OBITUARIES

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Former Inspector General of Police HAMZA AZIZ (73), who died after a short illness, fought in the Second World War and was the second indigenous Tanzanian to hold the position of Inspector General since independence in 1961. He served the country in several other capacities locally and abroad. He was buried with full military honours.

When W A (BILL) DODD CMG (81), who died on February 5th, first went out to Tanganyika in 1952, he was posted to the Teacher Training College at Butimba in Mwanza. From there he went as District Education Officer to Bukoba, then Mtwara, Songea, Moshi and Dar es Salaam. He was finally elevated to the post of Senior Education Officer (Training) in the Ministry of Education until he left Tanzania in 1965. His many books include ‘A Map Book of Exploration’ in English and Swahili, ‘Primary School Inspection in New Countries’, ‘Education for Self-Reliance in Tanzania’ and, with John Cameron, ‘Society, Schools and Progress in Tanzania.’ (Thank you David Connelly and Peter Hill for contributing to this item – Editor).

JOHN CAMERON OBE (89), who died in December, served in the education department in Tanganyika/Tanzania from 1948 until 1964. Following involvement in teacher training, he became Principal of the Government teacher training colleges in Butimba and Mpwapwa. From 1960 onwards he was Assistant Director of Education in which capacity he supervised the amalgamation of the hitherto separate systems of education – the African and the “non native”. (Bill Dodd sent this item on December 12 not long before, sadly, he himself passed away – Editor).

BERNARD GILCHRIST spent 20 years of his life helping to preserve the forests of Tanganyika. He established a large escarpment forest reserve at Mufindi, prepared a vegetation map for much of southern Tanganyika and helped to create Engurdoto Crater National Park. Most of the forest reserves he worked in had large numbers of elephant, rhino and buffalo and he was attacked by elephants on several occasions. While on these foot safaris he enjoyed collecting botanical specimens and photographing plants with his ancient Leica. He subsequently became Deputy Chief Conservator of Forests in Tanzania – (Thank you Jill Bowden for sending this item – Editor).

JUDGE JOSEPH MWAKIBETE, who died of heart problems on January 17, was born in the early 1930s at Mabonde, Tukuyu. He worked as an administrative officer in various districts in the country, later joining the University of Dar es Salaam for a law degree. He joined the Judiciary and worked in different positions until his appointment as Judge of the High Court in 1972.

Former chief of the Tanzania People’s Defence Forces GENERAL ABDULLAH TWALIPO who died at the end of 2003, spent 41 years of his life from 1947 to 1972 in military service and then served as Minister of State in the President’s Office in 1984 – Sunday Observer.

HUKWE ZAWOSE (65), who died on December 30, was a Tanzanian singer with an astonishing range; he eventually became a star of world music. As a boy he sang as he herded the cattle across the plains of Ugogo and then, as his voice dropped, he retained a high sweetness of tone and was eventually able to boast a five octave range. He was also a remarkable instrumentalist, learning and researching the traditional instruments of the Wagogo people. Later he wrote songs celebrating the late Julius Nyerere and the independence struggle and helped to establish the ‘National Musical Ensemble’ of Tanzania. In 2002, with his nephew Charles, he went on a sell-out tour to some of the biggest stadiums in America and Europe. He reputedly fathered 15 children by four wives. (Thank you Liz Fennell and Debbie Simmons for sending the obituary from the Times of 12th January on which this note is based – Editor).

MISCELLANY

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British Prime Minister Tony Blair has asked President Mkapa to serve as one of the 15 commissioners in the recently established ‘UK Commission for Africa.’ The Commission seeks to analyse prospects for Africa’s development and make policy recommendations aimed at generating increased international support for the ‘G8 Africa Action Plan’ and the ‘New Partnership for Africa Development’ (NEPAD). President Mkapa applauded the British PM’s efforts in giving priority to Africa’s issues and expressed his readiness to support the project – Sunday Observer.
Tanzania’s renowned diplomat, Ambassador Gertrude Mongella, has been elected President of the Pan-African Parliament. Reports from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where the 53-member African Union (AU) launched its Assembly on March 18, indicated that Ambassador Mongella was unopposed after other contestants for the post withdrew their names following the reading by a representative from Nigeria of Ambassador Mongella’s impressive profile. The AU wants the Pan-African assembly, modeled on the European Union parliament, to give Africans a bigger voice in how they are governed – Guardian.
University of Dar es Salaam Professor Issa Shivji has created some controversy by publishing ‘Reflections on (local) NGO’s in Tanzania’. He said that they tended to focus more on enriching themselves from donor funds but had failed in their principal objective of helping the people. “NGO’s are top-down organisations led by a few elite and only urban based” he said. “Most NGO wallahs do not have any grand vision of society – Daily Times

Only 8.4% (2,905 out of 34,740) of the pupils who sat for the standard seven examinations in Dar es Salaam region last year were selected to join government secondary schools.

Inspector General of Police (IGP) Omar Mahita has stopped importation of AK 47 rifles ordered by the Kahama Mining Company Limited (KMCL) for use by Nepalese Gurkhas who are in the country specifically to offer protection to KMCL employees and property. Company spokesman Deo Mwanyika said that, in his refusal, IGP Mahita had said that AK 47’s were used by the military only. He said the Gurkhas were given two-month business visas on arrival but had since been given work permits – Rai.
Zanzibar’s House of Representatives has passed a Bill that outlaws homosexuality and lesbianism and imposes stiff penalties, which include up to 25 years imprisonment, for those in gay relationships. The Attorney-General said they were determined to prevent Zanzibari culture from being corrupted – Guardian.
The restructured Muhimbili National Hospital under its new management (see above) has come under fire for imposing new rates of Tshs. 10,000 for outpatients, Tshs. 20,000 for inpatients and Tshs. 50,000 for surgical cases. The Government said the new rates and regulations would minimize the chances of corruption.

On January 30 the Tanzania People’s Defence Force (TPDF) destroyed a total of 4,338 anti-personnel mines (APMs) at the Monduli Military Training Camp in Arusha Region in accordance with the 1997 Ottawa Convention.

UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, has appointed the former Tanzania Ambassador to the UN, Daudi Mwakawago, to represent the UN in Sierra Leone.

Majira reported on April 17 that Police in Dar Es Salaam had seized military weapons including eight light machine guns, eight sub-machine guns and magazines. The consignment arrived in Dar three years ago and was stored at shed nos. 7 and 8. Apparently, good-hearted thieves broke into the sheds with intent to steal valuables only to find the weapons there. They then reported the matter to Temeke police without revealing their names!

