A TANZANIAN BECOMES CHAIRPERSON OF THE AFRICAN PARLIAMENT

ANOTHER TANZANIAN REPRESENTS 21 COUNTRIES AT THE IMF

A ‘DAR ES SALAAM DECLARATION’ IS PUBLISHED

Tanzania’s international status has taken a considerable step forward during recent weeks.
The country was elected as the member representing Africa on the 191-member Security Council at the UN’s fifty-ninth General Assembly meeting on October 15th. Other countries elected as non-permanent members for two years on the same day included Argentina, Denmark, Greece, and Japan. On January 1st 2005, these five new members will be filling positions vacated by Chile, Germany, Pakistan, Spain and Angola. Other countries that will continue to serve as elected members of the UN Security Council during 2005 for the second of their two-year terms include Brazil, the Philippines, Romania, Benin and Algeria. Two members are normally selected from Africa and Asia, two from Western Europe and other states, and one from Latin America and the Caribbean. The Security Council has five permanent members which have veto powers – USA, Britain, France, Russia and China.
The final stages in New York were masterminded by Deputy Foreign Minister Dr. Abdul Shareef who told Tanzanian Affairs that the country secured 186 out of 189 votes. When African countries had been asked earlier to choose the country to represent the whole continent, Tanzania was opposed initially by Ethiopia, the Sudan, Uganda and Eritrea but agreement was eventually reached on Tanzania. Eritrea however continued to fight for the seat until the final stage of the election.
In the seating arrangements at the UN Tanzania finds itself placed between the UK and the USA.
Among the Council’s responsibilities are to maintain international peace and security, to investigate any dispute which might lead to international friction, to recommend methods of adjusting such disputes, to formulate plans for the establishment of a system to regulate armaments, and to determine the existence of a threat to the peace or act of aggression and to recommend what action should be taken.

Earlier in the year Ambassador Gertrude Mongella, who is well known and greatly admired in international circles had been elected President of the Pan-African Parliament.

Then, at the beginning of October, it was announced that former Treasury Permanent Secretary Peter Ngumbulu had been elected the Executive Director representing 21 African countries on the board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

And, in a further reflection of the growing role Tanzania is playing in international affairs, eleven Heads of State of the Great Lakes Region came to Dar es Salaam on November 19 and 20 and signed a ‘Dar es Salaam Declaration’ to help towards the restoration of peace in the area. President Mkapa was host to Uganda‘s President Yoweri Museveni, Mwai Kibaki of Kenya, Joseph Kabila of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Dennis Sassou N’guesso of the Republic of Congo, Levi Mwanawasa of Zambia, Omar El Bashir of Sudan, Francois Bozize of the Central African Republic, Rwanda’s Paul Kagame and Burundi’s Dominicien Ndayizeye plus the Head of the African Union, President Obasanjo of Nigeria. Also present were UN Secretary General Kofi Annan plus the Foreign Minister of Angola.
The declaration seeks to commit the leaders of the region to respect sovereignty and territorial integrity of states, to respect the principles of non-interference in internal matters of states and to commit regional leaders to fight genocide in the region and to disarm rebel groups.

Also, at the end of October, Foreign Affairs and International Corporation Minister Jakaya Kikwete was addressing the 9th World Association of Press Councils in Bagamoyo. He was highly critical of the Western media and said that, although Africa did have its fair share of wars and disasters, there was surely more to be reported about Africa than famine, conflicts and disease.

Reports in the Swahili press gave initial results for some regions. Examples: In Rufiji CCM took 256 seats followed by CUF with 85 but An Nuur reported that CCM leaders in Songea were ‘nursing their wounds after the defeat they suffered at the hands of opposition parties’. CCM said it took 15 seats out of 22 in a village in Tabora region where the CUF leader, Professor Lipumba, was born. In Tabora however, a possible CUF stronghold, CCM took at least 194 seats while CUF got 34. CCM claimed to have won 55 out of 57 seats in Musoma and 53 in Bukoba compared with nine for CUF.
In the Dar es Salaam suburb of Ukonga one CCM member was popularly nominated but was later disqualified apparently for ‘being an Al Qaeda’. In Kawe suburb the supervisor announced at 5pm that he still didn’t have pens. People volunteered and gave him 10 pens but at 8 pm he said his stapler was not working. Some CUF supporters were heard saying, “There is no question of watching Arsenal vs Liverpool tonight until we cast our ballots.”

