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CHANGE IN THE MINING INDUSTRY ?

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By Henry Kippin (henry[DOT]k[AT]fdevinfo[DOT]org)

Changes are afoot in the Tanzanian mining industry. Or are they? Speculation continues to mount as to President Kikwete’s eventual response to the major review of mining contracts now in his hands. The review – begun in November 2007 – sought to examine deals constructed between the Tanzanian government and international investors in the industry, and to recommend the means to ensure a ‘win-win’ return for all parties from the country’s natural resources.

Former Attorney General Judge Mark Bomani, who chaired the review, has had plenty of evidence to consider during the review process, especially following the recent publication of a critical report on the gold industry by a consortium of domestic and international NGOs. ‘A Golden Opportunity?’ alleges that Tanzania has suffered staggering losses in revenue through a lack of transparency in the industry, and inadequate legislation on mining revenue.

At the same time, noises from within the industry suggest that international investors are ‘not worried’ about the review process. According to Tanzanian Royalty CEO Jim Sinclair, ‘President Kikwete…will do nothing to disturb the balanced fiscal policies that have produced enormous growth in Tanzania’s economic base, most of it fuelled by international investors’.

Certainly mining issues were conspicuous by their absence from the 2008/9 budget – a fact criticised by MP’s such as Zitto Kabwe, himself a member of the Bomani committee. For him, the budget ignored the fertile area in mining that ‘continued to enjoy legal protection, which cost the country TShs 816 billion over the last 10 years’ Continue reading →

OTHER POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS

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Private candidates
As explained earlier in TA the High Court has supported the case that private candidates should be allowed to stand for parliament. The government has always been against this and appealed against the decision but has now lost in court again.

Opinion in the ruling CCM is reported to be divided. Some MP’s said that the verdict ought to be welcomed by the party’s leaders, as had been done by Party Vice-President Pius Msekwa. One reason given for a measure to accept private candidates was that it would do away with internal party squabbles during the nomination process, prior to elections. A former CCM Regional Commissioner said it would trim the power of the party chairpersons who sometimes behaved like gods. Speaker Samuel Sitta said that the issue had been dragging on for too long. All parties should get together and come to a conclusion – Majira.

MP for Kigoma North, Zitto Kabwe (CHADEMA) said that he would be tabling a motion in parliament supporting the court verdict to allow private candidates to stand for parliament. – Tanzania Daima.

Death of radical MP

Police inspect the crash site

Police inspect the crash site

One of Tanzania’s most radical MP’s, who represented Tarime in the National Assembly, Chacha Zakayo Wangwe, died in a road accident near Dodoma on July 21. He had been highly critical of the leadership of his own opposition CHADEMA, as well as the ruling CCM. In fact, according to Tanzania Daima, CHADEMA had sacked him as Deputy Chairman following allegations that he had been engineering divisions within the party and had had misunderstandings with most of the other top leaders. Many people jumped to the conclusion that he might have been ‘removed’ for political reasons.

When a delegation of CHADEMA and CCM MP’s flew from Dodoma to Tarime for the funeral they had to return to Dodoma when the family insisted that there must be a second postmortem to clearly establish the cause of his death before the burial. This postmortem was held in Tarime and family members then accepted that the MP had indeed died in an accident and allowed burial arrangements to proceed.

The driver was later charged with reckless driving and having no
licence. Then followed serious, if not sensational questions about the background of the driver which were published in the Daily News just as this issue of TA went to press.

Slaa survives attempt to remove him
An election petition filed by some members of the CCM seeking to unseat Karatu MP and Deputy CHADEMA Chairman Dr. Wilbroad Slaa, who is a strong critic of the government, was thrown out by the High Court on May 15. The three CCM petitioners claimed that the returning officer had hurriedly announced Slaa as the successful candidate without seeing all the ballot boxes and results forms and that the returning officer had refused to allow the CCM candidate to lodge complaints on irregularities. The Judge said the petitioners had failed to prove even a single allegation made against the respondents – Majira.

