Tanzanian Affairs Issued by the Britain-Tanzania Society

No 135 May 2023

President Samia Attends Opposition Event

Tundu Lissu Returns to Tanzania
Oil Pipeline Gets Approval
Ben Taylor: POLITICS

Tundu Lissu on his return to Tanzania

US Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff,

escorted by Tanzanian Vice President Philip Mpango
Cover shows President Samia Hassan and Freeman Mbowe at the BAWACHA
event - photo Ikulu
 President Samia Attends Opposition Event 3
President Samia Attends Opposition Event
In an unusual move by both sides, President Samia Suluhu Hassan
attended an event organised by BAWACHA, the women’s wing of the
opposition party, Chadema, in early March. The event was a celebration
of International Women’s Day.
At the event, held in Moshi, the President sat next to CHADEMA
national chairperson Freeman Mbowe, the person planning to remove
Samia’s party from office.
The President described her presence as “unprecedented”, going on
to describe Chadema as an ally in building a new culture of politics
in Tanzania. “The new way of doing politics won’t be accepted
immediately by everyone,” she told the Chadema women, who cheered
her every word. “There are hindrances on both sides, mine [within the
ruling party, CCM] and yours.”
For President Samia, the occasion signified her commitment to building
a new nation after almost seven years of divisive and polarising politics
under her predecessor. “For your assurance, reforms are happening that
will allow us to build a new nation, a Tanzanian nation with political
competition but without violence,” she explained. “That’s where we
want to go.”
She revealed that her decision to lift a ban on political rallies (see TA134)
was met with scepticism from CCM senior figures when she shared it
with them. “I presented the idea,” she said, and “a bitter debate ensued,
just like what Mbowe received when he invited me here.”
Much social media attention and argument accompanied Mr Mbowe’s
announcement that President Samia would grace a Chadema function,
with some describing the move as “colossal”. Recognising this
controversy, President Samia told Mr Mbowe: “So, Mr Chairman, it
turns out we both have conservatives in our parties.”
President Samia used the occasion to restate her commitment to
reviving the stalled constitution-writing process, acknowledging that
while she cannot go as fast as some stakeholders would like, the process
will commence as soon as practically possible.
“Nobody is saying no to demands for a new Constitution,” she said.
“Even my party has said let’s go and revive the process. So, very soon,
4 President Samia Attends Opposition Event
I’ll form a committee, after consulting other political parties, that will
carry it out.”
Speaking earlier during the event, Mr Mbowe drew the Presidents’
attention to how the administrative system in Tanzania has been
relegating supporters of opposition parties to the status of second-class
citizens, calling for deliberate interventions to change this.
“It is my hope, Madam President,” he said, “that your intention to
unify the nation will be adopted by those under you, those in your
government, [and] in various institutions responsible for dispensing
justice in our country.”
Mbowe told President Samia that “democracy can never be optional”
and that “no nation has ever prospered by embracing dictatorship and
discrimination.”
He assured Samia that while remaining open to the ongoing reconciliation
efforts, Chadema will stand strong in its duty as an opposition party to
hold the government accountable for its actions.

Tundu Lissu makes triumphant return with Dar rally

On Wednesday 25th January, 2023, Tundu Lissu made his much
awaited return to Tanzania. The former opposition party presidential
candidate, with Chadema in 2020, had been living in exile in Belgium
for more than five years, since he survived an assassination attempt in
September 2017.
Mr Lissu arrived in Tanzania shortly after midday, on a flight from
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. He was received by his supporters at the Julius
Nyerere International Airport before leading a procession to Temeke
grounds where his welcoming rally took place, attended by several
thousand.
Mr Lissu thanked his supporters for the reception they accorded him,
saying he’s “extremely happy” to be back in “my country.” “Living in
exile, being forced to do so because you fear for your life, is the most
difficult experience one can go through ever,” he stated in his 30-minute
address. “These past six years have been extremely difficult not just for
me but also for my family, the party and the country.”
Mr Lissu paused on his way into town to speak with some of his
 President Samia Attends Opposition Event 5
supporters, and later in his speech he recounted what they had said
to him. “How come the price of beans is the same as that of meat?”
they had asked. “The price of almost everything is up and people are
demanding that they should be lowered to allow them to live.”
He then related the people’s concerns with the ongoing demand for a
new Constitution, noting that almost all of the people’s problems have
their foundation in the current constitution that he called “outdated and
poor.”
“It is the President who is causing us all these hardships,” Lissu
explained. “This is not because President Samia is evil. No, it is because
the constitution we have allows her to decide how to tax us and how to
spend those taxes. And it is because of such presidential power, we have
been having corrupt presidents.”
Speaking during the rally, Chadema national chairperson Freeman
Mbowe underlined Mr Lissu’s call for a new Constitution. However, he
said, this will never happen if the people of Dar es Salaam will not stand
up and actively participate in the movement, urging Tanzanians to take
responsibility in defining the future of their country.

Commission to reform justice sector

President Samia Suluhu Hassan on Tuesday inaugurated a commission
to review the public bodies responsible for dispensing criminal justice
in Tanzania, with the goal of improving the justice system.
The President had previously announced the formation of the
commission against the backdrop of complaints from activists working
in the area of criminal justice, who called the system as unfair and
discriminatory. The President would appear to share this view, as she
described current state of the criminal justice system as “total chaos.”
She added that this “is not because we don’t have ethical guidelines in
this country but because those guidelines are not being observed.”
“As a consequence, people without power or money rarely get justice
in this country,” she said. “They have been forced to endure things no
one should endure. Money decides who gets justice and who doesn’t.”
The institutions that will form the subjects of the review include the
Tanzania Police Force, the Prevention and Combating of Corruption
6 President Samia Attends Opposition Event
Bureau (PCCB), the Drug Control and Enforcement Authority (DCEA),
the National Prosecutions Services and the Tanzania Prisons Service.
The President urged the commission to pay particular attention to the
Police Force, saying that it tops other institutions in terms of complaints
from the public. “If you ask 100 people what they consider to be the
most problematic institutions in terms of access to justice, 70 of them
will point at the Police Force,” she said.
The commission will be chaired by former Chief Justice Mohammed
Chande Othman, and will submit a preliminary report by the end of
May, 2023.
Other members of the commission include the former Chief Secretary
Ambassador Ombeni Sefue, the president of the Tanganyika Law
Society (TLS) Edward Hosea, the former president of the Zanzibar Law
Society (ZLS) Yahya Khamisi Hamad, the Attorney General Dr Eliezer
Feleshi, the permanent secretary for Public Service Management and
Good Governance Dr Laurean Ndumbaro, and two former Inspectors
General of the Police (IGP) Said Mwema and Ernest Mangu, along with
various others.

