by Donovan McGrath
World Bank announces multimillion-dollar redress fund after killings and abuse claims at Tanzanian project

(Guardian online – UK) Extract: The World Bank is embarking on a multimillion-dollar programme in response to alleged human rights abuses against Tanzanian herders during a flagship tourism project it funded for seven years. Allegations made by the pastoralist communities living in and around Ruaha national park include violent evictions, sexual assaults, killings, forced disappearances and large-scale cattle seizures from herders committed by rangers working for the Tanzanian national park authority (Tanapa). The pastoralists say most of the incidents took place after the bank approved $150m (£166m) for the Resilient Natural Resources Management for Tourism and Growth (Regrow) project September in 2017, aimed at developing tourism in four protected areas in southern Tanzania in a bid to take pressure off heavily touristed northern areas such as Ngorongoro and Serengeti. In 2023, two individuals wrote to the bank accusing some Tanapa employees of “extreme cruelty” during cattle seizures and having engaged in “extrajudicial killings” and the “disappearance” of community members… [The] bank published a 70-page report following its own investigation, which found “critical failures in the planning and supervision of this project and that these have resulted in serious harm”. The report … notes that “the project should have recognised that enhancing Tanapa’s capacity to manage the park could potentially increase the likelihood of conflict with communities trying to access the park.” … The report includes recommendations aimed at redressing harms done and details a $2.8m project that will support alternative livelihoods for communities inside and around the park… Anuradha Mittal, executive director of the Oakland Institute, said the “scathing” investigation “confirmed the bank’s grave wrongdoing which devastated the lives of communities. Pastoralists and farms who refused to be silenced amid widespread government repression, are now vindicated.” She added that the bank’s response was “beyond shameful”. “Suggesting that tens of thousands of people forced out of their land can survive with ‘alternative livelihoods’ such as clean cooking and microfinance is a slap in the face of the victims.” … The Oakland Institute said the affected communities reject the bank’s recommendations, and have delivered a list of demands that includes “reverting park boundaries to the 1998 borders … The bank has said any future community resettlement will be the government’s decision. (3 April 2025)

Labour government discussed Tanzania asylum camp plan in 2004, files show
(Guardian online – UK) Extract: Tony Blair’s government discussed diverting £2m earmarked to prevent conflict in Africa in order to fund a controversial pilot scheme to process and house asylum seekers in Tanzania, newly released government files show. Under the scheme, Britain would have offered Tanzania an extra £4m in aid if it opened an asylum camp to house people claiming to be Somalian refugees while their applications to live in Britain were assessed. Hilary Benn, the then international development secretary, wrote to the then home secretary, David Blunkett, in 2004 saying the migration partnership with Tanzania was “off the ground”, files released to the National Archives in Kew, west London, show… The then armed forces minister, Adam Ingram, however, wrote to Benn to say that while he agreed that the removal of refused asylum seekers should be addressed, he did not “consider it appropriate” to draw on the ACPP fund. Ingram wrote: “In the medium and longer terms improving stability in Africa is likely to be one of the more sustainable means of reducing the flow of economic and other migrants; that is what the ACPP exists to achieve… (31 December 2024)

Move over, Med diet – plantains and cassava can be as healthy as tomatoes and olive oil, say researchers
(Guardian online – UK) Extract: Plantains, cassava and fermented banana drink should be added to global healthy eating guidelines alongside the olive oil, tomatoes and red wine of the Mediterranean diet, say researchers who found the traditional diet of people living in Tanzania’s Kilimanjaro region had a positive impact on the body’s immune system. Traditional foods enjoyed in rural villages also had a positive impact on markers of inflammation, the researchers found in a study published . . . in the journal Nature Medicine. Dr Quirijn de Mast, one of the paper’s authors, said they were now in a race against time to record and study the potential benefits of African heritage diets before they disappear as people move to cities and adopt western-style eating habits. “Time is ticking because you see that these heritage diets are being replaced more and more by western diets,” he said. “We will lose so much interesting information [from which] we can learn – and not only in Africa.” In previous research, the team had established that people following the traditional way of life in rural areas had a different immune-system profile to urban dwellers, with more anti-inflammatory proteins. Chronic inflammations is a key driver of many non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including rheumatoid arthritis and Alzheimer’s disease. The new study set out to establish whether diet played a role. For a fortnight, 77 young men in their 20s and 30s were switched from heritage to western-style diets, or the reverse – with blood samples taken at the start and end, and again four weeks later. Meals on the heritage diet menu included green plantain mixed with kidney beans, boiled chicken served with green vegetables and brown rice and beans. On the western-style menu, they included pizza, fried chicken and french fries and spaghetti served with beef stew. Those newly adopting a western-style diet saw inflammatory markers in their blood increase and tests suggested their immune systems did not respond as well to infections. They also gained weight. By contrast, switching from a western diet to a heritage diet had a largely anti-inflammatory effect, and blood markers linked to metabolic problems fell. In a third arm of the trial, participants following a western-style diet were asked to drink the local fermented banana beverage, known as mbege, for one week. That group also saw improvements in markers of inflammation. For Dr Godrey Temba, the first author of the paper and a lecturer at KCMC University in Moshi, Tanzania, the findings were not a surprise. “When we are in most of the villages, talking to elderly people [of] 80 or 90 years, they were very healthy. They don’t have any health complications [and] they tell you about consuming this type of diet and this beverage since they were 25.” However, the diet and its benefits have not been explored and documented – unlike the traditional diets of the Mediterranean and Nordic countries, which are promoted by the World Health Organization for their beneficial effects. Temba said: “We think this is the right time … so that [African heritage diets] can also be included in the global guidelines of diets, because they really have a health benefit … (17 April 2025)

Archaeologists uncovered a cache of 1.5 million-year-old bone tools. They’re trying to determine who made them
(CNN online – USA) Extract: Archaeologists have uncovered a collection of bone tools in northern Tanzania that were shaped by ancient human ancestors 1.5 million years ago, making them the oldest known bone tools by about 1 million years, according to new research. Researchers have unearthed stone tools that date back to at least 3.3 million years ago, but before this discovery, the oldest known bone tools were found at European sites believed to be 250,000 to 500,000 years old. The fragments of limb bones, most from hippopotamuses and elephants, show evidence of having been sharpened and shaped, likely with the aid of stone pieces. Some of the bones reach up to nearly 15 inches (38cm) long. The bone tools, which all appear to have been systematically produced in the same style as one another, were found in Tanzania’s Olduvai Gorge. The site is also where archaeologists have previously unearthed artifacts related to some of the first stone tools crafted by early hominins, or who walked upright. The new findings, presented in a study published … in the journal Nature, suggest that our ancient human relatives applied the same techniques they used to make stone tools to specific bones they selected from large mammals. Researchers believe the tools are evidence that hominins long ago were capable of abstract reasoning, or the ability to think critically by identifying patterns and making connections. “This expansion of technological potential indicates advances in the cognitive abilities and mental structures of these hominins, who knew how to incorporate technical innovations by adapting their knowledge of stone work to the manipulation of bone remains,” said lead study author Dr. Ignacio de la Torre, scientist at the Spanish National Research Council’s Institute of History and codirector of the Olduvai Gorge Archaeology Project, in a statement… The Olduvai Gorge bone tools were first spotted in 2018 during excavations carried out between 2015 and 2022… (5 March 2025)

A forest the size of Mexico could store twice as much carbon as was thought. That makes its conservation even more valuable
(CNN online – USA) Extract: ... Stretching from the northern tips of Tanzania, through to coastal Angola in the west, and all the way down to southern Mozambique, the Miombo covers 1.9 million square kilometres (734,000 square miles): an area about the size of Mexico. It’s thought to provide livelihoods and essential resources for over 300 million people, as well as sustaining much of Africa’s most iconic megafauna, including some of the continent’s largest remaining elephant populations. Despite its importance, the Miombo saw a decline in forest cover of almost a third between 1980 and 2020. However, recent research shed light on its ability to store carbon, which could mean that restoring the woodland has more economic value that cutting it down. A first-of-its-kind study published in July 2024 found that Miombo may be locking up more than twice as much aboveground carbon as was previously thought. This difference equates to an additional 3.7 billion metric tons of carbon stored across the whole forest—more than that emitted into the atmosphere by China in 2023. Professor Mathias Disney, of University College London, who co-authored the paper, explains that the oversimplified relationship between trunk diameter and tree mass (of which carbon makes up a fixed proportion) use in prior estimates, “kind of underpins everything we know about carbon and forests worldwide.” Instead, this new study predicted the aboveground biomass in the Miombo using a much more advanced method: lidar (light detection and ranging). Much as sonar relies on sound pulses, and radar on radio pulses, lidar builds up a 3D-map by firing thousands of laser pulses per second at an object and recording the reflected signals. The team deployed the imaging technique from the ground, from drones and from helicopters, over a 500-square-kilometer region of the forest in Mozambique. They then used their data to build the most accurate 3D-representation of the woodland to date and extrapolated to estimate the amount of carbon locked up across the whole Miombo… As far as the Miombo is concerned, although “nothing has actually changed on the ground … if you double the amount of carbon that’s stored across these woodlands … you’ve essentially doubled their dollar value overnight,” says Disney. This means doubling the financial incentive for southern African nations to protect and restore the Miombo, but also doubling the financial cost of cutting it down… “In the carbon world, everything flows from policy, everything flows from regulation,” says Hannah Hauman, global head of carbon trading at Trafigura… Edwin Tambara, director of Global Leadership at the African Wildlife Foundation, says that compared to rainforests such as the Amazon and the Congo Basin, dry forests like the Miombo are systematically understudied, underappreciated and undervalued… (5 March 2025)

Massive, long-lived trees discovered in the Tanzanian rainforest are a new species

(Phys.org science news website – UK) Extract: The Udzungwa Mountains, part of [Tanzania’s] Eastern Arc Mountain Chain, are home to many wildlife preserves. Members of the team were hiking in the Uluti Village and the Boma la Mzinga Forest Reserves when they came upon a large tree back in 2019 that none of them recognized. Its flowers had thin white petals with tiny yellow bulbs on the tips. Intrigued by their find, they took pictures and collected leaf samples for study back in their lab. They have been able to confirm that the tree is a species that has not been recognized by the scientific community. The team named it Tessmannia princeps. In addition to its massive girth, the tree grows a little taller than others around it in the rainforest, which is why the team gave it the name “princeps”—a Latin word meaning “most eminent.” More recently, team members returned to the site and found approximately 100 of the trees, one of which had fallen due to natural causes. That allowed them to collect wood samples for testing. The results showed that some of the newly discovered trees could be up to 3,000 years old. They are also slow growing, taking up to 15 years to add 1cm of girth. The researchers note that there are many scarce species of plants and animals found only in the Udzungwa Mountains and Udzungwa’s Mngeta Valley. Because of that, the entire area has been designated a national park, which means trees cannot be cut down or harmed. That is good news for Tessmannia pinceps, the team notes, because of its slow-growing nature and low numbers mean it could very well disappear if disturbed by human activities. (21 March 2025)

The blind man coaching a Tanzanian football club

(BBC.com news website video clip – UK) Tanzania will co-host the Africa Cup of Nations in 2027 alongside fellow East African countries Kenya and Uganda. It is hoped that the tournament will inspire a new generation of talent across the region. One football coach in Ruvumu in southern Tanzania is already helping players improve and has established himself as a role model in his community – despite being blind since birth. The BBC’s Alfred Lasteck visits Mfaranyaki City FC to attend one of Priver Ngonyani’s training sessions. Video transcription: Priver Ngonyani may be blind, but he still sees the game. [Ngonyani] “My ears are sharp and my senses are exceptionally strong. This allows me to recognize who is playing well and who is underperforming.” He has coached Mfaranyaki City FC in Tanzania for 10 years. His players believe in his abilities. [Rogatus Mbawala – Team captain] “We don’t use his disability to go against what the coach asks of us. When he gives instructions for the sessions, I act as a supervisor collaborating with my teammates.” [Ngonyani] “When I discipline a player one accepts it because they trust me. This trust has made us a family, both on and off the pitch.” The job is not lucrative but his passion keeps him on the pitch. Born blind, Ngonyani has to deal with societal stigma. [Ngonyani] “People assume I lack the ability to coach football. This makes it extremely difficult for me to secure opportunities and prove my skills with confidence.” It’s estimated there are 290,000 blind people in Tanzania. Ngonyani hopes to change attitudes towards them. [Ngonyani] “When given a chance, we can achieve a lot. I’m capable of helping many teams succeed.” (24 March 2025)

by Donovan McGrath

Tanzania opposition laments its ‘naivety’ over president as repression intensifies
(Guardian online – UK) Recent killings and arrests of government critics suggest end of reformist approach under Samia Suluhu Hassan, say political rivals. Extract continues: When Samia Suluhu Hassan took office as Tanzania’s president in 2021, many in the east African country hailed what they hoped was a new dawn after the authoritarian and repressive rule of her predecessor John Magufuli. The signs were positive in her first few years in office: Hassan ended bans on newspapers and political rallies, and legislation that kept pregnant girls and young mothers out of school, all policies that Magufuli endorsed. But opposition leaders say recent killings of officials, a spate of disappearances, and arrests of government critics and bans on opposition gatherings suggest the end of the reformist approach. In late November the Chadema opposition party said three of its members were killed in incidents linked to local elections, which the governing Chama Cha Mapinduzi party (CCM) won in a landslide. Chadema’s chair, Freeman Mbowe, said on X that one candidate was shot dead by police in Tanzania’s commercial capital, Dar es Salaam, as he attempted to stop “fake and invalid ballots” being delivered to a polling station. Chadema said another candidate was shot dead at his home in Mkese in central Tanzania and that a party official was killed in a machete attack at his home in Tunduma near the border with Zambia. … [The] ACT Wazalendo opposition party said the head of its youth wing had been found alive on a beach with serious injuries after an apparent abduction. The party claimed that Abdul Nondo was “kidnapped” … by individuals they believed were state security agents. Police said investigations were continuing to identify those responsible. The deaths follow the killing … of a member of the Chadema secretariat who was found beaten with his face doused with acid. There is no evidence that Hassan has had any involvement in the deaths, which have been condemned by the government. In an interview with the Guardian, Tundu Lissu, another Chadema leader, said that, with the benefit of hindsight, his party’s expectations about political freedoms under Hassan “were wildly, wildly unrealistic”… He said: “She inherited the state machinery which was created by Magufuli and which was responsible for the repression that we went through for six years. How could we have thought that, given all this baggage, this would be a reformist?” An ardent campaigner for democracy, human rights and anti-corruption, Lissu was shot 16 times in an assassination attempt in 2017 that forced him to live largely in exile in Belgium for five years. No one has been charged with the attempt on Lissu’s life. … [The] events of the past few months have reignited fears of a return to intolerance. “She has done with a smile what Magufuli did with a snarl,” said Lissu. (9 December 2024)

Rescuers search for survivors after building collapses in Tanzania, killing at least one

(Guardian online – UK) Dozens of people were trapped in underground shops after collapse of multi-storey building in Dar es Salaam. Extract continues: Rescuers were using their bare hands, drills and sledgehammers to reach dozens of people trapped under a building that collapsed in the centre of Tanzania’s commercial capital, Dar es Salaam. The multi-storey building in Kariakoo, the East African country’s busiest market, caved in as people were shopping, killing at least one person, the prime minister, Kassim Majaliwa, said. Hundreds of people, including army rescuers, clawed through the piles of rubble in the hunt for survivors, alongside excavators. At least 56 people had been rescued, the Tanzanian Red Cross Society said on X. … In 2013, a 16-storey building collapsed in Dar es Salaam and killed 34 people. (16 November 2024)

