Things begin to happen in Dodoma

The present utility infrastructure and set-up in Dodoma have created doubt as to whether the 43-year old decision to shift to the centrallylocated region could at this time around materialise.

According to some critics, the capital transfer would hit a technical snag especially after some ministries, including the Prime Minister’s Office explicitly declared to move permanently to the Capital City District, which is part of the semi-arid Dodoma region.

But the state water, telecom and electricity firms, which had been investing multi-billion dollars on infrastructures in Dar es Salaam, said they are well organised to counter any rising demand owing to population inflows.

The Tanzania Telecommunication Company Limited (TTCL) has told the ‘Daily News’ that the firm, which has received funding from the TIB Development Bank, will upgrade the national broadband network to enable data transfer from the current 40 GB to 200 GB by November this year.

“The expansion work has already started to increase the traffic capacity between Dar es Salaam and Dodoma. TTCL is working with equipment manufacturers, Huawei and Alcatel, to execute expansion works,” TTCL Chief Executive Officer, Dr Kamugisha Kazaura, said.

According to the TTCL boss, the firm will launch its 4G service in the new capital (designated) in November. It is also working to upgrade its IP-Network to allow sharing of large data and files from the current 1 GB to 10 GB.

An IP network is a communication network that uses Internet Protocol (IP) to send and receive messages between one or more computers.

The plan, according to TTCL, will help improve communications in the region. Energy and Minerals Minister Sospeter Muhongo made it clear in Dodoma that his ministry had resolved to upgrade the electricity infrastructure to provide better reliability and more resiliences, among other improvements.

Professor Muhongo announced the construction of Iringa-Dodoma-Singida- Shinyanga power line (backbone transmission line), linking the regions to the national grid, will be completed by October.

The 670-km stretch, with transmission capacity of 400kV, is now completed from Iringa to Dodoma and will be launched in September.

“The project, to cost 450 million US dollars, is being financed by the World Bank, Japan Development Agency, European Union, Korean Development Bank and the African Development Bank. At the completion of the project, Tanzania will be able to sell surplus electricity to Kenya and Zambia,” the minister said.

The Ministry of Water held a closed-door meeting with its key players in Dar es Salaam yesterday to deliberate on the best ways to reduce outages and provide the highest quality of service to the growing demand for the utility.

The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Water and Irrigation, Engineer Mbogo Futakamba, has reported that the ministry planned to expand the region’s water distribution network.

He said as it stands now, the capacity of the Dodoma water utility agency is to pump 61.5 million litres daily while production can go up to 72 million litres.
“Actual demand for water in Dodoma is 46 million litres but the authority has been pumping less than 40 million litres due to minimal demand and limited distribution networks,” Mr Futakamba explained.
The deep borehole drilled at Mzakwe in the region with the support of the Korean government is not enough. Plans are, therefore, underway to construct Farkwa Dam, which is situated 30 kilometres from Dodoma Municipality.
“We had conducted a feasibility study and it will take between 18 and 24 months for it to be complete. In addition, the government has so far compensated residents at a 60-hectare area to pave way for the construction of a sewerage facility,” the PS detailed.
He said while the construction of the dam will cost 520bn/-, talks are going on with a Chinese firm to support the construction of a sewerage system in the region.

THE FINGER POINTING BUSINESS MUST STOP ON ALBINO

People are still commenting, a lot has been said, conclusions being made, the media has brought to light the ills, others are treating the issue while wearing their political lenses, but mine will be an honest opinion based on how I feel about these killings of people with albinism.

According to the recent released report by the Human Rights defending body, Amnesty international, these killings have been recorded in 23 countries in Africa, with Malawi and Tanzania recording the highest number.

Yesterday I argued with a friend who was saying that these killings are as a result of weakness in the country’s leadership and my answer was simple; this is how I presented my arguments, starting with some examples;

In South Africa, crime is a prominent issue. The country has a very high rate of murders, assaults, rapes (adult, child, elderly and infant), carjacking and other crimes compared to most countries. But wait a minute; South Africa has had prominent leaders in Nelson Mandela, Thabo Mbeki now Jacob Zuma. Is the high crime late as a result of weak leadership for the past years?

To me the issue is all about the sickness of the society in South Africa. The high crime rate is being contributed by social factors from poverty, high unemployment rate, emigration, illiteracy, over population, post apartheid effects etc.

Yes, some of the issues can be sorted by government but others are beyond government because the rot is just deep rooted in the South Africa’s society.