Poor organisation was the cause of violence in some parts of the country. One student was shot dead by police in Dar es Salaam. CCM stalwarts attacked the CUF HQ. Physical clashes and riots caused polling to be halted in a few areas. Eventually the police closed 143 polling stations and scheduled new elections for a week later. These were successful and passed without any serious incident.
There were a number of illustrations of the intensity of the competition between the parties. In Lindi an MP had his car tires punctured to stop him from campaigning. In Manyara and Arusha regions campaigning had to stop due to what were described in the Swahili press as ‘tribal clashes’ while in Bagamoyo district several people were injured after clashes between CCM and CUF members who were protesting at the results. In Tanga some ballot papers were set on fire.

Party registration and deregistration

Mwananchi reported that Registrar of Political Parties John Tendwa had deregistered the Union for Liberation Movement (ULIMO) Party which had replaced the former SAFINA party after ULIMO had failed to fulfil the legal requirement of having at least 200 members in 10 regions. He said the party’s list had been found to be phony. A new political party known as JAHAZI, which is based in Zanzibar and has drawn members from both CCM and CUF has been registered which brings the total number of parties to seventeen. The party’s interim Chairman is a brother of former Zanzibar CCM President, Dr Salmin Amour, but Dr Amour insists that Jahazi is not his party.
A new law which is being prepared would allow the Registrar to de-register parties which have no seats in parliament nor on local councils. Tendwa said a proposed new system of party registration, would be parallel to the ‘outlet system’, which is practiced in other countries such as Zimbabwe, Belgium, France and Germany with great successes. Under the planned system, political parties would be audited after every five years to gauge their performance, he said – Guardian.

The Rule of Law

An indication that the rule of law is at least partially effective in Tanzania was the case in October in which twelve opposition parties – including CHADEMA, CUF, TLP, NCCR-Mageuzi, UDP, DP, NRA, PPT-Maendeleo, TADEA, NLD, CHAUSTA and UPDP – lodged a constitutional petition in the High Court seeking an order to call off the local government polls scheduled for November. It sought to summons the Minister of State in the President’s Office responsible for Regional Administration and Local Government, Brigadier General (rtd) Hassan Ngwilizi, as the first respondent, and the Attorney General Andrew Chenge, as the second. The party leaders requested the court to issue orders to strike out the provision for election of street chairpersons and committee members and rules which gave the Government, rather than the Electoral Commission, powers to issue regulations on the conduct of local elections. The Court agreed with the petitioners.
President Mkapa thereupon said that the civic elections would take place on November 21 and 28 but without the register of voters as ordered by the High Court. He said that this would mean going back to the system used in 1994 and 1999. He added that he thought the register would have been helpful in identifying voters but since the court had decided otherwise there was nothing the Government could do about it – Nipashe and Guardian.

“Not my policies”

President Mkapa was quoted in Majira in October as saying that some presidential aspirants in the CCM were putting the cart before the horse by prematurely campaigning for nomination. He said they had been tumbling over each other in their efforts to ‘buy’ the party nomination and that the situation had become so uncertain that investors, donors and international organisations were concerned about their future after the elections. Every time he went overseas he was asked questions about Tanzania after the elections. The President said that foreigners did not doubt CCM’s victory but they were not sure if the current policies would continue. “I told them that the policies were not mine but CCM’s,” he said.