Firm disclosed phone data of shot Tanzanian politician, UK tribunal hears
(Guardian online – UK) Tigo’s former investigator claims he was unfairly dismissed for raising concerns over 2017 attack on Tundu Lissu. Extract continues: Gunmen tried to assassinate a Tanzanian opposition politician after a telecoms company secretly passed his mobile phone data to the government, according to evidence heard in a London tribunal. The mobile phone company Tigo provided 24/7 phone call and location data belonging to Tundu Lissu to Tanzanian authorities in the weeks before the attempt on his life in September 2017. The arrangement, which Tigo does not deny, was revealed in a claim by a former internal investigator for the company that was heard at the Central London employment tribunal. … Michael Clifford, a former Metropolitan police officer, claims that Millicom, the owner of the Tigo brand, sacked him for raising concerns about the affair. … Lissu was attacked in his car in the parking bay of his parliamentary residence in Dodoma on 7 September 2017. The car was sprayed with bullets and he received severe injuries. Nobody has been prosecuted for his attempted murder. Five days later, Clifford began investigating after hearing on a conference call that Millicom had been providing Lissu’s mobile phone data to the Tanzanian government. He later handed a summary of his findings to his superiors, his lawyer said. The report concluded that “information had been provided to the Tanzanian government since 22 August 2017”, the lawyers said. “From 29 August 2017, the intensity of the tracking increased and [Millicom] used its human electronic resources to livetrack 24/7 the location of two of Mr Lissu’s mobile phones.” The data was passed to the government via WhatsApp messages, which Millicom was later asked to delete. No formal legal request for the data appeared to have been filed. “In the claimant’s reasonable belief, this information tended to show that [Millicom] was involved in an attempted political assassination and act of terrorism,” Clifford’s lawyers said. Clifford claims that after escalating his concerns, his relationship with his managers began to break down and they began to marginalise him within the company, before making him redundant in the autumn of 2019. Millicom disputes Clifford’s claim. … (24 September 2024)

Scientists warn of impending eruption after spotting bulging around ‘Mountain of God’ volcano capable of spewing lava 10 miles away

(Daily Mail online – UK) Extract: Scientists are warning of an impending eruption in Tanzania after discovering the country’s ‘Mountain of God’ volcano is bulging. The Ol Doinyo Lengai volcano, located in the north, was found to be swelling due to magma flowing beneath the Earth’s surface. The 9,718-foot-tall volcano has been active every 20 to 40 years throughout the 20th century, with its last eruption in 2007 spreading ash more than 10 miles away from the site and forcing thousands of people to evacuate. There has been a ‘rapid uplift’ in underground magma volcanic activity in the land surrounding the volcano since March 2022, posing a sign of imminent doom. ‘We have been able to detect transient motion in volcanic activity, and this is a precursor for any kind of eruption,’ said Ntambila Daud, a graduate student at Virginia Tech. Ol Doinyo Lengai – meaning ‘Mountain of God’ in Maasai – is considered to be a sacred site by the Maasai tribe who visit it to pray for cures to illness and infertility and ask for relief from any other misfortunes. Records of the volcano only go back to the 1880s, but it has erupted nine times since with the largest occurring 17 years ago. The explosion sent ash thousands of feet into the air and spread lava nearly two miles away from its western flank. Ol Doinyo Lengai is also the only one in the world to spew carbonite lava, a uniquely black or gray-coloured lava that turns stark white when it cools. This contrasts with other active volcanoes that project red, orange or yellow-coloured lava that will turn a deep black colour when it’s exposed to the air and cools. The different colours relate to the temperature the lave reaches when it hits the surface, with dark red being measured at 887 degrees Fahrenheit, orange at 1,652 degrees Fahrenheit, and white clocking at 2,100 degrees Fahrenheit or higher… Before a volcano erupts, magma will typically gather in a shallow reservoir under the land that causes the Earth’s surface to lift – like a balloon expanding underground… (16 September 2024)

Smiling Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, is stylish in statement print frock as she stands in for King Charles during Tanzania visit

(Daily Mail online – UK) Extract: Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh was all smiles … as she visited a medical centre during her trip to Tanzania. The mother-of-two arrived in the country earlier this week. During her trip, she will be celebrating how the UK and African nation have collaborated on various issues including health, agriculture and women’s empowerment. … Sophie – who is the global ambassador for the international Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) – met with TT surgery beneficiary, Hadija Shaban Kawam and Hon. Jenista Mhagama MP, Minister of Health. The women smiled for pictures as they chatted in front of Hadija’s home in Kibaha. … The duchess also visited the Mlandizi Health Center Tanzania – which offers eye treatment services through the Non-Governmental Organization Sightsavers – so she could see some of the treatments in action. As part of the duchess’ visit, she witnessed a live TT surgery – which corrects trachomatous trichiasis. This is a condition where one or more eyelashes touch the eye due to lid scarring, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). … While at the clinic, she also spoke with Trachoma patient Jumanne Seif Lwambo, during his appointment as well as medic Dr Hiza. Sophie is visiting the African nation solo, flying there to deliver a message from King Charles to the Commonwealth nation. … Charles expressed his ‘gratitude’ for Sophie’s work on the ground, aiding the people who are fighting tropical diseases… (19 September 2024)

Africa’s kleptocrats enable illegal forestry
(Mail & Guardian online – South Africa) Extract: Illegal forestry in Africa thrives where there is conflict and where law enforcement is weak. About 30% of Africa’s forests are fast disappearing because of illegal logging and timber trade, according to the African Union. The unseen effects may be far more devastating in the long term than in the immediate aftermath of the denuded wastelands. Africa’s tropical forests, where illegal logging is most prevalent, are the most carbon-rich ecosystems, storing 150 to 300 tonnes of carbon per hectare (above ground). Mature forests, particularly old-growth ones, have had decades or centuries to accumulate carbon in their biomass and soils. It can take as long for new forests to sequester as much carbon as a mature forest holds. Established forests also contain diverse species that contribute to overall forest health and resilience. A new forest also lacks the biodiversity of an older forest, which can affect its ability to store carbon and withstand stresses such as climate change or disease. When trees are cut down, much of the carbon they’ve stored is released back into the atmosphere as CO2, contributing to global warming. Forests degradation accounts for up to a fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions, the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reported in 2022. One of the worst culprits in Africa is the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which lost more than a million hectares of forest annually from 2010 to 2020, the third highest rate of forest denudation in the world (behind China and Brazil), according to the Global Initiative against Transnational Crime. Kleptocrats on the continent are profiting from the illicit forestry trade, which is estimated by Interpol and the United Nations Environment Programme to be worth $51 billion to $152 billion annually, said Justice Richard Goldstone, vice-chairperson of Integrity Initiatives International, an organisation designed to establish an International Anti-Corruption Court (IACC). He was speaking at Good Governance Africa’s 10th anniversary event … The illegal timber trade in Mozambique is a prime example. The Environmental Investigation Agency’s (EIA’s) multi-year investigation shows that the timber trade not only violates the log export ban, it finances insurgents in Cabo Delgado province, all of which is made possible by systemic corruption in the timber sector. The country loses an estimated half a billion dollars a year to illegal logging trade with China, according to the EIA… In Equatorial Guinea, for example, Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, son of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema, profited hugely from the transport and export of rare hardwoods. As minister of agriculture and forestry, he sold national forests to private companies and used a shell company linked to the ministry to charge fees for processing, loading and transporting timber, Carl Pilgram, of the US-based Africa Center for Security Studies, and Catherine Lena Kelly, of the National Defense University in Washington DC, reported in The Conversation … “In 2021, the Zambian Anti-Corruption Commission seized 47 trucks containing illegal rosewood bound for Namibia and Zimbabwe… stated the report. “In 2019, Gabon’s vice-president and minister of forestry were part of a rosewood trafficking scandal.” … One of the most powerful incentives for governments to get their house in order is public pressure, and in the case of the forestry industry, it ideally comes from the very communities affected by deforestation and in whose interests it is to protect their forests. Forest conservation projects based on equitable partnerships with local residents and characterised by innovative and transparent revenue-sharing agreements are a powerful mitigant against bad actors in governance. An example is Carbon Tanzania, which generates value for Tanzania’s economy and its people by producing nature-based carbon credits that enable local people to earn revenues from the protection of their landscapes… (26 October 2024)

Samia heads to Cuba to promote Kiswahili, health ties
(East African online – Kenya) Extract: Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan is expected to arrive in Cuba . . . for a three-day state visit that officials say will strengthen bilateral ties between the two countries, with a special focus on promoting the international use of Kiswahili language. During the November 6 to 8 visit, President Hassan will hold talks with her host, President Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez, on new economic and diplomatic partnerships to address the global challenges for mutual benefit, a dispatch said. They will explore strategies to open up new avenues for cooperating alliances in areas such as health, education, arts, sports, tourism and the emerging blue economy, Tanzania’s foreign ministry said. Despite five decades of US sanctions, Cuba has managed to build a public health system that is among the best in the world… A major item on Samia’s itinerary will be her attendance as chief guest at the opening of the International Kiswahili Conference in Havana on … the last day of her trip. The conference, the first of its kind, has been organised by Tanzania’s envoy to Cuba, Humphrey Polepole, as part of an initiative to promote the use of Kiswahili in the Caribbean and South America… The two leaders will also launch a new Spanish-to-Swahili dictionary and booklet of common sayings in both languages, produced jointly by the University of Dar es Salaam and the University of Havana… (6 November 2024)

by Donovan McGrath

Rapidly urbanising Africa to have six cities with populations above 10m by 2035
(Guardian online – UK) Extract: … Angola’s capital, Luanda, and Tanzania’s commercial hub, Dar es Salaam, will join the metropolises of Cairo, Kinshasa, Lagos and Greater Johannesburg with populations of more than 10 million, the Economist Intelligence Unit said in a report on African cities… This fast-paced urbanisation, which will result in more than half of Africans living in towns and cities by 2035, is expected to create wealth, dynamism and business opportunities, the report says. But, it adds: “Overcrowding, informal settlements, high unemployment, poor public services, stretched utility services and exposure to climate change are just some of the major challenges that city planners will have to grapple with.” By 2035, on top of the six megacities, the continent will have 17 urban areas with more than 5 million people and about another 100 with more than 1 million. Of the largest cities by 2035, Addis Ababa is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 10.6%, followed by Kampala, Dar es Salaam and Abidjan at above or near 9%… (22 August 2024)

I spent three days with one of the world’s last hunter-gatherer tribes where they stalk squirrels and baboons with bows and arrows

(Daily Mail online – UK) Extract: An intrepid filmmaker has revealed how he spent three days living with one of the world’s last hunter-gatherer tribes in a bid to document their stripped-back existence. Ruhi Çenet ventured to near Lake Eyasi in Northern Tanzania with a guide and translator where he met with members of the Hadza tribe. He explains in a YouTube documentary detailing his trip, that the Hadza people ‘survive by hunting their food with bows and arrows just like our ancestors did thousands of years ago deep into the wild savannah.’ Some of the animals they hunt for food, Ruhi says, include rock hyrax, squirrels, antelopes, and baboons, and to wash it down, they drink ‘muddy water,’ as their ‘immune system is strong enough to deal with the bacteria and parasites.’ Along with a unique diet, Ruhi reveals that the Hadza people speak a complex language called Hadzane which combines spoken words with clicking noises. After being introduced to the tribe’s chief, Sakoro, Ruhi prepares to go on a hunt with the male tribe members. They wake up very early in the morning in the darkness with around 10 hunting dogs in tow. Their weapons of choice include knives and arrows, with some rubbed in poison. As a form of camouflage, the men wear baboon furs and other animal skins on their head as well as around their torsos. The main portion of Ruhi’s short film then focuses on the arduous and tiring task of hunting for food. The dogs help sniff out rock hyrax and mongoose in their underground dwellings, before the tribesmen go in and spear the animals… During their breaks, the men eat from honeycombs and Ruhi explains that honey is the tribe’s ‘liquid gold’ and is ‘packed with energy and vital nutrients to keep them going strong in the wild.’ … Ruhi reveals that there has been a drop in animal population in the region where the Hadza people live due to ‘neighbouring tribes cutting down trees and driving away wildlife for crops and livestock.’ … (7 June 2024)

‘I am their voice now’: the Tanzanian rapper with a mission to spread pride in his own colour

(Guardian online – UK) K-Zungu, an up and coming singeli artist with albinism, says he was lucky to have a protective family because so many with the condition in Africa have not been so fortunate. Extract continues: Every day during school break, Ramadhani Idrisa Muhando and his friends would turn on their radio to listen to 20 Percent or Jose Chameleone, stars of bongo flava, a Tanzanian music genre influenced by hip-hop and R&B. So his love of music, he says, “has its roots in that schoolyard” in Tanga, on Tanzania’s east coast, but it was singeli, a style developed 125 miles away in Dar es Salaam, that changed the course of his life. “Boda boda [motorcycle] drivers played singeli on loudspeakers. Those new rhythms flooded our neighbourhoods and I couldn’t help but fall into its nets,” he says. Muhando – know as K-Zungu – is a singeli artist, the first the country has known with albinism. “Zungu means ‘white’ in Swahili, and K is the first letter of my grandfather’s name, Kaniki. That’s why I chose that name,” he says. Albinism, a hereditary condition that results in a lack of pigmentation in skin, hair and eyes, affecting one in 1,400 Tanzanians, is bound up with superstition. Some people believe myths that the body parts of people with the condition can bring wealth or cure illness, which has led to attacks and killings. UN statistics show 75 people with albinism were murdered in Tanzania between 2000 and 2016… K-Zungu … is using his music to challenge the fears around albinism… His song, Albino, describes someone returning home to find a gang of boys threatening to cut off his hands and sell them. “We deserve peace and happiness. I’m proud of my colour, this is me,” he raps in the song, appealing to the government to take action against those “who brutally attack and kill us”… (17 June 2024)

Idris Elba’s studio plan sparks dreams of ‘Zollywood’
(BBC News online – UK) Extract: Hollywood star Idris Elba has been allocated land in Zanzibar … to launch a film studio. The British actor, who has roots in Sierra Leone and Ghana, has previously voiced his ambitions to develop Africa’s expanding film industry. Roughly a year­ and-a-half after discussing his plans with Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan, the authorities in the East African nation have given Elba the green light. The studio would be similar to any in “Hollywood, Nollywood or Bollywood” – and may give rise to “Zollywood”, Zanzibar’s investment minister is quoted by local media as saying. “I’m not sure how we will call it in Zanzibar, whether Zollywood or Zawood,” Shariff Ali Shariff joked as he addressed industry figures at the Zanzibar International Film Festival … President Samia spoke with Elba, best known for his roles in Luther and the Wire, about the studio in January 2023 at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland. Following discussions, the president’s spokesperson said “if successful, the project will help not only Tanzania but also eastern and central Africa”… (2 August 2024)

Tanzanian artist who burnt president’s picture freed
(BBC News online – UK) Extract: A young Tanzanian portrait artist who was convicted … of cybercrimes has been released from prison after social media users raised more than $2,000 (£1,600) to pay his fine. Shadrack Chaula was ordered by a court to pay the fine or face two years in prison after he admitted recording a video that went viral on social media, showing him burning a picture of President Samia Suluhu Hassan while insulting her. “Thank you very much fellow Tanzanians for coming to my rescue,” Mr Chaula told journalists shortly after his release … The case sparked an uproar in the country, with some lawyers saying the 24-year-old painter did not break any law by burning the picture. Police said they arrested him for using “strong words” against President Samia in the TikTok video he recorded in Ntokela village near the south-western city of Mbeya. When he appeared in court … Mr Chaula was charged with spreading false information about the president, contravening the country’s cybercrime laws. The court ruled that his actions constituted cyber-harassment and incitement. Mr Chaula said the sentence was too harsh but the prosecution had pushed for a more severe penalty, saying this was necessary to deter others from “disrespecting” the president… (9 July 2024)