REVIEWS

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URBAN LIFE AND STREET CHILDREN’S HEALTH: Children’s Accounts of Urban Hardships and Violence in Tanzania. Joe L.P. Lugalla and Colleta G. Kibassa. Lit Verlag Munster, 2003, ISBN 3-8258-6690-4. 158 pages.
This is not a feel-good read. It is a serious research effort. The authors have five objectives: 1) identify the factors which generate and perpetuate the increasing number of street children; 2) understand the socio-economic background of these children; 3) explore basic daily needs and how they are met; 4) identify problems confronted and how the children surmount them; and, 5) assess how street life impacts the children’s behavior and health, and how they vary by gender. There are 10 Chapters.
The authors point out that the problem has been rife in other parts of the world for decades and ask why it only appeared in Tanzania in the ‘80’s The conclusion given later that the problem can “only be understood within the context of Tanzania’s political economy”, a result of the SAPs (Structural Adjustment Programs) designed to get the economy on track (from 1986), was trashed by their later statement that “this is happening in a country with a serious HIV/AIDS epidemic”, which results in orphans. This is mentioned now because it is an important point that was not convincingly addressed. There have always been poverty, famines, cruel step-parents, and hardships. Why, from the mid-80’s, did this result in children leaving their homes and relatives and living on the street? As pointed out by the authors themselves, officials see the children as hooligans, vagabonds, and criminals. Policies deal with symptoms rather than causes because the government is ignorant about the nature of the problem. “There have been no (italics authors) attempts to establish in-depth and systematic studies aimed at understanding these children…” In other words, there simply isn’t enough researched information on which to make a useful policy to help them.
This book is a good start. However, its funding from a private source (Guggenheim) points out another problem facing those dealing with street children/orphans (once mentioned, orphans were inseparable from the problem): chronic underfunding for day-to-day problems of food, let alone esoteric research for future alleviation.
Who will pay? Chapter Nine, The Civil Society and the Welfare of Street Children suggests everyone will, if this generation continues to be marginalized and criminalized. And buried. There is a term for prostitution: Survival Sex, but the authors called it “Death Sex”, because of the almost certain result of HIV/AIDS infection. In one street child’s own words, “We are not living! We are dead already.”. The NGO’s helping are doing a commendable job on a shoestring, securing life (read food, medication, education) for the children they deal with. But they are chronically understaffed, undertrained, underfunded, and inexperienced. And again, they deal with symptoms. Not one has designed an appropriate strategy for alleviation of poverty at the community level. Most started as drop-in shelters, and grew into “rescue centers”, but that proved to cause even more problems, as the children become institutionalized, and caretakers see a chance to avoid doing what they can. There are simply too many children in difficult circumstances today. (This is where the HIV/AIDS question comes into big play.) Reunification requires an enormous amount of backup. (Refer to “chronically understaffed…) Help within the community, advocacy and campaigning for children’s rights, makes the communities aware of the effect of abuse and harassment experienced by children. The authors say the NGO’s do a commendable job taking into account that the government has been silent in so far as helping street children is concerned. Also, NGO’s are too few to absorb the children in difficult circumstances. It was suggested NGO’s need to coordinate their efforts, and obtain sustainable and consistent funding. They also need to look into ways of promoting social development, alleviating poverty, and stopping social inequality.
There are several valuable tables and figures, including ones about age and sex, sources of income, narcotic drug use (a very dangerous new addition to the lives of street children), and a very interesting one on Distribution of Poverty by Education Level of the Household Head. That one alone justifies every effort to educate our children.
Chapter Five, Ethnographic Narratives of Urban Hardships and Violence, is a must read. You hear the voice of the children talking of their lives and their stark realities, the nightmare of every parent or guardian.
Chapter 10 has serious recommendations for long-term policies and poverty alleviation. Education and health infrastructure must be strengthened to bear the weight of these children. Community awareness and responsibility must be encouraged, as well as promotion of children’s rights through legislation.
The last conclusion offered by the authors states political will and commitment of the government, accompanied by people’s willingness and commitment will resolve the problem if all of us play our part.

Nancy Macha

TUTAFIKA: IMAGINING OUR FUTURE – TANZANIA. Society for International Development, Tanzania Chapter, P.O. Box 79540, Dar-es-Salaam. Foreword by Juma V. Mwapachu. Pp.40.
This booklet describes itself as a wake up call. Wake up for what? Reflecting on the past and forecasting the future is a natural thing to do for any thinking person; this is applied to three scenarios of the short and medium term future of Tanzania. These are termed in Kiswahili:
Yale: As it was (Central Government as it stands now)
Mibaka Uchumi: Those who grab the wealth (rapid privatisation with wealth and decision-making in a few hands)
Amka Kumekucha: Wake up, it’s dawn (formation of a
Federal Republic)
In recent years rapid changes in Tanzania have included:
* Liberalisation of the economy.
* The multi-party system
* Privatisation of state owned corporations
* Rapid foreign investment alongside decrease in donor support, especially to Government
* Urban economic growth with widening income distribution
Since 1963, Tanzania has emphasised the unity between the mainland and the Islands of Zanzibar and Pemba. This has been of great significance for continued peace, but in recent years it has been the source of political tension as recent positions taken by the CUF which is anti-Christian and anti-West indicate. If this party gets the dominant vote in Zanzibar in the 2005 elections, under the present constitution, it is likely to fill the office of presidency of Zanzibar, which will lead to also the mainland presidency.
This booklet must be read in this context. The CCM party has led the nation to this present time. But it has been slowly losing its majority especially in Zanzibar where the influence of Islam and the Arab states is perceived to threaten Tanzanian unity. Zanzibar has been under pressure from the Arab world to break away from this union. Similar advice is also growing in the mainland especially in the coastal regions.
There is also rivalry between those who distinguish non-ethnic from ethnic Tanzanians (Wazawa) and want to exclude the former from various privileges such as bidding in the new privatisation programme. On the other hand there are those, such as the contributors to this booklet, who are against any form of discrimination. They would like to see a multi-ethnic Tanzania including the Zanzibari; they, therefore, are against separation of the mainland from Zanzibar.
The cover picture of the book illustrates the heart of the matter i.e. election and democracy. As the economy continues to move more towards favouring the few who control the wealth (mibaka uchumi), electioneering continues to be based less on policies and democracy, but rather on who controls money and influence. This makes the country increasingly unstable during the election period. This causes people to wonder where the nation is going (Yale yale) i.e. continuing with its past, where those who held political and economic power were foreigners, prompting the questions: Who are we? Where are we going? (P.12).
Alternatively, there is the possibility of radical change – Amka Kumekucha. This says that the country cannot remain as it is, and we cannot go back to the past, but we ought to move on. Specially, the suggestion is to form a federal government, which will join all the present regions into five provinces. The idea is to strengthen regional unity, in order to hold Zanzibar into the framework at this level.
Amka Kumekucha’s main objective is to uphold the national unity between the mainland and Zanzibar. Zanzibar continues to fall under the CUF, supported and funded by the Muslim world with an option of breaking the Union. Amka Kumekucha is trying to prevent this by increasing support for a Federation Government. The elections to provincial government will be held at regional level, while representation in parliament will be determined at provincial level. This will help to keep Zanzibar in the Federation because it will be politically and economically directly administered and linked to other regions in its province. With fewer people supporting CUF on the mainland regions of eastern province, it will help drop its threatening majority in the Island as it stands now.
The danger may come if there is disunity within the federal government or if one province becomes too strong (especially those next to the country’s borders), and seeks to move out of the Federation. It is very unlikely if the details of a new constitution will consider this before hand. It would be less dangerous if provinces were given limited autonomy e.g. with provincial executive councils rather than elected bodies. The experience of decentralisation in the period 1972-82 also supports this, as the semi-autonomous RIDEPs (regional programmes) had the effect of arbitrarily widening growth rates between the regions. Overall, the provincial scheme proposed in the third section of the booklet needs more careful assessment, if the major political and economic risks are to be minimised. Similarly, little attention seems to have been given towards the role of civil society especially faith based organisations such as churches and mosques, considering the reduction of state involvement in providing livelihood and welfare generating activities.