The ZEC later suspended voter registration at eight polling stations. It said it had taken the step due to security risks and blamed political parties for instigating violence and intimidating people who were going to register. As for the troops from Unguja who registered in Pemba, ZEC said that they were eligible to vote as they had been officially transferred from Unguja to Pemba. Meanwhile five people appeared in Chake Chake court on charges of assaulting an election official.
Next it was announced that the commander of the militia force (volunteers), Major Suleiman, had been stabbed to death by unknown people. He was stabbed as he was walking to a mosque at 8 pm. Suleiman’s funeral was attended by Zanzibar’s Chief Minister and the Home Affairs Minister. Meanwhile, the Minister said that the island’s security would be in the hands of the police and not the KMKM coast guards nor the JKU national service volunteers. He said more police would be transferred to Pemba without registering as voters. While deployed at the registration centres they would be unarmed.
The publicity secretary of CCM (Zanzibar), Vuai Ali Vuai, said the violence in Pemba was being instigated by CUF with the help of their ‘Blue Guards.’ Vuai said the guards were intimidating people who they suspected of being unqualified. He called upon ZEC not to allow this unlawful interference by CUF who were seeking an excuse to run to various foreign donor agencies. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Nahodha said that the Government would not tolerate trouble mongers. He advised ZEC to suspend registration in places that were fraught with violence – Mwananchi and other Swahili papers.

A coalition government?

Many people are beginning to express growing concern about what might happen following the elections in Zanzibar in October. Some believe that a coalition government might be the only solution. This view, reported in the Express, has been given by Prof. Haroub Othman of the University of Dar es Salaam who said that neither CCM nor CUF, nor any other party stood a chance of winning a landslide victory. “Even if CUF won the elections by 100%, the party would not be able to rule because institutions like the police force and civil service are controlled by CCM,” he said. In such a scenario, the state institutions would end up opposing the Government by staging strikes for better pay and making other demands. He reminded the workshop that, before the first multiparty elections, he had proposed a government of national unity in Zanzibar, but the idea was never given due attention, despite support from the late Mwalimu Nyerere.
CUF and CCM have totally different policies on this issue. CUF welcomes the idea but Zanzibar President Abeid Karume has made it clear that he is against such a solution.

Water carrier in DSM – Photo courtesy Birgit La Cour Madsen/ActionAid UK

The Government’s reaction to the recurring problems was to privatise the industry, but this process has now come under heavy fire even though it is less than year since it happened.
As for the immediate problem, Minister for Water Development Edward Lowassa explained: “The pipes are 30 years old; they have a lifespan of only 25 years so they are already out of date….they may not be able to withstand the intense pressure created by newly installed pumps.” The Minister announced that he had given the go ahead for a Shs13 billion two-year project to lay new pipes to cope with the increased pressure from the pumps. The African Development Bank, World Bank and the European Investment Bank were financing the project through a loan to the Government.

City Water, the Tanzanian firm created to manage the water supply and, in particular, the foreign firms engaged in assisting it, recently came under heavy fire in a report by British aid organisation ActionAid dated September 27th. This accused Biwater, a British water corporation (created originally in 1989 to participate in Margaret Thatcher’s controversial privatisation of the UK’s regional water authorities) of mismanaging the scheme.
The ActionAid report received widespread international publicity. The London Guardian, in a feature article headed ‘Pipes run dry in Tanzania’, (Thank you Fiona Scott and Elsbeth Court for sending us the extract – Editor) gave a fairly balanced view in which it first quoted critics as saying that the city’s water service remained patchy and tariffs had risen while Tanzania had been saddled with yet more foreign debt. It quoted the report as saying that poorer households were having to shift towards unsafe water sources with serious consequences for the health of their families. The paper added however that even critics of water privatisation accepted that the system had to change. Before privatisation only 98,000 homes in a city of 2.5 million had a direct water connection and 60% of the water was being lost through leaks.

Water Seller Photo courtesy Birgit La Cour Madsen/ActionAid UK

The ActionAid Report

The Action Aid report is long and detailed. Extracts:
‘Water often only flows at night, or for a few hours a week. Tariff increases are arguably justified, as the Government previously provided large subsidies to those with connections – generally the middle and upper income households. However, evidence from interviews shows that consumers are angry. They resent the fact that they are being charged more for their water, even though there has been no public debate about the need for privatisation. They do not feel they are getting a better service, and believe that City Water is making excessive profits at their expense….according to one local NGO, water bill collectors are being chased away with dogs and knives. Households that refuse to pay higher water bills are threatened with disconnection. There is also public scepticism about the measures taken by City Water to reduce corruption. As part of the lease agreement, City Water agreed to take on all employees of the former water authority DAWASA, including many well known for their corrupt practices….. Several interviewees reported that households still had to pay bribes just to get water, or to avoid being disconnected.’

