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Showing posts from March 4, 2018

'Davide Astori's death leaves Fiorentina and Italy in state of shock'

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  When Fiorentina went on the road, Davide Astori was always the first one down to breakfast at the team hotel. So when the 31-year-old didn't show in the restaurant of the team hotel in Udine on Sunday morning, his team-mates knew something was wrong. To check everything was OK, the team's masseur went to Astori's room to see him. Tragically, the centre-back had died in the night from what his club have described as a "sudden illness". The news has left his friends and family, club and country in a state of shock. As Italy went to the polls on election day, the former prime minister, ex-mayor of Florence, Partito Democratico leader and big Fiorentina fan Matteo Renzi tweeted: "It seems impossible to me. I cannot believe it." Fiorentina's goalkeeper Marco Sportiello was apparently with Astori playing Playstation until 23:30 the night before. Understandably, Sunday's game at the Dacia Arena against Udinese was called off. "In times like

Chelsea boss Antonio Conte has defended the use of his tactics in his side's defeat at league-leaders Manchester City.

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Bernardo Silva has scored two goals in his last two Premier League games for Manchester City, as many as he managed in his first 25 for the club The Blues produced a surprisingly negative display and failed to have a shot on target in the match as Bernardo Silva's goal less than a minute into the second half sealed the game and pushed Manchester City closer to the Premier League title. Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville called Chelsea's display "absolutely unacceptable" and accused Conte's players of being "mannequins", while colleague Jamie Redknapp called their approach "anti-football" and "a crime against football". Conte responded: "I think in this moment you have to accept every critic, but I am not so stupid to play against Manchester City open and to lose 3-0 or 4-0. "If I remember well, a few days ago, Arsenal played twice against them and then you criticise a lot (Arsenal manager Arsene) Wenger because they concede

Barcelona struck what will surely prove to be a decisive blow in La Liga's title race on Sunday afternoon, establishing an eight-point advantage over nearest challengers Atletico Madrid with a 1-0 win at the Nou Camp.

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  Although the victory came by the narrowest of margins, it was a fully deserved success for the home team, who managed to create several decent chances to add to Lionel Messi's magnificent free-kick after 25 minutes against a stubborn Atletico defence that has only conceded 12 goals in 27 league games. The winning goal was also the 600th of Messi's career. The closest Barca came to a second goal was the unlikely route of a fierce left-footed volley by the excellent Sergio Busquets from a corner, forcing visiting keeper Jan Oblak into a smart reflex save. There were also a couple of efforts on target for ex-Liverpool man Philippe Coutinho, who delivered a bright performance starting on the right of a forward three and then on the left of midfield after captain Andres Iniesta went off injured. Messi also had a dangerous shot deflected over the bar and Luis Suarez sent a late curler narrowly wide, while at the other end Atletico only managed one shot on target in the whole g

US aircraft carrier Carl Vinson in historic Vietnam visit

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  US aircraft carrier Carl Vinson is making a historic call at Vietnam, the first time a ship of this size has visited since the Vietnam War ended. The nuclear-powered carrier will anchor off the port city of Danang, where US combat troops first landed in the war, making this a highly symbolic location. The visit is meant to demonstrate the countries' growing military ties. But analysts say it inevitably sends a message to China as it continues to develop the disputed South China Sea. The BBC's Jonathan Head, who is in Danang, says that while co-operation between the US and Vietnam's military has grown it is still limited, and Vietnam has to manage the messaging of this visit carefully. China is now the de facto superpower in this region, and by far the most important trading partner for Vietnam. So Vietnam's communist leadership is taking care to avoid any steps that might upset relations with its giant neighbour, our correspondent says. China claims almost all o

MBM improves nurses’ skills, curb mortality rate

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  AS the government strives to build up an industrial driven economy and focus at becoming the middle economy country by 2025, health sector is one of the corner stone in enabling the building up of the country’s economy. According to World Health Organization (WHO), better health is central to human happiness and well-being. It also makes an important contribution to economic progress, as healthy populations live longer, are more productive, and save more. For some years now, the government of Tanzania has shown great commitment on fighting infant and maternal mortality. Various local and international organization have been siding with the government through the Ministry of Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children to ensure improvement of health services in the country. The Canadian government has been funding a project MBM that aims at improving health services among Tanzanians in particular women and children. The deputy project director, Dr Wilson Kitinya s