Tanzania police commander transferred over sex work comment
(BBC News online – UK) Extract: A police commander in Tanzania’s capital, Dodoma, has been removed from her post following controversial comments in which she linked an alleged gang-rape victim to sex work… [A] video appearing to show a young woman being assaulted went viral, prompting an outcry in the East African nation. Four men … denied charges over the alleged attack… [The] police commander in … Dodoma, was quoted in a Tanzanian newspaper as saying the “woman in question appeared to be engaged in sex work”. Following a backlash and accusations that the comment minimised the woman’s ordeal, Tanzania’s national police force apologised and said the commander had been transferred. “The police force would like to apologise to everyone who was touched and offended by the statement circulating in the media while monitoring is being done to find its accuracy,” national police spokesperson David Misime said … Mr Msime added that in her comments to local newspaper Mwananchi, Dodoma Regional Commander Theopista Mallya had said that even if the woman was a sex worker, “she did not deserve to be treated that way”. These words did not appear in Mwananchi’s report – the BBC has contacted the newspaper for comment. In response to Mwananchi’s report, lawyer Peter Madeleka said on social media platform X that Ms Mallya’s comments were “proof of police cruelty to women’s rights”. Fatma Karume, a lawyer and prominent activist, also expressed outrage on X, writing: “Those who sell themselves can not be raped in this country?” In the video that appeared to show the woman being raped, the suspects reportedly interrogated her, forcing her to apologise to someone referred to as “afande”. In Tanzania “afande” is often used to refer to a soldier or police officer, so many activists and social media users expressed outrage that a sexual assault could have been carried out on the orders of a member of the security forces… (19 August 2024)

‘We don’t need more concrete’: A new village in Tanzania will use 3D printer and soil to build its community
(CNN online – USA) Extract: Building with 3D printers has matured rapidly in recent years, as advances in technology and material science allow for grander and more ambitious designs. The potential uses are also increasingly varied, from affordable housing to a planned NASA base on the Moon. Most 3D-printed structures are built using concrete or other pourable, cementitious substances that are cheap, reliable and durable – although, almost invariably, with a hefty carbon footprint attached. But a nascent development in the field may offer a more sustainable approach: 3D printing with earth. In Kibaha, Tanzania, just west of the capital Dar es Salaam, a group of pioneering architects are set to build a new village with “earth printing” at its heart. Created by architecture firms Hassell and ClarkeHopkinsClarke, alongside charity foundation One Heart Hope Village has been designed to help and house children from across the country who have experienced hardship or unsafe home environments… Nearly 50 buildings are planned for the site… The landmark building for Hope Village is its community center, a 3D-printed design that will serve as a school hall and cafeteria during the week and open to the wider community for events at weekends. The architects knew they wanted to use locally sourced earth for the community center, but were wary of the limitations of rammed earth, which is typically compacted into thick, flat walls. “We wanted to make sure that we’re able to create walls that could ventilate the building, but at the same time also bring in light,” said Hassell’s head of design and innovation, Xavier De Kestelier, in a video call with CNN… Building with earth dates back to prehistory and has taken many forms, including mudbricks, adobe and rammed earth. 3D printing with soil was first attempted in 2018, and the first 3D printed home made from entirely from earth, called TECLA, was designed by Mario Cucinella Architects and constructed near Ravenna, Italy in 2021… In Tanzania, the printer will build up layers of compacted soil in interconnected curved columns that leaves negative space for light and air to filter through. Beyond shape, engineering durability is a key challenge when working with earth. Concrete is a resilient material that can endure the elements; earth less so. But De Kestelier insists that when it comes to 3D-printed architecture, “we don’t need to use more concrete,” and that more sustainable options are the future – when used correctly… (1 August 2024)

Chilli bombs and honeybees: Weapons in Tanzania’s human-elephant conflict
(Aljazeera online – Qatar) Extract: Mwana Athumani Msemo’s homestead sits encased in the undulating grasslands that surround Mount Kilimanjaro, an area so quiet and remote that clucking and bleating from her chicken and goat farm are the only sounds to be heard for kilometres. The landscape, with its crisp air and lush greens, holds glorious beauty. But for Msemo, it also holds ever-present anguish. It was somewhere in this wilderness that her husband took their cattle out to graze one afternoon two years ago and never returned. By the time the village search team found him at the end of a long trail of elephant footprints, it was dark and he had been dead for hours – a gaping hole where his stomach once was… “He left me with five kids,” the 55-year-old said in Swahili, sitting in her living room, her hands over face. A sob escaped her pursed lips … Across Tanzania … expanding human populations are encroaching more and more on wildlife spaces, putting people on a collision course with roaming animals in increasingly fatal events. In many rural communities like Ngulu Kwakoa, which sits near a wildlife corridor, the most common are clashes with elephants – animals that must migrate in search of food and that can turn from gently giants to charging aggressors in an instant. The giant mammals are a massive pain for farmers, too… Finding solutions to elephant-human conflicts must focus on expanding and freeing up wildlife corridors, so the animals can roam more freely without encountering humans, analysts say… In Tanzania, some have taken to filling up rubber condoms with chilli powder – a spice the elephants hate – and hauling it at raiding invaders like bombs. Others use sound as a means of distraction, beating loudly on steel buckets at intervals to scare elephants away. Six hours west of the Kilimanjaro region, communities are scaling another method pioneered by [Lucy] King herself [a researcher with Save the Elephants, a non-profit based in southern Kenya], with the help of an unlikely character – tiny honeybees. In her research, King found that elephants are mightily scared of bees. Stings on the sensitive insides of their trunks, the sides of their mouths, and behind their ears are so painful, that the intelligent animals know to scram when they hear the buzz of a hive. Playing on that fear, King came up with the idea to position bees strategically around farms and realised that it could deter elephants from going ahead with raids. After testing the method in Kenya, the researcher created a manual and published it so that conservationists from Tanzania to India are now making use of it… (11 June 2024)

‘Women have always been sidelined. So we’re radical’: the Zawose Queens go from Tanzania to Glastonbury

(Guardian online – UK) The multi-talented musicians were held back in their home country where even certain instruments were off limits … Extract continues: Walking into an industrial estate in Peckham, I can hear impassioned cries coming out of a rehearsal space located here. Soaring vocals are punctuated by the gentle strum of a thumb piano along with bells that are strapped to the shaking ankles of Pendo and Leah Zawose, who make up the Zawose Queens. It’s their first time playing this music outside Tanzania … The remarkable singing that fills the room has a long history in the Zawose family, with Pendo’s father and Leah’s grandfather Hukwe being a pioneer of Gogo music, which is specific to the tribe they belong to… Pendo sang and performed with her father, who died in 2003, since she was a child. However, for years her role was limited. “The women were always in the background,” she says… “This is an opportunity to be at the forefront, prove myself, and shine.” Now singing and playing a range of instruments, the Zawose Queens came to be after a British Council-funded project connecting Tanzanian and British artists put Leah and Pendo together with UK producers Tome Excell and Oli Barton-Wood. They have made an album together, the recently released Maisha. “This record has been something I’ve been dreaming of doing since I was 12,” says Barton-Wood. “I moved to Tanzania for two years, and went to school there, so I’ve always wanted to come back to do a project like this.” Maisha is rooted in traditional singing and instrumentation, featuring chizeze fiddle along with muheme and ngoma drums but it’s also embellished with more contemporary electronic touches… The Zawose Queens … also have a special show at Womad festival, where Hukwe used to perform as a trailblazing, yet rare, Tanzanian artist … (25 June 2024)

by Donovan McGrath

Zanzibar beer: Alcohol shortage hits Tanzania’s spice islands
(BBC News online – UK) The spice islands of Zanzibar are facing a shortage of alcohol which threatens the tourism sector of Africa’s top travel destinations. Extract continues: Tourism generates about 90% of the Tanzanian archipelago’s foreign revenue. Prices of beer have shot up by almost 100% after the supply chain was disrupted by a sudden change of importers. The island’s tourism minister resigned recently citing poor work conditions. However, some have linked his resignation to issues with alcohol supplies… Last year, Zanzibar was ranked among the 10 best travel destinations in Africa by several tour magazines. But hoteliers now warn that the problems over alcohol supply might make the island lose its tourism shine… Mr Mshenga’s business selling beer and seafood has been badly hit. “We are running short of beer at my bar, and I just have a stock of soft drinks,” he told the BBC. “The government has to take action. It is the high season now, it’s very hot and these tourists need joy, they need cold beer on these beaches.” … The local manufacture of alcohol is banned in Zanzibar, whose population is largely Muslim. Most of the alcohol sold on the islands comes from mainland Tanzania, while some is imported from South Africa. The initial shortage early this year began when the Zanzibar Liquor Control Board (ZLCB) delayed renewed permits for the three established importers – One Stop, Scotch Store, and ZMMI… (5 February 2024)

Eight children and an adult die in Zanzibar after eating sea turtle meat
(Guardian online – UK) Extract: Eight children and an adult have died after eating sea turtle meat on Pemba Island in the Zanzibar archipelago, and 78 other people have been taken to hospital, authorities said … Sea turtle meat is considered a delicacy in Zanzibar but it periodically results in deaths from chelonitoxism, a type of food poisoning. The adult who died … was the mother of one of the children who succumbed earlier, said the Mkoani district medical officer, Dr Jaji Bakari… [He] told the Associated Press that laboratory tests had confirmed all the victims had eaten sea turtle meat. Authorities in Zanzibar, which is a semi-autonomous region of the east African nation of Tanzania, sent a disaster management team that urged people to avoid consuming sea turtles. In November 2021, seven people, including a three-year­old, died on Pemba after eating turtle meat and three others were hospitalised [see TA131]. (9 March 2024)

Brits flock to African city rivalling party capital Magaluf with £1 beer, beautiful beaches and 30°C sun all year
(Mail online – UK) Extract: … According to recent statistics by Luxury tour operator Scott Dunn, ‘up-and-coming’ Zanzibar has experienced an astonishing 83% surge in bookings among its clientele. Its sharp rise in tourism comes as popular European holiday destinations, such as Lanzarote and Amsterdam, crack down on rowdy behaviour and are asking boozy Brits to ‘stay away.’ However, there is a particular part of the island that isn’t the reserve of the well off and where British tourists are flocking in record numbers: the main town of Zanzibar City. One of the key attractions drawing British tourists to Zanzibar City is its unbeatable drink deals. Not only can you get pints from as little as £1.06, according to PintPrice, but Hikers Bay says you can get a meal in an affordable restaurant in the city from as little as £3.84. There are also affordable prices on accommodation options, with one budget double room for two adults, found by Daily Star on booking.com, amounting to just £13 per night – that’s a cool £6.50 per person. There are many bars, clubs and restaurants where Brits have been partying the night away, as well as exploring historical sites such as Stone Town – the birthplace of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury… With flights on Skyscanner available for as little as £378 for a round trip, Zanzibar is poised to remain a top choice for travellers seeking an affordable yet unforgettable holiday for years to come… (17 March 2024)

Three Tanzanian soldiers are killed as violence persists in eastern Congo
(Washington Post online – USA) Extract: Three Tanzanian soldiers were killed and three others injured after a mortar shell landed near their camp in eastern Congo, where Tanzanians are deployed under the banner of a regional bloc to help quell violence. It remained unclear who was responsible for the attack … reported … by the regional bloc, the Southern African Development Community, or SADC. SADC also said in a statement that a South African soldier had died while being treated for undisclosed “health challenges.” It sent condolences to the Tanzanian families of the victims. The bloc’s peacekeeping mission was launched … as a longstanding group of U.N. peacekeepers known as MONUSCO gradually pulls out of Congo. Eastern Congo is rich in minerals, with various armed groups battling for control of resources. The most prominent of them is the M23, which has caused the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people in North Kivu province in recent years. The M23 was most recently threatening to take Goma, the largest city in the region… (9 April 2024)

Julius Nyerere: Former Tanzanian leader honoured by African Union statue

(BBC News online – UK) Tanzania’s founding father Julius Nyerere has been honoured with a statue outside the African Union headquarters in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa. Extract continues: Nyerere led what is now Tanzania from independence in 1961 until 1985. Known as Mwalimu, Swahili for teacher, he was a committed pan-Africanist and hosted independence fighters opposed to white minority rule in southern Africa. He played a key role in the creation of the Organisation of African Unity, which later became the African Union. Unveiling the statue at a ceremony attended by numerous African heads of state, AU Commission leader Moussa Faki Mahamat said: “The legacy of this remarkable leader encapsulates the essence of Pan Africanism, profound wisdom, and service to Africa.” He recalled Nyerere’s own comments at the inaugural OAU summit in 1963. “Our continent is one, and we are all Africans.” … Paying tribute to Nyerere, Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan said: “To him, Africa’s wellbeing came first, before popular approval, personal fortune or country wellbeing.” … In a post on X, Zambia’s President Hakainde Hichilema described the unveiling of the statue to “one of our continent’s iconic figures” as a “proud day”… Nyerere is the third leader to be honoured with a statue outside the AU headquarters, after Ghana’s founding father and pan-Africanist Kwame Nkrumah, and Ethiopia’s emperor Haile Selassie, who became a symbol of African nationalism for resisting Italy’s attempts to colonise the country in the 1930s, and later agreed to host the OAU. (18 February 2024)

How a $33,000-a-night private island inspired by the Kennedys became a beacon for sustainable tourism
(CNN online – USA) Extract: … A luxury estate which must be rented in its entirety, where prices start at $33,000 per night, you’ll have to share this tropical hideaway with some of Mother Nature’s most majestic creatures, including the largest fish in the sea, the whale shark. Located a 30-minute helicopter ride from Tanzania’s biggest city, Dar es Salaam, Thanda sits amid a private marine reserve with a rigorous conservation and restoration program – one that is already reaping rewards for visitors as well as the surrounding island communities. The brainchild of Swedish entrepreneurs Dan and Christin Olofsson, Thanda Island Hotel has been in operation since 2016. “They want to create the ultimate escape,” says general manager Antigone Meda, who explains that multigenerational families and groups of friends are the island’s typical guests, with most staying for five to eight nights. The island features a villa and two open-air beach chalets. “The villa was very inspired by the Kennedys’ beach home,” Meda says, referring to the compound in Cape Cod that belonged to the family of JFK. “It breeds beach romance, nostalgia, (with) a touch of East African flare.” Thanda strives to be as self-sufficient as possible, she adds, with a seawater desalination plant on site, rainwater harvesting, and powered by the largest off-grid solar farm in Tanzania, she claims. Organic waste is turned into compost. But the hotel’s sustainability credentials are only part of the allure for the environmentally conscious traveller… The benefits to tourism have been married to a number of projects engaging with the Mafia Island community. The majority of employees at Thanda Island come from the neighbouring island, and Thanda supports a series of entrepreneurs and small businesses there, says Meda. [Thanda’s dive master, Hassan] Jumbe says other people from Mafia have been trained in open water diving and coral restoration… “(A) holistic approach to sustainable tourism is really finding its foot(ing) on the continent, because so much of tourism on the continent is in connection with the environment. And so you’re seeing sustainability really on the cutting edge in some places,” [Meda] explains. (21 March 2024)

