first-class honours in beach bumming,” he said. “Then in May 1984, I read an article – in the Guardian as it happened – predicting that in the future syringes would be a major transmission route for HIV. Immediately I knew that was my calling.” It took years of studying the problem and learning about plastics, before he hit on his design, in which the plunger breaks as soon as it is pulled back for reuse. He has now sold 3 billion of them and recently he finally signed a contract with the world’s biggest syringe-maker to produce his auto-disable design. Thank you Julian Marcus for sending this item – Editor.

by Donovan McGrath

Ethiopian, Tanzanian bag top honours at Addis fashion event – East African (7-13 May 2012)

Extract: ‘Ethiopia’s Mafi and Tanzania’s Doreen Mashika are the winners of this year’s Origin of Africa Designer Showcase in partnership with the Hub of Africa Fashion Week… Mashika took home the Ethical Fashion Award and the US Retailer Award – the two awards introduced this year. The US Retailers Award, from OneStopPlus.com, the online fashion mall, includes a supply contract while the Ethical Fashion Award includes the chance to participate in the Ethical Fashion Show in Paris… This year’s event, held at the African Union Conference Centre in Addis Ababa , featured established and upcoming fashion designers from Ethiopia, Nigeria, Mozambique, Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, Somalia and Tanzania.’

Tanzania: Popular herbal cure-all “ineffective” – IRN News
Extract: Dar es Salaam, 2 August 2012 (PlusNews) – A widely used concoction administered by Tanzanian herbalist Ambilikile Mwasapile (see TA 99) is ineffective, the country’s Health Minister, Hussein Mwinyi, has said. Mwasapile, a former Lutheran pastor who claims God revealed the treatment to him in a dream, has drawn hundreds of thousands to his home in Samunge village, Loliondo, in northern Tanzania’s Ngorongoro district, over the past 18 months. Believers claim it can cure a variety of diseases, including diabetes, cancer, tuberculosis and HIV. At the peak of his popularity, he was seeing up to 2,000 patients per day, each paying 500 Tanzanian shillings (about US$0.32) for one cup of the liquid. Mwinyi told parliament in Dodoma, the administrative capital, on 31 July that studies conducted over the past year found no discernible difference between people who used it and those who did not… Despite the warnings, many HIV-positive people abandoned their life-prolonging antiretroviral treatment after taking Mwasapile’s herbs.’

Tanzania’s hospitals hit hard by brain drain as sacked doctors seek jobs abroad – East African (16-22 July 2012)

Extract: ‘Investigations by The East African reveal that numerous doctors, nurses and midwives are leaving for Namibia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland. The move to leave the country follows the Medical Council of Tanganyika decision to cancel the provisional registration of more than 360 internship doctors who were involved in the recent strike… Namala Mkopi, president of the Medical Association of Tanzania, said they had pleaded with the doctors not to leave due to the invaluable services they offered. But the doctors said it was the only alternative given the government was in no hurry to resolve the situation… The government has already set aside Tsh200 billion ($100 million) to employ foreign doctors. The amount is way above the cost of training a doctor in country – Tsh100 m ($64,034) over five years.’

Flare-up – BBC Focus On Africa

‘Against a backdrop of soaring prices and growing demand, recent discoveries of oil and gas in East Africa seem too good to be true …’

Extract continues: ‘… Speaking on national television, [Kenyan] President Mwai Kibaki announced that oil had been struck in the East African Rift System in the northern county of Turkana. A further drill in May by the Anglo-Irish Tullow Oil and its Canadian partner Africa Oil, proved successful in the same Ngamia-1 concession which borders Ethiopia… Land-locked Uganda is only one example, amongst others, of a growing trend to prospect for oil in uncharted territories in East Africa. Global companies have been drilling or buying up exploration blocks off the coast of Mozambique, Tanzania and Kenya. But smaller exploration firms such as Ophir, Afren, Africa Oil and Premier Oil have been also scouting less conventional grounds for “black gold”

… However many fear that states have much more to do if they want to secure a fair share of revenues, and more importantly ensure that these revenues benefit the people and not only a small clique of politicians and business elites… Tanzania is drafting a new strategy to accommodate its future status as a “gas economy” and the expected inflow of billions of dollars in foreign investment. A gas and petroleum revenue management bill is expected to be drafted by the end of the year… The scale of gas discoveries in and off East Africa is unprecedented and has led many to believe that there must be more… [T]he fact that the region seems under explored naturally fuels more hope and even a sense of anticipation … where natural gas is found there is a good chance that oil will be found too.’

Dar gets wind energy plant – East African (16-22 April 2012)

Extract: ‘The managing director of state-run National Development Corporation (NDC), Gideon Nasari, confirmed the parastatal has secured a $123 million non-concessional loan from Exim Bank of Beijing China… The Singida wind park is expected to have an installed capacity of 1,800 MW when fully operational in the next five years… The demand for power in Tanzania is growing by more than 50 MW a year, fuelled partly by an expansion of mining undertak­ings in parts of the country. Currently, hydro is the major source of electricity in Tanzania… Wind power on a commercial scale is unknown in sub-Saharan Africa despite the existence of consistently strong winds …’

Brewers launch battle for African market – Sunday Telegraph (3 June 2012)
Extract: ‘A marketing war has erupted among drinks giants as they vie for a bigger slice of the continent’s growing wealth’

Extract continues: ‘An advertising war has broken out on the streets of Dar es Salaam between TBL, the country’s biggest brewer, and its arch rival Serengeti … Industry veterans such a SABMiller executive chairman Graham Mackay are now referring to Africa as the most important growth story of the next decade… Over the next two decades consumer companies are forecasting Africa will be hit by a positive “perfect storm” of a booming population, above aver­age GDP growth and riches generated by rapidly expanding mining and energy industries… Twelve out of the 25 fastest-growing economies in the world are on the African continent… But it is also estimated that 75pc of the drinks mar­ket on the continent is still dominated by cheap home brews or illicit spirits.’

Barclays to redeploy staff and close 10 branches in Tanzania – East African (28 May- 3 June 2012)

Extract: ‘Barclays Bank managing director Kihara Maina said the decision was geared towards ensuring they delivered services according to expectations… The bank said interests of the affected employees would be looked after in accordance with the country’s laws and Barclays policies.’

Man who lost legs as a child scales Kilimanjaro – Telegraph (21 June 2012)

‘A man who lost both his legs as a child has become the first to scale Mount Kilimanjaro using his hands.’ Extract continues: ‘Spencer West, 31, from Toronto, Canada, reached the summit of the 19,342 ft mountain … after trekking for seven days. He climbed most of the journey on his hands, spending only 20 per cent of the trek in a custom-made wheelchair when the terrain wasn’t as steep or rocky. Mr West had his legs amputated below the knee when he was three-years old due to a genetic disorder – sacral agenesis. When he was five he had to have the rest of his legs removed below the pelvis… Mr West, who spent one year training for the expedition, scaled Africa’s highest peak with his two best friends David Johnson and Alex Meers… Only 50 per cent of those who attempt the mountain usually make it to the top.’

$1m fibre-optic network for cities – East African (14-20 May 2012)
Extract: ‘The project will be implemented in three phases. The first phase, which has already commenced in Dar es Salaam, will take six to eight months to complete.’

Extract continues: ‘[The fibre-optic] network is being set up in Tanzania to link the country’s major towns and improve connectivity between urban and rural areas… The second phase will involve connecting capital cities to the fibre network, while the third phase will focus on connecting remote towns still using satellite technology. Low Internet connectivity and high costs have been major hindrances to the government’s efforts to attract investments to the country… Six Telecoms along with its venture partners have already laid 15,000 kilometres of fibre in the region covering all major cities and towns in the East African Community. Sub-Saharan Africa continues to be the most digitally isolated region in the world …’

City lawyer “lost her £200,000 job after exposing corruption” – Telegraph (6 June 12)

‘A lawyer was sacked from her £200,000 a year job with a City law firm after she blew the whistle on corruption in the firm’s African section, a tribunal heard.’