Health worker migration, Africa’s tiresome burden

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  WHEN Josephine Bwire finally achieved her dream of becoming a doctor, she had a myriad of expectations, but above all, she was ready to give back to her community. She envisioned herself helping the poor and the sick in her beloved country of Tanzania, knowing very well that her new career will reward her in many ways, financially being one of them. Five years down the line, her anxiety was overwhelming, considering that she was constantly dogged with a mounting pile of unpaid bills and she knew that sooner or later she would have to make serious decisions on her future as a doctor. When a chance popped up for doctors to go and offer their services in Botswana, she grabbed the opportunity and as luck would have it she was shortlisted and within no time she was on board a plane destined for Gaborone. Many studies have investigated the migration intentions of sub-Saharan African medical students and health professionals within the context of a legacy of active international recrui

EACSOF to popularise AU Charter in EA region

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A PROJECT aims to popularise African charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (ACDEG) in Tanzania and Uganda has been launched in Arusha. Being implemented by the East African Civil Society Organisations’ Forum (EACSOF) with financial support from the ActionAid’s Global Platform the project, among others, will mobilise the East African Civil Societies (CSOS) to support African Governance Architecture (AGA) through advocating for implementation of ACDEG within the region. This project presents an ambitious and innovative task with extensive geographic coverage to facilitate national, regional and continent-wide CSO interaction with AU institutions and to promote the operationalisation of the AGA. It unites the strengths of a consortium of 13 CSOs partners led by ActionAid Denmark (AADK), working in eight focus countries, with a strong regional dimension delivered by civil society platforms such as WACSOF, EACSOF and SADCCNGO and continental impact based on ActionAid’s well-esta

Geita Paralegals rescue abandoned woman

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MS Magreth Philipo (25) is a resident of Bugando village, Nzela Ward-Geita Rural District, who was abandoned by husband, divorced and forced out of the matrimonial house, but later on secured her rights to the properties after professional intervention of Geita paralegals. She got married in 2007, and during the period they were blessed with three children—one boy and two girls . The couple built two small mudhouses, where they lived (together with her father in-law) for some years. In 2012, the husband (name withheld) abandoned the family and disappeared to unknown destination, leaving Ms Magreth and kids alone in the house. Efforts to get hold of the husband did not succeed, as his mobile phone was not reachable. The woman reported the incident to husband relatives, who could also failed to locate the whereabouts of the man. Later on, it was discovered that the man is living with another woman at a nearby village. On February, 2014, husband’s father died. Relatives sent th

Mtwara port tipped to handle Panamax ships soon

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BIG containers and modern ships, Panamax, will soon start docking at Mtwara port, upon completion of berth number two next year. Under the supervision of German company, Inros Lackner, two Chinese companies― Railways Major Bridges Engineering Group Co. Ltd (CRMBEG) and China Railways Construction Engineering Group (CRCEG) are jointly working on the 137bn/- berth. The minister for Works, Transport and Communications, Professor Makame Mbarawa has directed the port’s authorities to fast track the project to allow big vessels to start docking. “This project has a lot of meaning in the government and particularly the Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) and we expect it to be accomplished soon,’’ said the minister. Prof Mbarawa said the coming of the big vessels at the Mtwara port was a blessing, influencing the regional economic development as well as increasing the government’s revenue. In ensuring that the construction was finalised on time, Prof Mbarawa asked TPA to supervise the project as

Dar railways revolution

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  FINALLY, the Tanzania Railway Limited (TRL) and Reli Assets Holding Corporation (RAHCO), have been merged to form Tanzania Railway Corporation (TRC) as the government seeks to boost efficiency in railway transport in the country“I hereby announce that the Railway Act of 2017 is in force and TRC takes over as the manager of railway operations in Tanzania,” Prof Mbarawa declared. The Minister explained further that all assets and liabilities of TRL and RAHCO will be transferred to TRC, including the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) whose construction from Dar es Salaam to Morogoro is underway. “It is now up to the employees of the new company to work efficiently to make TRC a business oriented corporation for economic development of Tanzania,” he stressed. At the same occasion, Mr Kadogosa said the merging of TRL and RAHCO will boost investment in the company, coupled with capability and management of the new company. “The decision to form one company to oversee the management of rail