Suffolk supports Tanzanian farmers combating climate change
(BBC News online – UK) Churches in Suffolk are raising money to help farmers in Tanzania combat the effects of climate change. Extract continues: The Bishops’ Lent Appeal at the Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich is paying for training and equipment in Kagera. The Church and Community Mobilisation Process (CCMP) in Tanzania also provides seeds for drought resistant crop varieties. “We see climate change with our own eyes,” said CCMP leader Thomas Shavu. “There is a lot of evidence; streams are disappearing; potato, cassava and bananas, they are getting blight. “Farmers are struggling to know when to plant their crops.” The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) – a Unite Nations body – has said it is “indisputable” that human activities are causing climate change. Mr Shavu said: “In years back, they would know ‘this is the planting seasons, this is the weeding season’, but nowadays no-one knows. The rain may come early, but then stop, if you plant, then plants would dry. Or you plant late and the rain continues. Sometimes it’s very heavy and causes flooding, or comes with winds and destroys crops.” The Church of England in Suffolk has had a partnership with the diocese in Kagera since 1994, with regular exchange visits. Last year’s appeal raised £25,000, and the diocese said it reached more than 50 villages, teaching new farming methods, supplying seeds and saplings, and training people to build rainwater tanks. It also paid for training for a local doctor in ophthalmology, provided bursaries for students in theology and bought motorbikes to help priests get around their parishes… (20 March 2024)

Globe-trotting billionaire
Mo Dewji made a fortune in East Africa selling palm oil, rope, and soda. Now he claims to have the recipe for transforming Tanzania into an agribusiness powerhouse. (Forbes online – USA) Extract: Puffing on a nicotine vape and seated on a white leather chair in his $50 million home in Dubai, Mohammed “Mo” Dewji is waxing poetic about his plans to mechanize farming 2,500 miles away. “I want to make Africa, long term, a food basket for the world,” says the 48-year-old billionaire, who was born, raised and until recently lived in Tanzania. A framed photograph of a street in Zanzibar, the Tanzanian archipelago famous for lush white beaches, hangs on a wall behind him. “Why the hell are we not investing in agri?” Dewji is well known in Tanzania, Africa’s fifth largest country with a population of 70 million. The football team owner and former politician controls a range of businesses through his consumer goods conglomerate MeTL Group, including textile manufacturing, edible oil refineries and his Mo Cola carbonated beverages line (name after himself). MeTL already grows crops like tea, avocados, and sisal (a natural fiber used in rope), which are vertically integrated into his other businesses. Now Dewji wants to grow his agribusiness empire – by order of magnitude. He is seeking to invest $250 million, including $100 million of his own capital, to buy and mechanize 100,000 hectares of farmland in Tanzania. MeTL would use the crops to feed its own businesses, then sell the surpluses to other Tanzanian firms, African countries and even European customers. Dewji says this “vision” came to him in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as soaring food and fertilizer prices worsened conditions of poverty and malnutrition in Africa. Agriculture accounts for one-third of Tanzania’s annual GDP (of $75 billion), but roughly 90% of that farming is done by subsistence farmers tilling less than 5 hectares of land each. As a result, food insecurity in Tanzania is widespread: Over 30% of children are stunted, and 13 million Tanzanians live in extreme poverty, while “many other live just above the poverty line,” according to the U.S. Agency for International Development… Bigger, more efficient farms could help solve Tanzania’s hunger problem. In developing countries, “Larger farms tend to be more efficient that their smaller counterparts,” a recent European Commission paper found. Within Africa, increasing agricultural productivity was “a substantial driver of growth and poverty reduction” in Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Rwanda and Uganda— in contrast to Tanzania and those countries where farming growth lagged, according to a UN study. But agribusiness also comes with costs: human displacement, environmental degradation, disruption of local trading networks upending entire communities. Dewji says the benefits outweigh the cons… He wants to prove his agribusiness model works in Tanzania, then raise money from global investors to replicate it in other African countries… (14 March 2024)

America’s Got Talent: Fantasy League won by Tanzania’s Ramadhani Brothers
(BBC News online – UK) Extract: … Fadhili Ramadhani, 36, and Ibrahim Jobu, 26, beat nine other finalists, taking home the inaugural trophy and $250,000 (£198,000) in prize money. The pair are known for their daring head-balancing performances. Their mentor, judge Howie Mandel, said their routine was “probably one of the most terrifying acts in [AGT] history”… [I]n the show which is a spin-off of America’s Got Talent, featuring winners, finalists and fan favourites from previous seasons… Jobu told People Magazine that they would use the prize money to buy more equipment and upgrade their training centre back home in Tanzania. “We also want to help other acrobats from our community improve their lives. We’d also like to buy land and build our own homes.” The pair are first to headline a show on the iconic Las Vegas Strip in the US. The two acrobats amazed the AGT: Fantasy League judges with acts that involved one [of] them balancing the other’s body weight on his head while navigating different sets… (20 February 2024)

by Donovan McGrath

Statesman and saint
(The Tablet – UK) In this section of the publication, readers share their thoughts and stories. The following was submitted by Joy Elder: I was thrilled to read that the Church in Tanzania is calling for the canonisation of Julius Nyerere … I was in Tanzania as a young White Sister just after independence and beyond. Julius Nyerere was, I think, educated partly by White Fathers … His visits to my mission of Sumbawanga were always memorable and delightful and he was my hero. Among all the leaders of the world he was distinguished for his genius in running the country successfully and for being a man of great kindness, talent, humour, integrity and humility. He has always been a saint for me! (16 December 2023) – Thanks to Roger Bowen for this item – Editor

The Tanzanians searching for their grandfathers’ skulls in Germany
(BBC News online – UK) Isaria Anael Meli has been looking for his grandfather’s remains for more than six decades. Extract continues: He believes the skull ended up in a Berlin museum after his grandfather, Mangi Meli, along with 18 other chiefs and advisers, was hanged by a German colonial force 123 years ago. After all this time, a German minister has told the BBC the country is prepared to apologise for the executions in what is now northern Tanzania. Other descendants have also been searching for the remains and recently, in an unprecedented use of DNA research, two of the skulls of those killed have been identified among a museum collection of thousands… [It was] on 2 March 1900 [in a one-time market area for the villagers of Tsudunyi, in a part of what is now called Old Moshi] that, as the descendants tell it, one-by-one the 19 men were hanged. They had been hastily tried the day before, accused of plotting to attack the German colonial forces… Mangi Meli, the most prominent mangi, or chief, among those who were killed, had in 1882 successfully defeated the German forces. That success was later reversed and by the end of the 19th Century, the Europeans were keen to stamp their authority on this part of what was known as German East Africa. They wanted to make an example of Mangi Meli and other local leaders who may have been planning an uprising… While most of the torsos are believed to be buried in a mass grave somewhere near the tree, their heads were at some point removed, packed up and sent 6,600km (4,100 miles) to the German capital. In some cases the complete skeletons were shipped… The lively 92-year-old [grandson] was told about the killing of Mangi Meli by his grandmother, who he says was forced to watch the execution … Since at least the 1960s, Mr Meli had been writing to the German and Tanzanian authorities urging them to look for the remains of his grandfather. He says officials tried to put him off by telling him that relevant records had been destroyed during World War Two. But Mr Meli was not deterred. “… [T]his skull is needed by the whole country – not me, myself, only.” There is a sense of profound loss that goes beyond the idea that this was a historical injustice. Mangi Meli was a chief from the Chagga ethnic group – one of the most prominent in modern-day Tanzania. For the Chagga people, as well as others in the region, the idea that the head was separated from the body and then taken away from the land is deeply disturbing. In Chagga culture the dead are supposed to be buried in the homestead so they can continue to watch over the living. It is believed that the failure to do that could have consequences down the generations… Simulango Molelia, the grandson of another victim of the executions – Mangi Molelia – believes his family is being haunted by the chief’s spirit… Museums and other institutions in 19th and early 20th Century Europe and North America amassed large collections of skulls and other human remains. This was partly driven by huge interest in the now-discredited science of phrenology. It was based on the idea that someone’s fundamental characteristics were reflected in the shape of their skull. In some cases it took on a racist element, with researchers trying to establish a racial hierarchy… As a consequence people began collecting skulls from across the world. Zablon Ndesamburo Kiwelu followed in his late brother’s footsteps and took up the search for the skulls “What the Germans did was not a good thing,” says Zablon Ndesamburo Kiwelu, whose grandfather, Mchili Sindato Kutesha Kiwelu, served as an adviser, or akida, to Mangi Meli and was also hanged… Mr Molelia wants the skull of his ancestor to be brought to Tanzania and “buried in our Chagga tradition”… (29 October 2023)

Joshua Mollel: Tanzania says student killed in Israel by Hamas
(BBC News online – UK) A Tanzanian student initially reported to have been taken hostage by Hamas in Israel is confirmed to have been killed, Tanzanian government says. Extract continues: Joshua Mollel was working as an agricultural intern at a kibbutz which was attacked by Hamas gunmen on 7 October. Tanzania’s Foreign Minister January Makamba says Mr Mollel was killed immediately after he was taken hostage. Fellow student Clemence Felix Mtenga was also killed in the attack… The two Tanzanian students had travelled to Israel just a month before the 7 October attack. It was initially reported that they were among the 240 people taken hostage by Hamas. According to Tanzania officials, around 350 Tanzanians live in Israel, mostly students pursuing agricultural-related studies… (14 December 2023)

Philip Mpango death rumours: Tanzania orders crackdown over VP speculation
(BBC News online – UK) Tanzanian authorities are investigating social media users accused of spreading false information about Vice-President Philip Mpango’s health. Extract continues: Mr Mpango resurfaced … after being absent from public view for over a month, sparking relief and ending widespread rumours he had died. Information Minister Nape Nnauye has ordered investigations into those who spread the speculation. Mr Mpango says he was hurt by the false rumours circulating on social media… There have been mixed reactions regarding the vice­president’s return and the rumours that surrounded his absence. Some argue the matter was mishandled by the government’s failure to provide clear information about his whereabouts. His absence had sparked widespread concern, with Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa previously warning citizens against the speculation… [T]he vice-president appeared unannounced at a Sunday service in the capital, Dodoma, saying he was healthy and had not lost any weight. “There have been photos circulating alongside a candle, and claims that I have passed away…”, Mr Mpango said… In 2018, Tanzania enacted tough laws against the spread of “fake news”, which critics see as a way of curbing freedom of expression. This is not the first time there have been rumours about the state of Mr Mpango’s health… (11 December 2023)

DP World in Tanzania: The UAE firm taking over Africa’s ports
(BBC News online – UK) A multimillion-dollar deal signed between Emirati maritime giant DP World and Tanzania … looks set to further entrench the dominance of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in Africa’s freight industry. Extract continues: Reports of the $250m (£205m) deal first emerged in July, sparking criticism by the opposition that it “violated Tanzania’s constitution and endangers national sovereignty”. Activists petitioned a court to halt the deal and were briefly detained for planning anti­government protests. The high court in Tanzania’s south-western town of Mbeya dismissed the petition, paving the way for DP World to manage two-thirds of the Dar es Salaam port for the next 30 years. Transport Minister Makame Mbarawa … said there would be no job losses and that Tanzania would retain 60% of earnings. DP World says it expects to triple revenue within a decade and speed up the clearance of vessels from the current average of 12 hours to 60 minutes. Chronic inefficiency, corruption allegations and competition in freight management by neighbouring Kenya are some of the underlying reasons why Tanzania President Samia Suluhu signed off on the agreement… Part of the contention over DP World’s presence in Tanzania is the perception that its operations are undermining local rights and management. DP World Group boss Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem said while in Dodoma that the Dar es Salaam port would become a “world-class facility”… DP World remains an anchor for the UAE to extend its geopolitical ambitions across Africa. (23 October 2023)

Investigations launched into killings and evictions on World Bank tourism project
(Guardian online – UK) Extract: … The World Bank is investigating allegations of killings, rape and forced evictions made by villagers living near the site of a proposed tourism project it is funding in Tanzania. The bank has been accused of “enabling” alleged violence by the Tanzanian government to make way for a $150m (£123m) project ministers say will protect the environment and attract more tourists to Ruaha national park. The “resilient natural resource management for tourism and growth” (Regrow) project will almost double the size of the park, which is 130km (80 miles) from the city of Iringa. Villagers living near Ruaha told researchers at the Oakland Institute thinktank that rangers had killed and beaten cattle herders and fishers, had raped women and confiscated thousands of head of cattle, under the premise that they had encroached on the national park. In April 2021, rangers reportedly shot and killed William Nundu, a fisher, and allegedly killed two herders, Sandu Masanja, and Ngusa Salawa, who was only 14 years old. The regional police commander claimed that they were killed by wild animals while illegally entering the park, according to a report published by the institute … More than 21,000 people from dozens of villages around Ruaha are also facing eviction by the government, it claimed. Anuradha Mittal, the executive director of the Oakland Institute, said: “[The] Regrow project is not about protecting wildlife or conservation. Instead, the bank is financing an oppressive and violent economic growth model based on boosting tourism revenues.” Mittal said the World Bank should have scrutinised the Tanzanian government’s record on human rights before financing it. The government authorised evictions close to the same area in 2006 and has been criticised for its handling of forced evictions in northern Tanzania, which “should have triggered internal alarm before the bank decided to finance the project”, added Mittal. “Instead, it looked the other way and continues to do so. It should be held accountable.” The institute said villagers were told in October 2022 they would have to leave their land despite holding title deeds, which the government has cancelled, claiming the property fell within the boundaries of the national park. More than 850 villagers have challenged the evictions in Tanzania’s high court… [Roland Ebole, An Amnesty International researcher focusing on Tanzania and Uganda] said tourism, much of it linked to trophy hunting, has driven a need for the government to take land, even at the expense of the people living there and often without their consent… (28 September 2023)

‘Oldest wooden structure’ discovered on border of Zambia and Tanzania

(Guardian online – UK) Extract: … Researchers have discovered remnants of what is thought to be the world’s oldest known wooden structure, an arrangement of logs on the bank of a river bordering Zambia and Tanzania that predates the rise of modern humans. The simple structure, made by shaping two logs with sharp stone tools, may have formed part of a walkway or platform for human ancestors who lived along the Kalambo River nearly 500,000 years ago. Marks on the logs show they were cut, chopped and scraped with an array of stone tools found at the site. One log, a type of bushwillow, overlies the other and is held in place by a large inverted U-shaped notch in its underside. “When I first saw it, I thought this can’t be real. The wood and the stone suggest a high level of ingenuity, technological skill and planning,” said Prof Larry Barham, an archaeologist at the University of Liverpool who led the work. “It could be part of a walkway or part of a foundation for a platform,” he said. “A platform could be used as a place to store things, to keep firewood or food dry, or it might have been a place to sit and make things. You could put a little shelter on top and sleep there.” Scientists at the University of Aberystwyth dated the structure to at least 476,000 years old, from long before Homo sapiens are thought to have emerged about 300,000 years ago. The structure may be the work of Homo heidelbergensis, a predecessor of modern humans that lived in the region… The findings, published in Nature, are remarkable because wood so rarely survives for long periods. The material at Kalambo Falls was preserved by waterlogged sediments that are starved of oxygen…
(20 September 2023)

The new ‘scramble for Africa’: how a UAE sheikh quietly made carbon deals for forests bigger than UK
(Guardian online – UK) Extract: … The rights over vast tracts of African forest are being sold off in a series of huge carbon offsetting deals that cover an area of land larger than the UK. The deals, made by a little-known member of Dubai’s ruling royal family, encompass up to 20% of the countries concerned – and have raised concerns about a new “scramble for Africa” and the continent’s carbon resources. Such deals can deny the rights of people living on the land to make use of it for their own purposes while providing unclear benefits to the environment. As chairman of the company Blue Carbon, which is barely a year old, Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook al-Maktoum has announced several exploratory deals with African states that are home to crucial wildlife havens and biodiversity hotspots, for land that represents billions of dollars in potential offsetting revenue. The sheikh has no previous experience in nature conservation projects. So far, the deals cover a fifth of Zimbabwe, 10% of Liberia, 10% of Zambia and 8% of Tanzania, amounting to a total area the size of the UK…” … The deals would give the UAE firm the exclusive rights to sell the credits for 30 years, taking 70% of the sale of the credits. Under the rules of the Paris agreement, countries that sold the credits would not be able to use them for their own commitments. Some of those involved in these deals highlighted that carbon markets provide much-needed financial support to African countries where other sources of climate finance were not delivering. However, others raised concerns, saying the size of the land deals amount to “a new scramble for Africa”… (30 November 2023)