According to City Water, tariffs have increased by 11%, but WaterAid, in another report, said that they had increased by 40%. ‘From the beginning, it was clear that the poor, unconnected settlements of Dar es Salaam were marginal to whatever process was being considered and implemented.

The Technical Advisor to Britain’s DfID within the Parastatal Sector Reform Commission (PSRC) was quoted as admitting that the problem with the water supply system was so acute that “We didn’t actually talk about poverty alleviation.” No Poverty and Social Impact Analysis (PSIA) had been undertaken prior to the reforms, making it very difficult to assess the likely impact on the poor. One senior World Bank official noted that “All of Dar es Salaam is poor, so anything which helps to provide more water in Dar es Salaam will automatically help the poor. Unplanned settlements, where 80% of the population live, will be left to local NGOs under a ‘Community Water Supply and Sanitation Project’ subcomponent which will account for only 2% of the total expenditure…. In other words, donor resources, and the Tanzanian government’s current and future tax revenues, will be used to fund a project in which 98% of the money will be spent on the richest 20% of the population.”

Under a new Community Water Supply and Sanitation Project , NGOs, including WaterAid, Care and Plan International, will be subcontracted to carry out water projects in low income areas which are unlikely to be served by the piped network for some time.

Biwater’s Response

Responding to the criticisms in the ActionAid Report, Biwater told Tanzanian Affairs that over the year in which City Water had been running the operation, there had been a vast number of improvements:
* Water quality had improved; outbreaks of cholera were lower; water prices for the poorest customers had been reduced;
* The project had brought with it $164 million (over five years) to a system which had been neglected for over 30 years when it was in the public sector;
* The project would bring water to all areas of Dar es Salaam;
* The project had only been in operation for one year and the
investment programme was only just getting under way;
* The water supplied by City Water was less than 10% of the price of that bought by the bucket;
* Over 500,000 people were now receiving water who had not been receiving water in the past;
* 8,000 meters had been installed and new pumps were now
working at the treatment plants. Very real improvements would be noticed over the next 2 years.

A Government Response

Professor Gelase Mutahaba, Senior Advisor in President Mkapa’s Office, when he addressed the Annual Meeting of the Britain Tanzania Society in October, was highly critical of the ActionAid report. He pointed out that the expansion of the city and a prolonged lack of maintenance while the system was under government control, made a rapid overhaul of the whole system essential. His personal experience was that last year there had been hardly any supply to his house. Now he was getting water three times a week. The private sector was best equipped to undertake the major overhaul needed. He felt that ActionAid had failed to take account of the complexity of the issues. In response to a concern expressed at the meeting about the dominance of the major donors, particularly the World Bank, he said that the Government had taken the initiative in the past few years in defining Tanzania’s assistance strategy and this had not been subject to the perceived priorities of donors. A genuine partnership had been built up.

ActionAid report “Turning off the Taps” available at www.actionaid.org.uk
WaterAid report “Prospects for the Poor” avilable at www.wateraid.org.uk

The Tanzania Investment Centre (TIC) has been awarded the first prize as the best investment centre in Africa. Senegal was the runner-up followed by Ghana. There were 42 participants in the contest that was organised by the ‘African Investor’ a journal published in the UK. The Chief Executive of TIC, Samuel Sitta, said the average age of their staff was 36-37 and they worked day and night. He also said the centre enjoyed good support from the Government. He said that, as a rule, a telephone call is answered immediately and all correspondence is answered within 48 hours. Sitta said no staff member is allowed to say, “The boss is out” – Nipashe.