Extract continues: ‘Krista Bates van Winkelhof says she was fired shortly after revealing bribes were being paid to gain clients and ensure results in Tanzania… Ms van Winkelhof, who was educated at UCL … was rated the number one lawyer in Tanzania by PLC Which Lawyer? and was also praised for “bringing a new energy and experience to the Tanzanian market”. In December 2009 she accepted a contract from Clydes making her an equity member and offering her future promotion… But the following year she had become alarmed at the behaviour of Ako Law’s managing partner, Kibuta Ongwamuhana, and worried he was paying bribes, the tribunal heard… Kibuta had admitted to her that he paid bribes to secure work and to secure the outcome of cases. “This allegation is denied by Clyde and forms the basis of the claimant’s whistleblowing complaint.” She was sacked by Ako Law … and returned to London … to discuss allegations made against her with bosses at Clyde …

[S]he was sacked from Clyde [and] now works for Anjarwalla and Khanna in Nairobi. Judge [Peter] Clerk [presiding over the hearing in London] said: “It is her case that her expulsion was a detriment on the grounds that she had made protected disclosures in respect of Kibuta, and/or amounted to unlawful sex discrimination on the grounds that a male partner would not have been treated in that way or it was pregnancy related. “She had recently informed Clyde that she was pregnant.” Clyde denies her allegations and also argued that the London tribunal did not have jurisdiction over the matter. The allegations were to do with the African firm, they said. But Judge Clerk rejected this claim and said the case could proceed.’

How climate change has got Worldwide Fund for Nature bamboozled – Telegraph (5 May 2012)

‘WWF has travelled too far from its original aim, to protect endangered species.’

Extract continues: ‘What a strange body the WWF (formerly the World Wildlife Fund, now the Worldwide Fund for Nature) has become these days. It is the largest, richest and most influential environmental lobbying organisation in the world. Originally set up in 1961 by Julian Huxley, Prince Philip, Prince Bernhard and others, for the admirable purpose of campaigning to save species endangered by human activity, it has morphed in the last 20 years into some­thing very different, more akin to a multinational corporation…

The chief reason why it has so greatly increased its wealth and influence is that it has joined other lobby groups, such as Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace, in pushing to the top of its agenda that most fashionable and lucrative of environmental causes, the “battle to halt climate change”. But this has led WWF into some rather odd little tangles, such as those which have recently emerged over its activities in Tanzania. Much of its work there is carried out under a UN climate change policy known as REDD+ (“Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation”)…

Last November, Prince Charles, as president of WWF UK, flew to Tanzania to hand out “Living Planet” awards to five “community leaders” involved in WWF projects around the delta of the Rufiji River, which holds the world’s largest mangrove forest. Part of their intention has been to halt further damage to the forest by local farmers, who have been clearing it to grow rice and coconuts. This is because the mangroves store unusual amounts of “carbon” (CO2), viewed as the major contributor to global warming. (Another WWF project in the delta is to find a way of measuring just how great a threat release of that CO2 might be.)

Shortly before the Prince’s arrival, it was revealed that thousands of villagers had been evicted from the forest, their huts in the paddy fields torched and their coconut palms felled. This was carried out by the Tanzanian government’s Forestry and Beekeeping Division, with which WWF has been working. But Stephen Makiri, the head of WWF Tanzania, was quick to insist that WWF had never advocated expelling communities from the delta, and that “the evictions were carried out by government agencies”. At this point, however, two American professors intervened. They had just published a study of the delta in an environmental journal, entitled “The REDD menace: resurgent protec­tionism in mangrove forests”. It was highly critical of the so-called “forest conservation” policy advocated by WWF under REDD+, claiming that it was seriously damaging the traditional life of those local communities which had been sustainably farming and fishing in the area for centuries…

Just how far WWF has travelled from the noble purpose for which it was set up was perfectly symbolised by the way it chose as its chief marketing tool the slogan “Adopt a polar bear”. If this organisation still had concern for endangered species closest to its heart, it would know that the idea that polar bears are dying out due to global warming is no more than sentimental propaganda. But then that is the main business that WWF now seems to be in – very much at the expense of the rest of us and, of course, those communities in the Rufiji delta.’

Tanzanian children with HIV to wear red ribbons on uniforms – Telegraph (18 March 2012)

‘Schoolchildren in Tanzania are being made to wear a red ribbon on their uniforms to show that they are HIV positive.’

Extract continues: ‘… Mohammed Lukema, head of Kibaha Primary School, said parents had asked for their children to wear ribbons if they were infected so they could be excused from strenuous duties at the rural school, such as sweeping the compound and fetching and carrying water… Msafiri Thomas was leading an HIV/Aids community awareness scheme in the area when practice of putting ribbons on pupils emerged in a focus group.

“It was raised by parents, teachers and school leavers and seems to have been happening for some time,” he told The Daily Telegraph. “The general feeling was that it wasn’t a good thing because life is hard enough for students living with HIV without making life harder for them at school. Students wearing these ribbons are sometimes shunned by other pupils who don’t want to share or be near them because they fear they will be infected. There must be another [way] to help these children.” Rebecca Mshumbusi, chairperson of the Kibaha Association of People Living with HIV/Aids, said that forcing children to reveal their status was not only unethical but illegal.’

Tanzanian police foil $30m “Great Plane Robbery” gold heist – Telegraph (6 January 2012)

‘Tanzanian police have foiled a $30.6m (£19.8m) bullion robbery, which would have rivalled the £25m Brinks Mat gold heist from Heathrow in 1983 if it had succeeded.’

Extract continues: ‘In the latest security incident to hit the country’s miners, five masked men raided an airstrip owned by AngloGold Ashanti. The heavily-armed men emerged from a nearby forest and attempted to steal 587 kilogrammes of gold bars from an aeroplane at the group’s Geita mine, Reuters reported. The attack was thwarted by police from Mwanza … Raids on gold mines are not uncommon in Tanzania. In May last year seven “criminal intruders” were killed at one of African Barrick Gold’s mines in the north of the country. It was estimated that 1,500 people took part in this raid, attacking local police with machetes, rocks and hammers. As a result, FTSE 100-listed African Barrick said … that it planned to build a 14 kilometre long wall around its North Mara mine to prevent future incursions… The Geita mine is the largest producing mine in Tanzania. The country’s economy is mostly based on agriculture, but it has vast quantities of unexploited natural resources.’

Compiled by Donovan Mc Grath

To our readers: If you see an interesting mention of Tanzania in the newspapers and magazines you read, please let us know or send us a copy. Many thanks. Editor.

Best of ‘60s, ‘70s Tanzania music digitised – East African (December 12-18, 2011)
This article is based on a review of a recently released CD by Vijana Jazz Band, comprising influential music from Tanzania (1975-1980).

Extract: ‘The years after independence in [the] 1960s and 70s witnessed a boom in East African music driven by Tanzanian bands, which benefited from State patronage. Musicians of groups like Nuta Jazz, Vijana Jazz, Jamhuri Jazz Band and Cuban Marimba were paid official salaries and some were even employees of government departments… The only recording facilities available on Mainland Tanzania were to be found at the State-run Radio Tanzania Dar Es Salaam (RTD)… From the late 60s the radio station consistently sponsored and exclusively featured Tanzanian bands on its programmes, contributing to the development of a Tanzanian music style known as Mtindo. . . Vijana Jazz is considered among the most influential band of the “dansi” (dance music) era. Formed in 1971 the name Vijana (Swahili for youth) was a reference to the sponsorship by the youth wing of Tanzania’s ruling party… At the beginning of 1975 the members of the band entered the Hi-Fidelity Studios in Nairobi and recorded an album under the name Koka Koka Sex Battalion… In Tanzania, the bands created dance styles called mtindo … and Vijana Jazz became synonymous with “Kamata Sukuma” (grab and push) … In East Africa, Vijana Jazz became a household name with the song Niliruka ukuta (I jumped over the wall) a hilarious story of a man who has to flee when the husband of his lover returns home in the middle of the night… For the uninitiated, the vintage sounds here are a lesson in solid musicianship from an era gone by…’

Rock Paintings. South African Archaeological Bulletin (June, Dec 2011)
‘Emmanuel Bwasiri of the Antiquities Division, Dar es Salaam and the Rock Art Research Centre, Witwatersrand University, Johannesburg, has written in the South African Archaeological Bulletin about the challenge of managing intangible heritage resources in Tanzania. He refers in particular to the rock paintings at Kondoa Irangi, the Amboni Caves, and Kilwa Kisiwani, where local practices make use of these sites and artefacts in their belief systems. They are therefore sacred, but not always exclusively so. Bwasiri makes the point that current Tanzanian legislation follows the old colonial model of being concerned with the protection of physical artefacts and denying local people any part in their management, in spite of their importance to their traditional beliefs. This may be ascribed to proselytization by Christians and Muslims which has left traditional beliefs behind in the ‘respectability’ stakes, particularly in the eyes of westernised bureaucrats and politi¬cians. It contrasts strongly with attitudes elsewhere in post-colonial Africa – even post-apartheid South Africa – which encourage local people whose core beliefs tend to be traditional even if they have been Christianised or converted to Islam, to play an active part in the management of protected sites. This allows them exclusive rights for traditional ceremonies at particular times, and restricts the numbers of tourists who may view such sites; often stipulating that tourist guides must be locals who understand, and can explain to the tourists, those traditional beliefs.’ Nice to know we have readers in France. Thanks to Dick Cripps, Domaine du Poujol, 34570 Vailhauques, France, for this item – Editor.