CUF wins in Mbeya rural
It is usually difficult to discover the results of local elections in Tanzania and, in any case, the ruling CCM party usually wins them without difficulty. However, in Mbeya Rural it is understood that the Civic United Front (CUF) was successful in the most recent elections gaining nine seats against two for CCM.

BISHOPS & HOMOSEXUALITY

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If there were any doubt about the importance of one subject at the Lambeth Conference held in July/August and attended by 650 Anglican bishops from around the world, this was allayed by a glance at the Church of England Newspaper of July 25 while the conference was going on. There were no less than seven articles touching on homosexuality under such headings as ‘Call for gay bishop to resign rocks Lambeth,’ ‘Lambeth legitimacy called into question,’ ‘Tribunal over police action on gay policy,’ ‘a legacy from Newman to Lambeth,’ ‘Tense times behind the scenes…’ Those against ordination of gay priests were quoted as saying that in some places (particularly in Asia and Africa) the church was being ridiculed as ‘the gay church’ and that membership was suffering. Homosexuality was said to be seen by some as a new form of colonialisation which could lead to sexual licence.

Tanzania

Bishop Godfrey Mdimi Mhogolo

Bishop Godfrey Mdimi Mhogolo

As I entered the room where the Britain-Tanzania Society was entertaining to lunch a dozen Tanzanian bishops attending the conference, I was immediately approached by Bishop Godfrey Mdimi Mhogolo of the Diocese of Central Tanzania. Continue reading →

TANZANIA RAILWAYS LTD

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Omar Chambo at the launch of the new train service (Issah Michuzi)

Omar Chambo at the launch of the new train service (Issah Michuzi)

Tanzania Railways Limited launched an additional passenger train service between Dar es Salaam and Kigoma on 13th July. Officiating at the launch ceremony in Dar es Salaam, Infrastructure permanent secretary Omar Chambo said the new service would go a long way in alleviating transport problems between Dar es Salaam and western Tanzania.

The service takes to three the number of weekly journeys between Dar es Salaam and Kigoma, he said, adding that the services were expected to increase to six next month. TRL have ordered 23 coaches from India, which are expected to arrive in the near future. Mr Chambo said the Dar es Salaam-Tanga route had been revived with the relaunch of freight services made possible by the arrival of 25 locomotives. Freight services will also be relaunched between Dar es Salaam and Moshi next month with cement one of the principal cargoes.

TRL managing director Narasimhaswami Jayaram said last week that officials from the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) and Surface and Marine Transport Regulatory Authority (Sumatra) were in India inspecting train coaches and engines ordered by the firm.

TANZANIA & ZIMBABWE

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When an MP asked Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Seif Ali Khamis why it normally took so long for the AU and other regional bodies to intervene in emerging conflicts and why Tanzania and the AU entertained power-sharing governments in Kenya and Zimbabwe, knowing that sitting presidents in the two countries didn’t actually win the elections, he replied: “I disagree…the AU does not wait for a crisis to happen before intervening…. We normally don’t anticipate political crises in democratic countries governed by the rule of law.” He added that as the AU and other regional bodies had concluded that the Zimbabwe elections, especially the run-off, were not free and fair, they didn’t recognise the declared winner, Robert Mugabe, as the legitimate president. No member country of the AU had so far recognised Mugabe,” he said.

On the decision by China and Russia to veto proposed additional sanctions backed by Western countries on Zimbabwe, Prime Minister Pinda told Parliament that their decision had not swayed the African Union (AU) in its position. He added that, right from the beginning, the AU’s stand had been to give Harare a hand so that it could move out of its current political turmoil. He said the decision by China and Russia was made for a good reason because experience showed that economic and weapons embargoes on a poor country like Zimbabwe normally affected the people, not the government. “They did so for a noble reason, and that is to rescue the people of Zimbabwe from further sufferings. I think making the rival parties conduct dialogue is the best solution,” said the Premier.

