TANZANIA IN THE INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

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by Donovan McGrath

Ethiopian, Tanzanian bag top honours at Addis fashion event – East African (7-13 May 2012)

Items by designer Doreen Mashika www.doreenmashika.com

Extract: ‘Ethiopia’s Mafi and Tanzania’s Doreen Mashika are the winners of this year’s Origin of Africa Designer Showcase in partnership with the Hub of Africa Fashion Week… Mashika took home the Ethical Fashion Award and the US Retailer Award – the two awards introduced this year. The US Retailers Award, from OneStopPlus.com, the online fashion mall, includes a supply contract while the Ethical Fashion Award includes the chance to participate in the Ethical Fashion Show in Paris… This year’s event, held at the African Union Conference Centre in Addis Ababa , featured established and upcoming fashion designers from Ethiopia, Nigeria, Mozambique, Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, Somalia and Tanzania.’

Tanzania: Popular herbal cure-all “ineffective” – IRN News
Extract: Dar es Salaam, 2 August 2012 (PlusNews) – A widely used concoction administered by Tanzanian herbalist Ambilikile Mwasapile (see TA 99) is ineffective, the country’s Health Minister, Hussein Mwinyi, has said. Mwasapile, a former Lutheran pastor who claims God revealed the treatment to him in a dream, has drawn hundreds of thousands to his home in Samunge village, Loliondo, in northern Tanzania’s Ngorongoro district, over the past 18 months. Believers claim it can cure a variety of diseases, including diabetes, cancer, tuberculosis and HIV. At the peak of his popularity, he was seeing up to 2,000 patients per day, each paying 500 Tanzanian shillings (about US$0.32) for one cup of the liquid. Mwinyi told parliament in Dodoma, the administrative capital, on 31 July that studies conducted over the past year found no discernible difference between people who used it and those who did not… Despite the warnings, many HIV-positive people abandoned their life-prolonging antiretroviral treatment after taking Mwasapile’s herbs.’

Tanzania’s hospitals hit hard by brain drain as sacked doctors seek jobs abroad – East African (16-22 July 2012)

Extract: ‘Investigations by The East African reveal that numerous doctors, nurses and midwives are leaving for Namibia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland. The move to leave the country follows the Medical Council of Tanganyika decision to cancel the provisional registration of more than 360 internship doctors who were involved in the recent strike… Namala Mkopi, president of the Medical Association of Tanzania, said they had pleaded with the doctors not to leave due to the invaluable services they offered. But the doctors said it was the only alternative given the government was in no hurry to resolve the situation… The government has already set aside Tsh200 billion ($100 million) to employ foreign doctors. The amount is way above the cost of training a doctor in country – Tsh100 m ($64,034) over five years.’

Flare-up – BBC Focus On Africa

‘Against a backdrop of soaring prices and growing demand, recent discoveries of oil and gas in East Africa seem too good to be true …’

Extract continues: ‘… Speaking on national television, [Kenyan] President Mwai Kibaki announced that oil had been struck in the East African Rift System in the northern county of Turkana. A further drill in May by the Anglo-Irish Tullow Oil and its Canadian partner Africa Oil, proved successful in the same Ngamia-1 concession which borders Ethiopia… Land-locked Uganda is only one example, amongst others, of a growing trend to prospect for oil in uncharted territories in East Africa. Global companies have been drilling or buying up exploration blocks off the coast of Mozambique, Tanzania and Kenya. But smaller exploration firms such as Ophir, Afren, Africa Oil and Premier Oil have been also scouting less conventional grounds for “black gold”

… However many fear that states have much more to do if they want to secure a fair share of revenues, and more importantly ensure that these revenues benefit the people and not only a small clique of politicians and business elites… Tanzania is drafting a new strategy to accommodate its future status as a “gas economy” and the expected inflow of billions of dollars in foreign investment. A gas and petroleum revenue management bill is expected to be drafted by the end of the year… The scale of gas discoveries in and off East Africa is unprecedented and has led many to believe that there must be more… [T]he fact that the region seems under explored naturally fuels more hope and even a sense of anticipation … where natural gas is found there is a good chance that oil will be found too.’

Dar gets wind energy plant – East African (16-22 April 2012)

Extract: ‘The managing director of state-run National Development Corporation (NDC), Gideon Nasari, confirmed the parastatal has secured a $123 million non-concessional loan from Exim Bank of Beijing China… The Singida wind park is expected to have an installed capacity of 1,800 MW when fully operational in the next five years… The demand for power in Tanzania is growing by more than 50 MW a year, fuelled partly by an expansion of mining undertak­ings in parts of the country. Currently, hydro is the major source of electricity in Tanzania… Wind power on a commercial scale is unknown in sub-Saharan Africa despite the existence of consistently strong winds …’

Brewers launch battle for African market – Sunday Telegraph (3 June 2012)
Extract: ‘A marketing war has erupted among drinks giants as they vie for a bigger slice of the continent’s growing wealth’

Extract continues: ‘An advertising war has broken out on the streets of Dar es Salaam between TBL, the country’s biggest brewer, and its arch rival Serengeti … Industry veterans such a SABMiller executive chairman Graham Mackay are now referring to Africa as the most important growth story of the next decade… Over the next two decades consumer companies are forecasting Africa will be hit by a positive “perfect storm” of a booming population, above aver­age GDP growth and riches generated by rapidly expanding mining and energy industries… Twelve out of the 25 fastest-growing economies in the world are on the African continent… But it is also estimated that 75pc of the drinks mar­ket on the continent is still dominated by cheap home brews or illicit spirits.’

Barclays to redeploy staff and close 10 branches in Tanzania – East African (28 May- 3 June 2012)

Extract: ‘Barclays Bank managing director Kihara Maina said the decision was geared towards ensuring they delivered services according to expectations… The bank said interests of the affected employees would be looked after in accordance with the country’s laws and Barclays policies.’

Man who lost legs as a child scales Kilimanjaro – Telegraph (21 June 2012)

Spencer West on the summit of Kilimanjaro

‘A man who lost both his legs as a child has become the first to scale Mount Kilimanjaro using his hands.’ Extract continues: ‘Spencer West, 31, from Toronto, Canada, reached the summit of the 19,342 ft mountain … after trekking for seven days. He climbed most of the journey on his hands, spending only 20 per cent of the trek in a custom-made wheelchair when the terrain wasn’t as steep or rocky. Mr West had his legs amputated below the knee when he was three-years old due to a genetic disorder – sacral agenesis. When he was five he had to have the rest of his legs removed below the pelvis… Mr West, who spent one year training for the expedition, scaled Africa’s highest peak with his two best friends David Johnson and Alex Meers… Only 50 per cent of those who attempt the mountain usually make it to the top.’