Filbert Bayi, conqueror of Christchurch, hero of Tanzania’s 50 years of freedom – East African (January 30 – February 5, 2012)
‘This man was mad, said the experts, exposing himself as he did, setting himself as the man to catch’. Extract continues: ‘The starting gun went off and the beanpole sprang forward, took the lead position and kept it, staying there all the way to the wire… The distance between the beanpole and the pursuing enemy started narrowing, but not enough to dislodge the frightened escapee from his number one slot… A world record lay shattered in the dust … The date was the second of February, the Year of Our Lord Nineteen Hundred and Seventy-Four; the venue, Christchurch New Zealand; the event, the Commonwealth Games 1,500 metres final … Christchurch, thus, is a high mark in Tanzanian sporting history … the young man had done more to promote Tanzania in those three-minutes-plus in Christchurch than the combined efforts of all the country’s diplomats since independence… Athletes who came to take over from him have been formally recognised by their countries – Sebastian Coe is an English lord – but the erstwhile beanpole, today a balding and rather paunchy Dar es Salaam gentleman, failed to even catch the attention of those conferring medals to mark the 50th anniversary of Independence…’

Global drugs groups unite to destroy tropical diseases -Times (January 31, 2012)
Extract: ‘Deadly tropical diseases such as leprosy, sleeping sickness and guinea worm could be conquered by the end of the decade, under a pledge by a coalition of 13 global drugs companies brought together by Bill Gates … in an initiative dubbed the “London Declaration” … Britain’s biggest drugs groups GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca are among the key players in the coalition, which will donate 1.4 billion treatments annually to impoverished countries and will spend $785 million (£500 million) making sure that medicines reach the right patients… The drugs industry has long been attacked by charities and developing countries for failing to invest in tropical diseases, as such medicines are rarely profitable. Investment has gone on “Western” ailments such as attention deficit disorder and irritable bowel syndrome. Health ministers from Tanzania, Brazil and Mozambique travelled to London to attend [the] launch …’

The true Tanzania: Discover balmy natural springs and booty-shaking African clubs away from the country’s uniform safari-and-khaki scene – TNT Magazine (March 12-18, 2012)
This amusing and witty piece by writer Adam Edwards foregrounds areas off the beaten track around Mount Kilimanjaro. Extract: ‘… My friends and I are cycling in Miwaleni Springs in the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro – a meltwater aquifer about an hour’s ride from Tanzania’s main east-west motorway, along a sandy track that few outsiders have ventured down since the early Sixties, when the Union Jack was last lowered over this former British protectorate… “Let’s race!” cries Hereswida, one of our newfound Tanzanian friends … My friends and I have been in Tanzania for a couple of weeks, but until today we’d barely veered off the beaten track. We’re keen to discover more of this Tanzania … and beg our new local pals to show us more attractions the rest of the world has yet to discover. “Well, you’ve got to go to Pub Alberto,” says Jenifa … “They play the best bongo flava there.” … Pub Alberto’s raison d’être is its bongo flava, East Africa’s energetic, booty-shaking answer to hip-hop and R’n’B. The gyrating couples bump and grind to the sultry, intoxicating beat, making Rhianna look like a prude.’ Later on, Edwards humorously describes his experience riding in one of the local minibuses ‘towards a hand-hewn volcanic mine in Uchira … at the base of Kilimanjaro where Ernest, Jenifa and Hereswida live… Dala-dalas are designed to seat about 12 people, but anything up to 40 people, two goats and a dozen chickens can be crammed in these tiny vehicles… [I] manage to nab a seat opposite a couple of hefty nuns, chatting loudly to each other in Swahili. It’s not all plain sailing: the bus’s suspension seems to be on the blink and every jolt in the road has us bouncing like we’re on a fairground ride. One particularly nasty pothole sends me flying out of my seat towards the mother superior – I only narrowly avoid giving her a lap dance… Our next destination … [is a] huge caldera lake … the result of an enormous volcanic eruption some three-quarters-of-a-million years ago. It’s blissfully quiet; just us, a troupe of olive baboons … A peregrine falcon hunts stealthily overhead; tropical birds hum in the trees, a family of colobuses lounge by the lake’s lapping shore… My friends and I set up base in Marangu, former capital of Kilimanjaro’s Chagga [ethnic community], and explore the area. First on the list is a network of underground caves, hand-dug by the Chagga to protect against invasions by the Masai warriors, who used to regularly invade neighbouring [people’s] territory in pre-colonial times, plundering cattle and massacring entire communities in the process. A wizened old woman recounts in Swahili how [the Chagga] would lure marauding Masais into the network of tunnels before slipping out of specially designed escape routes and entombing the enemy inside… Intrigued, we decide to … [visit] the “Chagga Live Museum”, essen-tially a traditional hut built by local people to teach the now entirely Westernised [population] about their past. It’s a fascinating place – far superior to the tourist-trap Masai villages that line the motorway…’

Textbooks for Tanzania as BAE pays out over ‘bribery’ – Times (16 March 2012)
It began with a $40 million deal to supply an air traffic control system to an African country that could barely afford it. Thirteen years later, one of the most controversial episodes in recent British corporate history will end with BAE Systems buying new textbooks for eight million Tanzanian school children… After months of bureaucratic wrangling it had agreed the terms of a £29.5 million compensation payment to Tanzania… The Government of Tanzania and the Serious Fraud Office and Department for International Development, stipulates that the money will be used to fund education projects … Textbooks will be bought for each of the country’s 16,000 primary schools, and 175,000 teachers will receive upgraded equipment. Up to £5 million will be spent on buying new desks…’ Thanks to Betty Wells for this item – Editor.

Ex-Black Panther’s self-exile in Tanzania – East African (February 13-19, 2012)

‘In America, was an angry man, an ex-con who found a kind of religion in 1960s black nationalism. In a Tanzanian village, he’s been a champion of children.’ Extract continues: ‘… He rarely leaves home anymore. Crowds jangle his nerves; traffic makes his hands shake. Yet nothing feels more urgent than readying his bus [a 20-year-old, 29-seater Toyota Coaster under repair] for an improbable 300-mile trip to the edge of his adopted continent… A group of American high school students, mostly white, is gathering in the dining pavilion. They’ve been coming by the busload for years, many drawn by the intrigue of staying with a former Panther. They pay him $30 a night for a bunk. The money … with sporadic donations … pays the bills.’ Back in the USA, ‘… a federal judge [had] sentenced him to a four-year prison term on a conviction of transporting a shotgun across state lines. Out on bail, he decided to run. He and [his wife] Charlotte fled in 1970 to Sweden, then to Algeria, and finally, in late 1972, to Tanzania, whose socialist government welcomed left-wing militants. The O’Neals had $700. After a few years they bought a patch of inhospitable brush and volcanic rock in Imbaseni, a cobra-infested village of thatched-roof shacks in the country’s remote northern interior… Exile was supposed to be temporary… O’Neal’s exile became permanent. His fury abated. Some of it with age. Some of it was Tanzania, where strangers always materialized to push your Land Rover out of the mud, and where conflicts were resolved in community meetings in which everyone got to speak, interminably… A few years back, an ambition seized him. The village had scores of … orphans … He collected donations and built a concrete-block bunkhouse … He spread the word that he had room for a few kids. More than 100 appeared at his door … He had to send the majority away. The most desperate, a couple dozen, he informally adopted… They call him Babu. Grandfather… His orphans have never left this inland region of cornfields and malarial swamps. They’ve never tasted salt water, or felt hot beach sand between their toes… The 29-seater is ready by late summer… One day soon, he hopes to take the children southeast across the country to the Swahili Coast, with its coral reefs and pale sand, and bright-painted old dhows…’

Look how Tanzania played catch-up after Mwalimu – East African (December 12-18, 2011)
The 50th anniversary of Independence is both a cause for celebration as well as a time for reflection on the reversals of so many of Mwalimu’s achievements that set Tanzania apart from so many of the post-Independent countries of Africa. Mwalimu’s influence went well beyond the territory that he led to Independence… As Tanzanian people today reel under the impact of the concessions subsequent governments have made to the international finance institutions, as they suffer assault of neo-liberal policies, as the commons that Nyerere fought so hard to retain as a public right is privatised, it is really only now that many have begun to realise the extraordinary achievements of the Nyerere years. Whatever criticism many of us may have had – and continue to have – about some of his policies during his lifetime, there is no getting away from the transformations that he brought about. One only has to look at the scale of theft and pillaging, the failure of the national project, the politicisation of ethnic identity, the open collusion with transnational corporations in the plunder of resources, that characterise neighbouring countries to understand what efforts Mwalimu had made to prevent the same happening in Tanzania… It is time both to celebrate Tanzania but also to reflect on the tragedy of the reversal of so many gains in the early years of Independence…’