UN probe blames ADF rebels over TPDF soldiers killing

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  THE United Nations (UN) Special Investigation into deadly attacks on Tanzanian UN peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), late last year, reveals that they were carried out by the Alliance of Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels. According to a statement released by the UN, available evidence points to ADF as the attacker. On January 5, 2018, the Secretary- General announced the establishment of a special investigation led by former Assistant- Secretary-General for Rule of Law and Security Institutions, Dmitry Titov, to investigate a series of attacks against UN peacekeepers in the Beni territory of North Kivu Province, DRC. Also, the special team was tasked to investigate the December 7, 2017 attack in which 15 UN peacekeepers from Tanzania were killed at their base in Semuliki, that saw 43 being wounded, with one still missing; the investigation also covered two earlier attacks against UN peacekeepers from Tanzania in nearby Mamundioma on September 16 and October

Organic foods demand soars amid growing health concerns

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  THERE is growing evidence that more Tanzanians are demanding organic food products partly due to increasing consumer awareness on them, but also the expansion in use of chemical inputs in agriculture. Speaking exclusively to the ‘Sunday News,’ the Tanzania Organic Agriculture Movement (TOAM) Project Officer, Mr Stephen Boustred said that Tanzanians are becoming aware of the dangers of consuming conventional goods, grown without considering the health effects of chemical pesticides and fertilisers . In 2017, researchers in Sweden looked at evidence from population studies and clinical trials that compared people who eat a diet of mostly organic products with those who consume mostly conventional goods. "What they found is that people who eat mostly organic products have a lower risk of childhood allergies, weight gain, obesity and some forms of cancer. Other than the health benefits, some consumers choose to buy organic products out of concerns for the well-being of producer

World Bank commends TZ economic growth

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  THE Senior Director of the World Bank Group’s Macroeconomics, Trade & Investment Global Practice (MTI), Dr Felipe Jaramillo has commended the government for recording good performance in improving the country’s economy. Dr Jaramillo was speaking during his meeting with the Minister for Finance and Planning, Dr Philip Mpanga when he paid him a visit. He said the fifth phase government is doing a good job in building up the economy and increasing revenues through tax collections, which help to invest in various development projects. He also commended the government for staging war against corruption and ensuring there is proper use of public fund while at the same time increasing efficiency in public service. Moreover, Dr Jaramillo advised the government to invest more in human resource and infrastructure in order to face the world competition and build up progressive economy. Earlier, Dr Mpango told the WB top official to continue supporting Tanzania to implement its develo

Yanga date Singida United in ASFC last eight

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YOUNG Africans will play against Singida United in the quarterfinals of the Azam Sports Federation Cup (ASFC) slated at Namfua Stadium in Singida. This is in accordance with the competition’s draw which was conducted yesterday at Azam TV headquarters in Dar es Salaam. Yanga fought hard to cruise into the quarterfinals of the tournament thanks to a 2-1 victory over Majimaji in Ruvuma last weekend, whereas Singida United got the better of Polisi Tanzania after registering a thrilling 2-0 triumph. In other fixtures, Tanzania Prisons will host JKT Tanzania at Sokoine Stadium in Mbeya, before witnessing Azam FC battling up with Mtibwa Sugar at Azam Complex in Dar es Salaam. The Ice-cream side bundled out of the competition KMC by 3-1 to reach into the jam-packed last eight category, while Mtibwa Sugar mercilessly overpowered Buseresere by 3-0 at Nyamagana Stadium in Mwanza. Also, the last quarter-final encounter will involve Stand United against Njombe Mji to be staged at Kamba

Tanga set for rally season opener

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  PREPARATIONS for Mkwabi Super Market Rally, the 2018 season opener, are complete with over 20 drivers drawn for a two-day showdown this weekend. Tanga Motor Sports Club (TMC) has been honoured to stage the event, which serves as the first round of this year’s National Rally Championship (NRC). An official from Tanga Motor Sports Club and the event’s Chief Clerk of the course, Ally Kiraka, said drivers have already arrived in Tanga to conduct a route reconnaissance and scrutineering (car inspection) exercises. “So far 15 cars have confirmed, but the full list of them will be announced after a scrutineering exercise to be conducted today morning at Mkwabi Super Market.” Adding, Kiraka said the rally season will be officially opened today at Pongwe area where two sections covering about 25km will be staged. He said the flying start will be staged at Mkanyageni area from where cars will speed towards Mnarani and Pongwe flying finish, covering about 17 kilometres. The Day 1 rally wil