$1m fibre-optic network for cities – East African (14-20 May 2012)
Extract: ‘The project will be implemented in three phases. The first phase, which has already commenced in Dar es Salaam, will take six to eight months to complete.’

Extract continues: ‘[The fibre-optic] network is being set up in Tanzania to link the country’s major towns and improve connectivity between urban and rural areas… The second phase will involve connecting capital cities to the fibre network, while the third phase will focus on connecting remote towns still using satellite technology. Low Internet connectivity and high costs have been major hindrances to the government’s efforts to attract investments to the country… Six Telecoms along with its venture partners have already laid 15,000 kilometres of fibre in the region covering all major cities and towns in the East African Community. Sub-Saharan Africa continues to be the most digitally isolated region in the world …’

City lawyer “lost her £200,000 job after exposing corruption” – Telegraph (6 June 12)

‘A lawyer was sacked from her £200,000 a year job with a City law firm after she blew the whistle on corruption in the firm’s African section, a tribunal heard.’

Extract continues: ‘Krista Bates van Winkelhof says she was fired shortly after revealing bribes were being paid to gain clients and ensure results in Tanzania… Ms van Winkelhof, who was educated at UCL … was rated the number one lawyer in Tanzania by PLC Which Lawyer? and was also praised for “bringing a new energy and experience to the Tanzanian market”. In December 2009 she accepted a contract from Clydes making her an equity member and offering her future promotion… But the following year she had become alarmed at the behaviour of Ako Law’s managing partner, Kibuta Ongwamuhana, and worried he was paying bribes, the tribunal heard… Kibuta had admitted to her that he paid bribes to secure work and to secure the outcome of cases. “This allegation is denied by Clyde and forms the basis of the claimant’s whistleblowing complaint.” She was sacked by Ako Law … and returned to London … to discuss allegations made against her with bosses at Clyde …

[S]he was sacked from Clyde [and] now works for Anjarwalla and Khanna in Nairobi. Judge [Peter] Clerk [presiding over the hearing in London] said: “It is her case that her expulsion was a detriment on the grounds that she had made protected disclosures in respect of Kibuta, and/or amounted to unlawful sex discrimination on the grounds that a male partner would not have been treated in that way or it was pregnancy related. “She had recently informed Clyde that she was pregnant.” Clyde denies her allegations and also argued that the London tribunal did not have jurisdiction over the matter. The allegations were to do with the African firm, they said. But Judge Clerk rejected this claim and said the case could proceed.’

How climate change has got Worldwide Fund for Nature bamboozled – Telegraph (5 May 2012)

‘WWF has travelled too far from its original aim, to protect endangered species.’

Extract continues: ‘What a strange body the WWF (formerly the World Wildlife Fund, now the Worldwide Fund for Nature) has become these days. It is the largest, richest and most influential environmental lobbying organisation in the world. Originally set up in 1961 by Julian Huxley, Prince Philip, Prince Bernhard and others, for the admirable purpose of campaigning to save species endangered by human activity, it has morphed in the last 20 years into some­thing very different, more akin to a multinational corporation…

The chief reason why it has so greatly increased its wealth and influence is that it has joined other lobby groups, such as Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace, in pushing to the top of its agenda that most fashionable and lucrative of environmental causes, the “battle to halt climate change”. But this has led WWF into some rather odd little tangles, such as those which have recently emerged over its activities in Tanzania. Much of its work there is carried out under a UN climate change policy known as REDD+ (“Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation”)…

Last November, Prince Charles, as president of WWF UK, flew to Tanzania to hand out “Living Planet” awards to five “community leaders” involved in WWF projects around the delta of the Rufiji River, which holds the world’s largest mangrove forest. Part of their intention has been to halt further damage to the forest by local farmers, who have been clearing it to grow rice and coconuts. This is because the mangroves store unusual amounts of “carbon” (CO2), viewed as the major contributor to global warming. (Another WWF project in the delta is to find a way of measuring just how great a threat release of that CO2 might be.)

Shortly before the Prince’s arrival, it was revealed that thousands of villagers had been evicted from the forest, their huts in the paddy fields torched and their coconut palms felled. This was carried out by the Tanzanian government’s Forestry and Beekeeping Division, with which WWF has been working. But Stephen Makiri, the head of WWF Tanzania, was quick to insist that WWF had never advocated expelling communities from the delta, and that “the evictions were carried out by government agencies”. At this point, however, two American professors intervened. They had just published a study of the delta in an environmental journal, entitled “The REDD menace: resurgent protec­tionism in mangrove forests”. It was highly critical of the so-called “forest conservation” policy advocated by WWF under REDD+, claiming that it was seriously damaging the traditional life of those local communities which had been sustainably farming and fishing in the area for centuries…

Just how far WWF has travelled from the noble purpose for which it was set up was perfectly symbolised by the way it chose as its chief marketing tool the slogan “Adopt a polar bear”. If this organisation still had concern for endangered species closest to its heart, it would know that the idea that polar bears are dying out due to global warming is no more than sentimental propaganda. But then that is the main business that WWF now seems to be in – very much at the expense of the rest of us and, of course, those communities in the Rufiji delta.’

Tanzanian children with HIV to wear red ribbons on uniforms – Telegraph (18 March 2012)

‘Schoolchildren in Tanzania are being made to wear a red ribbon on their uniforms to show that they are HIV positive.’

Extract continues: ‘… Mohammed Lukema, head of Kibaha Primary School, said parents had asked for their children to wear ribbons if they were infected so they could be excused from strenuous duties at the rural school, such as sweeping the compound and fetching and carrying water… Msafiri Thomas was leading an HIV/Aids community awareness scheme in the area when practice of putting ribbons on pupils emerged in a focus group.

“It was raised by parents, teachers and school leavers and seems to have been happening for some time,” he told The Daily Telegraph. “The general feeling was that it wasn’t a good thing because life is hard enough for students living with HIV without making life harder for them at school. Students wearing these ribbons are sometimes shunned by other pupils who don’t want to share or be near them because they fear they will be infected. There must be another [way] to help these children.” Rebecca Mshumbusi, chairperson of the Kibaha Association of People Living with HIV/Aids, said that forcing children to reveal their status was not only unethical but illegal.’

Tanzanian police foil $30m “Great Plane Robbery” gold heist – Telegraph (6 January 2012)

‘Tanzanian police have foiled a $30.6m (£19.8m) bullion robbery, which would have rivalled the £25m Brinks Mat gold heist from Heathrow in 1983 if it had succeeded.’