Where a toothache can kill – Geographical Magazine (Royal Geographical Society, December 2011)
‘Dentists are thin on the ground in rural Tanzania and too expensive for most people… [Sutherland-born dentist Ian Wilson] has made it his mission to improve the state of the country’s dental care.’ Extract continues: ‘It was one of the worst cases Ian Wilson had ever seen. The man’s jaw had been broken in two places. And not by a wild punch, or an unlucky accident – but by a traditional healer. Pulling teeth… “They left him with a broken jaw for two-and-a-half years,” he says… in his role as founder and clinical director of the dental charity Bridge2Aid (B2A [founded in 2002]) based in Mwanza … All too often, it’s still to the traditional healers that locals turn… “Rural Tanzanians suffer, on average, for two years with often severe dental pain before they see someone. So they either pull out teeth themselves – or they pay one of these guys to do it.” … “It’s no joke,” he says, “In some parts of the world, it’s still possible to die of a toothache.” … When not treating his patients, Wilson is often out with his teams helping to train local clinical officers in the basic dental skills … Once B2A finishes training a clinical officer, it equips them with a basic dental toolkit, which they use to safely extract teeth and apply fillings without the need for electricity or water (or even chairs).’ Thank you David Kelly for informing us of this article. And thanks to the Geographical for sending in the relevant part of this issue – Editor.

So homosexuality is unAfrican? What about living on handouts? – East African (November 7-13, 2011)
“No self-respecting African man would let another man pay for his wife’s and his children’s upkeep,” says columnist Jenerali Ulimwengu. Extract continues: ‘For a country that once had ambitions of becoming a self-reliant nation, Tanzania is a surprisingly donor-dependent place… Whereas loans and credit lines impose the responsibility of repayment, free money makes the recipient a virtual beggar and keeps him beholden to the donor. And yet Tanzania, even under the old man [Julius Nyerere] himself, went ahead and accepted foreign money, loans and grants in huge sums, especially in sectors such as education, health and water sanitation. The dependency grew so great that when Olof Palme, the Swedish social democrat who had underwritten Nyerere’s education programme, lost power, Tanzanians felt the impact probably more acutely than the Swedes… [A] few years ago we reached some benchmark that convinced our donor countries that we had become a highly indebted poor country (HIPC). And we celebrated with a beggar’s dance, bowl in hand… In the past, our beggar practices were streamlined in such a way that we could borrow or beg to meet capital or development programmes. Now we can borrow to pay government employees and other charges (OT), which gives dependency a new and menacing dynamic…’

The Malawi connection with Zanzibar – Habari (Sweden-Tanzania Society, August 2011)
This article was created from a web discussion about the connections between Malawi and Zanzibar. The distinguished Swahili professor, Maalim Abdulaziz Lodhi, gives background to the Zanzibar Revolution and to several politicians in Zanzibar. Extract: ‘I think the Malawi connection in Zanzibar is the disputed “zanzibariness” of Sheikh Abeid Aman Karume, the first President of Zanzibar (1964-1972) and father of Dr. Aman Abeid Aman Karume (6th President of Zanzibar 2000-2010). The Sheikh (also known as “Fadha Karume” by some) is believed to have been born in Malawi of Malawian Muslim parents who immigrated to Zanzibar. . . The Karume family also had close ties with Dr. Kamuzu Banda’s family and the Sepetu family. The family name Karume is from the old Nyasaland among the speakers of Chichewa … In Swahili, this language Chichewa/Chinyanja was called “Kinyasa” and its speakers were referred to as “Wanyasa”. Sheikh Karume was also referred to as “Mnyasa” by some people in Zanzibar before the Revolution… I’m told Issak Sepetu, who was born in Malawi and came to Zanzibar as a Malawi citizen, was never naturalized as a Zanzibar citizen, and therefore cannot be a Tanzanian citizen, but he was a Tanzanian Ambassador anyway! Several others like him, “Field Marshal” John Okello being the best example of those “revolutionaries” and other leaders or politicians in Zanzibar who were not Zanzibaris, rose to high ruling positions in Zanzibar after the Revolution. Okello did not even speak proper Swahili! … Issak Sepetu tried also to be nominated for the presidential election in Zanzibar, but the Zanzibar leadership opposed him on the grounds of not being a “Mzanzibari halisi” (genuine Zanzibari). To date, little is known or written [and] published about this Zanzibar-Malawi connection…’

Now late blooming Dar goes online, media grasps power of social sites – East African (February 20-26, 2012)
‘As Facebook and Twitter gain popularity, newsrooms are starting to appreciate their significance in media operations but a generational divide persists.’ Extract continues: ‘In Tanzania … media houses are starting to notice the potential of the web. The three most prominent print media organisations [Tanzanian Standard Newspapers, IPP Media, Mwananchi Communications]… all have a presence online… But when it comes to incorporating social media platforms such a Facebook and Twitter into their work patterns, the picture gets complicated… However, as Facebook and Twitter gain popularity in the country… newsrooms are starting to recognise the significance of utilising these tools in their news operations… Last month, the Daily News revealed its newly revamped website, http://dailynews.co.tz, specifically designed to integrate social media…’

A land of many wonders – New African (December 2011)
‘Tanzania is famous for its tourism sites. Mount Kilimanjaro, the Ngorongoro Crater, the Olduvai Gorge, Lake Victoria, Zanzibar Oldoinyo Lengai – and there are 44 more such wonders! And Tanzania wants to be even more famous as a tourism destination by diversifying its tourism products. The next five years will be an exciting time in the land of Kilimanjaro!’ Extract continues: ‘… In 1959, a time when most of Africa was under the colonial yoke (with the exception of 8 countries – Liberia, Ethiopia, Egypt, Sudan, Ghana, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia), a fresh-faced young man of Tanganyikan origin addressed the Tanganyikan Legislative Assembly and promised the following: “We the people of Tanganyika would like to light a candle and put it on top of Mount Kilimanjaro which would shine beyond our borders, giving hope where there was despair, love where there was hate, and dignity where there was before only humiliation.” That young man was called Julius Kambarage Nyerere. On 9 December 1961, his wishes came true. On that day – Tanganyika’s Independence Day – Lt Alex Nyirenda, with a commission from Nyerere’s newly-installed government, went up to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro, and with the new flag of the new nation fluttering proudly in his left hand, attached the Uhuru Torch to the flagpole to symbolically shine over the country and across its borders. The black and white photo of this historic event evokes memories of the American landing on the moon eight years later (in 1969). Perhaps the Americans stole the shot from the Tanzanians, and maybe Mrs Thatcher, Britain’s Iron Lady, was inspired even much later in 1979 when she became the UK’s first female prime minister, as she appeared to follow Nyerere’s lines on her arrival at No 10 Downing Street: “Where there is discord, may we bring harmony. Where there is error, may we bring truth. Where there is doubt, may we bring faith. And where there is despair, may we bring hope,” Mrs Thatcher said, paraphrasing the “Prayer of Saint Francis” as Nyerere had done 20 years before her… As part of the celebrations, the [Tanzanian Tourist Board] is organising to prime events to remind the country and the outside world of Nyerere’s and Tanzania’s commitment to peace and freedom through tourism. In the main event, Dr Nzuki [managing director of TTB] will lead the TTB in a recreation that will see 200 climbers from across the world attempt to scale Africa’s highest mountain to the peak where Lt Nyirenda stood 50 years ago and planted the Uhuru Torch… The second event is a Special Walk from Mwanza on Lake Victoria to Butiama in Mara Region, where Nyerere was born and buried… Dr Nzuki proudly tells how Tanzanian tourism has grown from a small, government-run industry in the 1960s, to one where it now contributes 17% of the nation’s GDP…’