John Madinda and Deryke Belshaw

SWAHILI FOR THE BROKEN-HEARTED. Peter Moore. Bantam Books. ISBN 0553814524 – £6.99.
Peter Moore follows the fabled Cape Town to Cairo route by any means possible, and this is an account of his adventures. We follow Peter’s hilarious travels through South Africa, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Tanzania which he enters through Mbeya. He then catches the Train to Dar es Salaam. His descriptions of the landscape are superb and he encounters a lot of characters on the way. Peter takes us around Dar which is a place he likes, and visits some familiar landmarks and some not so familiar – like the T &M beauty salon & internet cafe! After a detour to Zanzibar, he heads north to climb Kilimanjaro. Wearing a pink fleece and using the route from Marangu our intrepid traveller sets out to conquer the highest mountain in Africa, but after an eventful climb told in his inimitable style, he fails – along with 80% of those who attempt it. He then continues north and finishes his journey in Cairo with lots more incidents on the way. Peter’s dry wit and observation make this a very enjoyable book.
David Holton

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION IN TANZANIA. THE VOICES OF WORKERS’ REPRESENTATIVES. Samuel E. Chambua 2002 Dar es Salaam, DUP. ISBN 9976603630. Distributed in U.K. by African Books Collective, 27 Park End Street, Oxford.
This book is the product of a five year research project – African Workers’ Participation Development Programme – executed by the Institute of Development Studies (University of Dar es Salaam). The research project was based in a series of survey questionnaires, delivered to workers’ representatives at various levels of the Organisation of Tanzanian Trade Unions. As a result, the book is very rich in empirical survey information: no less than 59 Tables and Boxes in less than 200 pages.
Chambua covers a great deal of ground. The book begins with a discussion of labour politics in comparative perspective. The argument here is that workers’ participation is a key property of developed capitalist societies, and is therefore not merely to be associated with ‘socialism’. The point drawn from this argument is that the appropriate participation of labour can improve the developmental or economic effects of structural adjustment. Thus, a scene is set in which Chambua aims to understand participation in order to make it work more effectively for Tanzania’s neoliberal programme. The second chapter gives an interesting history of labour organisation in Tanzania, largely following a series of legislative changes. Chambua emphasises the cloying corporatism of the single party period, although he does identify a limited space for autonomous worker politics in the Workers Committees until 1975 when they were banned.
Chapter three provides a case study of Morogoro Canvas Mills (MCM) which raises some interesting issues concerning the performance of this foreign-managed factory and the workers’ participation in decision-making. In keeping with the Presidential Circular (1970), at MCM, workers participation was largely conceived as a way to make firms more productive. As a result, participation was a means to an end, not an end in itself, which set limits to the quality and extent of participation: at best participation as good labour relations and at worst, as ‘lip service’ (page 55).
By and large, this tension is not investigated in subsequent chapters. ‘Participation’ as a concept works to externalise a wider variety of issues pertaining to labour politics in preference to a liberal model of labour relations in which astute labour management can make workers feel ‘valued’ and more productive. As a result, Chapters four to seven are largely ‘problem solving’ in their tone: how to make participation work better and in everyone’s interests. These chapters give a wealth of statistical detail concerning labour representatives’ views on information management, social provision, wage levels, training and other specifics. These all feed into a case study of the general strike in the turbulent year of 1994.
Not a great deal has been written about formal labour politics in Tanzania. As a result, Chambua’s book is valuable to those interested in the institutional dynamics of labour union politics. But, the book has such a wealth of questionnaire results to relate that it stops short of a fully political analysis. There are no passages in which one can get a sense of workers’ voices: the ‘moral economy’ of the workplace; the constructions of worker collectivity/identity and employers as ‘bosses’ or ‘managers’; the strategies that workers employ to bend jobs to their own preferences – ‘weapons of the weak’, are not considered. This is most apparent in the chapter on women in decision-making. The analysis is rather bloodless in that no women’s voices are heard, no application of concepts of gender analysis are brought in, and the principal conclusion is that women need to be ‘more confident’ which, intuitively to this reader, sounds rather like blaming the victim. The point that women lack confidence, even if related by a general survey, should be a place to start a critical analysis, not the place to conclude.
The book concludes with a sensible statement concerning the way forward for labour unions with a view to enhanced participation. Here, it appears that Chambua’s analysis fits well with the reformulation of structural adjustment as a Comprehensive Development Framework, Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper and so on. Chambua ends with an entreaty to ensure that foreign large-scale capital does not prevail in Tanzania and that labour constitutes a keystone of Tanzanian civil society in the face of predatory globalisation.

Graham Harrison

LEADERSHIP, CIVIL SOCIETY AND DEMOCRATISATION IN AFRICA: Case Studies from Eastern Africa. Abdalla Bujra and Said Adejumobi, editors. Development Policy Management Forum, UNECA, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 2002. Distributed by African Books Collective.
This edited volume contains four case studies of the role of civil society organisations in the democratisation processes in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Zimbabwe, each of which is concerned with the organization’s location, history, size and structure, mission, and relationship with the state. Its special focus on civil society is designed to emphasize the capacity of the organization to act as an independent center of power, and consequently effectively participate in the political process. Chachage Seithy analysis of “Leadership in the Civil Society in Tanzania” is exceptionally interesting reading because the author develops a careful context that includes an historical overview of the concept as it evolved during the colonial and post-colonial periods with a focus on economic aspects which seemed to characterize both eras. NGOs gradually emerged in the post-socialist era as responses to societal needs which the government failed to meet; they tended to be non-political, rather than either liberal or conservative. This chapter includes two case studies. The first analyzes – dissects is probably a better description – the Association of Journalists and Media Workers (AJM) when independent newspapers began to emerge in the late 1980s. Given the media’s opportunities to take issue with the newly evolved non-socialist government it failed to take issue with various political policies, not so much because it feared government retaliation but rather because it feared loss of readership and profits. Rather than take a proactive approach to government policies the media tended to be reactive and indirectly pro-government. The second case study focuses on the Tanzania Gender Networking Program (TGNP) whose “vision and mission … stood for the interests of the less privileged and marginalized ….” (p.164) Organized in 1992 it gradually became an ‘umbrella’ organization for various groups dealing with women’s needs, extending from education, training, and advocacy to awareness raising, and evolving as a pressure group exerting a positive influence on the government. In effect, it has become a social movement, promoting positive and beneficial policies for women at local, regional, and national levels. The contrast between the two types of NGOs could not be more telling. A recent journal article – Jyotika Ramagrasad, The Private and Government Sides of Tanzanian Journalists, Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics, 8, 1, Winter 2003, 8-26 – notes that the private media’s recent approach has been to exercise its freedom in a “sensationalistic and unethical manner”, which suggests that journalists have not yet utilized their independence in a manner comparable to the TGNP’s constructive approach to society’s needs.