Imagine this is happening yet SA Police has over One thousand police stations across the country. Their police is also one of the most organized in Africa, with enough resources but crime is almost everywhere.

Crime rates can be reduced but cannot be ended everywhere in the world crime is committed almost every day, even in America but that doesn’t translate to weak leadership.

In Malawi we have had cases of defilement and rape where women and children are the most victims. Cases of armed robbery are recorded almost every day. And this has been happening even from the time of Bakili, Bingu, JB and now APM. Only that in the past we had no social media and the traditional media was still in its infancy.

Now in this era of Smart-phones, we no longer rely on the traditional media for breaking news. Within seconds the story is all over facebook, twitter and whatsapp. We were hearing albinos don’t die, they just go missing. We used to believe in such stories up until when the media started reporting that no, our friends are being killed by some monsters kind of people.

To add on to that, courts have been melting stiff punishments to the rape suspects, armed robbers are being killed through mob justice and sometimes killed by the police. Have these punishments stopped wanna-be-offenders from committing the very same offences?

I thought the killings and the stiff court punishments would scare away other criminals? NO! We can arrest the rapists, the robbers or even kill them etc, but almost every day, someone somewhere will be committing a crime.

As you can see, this is not as a result of weak leadership.

Now the case of Albinos, the president doesn’t live with the albinos in the villages, we do. We know where they live, we see them every day. What measures have we taken to protect them? What are the traditional leaders doing?

I remember we still have community policing in our communities, what are they doing to protect our friends? Have we done enough in our communities to protect our friends or we don’t care anymore?

How can we know that so and so is planning to abduct and kill an Albino? Can government afford to give the albinos police protection 24 hours? Should we say the albinos must drop out of school so that they stay home and remain safe? Or they should also stop going to church? Remain indoors? But some of the abductions have happened while the albinos are safely sleeping in their homes? Must the lives of the albinos come to a halt for them to remain safe?

Government has condemned the albino killings lead by our president which is commendable. The police have arrested some of the killers and the courts have successfully sentenced them.

So what’s the problem now? What must we do as a nation? Because the people that are killing the albinos could be MCP, PP, UDF, DPP or they could be CCAP, Catholic, SDA or Pentecostals. They could be Tumbukas, Lomwes, Yaos, Tongas etc. These are the people we live with.

These killings could also be as a result of poverty, superstitious beliefs, high illiteracy levels etc. We have NGOs oeperating in different communities, what are they doing? Instead of initiating the “stop open defecation” projects, why can’t they take lead in senstising communities against these acts?

What about church leaders? School authorities in the communities, traditional leaders and other village structures.

Why can’t companies compliment government’s efforts in supporting the police with resources?

This issue affects all of us and the solution must come from all of us. We must stop this finger pointing game. It will take us nowhere. It did not take a year to stop the killings in Tanzania, it took them years

Treasury bonds undersubscribed

SEVEN-YEAR treasury bonds issued on Wednesday has been undersubscribed as tight liquidity and settling of quarter end local obligations reduced investors’ appetite in the document.

Some of the investors in the instrument are the Commercial banks, pension funds, insurance firms and few microfinance institutions.

Similarly, the local money markets liquidity remained fairly tight, with interest seen for short-term funds from several market players that may have affected investors’ participation in the seven years bond trading.

According to the auction summary, a total of 101.7bn/- was offered for tendering but in the end the instrument fetched 85.64bn/- only. However, the successful amount was 29.62bn/-.

This is the third seven year treasury bond to be auctioned this year all of which ended up undersubscribed. An interest or weighted average yield to maturity slowed to 17.45 per cent compared to 18.16 per cent and 16.23 per cent for the session held in April and January respectively.

Also the Bank would pay investors the weighted average coupon yield of 13.23 per cent compared to14.68 per cent for April and13.48 per cent offered in the session held in January. Proceeds from the bond, would be used to finance long-term infrastructure projects as well as settle some maturing debts.

The minimum successful price/100 was 66.48 compared to 63.51 and 66.11 of the preceding seven years debt instrument. Similarly, the weighted average price for successful bids was 70.79 compared to 68.66 and 74.77 of the previous sessions.

Also the highest bid/100 for the long-term government paper was 72.28 while the lowest bid/100 was 58.26. A total of 85 bids were received and 18 emerged successful.

Case of ‘friendly’, drug-carrying criminals in commuter buses

There have been the public-owned (later privatised) Usafiri Dar es Salaam (UDA), which has been serving on many routes around the city, before being joined by the chaotic ‘daladala’, which many residents and commuters wouldn’t talk about so kindly.