US Vice President Kamala Harris visits Tanzania

In early March 2023, President Samia Suluhu Hassan hosted a visit
from US Vice President Kamala Harris. The visit was billed variously
as an opportunity to promote trade and strengthen democracy, as well
as strategy to counter the increasing influence of China and Russia in
Africa.
Harris started her trip with three days in Ghana before flying to Dar es
Salaam, where she met with President Samia. The two leaders spoke to
the media before holding private talks.
Vice President Harris applauded the progress made by President Samia
on strengthening democracy in Tanzania, describing the President as “a
champion of democratic reforms in this country,” and explaining that
this had expanded the partnership between the two countries. “Today,
then, is part of the strengthening relationship between our countries
and, under your leadership, I have full confidence that we will be able
to do just that.”
 President Samia Attends Opposition Event 7
“Madam President, under your leadership Tanzania has taken important
and meaningful steps and President Joe Biden and I applaud you,”
Harris said, standing alongside Hassan.
Harris announced $560 million in U.S. assistance for Tanzania, some
of which will require congressional approval. The money is intended
to expand the countries’ trade relationship, as well as encourage
democratic governance.
Harris also mentioned a new partnership in 5G technology and
cybersecurity, as well as a U.S.-supported plan by LifeZone Metals
to open a new processing plant in Tanzania for minerals that go into
electric vehicle batteries.
“This project is an important and pioneering model, using innovative
and low-emission standards. Importantly, raw minerals will soon be
processed in Tanzania, by Tanzanians,” she said, adding that the plant
would deliver battery-grade nickel to the United States and the global
market from 2026.
President Samia made several requests of her guest, including an
expansion of the long-term visa program for Tanzanians in the U.S., a
10-year extension of the African Growth and Opportunity Act, and a
future presidential visit.
“Tanzanians are now anxiously waiting for President Joe Biden’s visit in
Tanzania,” she said. “And please kindly convey our greetings and our
invitation that Tanzania is waiting to host him.”
After the meeting, Vice President Harris visited a memorial to the U.S.
Embassy bombing in Tanzania in 1998, the day a simultaneous bombing
took place in Kenya. At the memorial, called “Hope Out of Sorrow,”
Harris shook hands with staff who were present during the attack in
Dar es Salaam, as well as the U.S. ambassador to Tanzania from that
time, Charles Stith.
Ben Taylor: TANZANIA-EU BUSINESS FORUM
February saw the maiden Tanzania-EU Business Forum in Dar es
Salaam, bringing together over 600 business leaders from the EU and
representatives of the Tanzanian government and business community.
Speaking at the event, Tanzania’s Vice-President, Dr Philip Mpango,
invited investors from the 27 EU member states to explore untapped
investment and business opportunities in Tanzania. He cited potential
areas for investment as agriculture and agro-processing for value
addition of local farm produce, as well as tourism, energy, mining, real
estate, transport and logistics.
Dr Mpango, also a former Finance Minister, assured delegates of a
conducive environment for trade and investment. “Just last year, the
government repealed the Investment Act of 1997 and enacted new
legislation that offers more incentives to strategic investors,” he said,
adding that Tanzania is among the fastest growing economies in the
sub-Saharan Africa at present.
At the same event, Dr Mpango urged Tanzanian businesspersons to
also explore and take advantage of investment and trade opportunities
in the EU.
Tanzania and the EU have been enjoying more cordial relations since
President Samia Suluhu Hassan came to power in March 2021. In
February 2022, the President visited the European Commission (EC)
headquarters in Brussels and met with Commission President, Ursula
Von der Leyen. Shortly after this meeting, the EU head of delegation to
Tanzania, Mr Manfredo Fanti, stated that investors in the 27-member
European bloc were happy with initiatives that the East African nation
was taking to improve its business climate, saying this would foster
increased Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows.
According to the 2022 EU Investment in Tanzania Report 2022, imports to
Tanzania from the EU were valued at €856 million in 2021, representing
12% of Tanzania’s imports, while exports stood at €456 million (10%).
The report, which was jointly prepared by the EU Delegation and the
European Business Group (EUBG), also found that over 100 companies
from the EU have invested in the country, creating an estimated 151,000
jobs.
Ben Taylor: DATA PROTECTION ACT
In late 2022, the parliament of Tanzania enacted the Personal Data
Protection Act – broadly an equivalent to the General Data Protection
Regulation (GDPR) of the European Union and the UK Data Protection
Act. The Act spells out the responsibilities for any organisation that
handles personal data of private individuals in Tanzania and provides
for the establishment of a Personal Data Protection Commission.
The law is yet to come into force, however, as it requires both
Presidential assent and for the Minister of Information, Communication
and Information Technology to publish notice in the official government
gazette stating the date when the Act will take effect.
The new law means Tanzania joins her East Africa Community (EAC)
peers, Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda, that already had Data Protection
Acts in place. It will help the country participate in the global digital
economy, as many countries have restrictions on doing business in
jurisdictions that lack protections for data privacy.
Among other things, the law requires that all data processors and
handlers must appoint a personal data protection officer, and outlines
criminal sanctions and fines for those who breach the legislation.
The Personal Data Protection Commission established by the Act is
tasked with registration of data collectors and processors, monitoring
the compliance of data collectors and processors with the Act, handling
complaints on the breach of data protection and the right to privacy,
and researching and monitoring technological development in relation
to data processing.
Any person or organisation that intends to collect or process data
in Tanzania will need to be registered by the Commission. The
Act also specifies that personal information may only be collected
where necessary and for a legitimate purpose. To ensure accuracy of
information, the Act places a duty on data collectors to take necessary
steps to confirm that data collected is complete, correct and consistent
with the purpose for which it was collected.
Disclosure of personal data without consent is punishable by a fine of
up to TSh 5 billion (approx. USD $2.1m) for the institution responsible,
and/or imprisonment for up to ten years for the individuals – including
10 Data Protection Act
responsible officers within an institution.
The Act does not prohibit the transfer of personal data to jurisdictions
outside the country, provided that such jurisdictions have a reliable
legal system for the protection of personal data, and the transfer is
necessary for a legitimate or public interest.
The Act also lays out the rights of individuals with respect to data held
about them. This includes the right to be informed of data collection and
processing as well as the purpose involved, the right to access the data
collected and processed, the right to object the processing of personal
data collected where such processing will lead to adverse impacts, the
right to rectify personal data to ensure its accuracy, and the right not to
be subject to automated decision making.
Stakeholders have given a cautious welcome to the new law. Maxence
Melo, the founder of Jamii Forums, a popular Tanzanian online forum,
said the law had been a long time coming, considering that the dream
for the bill dates back to 2014. Melo added that it is important to foster
data residency, meaning that personal data should be stored within the
country, as a measure to ensure the data met regional and international
data privacy standards.
However, others have expressed concerns that the law does not require
the subjects of data security breaches to be notified, and that it imposes
unnecessarily heavy restrictions on even small organisations handling
small amounts of data about – for example – job applicants, beneficiaries
of charitable work, or school students.