World’s highest lava tunnels found on Mt Kilimanjaro – East African (October 31 – November 6, 2011)
Extract: ‘A team of three Dutch cavers [Sjoerd Vander Schuit, Arjan Van Waardenburg and Bert Tindemans] have discovered the world’s highest lava tubes on Mt Kilimanjaro, giving the mountain an additional tourist attraction… The largest of the tubes is 150 metres long and between eight and 10 metres wide … The Dutch team found the tubes on the slopes of Kibo and Mawenzi peaks of the mountain… Lava tubes or lava tunnels are … natural conduits through which lava travels beneath the surface of a lava flow. When the lava flow ceases, the rock also cools, leaving a long, cave-like channel… The discovery will be circulated widely across the globe through magazines and websites… A tour guide, Gadiel Majefu, urged the Kilimanjaro National Park Authority to preserve the new tourist attractions… “Mt Kilimanjaro is among the 28 finalists for the New Seven Wonders of Nature,” [Rashid] Mtungi [managing director of Tanzania Rift Valley Tours], said, adding that the breakthrough would encourage more people to vote for Mt Kilimanjaro…’

Mafia Money allegedly sent to Tanzania. Il Messagero, Italy
The Italian newspaper Il Messagero was one of many which, over Easter, were full of allegations about money for election expenses being illegally sent to Tanzania for private investments.
The Northern League party, campaigning for independence for the Northern regions of Italy, has received legitimate funds from the outgoing Italian Government for electoral expenses. However the party treasurer, who enjoys a lot of freedom of action, has allegedly sent 6 million Euros (£5.4m) of these funds to Tanzania for investment in the diamond industry. The allegation, made by the Italian Government’s Anti Mafia Commission, came from evidence obtained by wire taps and links this money with money laundering by the Calabrian Mafia, the N’drangheta.

No details for the actual investments in Tanzania were revealed by the Italian newspapers but it begs the question of how much other “mafia” money has found its way to Tanzania. Thank you Tony Janes for sending this from Italy – Editor.

Compiled by Donovan Mc Grath

To our readers: We need to broaden the sources on which this column is based. If you see an interesting mention of Tanzania in the newspapers and magazines you read, please let us know or send us a copy. Many thanks. Editor.

Ali Sultani: The unrepentant Zanzibari revolutionary – East African (March 14-20, 2011)
This article, which includes a conversation between the subject and a US diplomat code named ZAO (carried verbatim from Wikileaks), graced the entire front page and the next two pages of EA.

Extract: ‘Ali Sultani was one of the leading figures of the 1964 Zanzibar Revolution, but later spent eight years in prison as one of the conspirators of President Abeid Karume’s assassination (father of the current President Amani Abeid Karume)… He is outspoken and angry about the present state of Zanzibar. He hopes for political change, yet sees little difference between ruling party CCM and opposition CUF…’

Ali Sultani’s maternal grandmother’s first marriage was to Sultan Ali ibn Hamud ‘whom some say was deposed by the British for “decadent ways.”’ Extract continues: ‘… En route to King George V’s coronation in 1911, the Sultan was delayed in Paris. Back home the British engineered a new Sultan to take his place – Hamud’s brother-in-law Sultan Khalifa ibn Kharub (1911-1960). Sultan Hamud died in Paris in 1918, while Ali Sultani’s grandmother meanwhile remarried. From her second marriage came Ali Sultani’s mother, who wed a prominent Arab-Indian businessman from Pemba. Ali Sultani was born there but moved to the main island of Unguja as a child.

Ali Sultani’s childhood best friend was Abdulrahman Mohamed Babu (who became Secretary General of Zanzibar’s first political party, leader of the Zanzibar revolution and a renowned Pan-Africanist) … When Babu went to England on a scholarship in 1952, Ali Sultani followed him … One day in the mid-1950s, the two young Zanzibari students were passing Speaker’s Corner in Hyde Park and heard an impassioned speech by a man from the British Communist Party (BCP). The speaker talked of liberating Africa from the “imperialist oppressors,” a theme that had resonance with the young Ali Sultani, despite his patrician upbringing. Ali Sultani joined the BCP shortly thereafter… Babu later joined the British Labour Party.

In 1957 Ali Sultani paid his own way to attend a Global Youth Conference in the USSR, where he met and befriended what became the pantheon of African anti-colonial revolutionaries: (Banda, Nkomo, Kaunda, Lumumba etc.)… Ali Sultani returned to Zanzibar in 1958 … He immediately became an organiser for, and senior member of, the Zanzibar National Party (ZNP), from which he later founded a sub-sect of Communists called the “Umma” (People’s Party). Ali Sultani claims he was one of the principal ideologues for the ousting of the Sultan of the short-lived independent nation of Zanzibar… In mid-1964, Ali Sultani was sent to be Commissar for Pemba to consolidate the revolution there post-Okello (a Ugandan and main instigator of the violent anti-Arab uprising targeting civilian men, women and children in Zanzibar).

Ali Sultani said he used to personally drive Consul Frank Carlucci [his closest US contact] around during his visits … in Stone Town Carlucci used to be in the habit of jogging in the pre-dawn hours and would usually stop by the back door of Ali Sultani’s house for an hour or so, “until neighbours complained … and fellow revolutionaries began questioning”… By the end of 1964, now Minister of Education of the Revolutionary Government, Ali Sultani gained popularity by securing scholarships for young Zanzibaris in Comintern countries and, later, China. As a delegate to an UNCTAD Conference in Geneva, Ali Sultani met Roberto Mondlane and befriended Che Guevara… Ali Sultani claimed that while he was in Geneva, he and his friend Babu were offered $10,000 by “American agents.” Ali Sultani told Babu that he should take it since “it didn’t change anything.” So they did, splitting the money three ways: Babu used the money to pay for his travels to the UK and Ali Sultani returned to Zanzibar where he gave the remaining third to President Karume…

By 1970 Ali Sultani was Minister of Health. He had picked as his Deputy a younger party member named Hussein Ali Hassan Mwinyi … In the 1970s, Ali Sultani and his Umma colleagues were starting to grow depressed. There was a chronic food shortage, and the public health situation under his watch was deteriorating. “Karume was moving too fast. Change had to be gradual. Furthermore, some of the decisions of the Revolutionary Government just did not seem to make sense. There did not seem to be a systematic or scientific approach toward social change, and the way in which decisions were made became more and more obscure.” His comrades of the Umma began to talk about how to re-align the Revolution back toward its “historical course.”

Ali Sultani said any number of people would have eagerly done-in Karume, but as far as he knew, the triggerman was “a young guy whose father had killed a politician during the British mandate” …
While the assassin’s motive might have been revenge, the Umma plotters’ plan was that after Karume was out of the way, the Army would restore order and restart the “proper revolution” … Ali Sultani claimed to have had nothing to do with implementing any of it. When Karume was killed, the army kept still, but the East German Stasi-trained internal police went to work with vigour… Ali Sultani was arrested while he and his wife were watching an evening movie at the Cine Afrique in Stone Town… He was held for eight years and treated very badly. He said he was beaten unconscious and almost died four times. He said his captors let him write his own confession used for his trial – the only one of the dozens of conspirators allowed to do so, he claimed proudly… In 1980 Ali Sultani was released and deported … on leaving Tanzania he made the Haj to Mecca and then to Britain to “recuperate”…

Ali Sultani had a British wife, but left her and drifted back to Zanzibar in the late 1980s. As a convicted “traitor of the Revolution,” his return was illegal, but his presence was apparently tolerated so long as he kept a low profile. His rehabilitation occurred when Ali Hassan Mwinyi (Ali Sultani’s old deputy at the Zanzibar Ministry of Health) became President of Tanzania and returned to Zanzibar for a “victory lap.” Ali Sultani said he was driving in a remote part of Zanzibar’s interior when Mwinyi’s vast motorcade approached. Ali Sultani said he pulled over, stood by the side of the road and saluted. Mwinyi saw him from the tinted window of his limo, recognised him, stopped the motorcade and doubled back. The two hugged each other on the side of the road. Ali Sultani said Mwinyi’s strap-hangers were shocked to see the president embrace a “known traitor,” but news of the event spread and people no longer shunned him…

Ali Sultani used his connections to Mwinyi and the “Revolution veteran’s network” to acquire land and build two hotels. He is financially comfortable, if not rich, and lives inland in a modest cottage in the “middle class” Zanzibari suburb of Bububu. There he counsels young wannabe politicians, “only when asked,” and settles local disputes, sponsors weddings and sometimes gives money to both the CCM and CUF, although he claims he would never join either party… Since both parties were close in ideology, Ali Sultani said he might support CUF “as CCM reformers,” if it were not for CUF Zanzibari leader Seif Hamad, whom Ali Sultani reviles. “If they could choose a better leader, they might go somewhere,” he said… What was needed was a true national government, “so we can at last fight for an independent nation and fulfil the goals of our revolution.” Ali Sultani is working with an American academic and hopes to publish his autobiography shortly.