Marion Doro

TELLING OUR OWN STORIES: LOCAL HISTORIES FROM SOUTH MARA, Tanzania. Shelter, Jan Bender. Brill, 2003. 334p bibl index (African sources for African history, 4) ISBN 9-00-412625-2 pbk, $31.00.
The Mara region of Tanzania, known mainly for its Serengeti National Park, is squarely placed in the center of the human cultural landscape by this book on the area’s precolonial history and social structure. The authors of the individual texts comprising this volume are the local residents themselves, usually male elders, who dictated their historical knowledge in one of the local languages to a now literate younger generation, who then transcribed the accounts into Swahili. (All participants are identified by name and photograph.) These texts in turn are faithfully translated into English by Shelter (Goshen College), who also provides an informative social and historical context for these indigenous accounts of the past, demonstrating that these peoples had both greater local identities and regional similarities than admitted to by the colonial regime, which transformed them into a series of manageable “tribes” for administrative purposes. This exquisite cultural portrait of the area and its peoples was clearly an intensive intellectual labor of love for all concerned. The result belongs in every library of higher education.
Reprinted with permission from CHOICE, copyright by the American Library Association.

THE UNIQUE FOREST BIRDS OF THE USAMBARAS. Lecture given by Dr William Newmark of the Utah Museum of Natural History at the Royal Geographic Society in November 2003.
Across the globe there are twenty five ‘Tropical Bio Hotspots’. Within these hotspots are the vast majority of the Earth’s threatened species. One such Hotspot is situated within the East Usambara Mountains, at an altitude of 1000 – 2500 metres. For the past sixteen years this area has been under close examination by Bill, who has built up a well organised system to monitor and analyse the delicate ecosystem.
His research, primarily focused on birds, has revealed this area of Tanzania, which covers 6/10ths of 1% of its land surface, is home to unique species of Sun Birds, Fly Catchers, Waxbills and Broadbills to name just a few! What’s all the more interesting is through netting and tracking the birds, Bill has found that 80% of them don’t venture more than 400 meters from where they were netted. This shows their strong dependence on their local forest area, and helps explain why small disturbances in the forest have a big impact on this rare bird population.
The current threat to this sensitive ecosystem is gold mining, which brings with it people and the demand for fuel wood. Bill’s simple message: to prevent further damage “Don’t fragment the forest!” In fact he has gone one stage better and agreed with the Government to reconnect large blocks of the forest and create a Wildlife Corridor, which will start taking shape when sufficient funds are achieved.
Bill uses both local villagers and volunteers in his research. The volunteers are arranged through Earthwatch. If you are interested in volunteering you can contact it at: www.earthwatch.org/europe or info[AT]earthwatch[DOT]org[DOT]uk.

Peter Leonhardt

RECENT JOURNAL ARTICLES

As Plato duly warned: music politics and social change in East Africa. K M Askew. Anthropological Quarterly. 76 (4). 2003.

Poverty and wealth at the rural-urban interface: an actor-centred perspective from northern Tanzania. J Baker and H Wallevik, Environment and Urbanisation, 15 (2), 2003. Pps 8.

‘Brothers by Day’: Colonial policing in Dar es Salaam under British rule, 1919 – 61. A Burton. Urban History, 30 (1), 2003. Pps 28.

Reconsidering Witchcraft: post-colonial Africa and analytic uncertainties, Ihanzu, Tanzania. T Sanders. American Anthropologist, 105 (2), 2003. 14 pages

Cultural interpretations of an emerging problem: blood pressure in Dar es Salaam. H Strahl. Anthropology and Medicine, 10 (2), 2003. 24 pages

Urban health in daily practice: livelihood, vulnerability and resilience in Dar es Salaam. Anthropology and Medicine, 10 (3).

“WE CAN SMELL IT …….”

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So said Tanzanian Minister of Energy and Minerals Daniel Yona when he addressed a Commonwealth Investment Conference in Dar es Salaam on 28th May 2003. He was not the only one who could smell oil.

OIL PROSPECTORS FROM THE NETHERLANDS, BRAZIL, ROMANIA, BRITAIN, IRELAND AND FRANCE CAN ALSO SMELL IT
Company’s specialising in oil prospecting are moving into Tanzania from all over the world.

Managing Director of the Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) Yona Killagane announced that technical and financial programmes were going on to evaluate the petroleum potential of the areas to be explored. Seismic and hydrocarbon tests had shown that a large area of Tanzania’s coastal belt, the Rufiji river valley and delta, and the western flank of the Great Rift Valley in Rukwa region had potential for oil. The cumulative seismic coverage owned by companies for exploration is approximately 52,000 km -of which 28,000km is offshore and 24,000 km onshore, including the interior rift basins.

BRIGHT PROSPECTS
Mr Killagane said: “Based on the work so far done, the prospects look bright and that is why companies are still signing up for more work.”

On June 9 the East African reported that Shell Exploration of the Netherlands had joined the search for oil and hoped to strike it in five to eight years following negotiations for exploration between Shell and the TPDC). Shell (T) Ltd. Chairman Mike Bowers confirmed that Shell Exploration had won a bid for four deep-sea exploration blocks East of Zanzibar and to prospect four deep-sea areas or ‘blocks’ in the Rufiji delta.

Petrobas of Brazil was reported to be bidding for a block about 24 kms East of Mafia island southeast of Dar es Salaam.

The French company Maurel and Prom was said to be hoping to drill on Mafia island and areas of Mkuranga district on the coastal mainland.

The Anglo-Irish Oil Exploration Company Aminex has signed a deal with Romania’s State-owned Petrom on Tanzanian’s offshore interest. Aminex said its wholly-owned Tanzanian subsidiary, Ndovu Resources, had signed an agreement with Petrom, under which Petrom will pay 50% of all costs of drilling and completing the two wells to earn a 30% working interest in the licence. The total cost of the two-well programme is estimated to be $15 million. The two companies have also reached initial agreement to use Petrom’s Orion type jack­up rig “Atlas” to drill the two wells on Nyuni.