Who is Nestory Irankunda? Meet the Bayern Munich wonderkid who suffered life threatening injury on the pitch after leaving a Tanzanian refugee camp for Australia
(Daily Mail online – Australia) Extract: Nestory Irankunda is the wonderkid every Australian football fan is talking about after he landed a huge move to European Powerhouse Bayern Munich. Irankunda, 17, will join the German giants next July after Adelaide United agreed to part ways with the prodigious talent for an A-League record fee of $5.5million. The youngster has made waves in Australia’s domestic scene but his arrival in Germany will certainly raise eyebrows, with very few players making the step up from football’s backwaters to the big stage. But Irankunda’s journey is a unique one that has consisted of challenges from very early on… Born on February 9, 2006 to his father Gideon, a rideshare driver, and his mother Dafroza in Kigoma, Tanzania. The fourth child of seven, Irankunda spent the first three months of his life in a refugee camp, with his family desperate to flee Burundi’s civil war. The Irankundas moved to Perth, West Australia before relocating to Adelaide in South Australia, where Nestory soon discovered his love for football. He played for the Northern Wolves and Parafield Gardens as a junior and his talent was quickly recognised by scouts. Irankunda was snapped up by National Premier League club Adelaide Croaia Raiders, where his performances attracted attention from Airton Andrioli, head of youth at Adelaide United. Irankunda was invited for a trial with the A-League club in 2020 and was offered a place in the club’s academy within a couple of weeks. ‘When you see a boy like Nestory, some players have that naturally,’ Andrioli said. ‘That gift of understanding and reading the game. Being street smart. You don’t see that [in] a lot of Australian players… Irankunda had long been linked to Bayern … ‘We’ve had Nestory on our radar for some time and we’re pleased we’ve reached an agreement with him and Adelaide United on a move to Munich for next summer,’ said Jochen Sauer, Bayern’s director of youth development… (14 November 2023)

by Donovan McGrath

Twickenham veteran runs ultra-marathon across Tanzania
(BBC News online – UK) A British veteran is spending her 37th birthday running an ultra-marathon across Tanzania. Extract continues: Tricia Sinclair, from Twickenham, is raising money to help fellow veterans tackle the “petrifying” obstacle of reintegrating into civilian life… Ultra X Tanzania [is] a five-day race which traverses Mount Kilimanjaro … “I want to inspire others to really challenge their mental resilience,” she said. Ms Sinclair was in the army for 14 years between 2008 and 2022 and served five operational tours. She now works as the director of fitness for charity REORG, which helps rehabilitate veterans, military and emergency services personnel through functional fitness and jiu­jitsu. She hopes to raise £30,000 from the ultra-marathon to allow 100 people to go through the charity’s fitness programme. Ms Sinclair is to run 155 miles (250km) during the challenge including the 3,700m climb up Kilimanjaro… (12 June 2023)

Tanzania aims to connect 8 million citizens to broadband alongside mobile network operators
(Fintech Times online – UK) Extract: With an aim to achieve 80 per cent broadband penetration by 2025, the Tanzanian government, supported by the World Bank, has partnered with a number of mobile network operators to begin project ‘Digital Tanzania’. The government aims to see the extensions of broadband services to 1,407 villages – benefiting over eight million Tanzanians across the country. H.E. President Suluhu of Tanzania said: “This project will see all 26 regions across Tanzania’s mainland reached with quality and reliable telecommunication services compared to Zanzibar which was wholly covered in November 2022. “The presence of services is of great significance not only in rural areas but also in town areas as it accelerates development and inclusion politically, socially, and economically as well as for the safety and security of the nation. The implementation of this project is in line with the government’s commitment to improve telecommunication services and facilitate youth with opportunities in the ICT sector”… Suluhu has … commended the excellent implementation of the ‘m-mama’ program in partnership with the Vodacom Tanzania Foundation which has remarkably decreased the maternal mortality rate across Tanzania… (16 May 2023)

Interview: Gains of USAID Administrator Samantha Power’s visit to Tanzania
(Time Africa Magazine online – USA) Extract: On her first day in Tanzania, Administrator Samantha Power travelled to Arusha, where she visited a community farm. She met with cooperative farmers and representatives of the Tanzania Horticulture Association (TAHA) to learn how TAHA, supported by USAID, has successfully driven economic growth and generated jobs for thousands of women and men by partnering with farming communities, the private sector, and the Government of Tanzania. While at TAHA, the Administrator announced an additional $260 million in U.S. funding to address the global food crisis that has been exacerbated by Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and the severe drought in the Horn of Africa region. This new funding includes support for programs in Tanzania, as well as other countries and regional initiatives. Administrator Power then met with a group of women conservation leaders who work in partnership with USAID in Tanzania. The conservation leaders shared how they are helping local communities benefit from conservation efforts, including sustainable fisheries, carbon credits for forest preservation, and wildlife tourism. The Administrator commended their leadership in advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment in conservation and development… [Tanzania] Vice President [Philip] Mpango and the Administrator then joined a celebration of the national expansion of the m-mama public-private partnership between USAID, Vodacom Foundation, and the Government of Tanzania. The m-mama program provides emergency referral and transportation to newborns and expectant mothers… (24 June 2023)

United States and Tanzania Announce a $24 Million Food Security Project
(African Business Magazine online – UK) Extract: During this year’s Nane Nane event in Mbeya, the United States government and the United Republic of Tanzania announced USAID’s new food security activity Tuhifadhi Chakula (“Let’s Save Food”), a five-year, $24 million initiative to be implemented by the Tanzania Horticulture Association in partnership with the Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania (SAGCOT) Centre. By targeting and reducing food loss and waste, the USAID Tuhifadhi Chakula project will increase food security, improve livelihoods, increase employment, and generate export opportunities for Tanzania – especially among women and youth. In Tanzania, 40-50 percent of crops are lost between the field and the end market. USAID’s Tuhifadhi Chakula project will work with farmers, traders, processors, and other actors in the value chain to cut food loss and waste in half. The project was designed in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and aligns with its National Post-Harvest Management Strategy. The project will initially operate in the Arusha, Mbeya, Morogoro, Njombe, Pwani, Tanga, and Zanzibar regions of Tanzania… (9 August 2023)

A stunning gem, to honour a slain geologist, unveiled at Smithsonian
(Washington Post online – USA) Extract: The jewel rested on a cushion in a small black box covered with cloth in a vault at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. Jeffrey Post, curator of the National Gem and Mineral Collection, put on a pair of white cotton gloves, pulled off the cloth and opened the box. “So, this is the stone,” he said, holding it under the fluorescent lights—a lustrous, green 116­carat gem called a tsavorite. With 177 facets, it glittered as he held it. “It’s truly a beautiful stone,” he said. “When you look at the colour of it, it just doesn’t look like anything else that we have.” Technically a garnet, it is named the Lion of Merelani. And, as with many a precious gem, it comes with a story. . . [N]amed in part for the Merelani region of Tanzania where it was found. it was put on display along with the Hope Diamond, the Carmen Lúcia ruby and other spectacular jewels in its hall of geology, gems and minerals. It is the largest precision-cut tsavorite in the world … The museum said the stone, which was found in 2017 and cut over three months by renowned gem cutter Victor Tuzlukov, was donated by Somewhere in the Rainbow, a private gem and jewellery collection, and by tsavorite mining executive Bruce Bridges, in honour of his late father… Bridges’s father, geologist Campbell Bridges, discovered tsavorite in East Africa in the 1960s—reportedly while fleeing from an angry buffalo—and brought it to prominence. He had lived most of his life in Africa, often in a treehouse near his mines, and was known as the old lion. But in 2009, he was murdered in Kenya by a gang of illegal prospectors who had been threatening him and trying to drive him away from his mines, his son said in an interview. On Aug. 11, they ambushed him, his son and four of their employees, and stabbed the elder Bridges to death. “Losing my father is the worst tragedy in the history of our family,” Bruce Bridges said. “And the driving forces in our lives have been to see justice … and then on top of that to ensure that my father’s dream and legacy for tsavorite lives on.” “What better way than to have all of this come full circle and have this particular, one-of-a-kind tsavorite in the National Gem Collection,” he said… (20 April 2023)

UK students pledge ‘career boycott’ of insurers over fossil fuels
(The Guardian online – UK) Extract: Hundreds of students and recent graduates of top UK universities are pledging a “career boycott” of major insurers, saying they will not work for firms including Lloyd’s of London if they support controversial fossil fuel projects. More than 500 current and recent students from the University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, University College London, University of Edinburgh and others have warned they will keep a close eye on firms that fail to shift to climate-friendly policies. “We refuse to put our professional careers at the service of climate wreckers that insure those responsible for the climate crisis,” the letter – sent to insurance market Lloyd’s of London, as well as individual firms including Beazley, Hiscox, Chaucer and Tokio Marine Kiln – said. “Insurers’ lack of action on climate change will cost them talented workers.” A Deloitte survey recently found that more than half of Gen Z recruits tended to research a brand’s environmental impact and policies before accepting a job, while one in six have already changed jobs or sectors over climate concerns. A further 25% say they plan to move roles because of their employers’ climate impact in the future… The students’ letter explained signatories would pay particular attention to insurers that decide to work with TotalEnergies and Equinor, which they said were currently seeking insurance for the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) – scheduled to transport oil from Uganda to Tanzania – and the Rosebank oilfield – which is the largest undeveloped oilfield in the North Sea. The students noted that nearly two dozen insurers had already ruled out supporting the African pipeline, including several that worked within the Lloyd’s of London market. “Since 2017, at least 41 insurers have adopted restrictions on underwriting coal, 22 on tar sands and 13 on conventional oil and gas. But Lloyd’s of London and many Lloyd’s managing agents are lagging behind and putting our lives at risk by continuing to insure oil and gas,”
38 Tanzania in the International Media the letter said… (24 May 2023)

Scientists warn Africa is splitting in TWO: 2,000-mile crack that appeared along south-east of the continent is widening by one inch every year
(Daily Mail online – UK) Extract: A massive crack ripping through Africa is set to split the continent in two and form Earth’s sixth ocean, scientists have warned. Countries along the southeastern coast would become a giant island, creating an entirely new sea from Ethiopia to Mozambique. The so-called Eastern African Rift formed at least 22 million years ago but has shown activity over the last few decades – a crack appeared along the deserts of Ethiopia in 2005 and is widening at a rate of one inch per year. It is a result of two tectonic plates moving away from each other, but the exact mechanism was not fully understood at the time. Now, a study published in June found that a massive ejection of super-heated rock coming up from our planet’s core is driving the rift. While Africa is not expected to tear for at least another five million years, Somalia and half of Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania will form a new continent when it does… A 35-mile crack that appeared in 2005 already shows signs of a new sea near Ethiopia. And another tore through Kenya in 2018 following heavy rainfall, forcing people to leave their homes and shut down roadways… (6 July 2023)

‘Gut-churning’: anger as Hungarian president addresses major women’s rights conference
(The Guardian online – UK) Extract: Some leading delegates at a women’s rights conference in Rwanda have expressed shock at the appearance there of the Hungarian president, an anti-abortionist criticised for an anti-equality stance. Katalin Novák, an important player in the international “anti-gender movement”, was invited by the Rwandan government to speak at the Women Deliver conference in Kigali … where reproductive rights is one of the areas under discussion. “We were taken aback,” said conference attendee Bruna Martinez, an activist from Brazil and member of Young Feminist Europe. “We don’t understand why a woman like this would be invited.” Before becoming president in 2022, Novák served as family minister in Viktor Orbán’s government and was key in implementing the government’s pro-natalist policies. She has said Hungarian women “shouldn’t compete with men” or expect to earn the same amount of money… Novák, former leader of the Political Network for Values, an international organisation that works to oppose abortion and same-sex marriage, was on a state visit to Rwanda and Tanzania. To applause, she told the conference’s opening ceremony … “I’m the first woman president of my country.” She said that increasing the fertility rate is Hungary’s goal for gender equality and expressed hope that her teenage daughter will feel empowered to have “even 10 children if she chooses to”. Delphine O, a French special envoy for the global Generation Equality initiative, tweeted that Novák’s “so-called ‘pro-family’ values are at odds with what feminists in the room stand for”. . . Maliha Khan, the president and CEO of Women Deliver, said that she had agreed to platform Novák at the behest of the Rwandan government. “If we want to achieve what we want to achieve, we have to partner with and talk to people who we don’t agree with on many, many things,” she said… (19 July 2023)

‘Green colonialism’: Indigenous world leaders warn over west’s climate strategy
(The Guardian online – UK) UN summit in New York hears how resources needed for sustainable energy threaten Indigenous land and people. Extract continues: World Indigenous leaders meeting … at an annual UN summit have warned that the west’s climate strategy risks exploitation of Indigenous territories, resources and people. New and emerging threats about the transition to a greener economy, including mineral mining, were at the forefront of debate as hundreds of Indigenous chiefs, presidents, chairmen and delegates gathered at the 22nd United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. “It is common to hear the expression to ‘leave no one behind’. But perhaps those who are leading are not on the right path,” the forum’s chairman, Dario Mejía Montalvo, told delegates … as the 12-day summit opened in New York in the first convening since the pandemic outbreak. The longtime advocacy group, Cultural Survival, in partnership with other organizations, highlighted how mining for minerals such as nickel, lithium, cobalt and copper – the resources needed to support products like electric car batteries – are presenting conflicts in tribal communities in the United States and around the world. As countries scramble to uphold pledges to keep global warming to 1.5°C (2.7°F) above pre­industrial levels by 2030, big business and government are latching on to environmentally driven projects such as mineral needs or wind power that are usurping the rights of Indigenous peoples – from the American south-west to the Arctic and the Serengeti in Africa… During a special panel discussion, Edward Parokwa, executive director of the Pastoralists Indigenous Non-Governmental Organization (Pingo’s Forum), said a mass migration has ensued of thousands of Maasai violently displaced from their Tanzania homelands to make way for a luxury game reserve … A UAE-based company is believed to be behind the big game hunting operation. “And it’s happening in the name of conservation,” Parokwa said… (23 April 2023)

Tanzanian killed in Ukraine: We told him not to go
(BBC News online – UK) Nemes Tarimo’s family in Tanzania warned him against agreeing to fight with Russian forces in Ukraine, but the 37-year-old had a big incentive to sign up. Extract continues: … [His] relatives learnt of the news that confirmed their worst fears. He had died in combat… One [relative] says they last heard from him in October when he had said he had agreed to sign up with the Russian mercenary group Wagner. “Nemes informed me and some other family members about joining Wagner, and we advised him not to,” the family member … tells the BBC. But for the young man, whose relatives describe as polite, God-fearing and supportive, there was an offer that was hard to resist. The family says that Tarimo, who had ambitions to be an MP with the opposition Chadema party, had been in Moscow as an ICT master’s student at the Russian Technological University. But he was then imprisoned some time after January 2021 for what was described as drugs-related offences. Last year, he was enticed with a deal: sign up and be pardoned or stay in prison. “He said he would join to free himself,” the relative says. This case echoes that of 23-year-old Zambian student Lemekhani Nyirenda, who has also been in prison in Russia and died last year fighting with Wagner. . . Last September, Wagner head Yevgeny Prigozhin was seen in leaked footage outlining the rules of fighting, such as no deserting or sexual contact with Ukrainian women, and then giving the prisoners five minutes to decide if they want to sign up. . . Russian state-owned domestic news agency, Ria Novosti, interviewed someone who said he had fought alongside Tarimo. He said the Tanzanian had died while trying to help a wounded soldier. The Federal News Agency says that Tarimo was awarded a posthumous medal “for courage” by the Wagner Group… (20 January 2023)

by James L.Laizer

Nyerere National Park, an emergent tourism destination in Southern Tanzania
The Tanzanian government and tourism sector partners are keen to highlight the potential of the Nyerere National Park, and various outlets now cover news and offers on this emergent tourist destination. Covering an area of 30,893 square kilometres, the park is one of the largest in the world. Located in south-eastern Tanzania, about 230 kilometres by road from Dar es Salaam city to Mtemere Gate, it was carved out from the Selous Game Reserve, a gigantic wilderness area and safari destination in Southern Tanzania.