Ben Taylor: ENERGY & MINERALS

Controversial oil pipeline gets government approval
The government of Tanzania gave formal approval in February for
the construction of the USD $3.5bn East African Crude Oil Pipeline
(EACOP), despite human rights and environmental concerns around
the project. This followed official approval for the project from the
Ugandan government in January.
The 900-mile pipeline will transport crude from oilfields in Lake Albert
in north-western Uganda to the port of Tanga on the Indian Ocean,
passing not far from Singida and Kondoa [see TA 128]. The pipe will be
 Energy & Minerals 11
600mm diameter steel with heating to improve the fluidity of the oil,
and will require a 30m wide corridor over the entire route (Eacop.com).
The $10 billion oilfield and pipeline project is being jointly developed
by France’s TotalEnergies, the China National Offshore Oil Corporation
(CNOOC) and the state oil companies of Uganda and Tanzania. The
first oil is expected to flow in 2025.
“This construction approval marks another step forward to EACOP as
it allows commencement of the main construction activities in Tanzania,
upon completion of the ongoing land access process,” said EACOP
Tanzania general manager Wendy Brown.
The project has been hailed by some as an economic boon for both
countries, though it has run into strong opposition from human rights
and environmental campaigners, who say it threatens the region’s
fragile ecosystem and the livelihoods of tens of thousands of people.
Tanzania’s Energy Minister, January Makamba, dismissed the
environmental and rights concerns as “propaganda”, and said that all
environmental, safety and human rights standards have been complied
with. “We are proud of the pipeline because it will increase Tanzania’s
influence in the world,” he added.
The oil originates in two oilfields on Lake Albert. Drilling began in
January at the Kingfisher field on the south-eastern edge of the lake,
operated by CNOOC, while the second field on the lake’s northern
shore is being developed by TotalEnergies. This second field, known as
Tilenga, extends into Uganda’s largest national park, Murchison Falls.
At least 100 oil wells are reported to have been drilled inside the reserve.
There are an estimated 6.5 billion barrels of crude oil under the lake,
of which a little over 20% is thought to be recoverable. The reserves
are expected to last up to 30 years, with production peaking at 230,000
barrels a day. This would be sufficient to make Uganda the fourth-
largest hydrocarbon producer in sub-Saharan Africa.
The pipeline has been controversial for the potential damage it could
do to the environment and to people’s lives and livelihoods along the
route. Fishers on Lake Albert are already seeing pollution on the lake,
and one-third of EACOP will pass through the Lake Victoria watershed,
on which an estimated 40 million people depend for their livelihood.
“A leak along the pipeline could be a cataclysm,” said Hilda Flavia
12 Energy & Minerals
Nakabuye, a Ugandan activist, and “once consumed, the oil extracted
will emit nearly 34m tonnes of CO2 a year, six times the emissions of
Uganda”.
TotalEnergies is being sued in France by a group of NGOs for allegedly
failing to comply with the country’s 2017 duty-of-care law. The NGOs
are asking the Paris court to suspend TotalEnergies’ Ugandan projects,
claiming the company is in breach of their legal obligation to identify
and prevent human rights and environmental abuses resulting from its
own activities or those of its subcontractors.
Civil society organisations in Uganda have also fought against the
project, but have met with stiff resistance from the authorities. According
to reports, the army now has a regular presence across the oil-producing
region, journalists have been persecuted and human rights activists
hindered in their work. Dickens Kamugisha of the Africa Institute for
Energy Governance, a small NGO, explained that “the government
passed a law in 2016 designed to hinder the activity of NGOs. The aim
is to muzzle civil society”. Another activist, Maxwell Atuhura, is among
those to have been arrested over EACOP. “The more I informed people,
the more I was being watched,” he said. “It started with tailing, then
negative blurb about me on the local radio, and finally an arrest in May
2021. I spent two nights in jail. The police confiscated all my equipment
and threatened me, telling me that I was risking my life to continue my
work.” (The Nation, The Guardian)
President Samia calls for attention on Africa in the energy transition
President Samia Suluhu Hassan has called for western governments
and companies to focus on the needs of African countries when acting
to address climate change and steering the global energy transition. She
made the call in Davos, Switzerland, in January, on the sidelines of the
annual World Economic Forum (WEF).
President Samia said it was high time developed countries in Europe
and America put focus on producing energy from Africa, and that
resources in Africa could help smooth the energy transition. “Africa
could be another source of energy,” she said. “When it comes to green
energy, we have almost everything ranging from nickel, cobalt and
copper.”
She also reached out to private sector in developed countries to provide
 Energy & Minerals 13
funding for Africa to enable the continent to produce more energy from
natural gas. “It is true that we need energy transition but this should
take some time, we also need funding to embark on energy transition,”
Dr Samia appealed. She noted that there is high demand for energy in
the African continent amid the fourth industrial revolution which is
taking place across the globe.
Further, the President urged African countries to put more efforts in
strengthening regional power pools such as East African and Southern
Africa power pools, saying not enough has been done. “If we create
these power pools there will be no problems of shortage of energy
because whoever who will be having a crisis will be served by the
regional power pools,” she remarked.
She reminded leaders during the discussion that the energy transition
is a global problem which requires global solutions. “There is a need
for a multilateral approach in addressing the challenge,” she said, and
expressed her concerns that many developed countries are formulating
energy strategy unilaterally rather than engaging developing countries.
Speaking late in 2022 at the United Nations Climate Change Conference
(COP27) in Egypt, President Samia said Tanzania is taking a number
of initiatives aimed at mitigating the impacts of climate change for
sustainable development.
She said the government has adopted a national climate change
response strategy and contribution with a target of reducing greenhouse
gas emissions between 30 to 35 per cent by the year 2030. This includes
continuing to construct and expand rapid transport networks. She
explained that these are expected to reduce more than 900 million
tonnes of carbon emissions each year. (Daily News)
Agreement reached for new hydropower project in Kagera
The government of Tanzania, the African Development Bank (AfDB),
and the French Development Agency (AFD) have signed agreements for
two development project loans worth a total of $300 million to finance
the construction of the 88MW Kakono Hydropower Plant in Kagera
region. The project also received a grant of 36 million Euros from the
European Union (EU).
The project, to be implemented by the Electric Supply Company
 Lake
Victoria
UGANDA
TANZANIA