Four months after the Minister’s speech, on October 1, it was announced that the ‘Bounty Oil and Gas Company‘ had commenced drilling at what is known as the Nyuni-1 petroleum exploration well some 30 kms off the coast of Tanzania, about 12 miles from the Songo Songo gas field at Kilwa where gas production should start this year. The Nyuni prospect may hold reserves of up to 260 million barrels of oil. The well is expected to reach oil at 3,000 metres under the sea. One of the many live oil seeps in the region is to be found on Nyuni Island, the small island after which the licence is named, and which also directly overlies the main Nyuni prospect now being drilled.

In time, reported the London Guardian (September 11) the whole western flank of the Rift Valley inland may be drilled, as seismic and hydrocarbon tests have shown that this too has potential for oil.

ECONOMICS OR CONSERVATION?
Giles Foden looked at the ecological implications for the islands of Zanzibar and Mafia in a report he sent to the London Guardian from Mafia island. He wrote: ‘The oil in Tanzania’s coastal belt was discovered in the 1960s but it is only recently, with western governments searching for alternative sources to the Middle East, that these paradise isles are being taken seriously as drilling sites . . . . . . ..With negotiations on Zanzibar bogged down between the island and the mainland over which should benefit (Zanzibar is unhappy with a proposed 60:40 split of profits), Mafia and its tiny neighbour Chole seem likely to see exploration, perhaps within a year. Mafia is about 30 miles (50km) long and 10 miles (17km) wide and is surrounded by a host of tiny islets; it is home to one of the world’s richest marine habitats -a marine reserve run by the Tanzanian government with support from the World Wildlife Fund. As well as fish (more than 400 species) and other marine life, from dolphins to both green and hawksbill turtles, the area is home to many species of birds, including black kites and lilac-breasted rollers. There are also said to be dugongs (sea cows), among the world’s rarest creatures, in these islands ….

Much of the area’s commerce has depended in the past on the monsoon winds that blow variously across the Indian ocean: the north-east monsoon (the kaskazi) from December to March and the south-east monsoon (the kusi) from April to November. It was these winds, filling the sails of dhows, which once made the area rich. Oil may do so again, but at what ecological cost?

Another factor in the mix is that the region is host to two Unesco world heritage sites: Zanzibar’s Stone Town and the ruins of the coastal city of Kilwa on the mainland. Shell said at the end of August that the company would avoid exploring or drilling on sites that carry these designations.

Commerce or conservation? It is not a simple stand-off, not least because oil companies are now much more alert to environmental issues than they used to be. Many sponsor environmental programmes. And as I learnt on my return to Mafia, deep-sea rigs can sometimes be an ecological benefit. I was told that fish collect round structures like rigs; they can act as artificial reefs, which is important when coral is being damaged, as a lack of coral has a massive effect on marine diversity.”

If there is to be a muafaka. or reconciliation between economics and conservation, the ecology of the whole coastline needs to be considered, not just that of the marine park.

EARLIER EXPLORATION
The first offshore exploration well in Tanzania was drilled by BP in the coastal basin in 1954 and encountered oil and gas. Six out of seven wells drilled at that time and over the next few years encountered oil and/or gas shows, two being potentially commercial gas discoveries. However, a lack of appropriate infrastructure, an inhospitable political regime and the ready availability of low cost oil elsewhere left Tanzania on the sidelines of the oil and gas industry ….. .

The dawn of the New Millennium has seen a resurgence of exploration interest along the entire East African margin, for both gas and oil, as fewer attractive opportunities remain available on the West African margin and the industrialised world increasingly seeks to replace its dependence on the Middle East with reserves in less controversial areas. (The demand for oil in China is growing spectacularly; in October 2003 China consumed 11% more than it had done in the same month of 2002 -The Times). Improved geological knowledge is being gained from a re-examination of existing data using up-to-date technology, challenging previously held views on the prospectivity for oil and gas.

Highly successful exploration programmes in countries along the West African coast, not taken seriously by many until quite recently, have led to a reappraisal by geoscientists of the gas and oil exploration potential of Tanzania. ‘

POLITICS

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With the next presidential and parliamentary elections now only a year away, political activity is increasing, especially in Zanzibar, where the next contest could again be very close between the Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM) the ruling party and the main opposition party, the Civic United Front (CUF), which has its stronghold in Zanzibar. Relations between the two parties are much better than they have been since the alleged rigging of the last two elections but, after the overwhelming success of CUF in the 17 by-elections held in Pemba on May 18 2003, many observers wonder whether CCM will this time allow the Zanzibar elections to be free and fair if it means CCM losing power in the isles.

There have been positive and negative developments during recent months. Among the positive ones:

THE MUAFAKA (CCM -CUF ACCORD)
The Sunday News (12th October) reported on a debate which had been relayed live on Television Zanzibar in which the leading participants were the co­chairmen of the Muafaka Implementation Accord Committee, Omar Ramadhani Mapuri of CCM and Abubakar Khamis Bakari of CUF. The subject was the implementation of the agreement. The co-chairmen jointly explained that the programmes within the agreement that had not then been implemented needed a lot of money to ensure a successful conclusion. As examples they gave the compensation of people whose houses were demolished and those who lost their jobs, because of the political crisis of 2001, as among items whose implementation was stalled due to shortage of funds. Both however, despite the shortcomings, said that they were satisfied with the speed at which the programmes were moving ahead. They listed several areas which had already been implemented including the appointment of a new Zanzibar Electoral Commission (ZEC) which includes members from the ruling and opposition parties and withdrawal of court cases of a political nature. Restoration of normal political life and good governance were among the great achievements of the Muafaka.

Mwananchi reported recently that the ZEC had presented to the Zanzibar Government proposals for the smooth conduct of future elections. In a report containing lessons learned from the May 18, 2003 well conducted by-elections in Pemba, the ZEC advised the Government to bank all funds received from donors and Government sources in the ZEC accounts as soon as possible. It suggested that ZEC, rather than state agents, should be allowed to procure its equipment needs because, according to the report, late delivery of equipment could cause chaos in the registration of voters. The ZEC also wants changes in the electoral law to accommodate a Permanent Voters Register.