Extract continues: ‘In the latest security incident to hit the country’s miners, five masked men raided an airstrip owned by AngloGold Ashanti. The heavily-armed men emerged from a nearby forest and attempted to steal 587 kilogrammes of gold bars from an aeroplane at the group’s Geita mine, Reuters reported. The attack was thwarted by police from Mwanza … Raids on gold mines are not uncommon in Tanzania. In May last year seven “criminal intruders” were killed at one of African Barrick Gold’s mines in the north of the country. It was estimated that 1,500 people took part in this raid, attacking local police with machetes, rocks and hammers. As a result, FTSE 100-listed African Barrick said … that it planned to build a 14 kilometre long wall around its North Mara mine to prevent future incursions… The Geita mine is the largest producing mine in Tanzania. The country’s economy is mostly based on agriculture, but it has vast quantities of unexploited natural resources.’

SPORT

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by Philip Richards

Olympics London 2012
Tanzania were represented by seven athletes in the London Olympics which started on 27 July – three marathon runners, a long distance track runner (5000m), a boxer (welterweight) and two swimmers (100m freestyle). Their training base was Bradford College.

Success for Tanzania was long overdue, with the last medal being won 32 years ago at the Moscow Olympics of 1980. The Daily News reported that, in responding to a claim that Tanzania’s poor showing on the global sporting stage should be a cue to not participating at all and thus avoiding embarrassment, Deputy Minister for Information, Youth, Culture and Sports, Amos Makala, said that the key to future medal success was rather to invest in longer term youth development programmes.

On the other hand, lack of funding and administrative wrangling still appears to hamper sporting success. The former was singled out by ex-Olympic champion Filbert Bayi, who suggested that until more investment was made, the nation should temper their exaggerated expectations of returns in the form of medals (Daily News 5 July). However, The Guardian reported a great deal of excitement around a reward of Tsh 3m, courtesy of a retired army general, to any athlete who brought home a medal – and this in addition to a reported Tsh10m offered by the Tanzania Olympic Committee!

In the event, Tanzania unfortunately failed to secure any medals in London. The marathon runners finished 33rd and 66th respectively – the winner being Ugandan Stephen Kiprotich. None of the other Tanzanian athletes reached their respective finals.

Paralympics – London 2012
The Guardian reported that Zaharani Mwenemti was awarded the sole place offered to Tanzania and will compete in the discus and shot-put.

Football
In seeking to qualify for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, Taifa Stars (the Tanzanian national side) are currently in second place in Group C (Cote d’Ivoire, Morocco and Gambia) with three points.. The Stars lost 2-0 to Ivory Coast in Abijan, but won 2-1 at home against Gambia. The next assignment will be a challenging one against one of Africa’s strongest nations, Morocco, in March 2013. The Daily News (21 July) reported Kim Poulsen, the Danish-born head coach, as saying that he would be looking for plenty of friendly matches to be organised in advance of that key game to prepare the players.

Unfortunately, in the other high profile football tournament in Africa, the 2013 African Nations Cup, Tanzania were knocked out by Mozambique in a penalty shoot out.

On a more positive note, Tanzania has been moving back up the FIFA rankings in the last few months, though they still rank at a position of 127 (out of 205) and have some way to go to surpass their highest ever ranking of 70 achieved in 1995 (FIFA.com).
Thanks to Erick Lihuluku of PwC in Dar es Salaam for his contribution to the above.

Other sports
We hope to cover a variety of sports in future issues. We know that rugby union and cricket are popular, in addition to athletics and soccer. If you would like to hear about a specific sport or have anything to contribute, please let us know.

OBITUARIES

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Jennifer Longford, née Stevenson, has died at the age of 82. After graduating in English at St Andrew’s University she trained as a teacher and was posted to Tabora Girls’ School in 1955. She fell deeply in love with the country and made lifelong friendships, notably with fellow teacher Peggy Fowler (later Elwell-Sutton) who recently died at the age of 98. On Christmas Eve 1955 Jennifer was invited to dinner at the Governor’s Lodge in Lushoto. Sir Edward Twining’s private secretary, Michael Longford, opened the door to her and, he later wrote in his book The Flags Changed at Midnight, “as soon as I saw Jennifer I knew at once that this was the girl I was going to marry.” He proposed in a rainstorm ten days later, and on their marriage in June 1956, he took up a post as District Officer in Tabora to enable her to go on teaching. They later moved to Mahenge and then to Lindi, where Michael was District Commissioner, finally returning to England with their three children in 1962.

Jennifer continued to teach at her local secondary school in Surrey, but she and Michael never lost their love for and interest in Tanzania.Later Jennifer returned for a visit, the highlight of which was being reunited with some of her former pupils. She was delighted to be asked to teach her eldest grandson Swahili before he went to work at an orphanage in Arusha, and last year her silver wedding present to her elder daughter, Ruth, was an unforgettable trip, with her husband, to the country where Ruth was born. Michael died in 2005, after 49 years of very happy marriage. Jennifer continued to live in their Surrey cottage, with friends and family nearby, until her own death in March 2012.

REVIEWS

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by John Cooper-Poole

COLLOQUIAL SWAHILI, THE COMPLETE COURSE FOR BEGINNERS by Donovan Mcgrath and Lutz Marten. Routledge ISBN 9780415580687. p/b £24.99. Pack of book + CD £39.27. CD £24.29.

COMPREHENSIVE SWAHILI-ENGLISH DICTIONARY by Mohamed A. Mohamed. East African Educational Publishers Ltd. SLP 32737, Kijito-Nyama, Dar es Salaam. ISBN 9789966258120

There are several different kinds of foreign Swahili students. Some are the Perennial Beginners, for whom a spritely ‘jambo?’ or badly pronounced ‘habari gani?’ is about as far as interest and investment in the language ever goes. Others are the Swahili Tourists, for whom Swahili learning revolves around a holiday or short visit to East Africa, and focuses on tourist-friendly phrases such as, ‘What time is the next ferry to Zanzibar?’, or, ‘Excuse me, do you know the way to Uhuru Peak?’

Then there are the Swahili Long-Termers – the volunteers, missionaries, NGO workers and private business reps – who take the language on with varying degrees of gusto and success. In the weeks before first travelling to East Africa, the Long-Termer invariably does online research, investing in a beginner course in Swahili, and embarking on the long journey towards the ultimate goal of language fluency. On arrival in-country, the Long-Termer joins one of the many Swahili language schools, brim-full of other newly arrived long-termers, all eagerly beavering away at their verb tense markers and noun classes.

As the months go by, the Long-Termers enthusiasm begins to diminish, and they start dropping off and fading away from their fluency dream. The majority end up wistfully remembering their eager-beaver days, when they still had a language lust, now long since extinguished and excused by ‘not having enough time’, or ‘everyone at work speaks English anyway’. The few who last the course are now to be found in bars and cafés reading the Swahili newspapers whilst chatting with their Tanzanian friends. The language lust is alive and well with these trusty few.