TGU election postponed again

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TANZANIA Golf Union (TGU) General Election that was scheduled for today at the Tanzania People’s Defence Forces (TPDF) Lugalo Golf Club in Dar es Salaam, will not be held as planned. TGU outgoing Chairman Joseph Tango confirmed to the ‘Daily News on Saturday’ yesterday on the postponement of the election for the third time. Tango said that the move followed lightly discussion with the National Sports Council (NSC), who will not take charge of all election process. He said the NSC will announce new election date. Initially, TGU had not fully involved NSC in the election process, the move that forced the council’s Executive Secretary General, Mohamed Kiganja, to intervene. The election was earlier postponed twice. Initially, it was planned to be staged at the Kiligolf, Arusha on November 11th 2017, but was rescheduled to February 17th, this year, at Lugalo before being called off again today. Several TGU members have already shown interests and picked nomination forms to contest for d

Simba throw title race open

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  UNDER pressure from its closest challengers, Simba stumbled again as Stand United pulled a major setback after dramatically forcing a 3-3 draw at the National Stadium in Dar es Salaam, yesterday. Asante Kwasi, Laudit Mavugo and Nicholas Gyan scored a goal each but Tariq Seif, Aaron Lulambo and Bigirimana Blaise also netted a goal each as the Mainland Premier League leaders dropped crucial points in race for silverware. The result was a ‘bitter pill’ for Simba fans to swallow as their team failed to extend gap at the summit of the league table to eight. However, they remained top of the log on 46 points from 20 matches, six ahead of closest challengers Young Africans, who have a game in hand. Simba couldn’t manage more than 3-3 against relegation-wary Stand United. At both ends of the table, this could be a significant draw for both teams, and for different reasons. Stand United have maintained their place at mid table, moving eighth on 21 points from 20 matches. They are six poi

Govt set to ease Dodoma housing woes

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  IN a bid to accommodate public servants shifting to Dodoma, the government through the Tanzania Building Agency (TBA) plans to put up new 500 housing units in the capital city beginning this year. Deputy Minister for Works, Transport and Communications, Mr Elias Kwandikwa, made the revelation here on Thursday, directing TBA regional office to construct the houses, which will become model to other regions. “The new houses should be a reflection of the capital city where others can come andemulate you,” the Deputy Minister said here while addressing staff members from TBA and Tanzania Electrical and Services Agency (TAMESA), both agencies are under his portfolio. The new housing units will bring to a total number of 1,389 housing units built by TBA in Dodoma from the current 889 houses, hence to curb the problem of accommodation to civil servants moving to the Central Zone Region. Mr Kwandikwa said TBA should also come up with a new strategy to maintain the housing units, pointing

TSN to open Zanzibar to the outside world

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The Business Forum that is organized by Tanzania Standard Newspapers (TSN), a state owned Media Company, is scheduled to be held on March 15, 2018 in Zanzibar, involving at least 400 participants. Speaking in Zanzibar today, TSN Managing Editor, Dr Jim Yonazi said the forum is aimed at opening Zanzibar?s economic and business opportunities to the outside world, including marketing investment potentials. "The next business forum that comes up mid this month in Zanzibar will be the fifth one having organized similar ones in Simiyu, Mwanza, Shinyanga and Tanga regions.We, at TSN, want to provide a platform to the business community and the general public in Zanzibar to tell their story in almost all spheres of life, including uncovering unexplored business opportunities" Dr Yonazi said. The Managing Editor called upon the business community, including companies and parastatal organizations to capitalise on the platform and to provide sponsorship for the event and market the

Years later, debate on use of GMO technology still rages on

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VARIOUS stakeholders yesterday advised the government to continue providing knowledge on Genetic Modified Organism (GMO) technology in agriculture in order to increase awareness and understanding to Tanzanian farmers. They were speaking during a discussion on the impending release of GMO seeds to peasants in Tanzania, an event that was organised by education stakeholders from the University of Dar es Salaam and attended by stakeholders from various sectors. They said that despite efforts put by researchers and the government in collaboration with various stakeholders, the community must be well educated on the importance of GMO seeds. Dr Goodluck Ole Medeye, the former Lands Deputy Minister, said that the question whether to start or abstain from the implementation of GMO in Tanzania was started years back, where there were those who agreed and others opposed the implementation of this new technology in the country. “The government and other stakeholders, including government offici

Kolandoto hospital reinstates 22 sacked practitioner

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  MORE than 20 medical practitioners in Kolandoto Hospital in Shinyanga district, who were sacked for revealing their grievances to the Deputy Minister of Work, Employment and Youth, Mr Anthony Mavunde, have been returned by the order of the District Commissioner (DC), Ms Josephine Matiro. The 22 Medical officers who aired their claims during the tour of the deputy minister recently were sacked without being given their benefits, one day after the meeting which was held on 27 February this year, where they complained over mistreatment by their superiors. Some of the claims expressed by the hospital workers included low wages and delays in deposition of their benefits and contributions to the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) and union of health workers. Ms Matiro said that she was more confused by the report that the workers who expressed their claims about maltreatment from their bosses were sacked without proper reasons. “From today all workers who have been sacked are reinst