Route of East African

Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP)
(very approximate)
Kakona Dam
Approximate
area to be Elec
inundated tric
Tran
missio Kyaka Substation
n Li
ne

Bukoba

20km (apx)

Map showing location of the Katona Dam (background openstreetmap.org)

(TANESCO), will reportedly reduce greenhouse gas emissions by
an estimated 216,065 metric tons per year and comply with highest
international environmental and social standards. The government
expects that the project will serve four million people and increase the
service coverage rate by around 7% of the population.
Alongside the construction of the new hydropower plant, associated
infrastructure will be built, including upgrading the existing Kyaka
substation and a new 39-kilometre 220-kilovolt transmission line and
capacity building support for TANESCO.
The French Ambassador to Tanzania Nabil Hajlaoui said: “We have
heard President Samia Suluhu’s message. She aims to generate 5GW of
electricity by 2025. France is ready to be part of this journey by investing
in power generation and transmission projects to meet the rapidly
growing electricity demand while reducing the carbon intensity of its
energy mix.”
The concrete dam will be 51m in height above the river bed, creating a
reservoir which will extend about 28km upstream of the dam, with a
width of around 1.5km at the widest point. (AfDB)
Deals agreed with three Australian mining firms
President Samia Suluhu Hassan in April witnessed the signing of deals
 Dar es Salaam
Morogoro

Ngualla Rare Earth Project Iringa Julius Nyerere Hydropower

(Stiegler’s Gorge)
Ifakara

Epanko Graphite Project

Mbeya

Lindi
Chilalo Graphite Project Mtwara
Nachingwea

Songea Masasi

Map showing the locations of the three recently announced projects.

worth US$600 million with three different Australian companies as
Tanzania seeks to gain more from its vast wealth of minerals.
During a function at the State House in Dodoma, the President
witnessed her administration closing deals with Evolution Energy
Minerals Limited, EcoGraf Limited and Peak Rare Earth Limited.
With EcoGraf Limited, Tanzania agreed to the development and
operation of the Epanko Graphite Project in Morogoro. An initial
investment worth US$127.7 million will be made. With Peak Rare Earths
Limited, the government agreed to the development of the Ngualla
Rare Earth Project with an initial investment of US$439 million. With
Evolution Energy Minerals Limited, the Samia Administration agreed
to the development of the Chilalo Graphite Project in Lindi with an
initial investment worth US$100 million.