Golf has strong roots in EA, going back to the beginning of the last century – East African (September 19-25, 2011)
‘… The oldest course in Uganda, and indeed East Africa, the Entebbe Golf Club, was set up in 1901, when Entebbe was the seat of government, by Sir Harry Johnstone, the British governor of Uganda at the time.’ Three Tanzanian golf clubs – TPC Golf Club, Arusha Gymkhana Club and Dar es Salaam Gymkhana Club – are mentioned in this article :

‘TPC Golf Club, Tanzania (4 stars): Located a few kilometres from Moshi town on the southern slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro on an agricultural estate of 15,800 hectares, out of which 7,700 hectares are under sugar cane, This course is a nine-hole course … “In my opinion, TPC is the best golf course in Tanzania at the moment”, says Mohammed Sadiki [Secretary-General of the Tanzania Golf Union]… Arusha Gymkhana Club (4 stars) is a nine-hole course located in Arusha town … standing out for its scenic views and good course quality. “In my opinion, Arusha is tops in Tanzania when it comes to the scenery of the course, as well as the condition of the club house… Though it only has nine holes, it could have the capacity to host major tournaments.”

Dar es Salaam Gymkhana Club (3 stars): Established in 1926 as a horse riding facility for the then Tanganyika Governor Sir Donald Cameron, this club has an 18-hole course … “The views of the ocean are scenic, and though we’ve seen some improvements, the course still has some challenges in terms of maintenance,” says Sadiki. Over the past few years, the course has changed from its traditional brown to green …’

Bike work: How T-shirt slogan can save Tanzania – East African (September 5-11, 2011)
EA columnist Elsie Eyakuze offers a solution to city congestion.

Extract: ‘Dar traffic, as demonic as it is, has its uses… Recently I was at a junction where the workforce of Tanzania were all stuck waiting for some Honourable or other to slide on through … The Honourable was very late for work, which was costing us all revenue in terms of lost time – his and ours. And: Bicycles for Development! … I happen to be the proud owner of a collectible T-shirt … On the front of the T-shirt is a picture of Julius Nyerere … perched gleefully on an old-school bicycle … It is an iconic photo … During the fuel crisis . . . one issue that didn’t gain much traction in the press, was a push for alternatives that would help reduce our fuel dependence … How about if we inject some public funds … to make those awesome bicycles … a Chinese model … The next phase would involve some aggressive marketing to capture the biggest spender of them all: The Government of the United Republic of Tanzania. A good entry point would be to distribute these bikes for free to public servants, in exchange for their government-provided Toyota Land Cruiser VXs. Yes, suggesting that senior employees of the Tanzanian government humble themselves so far as to ride bicycles in public is tantamount to calling for a civil war. However, I think that the T-shirt provides the ultimate weapon in justification: Nyerere did it… After that, a much more serious campaign could be mounted to get as many citizens and residents onto a bicycle as possible … The money that would result from the sale of the Land Cruiser VXs… would be put in a special fund used strictly to support the improvement of maternal health services in Tanzania. That way, every time you see a Mheshimiwa biking to work, you would be assured that one more newborn Tanzanian and her mother have a fighting chance to survive… And we could all thank that one T-shirt, and by extension, Nyerere. Foolproof, right?’

Dar to deploy troops in parks with poaching out of control – East African (September 5-11, 2011)
Extract: ‘The current price of rhino horn in Asia is $55,000 a kilogramme, making it more expensive than gold or cocaine… Last year poachers killed one of five endangered black rhinos that were relocated to the Serengeti National Park from South Africa. Latest statistics show that 1,370 poachers had been arrested in various national parks and game reserves, and 171 guns confiscated. . .a spokesman said poaching had reached such deadly proportions that the government could not continue relying on park rangers alone to combat heavily armed poachers. The idea of deploying TPDF troops was first floated by President Kikwete when he toured the Natural Resources and Tourism Ministry recently… The military engagement comes amid reports that Tanzania has lost 35% of its wildlife population due to poaching in the past decade.’

Never smile at a donor, he’ll be in your bedroom next – East African (November 14-20, 2011)
EA columnist Elsie Eyakuze writes: ‘… I don’t hold much truck with the word independence because I suspect it misrepresents a few things. First of all, how do we call ourselves independent when so much of our development budget comes from the donor community – especially the former colonial power? The government of Tanzania might be independent in the sense that it collects our taxes and recycles them in to Recurrent Government Expenditures (cars, houses and the other benefits of power that we don’t talk about in polite company). Tanzania’s people, however, are still heavily dependent on donor support for basic goods and services… Development is a heavily hierarchical industry that requires constant vigilance because of the not-so-hidden power dynamics. The attitude of gratitude has no place in these relationships, it creates freakish outcomes. Why else would a British premier get it into his head that he can tell African countries how to legislate their sexual politics and hope to get away with it?’

Eco dream of UK firm wrecks life for African village – Observer (30/10/11)
The collapse of a British biofuel company has left hundreds of Tanzanians landless, jobless, and in despair for the future. “People feel this is like the return of colonialism,” says Athumani Mkambala, chairman of Mhaga village in rural Tanzania. “Colonialism in the form of investment.”… A quarter of the village’s land in Kisarawe district was acquired by a British biofuels company in 2008, with the promise of financial compensation, 700 jobs, water wells, improved schools, health clinics and roads. But the company has gone bust, leaving villagers not just jobless but landless as well. Josie Cohen at development group Action Aid says: “Like it or not, everyone who drives a car or catches a bus is involved in this problem, as all UK petrol and diesel is mixed with biofuels.” …’ Thank you John Sankey for this item – Editor.

Tanzanians most secure people in EA – East African (October 17-23, 2011)
‘This article indicates that the country is committing enough resources towards safety of its people.’ Extract continues: ‘Tanzania leads other East African Community members in ensuring that its citizens are secure, a new report [based on a study by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation] has indicated. The study on national security covered such areas as cross-border tensions, domestic armed conflict and government involvement in armed conflict. On people’s safety, Tanzania ranked high, scoring 49 with Kenya coming last with 31; Uganda had 46, Rwanda 40 and Burundi 34… In the 2011 Ibrahim Index of African Governance, Tanzania was again the top overall performer, coming in at position 13 out of the 53 African countries …’

So, Jay Kay was just a pretty face after all? Damn! – East African (March 28-April 3, 2011)
EA columnist Elsie Eyakuze expresses her opinion on Tanzania’s President Jakaya Kikwete. Extract: ‘… I actually happen to like my Head of State… I am convinced that there is a strong correlation between the uniqueness of a head of state’s fashion statement and the amount of sanity said head of state is likely to display… It is a simple formula: the more accessories, the more outlandish the costume, the crazier the leader is. You will be happy to note that Jay Kay has a penchant for ankle boots, which is nothing to write home about… Just after the elections that enthroned him in 2005 … Jay Kay was the toast of the Swahili coast. He was a breath of fresh air in an establishment that seemed to be going down the drain. He was dynamic, charming, smiled a heck of a lot more than his predecessor. The media couldn’t get enough of him and neither could we. Sure, some of us heard rumours – about his lack of vision and resolve, his inability to control the party, a certain unfortunate disinterest in the nitty-gritty of governance… But he was pretty and he was fun …

Fast forward to 2011, and the picture is no longer promising… These days, the only papers that put Jay Kay on the front page as a matter of course are owned by the establishment… Jay Kay is looking tired and unfocused. Worse yet, I suspect he is being overshadowed by his prime minister, who projects mature leadership with such confidence it is hard to believe that they are only a year apart in age. Our handsome charmer is turning out to be exactly that – a pleasant and largely ceremonial ornament… I already know what I’ll remember fondly from the Kikwete years: His (mostly) fearless backing of media freedoms through personal example, his accessibility to the common man and his democratic nature… Kilimo Kwanza? Jay Kay’s Billions? … Maybe Jay Kay will go home without a grand opus to show for his stint at Ikulu. But you know what? At least he was as pretty as a cake in a bakery window.’

