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Showing posts from April 26, 2018

Z’bar gears up for major tourism show

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LOOKING to promote the Zanzibar tourism sector, the Ministry of Information, Tourism and Antiquities has come up with the ‘Zanzibar Tourism Show’ that will be held for the first time in October, this year. The minister, Mr Mahmoud Thabit Kombo, said the inaugural event would be staged at the former House of Representatives from October 17 to 20. “The Zanzibar Tourism Show will be the first of its kind in the region and across the region and is seeking to promote and market Zanzibar’s tourist attractions,” Mr Kombo told the ‘Daily News’ recently. According to the minister, preparations were well underway for the show, to be inaugurated by Zanzibar President, Dr Ali Mohamed Shein. “The Zanzibar Tourism Show is like no other event as it plays host to so many destinations, venues and attractions dedicated exclusively to the Zanzibar, Tanzania and African markets,” said the minister. He touted the show as the ultimate business event for the domestic and international tourism industry, wi

Grape growers face unfair crop taxation

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PRESIDENT John Magufuli has directed government authorities and requested the office of the Speaker of the National Assembly to assess and make amendments on taxes which are a burden to farmers.   Last year, the government reviewed and nullified at least 84 taxes which were seen unfriendly to cash crops; coffee and cashew nut growers. In addition, seven other taxes that were limiting the fisheries sector development were also axed. “If we have managed to review all such taxes why not the remaining ones which retard development in the agriculture sector,” he said in Dodoma this week. The President said ministry officials should work along with the National Assembly to complete the task. His directives followed concerns raised by Dodoma Urban MP Mr Anthony Mavunde (CCM) that grape farmers in the central region were in a huge dilemma to secure markets of their produce. The lawmaker and Deputy Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister claimed that such taxes had pushed away buyers and

70 states pledge to attend Union Day in Dodoma

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AT least 70 countries have confirmed to attend this year’s great Union Day celebrations which will be marked in Dodoma, the country’s capital city for the first time.   The Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office (Policy, Parliamentary Affairs, Labour, Employment, Youth and the Disabled), Ms Jenista Mhagama announced here yesterday that preparations are at advanced stage at the venue-Jamhuri Stadium, where she was witnessing the progress. In her entourage was the Prime Minister Mr Kassim Majaliwa, where the organisers said they are 100 per cent ready for the event on Thursday April 26, 2018. Details from the Minister indicated that the country’s 54th celebrations will also be presided over members of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) whose session is ongoing in Dodoma for the first time in history. “The National Assembly Speaker, Job Ndugai is placed to host his counterpart speakers of the EALA as well as Zanzibar’s House of Representatives. It will be a new exper

Analysts: Leaders’ stance tonic for Union’s survival

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POLITICAL will, courage, selfless attitude and vision of former and current leaders towards the Union between Tanganyika and Zanzibar are some of the factors that explain why the political merger has continued to exist and will be everlasting. The Union between the two countries that turns 54 years today is seen as unique in Africa, having persevered a number of challenges. Leaders from both sides of the union, including Prime Minister Kassim (pictured) Majaliwa have said challenges that crop up periodically make it even stronger. Dr Bashiru Ally, a political scientist at the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) said the Union was built on a solid foundation after Mwalimu Julius Nyerere and Zanzibar’s first President, Mzee Aman Abeid Karume, willingly surrendered their sovereign powers to pave the way for the political merger. “ Agreeing to voluntarily surrender power by our leaders to pave the way for the formation of the Union was not something small. Is there any African leader who