Dr Hildebrand Shayo: ECONOMIC OUTLOOK

2023/2024 budget amid thorny audit report
Tanzania’s national 2023/2024 budget debate is gaining thrust at a
time when numerous flaws have been exposed by the 2021/22 report
of the Controller and Auditors General (CAG), in addition to the
global economic outlook that remains thought-provoking, flimsy, and
16 Energy & Minerals
unclear. The Russian vs Ukraine situation that is impacting other major
economies might make this year’s 2023/2024 budget tricky.
The 2023/2024 national budget debate likewise is taking place at a time
when capital markets are not functioning efficiently, and unemployment
continues to persist as a major concern both at the national and global
levels, but nationally at the time when the sixth phase government has
been more transparent and embarrassing openness something which
led to exposing the number of losses in government expenditure and
revenue collection.
In these circumstances, advanced economies and important emerging
nations such as Tanzania will be facing difficult policy choices, to strike
a balance between the imperative of fiscal consolidation and the need
for sustainable economic recovery and growth.
For emerging and rising economies, the road to a sustained recovery
will continue to be challenged by several key concerns comprising
capital inflows volatility, risks of domestic credit and asset price
bubbles, commodity price instability, especially fuel and food prices,
and inadequate resources. This will be coupled with limited fiscal space
and large development needs, containing the need to achieve the MDGs.
Evaluation of economic trends and performance signals that the global
economy will continue to struggle financially. Despite the realisation of
unprecedented macroeconomic policy responses, including monetary
and fiscal measures undertaken, uncertainties will continue regarding
the path to economic recovery partly coping with the effects of Covid
and the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.
Global headwinds
All is happening when the global economy continues to grapple with
financial market fluctuations and macroeconomic imbalances, that is
leading to increasing vulnerabilities in global economic recovery and
weakening employment prospects across many economic sectors.
Against this setting, world output growth is projected to decelerate
from an estimated 3.0% recorded in 2022 to 1.9% in 2023, indicating the
world will have one of the lowest growth rates in recent decades. This
makes the world economic situation and projection for the remaining
2023 present a gloomy and uncertain economic outlook.
 Energy & Minerals 17
Similarly, growth in cutting-edge economies has already declined
from 5% recorded in 2021 to 3.8% in 2022 and 2.3% projected in 2023 a
pace that, while moderating, will be satisfactory to restore output and
investment to cope with the post-pandemic trend and impact of the
on-going war in Russia and Ukraine.
Economic output in the US is expected to slow early this year in
response to last year’s sharp rise in interest rates. Nonetheless, the
output is expected to start growing again during the second half of 2023
as falling inflation might permit the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates,
which would likely cause a rebound in sectors of the economy that are
sensitive to interest rates. Further, US domestic consumption, the major
driver of economic growth, is still sluggish as the foreign inflow starts
to decline wary of emerging market uncertainty after the failure of three
banks in the US during the last month of March 2023.
In Europe, the weak banking sector limits credit supply and hampers
the pace of economic recovery. Households and firms across the euro
area are currently feeling the effects of higher inflation and weaker
economic activity, amid the ongoing energy crisis prompted by the war
in Ukraine.
According to the European Central Bank’s November 2022 financial
stability review, the deterioration in economic and financial conditions
has increased the risks to euro area financial stability and how this might
negatively affect emerging markets and developing countries through
trade and financial channels thus adding to domestic weaknesses.
GDP growth in Germany, the largest economy in Europe, has increased
by 1.8% in 2022. Notwithstanding high inflation, growth has been
supported by the boost in demand that followed the post-pandemic
reopening of the economy, and in particular, services although by the
third quarter of 2022, investment and private consumption had not yet
reached their pre-pandemic levels that led to a decreased in the fourth
quarter with real GDP contracting by 0.2%. The weak private demand
is the main factor behind this weak performance and the prolonged
output gap.
On average, the BRICS group of five major emerging economies-Brazil,
Russia, India, China, and South Africa has grown strongly since its
inception in 2006. Accounting for 23% of the global economy, 18% of
18 Energy & Minerals
trade in goods and 25% of foreign investment, BRICS nations have
formed an important force that cannot be ignored in the world economy.
BRICS economies imply that the irresistible rise of emerging markets
and developing countries has injected strong impetus to the reform of
the global economic governance system that will have a considerable
impact on other nations’ planning.
National challenges
Tanzania’s 2023/2024 national budget partly relies on development
partners’ support, which is of course affected by global dynamics. And
in addition, the recent CAG’s report has recommended serious action
to be taken since currently, global economic growth is slowing amid a
gloomy and more uncertain outlook.
Tanzania’s parliament will debate budgeting issues of respective sectors
for a few months when the world’s three largest economies are stalling,
with important consequences for the global outlook with inflation
remaining a major concern.
Inflationary risks will remain high due to both external and domestic
influences. The external risks will be associated with the possibility that
the international financial crisis may persist, while the domestic risks
will be associated with a context of slower demand due to the slow
growth in private sector activities and low-capacity utilisation in many
sectors.
All in all, higher-than-expected, although global inflation has been
revised in part due to rising food and energy prices, especially in the
United States and major European economies, will continue to trigger
a tightening of global financial conditions and this will have further
negative spill-overs from the war in Ukraine and as a result, global
output will be affected enormously.
This year, inflation is anticipated to reach 6.6% in advanced economies
and 9.5% in emerging and developing economies. Inflation has also
broadened in many economies, reflecting the impact of cost pressures
from disrupted supply chains and historically tight labour markets.
These issues are critical to Tanzania as honourable MPs debate national
budget for 2023/2024.
James L.Laizer TOURISM & ENVIRONMENTAL
CONSERVATION
Nyerere National Park, an emergent tourism destination in Southern
Tanzania
The Tanzanian government and tourism sector partners are keen to
highlight the potential of the Nyerere National Park, and various
outlets now cover news and offers on this emergent tourist destination.
Covering an area of 30,893 square kilometres, the park is one of the
largest in the world. Located in south-eastern Tanzania, about 230
kilometres by road from Dar es Salaam city to Mtemere Gate, it was
carved out from the Selous Game Reserve, a gigantic wilderness area
and safari destination in Southern Tanzania.
The park was named after the first president of Tanzania, the late Julius
Nyerere, in recognition of his work going back to the Arusha declaration
of 1967, championing conservation and protection of wildlife in the
country, as a matter of national heritage. It is one of the wildest places
remaining in Africa, with a wide variety of wildlife habitats, including
open grasslands, miombo woodlands, swamps and riverine forests in
the many tributaries of the mighty Rufiji River which flows through the
park to the Indian Ocean.
Given that the park was only upgraded to national park status in
November 2019 and less frequented by tourists, animals there tend to be
less exposed to humans. The park hosts some of the largest populations
of mammals and reptiles in Africa, including buffaloes, elephants,
hippos and crocodiles. Together with the remaining part of Selous Game
Reserve, it is considered to be the last stronghold of the African wild
dog—or painted wolf. Other common wildlife includes the wildebeest,
zebra, giraffe, eland, the greater kudu, sable antelopes, black rhino,
waterbuck, impala, lion, leopard, the spotted hyena, cheetah, baboon,
blue monkey, and the black and white colobus monkey which can be
viewed in riverine forests.
Increasing coverage indicates Nyerere National Park offers a wide
variety of game viewing opportunities including the experience of
a walking safari in the company of an armed ranger. The many
waterways in the park provide an excellent natural setting for boat
safaris, both for big game viewing and bird watching. This is in addition
20 Tourism & Environmental Conservation
to the game drives in bespoke safari vehicles which, combined with
boat and walking safaris, offer specialist products distinctive to Nyerere
National Park.
The best time to visit is from June to October, when vegetation is sparse
and when thirsty ungulate herds move towards water, trailed by lions,
hyenas, leopards and wild dogs. During the long rains, between March
and May, some parts of the park are temporarily closed for game drives
due to poor accessibility. For bird lovers, Nyerere National Park is
one of the best birding destinations in Tanzania and the best time for
one to go for birding is between November and April during the wet
season when migratory birds fly into the country. Established bird
species include the yellow-bellied bulbul, mangrove kingfisher, black