Britain is to increase its aid to Tanzania from £95 million in 2004 to £110 mill this year. Britain has taken the decision after seeing that Tanzania is doing well in economic development and in poverty reduction. UK Secretary for International Development, Hilary Benn, said that in the last five years Tanzania had been able to double its expenditures in important sectors such as education, health, agriculture, transport, water and the judiciary – Mwananchi.

Tanzania is now said to be the fastest growing tourist destination in Africa, competing hard with South Africa, Botswana and Kenya after a tourism slump hit Zimbabwe.
A pilot plant to produce biogas, electricity and fertiliser from sisal waste is being constructed at the Kwaraguru sisal estate in Handeni district. The project is being jointly financed by the Common Fund for Commodities (CFC), Amboni Limited, the Tanzania Sisal Board and the Sisal Association of Tanzania. Implementation of the project on all estates in Tanga region could produce more than 30 megawatts of electricity, the total consumption for the region. The by-product from the biogas generation process is liquid and solid fertilizer which would increase soil moisture retention, increase microbial activity and prevent leaching and run-off. In the 1970’s Tanzania was the world’s main supplier of sisal.

Tanzania Electric Supply Company (Tanesco) expects to be producing surplus power by the end of 2005. Managing Director Rudy Huysen was quoted in the Guardian as saying that the company’s dependence on water for power generation would be drastically reduced from the current 80% and production from other sources would improve to account for 60%. Tanesco is also replacing its outdated billing system with an advanced ‘Hi-Affinity billing system’.

The Kilimanjaro Development Foundation (KDF) says it is planning to promote the cultivation of vanilla and vines so that they eventually replace coffee as the main cash crops grown in the region. KDF Chairman Cleopa Msuya outlined the plan in Moshi during the handing over of a 1m/- contribution from Paramount Chief Thomas Marealle. Marealle, whose contribution made him the first KDF life member, called on Kilimanjaro people to do all they could to ensure that the region regained its lost glory in all aspects of development – Guardian.

NATIONAL DRESS?
Attempts to instil a sense of cultural identity in Tanzania through a national dress have hit the buffers according to Herold Tagama writing in the October issue of NEW AFRICAN. Extracts: ‘The recent endorsement of a colourful kitenge wraparound and headscarf for women and for men, a suit similar to the collarless one worn by the former Chinese Prime Minister Chou en-Lai, have not gone down well with the people. Both outfits have the national flag sown on the breast to symbolise Tanzania’s national identity. The designers were each awarded TSh1.5 million in prizes but even government and ruling party high officials seemed unexcited by the new outfits….. President Mkapa himself favours a ‘Kaunda’ (a variant of the Chou en Lai) at home but when travelling abroad he prefers a three-piece Western suit. Most of the rest of the male apparatchiks go for Western suits even under the hot African sun. “Why not the Maasai dress?” one person asked. Another praised King Mswati of Swaziland who frequently wears the lubega type of dress with one of his shoulders bare, which is typically Swazi.’

‘PROSPERITY GOSPEL’
In an article in the October issue of NEWS FROM THE NORDIC AFRICA INSTITUTE Paivi Hasu explained how Charismatic Christianity is appealing across Africa to a wide range of people. Extracts: ‘Christopher Mwakasege, a Tanzanian non-denominational charismatic preacher is considered by some as the icon of the contemporary revival movement in the country. He has established as an NGO a ministry called ‘Manna’ which has been having meetings of up to 30,000 people in a single day. The ministry produces audio and video tapes and can be heard in nine countries of East and Central Africa….. Mwakasege maintains a sophisticated website which includes prayers, testimonies, teachings, questions and answers, pastoral letters…. He differs from some other proponents of ‘prosperity gospel’ because, according to him, faith alone cannot guarantee prosperity….. On the issue of offerings to his ministry he does not emphasise the importance of work en route to prosperity as much as he discusses markets and business. “God did not want man to be poor and material success should come in this life.” He recommends his followers to do market research on what other NGOs offer and what they lack. “If the teacher is not wealthy do not think of becoming his disciple… God wants you to give offerings as your capital…. God wants you to have enough money to continue buying more of his stocks in the firm of Lord Jesus. And when you continue giving in this way Lord Jesus continues making profit and he will return it back to you… you will be given the word of revelation to move you ahead.”