And then there are the Kiswahili Scholars. These are the university students, who read and write Swahili poetry for pleasure, and can expound ad infinitum on subjects like the locative copulas of -ko, -po and –mo. These serious exponents of all-things-Swahili worship at the altar of the greatest Kiswahili dictionary of them all: the 1981 ‘Kamusi ya Kiswahili Sanifu’ by the Institute of Kiswahili Research at the University of Dar-es-Salaam. No Kiswahili Scholar’s satchel is complete without their battered and dog-eared copy inside.

Well, now there are two new(ish) books out there, vying to earn their own place in the hearts of the Swahili language learner, whether Perennial Beginner, Swahili Tourist, Long Termer, or Kiswahili Scholar (you know which one you are).

First up is ‘Colloquial Swahili: The Complete Course for Beginners’ by Donovan McGrath and Lutz Marten, a step-by-step language course designed for self-study or classroom use. The course is built around 14 units, each based on three dialogues on the accompanying CDs. The dialogues are designed to describe situations from everyday Swahili life (introducing yourself, telling the time, going to a wedding, buying food from the window of a bus, and the like), whilst introducing the vocabulary and structures needed to talk about them.

It is a very well thought-out and structured book, and smoothly guides the learner through a lot of otherwise complex and unwieldy grammatical constructs. This is high praise indeed, especially considering the number of less logical and non-user­friendly Swahili language courses on the market. This makes ‘Colloquial Swahili’ a great choice of language course, whether you are a Perennial Beginner, Swahili Tourist, Long-Termer, or Scholar. ‘Colloquial Swahili’ is currently the standard textbook for First Year Swahili students at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) , the pantheon of Swahili learning in the UK. If it works for them, then it can surely work for you.

‘Colloquial Swahili’ is better suited as a classroom course than for self-study. The secret of the success of any beginner’s course is hooking the student early enough. If the learner can get past the first few units or chapters, then they are far more likely to last the course. ‘Colloquial Swahili’ jumps headlong into the deep-end of business in Unit One, with roughly 50 words of vocabulary and instructions on how to use the possessive pronoun. There is a danger that many readers are going to drop out too early. In the hands of a good teacher, however, the book comes alive for the Swahili learner. Don’t fall by the wayside like those poor Long-Termers, not lasting the course.

The ‘Comprehensive Swahili-English Dictionary’ by Professor Mohamed A. Mohamed is published by East African Educational Publishers. With over 60,000 entries (it is indeed a weighty tome), Professor Mohamed’s dictionary describes itself as offering ‘the most current use of the language among Swahili speakers today’ and that it mainly targets a bilingual audience. I can vouch for this last point, for when I looked up the word ‘panda’ (whose many meanings include: climb, grow, fork, increase in number and bet), the first word that came back at me was ‘bifurcation’. I then had to reach for an English dictionary to find out what ‘bifurcation’ meant (hint: it’s to do with the fork).

The problem with any Swahili-English dictionary is that it will always be compared with the great ‘Standard Swahili-English Dictionary’ by Johnson, the Grand-Daddy of Swahili dictionaries and now more than 70 years old. One of the great things for me about Johnson’s dictionary is the way it lists multi­ple words according to their root verb. Hence the entry for the verb –chunga (meaning ‘to herd’, or ‘take care of’) includes other verbs derived from the root verb such as –chunguza (‘to investigate’), and –chungulia (‘to watch closely’). In Professor Mohamed’s dictionary, though, these words take separate entries, and I can’t help feeling that I preferred it in the old Johnson way.

Another minor niggle is that despite being a modern dictionary (published in 2011), it doesn’t contain enough modern Swahili words. Sure, plenty of new words appear, especially relating to science and technology. But there is a distinct lack of the enormous number of words entering the Kiswahili lexicon via slang and popular culture. A modern dictionary needs to capture the vibrancy of modern street Swahili if it is to be truly modern.

But I think I am just bifurcating hairs here. Professor Mohamed’s comprehensive dictionary adds much value to the study of Kiswahili language, and will be a welcome addition and trusty friend to all Swahili students. It is the best Swahili-English dictionary I have seen apart from Johnson’s classic.

So, whether you are a Perennial Beginner, Swahili Tourist, Long-Termer or Kiswahili Scholar, there is plenty for all of you in ‘Colloquial Swahili’ and the ‘Comprehensive Swahili-English Dictionary’. To keep that dream of Kiswahili fluency alive, you could do much worse than get yourselves copies of both of these valuable books, and jump right on in. As the Waswahili say, ‘Mwenye macho haambiwi tazama’ -‘someone with eyes does not need to be told to look’.

Jimmy Innes

THIRD MAN IN HAVANA, by Tom Rodwell. Corinthian Books, London, 2012. xvii + 286 pages. Hardback £14.99.

With the sub-title ‘Finding the heart of cricket in the world’s most unlikely places’, the current chairman, of The Lord’s Taverners has written an uplifting series of tales of bringing cricket to many of the world’s disadvantaged people. It started, almost by accident, in India and then progressed through Cuba, USA, Panama, Sri Lanka and Israel before taking on challenges across Africa.

Tom Rodwell and his small coaching team developed contacts at the highest levels and thus received meaningful sponsorship and the authority to help blind (either totally or partially) and otherwise disabled children in Tanzania. As part of their East African Disability Cricket Programme, the team carried out their work at the University of Dar es Salaam, where they were ably supported by the Tanzanian national side. There were two noteworthy postscripts to that work: the great progress of the disabled children at Morogoro, thanks to a member of the Morogoro Teachers College who attended the sessions at the University; and the introduction by the author of the Tanzanian national cricketers to the club scene in England. An entertaining and heartening book, with chapters on Uganda, Rwanda and Sierra Leone as well. If only there were more people like Tom Rodwell in the world ….
David Kelly

MY LIFE by Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck: translated from the German by James Pierce, published by Rilling Enterprises, 5307 Loves Park, Illinois USA 2012. ISBN-13:978-0-615547-28-2

Colonel Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck famously commanded the Schutztruppe (roughly equivalent to the King’s African Rifles) in German East Africa throughout the 1914-18 War. His definitive account of that war was published as Memories of East Africa in 1919. This autobiography, written when he was 87, sets the African campaign in the broader context of his long life.

Von Lettow begins with a detailed account of his family history, Prussia’s ruthless expansion in the nineteenth century and his early military career. A spell of duty in German Southwest Africa (now Namibia) during the Herero revolt was a useful preparation for his posting to East Africa. He defied the Governor (Schnee), who wanted to declare the colony neutral, and won a surprise victory over a larger British force at Tanga. He continued fighting against heavy odds until a fortnight after the 1918 Armistice. His summary of the campaign is more selective than his 1919 account, but he adds details from his post-war conversations with Field Marshal Smuts and other British commanders.