cuckoo-shrike, palm-nu vulture, red throated twin spot, red-winged
warbler, African skimmer, spotted flanked barbet and the grey hooded
kingfisher among others. About 440 species of birds both resident and
migratory have been observed in the national park.
There is an increasingly wide range of choice for accommodation,
which have been developed for this new key tourism product and
conservation habitat in the southern circuit.
Dialogue over securing a single tourist visa for EAC Partner states
Initial discussions over securing a single tourist visa for the East African
partner states are in progress. The East Africa Tourism Platform (EATP)
is developing a work plan for research and advocacy to partner states
on the East African Community (EAC) single tourist visa to help the
sector thrive. Mr John Bosco Kalisa, the Executive Director of the East
African Business Council (EABC), stated that the new initiative is in
line with a vision of developing a single tourist destination to boost the
performance of the bloc’s tourism sector.
The visa will therefore help to ease movement of international tourists
across the EAC partner states boarders of Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania,
Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo,
and make it easier for industry players to offer multi-destination
packages and fostering economic growth in the sector.
Tourism is one of the significant sectors in the EAC economy. The
sector accounts for approximately 17% of total export earnings, 10%
 Tourism & Environmental Conservation 21
of GDP growth, and 7% of total employment opportunities in the
region. The sector has close links to transportation, food production,
retail and entertainment sectors. The EAC is a popular region offering
numerous tourism investment opportunities, include the establishment
of resort cities, the branding of premium parks and the construction of
internationally branded hotels.
Other opportunities include the development of high-quality meetings,
incentives, conventions and exhibitions (MICE) tourist facilities and
conference tourism facilities, as well as health and sports tourism.
According to data from 2022, the EAC recorded around 5.8 million
international tourist arrivals, and in the context of the African tourism
market, the EAC held a share of approximately 13.5% of the total
international tourist arrivals in Africa, which stood at around 43 million
last year, according to Mr. Yves Ngenzi EATP Regional Coordinator.
Mr Ngenzi said by streamlining the visa application process for
international tourists, the EAC can create a more tourist-friendly
environment that could potentially lead to an increase in tourist
arrivals, as visitors would find it more convenient to explore multiple
EAC destinations with a single visa.
Study suggests challenges with community conservation partnerships
Current partnerships for wildlife, forestry and marine resource
conservation have had limited or no impact on local communities,
according to a recent study. It proposes a number of steps for the
arrangement to be improved on, to provide the desired results.
The five-year study, from which results were launched on 6th April,
2023, was a collaboration between researchers from the University of
Dar es Salaam (UDSM), Copenhagen Business School and University
of Roskilde (Denmark), University of Sheffield and the Autonomous
University of Barcelona.
Experts who were based in the districts of Kilwa, Rufiji and Mtwara
Rural presented evidence to stakeholders and the government to
enhance their methods of conservation of natural resources in relation
to the livelihoods of local residents. The project ‘New Partnerships for
Sustainability’ (NEPSUS) suggests that while complex partnerships
that link donors, government, community organisations, NGOs,
22 Tourism & Environmental Conservation
consultancies, certification agencies and other intermediaries have been
emerging to address the sustainability of natural resource use, this has
not yet delivered better outcomes for local communities.
The findings led to the publication of a book titled “Contested
Sustainability: The Political Ecology of Conservation and Development
in Tanzania.” The authors argue that to a large extent, the results of
those partnerships have been beneficial for the elite class. According
to the research, village groups around natural resources, especially in
coastal areas, face governance challenges related to structural, financial
and participatory failures.
They propose that in the formation of community groups, the local
community are sometimes involved at the beginning, but the process
ends up being captured by the central government and local elites.
‘’Financially, most local groups such as Beach Management Units
(BMUs) are poorly equipped and the funds accrued from fines and
fees are not enough to facilitate the setting up of alternative livelihood
activities,” reads part of the report findings. Despite deliberate, evolving
and persuasive efforts by government, NGOs and companies to raise
awareness about the relevant rules and regulations, the results suggest
that sustainability partnerships have struggled to gain and maintain
legitimacy. They argue that “local communities are yet to perceive these
partnerships as responsive, accountable and trustworthy arrangements
that strike the requisite balance between community welfare and
conservation goals”. The findings indicate that much of the economic
benefits are primarily realised at the community level rather than the
household level.
Prof. Christine Noe from UDSM, one of the report authors, says that
they aimed to have evidence to advise the improvement of various
government policies. “To whose benefit do we conserve?” she inquired,
adding that many community members have been seen as enemies of
conservation and recommending that alternative sources of livelihood
that make sense to local communities should be facilitated. According
to Prof. Noe, greater efforts should be made to facilitate contact between
local communities and other key actors before the establishment of
sustainability partnerships, to maintain them during their operation
and to ensure that the benefits accrued from the income resulting from
partnerships need to be distributed evenly and avoid elite capture.
Ben Taylor: TRANSPORT
Air Tanzania clashes with Airbus, faces financial struggles
Air Tanzania’s ongoing dispute with Airbus took a new twist in
March, when the airline (ATCL) took the matter to the African Airlines
Association (AFRAA), calling on the assistance of four other African
airlines to pressurise the manufacturer to find a solution.
Two ATCL planes have been grounded since October 2022 due to failure
of its engines, with the airline blaming the manufacturer for failing to
secure new engines.
The other airlines called upon for assistance include Air Senegal and
Egyptair. The latter reportedly has 12 Airbus aircraft, out of which 10
have been grounded for similar defects.
ATCL’s Director General, Ladislaus Matindi, said that the manufacturer
will have to pay ATCL compensation as spelt out in the contract, but
complained that the process has taken a long time, and that in the
meantime the company is accumulating losses.
Currently, ATCL has a fleet of 12 aircraft, of which three are grounded
due to technical and legal issues, including two Airbus with the capacity
to carry between 120 and 160 passengers.
Meanwhile, the Controller and Auditor General reported that ATCL
incurred a loss of TSh 35.2 billion (around USD $15m) in the financial
year 2021/22. This represents a relatively small reduction in losses
compared to the previous year, when they stood at TSh 36.1 billion.
Earlier, in February, the Deputy Minister for Works and Transport,
Atupele Mwakibete, told Parliament in Dodoma that the government
has set aside funds to bailout ATCL. Specifically, he said the government
has allocated over TSh 10 billion to settle debts owed to Air Tanzania
Company Limited (ATCL) workers.
Preliminary report for Precision Air crash released
In Match, a preliminary report on the Precision Air plane crash was
released by the Works and Transport Ministry through the Aircraft
Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB).
A Precision Air aircraft with 39 passengers and four crew on board
24 Transport
crashed into Lake Victoria on November 6 last year as it was flying
from Dar es Salaam to Bukoba. Nineteen people died in the accident
[see TA134].
According to the report, the weather in Bukoba was poor when the
plane went down and the crew did not respond appropriately to a series
of warnings from the plane’s enhanced ground proximity warning
system (EGPWS). The aircraft was on final approach to Bukoba Airport
in marginal weather conditions when the EGPWS warned about
the excessively high descent rate three times. “The warning was not
followed by corrective action of the flight crew. Instead, the flight crew
pushed the control column into a nose down position,” the report says.
Prior to the crash, the plane circled for about 20 minutes in heavy
rain, prompting the flight crew to make right and left turns in order to
navigate through narrow weather windows. “Marginal visibility caused
high workload among the crew and may have contributed to the failure
to react to terrain warnings during the final approach.”
The aircraft and its crew were in good shape, according to the report.
“There is no evidence to suggest the flight crew were not fit and
healthy prior to the flight,” it says. The aircraft had valid registration,
airworthiness and release-to-service certificates and the required
scheduled maintenance had been conducted.
Air Transport Accident Investigation assistant director, Mr Redemptus
Bugomola, emphasised that the latest findings were merely observations
about what happened during the ill-fated flight. “The final report will
be released at the conclusion of the investigation. It will include causal
and contributory factors of the accident,” he explained.
The final report is due by November 2023, at the conclusion of a deeper