‘A SURGE OF PANIC…….’
‘The feeling of claustrophobia is overwhelming. My nostrils and throat are coated in the fine black dust that seems to hang in the warm air like steam in an unpleasant sauna. The bitter taste of cordite from recently detonated dynamite coats my tongue. The darkness of the hole hides the walls of the tunnel, although they are only inches from my reach. In an attempt to protect my bare head from the hidden dangers, I sit hunched on the gently shifting dust beneath my feet, fighting for breath and attempting to control the rising fear that bubbles through my body…… I was at the bottom of the first 50 metre shaft in a Tanzanite Mine’. This is how Richard Human described in NEWSAFRICA (October 31) the mining of Tanzanite in the gold rush town of Merelani in Northern Tanzania. The article went on: ‘Unsure if my ragged breath is caused by the lack of oxygen, the exertion of the descent or the apprehension surrounding my predicament, I grope my way along the short horizontal tunnel towards the next vertical descent. A small, wiry body pushes past me, heading for the top, dragging a rock filled bag behind him…. A surge of panic sweeps through my body as it briefly becomes clear that the tunnel I am in is an unsupported human warren, dug out by thousands of young hands….. James Lazier, a 26 year-old Maasai explained: “The only thing that keeps them going is brandy and marijuana…..If you get a stone out you can make 8 million shillings ($10,000)………”

Miners taking a fresh-air break after working in the mine where oxygen is
short. Photo Dr Hildebrand Shayo – 1995

Tanzanite

(Regular TA contributor Dr Hildebrand Shayo comments on the time when he was doing research on the mining sector in Arusha: “It was in 1991 when I attempted to go down and see for myself what was happening. I went down 150 metres altogether. I was put in a bag of dried cowskin which was tied by a rope of sisal and I was let down slowly for almost 15 minutes. At the bottom I found miners using their local knowledge of the different layers of earth separating the rocks to place their explosive…… But the dangerous part is coming up to the surface again. Some of the workers are tired!” – Editor).

CANADA REJECTS BRITISH PLAN – SHARP REACTION

Canada has thrown up a roadblock to a debt cancellation deal for the world’s poorest countries by vigorously resisting a British plan to inflate the value of the IMF’s vast gold reserves. Extracts: ‘The idea was that sales proceeds would enable the IMF to carry out total debt cancellation under the enhanced ‘Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Debt Relief Scheme’, in which Tanzania is a beneficiary. Canada’s Finance Minister Ralph Goodale was recently quoted by the Toronto GLOBE AND MAIL as saying that his country needed absolute assurances that [re-valuing the gold] would not be disruptive to the international gold industry or international markets for gold. The proposal could eventually slacken global demand for gold to the detriment of Canadian mining companies….. Canadian corporate interests in gold were not in tandem with recent British strategy to stamp out poverty in poor countries. Barrick International, for instance, a leading Canadian gold mining company, had controlling shares in Kahama Mining Corporation Ltd in Tanzania. The G7’s failure to agree on a debt rescue plan drew a stern rebuke from World Bank President James Wolfenson, who, in a sharp reaction said “World leaders spend too much time reviewing proposals and plans and not enough time in making concrete decisions to fight poverty, improve education and make the world a more secure place”. The MONTREAL GAZETTE (reported in the Guardian) quoted Wolfenson as having serious reservations about the G7’s ‘chameleonic behaviour’: “Every five years or so, another global meeting is held to review progress. Usually that meeting concludes that we have not achieved our objectives. New targets are set. Blame and praise is attributed and we are set out on the next five years.”

TOOTHACHE

The DAILY TELEGRAPH (November 24) reported that a lion in Rufiji district had eaten 35 people because ‘it was probably tormented by toothache and found human flesh easier to eat’. An examination of its skull showed it had a large abscess beneath one of its molars (Thank you Liz Fennell for sending this – Editor).