He returned to Germany as an undefeated general and was given a hero’s welcome. However, things did not run smoothly for him. Germany in 1919 was in turmoil and he was dismissed from the army. Inflation eroded his pension and he had to work as a sales manager to make ends meet. In 1928 he was elected to the Reichstag for the German National People’s Party (DNVP), but his party supported Hitler’s appointment as Chancellor and the Nazis took control.

To his credit, von Lettow chose to leave public life rather than join the Nazi party, but he was impressed with the ‘Prussian spirit’ of the Nazis and writes: ‘conditions in the concentration camps were not known to the public and the attacks on the Jews were, at least in part, believed to be justified.’ Even though he was unimpressed by Hitler at their one meeting, he admits that ’Hitler did tremendous things for Germany.’ When invited to join a plot against Hitler in 1944, he declined – partly because he believed that Hitler had a secret weapon which would win the war.

The 1939-45 War was disastrous for von Lettow –his two sons were killed in action and his home in Bremen was destroyed by bombing. But he retained his Prussian spirit and complains about the ‘English’ military occupation force for not allowing him to retain his car and his hunting rifles. In the chapter on his farewell tour of Africa in 1956,his comments on the prospects for African independence reflect contemporary right-wing opinion but now seem very dated, if not racist.

Von Lettow was not the only German officer to be initially sympathetic to the Nazis, nor was he the only writer in the 1950s who believed colonial rule would continue for many years. Whatever errors of judgement are revealed in this autobiography, he will always be remembered for his exploits in the 1914-18 war, and above all for his ability to win the respect and loyalty of his African troops.
John Sankey

DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH

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by Hugh Wenban-Smith

This is a further summary report of development research in Tanzania, culled from journals in the library of the London School of Economics. It covers the period January to June 2012. The format is: Journal title; Volume and issue number; Author(s); Article title; Short abstract (in square brackets, sometimes abbreviated but otherwise as published).

Environment and Urbanization, Vol 24(1) – Hooper M & Ortolano L
“Motivation for slum dweller social movement participation in urban Africa: A study of mobilization in Kurasini, Dar es Salaam”. This paper examines what motivates the participation of African slum dwell­ers in urban social movement.. This issue is analyzed through a case study of grassroots mobilization around evictions in Kurasini ward, Dar es Salaam. The paper uses an analytic narrative approach to account for patterns in participatory behaviour, drawing on both quantitative and qualitative data gathered through interviews with 81 slum dwellers. The study shows that, contrary to the expectation of movement leaders, property owners were significantly more likely than renters to participate in a risky and time-consuming mobilization effort. The study identifies three factors that favoured owner participation: the nature of expected pay-offs from participation; greater belief in the efficacy of action; and greater connection to place.

Journal of Development Economics, Vol 98(1) – Beegle K, de Weerdt J, Friedman J & Gibson J “Methods of household consumption measurement through surveys: Experimental results from Tanzania”. A field experiment in Tanzania tests eight alternative methods of measuring household consumption, finding significant differences between consumption reported by the benchmark personal diary and other diary and recall formats.

Journal of Development Studies, Vol 48(2) – Pederson R H “Decoupled implementation of New Wave land reforms: Decentralisation and local governance of land in Tanzania”. Decentralisation is a key element in the new wave of land reforms that have been introduced in sub-Saharan Africa. However, not much research has been carried out into their implementation at the local level. Consequently, reforms are described in old-fashioned terms. Through comparative case studies in Tanzania, this article examines implementation as a process consisting of multiple administrative layers and potential actors. It concludes that implementation is slow and uneven due to the decoupling of layers within the formal land administration. Greater attention should be directed towards the local level as a part of the land administrative structure.

Journal of Development Studies, Vol 48(3) – Hermes N, Kihanga E, Lensink R & Lutz C “The impact of trade credit on customer switching behaviour: Evidence from the Tanzanian rice market”. Primary survey data is used to analyze the relationship between trade credit and customer switching in the context of trade transactions between wholesalers and retailers in the Tanzanian rice market. Results reveal a negative relation of trade credit and customer switching, that is, trade credit acts as a switching barrier; retailers are reluctant to move to another supplier if they depend on trade as a source of external finance.

Journal of Development Studies, Vol 48(4) – D’Exelle B, van Campenhout B & Lecoutere E “Modernisation and time preferences in Tanzania: Evidence from a large-scale elicitation exercise”. Assumptions about individual time preferences are important for explanations of poverty and development. Data from a large-scale elicitation exercise in Tanzania show significantly higher levels of impatience in urban areas than rural areas. This result remains robust to adding controls for socio-economic differences between rural and urban areas, which possibly correlate with time preferences due to differences in modernization between urban and rural areas, leading to increased impatience. This is corroborated by the observed positive correlation between impatience and education; the latter being an important vehicle of modernization for traditional societies in Tanzania.

Journal of International Development, Vol 24(2) – Robbins G &Perkins D “Mining FDI and infrastructure development on Africa’s East Coast: Examining the recent experience of Tanzania and Mozambique”. Since the turn of the century, Tanzania and Mozambique have emerged as leading performers in Africa’s foreign direct investment stakes. In both countries, the demands placed on infrastructure to enable these investments have presented some significant challenges. Caught amid high debt, low state revenue and weak capacity, the performance of infrastructure has been widely reported as a constraint to growth. Lessons learned from how these countries have responded to these challenges provide some insight as to the degree to which potential synergies can be crafted around inflows of mining-related foreign direct investment and enhancements to the infrastructure networks.

Review of Development Economics, Vol 16(3) – Arndt C, Farmer W, Strzepek K & Thurlow J “Climate change, agriculture and food security in Tanzania”. Due to their reliance on rain-fed agriculture, both as a source of income and consumption, many low income countries are considered to be the most vulnerable to climate change. Here we estimate the impact of climate change on food security in Tanzania. These results are in turn imposed on a highly disaggregated recursive dynamic economy-wide model of Tanzania. Relative to a no-climate-change baseline, and considering domestic agricultural production as the channel of impact, food security in Tanzania appears likely to deteriorate as a consequence of climate change. The analysis points to a high degree of diversity of outcomes (including some favourable outcomes).

Review of Development Economics, Vol 16(3) – Ahmed SA, Diffenbaugh NS, Hertel TW & Martin WJ “Agriculture and trade opportunities for Tanzania: Past volatility and future climate change”. Given global heterogeneity in climate-induced agricultural variability, Tanzania has the potential to substantially increase its maize exports to other countries. If global maize production is lower than usual owing to supply shocks in major exporting regions, Tanzania may be able to export more maize at higher prices, even if it experiences below trend productivity. Diverse destinations for exports can allow for enhanced trading opportunities when negative supply shocks affect usual import sources. Future climate predictions suggest that some of Tanzania’s trading partners will experience severe dry conditions that may reduce agricultural production in years when Tanzania is only mildly affected. Tanzania could thus export grain as climate change increases the likelihood of severe precipitation deficits in other countries while simultaneously decreasing the likelihood of severe precipitation deficits in Tanzania. Trade restrictions, like export bans, prevent Tanzania from taking advantage of these opportunities, foregoing significant economic benefits.