100 Most Influential People of Africa – New African (June 2011)
This is the headline that graced the front cover of the ‘bestselling pan- African magazine’. Due to space constraints, only Tanzanians will feature in the following extract:

‘Dr Asha-Rose Migiro: Appointed Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations in 2007 … the first black woman to hold this esteemed position. A lawyer by profession, she has a special interest in issues around peace and the elimination of violence and discrimination against women…

‘Dr Frannie Léautier: Executive Secretary of the African Capacity Building Foundation [and a former vice president of the World Bank]… This powerful but softly-spoken and humble woman has totally transformed the face of the ACBF, to the extent that today, when she speaks, big men sit up and listen…

‘Ndesanjo Macha: A popular blogger, journalist, lawyer and digital activist. Ndesanjo set up Jikombe (Swahili for “Free Yourself”) the first ever blog in an African language…’

January Makamba: Parliamentary Energy Committee Chairman, Tanzania – The Africa Report (Dec 2011-Jan 2012)
Extract: ‘Becoming MP for Bumbuli at only 37, January Makamba is a rising star of Tanzania’s Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party and chairman of the Parliamentary Energy Committee. He is the son of the 46 Tanzania in the International Media recently ousted CCM secretary general Yusuf Makamba… He turns 40 in 2015, the year of the next presidential election, and bloggers have started discussing how his candidacy might transform local politics… He is the first Tanzanian politician to set up a corporation for his constituency. The Bumbuli Development Corporation will invest $10m, borrowed from Wall Street philanthropists, in East African treasury bonds and stocks.’

MV Liemba: The Oldest Operating Ship in Africa – Habari (Swedish- Tanzania Society, 3/2011)
The MV Liemba has already been featured in TA (Issues No 3, 4, 21, 29, 34, 64, 87, 98!). The following extract contains the latest development in the story.

Extract: ‘The Tanzanian Government is currently holding talks with the German Government to see the possibility of the latter financing major rehabilitation of MV Liemba. MV Liemba is of immense importance to Tanzania linking other neighbouring countries for handling passengers and transit cargo to Zambia, East Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Burundi. The technical status of MV Liemba needs to be improved so that she may continue providing the service. Thus, major rehabilitation of MV Liemba will improve performance of the rail system, bring down maintenance costs, attract more customers due to greater reliability of service and will encourage Zambians, Congolese and Burundians to use Dar es Salaam Port thus boosting the Tanzanian economy… Installation of new engines in the vessel will minimize emissions of hazardous smoke into the atmosphere and the present oil-spill from worn out engines will be minimized.’

Dikakapa Tour – Botswana Daily News, 17 November 2011
The Botswana traditional music group, Dikakapa, recently toured Tanzania performing in Dar es Salaam, Bukoba, Opunga, Nyimanye, Ndeya and Songea. Grace Ramaphoka, a member of the group, said more than 3,000 spectators attended each show. which was far more than they would have back home where they would normally count 100 people; “if only people in Botswana would be so enthusiastic then the industry would grow to become a global brand.” She also said that there were a variety of performances by Tanzanian traditional music artists.

Compiled by Donovan Mc Grath

Land grabbing, a growing menace (New African, May 2011)
‘Land grabbing in Africa is not a new thing. What is new is the scale, breadth, and ease with which land can now be acquired in Africa …’
Extract continues: ‘Tanzania is a good case study … The country’s economy depends heavily on agriculture, which accounts for more than 25% of GDP, provides 85% of exports, and employs 80% of the work force. Topography and climate conditions, however, limit cultivated crops to only 4% of the land area, which puts a great strain on this fertile land. To raise money, Tanzania has several options, including hunting concessions, and selling off large tracts of land to foreign investors. But many people think … it is a false economy. “There is no such thing as spare land in Africa,” says Geoffrey Howard of the International Union for the Conservation for Nature based in Nairobi. His comments are echoed by Makko Sinandei of the local NGO, Ujamaa Community Resources Trust in Tanzania: “Now in Dar es Salaam they send an investor to the land, without even understanding if the land is spare or not … if you are evicting people, there is clearly no space!”’

Tanzania to double sisal-fired biogas capacity – East African (July 4-10, 2011)
In a bid to look for an alternative source of electricity, the ‘Hale Estate Power Plant,’ installed as a pilot project 10 years ago, has successfully generated about 300kW of electricity.’
Extract continues: ‘Tanzania’s sisal fired biogas power capacity is set to nearly double as the country’s sisal board steps up its drive to develop clean energy from the crop…’ The Tanzania Sisal Board ‘is investing $31 million to increase the capacity of its Biogas electricity plant. Studies show that the Hale plantation in Tanga could provide approximately 7000 kilowatts of clean sisal energy each year that will be fed into the country’s national grid.’

East Africa: Why political federation has been difficult to achieve – New African (April 2011)
Extract: ‘… when the old East African Community (EAC) collapsed in 1977, Ugandans and Tanzanians were bewildered that their Kenyan brothers and sisters actually celebrated the demise of the regional bloc. Whereas the socialist-leaning presidents of Uganda and Tanzania, Milton Obote and Julius Nyerere, were busy preaching brotherhood and oneness, the capitalist-leaning President Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya was snatching any and every opportunity to enrich his people at the expense of the collective community; even including using resources pooled from the regional kitty… Kenyatta had deceived Nyerere into switching some land on their common border. One such piece of land, it is said, is where the current Kenyan coastal city of Mombasa sits. That swathe of land is said to have belonged to Tanzania while the foot of … Kilimanjaro, was Kenyan territory. But calculating that a harbour could generate a fortune in the future, as compared to the foot of a mountain, with occasional tourists here and there, Kenyatta convinced Nyerere to swap the two pieces of land… Mt Kilimanjaro has remained the foot of Kilimanjaro with occasional tourists here and there. [Meanwhile] Mombasa is now the exit and entry point for all maritime goods and services that dictate life in the land-locked hinterlands of Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, DR-Congo and Southern Sudan… Continued mistrust and suspicion among the region’s leaders and citizens are still hampering attempts to create a total federation… For example, over 70% of Tanzanians do not want complete unity. They cite fears such as Kenyans moving into Tanzania to grab their land…’

Rainy season of CCM’s soul: Watch out for Asthma – East African (April 25 – May 1, 2011)
Writer Elsie Eyakuze shares her opinion in The East African. Extract: ‘CCM, of late, might just be in the midst of a rainy season … the CCM Youth Wing meeting in Dodoma last month is what alerted me to the idea… In a surprising coup against traditional oligarchy, the youth wing actually dared to come out of their meeting with threats and ultimatums. “We’re tired of looking like mobsters,” they said. “Whe’re serious about business and the corrupt elements of the party need to leave!” … More surprising yet, the old guard actually did something with this impetus rather than smothering it! … Something is blooming, something is trying to come out of the dark soil of the party… There are going to be consequences, no doubt. Although calls for the resignation of so-called corrupt party members have been quite loud, no one has actually been named, so we swim in a puddle of rumours…’

What is a failed state? Look over your shoulder – East African (June 27-July 3, 2011)
Extract: ‘… that most hated, controversial and debated report, the “Failed States Index,” the one for 2011, came out last week. African countries dominated the 2011 list. According to the index … African nations make up seven of the top 10 worst cases, and 14 of the top 20 failed states. Somalia, which is almost perennially reported to be in hell, was number 1, for the fourth year running… Kenya is placed 16th … 17th is … Burundi, Uganda is 21st. Rwanda is … 34th. The “good news” for the EAC is that Tanzania does much better, placing 65th… [T]he least failed nations [you guessed right] are all Caucasian.’

Netherlands slashes budget support to Dar – East African (May 30- June 5, 2011)
Extract: ‘Tanzania is bracing for a tough year ahead following a decision by one of its key donors, the Netherlands, to cut its funding for 2011/2012 budget … The Netherlands government will reduce its budget support to Tanzania and other countries by 12% despite its commitment last year that aid to Tanzania would not be reduced… [T]he Dutch coalition agreement heavily emphasised budget cuts because the government budget deficit [is] too big to be sustainable… According to Dr. Koekkoek [Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands], Tanzania is no longer on the list of development partner countries of the Netherlands due to the consequences of reducing the co-operation budget… The Netherlands is the number nine import source of goods to Tanzania and number six export destination for Tanzania.’