Public reminded on getting receipts upon procurement

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THE public has been warned against the ongoing behaviour of not demanding for receipts on procurement, which leads to loss of government revenue. The Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) Regional Manager, Mr Joseph Mtandika urged people to always get receipts upon procurement of goods and services. Mr Mtandika said failure to issue receipts leads to sellers not setting proper records of their sales, hence evading taxes to the government. He said many people in the region are not abiding to the law as they buy goods and services without claiming proper receipts. He said that TRA has been campaigning and urging businesspersons to acquire the Electronic Fiscal Device (EFD) machines to ease ways to issue receipts, but there are some who are not complying. “We are facing a challenge in people not claiming receipts upon procurement of goods and services. They are bound to have them, and ensure they are correct ones in regard to goods and services they procure. Some procure items worth 300,000/

Katavi suspends 18 officials over academic qualifications

MPANDA Municipal Council in Katavi region has suspended employment contracts of its 18 village and ward executive officials who have failed to meet requisite academic qualifications. The Acting Mpanda Municipal Executive Director (MED), Mr Samson Meda revealed this during a special councillors meeting held on Thursday here in the municipality. Expounding further, the acting MED said that all 18 civil servants were required to pursue further studies in quest to meet academic qualifications, but all of them failed to meet the set time frame. “All 18 civil servants were given ample time to pursue further studies in efforts to maintain their posts, some of them are village executive officials as well as executive ward officials. Subsequently, municipal councillors reached such decision of suspending their employment contracts,” he said. According to him, the municipal is already set to recruit and employ other civil servants to fill the vacancies.

Carelessness touted as major cause of road accidents

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RELUCTANCE by drivers to use commonsense while driving is regarded as among contributing factors of ongoing accidents in the country. A member of the National Road Safety Council of Tanzania, Mr Henry Bantu, disclosed this during a journalist training on road safety organised by the Tanzania Media Women’s Association (TAMWA), through the support of the Global Road Safety Partnership in Dar es Salaam over the weekend. Mr Bantu noted that the reason why most car crashes occur is because drivers are not keen on abiding by the principles of driving, which includes planning, observation and judgment. “Sixty two per cent of accidents on highways have got to do with mystery single vehicle crash (MSVC), something which could have been presented through commonsense People ought to know that driving is a profession just like any other, with a set of laws, principles, specified rules, regulations and culture Majority of drivers don’t know and it is why they conduct their work traditio

PPRA launches national e-procurement system

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THE Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) has launched the Tanzania National e-Procurement System (TANePS), after the completion of development of the system which started more than a year ago. According to a statement released by PPRA Chief Executive Officer, Dr Laurent Shirima, TANePS supports the entire public procurement circle – from planning to contract management. “It is based on the public procurement laws, particularly Part XI of the Government Notice (GN) No. 446, which provides regulations governing procedures for electronic procurement,” reads part of the statement. The statement reads that accordingly and in line with Regulation 343 of GN No 446, features of TANePS include user registrations, e-Tendering and e-Purchasing. Other features include e-Auction, e-Payment and e-Contract management. As a first step, TANePS will be piloted in 100 selected procuring entities, consistent with Regulation 342(1) of GN No. 446, on procurement of common use items

Police impound lorry, arrest two illegal immigrants

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TWO illegal immigrants from Rwanda were on Wednesday night arrested after they were found being transported in a lorry at Mtera police check point in Mpwapwa District, Dodoma Region. Dodoma Regional Police Commander (RPC), Gilles Muroto, told a press conference here yesterday that the two illegal immigrants were on transit to Zambia in a lorry bearing registrationnumber T442 CVK, driven by one Beda Sanga (32) of Iringa. “We have arrested two illegal immigrants and the lorry driver and impounded the vehicle which was being used to transport them,” said the RPC. Mr Muroto mentioned the illegal immigrants as Angelina Umotoni (26) and Uwamalia Solange (23), both residents of Kigali in Rwanda. He said the police force was still investigating the matter to establish the ownership of the lorry which was used to transport the illegal immigrants, urging drivers not to involve themselves in such matters because it is against the law. In another development, the Dodoma RPC said police have arre