The park was named after the first president of Tanzania, the late Julius Nyerere, in recognition of his work going back to the Arusha declaration of 1967, championing conservation and protection of wildlife in the country, as a matter of national heritage. It is one of the wildest places remaining in Africa, with a wide variety of wildlife habitats, including open grasslands, miombo woodlands, swamps and riverine forests in the many tributaries of the mighty Rufiji River which flows through the park to the Indian Ocean.

Given that the park was only upgraded to national park status in November 2019 and less frequented by tourists, animals there tend to be less exposed to humans. The park hosts some of the largest populations of mammals and reptiles in Africa, including buffaloes, elephants, hippos and crocodiles. Together with the remaining part of Selous Game Reserve, it is considered to be the last stronghold of the African wild dog—or painted wolf. Other common wildlife includes the wildebeest, zebra, giraffe, eland, the greater kudu, sable antelopes, black rhino, waterbuck, impala, lion, leopard, the spotted hyena, cheetah, baboon, blue monkey, and the black and white colobus monkey which can be viewed in riverine forests.

Increasing coverage indicates Nyerere National Park offers a wide variety of game viewing opportunities including the experience of a walking safari in the company of an armed ranger. The many waterways in the park provide an excellent natural setting for boat safaris, both for big game viewing and bird watching. This is in addition to the game drives in bespoke safari vehicles which, combined with boat and walking safaris, offer specialist products distinctive to Nyerere National Park.

The best time to visit is from June to October, when vegetation is sparse and when thirsty ungulate herds move towards water, trailed by lions, hyenas, leopards and wild dogs. During the long rains, between March and May, some parts of the park are temporarily closed for game drives due to poor accessibility. For bird lovers, Nyerere National Park is one of the best birding destinations in Tanzania and the best time for one to go for birding is between November and April during the wet season when migratory birds fly into the country. Established bird species include the yellow-bellied bulbul, mangrove kingfisher, black cuckoo-shrike, palm-nu vulture, red throated twin spot, red-winged warbler, African skimmer, spotted flanked barbet and the grey hooded kingfisher among others. About 440 species of birds both resident and migratory have been observed in the national park.

There is an increasingly wide range of choice for accommodation, which have been developed for this new key tourism product and conservation habitat in the southern circuit.

Dialogue over securing a single tourist visa for EAC Partner states
Initial discussions over securing a single tourist visa for the East African partner states are in progress. The East Africa Tourism Platform (EATP) is developing a work plan for research and advocacy to partner states on the East African Community (EAC) single tourist visa to help the sector thrive. Mr John Bosco Kalisa, the Executive Director of the East African Business Council (EABC), stated that the new initiative is in line with a vision of developing a single tourist destination to boost the performance of the bloc’s tourism sector.

The visa will therefore help to ease movement of international tourists across the EAC partner states boarders of Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and make it easier for industry players to offer multi-destination packages and fostering economic growth in the sector.

Tourism is one of the significant sectors in the EAC economy. The sector accounts for approximately 17% of total export earnings, 10% of GDP growth, and 7% of total employment opportunities in the region. The sector has close links to transportation, food production, retail and entertainment sectors. The EAC is a popular region offering numerous tourism investment opportunities, include the establishment of resort cities, the branding of premium parks and the construction of internationally branded hotels.

Other opportunities include the development of high-quality meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (MICE) tourist facilities and conference tourism facilities, as well as health and sports tourism.

According to data from 2022, the EAC recorded around 5.8 million international tourist arrivals, and in the context of the African tourism market, the EAC held a share of approximately 13.5% of the total international tourist arrivals in Africa, which stood at around 43 million last year, according to Mr. Yves Ngenzi EATP Regional Coordinator. Mr Ngenzi said by streamlining the visa application process for international tourists, the EAC can create a more tourist-friendly environment that could potentially lead to an increase in tourist arrivals, as visitors would find it more convenient to explore multiple EAC destinations with a single visa.

Study suggests challenges with community conservation partnerships
Current partnerships for wildlife, forestry and marine resource conservation have had limited or no impact on local communities, according to a recent study. It proposes a number of steps for the arrangement to be improved on, to provide the desired results.

The five-year study, from which results were launched on 6th April, 2023, was a collaboration between researchers from the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM), Copenhagen Business School and University of Roskilde (Denmark), University of Sheffield and the Autonomous University of Barcelona.

Experts who were based in the districts of Kilwa, Rufiji and Mtwara Rural presented evidence to stakeholders and the government to enhance their methods of conservation of natural resources in relation to the livelihoods of local residents. The project ‘New Partnerships for Sustainability’ (NEPSUS) suggests that while complex partnerships that link donors, government, community organisations, NGOs, consultancies, certification agencies and other intermediaries have been emerging to address the sustainability of natural resource use, this has not yet delivered better outcomes for local communities.

The findings led to the publication of a book titled “Contested Sustainability: The Political Ecology of Conservation and Development in Tanzania.” The authors argue that to a large extent, the results of those partnerships have been beneficial for the elite class. According to the research, village groups around natural resources, especially in coastal areas, face governance challenges related to structural, financial and participatory failures.

They propose that in the formation of community groups, the local community are sometimes involved at the beginning, but the process ends up being captured by the central government and local elites. ‘’Financially, most local groups such as Beach Management Units (BMUs) are poorly equipped and the funds accrued from fines and fees are not enough to facilitate the setting up of alternative livelihood activities,” reads part of the report findings. Despite deliberate, evolving and persuasive efforts by government, NGOs and companies to raise awareness about the relevant rules and regulations, the results suggest that sustainability partnerships have struggled to gain and maintain legitimacy. They argue that “local communities are yet to perceive these partnerships as responsive, accountable and trustworthy arrangements that strike the requisite balance between community welfare and conservation goals”. The findings indicate that much of the economic benefits are primarily realised at the community level rather than the household level.

Prof. Christine Noe from UDSM, one of the report authors, says that they aimed to have evidence to advise the improvement of various government policies. “To whose benefit do we conserve?” she inquired, adding that many community members have been seen as enemies of conservation and recommending that alternative sources of livelihood that make sense to local communities should be facilitated. According to Prof. Noe, greater efforts should be made to facilitate contact between local communities and other key actors before the establishment of sustainability partnerships, to maintain them during their operation and to ensure that the benefits accrued from the income resulting from partnerships need to be distributed evenly and avoid elite capture.

by Donovan McGrath
In the blood: why diabetes is the scourge of entire families in Tanzania
(The Guardian online – UK) Elisaria has had diabetes for decades. Her husband died of it and five relatives live with it. Yet millions in this fast-growing country cannot afford to get the treatment they need. Extract continues: … The 70-year-old retired Tanzanian businesswoman from Dar es Salaam has been living with type 2 diabetes for decades, and she is one of six in her extended family with the chronic illness… Government health sector reports show that non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes are on the rise and now account for about 40% of Tanzania’s disease burden… Older Tanzanians are disproportionately affected by NCDs, yet nearly 90% of people over 50 do not have health insurance and have little access to medical services. The state health insurance scheme can cost between £70 and £350 a year, and healthcare costs are prohibitive for many… Victoria Matutu, 35, is shouldering a double burden. Diagnosed with type 1 diabetes two years ago, Matutu spends about £35 a month on insulin, and the same amount on clinic visits every two months. Her mother also has the condition, so Matutu has to help her with medical bills. She earns the equivalent of £140 a month, which is not enough to pay into the government’s scheme… Mary Mayige, coordinator of the National Survey for Non-Communicable Diseases, says that conditions that once mainly affected the elderly now affect people in their 30s who are “the production engine of the country”. Healthcare has always been thought about in terms of spending, she says. “It’s high time that countries begin to look at the situation as a threat to the economy and human capital development.” … Tanzania allocates less than 5% of its GDP to health, which is below the international threshold for provision of basic services. Donor funding contributes to about 60% of total public spending, but the health programmes it pays for are heavily skewed towards infectious diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis, despite data which suggests that cases of infectious diseases are falling, while NCDs are on the rise and account for nearly half of the country’s deaths… (28 December 2022)

Now that’s petrifying! Bizarre lake in Tanzania instantly turns animals that touch it into ‘STONE’
(Mail online – UK) Extract: The idea of a lake that instantly turns animals that touch it into stone may sound like a concept from Greek mythology. But it’s a reality in Tanzania, where animals live in fear of one of the world’s deadliest lakes. Lake Natron is a key mating ground for lesser endangered flamingo, but animals risk being frozen forever in its salt if they dare to go near its shores. Bacteria, which give the water its blood red tone, are some of the only organisms that can tolerate its average 78°F (26°C) heat, fatal salt concentration and alkalinity. Bodies that fall into the water decompose rapidly while those which fall on its edge are ‘encrusted in salt’ that ‘stays forever’, according to ecologist David Harper of the University of Leicester… The lake’s hostile conditions can be blamed on the nearby Ol Doinyo Lengai – also known as the Mountain of God – which is the only active volcano to emit natrocarbonatites. These feed into the lake through stream channels that cut through the volcano, contributing to its harsh alkalinity of over pH 10. Only flamingos, which eat up the water’s nutrient-rich cyanobacteria, flock to the area for mating. But even they cannot escape the salt lake’s merciless conditions, and can fall victim to being encrusted at the shore… (22 March 2023)

From Maasai warrior to YouTube star! Son of Tanzanian tribe chief gains more than a MILLION views online as he tries pizza and takes a flight for the first time
(Mail online – UK) Extract: … Kanaya Kolong Parkepu, 38, is the son of the 95-year-old chief and has become the first Maasai warrior to have YouTube and Instagram. He created the Maasaiboys channel a year ago, with his videos gaining up to 700,000 views as he and his friends try out burgers and pizzas for the first time. He revealed that part of his motivation to start the channel was his fear that his tribe and culture will be lost in the future. The 38-year-old influencer told The Times social media is ‘good’ for the tribe, adding: ‘My dream is to teach people how the Maasai live. ‘The Maasai all communicate as a group. We pass down songs. We help each other…’ Kanaya created the page with his friend Arman Alamdar, 20, who appears alongside him in videos with other friends, Kili, Simba and Kanaya’s girlfriend, Sally. Meanwhile his father, the chief of the tribe, Arooni, also appears on screen at times. Kanaya said his father has ‘embraced’ the new technology in the tribe, adding he ‘likes to laugh’ and sees the clips as ‘educating people.’ They have amassed 14,700 followers on Instagram and 17,300 subscribers on YouTube. Their top video, African Tribe tries Burger for the first time, has almost 750,000 views, while another African Tribe tries Pizza for the first time has over 200,000. A third showing them embarking on their first ever plane journey has over 40,000 views on YouTube… (16 March 2023)

Finding a brighter future for Tanzania’s child domestic workers

(CNN online – USA) Extract: … Raised by her grandmother in rural Tanzania, Mercy Esther and her siblings were born into poverty, sometimes without money for food, let alone schoolbooks. When their grandmother was approached with a job offer for Mercy Esther in Kenya, and the promise that money would be sent home, she accepted… The job offer turned out to be a lie – the first of a string of broken promises that would deprive a young woman of her childhood and her family. Mercy Esther was born with a deformity in one foot, causing a pronounced limp. On the streets of Nairobi she and other children were forced to beg. She was told to pretend she could not walk, to elicit sympathy from the public. Each day, what money she collected was taken from her. One day, while begging, Mercy Esther was approached by a woman who offered her domestic work and more promises: a new home, a wage and good treatment. She went with the woman, but instead Mercy Esther was abused and received no money for her labour. It would be six years before she ran away. With the support of the Nairobi police and Kenyan and Tanzanian governments, Mercy Esther returned to the country of her birth, but without details of the village where she was raised, authorities put her in the care of WoteSawa Domestic Workers Organization, which runs a shelter for trafficked children in Mwanza … in the north of the country… “Tanzania is a beautiful and peaceful country, but there is a dark side,” said Angela Benedicto, the organization’s founder and executive director. “Many people live in poverty, and forced labour is a very big problem,” she added. “The most common form of human trafficking in Tanzania is domestic servitude, young girls forced into domestic work. They face abuse, exploitation, and are not paid for their work.” Around one million children – mostly girls – are engaged in domestic work in Tanzania, according to the non­profit Anti-Slavery International. WoteSawa was set up in 2014 and every year takes in around 75 children who have escaped trafficking… So far, the non-profit has helped hundreds of survivors, but the needs are greater than the resources available. Benedicto dreams of building a bigger haven for more children. Her mission is to empower domestic workers and advocate for their rights. It’s an issue that’s close to her heart; she is herself a former domestic worker… WoteSawa means “all are equal” in Swahili. At the shelter children are housed and provided with counselling and legal support. They also receive an education in literacy and numeracy, and vocational skills such as needlework. Reintegrating children back into education works in step with efforts to reunite children with their loved ones, “so that when they go back to their families, they can help not only themselves, but they can help their families,” said Benedicto… (18 March 2023)

Ancient DNA Confirms the Origin Story of the Swahili People
(Smithsonian Magazine online – USA) Medieval individuals in the coastal East African civilization had almost equal parts African and Asian ancestry, a new study finds. Extract continues: A new analysis of medieval DNA has revealed that around the turn of the first millennium, Swahili ancestors from Africa and Asia began intermingling and having children, giving rise to a Swahili civilization with a multicultural identity, at least among its elites. The discovery matches local stories passed down through generations that were previously dismissed as myth by outside researchers… Members of the medieval and early modern Swahili culture live in towns and villages along the coast of East Africa, shared the Kiswahili language and largely practiced a common religion of Islam. The new research published … in the journal Nature, sheds some light on how this culture formed. To start, the research team—made up of 44 scientists, including 17 African scholars—worked with locals to excavate cemeteries along the Swahili coast. They gathered DNA samples from 80 people who lived between 1250 to 1800 C.E. and compared that data with saliva samples from modern-day coastal Swahili-speaking people, as well as individuals living in the Middle East, Africa and other areas of the world. Afterward, the team ensured the exhumed bodies were replaced in their cemetery plots. They found that about half of the DNA from the medieval individuals came from African women, while the other half primarily came from Asian men. Of the Asian DNA, about 80 to 90 percent revealed Persian ancestry, while approximately 10 percent was linked to India. The genetic material from modern-day individuals supported this mixed ancestry, though people who identify as Swahili today have inherited varying amounts of DNA from medieval peoples… Essentially, the paper reveals a timeline of intermarriage that matches a narrative told by the Swahili people called the Kilwa Chronicle… The Kilwa Chronicle tells a story of mixed Asian and African ancestry, suggesting that an influx of Persian sultans helped give rise to the Swahili culture. But prejudiced researchers have cast doubt on the story, assuming that the thriving East African port cities were built by Europeans, writes Popular Science’s Jocelyn Solis-Moreira. It has also been questioned by some African natives, who accused the elites of exaggerating their Asian connection to raise their social status, per the publication… The researchers intend to gather more samples to continue to fill in the missing pieces of Swahili ancestry… “These findings bring out the African contributions, and indeed, the Africanness of the Swahili, without marginalizing the Persian and Indian connection.” (31 March 2023)