On why the Tanzanian government and other AU member states were involving Mugabe, whom they apparently refused to recognise, in looking for a solution to the political crisis in Zimbabwe, Pinda said that, due to the fact that he was declared the winner and took the oath as president, there was no other option but working with him. “I think the MP has just decided to corner me on the issue of Zimbabwe. The Zimbabwe issue is over. Elections have been held and the President has been installed. What we can do right now is help Mugabe, the opposition and Zimbabweans to work out problems, so that the country gets back to its previous position” – Guardian.

This was written before negotiations on possible power sharing in Zimbabwe
had concluded – Editor

OLYMPICS

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Tanzanian athletes at the Beijing opening ceremony

Tanzanian athletes at the Beijing opening ceremony

The Minister for Information, Culture and Sports, George Mkuchika led Tanzania’s Olympic squad to Beijing. The team comprised eight runners and two swimmers, including marathon runners Samson Ramadhani, Msenduki Mohamed and Getul Bayo. Samuel Kwaang, Fabian Joseph and Dickson Marwa were due to compete in the 10,000 metres, Samuel Mwera in the 800 metres, and the only lady athlete, Zakia Mrisho, in the 5,000 metres. The swimmers were Magdalena Mushi and Rushaka Khalid who featured in the 50 metres free style.

The national athletics team left for Beijing with some uncertainty hanging over the sponsorship of Chinese sportswear manufacturer Li Ning. AT had preferred the use of Li Ning equipment but the Olympic Committee ruled that the team should use those provided by German sportswear manufacturers Puma. This issue of TA goes to the press before the running events have taken place.

Tanzania has won only two Olympic silver medals since she started taking part in the Games. The medals were won by Filbert Bayi in 3,000 metres steeplechase and Nyambui in 5,000 metres at the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow, Russia.

HYENA SQUARE

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R&B superstar Kelly Rowland, formerly of Destiny’s Child, visited Dar-es-Salaam in June to present an MTV Staying Alive Foundation award to a former Tanzanian sex worker named “Eliza” who is now working to save the lives of her former peers. Ms. Rowland is MTV’s 2008 AIDS Awareness Ambassador for the Staying Alive Foundation.

The Staying Alive Foundation and the Tanzania Marketing and Communications for AIDS, Reproductive Health and Child Survival (TMARC) project both provide small grants to support local projects that reach people who are particularly at risk for HIV infection.

Eliza’s Sad Beginnings
Eliza was born in Iringa, and her father abandoned her mother and the family when Eliza was just a baby. When she was 12, her mother “sold” her to a family in Dar-es-Salaaam to work as a house girl. One day when Eliza was 14, the wife of the family went out, and Eliza was brutally raped and beaten by the husband. Bruised and battered, Eliza went to the police station to report what had happened to her, but the police refused to open the case without a bribe. As Eliza was leaving the police station, the wife and husband arrived and claimed that Eliza had been stealing from them, and Eliza was thrown in jail for six months.

After being released from jail, Eliza found her way to Uwanja wa Fisi (Hyena Square), a poor neighborhood in Manzese notorious for alcoholics, addicts and prostitutes. There Eliza met a young woman who invited her to stay in a guesthouse where she lived, and subsequently taught Eliza how to sell her body to men. Eliza managed to live and work under those circumstances for about four years, avoiding the drug use that felled many of her peers.

Despite the horrors of Hyena Square, Eliza had good moments. She cherishes a photo album chronicling a few happy times hanging out with friends. When Eliza shows that album now, she points out all of her friends who are gone – dead from AIDS, malaria, drug overdoses, or the many other diseases and afflictions that are associated with living and working in impoverished conditions. Along the way, Eliza tested positive for HIV. She was devastated at first, but eventually realized that she could live a healthy life by taking care of her health and taking the appropriate drugs.

The Light at the End of the Tunnel
One day, Eliza met some outreach workers from a local organization that had started a counselling booth for people in Hyena Square. She was inspired and started visiting them everyday, and eventually they invited her to join them in their rescue house. Eliza left her room in the guesthouse, started to think about her future, and before long was in the counseling booth, reaching out to her former colleagues with advice on how to escape the lifestyle and start over.