It is during peak hours, that passenger volume is at its highest, when pickpockets go into action, stealing from unsuspecting commuters, who have seen their wristwatches (no longer fashionable among thieves), handbags, wallets and hard cash snatched.

In recent months, a new wave of crime has emerged in the country’s commercial capital, which has left victims in a state of shock and needing medical attention.

One of the victims of the new robbery style gave his version of things to this reporter, cautioning commuters against accepting such freebies as fruit and drinks “I was commuting from Kijitonyama to Mbagala on board a city bus, when a stranger offered me a drink.

He had an overpowering kind look and engaged me in a conversation, I developed a trust in him,” Juma Hassan (not his real name) expressed his ordeal to this newspaper recently. It all started after Juma had visited a bank at Kijitonyama.

It was upon leaving the money centre’s premises when he realised that someone was monitoring his movements. “It never occurred to me that I could be drugged with sedated drinks in a public service vehicle,” he regrets.

It was not until he had boarded a bus when he was offered a drink from a ‘kind’ looking man who had begun to get friendly in form of greetings and a smile. But when the unsuspecting commuter took the first sip from the bottle he started feeling dizzy.‘’

The worst happened when I took the second sip. I soon began feeling dizzy and upon taking the second sip, I went unconscious,’’ Mr Hassan said as he narrated his ordeal.

According to him, after taking the drink, the only thing he could remember was falling unconscious and then seeing himself admitted to one of the hospitals at Mbagala without any clothes except his underwear.

Thereafter, he spent a day in the hospital before being discharged while still in an unstable condition due to drug overdose. He admitted that lack of awareness on such happenings was to blame because he had never thought that he could have been a criminals’ prey.

“The guy who drugged me might have suspected that I was carrying a big amount of cash because I had walked out of the bank carrying a rucksack,’’ he said. He went to say that he was deceived by the man’s gentlemanly looks.

‘’Even worse was the appearance of the thief who looked very smart, with strong personality, which one would swear he was not a thug. Similar episodes have been reported, involving those who go on drinking sprees; only to find the next day that they have been drugged and robbed.

Another victim who preferred anonymity said after two days of falling unconscious after drinking a sedated drink, he came around only to find himself accommodated at the Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH).

His story started when commuting from Kariakoo where he went to buy a flat screen TV before boarding a Tegeta-bound ‘daladala.’ “Sitting next to me was this smart and very charming gentleman you wouldn’t imagine is a thief.

When we reached Magomeni Morocco, he bought two bottles of cold water and offered one to me. I later suspected that the soft drinks vendor was an accomplice as after the first sip, I do not remember what happened from there; how I reached MNH and where my flat screen was,” he painfully narrated.

In another incident, a woman who was carrying 300,000/- and heading to her business site one morning reported that she was connived by a stranger who was driving a posh car accompanied by a woman.

“This man pretended to know me very well by calling me by my first name and even mentioning the names of my daughter and brother. I fell into the trap,” she reported. The woman, who also preferred anonymity, said that with such kind gestures, she was least worried and accepted a lift.

The tragedy began when I opened the car door, which was tinted, and someone grabbed my hand and pulled me into the car, she said.

“No sooner had I got seated a noose was placed on my head and I immediately lost consciousness,” she said. She said she was found after midnight dumped in one of the suburbs in the outskirts of the city.

Ilala Regional Police Commander (RPC), Mr Lucas Mkondya, said that so far they have not received such cases, noting however, that incidents of residents getting sedated involved individuals who were on drinking spree in some bars in which drinks were laced with some drug.

He said despite the isolated incidents in bars, the police were still consolidating their data and using various sources on such crime while investigating the crime.

 

Tanzania’s Bank M set to launch in Kenya

Bank M of Tanzania is set to enter the Kenyan market this month.
The bank is seeking to list at the Dar es Salaam Securities Exchange by year-end and later cross-list at the Nairobi Securities Exchange.
It will become the first Tanzanian lender to enter the Kenyan market after 73 per cent of its shareholders under the M Holdings Group agreed to buy 51 per cent stake in Oriental Commercial Bank.
The bank plans to raise $49.5 million in the next nine months in two private placements through an initial public offering (IPO) of its shares and a debt issue.
The aggressive capital raising by Bank M is intended to help it open new branches in Tanzania and set up the first mortgage financing company in the country.

 

Tanzania police use teargas at opposition rally, bans protests

Opposition parties have accused the government of excessive use of force in breaking up the rally.