Other recent developments are as follows:

USING THE COURTS?
The London Observer in a recent article on Zanzibar quoted Juma Duni Haji, Deputy Secretary-General of CUF in Zanzibar, as being worried. Although he is reported to think that the Government will hold back from using violence again (in the next elections) they may instead, he says, use the courts to try to stop the opposition winning. “They know they cannot use force any more as people are so much more motivated and conscious of their rights” he said. “If they use force again there will be a lot of bloodshed, so they may use the courts as an alternative” ….For now, the situation remains calm but if the international community is concerned to avoid the potential terrorism dangers they claim to see then fair handling of the next elections ….must surely be the top priority. This is the best route to avoid further social and political instability, and any attendant alienation or radicalisation it might bring …… Some worry that an opposition victory could lead to a break-up of the Union with mainland Tanzania, and that the CUF opposition party could introduce Sharia law. Juma Duni Haji said that government politicians label the opposition party ‘Islamic’ because they want to create a connotation of Islamic and terrorism. Tanzanian law does not in fact allow religious political parties. But opposition politicians talk of renegotiating the Union agreement in terms that are sometimes reminiscent of British Conservatives’ views on renegotiating the UK’s position in the EU…… ‘

ZANZIBAR GOVERNMENT BANS OPPOSITION NEWSPAPER
The Government of Zanzibar banned the publication, distribution and sale of the popular weekly newspaper Dira in Tanzania with effect from November 28. Minister of State in the Zanzibar Chief Minister’s Office, Salim Juma Othman, said that the ban had to be imposed because Dira was creating enmity between the Government and its people by inciting them to break laws through reminding them of their bad history, promoting tribalism, religious segregation and publishing seditious information. The Government had shown a high degree of tolerance, he said, but the publishers of Dira had not changed their attitude. The newspaper had been telling lies that had threatened national unity. He accused the newspaper of not recognising the Government, misusing press freedom and fomenting tribal hatred between Isle and Mainland citizens. Othman pledged that the Government would continue to respect freedom of the press and cooperate with all media institutions which respected the laws of the land, safeguarded national interests, upheld democracy and recognised the right to privacy of an individual. Othman was also quoted as saying that the editorial board of Dira had failed to reform and abide by journalistic ethics despite being advised over seven times, including by the Tanzania Media Council.

According to Mwananchi, among the complaints of the Government against Dira were its claims that President Karume was not a Zanzibari. It had investigated his family in order to tarnish the image of Karume’s father, founder leader of Zanzibar, the late Sheikh Abeid Amani Karume. A few weeks earlier the High Court in Zanzibar had ordered Dira to compensate two children of President Karume, with Shs 660m/-for libel. Dira had earlier complained that the Government had declared Dira Managing Editor, Ali Mohamed Nabwa, as not being Tanzanian, but rather a Comore national. The Dira Editorial Board is chaired by Ismail Jussa Ladhu who is also the assistant to CUF Secretary General, Seif Hamad and also a member of the Presidential Commission for overseeing the implementation of the Muafaka.

The CCM party in the Urban West Region of Zanzibar welcomed the Government’s decision and said it would contribute to building national unity and tranquility in the Isles. It accused the paper of being not only a threat to peace and national unity, but as also having distorted the history of the Zanzibar revolution and subsequent establishment of the United Republic of Tanzania.

CUF Secretary General Seif Shariff Hamad, described the ban as contrary to freedom of expression as enshrined in the Zanzibar constitution. He said his party did not see any meaningful reason to warrant the ban. According to Section 18 of the Zanzibar Constitution, he said, every individual was entitled to freedom of expression without regard to national boundaries. He challenged the Isles’ Government to nurture a culture of tolerance when criticized, in order to strengthen democracy and the rule of law. If Zanzibar President Amani Karume wanted people to take him seriously as a believer in democracy and respect for the constitution, he should repeal the ban, he said. On December 4th the Guardian reported that the Zanzibar Government had threatened to take legal action against the editorial board if it attempted to publish the paper on the intern et. He said the newspaper was registered m Zanzibar, and the Isles formed part of the Union.

An editorial in Mwananchi called for both the Dira management and the Government to cool down and work together for the betterment of the nation.

STRONG LANGUAGE
According to Mwananchi and Mtanzania CUF Chairman Professor Ibrahim Lipumba has warned that if the Permanent Voters Register is not prepared in time before the 2005 general elections President Mkapa should prepare for trouble. Speaking to newly elected CUF leaders in Dar es Salaam Region Lipumba said his party would not again allow what he described as ‘vote stealing like in 1995 and vote robbing like in 2000.’ He called on the CUP leadership in Dar es Salaam to work hard because the party’s winning in Zanzibar depended very much on its strength in Dar Es Salaam.

According to Nipashe CUF Secretary General Seif Shariff Hamad, who also leads the party in Zanzibar, when closing a recent meeting in Dar es Salaam, said that CUP would get many seats in the 2005 general elections and nothing would deny it a win, not even ‘the hiring by CCM of fake voters from the mainland as had happened in the 2000 elections or the rigging of the elections as in 1995.’ Hamad called on CUP members to prepare to defend their 2005 win at all costs.

He said that Zanzibar President Karume was the main obstacle to implementation of the Muafaka and added that reconstitution of the High Court for Zanzibar, freedom for the media organs in the isles and establishment of a new Zanzibar Electoral Commission (ZEC) Secretariat had yet to be implemented in accordance with the Muafaka.

Early in December Seif Shariff raised the stakes again, according to Nipashe, by claiming that clandestine movements were underway to remove the post of President of Zanzibar from the list of elected posts. The Vice-President of Tanzania would then become the leader of Zanzibar instead of an elected Zanzibar President. Hamad and his followers vowed to fight the plan because, if successful, it would wipe out the state of Zanzibar, turning it into a region of Tanzania. Addressing a rally at Kibandamaiti grounds in Zanzibar West, Bamad said the proponents of the move wanted the plan to be effected before the 2005 elections. He said that highly placed intelligence officers working with the Union Government had hatched the deal as one way of saving the ruling CCM party from losing heavily in the elections.

Again in early December Mwananchi reported that Seif Hamad had accused the Zanzibar Government of recruiting more personnel from the mainland to join the Zanzibar Anti-smuggling Unit, the Prisons Service, the National Service and the National Volunteer Service (KVZ) in preparation for a showdown with the opposition in 2005. Seif Hamad told journalists that there would not be a Muafaka III. He had been informed, he said, that the plan was to employ 500 youths every six months between now and October 2005. According to the Muafaka II agreement no police or army personnel from the mainland would be deployed in Zanzibar during Zanzibar elections.

THREE CCM ELDERS WANT TO CLOSE DOWN CUF
Concern amongst some CCM members about the next elections was exemplified when Nipashe reported that three CCM ‘stalwarts’ had sought the deletion of CUF from the list of officially recognised political parties. In their application, they claimed that CUF was a ‘terrorist party’ and that some CUF members had uttered dangerous political utterances which could threaten the constitutional fabric and hence jeopardise the security of the state. But the Judge in the case said that the application ‘failed miserably for lack of merit’ and it was dismissed with costs. Principal State Attorney Donald Chidowu pointed out that CCM­-CUF political relations had improved in the correct direction, leave alone the fact that CUF had not contravened any of the provisions of the law on political parties.

NEW ZANZIBAR PARTY SPLITTING?
One of the two new parties established late last year in Zanzibar, SAFINA, (which, according to Mtanzania advocates the breaking up of the Union between the mainland and Zanzibar) is rumoured to have split. It has not yet obtained permanent registration. According to sources in Zanzibar, quoted in Mwananchi, some top leaders from SAFINA have formed another party called HIDAYA.

