by Ben Taylor

Dear reader,

Welcome to the latest issue of Tanzanian Affairs.

As you may have noticed, we have taken a slightly different approach to this issue. With the sad news that the editor of the Britain-Tanzania Society newsletter, Jennifer Sharp, passed away earlier this year, the BTS committee has decided, going forward, to incorporate some of what would previously have been included in the newsletter into Tanzanian Affairs. This is starting small, with two pages of news from BTS’s charitable arm, Tanzania Development Trust (TDT). More will follow in future issues.

Of course, you will continue to find much the same type of news that Tanzanian Affairs has always covered. In this issue, this includes extensive coverage of the imminent general elections in Tanzania, as well as articles on Tanzania’s expanding rail and road networks, progress (or lack of) with natural gas processing investment negotiations, the rising importance of tourism to Tanzania’s economy, the challenges around regulation of ride-sharing services such as Uber, and some sporting success.

We also have reviews of some fascinating new books. In Salama binti Rubeya: Memories from the Swahili littoral, Dr Ida Hadjivayanis and Salha Hamdani share the true life-story of their mother / grandmother: casting light on the social history of the Swahili coast from an important but often-neglected perspective. And there are two significant photographic books on Tanzania’s history – the first on the life of Julius Nyerere and the second on the history of the Union.

We have also made a late change in response to the unfortunate news of the passing of Jane Goodall, including reflections from the BTS chair, Paul Harrison.

If you have ideas, stories, or resources you’d like to see featured in future issues, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
Warm regards,

Ben Taylor (Editor)