African rats are being used to sniff out wildlife crime

(Mail & Guardian online – UK) Extract: The multibillion-dollar illegal wildlife trade poses a major and growing threat to biodiversity, pushing species including pangolins, African elephants and rhinos closer to extinction. Now an unlikely little hero is being trained to sniff out smuggled wildlife products stashed inside shipping containers— the African giant pouched rat. The innovative Belgian non-profit, APOPO, in partnership with the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT), a conservation NGO in South Africa, has been researching the abilities of the rodents to detect illegally trafficked wildlife products at APOPO’s base in Tanzania. The rats, which weigh between 1kg and 1.3kg, have a highly developed sense of smell, are intelligent and easy to train, locally sourced and widely available. The non-profit already uses these scent-detection animals, nicknamed HeroRATS, to find landmines in countries such as Mozambique and Cambodia and for tuberculosis detection in Tanzania, Mozambique and Ethiopia. Obeid Katumba, the wildlife and law senior project officer at the EWT, said one of the core focus areas of its Wildlife in Trade Programme is the detection of trafficked wildlife and wildlife products… Standard screening methods are expensive, time-consuming, and potentially disruptive to operations, especially if customs officials have to open up and visually search shipping containers for suspected wildlife contraband. Coupled with this, organised criminals are innovative and find ways to circumnavigate these screening methods, he said. The EWT considered alternative, complementary screening methods to detect and deter wildlife smuggling. “We knew about APOPO and the work they did with the African giant pouched rats to detect landmines and to screen for tuberculosis using the rats’ incredible sense of smell and we thought that this ability might be transferable to the detection of wildlife contraband, much like dogs are used to find wildlife products.” … There are 16 rats in the project, which are trained at APOPO’s training facility on the campus of Sokoine University of Agriculture in Morogoro … said the project’s lead researcher, Izzy Szott, a behavioural research scientist… The rodents are a potential asset in the fight against wildlife crime. They have a “fantastic” sense of smell, comparable to dogs. Another plus is the rats work with any trained handler and, unlike dogs, are not focused on a specific person… (15 March 2023)

Jane Goodall: ‘People are surprised I have a wicked sense of humour’
(The Guardian online – UK) Extract: … The scientist in me was evident early on. At four, desperate to know how eggs come out of chickens, I hid inside a hen house waiting to witness it. When I finally returned, Mum had called the police. I’d been missing for hours. Instead of punishing me, she listened to my discoveries. I was jealous of Tarzan’s Jane as a child. Yes, I know they were fictional. But I still felt spurned he didn’t pick me. From the age of 10, I dreamed of living with animals and writing books. In my early 20s, I travelled to Kenya. Out in the Serengeti, the palaeontologist Dr Louis Leakey was impressed with me. He offered me the opportunity to study chimpanzees like nobody had before. It was destiny. I don’t remember my father much. War broke out when I was young, then he was gone for good. Mum, meanwhile, encouraged me to follow my dreams. On my first expedition, in today’s Tanzania, the authorities wouldn’t let a woman work solo in the wild. My mother volunteered and joined me. After four months they all agreed I was crazy enough to go it alone. People often assume I’m stern and serious: Dr Jane Goodall PhD DBE. They’re surprised I’ve got a wicked sense of humour. When I started out I was told animals needed numbers not names, that mind, personality and emotion were unique to humanity. To me, this was so obviously not the case. A fact anyone with a pet could attest to… Before the pandemic, I travelled 300 days a year. Slowly I’m returning to that number. I’ll be 90 in a year – who knows how long I have left? Yet there’s so much left to do. As long as my mind and body obey, I’ll keep at it. (18 February 2023)

Young Africans are logging in and clocking on
(The Economist online – UK) The internet creates new kinds of work, but patterns of inequality persist. Extract continues: His home is Bungoma, a small town in western Kenya, but his workplace is the world. Kevin, who asks that his real name be withheld to protect his credibility, has written about casinos in China without ever going there. He has reviewed weightlifters’ barbells, headphones and home-security systems he has never seen. Africa’s digital workers are rewiring the old geographies of labour. Freelance on online platforms can reach clients around the world, harnessing skills from blogging to web design. Others are hired by outsourcing companies, sifting data used to train chatbots and self-driving cars. Optimists hope that online work can set Africa on the path of services-led growth trodden by countries such as India and the Philippines. Pessimists worry such work will entrench injustices… Freelances, like the wider outsourcing industry, “are fighting against a reputation of Africa as somewhere where you would not expect digital work to take place,” says Mohammad Amir Anwar of the University of Edinburgh, who co-wrote a book about Africa’s digital workforce. Some African freelances use virtual private networks and fake names to pretend they are somewhere else. Power cuts and competition for gigs from cheaper workers in Asia and beyond create other challenges. The available data suggests that it will take time for Africa to become a continent of digital freelances… (23 February 2023)

by Donovan McGrath

What the price of Zanzibari coconuts says about African development
(Economist online – UK) Islanders are chopping down trees as cities expand. Extract continues: Musa Haidar holds a coconut to his ear and shakes it from side to side. Its sloshing pleases the market trader, who puts the large brown ovoid back atop the pile at his stall on the outskirts of Zanzibar City, the main one on the east African island. His customers are less happy, however. A coconut going for 500 Tanzanian shillings ($0.20) a few years ago today sells for 1,500 shillings. That makes it more expensive to whip up curries or other dishes using coconut milk. “The prices you see,” says Mr Haidar, “they’re not normal. Coconuts have become expensive for local people.” Why have prices gone nuts? “People are chopping, chopping,” explains Omar Yusuf Juma, another coconut seller, swinging his machete for effect. A count in 2013-14 found just 3.4m coconut trees, down from 5.7m in the late 1990s. Since hungry Zanzibaris still demand creamy fish curries and beans in coconut milk, falling supply has led to higher prices. Nuts from the mainland are pricier because of high transport costs. The felling of coconut trees reflects how Zanzibar and the rest of Africa are urbanizing… As Zanzibar City has spread farther into erstwhile countryside, when people move to their new plots they chop down the coconut trees to make space for their new homes. Moreover, some houses, as well as many island hotels, have furniture made from coconut wood. Emmanuel Elias, a carpenter, explains that it is cheaper than imported alternatives. By law farmers cannot chop down fruit-bearing trees for furniture; in practice it is hard to stop them… (20 December 2022)

What Tanzania tells us about Africa’s population explosion as the world hits 8bn people
(Guardian online – UK) Dar es Salaam, which is heading for megacity status, typifies a region growing three times faster than the global average. Extract continues: As the global population reaches 8 billion … the effects of Tanzania’s rapid growth are evident. The population has increased by 37% over the past decade to almost 63 million according to the latest UN figures, and, projections suggest, is expected to grow between 2% and 3% a year until 2050. Tanzania will be one of eight countries responsible for more than half of the increase in global population over the next three decades: five of those countries will be in Africa… Dar es Salaam, the former Tanzanian capital, is one of the world’s fastest growing cities, and the number of people in the economic hub is expected to double by 2050 to more than 10 million, ranking it alongside such megacities as Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lagos in Nigeria and Cairo in Egypt. The country’s leaders have raised alarm at the numbers… [President] Samia Suluhu Hassan, called for better family planning, saying the high number of births will put pressure on education, healthcare and food… Hassan’s predecessor, John Magufuli, who died in 2021, had discouraged the use of contraceptives, saying Tanzania needed more people… For years, Magufuli suspended significant donor funding for family planning. “Family planning was not appreciated for that period of time,” said Suzana Mkanzabi, executive director of Umati, a sexual and reproductive health rights organization, adding that support for family planning has improved significantly under the new administration. But Magufuli’s policies will have a long-term impact… Tanzanian women have an average of four or five children – the global average is two. Larger families are culturally valued, and among poorer families, children provide security in old age in a country with few social protections. But with nearly half of the population under 15 or above 65, Tanzania is grappling with high dependency rates. It has fewer tax-paying citizens … The UN cites rapid population growth as a “cause” and “consequence” of slow progress development… As Tanzania grapples with its population spike, family planning will probably become a higher priority for the government. It currently spends only about 14bn shillings (£5m) on birth control each year, relying on dwindling donor resources to fill the gap. The government has pledged to increase that amount by 10% a year by 2030. Rights groups say that much more needs to be done. (15 November 2022)

‘Means of survival’: Tanzania’s booming charcoal trade drives unchecked deforestation

(Guardian online – UK) Extract: Large swathes of Ruhoi forest reserve in eastern Tanzania now lay bare … The forest is being cut down at an alarming rate to meet the growing demand for charcoal in the nearby city of Dar es Salaam. As a result of high gas prices, about 90% of Tanzanian households now use charcoal or firewood to cook, which is fueling rapid deforestation across the country. Between 2015 and 2020, the country lost almost 470,000 hectares (1.16. acres) of forest a year, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. The situation mirrors what is happening across much of Africa, where wood collection and charcoal production account for nearly half of the continent’s forest degradation. Deforestation is contributing to the climate crisis, says Saidi Mayoga, an army reserve officer who patrols Ruhoi’s 79,000-hectare reserve. “We’ve had a real problem with the heat and there’s very little rain.” For many loggers, however, environmental concerns take a back seat to more immediate economic needs. Almost 45% of Tanzanians live on about $2 (1.70) a day. “If I clear all the trees over here,” says Muharram Bakari, an illegal logger, pointing to the edges of the reserve, “I’ll just have to find another forest where I can harvest [them].” … Loggers can earn about 8,500 Tanzanian Shillings (£3) for a large bag of charcoal from brokers, who then sell it to wholesalers at a profit. But it’s the wholesalers who make the most money. They can sell the bag for up to 82,000 shillings in Dar es Salaam: almost 10 times the price it was bought for. As well as supporting families, the charcoal trade provides the government with a significant income stream. Local leaders say this is one of the biggest barriers to conservation efforts. According to government sources, the Tanzania Forest Services Agency makes about 11,300 shillings from the sale of a bag of charcoal. In 2019, earnings from the forestry sector – which includes trade in charcoal, firewood, logs, poles, honey, seeds and seedlings – contributed about 3% to GDP, with charcoal accounting for 44% of that figure. As such, the government gives out permits to loggers and has set targets on the number of bags each area of the country needs to produce each year. “We are being told on the one hand, that we need to meet certain thresholds of charcoal production, and on the other, to protect the forests,” says Mayoga. There are few checks by local or central government on how many trees are felled… Sixbert Mwanga, the executive director of Climate Action Network Tanzania, says: “If someone has a permit to harvest five tonnes, there is no mechanism to crosscheck whether that person has harvested five tonnes or 25, especially at the source.” The government attempted to ban charcoal production and trade in 2006, in an effort to reduce deforestation, but failed… However, the country’s leaders are now exploring ways to address the issue at its roots, by reducing the country’s dependency on biomass fuels… (13 December 2022)

Tanzania drops murder charges against 24 Maasai leaders
(Guardian online – UK) Extract: The officer died in June during protests against government plans to evict them from their ancestral land in Loliondo, in Ngorongoro District, to make way for conservation and a luxury hunting reserve… [C]harges for trespassing were dropped against 62 Maasai involved in the protests. The men’s lawyer, Paul Kisabo, said their detention was “politically motivated” and that there was “no legal justification” for it. “The charges and detainment were a misuse of the public system,” he said, adding that the director of public prosecutions gave no explanation for the decision to drop the charges. Muleya Mwananyanda, Amnesty International’s regional director for east and southern Africa, said: “They should never have been arrested in the first place. Their only ‘crime’ was exercising their right to protest while security forces tried to seize land from them in the name of ‘conservation’.” Reports from the Tanzania Human Rights Defenders coalition said the Maasai leaders were taken into custody under false pretences, interrogated and then detained in an Arusha prison… The land in Loliondo has been subjected to a long dispute between the Maasai and the Tanzanian government. The government says that it falls within the boundaries of the Serengeti national park, and that the Maasai’s growing population is encroaching on its wildlife habitat. The Maasai dispute both claims… (25 November 2022)

Tanzania’s president calls for better birth control in country
(Guardian online – UK) Extract: Samia Suluhu Hassan, the president of Tanzania, has called for better birth control in the east African country in a dramatic reversal of the stance of her authoritarian predecessor, John Magufuli… Magufuli had described users of contraceptive as “lazy” and said that birth control was unnecessary because “education is now free” and food cheap. A committed Roman Catholic, the former president also banned young women from returning to school after pregnancy. Samia’s call for more birth control came after a visit to the west of Tanzania, where she learned that more than 1,000 children had been born in a single clinic in one month… Low levels of contraceptive use is one reason for high birth rates in Tanzania, where women have almost five children each on average, according to the World Bank. The number has dropped dramatically over recent years, down from nearly six 20 years ago and seven in 1980, but is still considered far too high… (19 October 2022)

‘Monstrous’ east African oil project will emit vast amounts of carbon, data shows
(Guardian online – UK) Extract: An oil pipeline under construction in east Africa will produce vast amounts of carbon dioxide, according to new analysis. The project will result in 379m tonnes of climate-heating pollution, according to an expert assessment, more than 25 times the combined annual emissions of Uganda and Tanzania, the host nations. The East African crude oil pipeline (EACOP) will transport oil drilled in a biodiverse national park in Uganda more than 870 miles to a port in Tanzania for export. The main backers of the multibillion dollar project are the French oil company TotalEnergies and the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC)… Richard Heede, at [the Climate Accountability Institute], said: “It is time for TotalEnergies to abandon the monstrous EACOP that promises to worsen the climate crisis, waste billions of dollars that could be used for good, bring mayhem to human settlements and wildlife along the pipeline’s path.” Heede described EACOP as a “mid-sized carbon bomb”… [T]he Guardian revealed that world’s biggest fossil fuel firms were quietly planning scores of carbon bomb oil and gas projects that would drive the climate past internationally agreed temperature limits, with catastrophic global impacts. Omar Elmavi, coordinator of the Stop EACOP campaign, said: “EACOP and the associated oilfields in Uganda are a climate bomb that is being camouflaged … as an economic enabler to Uganda and Tanzania. It is for the benefit of people, nature and climate to stop this project.” … Some African countries argue they have the right to use fossil fuels to grow their economies, as rich western nations have done… EU lawmakers called for EACOP to be stopped … (27 October 2022)

Kate Ritchie awards Ramadhani brothers the Golden Buzzer after breath taking acrobatic act on Australia’s Got Talent leaves judges stunned
(Daily Mail online – UK) Extract: On … Australia’s Got Talent, two acrobats left the judges stunned and saw them awarded the Golden Buzzer. Tanzanian-based performers Ibrahim and Fadi Ramadhani, known as the Ramadhani Brothers, wowed the audience with a death-defying acrobatic act. The judges were visibly shocked by their feats, with Kate Ritchie grabbing her face in amazement… Kate was unable to keep her excitement to herself, slamming the Golden Buzzer and pushing the acrobats through to the Semi Final. ‘I can’t even string a sentence together because I’ve never seen anything like it ever in my life,’ Kate said to the pair… Ibrahim, 36, and Fadi, 26, have previously said they hope to win AGT and help children in their community. The pair are also aiming for a Guinness World Record for the most consecutive stairs climbed while balancing a person on the head… (16 October 2022)