Now in her early 20s, Eliza serves as a role model for many young girls. The Staying Alive Foundation is funding her return to her home region of Iringa, where she will work with young women and their parents to help them understand the consequences of sending their daughters to be “house girls” in Dar es Salaam. She is also educating her community about the devastating consequences of sex work and the trials of HIV.

Kelly Rowland’s Journey to Hyena Square

Kelly Rowland (centre) and Eliza (right) at Uwanja wa Fisi (Hyena Square)

Kelly Rowland (centre) and Eliza (right) at Uwanja wa Fisi (Hyena Square)

During Kelly’s visit, she spent time with Eliza and T-MARC staff at their office in Dar es Salaam and then toured Hyena Square meeting and interviewing other sex workers. Kelly spoke with many young women and shared that she grew up in a household with no father like many of them and understands that loss. She also shared that she believes in the power of faith and the perseverance to create a better life, just as she did for herself.

For more see http://www.staying-alive.org and https://pshi.aed.org/projects_tmarc.htm

AIDS/HIV & MALARIA STATISTICS

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Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda released the results from a recent survey carried out by National Bureau of Statistics with assistance from USAID. The survey interviewed and took blood samples from more than 9,000 women aged 15-49 and close to 7,000 men aged 15-49 in all 26 regions of Tanzania. The results indicated a 4.7% HIV prevalence rate among men and a 6.8% rate among women. This is a slight improvement over the 2003-04 survey which found rates of 6.3% and 7.7% respectively.

Iringa recorded the highest rate of 14.7% (previously 13.4%) followed by Dar es Salaam at 8.9% (previously 10.9%), Mbeya at 7.9% (previously 13.5%) and Shinyanga at 7.6% (previously 6.5%). Zanzibar had the lowest prevalence rate at 0.6%. Age-wise, the highest prevalence was among the 35-39 age group (10%).

The survey also collected information on knowledge of HIV, attitudes and behavourial aspects. Over 98% of respondants had heard about HIV/AIDS. 68.6% of women and 76.3% of men knew that condoms can reduce the risk of contracting HIV, while 82% and 86.6% knew that limiting sex to one uninfected partner who has no other partners would reduce the risk. 85% and 89% where aware that abstaining from sexual intercourse is another recognized prevention method.

With regard to Malaria, 56% of the households covered in the study owned some type of mosquito net (increased from 46% observed in the 2004-05 survey). 37% of children under age five years and 36% of pregnant women slept under a mosquito net. Children and pregnant women in urban areas were found to be twice as likely to use mosquito nets than their rural counterparts.

The overall prevalence of malaria in young children in Tanzania was 18%. In rural areas, 20% of children carried the malaria parasite compared to 7% in urban areas. Kagera had the highest prevalence of malaria among young children (42%) while Arusha had the lowest with less than 1%.

The statement ended “To conclude, these results should be taken as a challenge in the nation’s effort to reduce the incidences of new HIV infections and eradication of malaria among children. We all have to work together towards achieving the desired levels so that we save lives of our people especially children under age five years.”

BIOFUEL PROJECT

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A 400 hectare biofuel project to grow sugar cane for use in producing ethanol is planned for Bagamoyo District. The company behind the project, Sekab Bio-energy Tanzania, already operates similar projects in other areas of East and Central Africa and plans to employ around 500 people on the farm. A water reservoir is planned from the Lower Ruvu River to allow drip irrigation of the crops. The farm manager Andre Fayd’herbe is hopeful that the project would start producing ethanol by next year.

Concerns have been expressed by OXFAM and others over the widespread adoption of biofuel crops particularly on land previously used for food cultivation. Robert Bailey, OXFAM policy advisor notes “In the scramble to supply the EU and the rest of the world with biofuels, poor people are getting trampled “

The aim of producing biofuel is to replace petrol used in cars, but scientists have said that it takes so much energy to produce some biofuels that it would be cleaner overall to burn petrol in our cars. That said, ethanol production from sugar cane is said to be one of the more efficient biofuel conversion processes.