investigation being conducted jointly by aviation experts representing
the Tanzanian government, privately-owned Precision Air, and the
aircraft’s manufacturers in France.
Mr Gaudence Temu, an aviation expert, said the Precision Air accident
should be viewed as an opportunity to learn lessons to prevent similar
incidents in the future. “Every incident has a lesson to offer. We need to
adhere to the rules and regulations because they are there for a reason,”
he said. He added that in his view the flight crew were blameless, and
the disaster was caused entirely by bad weather.
 Transport 25
KLM briefly suspends flights to Tanzania
Air France-KLM briefly suspended flights to Tanzania in late January,
citing claims of civil unrest in the country. The airline resumed flights
three days later, and issued an official apology to the government of
Tanzania.
It may be coincidental that shortly before the airline’s suspension of
flights, the US Embassy in Dar es Salaam warned that “Terrorist groups
could attack with little or no warning targeting hotels, embassies,
restaurants, malls and markets, police stations, mosques and other
frequented places by Westerners.” KLM itself made no public reference
to the Embassy’s warning. The Tanzania Police Force assured the public
that the country was safe.
While the suspension was in force, Tanzania’s Ministry of Information,
Communication and Information Technology issued a statement noting
“with great concern the false claims being spread by some foreign
institutions and companies that there is civil unrest in Tanzania.”
They dismissed the KLM claims as “baseless, alarmist, unfounded,
inconsiderate and insensitive”.
“Our agencies remain vigilant to ensure the safety and protection of
individuals and their property…. we are cooperating with our partner
states to interdict any security threat,” the statement said.
After the issue was resolved, the Minister Prof Makame Mbarawa
thanked and appreciated all those aviation stakeholders who had
disregarded the “unfounded and baseless” claims and continued with
their operations.
Uber draws criticism
The ride-sharing service, Uber, has drawn criticism for its “ruthless
practices” in its control of drivers across Africa, including Tanzania.
According to Global Information Society Watch (GISWatch), in the
decade since Uber’s launch on the continent, the vision of the inclusion
and empowerment of African workers in a new, flexible, egalitarian
world of work has not materialised. Instead, African labour has been
commodified within new digital value chains, which funnel much of the
value to northern corporations.
This controversy has played out prominently in Tanzania. When,
26 Transport
in March 2022, the government tried to determine a per-kilometre
ride-hailing rate and force companies to lower their commissions to
15% amid soaring fuel prices, Uber suspended its operations in the
country, giving one day’s notice of its plans. Its main competitor, Bolt,
also significantly reduced its operations. Uber resumed operations in
Tanzania six months later, apparently having reached an agreement to
work with the regulator. Shortly after this, the government agreed to
allow Uber and others to charge 25% commission and a 3% booking fee.
Uber thus made it clear that it is willing to leave urban African transport
systems in the lurch if and when regulators try to take steps to protect
drivers’ pay.
The company says it “rigorously engages” with drivers and takes their
feedback on board.
MV Mwanza launched on Lake Victoria
The much anticipated MV Mwanza launched its operations in the
waters of Lake Victoria in February with a number of senior government
officials taking part in the ceremony.
Bearing the nickname ‘Hapa Kazi Tu’, the MV Mwanza is a
1200-passenger ship constructed at Mwanza shipyard. The vessel is
92m long and powered by twin engines, and is designed to carry over
1000 passengers, 400 tonnes of general cargo, 20 cars and three (3)
trucks. It will ply between Mwanza and Bukoba ports in Tanzania as
well as Kisumu port of Kenya and Port Bell in the Nakawa Division of
Kampala, in Uganda.
Bridge to Zanzibar proposed
Tanzania is set to build a bridge that will connect the mainland to the
Islands of Zanzibar to ease movement of goods and people, according
to the deputy minister of Works and Transport Godfrey Kasekenya. He
was speaking in Parliament in April.
Kasekenya said that authorities had met with the prospective investors
of M/S China Overseas Engineering Group Company (COVEC), who
have shown interest in building the bridge. He said the outcome of the
meeting is still being worked on by the governments of Tanzania and
Zanzibar. If undertaken, the 50km bridge will be the longest in Africa.
Ben Taylor: HEALTH
Tanzania experiences first Marburg virus outbreak, now considered
to be contained
On March 21, the Ministry of Health confirmed an outbreak of the
Marburg virus in the district of Bukoba in the far north-west of the
country, four days after reports of a “possibly contagious disease”
emerged in the district. The Ministry stated that five people including
a health worker had died as a result of the outbreak, after developing
symptoms of fever, vomiting, bleeding, and kidney failure.
The Ministry issued a travel advisory notice on March 22, which
requires that all departing and domestic travellers from Kagera region
will be required to complete an online traveller’s surveillance form,
and that at all points of entry (airport, ground crossing or port), body
temperature of all travellers will be checked. All persons with feverish
conditions should be prevented from traveling in and out of the country
until they complete the monitoring period and are given clearance to
travel by the Port Health Authority.
The Ministry also initiated an urgent contact tracing process, identifying
over 200 contacts of those infected. All persons in the contact tracing list
are monitored regularly and prevented from leaving their places of
isolation and travel.
As of April 25, six people have died out of nine confirmed cases,
according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). Of 212 contacts,
206 had completed their monitoring period. Two of the cases involved
healthcare workers, including one of those who died. Many of the
contacts under monitoring were healthcare workers.
A few days later, the Ministry announced that they were confident
that the outbreak had been contained. However, according to best
practice procedures for managing such outbreaks, it will not officially
be declared over until at least the end of May, 2023, six weeks after the
final two patients were confirmed to be Marburg free. In the interim,
authorities will maintain active surveillance.
The Health Minister, Ms Ummy Mwalimu, urged the general public to
continue taking precautionary measures against the disease and other
infectious diseases. She thanked the health experts, especially those on
28 Health
the front line in Kagera Region, including those who provided services
to patients, and the contract tracing team.
This was the first ever outbreak of Marburg virus in Tanzania, though
outbreaks have been recorded in the DRC, Uganda and Kenya, as well
as other parts of the continent. The highly-infectious disease is similar
to Ebola, with symptoms including fever, muscle pains, diarrhoea,
vomiting and, in some cases, death through extreme blood loss.
Hundreds of people have died from the virus in recent years, almost all
in Africa. A 2005 outbreak in Angola killed more than 300 people.
According to the WHO, the Marburg virus kills around half of the
people it infects. Marburg is considered much more dangerous than
Ebola because, unlike with Ebola, there is “no vaccine or post-exposure
treatment”, explained Cesar Munoz-Fontela, a specialist in tropical
infectious diseases at the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine
in Hamburg. There is no vaccine because, until now, there has been “no
market” for one. “Without the 2014 Ebola epidemic in West Africa, we
wouldn’t have an Ebola vaccine,” he continued, referring to the Everbo
jab created in 2015.
The virus can be carried by African green monkeys and pigs, as well
as the Egyptian Rousette fruit bat. Among humans, it is spread mostly
by people who have spent long periods in caves and mines populated
by bats. Between humans, it spreads through bodily fluids and contact
with contaminated bedding.
A major success story: reduction in child mortality
Tanzania’s marked reduction in child mortality over the past 2-3 decades
is the kind of story that rarely makes headlines, but which should do
so. A steady decline in the child mortality rate over this period means
that currently 43 children die before reaching the age of five for every
thousand children who are born. This is down by more than two thirds
since 1999, when the figure was 147 per thousand.
Dr Felix Bundala, the assistant director for child health in the Ministry
of Health ascribed the achievement to the successful adoption of
Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI). IMCI is an
integrated approach that aims at reducing preventable mortality,
minimize illness and disability of children under five years of age,
 Health 29
he explained. This includes focussing on increasing coverage of cost-
effective interventions like immunizations.
According to Dr Bundala, between 2013 and 2018 over 7,000 providers
from over 3,000 health facilities in 101 out of 185 councils had been
trained in IMCI.
Dr Bundala listed pneumonia, malaria, diarrhoea as among the leading
child killer diseases. Diarrhoea alone is responsible for nearly 20%
of all under five deaths, but receives considerably less development
assistance as compared to HIV, Malaria and Tuberculosis.
“It is only through IMCI where Pneumonia and Diarrhoea are captured.
And therefore, it remains to be a priority intervention,” he pointed out.
He added that more work was needed to end preventable child deaths.
In particular, he noted, there was a need for increased investment in
primary health care interventions for children.