They said SAFINA leaders from Zanzibar North district including Abu Amour, the brother of former Zanzibar President Salmin Amour, allegedly received money from the ruling CCM and left the party to form HIDAYA. SAFINA Publicity Secretary Omar Awesu Dadi confirmed the reports of the split saying those who had left the party received bribes from CCM.

‘UNNECESSARY TERROR WARNINGS’
Kirsty Hughes writing in the London Observer (September 21) said that the threat to Zanzibar’s idyllic peace came from within the Isles (the political situation) not from terrorism….. She went on: ‘US and British warnings of high risks of terrorism are threatening …. Zanzibar’s economy….. How real is this threat? The website for the Foreign and Commonwealth office describes all of Tanzania including Zanzibar as being at high risk from global terror, citing the May bomb attacks in Riyadh in Saudi Arabia as evidence that the terror threat remains real. Why terror attacks in Saudi Arabia should indicate a terrorist threat in Tanzania is not obvious. Throwing a general warning over not only the Middle East but East Africa too surely suggests an approach that is either too casual or too general. Tanzania is, after all, despite being one of the poorest countries in the world, also a remarkably stable society, and one where tensions between the Christian majority and large Muslim minority are mostly few and far between. And in Zanzibar, it is local rather than international politics that have been destabilising in recent years. The Zanzibar islands, unlike the mainland, are predominantly Muslim but Zanzibar has long been a cosmopolitan crossroads, mixing African, Arab, Indian and other cultures….. Zanzibar is perhaps being unfairly penalised not only for its Muslim population and by the general international nervousness over security, but also for its location -a relatively short distance south down the coast from Mombassa in Kenya -where terrorists last year bombed a hotel and attempted to shoot down an Israeli plane. Tanzania too has seen terrorist attacks with the bombing of the US embassy in Dar es Salaam in 1998 -but that was the mainland and not Zanzibar. ……Unnecessary or over strong terror warnings have the potential to create not only economic problems but also political resentment. The US and UK warnings have certainly impacted on the economy in Zanzibar. Tourism fell sharply in the first three months of last year, and while numbers are rising again, American and British tourists are few. All hotels, whether local or foreign, have had to pay more attention to security; the FBI has been in to provide advice on security, and even small hotels often have armed guards at night. And travelling across the island police road checks seem to pop up every 10 kilometres. Many see the terror warnings as unfair and damaging, yet there is little anti-American -or anti-British -feeling evident. The fall-off in tourists is a cause of complaint, but while tourists are welcome, the activities of some of the foreign investors chasing the tourist dollar are not always equally so….. ‘

BUSINESS AND THE ECONOMY

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HIS BEST EVER
Karl Lyimo wrote with considerable enthusiasm in the Dar ‘Business Times’ describing President Mkapa’s regular monthly radio address to Tanzanians on September 30 as his best ever. He went on: ‘In it the President had vowed to try his hardest during his presidential tailpiece to transform the informal sector from a wayward economic waif into acceptability. Briefly put, Mkapa articulated upon the need to harness the dead capital that is rife in the informal sector and formally hitch it to the mainstream ‘formal’ economy….. Hitherto, the President said, the authorities in Tanzania, including the Government, had looked askance at the so-called informal sector, virtually treating it with disdain…. No longer. From now own, the focus would be on transforming it by harnessing it to the mainstream economy…. In the manner of a visionary on the Road to Damascus, Mkapa, by the Grace of God, had kept rendezvous with Reality itself. And this could only be a good thing for Tanzania and Tanzanians. Seemingly for eons, governments had fought running battles with the so-called informal sector of the economy in the mistaken belief that it was always up to mischief. The sector was given names such as the Black Economy, the Underground Economy, the Extra-Legal Economy -and more. Those operating in it were officially regarded as being no more than tax-evading villains, cheats and public enemies out to swindle the Government of revenue even as they sought its protection and its services. Then, on September 30 Mkapa had told Tanzanians that one of his major final missions as president would be to ensure that those in the informal sector would be enabled to enjoy the fruits of their labour under the umbrella of the mainstream economy. Their assets, which were not much more than dead capital today, would be turned into live capital.. …… to generate and regenerate wealth above-board ….. With his characteristic frankness, Mkapa admitted to the possibility that the Government and its institutions may have largely been to blame for what has been happening to the informal sector. Antediluvian laws and overly bureaucratic procedures may have served to shut the informal sector out of the mainstream economy. Corrupt public officials may also have contributed to the problem …. All these issues had to be looked into, and the requisite changes made so as to effectuate the revolution that was needed to rewrite economic history in Tanzania …..Detailed research had to be undertaken to establish who owned what, where and how much (value) in the informal sector. This should enable registration and certification of the assets so that the requisite steps could be taken to formalise the ownership, and embark on the road to bringing the dead capital to life………………… ‘

IN DEFENCE OF PRIVATISATION AND OF SOUTH AFRICAN INVESTMENT
In the midst of increasing criticism of South African investment in Tanzania President Mkapa tackled the issue head on in a speech on November 6. Quoted in the Guardian, he said that singling out South African investors for criticism was myopic; they were among the most successful foreign investors in the country. South Africa was better suited as a source of Foreign Direct Investment because of its proximity and its more realistic assessment of risk, one not unduly coloured by a biased and prejudicial international media. He said South Africans did not run away from challenges; they took them in their stride. When South African Breweries came to Tanzania, in their first years they experienced water and power shortages. They did not whine, or walk away … They built their own back-up power and water system. “It is such investors that are ideal for our particular circumstances in Tanzania: problem solvers, not problem identifiers; doers not whiners,” he said.

The President then went on to praise privatisation. He said he felt sorry for critics who picked on a few of the unsuccessful privatised firms to discredit the whole privatisation exercise. “I am an optimist, I prefer to use successful privatisations, such as that of Tanzania Breweries, to show that the decision of my party, CCM, to bring the private sector into the economy is the correct one.

It was correct when we began, it remains correct today, and it will be correct in the foreseeable future until someone comes up with a better framework to unleash human creativity, initiative, and entrepreneurship,” he said. He also said that, while demanding the extra revenue the Government gets from the private sector, the cynics wanted to retain labour laws meant for a socialist economy. “They enjoy the abundant supply of cold, quality beer in the evening; even as they debate the ignoble notion that Mkapa is selling the economy to foreigners, their bete-noire being South Africa,” he said.

HARBOURS AUTHORITY
The government has decided to lease activities of the Tanzania Harbours Authority (THA) to private operators, as part of its privatisation exercise. Communications and Transport Minister, Prof Mark Mwandosya, announced the establishment of a new body to be known as the ‘Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA).