World Development, Vol 40(6) – Nielsen MR & Treue T “Hunting for the benefits of Joint Forest Management in the Eastern Afromontane biodi­versity hotspot: Effects on bushmeat hunters and wildlife in the Udzungwa Mountans”. Based on a seven year temporal comparison, the effect of joint forest manage­ment (JFM) in the new Dabaga Ulangambi Forest Reserve in the Udzungwa Mountains is evaluated. Using bushmeat hunting as an indicator, conservation outcomes, livelihood effects, and changes in governance are analyzed. Results show that JFM effectively reduced bushmeat hunting, thus facilitating wildlife recovery; but with negative consequences for hunters’ livelihoods. Problematic governance outcomes stemming from poor design and implementation of JFM furthermore undermined hunters’ willingness to comply with wildlife manage­ment rules. In combination, results suggest that JFM can work as intended if fundamental governance problems are adequately addressed.

World Development, Vol 40(8) – Pan L & Christiaensen L “Who is vouching for the Input Voucher: Decentralized targeting and elite capture in Tanzania”. Through decentralized targeting of input vouchers, new agricultural input subsidy programs aim to more effectively reach their objectives and target population, but lingering fears of elite capture remain. These are borne out in the 2009 input voucher program in Kilimanjaro. Sixty percent of the voucher beneficiaries were households with village officials. This significantly reduced the targeting performance of the program, especially in unequal and remote communities. When targeting the poor, greater coverage and concentration in higher trust settings mitigates these concerns.

Readers of this column more interested in politics than economics may also like to check out a group of four short articles in the Review of African Political Economy Vol 39(131): Cliffe L – “Theme: Tanzania at 50: Kicking off a debate on Tanzania’s 50 years of Independence”; Shivji IG – “Nationalism and pan-Africanism: Decisive moments in Nyerere’s intellectual and political thought”; Saul JS – “Tanzania 50 years on (1961-2011): Rethinking ujamaa, Nyerere and socialism”; and Cliffe L – “Fifty years of making sense of independence politics”.

In his opening piece, Cliffe says: “The hope is that [these articles] will raise enough issues and unanswered questions to spark off a continued debate in these columns on the lessons and legacy of the Tanzanian experience. Some articles and debate pieces by Tanzanians as well as outside observers, and on the more recent periods, are provisionally lined up for later issues, but here is an open call for others to consider engaging in this dialogue.” Over to you, dear readers!

LETTERS

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It is not often that my name is mentioned twice in the same magazine so I thought that readers who are interested in Tanzanian history and publications – post German – may like a bit more general information. The Institute of Commonwealth Studies at London University has published a brochure entitled “Administering Empire” with a list of pretty well all the publications of personal memoirs with an introduction by Tony Kirk-Greene CMG, MBE, FRHistS, Emeritus Fellow of St. Antony’s College, Oxford. The Tanganyika Rifles Officer who actually changed the flag at midnight is a friend of mine and lives nearby. To the list might be added “Towards Uhuru in Tanzania” by G. Andrew Maguire.

“Tanganyika Notes and Records” up to the time of Independence is also available on microfiche at the Rhodes House Mandela Library in Oxford which is part of the Bodleian Library, courtesy of the Government of Tanzania.

I am grateful to Dick Eberlie for his kind words about books written by former members of the Colonial Service which came to an end in 1966 when Her Majesty The Queen unveiled a Memorial at Westminster Abbey inscribed with the words “Whosoever will be Chief among you, let him be your Servant” which is a quote from the King James version of the Bible, St Matthew Chap XX verse 27.

Thereafter we became H.M.Overseas Civil Service. Tanzania was of course never a colony but a League of Nations Trusteeship Territory subject to annual visits by the United Nations. Settlement of immigrants from Europe and elsewhere was restricted as they could only hold leasehold land – not freehold. And Local Authority approval had to be obtained and compensation paid where appropriate. It was also prescribed by the Order in Council 1920 that “The interests of the indigenous population shall be paramount”.

I like to think that we honoured our mission.

Finally you mentioned one of my daughter’s two books.
“The Clever Rat and other African Tales” is available from Glenmore, Deanland Road, Balcombe, West Sussex, RH17 6LX Tel. 01444-811220 and “Tales of Abunuwas and Other African Stories” is published by “Mkuki na Nyota” at PO Box 4246, Dar es Salaam and available in England from Africa Books Collective, PO Box 721, Oxford, OX1 9EN. Prices are £12­99 and £15-95 respectively but cheaper on Amazon. Readers may like to know that these two books together retell in English with coloured illustrations (by English and Tanzanian artists respectively) the well known childrens’ stories “Hekaya za Abunuwas na Hadithi Nyingine” which has for many years been a primary school reader throughout Swahili speaking East African schools.

John Lewis-Barned

Large scale aid
Having read Theroux and de Waal, Robert Wise (TA 102) is concerned, rightly, ‘… about the effectiveness of large-scale aid which provides much money but fails to ensure local people are involved and trained.’ His concern will only be heightened by the East African piece entitled ‘So Homosexuality is unAfrican? What About Living on Handouts?’ (TA 102, p32), and had he also read Graham Hancock’s Lords of Poverty (now rather dated) and Dambiso Moyo’s Dead Aid (very current), he might start lobbying his MP!

I have written in to TA before on the subject, and won’t bore readers again with all the arguments against continuation of most ODA (official development assistance) to the LDCs. Just to relate a cautionary tale: a friend of mine, high up in DfID, some years ago, in response to my inveighing against the aid programme, cynically said, ‘If we (by which he meant the West) do not give it, China will gain undue influence in the LDCs’, thereby immediately revealing the kind of mindset which pervades Western governments, and, I hasten to add, many of the West’s huge charity bodies like Oxfam, SCF and World Vision: that aid-giving is a matter of international power politics and little else, as of course it was during the Cold War. ‘The West knows Best for the Rest’, as one might put it!

Mr Wise asks for monitoring and evaluation on small-scale projects. I would like to ask aid-giving governments and the UNO for the equivalent at the other end of the scale, because I have a sneaky feeling (often revealed by ‘think-tanks’) that much ODA aid has benefitted the First World rather more than the Third. Is it time, as Mr Wise infers, to concentrate on the usually more effective and efficient small-scale programmes, run, as often as not, on a volunteer basis, like the TDT’s?