DAR ES SALAAM – Tanzanian police banned all opposition protests till further notice on Tuesday after security forces used tear gas to disperse a crowd rallying against “undemocratic actions” by President John Magufuli’s government.

Tanzania’s main opposition parties have called for nationwide rallies to protest against the government’s decision to ban live televised parliamentary debates.

The parties have described that move, along with the suspension of seven opposition lawmakers from parliament, as undemocratic.

George Kyando, a police official, told Reuters they had been forced to use teargas to break up the crowd “after we received intelligence reports suggesting that there was a likelihood of an outbreak of violence”.

In a statement police also said they had received intelligence reports that the opposition planned to use the public rallies to call for the launch of a campaign of civil disorder in the east African country.

“The police hereby prohibits all demonstrations and public rallies from taking place beginning from today until the security situation improves,” the statement said.

The leader of one opposition party said on Twitter the reasons given by the police for banning the rallies were baseless.

“When we air our views in parliament we are thrown out. Outside parliament, our rallies are banned,” Zitto Kabwe, leader of the opposition ACT Wazalendo party, tweeted.

The leader of the main opposition CHADEMA party, Freeman Mbowe, accused the government of excessive use of force in breaking up the opposition rally.

 

Magufuli set to grace local Albinism Day

Speaking to reporters from various Media Houses in Dar es Salaam, the Chairperson of Tanzania Albinism Society (TAS), Mr Nemes Temba, said despite the anniversary, skin cancer is a major challenge to People with Albinism in Tanzania.

He said the problem of skin cancer, which is caused by sun radiation, is due to the limited understanding of people who care for People with Albinism because they don’t know how to treat them.

“According to the findings, out of 10 people with albinism nine have the problem of skin cancer. So it is believed that 90 per cent of People with Albinism suffer from skin cancer,” he said.

Mr Temba said the problem is getting bigger due to shortage of medication and efforts directed at preventing skin cancer especially in rural areas. “So, I ask the government to establish clinics that will enlighten people with albinism in each region on how to avoid skin cancer,” he added.

Explaining on the anniversary, the Secretary of TAS, Mr Mussa Kabimba, said the event will officially be launched on June 11 and the climax will be on the third day where the President is expected to be guest of honour.

He said the theme of the anniversary of this year is, ‘The right to participation, right to inclusion; Children with albinism be heard and be protected’. According to him, the event will be enlivened by a debate hosted by the Commission for Human Rights and Good Governance.

 

Majaliwa reaffirms efforts to end sugar shortage

 

The premier further said that another consignment of 35,000 tonnes of sugar is expected to be distributed in all the zones, urging businesspeople to sell it forthwith without hoarding it while the price should not exceed 2,200/-.

The premier said this on Friday when he hosted religious spiritual leaders, including members of the Dar es Salaam Interfaith Peace Committee, during a special feast to mark the beginning of the Month of Ramadhan.

He reported that sugar factories have already started production and that the 300 tonnes, which will be distributed in Kakonko, Kibondo, Kasulu, Uvinza and Kigoma districts to mitigate the shortage came from Kagera Sugar Limted.

Meanwhile, Mr Majaliwa has ordered all trade officers in the councils to continue making a follow-up in the shops to ensure that the commodity is available and no one is hoarding it.

In another development, the PM has asked all businesspeople in the country to stop inflating prices of food during the Holy month of Ramadhan. Speaking on the characteristics of some businesspeople whose desire is to inflate the prices, especially of food items during the holy month, the premier called upon such unscrupulous people to fear God, because such acts created hardships to those who are fasting.

“Fasting is not a luxury neither is it an act of aggrandizement; but is a spiritual undertaking and obligation. Therefore, it is wise that we should not inflate the price of goods for the sake of punishing Muslims … just because the faithful went on fasting,” he remarked.

He also emphasised that in Surat Al- Baqarah 2:183 in the Holy Quran God says: “O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you that you may become righteous.”

He also said that price inflation which occurs time and again during the months of Ramadhan is not ethical. He ordered that such practices that are condoned by some unscrupulous business people should stop, as the government will not tolerate them and stern measures will be taken against such individuals.

Recently, the prime minister assured Tanzanians of adequate sugar stock during the holy month of Ramadhan, stressing that the sweetener will be sold at 2,200/- per kilogramme.

Muslims in Tanzania joined their counterparts in the world to observe 30 days of fasting during the month as per teachings of the Holy Quran. Sugar is an important ingredient in preparation of Iftar, numerous types of meals used when breaking the fast.