TANESCO
The Tanzania Electric Supply Company (TANESCO) has sought funding from the World Bank to the tune of 70m US Dollars (Shs 70 billion/-) for upgrading the electricity networks in Dar es Salaam, Arusha and Kilimanjaro regions. Managing Director Rudy Huysen said that the new TANESCO management had used a report already prepared by the Japanese International Co-operation Agency on upgrading of these power systems. Unfortunately, he added, no studies had been undertaken for other towns, which could enable TANESCO to seek donor support. The TANESCO Chief said that after attaining the company’s financial turn around, the management was currently busy working on the technical side in order to improve the quality of power supply. “We are glad that during the past seven months, only one grid-related failure has occurred which lasted for only two hours,” Huysen remarked. He attributed this performance to the implementation of maintenance projects undertaken in recent months. Regarding the current bad hydrology, Huysen said that half of TANESCO’s revenue was being spent on purchasing energy from Independent Power Tanzania Ltd (IPTL). There were plans in the near future to generate power using the Ubungo gas turbines although it would be expensive to do so as it would cost 12 US cents per unit (kWh) compared to 7 US cents that TANESCO sells to its customers.

TANESCO planned to layoff 1,060 workers at the end of September according to Deputy Managing Director, Steve van Staden, quoted in the Guardian. Van Staden said the retrenchment would be implemented in accordance with the voluntary agreement signed between union leaders and the management. TANESCO had targeted a 20% retrenchment of its workforce which stood at 6,331.

NATIONAL MICRO-FINANCE BANK
In mid-November, after much controversy, Parliament finally endorsed a Bill for privatisation of the National Micro-Finance Bank (NMB). Minister for Finance, Basil Mramba, said it was agreed that the bank should be privatised through a share structure under which 51 % of shares would go to Tanzanians (30% owned directly by the government; 21 % by individual Tanzanians, including workers of the NMB). The remaining 49% would go to a consortium of investors from within and outside the country. “We want to consolidate the capital base of this bank so as to improve micro-finance lending facilities” he said. He added: “The NMB has a weak capital base. It needs a capital of at least 27bn/-to build a strong foundation of customers’ deposits amounting to 395bn/-.” Other reasons for the divestiture of the bank were the need to acquire modem technology and credible management. He said that currently the NMB had offered credit amounting to only 18.7 bn/-, while the total market for micro-finance loans amounted to 50bn/-. The Minister also said that the bank had 15 branches, which had been incurring losses, and another 37 branches, which had been recording very small profit margins

COOPERATIVES
Tanzania would spend TShs 8bn to revamp the cooperative movement, Cooperatives and Markets Minister George Kahama told the Moshi Cooperative College convocation on December 6. He said 200 cooperative officers had already been trained so that they could help undertake the project democratically and commercially for the benefit of members. The project was being funded by the Norwegian Government. According to the Minister the college would be able to enroll between 3,000 and 7,000 students a year in a 10-year period Guardian.

LIVESTOCK RANCHES
The Government has announced that a number of state owned livestock ranches (covering 4 million hectares) will be subleased to investors; the National Ranching Company will retain only 20,000 hectares. The remaining areas will be subdivided into 4000-hectare mini-ranches for Tanzanian pastoralists. But the newly formed ‘Tanzania Pastoralists, Hunters and Gatherers Organisation’ (TAPHGO) and MPs from Ngorongoro, Longido and Simajiro have protested about what they describe as the secrecy of the privatisation process -Guardian.

EUAID
The European Union and the Government have signed an agreement that will see the EU provide US $131 million in budgetary support for work in basic education, primary health, rural roads, water, HIV/AIDS, agriculture and the judiciary over the next two years. Total EU support to Tanzania in 2003 was estimated to have totaled $160.9 million -more than any other country in Africa. Tanzania was being favoured because of its considerable poverty, large population and its successful macro-economic and sectoral policy reforms.

FOOD SHORTAGES

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Mwananchi has reported that the Government has put in place strategies to fight hunger now facing half of the country. State Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office (Policy Development) William Lukuvi, said the Government had rushed 7,215 tons of food aid to 16-mainland districts worst hit by hunger. He said transportation money had also been provided so that the food aid could be transported from warehouses in the south of the country to hunger stricken districts. The long drought and floods in recent years plus the effects of the Aids pandemic have reduced food production in Tanzania, including maize, the staple food. The worst affected regions are the centre and north. The World Food Programme is planning to provide 45,000 tons of food aid over the six-month period starting in December. The United States has agreed to provide 15,000 Tones of maize. Minister for Water and Livestock Development, Edward Lowasa, has told the 32nd Session of the FAO Conference in Rome in December that Tanzania is facing a slow-down in economic growth prompted by two consecutive years of rain deficiency. “We are keeping our fingers crossed that seasonal rains will be normal, otherwise we will have a second year of food deficits which will exert pressure on the government budget and lead to a slow-down in economic growth.”

NEW BRITISH HIGH COMMISSIONER

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Dr Andrew Pocock

Dr Andrew Pocock (48) has been appointed British High Commissioner in Dar es Salaam in succession to Mr Richard Clarke, who is retiring from the diplomatic Service. Dr Pocock took up his new appointment in November. He first entered the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1981 and since then has held diplomatic posts in Lagos, Washington and Canberra; he has been Head of the Southern Africa Department of the Foreign Office since 2001.

Dr Pocock presented his credentials to President Mkapa at the State House on November 8. He was reported in the press to have said that his Government was satisfied with the various economic and political developments initiated and implemented by the Third Phase government which were ingredients for stability. He added that Tanzania, being one of the most peaceful countries in the world with abundant natural resources and investment attraction, had every opportunity for development. On his part, President Mkapa thanked the British Government for its support to various development activities in the country. He said that the brotherly relationship between the United Kingdom and Tanzania, based on trust and openness, was commendable. The President said that the United Kingdom was the first country to support Tanzania during the economic transition, which he started implementing after becoming head of state. The President praised the British government for being the first country to resume aid to Zanzibar immediately after the accord (Muafaka) between CCM and CUF.

PRIMARY EDUCATION -GREAT PROGRESS

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The Sunday New (12th October) featured the considerable progress being made on the implementation of the re-introduced Universal Primary Education (UPE) Programme. Extracts: ‘Tanzania has been pumping money into education for the past three years in accordance with its Poverty Reduction Strategy paper. Recurrent education spending has risen from a $159 million in 1999/2000 to $693 million in 2003/2004. These funds have enabled the Government to build 20,000 classrooms and employ 10,000 teachers during the last two years. Pupils also have more desks and textbooks in their classrooms than ever before…. When school fees were abolished two years ago enrolment figures quickly doubled. Gross enrolment has increased to 100 per cent from 70 per cent in 2000…….. But some experts are questioning this success story saying that little progress has been made in the Standards Seven exam pass rate and hence the numbers moving from primary to secondary education. Even though education spending as a percentage of GDP had risen from 3.1 per cent in 1999 to 5.1 per cent in 2003 it was still well low compared to countries such as Kenya (6.5 per cent), South Africa (8 per cent) and Botswana (10 per cent).