State Department BLOCKED arrest of Peace Corps worker in Tanzania over drunk driving spree that left woman dead after he spent night with prostitute: US officials ‘thought he had diplomatic immunity’
(Daily Mail online – UK) Extract: Bombshell documents have revealed how the State Department blocked the arrest of a Peace Corps worker who left one woman dead and another seriously injured after a drunk driving spree – by claiming he had diplomatic immunity when he didn’t. John Peterson was ushered back to the US hours after fatally slamming his Toyota Rav4 into street-food seller Rabia Issa on the morning of August 24 2019, avoiding arrest by authorities in Dar es Salaam. He had spent the night before with a prostitute before embarking on the drink-driving spree, which also saw Peterson strike and injure a second woman. Now hundreds of pages of documents seen by USA Today give the clearest picture yet of the carnage Peterson caused and how the State Department falsely claimed he had diplomatic immunity from a breathalyser test after the drunken rampage. Peace Corps workers are not automatically granted diplomatic immunity while working abroad, unlike State Department workers. The US State Department claims its officials were confused about a diplomatic identification card he was issued by the Tanzanian government… Peterson was driving a sex worker he had paid $50 in exchange for oral sex from his US government-rented home back to her neighbourhood shortly after 5am when he claims a woman suddenly jumped in front of the car. Tanzanian authorities claim the unnamed victim was left ‘crushed and severely injured’ by the impact. That unidentified woman was not killed, with the woman Peterson did kill struck shortly afterwards. Escaping an angry crowd around his car after the first impact, Peterson claims he was heading for the nearby US embassy when he barrelled off the street and fatally struck another woman. That victim was Rabia Issa, a married mom-of-three who was setting up her food stall for the day. Her body was thrown over the hood of Peterson’s car, which continued to smash through a fence and other roadside stands. Despite the multiple collisions, Peterson carried on about half a mile further before his vehicle slammed into a light pole and came to a final stop. Furious bystanders gathered around the car and a tow truck repeatedly lifted and dropped the mangled Toyota Rav4 while a blood-soaked Peterson was still inside. Issa’s devastated brother even reached through the window and punched Peterson in the face. At the police station, Tanzanian police prepared a breathalyser test and shoved the tube into Peterson’s mouth while he resisted. However the US embassy staffers that joined Peterson at the station insisted he was a diplomat who did not have to comply, sensational records obtained by USA Today show. Peterson was told he was free to go as long as he returned to the station two days later. But Peterson was quickly flown back to America on the grounds that he needed surgery to his injured hand. This was despite one embassy worker noticing Peterson did not have immunity before his flight and raising it as a ‘point of clarification’ with an agency worker. He faced a grilling from federal state department investigators. But they could not charge him over lack of evidence, because other state department colleagues had allowed Peterson to leave the country before Tanzanian police could complete their investigation…. Vedant Patel, a State Department spokesman, blamed the confusion over Peterson’s immunity on a diplomatic identification card Peterson had been issued by the Tanzanian government… Peterson even continued to collect pay checks from Peace Corps for 18 months. His salary, unused vacation time and bonuses totalled more than $258,000. His victims – who signed settlements with Peace Corps to receive pay-outs for not making legal claims against the company of Peterson – received a lot less. Rabia Issa’s family were paid just $13,000. Her death certificate recorded just one word for her cause of death – ‘unnatural’. The first woman Peterson hit was paid roughly $6,500. The sex worker received about $2,200. (25 October 2022)

Tanzania scraps independence celebration, diverts funds to kids
(Al Jazeera online – UAE) Extract: Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan has cancelled Independence Day celebrations … and directed that the budget instead be used to build dormitories for children with special needs. The 61st Independence Day event was to cost $445,000, money that will be used to build eight dormitories in primary schools around the country. Tanzania’s Minister of State, George Simbachawene … said that instead of having parades and other national celebrations, the East African country will commemorate Independence Day by having public dialogues on development… This is not, however, the first time Tanzania has cancelled the celebrations. In 2015, then-President John Magufuli cancelled celebrations and diverted funds towards the building of a road in the commercial capital, Dar es Salaam. In 2020, he did the same and directed that the budget be used to buy medical facilities… (6 December 2022)

by Donovan McGrath

‘I stumbled across it’: the push to help Tanzania’s untapped football talent
(Guardian UK – online) Michael Noone went to Africa looking for a change and now has an academy for boys and girls in one of Tanzania’s poorest areas. Extract continues: When Michael Noone set off on his solo walk from Old Trafford to Wembley Stadium … to raise money for his football academy in Tanzania, it wasn’t the first time he had taken a journey into the unknown. A youth coach with experience of working in schools in Manchester, the United States and Canada, the 37-year-old was “looking for a change in my life” when he arrived in east Africa in March 2020. “I just kind of stumbled across it,” he says. “I came over with just a backpack and had nothing organised so I sort of just wandered around. I started volunteering in this orphanage, joined in a few games and found the football culture unbelievable. I’ve been coaching for many years and I’d played with some guys from east Africa before and they told me that there was so much hugely untapped talent here… Noone started coaching a group of players in Mivumoni, a small town about 300km north of Dar es Salaam in one of Tanzania’s poorest regions. He was so impressed with the standard that he set up the Route One Academy, which caters for 150 boys and girls from under-eights to under-18s. “Every week there were more and more who kept joining our group,” he says. “What started off as something casual has ended up with me wanting to stay and help.” … Noone adds: “My aim is now to try and improve that environment and showcase the ability that these players have. The skill levels here are really high… Mbwana Samatta’s short spell at Aston Villa in 2020 made him the first Tanzanian to play in the Premier League but Noone believes there is every chance plenty more could come if local players are given the right opportunities… (23 June 2022)

Meet Tanzania’s Lion Defenders: the hunters-turned-conservationists of the Barabaig tribe

(CNN USA – online) Extract: There are 18 Lion Defenders in Ruaha. They monitor local lion populations and help to implement safe herding practices and fortify livestock enclosures. Lion Landscapes also provides technology to improve the safety of tribal communities as lion populations recover… Tracking and monitoring big cats through smartphones helps the lion populations to grow without increased risk to tribespeople… According to Lion Landscapes, since it began its work the killing of lions has decreased by more than 70% in the area of Ruaha National Park in which it operates. The Barabaig tribe in Ruaha National Park, Tanzania traditionally hunted lions that endangered their community – but with populations of the big cat dwindling, Barabaig warriors have become their protectors. Tanzania is home to roughly 50% of the lion population in sub-Saharan Africa, and around 800 of those lions live in Ruaha National Park. Many people in sub-Saharan Africa live in conflict with lions… In Ruaha National Park, warriors working with Lion Landscapes are known as “Lion Defenders.” The role is usually given to young hunters with good knowledge of the area and a comprehensive understanding of lion behaviour and how to track them… They monitor local lion populations and help to implement safe herding practices and fortify livestock enclosures… “The challenges Lion Defenders face is with some people in the community who are not in support of the project,” … says [Stephano Asecheka, who is from the Barabaig tribe]… According to Asecheka, taking tribespeople on tours in Ruaha National Park endears the community to the lions and helps them understand the value of the animals as a tourist draw that can boost the local economy. “They feel a sense of ownership and get to understand the right reasons to why we are protecting the lions,” he explains… (21 April 2022)

Rats to the rescue: Rodents are being trained to go into earthquake debris wearing backpacks with microphones so rescue teams can talk to survivors
(Daily Mail UK – online) Extract: Scientists are training rats to find earthquake survivors while wearing tiny backpacks with inbuilt microphones so rescue teams can locate and speak with them. Research scientist Dr Donna Kean, 33, from Glasgow, has been working in Morogoro, Tanzania over the past year for non-profit organisation APOPO on the project titled ‘Hero Rats’… Kean said: ‘Rats would be able to get into small spaces to get to victims buried in rubble… The rodents are trained to respond to a beep, which calls them back to the base… ‘We have the potential to speak to victims through the rat,’ Kean added… So far seven rats have been trained… (3 June 2022)

Greener pastures: Can ancient ecoengineering help fix our degraded landscapes?
(CNN USA – online) Extract: By removing trees and installing cell bunding – which creates water-tight pockets – Northern Ireland Water tried to determine if bunding could restore peatland, which naturally filters the country’s drinking water… Northern Ireland Water is already implementing cell bunding elsewhere… Bunds are simple structures that have been used for thousands of years to keep liquid in or out… The most basic consists of mounded earth. In terms of geoengineering, they’re about as low-tech as it comes, but when built strategically, their impact on the environment can be profound. Separate programs in as disparate climates as Tanzania and Northern Ireland are demonstrating bunding’s regenerative power – and the results could benefit both humans and nature. In Tanzania, a collaboration between non-profits Justdiggit and the LEAD Foundation is working with local communities to dig tens of thousands of bunds on arid land to harvest rainwater, as part of a massive regenerative effort backed by the UN. Angelina Tarimo, a coordinator at the LEAD Foundation, has been working with local communities in places such as Pembamoto, village in the Dodoma region, where desertification is a growing threat… Semi-circular shaped bunds trap water running off the ground and allow it to penetrate the earth. Grass seed sown inside the bunds grows, and over time greenery extends beyond the bund. Agriculture has had a negative impact on land in Tanzania, Tarimo says, with farmers clearing trees and native plants in order to grow crops, or allowing grassland to become overgrazed. This damages the soil structure and makes it more prone to erosion. As the ground is drier, when rain falls it is more likely water will run off the surface instead of infiltrating the ground, washing away fertile soil and perpetuating a drying cycle… Between sites in Tanzania and southern Kenya, over 200,000 bunds have been dug to date… (18 July 2022)

British hotelier locked up in Zanzibar ‘hell hole’ prison and his wife are freed after judge throws out money laundering charges
(Daily Mail UK – online) Extract: … The couple [Simon Woods and Francesca Scalfari], who run the four-star Sharazad Boutique Hotel in Zanzibar, faced 20 years in jail over money laundering charges after they fell out with two investors who had invested in their hotel. Police shaved Simon’s head when he was taken into custody before putting him in a cell with 200 other dangerous inmates, including murderers, at the Kilimani Prison, Wood’s family said… They also said the couple, who have lived on the island for 20 years, were denied basic needs – including access to water – and relatives weren’t allowed into the jail to see them on several occasions… (23 June 2022)

Tanzania identifies deadly outbreak of mystery disease as leptospirosis
(ABC News USA – online) Extract: A deadly outbreak of an unknown disease in Tanzania has been identified as leptospirosis, health officials said. More than 20 cases, including three deaths, have been reported in the southern Lindi region, with patients exhibiting symptoms similar to Ebola or Marburg virus diseases – fever, headache, fatigue and bleeding, especially from the nose, according to health officials. Preliminary results from laboratory testing … ruled out Ebola and Marburg viruses as well as COVID-19, making the illness a mystery – until now. Tanzanian Health Minister Ummy Mwalimu announced at a press conference … that samples from patients tested positive for leptospirosis, an infectious bacterial disease that affects both animals and humans. “I would like to inform the public that sample testing from patients has confirmed the outbreak is leptospirosis field fever or ‘homa ya Mgunda’ as it is known in Swahili,” Mwalimu said… Leptospirosis is transmitted directly or indirectly from animals to humans, mainly when people come into contact with the urine of infected animals or a urine-contaminated environment… Human-to-human transmission is rare, according to the WHO… (20 July 2022)

Why women in Tanzania face jail when their naked pictures are leaked to social media
(ITV UK – online) Extract: Mobile phone use in Tanzania has rocketed over the past 10 years, mostly due to the availability of cheaper smartphones. Millions in the East African nation have grown used to socialising, banking and learning wherever they want – but Asha Abinallah feels “lucky” she came of age before the smartphone boom. As connectivity increases, so does the amount of people seeking help from Ms Abinallah’s organisation, complaining they’ve had naked pictures leaked without their consent. The subjects are overwhelmingly young, female, “naïve and in love”, Ms Abinallah, head of digital empowerment organisation Women at Web explains. “But the perpetrators are usually people they love.” For victims of non-consensual intimate image abuse, consequences can include isolation, suicide and even a criminal conviction. Strict anti-pornography laws introduced in 2016 mean publishing pornography online, or “causing” it to be published, is punishable by a fine of not less than 20 million Tanzanian shillings (around £6,900) or at least three years in jail. Thanks to the liberal interpretation of the law, there’s a trend of [the women] being punished, rather than the person who leaked [the images]… (26 May 2022)

In Tanzania, karate classes imbues vigour in people with albinism
(Al Jazeera Qatar/UK/USA – online) Extract: Now that he’s learned to fight, Hassan Farahani doesn’t feel the need to do so anymore. “When people make jokes or harass me in the street, now I just leave. I have the confidence of martial arts—my strength is here,” he says, gesturing towards his chest. Farahani, 29, is part of a group of Tanzanians with albinism learning karate in Dar es Salaam, their country’s largest city… Their goal is not just to learn self-defence, but to one day become karate instructors themselves, teaching future generations of Tanzanians with albinism about karate, discipline, and self-confidence… In Tanzania, an estimated 1 in 1,400 people in the country have albinism, compared to a rate of about 1 in 20,000 in the United States. So people with the condition there are subject of daily discrimination with their light skin instantly setting them apart as targets. Myths and superstitions surrounding Tanzanians with albinism: that they are immortal, that they aren’t human but instead ghosts, or that they are cursed by a deity. Many have been attacked, mutilated and even killed for their body parts, which are believed to hold magical powers. Witchdoctors use these body parts for potions and spells meant to heal sickness, grant political power or bestow wealth and success… The training programme was founded by Jerome Mgahama, a karate instructor for over 20 years and founder of the Japanese Karate Association club in Dar es Salaam… He was inspired to start it after demonstrating martial arts for children with albinism at summer camps organized by NGOs and religious groups in Tanzania… (8 July 2022)

Visiting Dignitary: Mission Creep
(The New Yorker – USA) Extract: Mission: Her Excellency Samia Suluhu Hassan, the sixth President of the United Republic of Tanzania, and its first female head of state, desires a stroll through Central Park. Objective: To correct certain impressions advanced by Hassan’s predecessor, John Magufuli (nickname: the Bulldozer), who largely closed off Tanzania to the rest of the world and whose COVID strategy centered on three days of national prayer, after which he proclaimed, “The Corona disease has been eliminated thanks to God.” … Hassan, who was vaccinated publicly, is on a good-will tour of the United States, declaring Tanzania again open to visitors, investors, and science. … [S]he attended a summit with Kamala Harris. In New York, she will appear at the premiere of “The Royal Tour,” a PBS program in which Hassan guides the host, Peter Greenberg, around her country for nine days—Zanzibar, Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Kilimanjaro. She hopes to attract American tourists… (16 May 2022) – Editor: Thanks to Elsbeth Court for this item.

Award given to UN Biodiversity Chief

(Kew Magazine – UK) Extract: Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has been awarded the 15th Kew International Medal for her vital work in championing the importance of biodiversity conservation… For over two decades, Elizabeth, a Tanzanian biodiversity leader and lawyer, has held various positions at the UN Environment Program (UNEP) focusing on environmental laws. She will be leading efforts to secure ambition and agreement on a critical new framework for halting biodiversity loss and promoting sustainable development at the UN Biodiversity Conference, COP15, later this year. In a keynote lecture at Kew to accept the award, she highlighted the importance of plant science in finding solutions to urgent crises in nature. ‘Biodiversity loss is our shared burden. It’s also our shared responsibility,’ said Elizabeth. (Summer 2022) Thanks to Elsbeth Court for this item – Editor

Record-breaking Tanzanian ruby exposed in Dubai
(Africa News Republic of Congo/France – online) Extract: The magnificent gemstone which weighs 2.8 kilograms was presented to the public for the first time … in Dubai…. According to mineral experts, the greenish and purplish stone could be auctioned for 120 million dollars. In Africa, Kenya, Mozambique and Tanzania are one of the main ruby producing countries… (17 April 2022)