‘I AM WAITING FOR THE RAIN’

‘I am waiting for the rain. Where we live in Tanzania rain hoards itself like candy during lent. There are months of dry, of dust in your ears and mouth, of guilty, furtive sponge baths and an obsession with the level of the cistern. How many times can you reuse the dishwater? Pour the old spaghetti water into the toilet’. So began an article in THE TRAVELLER (December) by the novelist Melanie Finn. Extracts: ‘The dry season is not a good time to have guests from Europe or America. They flush and flush away. They brush their teeth with the tap running. They pour that half glass of water that they didn’t want down the sink……. I confess that it suits my Scottish soul this scrimping and saving……our water comes from Kilimanjaro – on Fridays. Our garden is dead and brittle. Even the bougainvillea pales and droops on the stem…….
Then, tonight, a flying ant appears. My heart leaps. ….Somewhere, not far away, it is raining………

SAVED FROM ATTACK

The TIMES OF SWAZILAND reported in October on a court case in Mbabane concerning the actions of a Municipal Council Officer who had saved a Tanzanian from attack. He was patrolling in the street when an Indian Tanzanian, Akil Ahmad, came out of his shop shouting for help. He said that two men immediately came out of the shop running and took different directions. He said that he and his colleagues gave chase… a pistol fell from the front pocket of one of the thiefs’ trousers. The officer picked up the gun and continued to give chase until he caught up with him with the help of some members of the public who wanted to assault him. As a result of the threats from the public the accused did not even try to resist arrest. He was charged with robbery of 15 cell phones, possession of a .22 pistol without a licence and contravening the Immigration Act in that he is alleged to have remained in the country illegally without the necessary documents….

FILM ON NILE PERCH

THE TIMES explained in an article in December how a film (Darwin’s Nightmare) had been made by Hupert Sauper, an Austrian film-maker. It showed how Europe’s buying power was not helping Tanzanians but was exploiting their resources while ignoring the resulting social problems. The film tells the story of the export of Nile Perch from Lake Victoria in large Russian-made cargo aircraft and how the Perch are destroying the Lake’s ecosystem by eating the smaller fish that keep vital algae growth in check. (Thank you Mr C W B Costeloe for sending this item – Editor).

ZANZIBAR – THE BEST

The New York based TRAVEL AND LEISURE MAGAZINE quoted in The Express has awarded Zanzibar the accolade of ‘the World’s best and highest-ranking tourist and leisure island in Africa and the Middle East region’.

CRIPPLING TRADE UNIONS

In his review of East African trade unions in the October-December issue of the EAST AFRICAN Barrack Muluka wrote that the Tanzanian Government had recently embarked on a mission to cripple trade unions through legislation. It had put in place a complicated complaint and negotiation mechanism which effectively rendered strikes in the country illegal. Although Tanzanian law recognised collective bargaining, agreements that governed such bargaining had first to be submitted to the Industrial Court for approval. If they did not conform to the Government’s economic policy, they would be rejected.

ABUSE INVESTIGATION

In its main front page headline and on two more full pages inside, under the heading ‘Abuse investigation’ the DAILY TELEGRAPH reported in great detail how the charity ‘Anchorage Orphanage’ in Dar es Salaam, that provides shelter for street children and which is backed by British fundraisers, was being run by a Briton wanted in India on charges of sexual abuse against young boys. Duncan Grant (61) a former Royal Navy reservist from a distinguished military family was alleged to be the subject of an international arrest warrant issued by authorities in Bombay two years ago where he had been operating similar shelters. In a lengthy interview Grant told the paper that the allegations had been invented by the Bombay police, his lawyer and a rival volunteer. He said that the boys alleged to have been affected had since withdrawn their allegations. However, British Jesuits who had been sending gap-year students to help at the shelters in Dar es Salaam had now withdrawn their support. The rest of the article quoted numerous people involved with Grant and his shelters in India and Tanzania but they gave contradictory reports on the truth or otherwise of the allegations against him (Thank you John Sankey for sending this information – Editor).