On September 24 the Africa-America Institute Annual Awards Gala in New York raised nearly $900,000 for educational and training programs in Africa. Tribute was paid to the people of Tanzania for the country’s significant progress in education, environmental conservation, and in creating a business-friendly environment for entrepreneurs and investment. Tanzanian President Kikwete accepted the ‘African National Achievement Award’ on behalf of the people of Tanzania. Nearly 500 distinguished U.S. and African leaders and top diplomats attended the function.

The founder of ‘The Grumeti Community and Wildlife Conservation Fund in Tanzania,’ announced the creation of 20 Kikwete Scholarships to support tertiary level training for Tanzanian students to pursue studies in the field of environmental conservation at U.S. universities. In his remarks, President Kikwete personally thanked Tudor Jones for the scholarships, saying it would help further study on environmental conservation in Tanzania. Continue reading →

As imports of goods from China increase from year to year business people and customers are increasingly complaining about the quality of the goods and the number of imported counterfeits. The Chinese Embassy in Dar es Salaam laid the blame on unscrupulous traders and manufacturers who were using China as a transit route for their exports to Tanzania. The reaction came a few days after the ‘Free Competition Commission (FCC)’ stated that 50 per cent of Chinese consignments sold in Tanzanian markets were counterfeits including, in particular, Hitacho TV sets and Kiwi Shoe Polish. The government is planning to review the law governing the FCC with a view to giving it legal teeth, so that it can conduct random inspections of godowns and retail outlets – Guardian.