Bank to pump $1.5 billion into Tanzania

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THE African Development Bank (AfDB) President, Dr Akinumwi Adesina, said in Dar es Salaam yesterday that it was looking forward to investing a total of 1.5bn US dollar in various sectors in the country over the next two years.   Dr Adesina was speaking shortly after landing at Julius Nyerere International Airport (JNIA) on the invitation of President John Magufuli. He was received by the Minister for Finance and Planning, Dr Philip Mpango. “We are proud of the good relationship among us; Tanzania is among the leading beneficiaries of soft loans from AfDB,” he said. Dr Adesina added that the bank had invested 3.6bn US dollar in Tanzania since 1971. According to the AfDB boss, the ongoing projects in the country through AfDB funding were worth 2bn US dollars. He said the financial institution had focused on supporting investment in energy, transportation and infrastructure development, especially roads construction. He added that the bank also funded water, environment- related project

Witchcraft-linked killings seen easing

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THERE is a steep downward trend in witchcraft-related killings in the country, with a new report indicating the reduction of such crimes by over 60 per cent over the past five years. The revelations represent a big relief for elderly people who largely fell victim to the barbarism. In the past, such killings were rampant in some areas as the senior citizens were attacked after associating them with being witches or wizards due to having red eyes. But, the new report released yesterday in Dar es Salaam, indicates that the number of such killings, which were 765 in 2013, dropped significantly to 307 last year. The findings were prepared by the Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC) and the Zanzibar Legal Services Centre (ZLSC). The survey also found out that cases of mob violencehad gone down in the corresponding period, from 1669 to 917 incidents. “The improvement is the result of efforts by the police in undertaking their core duty of protecting the citizens, as well as cooperation be

Kids-related malaria dropping

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Latest survey results show that the rate has been reduced to 7.3 per cent in 2017 from 14.4 per cent in 2015 TANZANIA has marked World Malaria Day with a significant drop of cases in children under five to 7.3 per cent in 2017 from 14.4 per cent in 2015. This was said by the Minister of Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children, Ms Ummy Mwalimu yesterday, after launching the Tanzania Malaria Indicator Survey conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). This year’s celebrations were held nationally in Kasulu District, Kigoma Region. The 2017 Tanzania Malaria Indicator Survey was presented to the Minister by the Director General of the National Bureau of Statistics Director General, Dr Albina Chuwa. The minister said that regions with the highest rate of malaria infections and especially to children aged below five years were Kigoma leading with 24.4 per cent. The others (percentage in brackets) are Geita (17.3), Kagera (15.4), and Tabora (14.8). Arusha, Kil

CJ warns lawyers over needless activism

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CHIEF Justice Prof Ibrahim Juma (pictured) yesterday warned the Tanganyika Law Society against mixing politics and human rights activism when discharging its functions under the laws for which it was established.   At a press conference in Dar es Salaam, the CJ insisted that the TLS is a public entity and thus, appealed to the leaders of the bar association to go back to the line to avoid any confrontations with the Judiciary or State. “We cannot let you choose the direction you have chosen under the pretext of exercising freedom and mind you the Judiciary under which you’re closely working with will not give you any cooperation or allow you to give any legal advice to us,” the CJ warned. He recalled that the TLS is the Bar Association of Tanzania Mainland, which was founded in 1954 by an Act of Parliament, the Tanganyika Law Society Ordinance 1954 and currently was being governed by the Tanganyika Law Society Act. According to the CJ, the TLS was established with several statutory o

UDOM goes ‘paperless in meetings’ note jot

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THE University of Dodoma (UDOM) has embarked on an ambitious ‘paperless routine’ in addressing meetings and becomes the first higher learning institution in the country to eradicate the use of papers to record minutes in meetings. This was disclosed here in a recent event, mainstreaming planting trees by the UDOM’s Vice-Chancellor, Prof Egid Mubofu, where he pointed out that the institution has procured ‘handheld electronic devices’ for its Council Members and Senators to use in the meetings. “Also, we’re planning to have electronic payment system instead of cheque payments together with electronic data management systems. All these systems will minimise the use of papers in large percentages. By so doing, we’ll conserve environment,” said the UDOM’s Vice-Chancellor. Proponents for paperless initiative agreed that ‘going paperless’ will save money, boost production, save space, make documentation and information sharing easier and keep personal information more secure and conserve th