Microsoft Kiswahili pack launched for Tanzania – East African (June 6-12, 2011)
Extract: ‘Microsoft has launched the Kiswahili interface pack of its Windows 7 operating system which allows users to switch anytime to any language of their preference including Kiswahili. “… The availability of Windows 7 in Kiswahili is a remarkable step towards eliminating the language barrier to technology access,” said Louis Otieno, Microsoft’s Eastern and Southern Africa general manager …”’

Mosquitoes trapped by smelly feet – Daily Telegraph (13/07/2011)
Extract: ‘Scientists in Tanzania are developing a new trap for malaria-spreading mosquitoes using the odour of human feet to lure them… Scientists came up with the idea after seeing how mosquitoes were drawn to smelly socks… Dr Fredros Okumu, who is leading the project at the Ifakara Health Institute in Tanzania, said mosquitoes work through smell rather than sight… Scientists hope to simplify the devices in order for them to be made and sold by villagers.’ Thank you John Sankey for this item – Editor

Miracle cure in the Tanzanian bush? – New African (July 2011)
‘Somewhere in the hinterland of Tanzania, a traditional healer is turning heads with his miracle cure. Government ministers and money-men in helicopters, poor people in rickety buses, foreigners from Europe and the Middle East …’
Extract continues: ‘Babu (which literally means grandfather) is the Rev. Ambilikile Mwaisapile, a 76-year-old retired pastor of the Lutheran Evangelical Church [TA 99], who says he heard a call from God some years ago to leave his home in Babati to the southeast and settle in the remote village of Samunge in Loliondo District, where he was instructed to gather bark of a certain tree and make an infusion which would cure many chronic ailments, including Aids, diabetes, cancer, and hypertension. Babu’s reputation has spread since he started dispensing his cup last year … He makes no money from his activities as a “mganga” (traditional healer) charging only 500 shillings (£0.20) per head… The herbal infusion is made from the bark of the Carissa spinarum tree, which grows across Africa and Asia. It has been long used by the local Maasai to flavour food and in Ghana to make a healthy broth for the sick. It has also been established for centuries as a part of the ancient Indian Ayurvedic system of traditional medicine to cure a range of ailments from epilepsy to sexually transmitted diseases (STDs)… The big pharmaceutical companies are apparently quite aware of the potential of the Carissa tree, which was brought to the attention of the WHO some years ago (but the WHO was apparently unimpressed and uninterested)… [C]harismatic healing must … be discounted as there is no contact between Babu and his patients… Babu says that his cure takes 2-3 weeks to have full effect.’

Dar fashionistas show off their best at fashion festival – East African (July 11-17, 2011)
Extract: ‘Dar es Salaam, the commercial capital of Tanzania, is increasingly becoming a fashion centre with the growing stature of the Swahili Fashion Week hosted by highly talented Mustafa Hassanali… The Dar Fashion Festival was founded in April by Lucy Naivasha, Christine Lasway, Irene Maingi and Madeline Kimei … The four women entrepreneurs say that they wanted to improve the business acumen of the predominantly women clothes sellers who had to contend with high costs of marketing despite the ever growing number of fashion outlets in the city. “The fashion festival is beyond a fashion show… The business aspect of it is very important…” says Lasway. The fashion festival kicked off on the night of June 23 … at the Heineken House in the city’s upmarket Mikocheni suburb… Later on June 25-26, the designers converged at the Greens, a plot tucked between posh office blocks in the Oyster Bay area in Kinondoni municipality. The occasion was the climax of the inaugural fashion festival and it was graced by among others acclaimed Tanzanian top fashion designers Khadija Saad Manamboka and Ally Remtullah…’

Tanzania: Male circumcision campaign target 2.8 million – PlusNews Global (www.plusnews.org)
Extract: ‘Three randomized controlled trials in Kenya, South Africa and Uganda provided evidence that male circumcision can reduce a man’s risk of becoming infected with HIV through heterosexual intercourse by as much as 60 percent. The UN World Health Organization recommends male circumcision as one of the tools for HIV prevention … An estimated 70% of Tanzanian men are circumcised, according to government surveys, but prevalence varies from region to region. “In some districts up to 80% of men, especially in the western parts of the country, are not circumcised,” [said Bennet Fimbo, HIV/AIDS adviser to the Tanzanian Ministry of Health]. “In places like Zanzibar, Pemba and coastal areas, where the population is predominantly Muslim, [the] circumcision rate is almost 99%.” He noted that HIV prevalence tended to be lower in areas of the country where male circumcision was common. “In Zanzibar and Pemba, the prevalence is less than 1 percent, while around Lake Victoria, Mbeya and Iringa regions, circumcision is low and HIV prevalence is 14-20 percent.” The programme will focus on seven regions in western Tanzania where levels of male circumcision are particularly low: Iringa, Kagera, Mara, Mwanza, Rukwa, Shinyanga, Tabora …’

EAC be warned: Not all Marriages are made in heaven – East African (May 2-8, 2011)
According Elsie Eyakuze, who wrote this article for the Opinion section in The East African, the Tanzanian mainland and islands still hold different points of view even after 47 years of integration.
Extract: ‘One [Zanzibari] taxi driver told me with satisfaction about how this past Ramadan month many black tourists and mainlander women had been beaten and chased off the streets for wearing “inappropriately revealing clothes”… Forty-seven years of integration hasn’t even come close to homogenising the Mainland-Isles points of view about the world or anything in it. And that’s not in the brochures. . . [I]n Nairobi[,] … Kenyan friends [chatted] about regionalism. They wanted to know why Tanzania was being a coward about it … Talk about divergent world-views… I imagine that whatever needs fixing between us, Zanzibar and the Mainland shall find as amicable a way of fixing it as we know how. Because, well, we’re Tanzanians until the death of the Union do us part…’

In Tanzania, mobile banking races ahead of the laws – Africa Renewal (April 2011)
Extract: ‘”Mobile banking” [see TA 98] … was only introduced in Tanzania in 2008. But some of the 20 million telecommunication subscribers, more than 9.2 million are already registered with mobile banking services. . . While aspects of mobile banking are covered in an ad hoc way under existing laws and regulations, there is no comprehensive law to regulate the fast-growing sector…’

Meeting The Tippler: Robin White remembers a giant of Tanzanian journalism – BBC Focus On Africa (July-September 2011)
Robin White, founding editor of BBC Focus On Africa magazine, wrote an interesting article on, who he describes as “the less than perfect stringer”, Adam Lusekelo (July 25, 1954 – April 1, 2011) [Obituaries TA 99], adding to the many articles and obituaries published following the death of the Tanzanian journalist. White recalls the time in 1982 when he went to Tanzania to unearth news stories, interview politicians or perhaps find a new reporter. For much of the time his search proved fruitless.
Extract: ‘Nyerere might be a great talker and writer, but Tanzanian journalism seemed to be as moribund and possibly as frightened as the sleepy official at the ministry of information [whom White had met earlier and asked for assistance, but to no avail]. On my last but one day in Dar es Salaam I opened a Sunday newspaper and casually flicked through the pages without much hope of finding anything of interest. My eyes alighted on this column near the back of the paper. It began: “I was sitting in a structurally adjusted hotel lobby, in one of those hotels receiving massive amounts of IMF money, when a structurally adjusted rat scuttled across the structurally adjusted bar counter.” Suddenly my trip to Tanzania had been worthwhile. I had found a stringer. The writer of this column was Adam Lusekelo. Apparently he wrote this kind of stuff every week, mocking government policies, mocking bureaucrats. Looking back, it is amazing how he got away with it… I tracked him down; we had a drink (in one of those IMF adjusted bars) and so began our collaboration and friendship… At just 56, Adam has died rather young, a victim of diabetes. But during his lifetime Tanzania and Tanzanian journalism has been transformed. Gone is the one-party state, gone is the fear of speaking your mind. Adam was never afraid, or never showed his fear…’

African Barrick Gold tries to soothe City after mine violence – Times (May 18, 2011)
Extract: ‘An armed raid on [African Barrick’s] goldmine in Tanzania … left seven people dead … About 800 “criminal intruders” armed with rocks, machetes and hammers attacked Tanzanian police, who had been called to prevent them taking ore from the North Mara mine… African Barrick reassured the City that its operations and production at the site were unaffected…’

Tanzania : Super for some – African Report (July 2011)
‘In June, MPs in Dodoma backed a government development plan worth more than $27bn over the next five years, which calls for a “super-profit” tax on companies operating mines in the country. Debate will continue, but the talk has already worsened the mood of mining investors.’

Violence Against Children – Guardian (Aug 9, 2011)
Extracts: ‘The study, published … by Dar es Salaam’s Muhimbili University in collaboration with the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, finds that nearly three out of every 10 girls and nearly three out of every 20 boys in Tanzania claim to have experienced sexual violence.’
‘Almost three-quarters of girls and boys questioned had experienced physical violence before the age of 18 at the hand of an adult or an intimate partner. Attitudes to domestic violence were also scrutinised. Nearly 60% of girls and 52% of boys believed it is acceptable for a husband to beat his wife under certain circumstances, including a refusal to have sex, burning the food, going out without telling him or neglecting the children.

‘Andrew Brooks, chief of child protection in Tanzania for Unicef, which financed the study, said its findings are difficult to weigh internationally. “In Europe and North America, statistics would be collected differently, through social workers’ reports,’’ he said. “In Africa, only one other country, Swaziland, has carried out a similar household survey but only girls were interviewed. It is very clear that, by any measure, the Tanzanian figures are quite alarming.’’’