In toto they are still ‘drops in the ocean’, but surely, after half-a-century of Independence in Africa, isn’t it time to withdraw the deadening hand of ODA, the mega-aid gravy-train? Most polls of taxpayers in the West show majorities in favour of doing so, and many Africans think likewise, if letters to the BBC Africa Service are any guide.
A.D.H. Leishman (Mr)

Biomass Fuels
I am particularly interested in the piece on Biomass Fuels in the last issue of TA. I wonder how this level of timber conservation is still possible. Sixty years ago the people of Ukerewe provided their own solution. They had a strong tradition of self-help manifested in the voluntary construction of roads, and, in the present context, growing their own firewood. The islands were even then densely populated and there was very little surviving ‘natural bush’ to provide firewood or building materials. Each household had to plant and maintain about half an acre of a fast growing deciduous tree and each village established a larger plantation for communal use.

Do these practices still exist in Ukerewe? Have they been adopted elsewhere in Ukerewe? They should perhaps be common practice.

Don Barton, District Commissioner, Ukerewe 1958-61.

TA ISSUE 102

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TA cover features a cartoon by Abdul Kingo which appeared in the local press following the Arumeru by-election result announcement.

Arumeru By-Election Bombshell
Big New Gas Discovery
Constitution Review Commission
Attempt to Remove PM fails
Soda Ash and the Flamingos

A pdf of the issue can be downloaded here

BY-ELECTION BOMBSHELL

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Chadema candidate Joshua Nassari speaks during the campaign at Ngarenanyuki (Michuzi)

Selection of local newspaper headlines following the by-election result

For what is believed to be the first time in some fifty years, Tanzania’s ruling party – the Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM) – has lost a parliamentary by-election. It happened on 1 April 2012 in the Arumeru East constituency, Arusha region. The result had been expected to be close, but in fact the rapidly growing leading opposition party, the Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (Chadema), won the seat comfortably.

The results were as follows:
Joshua Nassari Chadema 32,972 (54%)
Sioi Sumari CCM 26,757 (44%)

The CCM candidate was the son of the previous MP for the area who had died a few months earlier. He received support during the campaign from former President Benjamin Mkapa amongst others. There were six other candidates but they all got less than 100 votes. In a trend which is causing growing concern, only 60,696 voters, out of 120,000 who had registered, actually voted.

Political analysts have been having a field day in estimating how this result will influence the next general election in 2015. They note that Chadema has secured victory in all strategic constituencies in Northern Tanzania from Karatu and Arusha Urban to Arumeru (which borders the Moshi-Arusha road), Hai, Rombo and Moshi Urban. Many observers felt that the 50 year old CCM party had failed to respond adequately to the allegations levelled by Chadema that the country’s poverty was linked to the corrupt practices of some CCM officials.

CCM Ideology and Publicity Secretary Nape Nnayuye was quoted as saying that CCM had made radical reforms to check its weaknesses, including unethical conduct among the rank and file. He said that the party had reduced the problem of unethical conduct by 50 per cent.

CCM maintains high levels of support in rural areas but Chadema is gaining more and more support in towns and cities. One observer commented: ‘The era of CCM landslides is over, Chadema is emerging as a serious threat to CCM’s dominance while the small parties seem to be fading away’.

By-Election incidents
There were no major incidents on election day and the voting went smoothly. However, in the weeks before the by-election there were many incidents, most of them minor but a few involving violence. Several of the worst were during the initial selection of the party candidates where there was intense competition between senior party members.

Some of the CCM cadres who participated in the campaigns said: “There are some Chadema leaders who have been personally, or through their agents, going around Arumeru East collecting or sometimes buying voters’ cards.”

CCM cadres were said to have ‘hijacked’ a Chadema leader and later admitted that they had held one for interrogation but did not harm him. They said that they wanted to question the man as part of a follow-up on Chadema misdeeds. They were questioned by Usa River police but later let out on bail.
Chadema refuted reports that their cadres were buying voters’ cards. They said that they were only verifying the cards, using a permanent voters’ register, which was allowed by law.

CCM candidate Sioi said: “I’m contesting through a party which has a clean record on development….you have seen examples of the good projects which have been implemented by CCM….we have a record here of electing presidents and members of parliament by 100 per cent of the votes… Please vote for me to maintain the record”.

BOMBSHELL IN ZANZIBAR TOO

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As the ruling CCM party reeled from the shock by-election result in Mainland Tanzania, its CUF coalition partner in Zanzibar also suffered a shock. For many years there have been only two significant parties in the Isles – the ruling CCM, which has always come first in elections, and the Civic United Front (CUF) which is the accepted leading opposition party and has always come second. No other parties were of any significance.

However, when the results of the Uzini by-election (for a seat in the Zanzibar House of Representatives), following the death in a road accident of the incumbent, were announced, CUF found itself in third position!

The results were as follows:
CCM 5,377 Chadema 281 CUF 222 Two other parties 22
In the previous election CCM had got 2,187, CUF 383 and APT 124. There had been no Chadema candidate.

The ‘inquest’
An inquest (of some sort) by CUF was obviously required and soon took place.
The Citizen quoted Mji Mkongwe MP (in the House of Representatives) and CUF Deputy Secretary General for Zanzibar Ismail Jussa as attributing CUF’s defeat to ‘mainlanders and Christians’ living in the area who had not voted for CUF. He added that people from the mainland should not be employed in Zanzibar’s substantial tourist industry.

He immediately came under heavy attack from a cross-section of politicians. In an interview with The Citizen on Saturday, the leaders condemned remarks which could ‘incite serious sectarian divisions in the country.’ Speaking separately, the politicians demanded that Mr Jussa apologise for his remarks, which they warned could steer the country into a serious tribal or religious crisis. They said that Registrar of Political Parties John Tendwa should take stern action against Mr Jussa.
Among those who attacked the MP was the Deputy Minister for Communications and Transport and CUF MP for Wawi Hamad Rashid Mohammed. The Deputy Minister was quoted as saying “What we witnessed in Rwanda, Burundi or even Kenya started in a similar way. His actions are intolerable as they send the wrong message to the international community as far as Zanzibar’s Government of National Unity is concerned” He added that it was ironical for Mr Jussa to utter such words when his Mji Mkongwe constituency was home to different shades and colours of Zanzibaris.

Other MPs felt that the by-election defeat had had nothing to do with Christianity or Mainlanders in Uzini. It was attributed to what was termed as the party’s ‘diminishing influence and appeal.’ Following a debate in the House of Assembly Mr Jussa’s proposal on restricting employment of mainlanders in Zanzibar was defeated by a vote of 22 to 21 MPs.

Coalition troubles
The junior partner in the coalition government in Britain is beginning to show strains and something similar seems to be happening to the junior partner, CUF, in the Zanzibar government following the Uzini by-election.

Attacks have been made on Zanzibar First Vice President Seif Shariff Hamad, who has asked those eyeing his position as CUF Secretary General to hold their horses because he has not yet made a decision to retire from politics. Highly regarded as the doyen of political opposition in Zanzibar, he has led CUF in Zanzibar for nearly 20 years, and maintains that he does not fear challenges for the party’s top executive post. He has welcomed whoever wishes to challenge him to do so in the next internal elections scheduled for 2014. Speaking at a press conference in Zanzibar, Hamad said he was perplexed why some people were talking about CUF elections now, while the party polls were three years away.

The reason is that Wawi MP Hamad Rashid Mohammed had launched a campaign to market himself as a suitable replacement for Mr Shariff Hamad. The Wawi MP said he wanted to dislodge Mr Hamad because, as Zanzibar’s First VP, he could no longer serve the political interests of the opposition party efficiently. The Wawi MP was then expelled from the party. Later, two other CUF MPs defected.

Meanwhile, Mr Shariff Hamad had catalogued the achievements that the power-sharing government has registered during its first year of existence, including the creation of a peaceful and tranquil country. However, he said, there were still some challenges facing the government including cross-cutting issues such as drug abuse and trafficking, the environment and HIV/Aids.

BIG NEW GAS DISCOVERY

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Map of Tanzania oil/gas exploration zones (source Heritage Oil plc)

Tanzania is in the midst of a vast programme of energy development aimed at putting an end to the country’s repeated cuts in supply of electricity (see TA 101). And in March 2012 there was some very good news for Tanzanians:

BG Group announced a significant gas discovery from its Jodari-1 exploration well in Block 1, located approximately 39 km offshore southern Tanzania and in a water depth of 1,150 m. Their evaluation suggested gas reserves in the range of 2.5 to 4.4 trillion cubic feet (tcf). When combined with their previous discoveries (Chaza-1 in Block 1, and the Chewa-1 and Pweza-1 discoveries in Block 4), total gas reserves are estimated at up to 7 tcf. The gas was found in rock formed during the Oligocene epoch between 23 million and 34 million years ago; the same age of rock in which huge gas reserves were discovered recently off Mozambique by an American investor.

The partnership between BG Group (60% and operator) and Ophir Energy (40%) has had exploration successes in all four wells drilled so far in Tanzania, and their next target for drilling is the Mzia-1 location, about 23 kilometres to the north of Jodari-1.

BG Group is a world leader in natural gas, with a strategy focused on connecting competitively priced resources to specific, high-value markets. Active in more than 25 countries on five continents, BG Group claims that it combines a deep understanding of gas markets with a proven track record in finding and commercialising reserves. The Group emphasises however that the figures above are all forward-looking estimates and, as such, they are only predictions. Actual results may differ materially.

Ophir Energy is a conglomerate in which Indian Steel magnate Lakshmi Metal holds 14% of the shares, the hedge fund Och-Ziff (10%), the Polish millionaire Jan Kulkzic (10.6%), plus Tokyo Sexwale, the South African tycoon who was jailed with Nelson Mandela on Robben Island. Ophir’s chief executive Nick Cooper commented that Jodari 1 is the biggest discovery in the company’s history. Reacting to this exciting news, Ophir’s stock market valuation rose substantially on the London Stock Exchange.

Biomass fuels
Biomass-based fuels, namely firewood, charcoal and bio-residues, still dominate the energy balance in Tanzania, accounting for about 90 percent of the primary energy supply. About 42 million cubic metres of wood were consumed in Tanzania in 1999, of which 26 million cubic metres were consumed in rural areas as firewood and 14 million cubic metres in the urban areas mainly as charcoal. The fuel is used predominantly for household cooking and heating.

It is estimated that around 40,000 bags of charcoal enter Dar es Salaam city daily and a comparable amount enters the other major Tanzanian towns, a combined total consumption of around 2,650 tonnes each day. Wood and charcoal are technically renewable fuels with near zero net carbon emissions, since the amount of carbon dioxide emitted when they are burnt is equivalent to the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed when they were growing. However, their uncontrolled use is leading to deforestation and accompanying environmental problems such as soil erosion, and also to urban air quality problems. A forestry expert with Tanzania’s Natural Resources and Tourism Ministry, Stephen Bandoma, said charcoal use could be reduced if there were alternative energy such as natural gas and solar power. However, he added, “Many ordinary people cannot afford alternative energy and instead end up using charcoal. Few people can afford to buy Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) when the price of a cylinder has risen from TShs 20,000 two years ago to TShs 50,000.”

Energy efficient stoves manufacturered by TaTEDO (Lundgren - UNEP)


One way of improving the situation would be to make cooking stoves more efficient, and TaTEDO (Centre for Sustainable Modern Energy Expertise) among others have been promoting more energy efficient stoves for nearly two decades with modest success.

Alternative energy
Since 2006, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) has worked hard to raise awareness of alternative sources of energy. Their programme refers to a range of technologies, including solar-powered fridges for storing vaccines, road surfacing material made out of molasses, ships powered by the sun and grease-consuming bacteria.

A recent World Bank credit of $22.88 million includes funds for a study on the implementation of small hydropower projects in rural areas and capital subsidies to bring down the cost of energy. Investment opportunities exist for developing hydropower dams, solar photovoltaic systems and biomass based electricity co-generation in sugar, wood, and tea factories to provide electricity.

The rural energy projects developed with the help of the Bank will ultimately be owned and implemented largely by the private sector, NGOs and conservation initiatives, largely independent of the national utility, Tanzania Electric Supply Company Ltd (Tanesco). Nationally, total installed generation capacity is 1,219 MW, of which hydropower comprises 561 MW (46%) (Kidatu, Kihansi, Mtera, Pangani, Hale, and Nyumba ya Mungu) and thermal (gas and diesel) 658 MW (54%).

Warning on biofuel production
East African Cooperation Minister Samuel Sitta has revealed that the government is in the process of formulating a new policy on bio-energy production. He warned against growing bio-fuel products on vast lands without adequate research, saying that bio-energy production competes with food production and they do not complement each other. Sitta also cautioned that if precautions were not taken, production of bio-energy would turn villagers into labourers. The idea that government should direct more efforts to the production of jatropha was still theoretical. Special emphasis must be given to food production.

Business as Usual
The international oil firm Puma Energy, who took over BP’s operations in Tanzania in 2010, is planning a new $11 million investment to ensure sufficient oil and petroleum supply for domestic and industrial use. Maregesi Manyama explained to TA that the investment would be for construction of additional fuel storage tanks, re-branding retail and commercial sites and improving automation loading facilities.

Thanks to Judie and Thomas Mwarabu for sending a number of news items relating to energy from the Guardian. Other information from www.tatedo.org