Ben Taylor: EDUCATION

Viral video prompts debate on corporal punishment in schools
Video footage of a teacher in Kagera Region striking pupils on their feet
for allegedly failing to complete an assignment, has prompted much
public debate, including among MPs in parliament. The video had been
widely circulated on social media.
“This kind of punishment is creating unnecessary public panic,” said
Edward Kisau, MP (CCM, Kiteto), and called on the government draft a
law to completely end corporal punishment in schools. “Alternatively,
it could be reduced to one stick,” he added as other MPs applauded.
“There are countries which have completely banned corporal
punishment,” said Mr Abdallah Chikota (CCM, Nanyamba).
“Considering the fact that we are currently reviewing the education
policy, can we completely stop whipping in schools and find an
alternative?” he asked.
In his response, Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa explained that the
teacher had been suspended pending a proper investigation of the case.
30 Education
“The government will not tolerate such kinds of punishment which
violate the laid down procedures,” he added.
Guidelines require that caning should only be carried out by the head
teacher or other person authorised by the school head and should be
documented in writing. The punishment should not also exceed four
strokes for each student.
Opposition MP Conchesta Rwamlaza (Chadema, Special Seats)
challenged the Prime Minister who had warned those who recorded
the video. “Sharing the video exposed the incident and helped the
government to take action against people who would have been
otherwise protected by officials,” she said. She added that the Prime
Minister’s approach would only lead to people covering up the violence.
In response, Mr Majaliwa said his intention was to avoid unnecessary
panic to the public and creating negative image against all teachers.
“The teacher who recorded the video should have shared it with
education officials for action,” he said.
Mr Saashisha Mafuwe (CCM, Hai) asked the government to regulate
the way punishment was administered even in homes. “Such kind
of punishment does not only occur in schools,” he said, “but also in
homes. What’s the government comment on that?”
However, the Speaker, Tulia Ackson, did not allow the Premier to
respond, explaining that it was out of the context.
Corporal punishment is very common in Tanzanian schools. After a
similar video was circulated in 2019, Human Rights Watch commented
that “corporal punishment is child abuse. It is brutal, widespread, and
state-sanctioned in Tanzania. In recent years, Human Rights Watch
has spoken to many children who are caned, punched, or slapped by
teachers.”
At that time, President Magufuli expressed his support for the individual
who was filmed caning the children, arguing that it was an effective
form of discipline that had been used for many years.
There is evidence that this view has widespread public support. In
a 2016 survey, 79% of Tanzanians said it was either always (8%) or
sometimes (71%) acceptable for a teacher to beat a pupil.
 Education 31
“Immoral” Wimpy Kid books banned
The Minister for Education, Science and Technology, Prof Adolf
Mkenda, has banned 16 books from use in schools and other education
institutions, citing immoral content that violates the country’s cultural
norms, morals and good practices in raising children. Speaking to
reporters in February, Prof Mkenda warned schools with the stray books
in their shelves, saying failure to remove them will attract disciplinary
measures including risking the institution’s deregistration.
The list includes thirteen books by the author and cartoonist Jeff
Kinney – the popular series titled Diary of a Wimpy Kid – as well as
Sex Education: a Guide to Life. It appears that the other two titles listed
by the Minister – T is for Transgender, and L is for LGBTQI – are not
actually books, but are instead two lines of text from within a single
book – An ABC of Equality.
The Minister did not give details as to what content in the various books
had caused offence, though the ban followed a public outcry around
reported “rampant” homosexuality in Tanzania’s universities. One MP,
Frank Haule (CCM) made this claim, and shortly afterwards President
Samia Suluhu Hassan publicly called on university students to resist
“imported cultures” that go against Tanzanian norms.
It was therefore widely understood that the book ban stemmed from
the same concern. This would make sense given the “titles” of the two
non-existent books that were banned. However, there are no LGBT
storylines or characters in the Wimpy Kid series.
The first book in the Wimpy Kid series was published in 2007 and since
then 275 million copies have been sold worldwide in 69 languages,
according to the wimpykid.com website. There have also been several
film adaptations.
Dissertations for sale
University students in Tanzania are increasingly hiring individuals
and bureaus to write research reports and dissertations on their behalf
in exchange for money, according to an investigation in The Citizen
newspaper.
The investigation discovered a rising number of bureaus and individuals
who survive by writing dissertations and research reports for
32 Education
postgraduates and undergraduates. People running the bureaus have
established offices around university campuses and have employed
agents to target potential customers in colleges. Operators of the bureaus
are lecturers, former lecturers, academicians, and other academically
gifted individuals who have quit employment at universities to join the
highly-paying work.
According to the article, the students prepare their research proposal
and then contract the “academic writers” to do the rest of the work for
an agreed fee. The report found the practice is particularly common
among post-graduate students.
“You should first send me the title of your proposal that has been
approved by your supervisor, then we can talk about the terms of my
service; think of raising up to TSh1.5 million,” said a Morogoro-based
dissertation writer (name withheld). Oblivious to the fact he was
communicating with a journalist, the writer explained that he had been
engaging in the business for the past ten years.
“What I want to assure you is that the dissertation that I’m going to
prepare for you will sail. I have never had a case where a dissertation
prepared by me was rejected; I know the standards and what exactly
your supervisors want,” said the writer.
Another academic based in Dar es Salaam has admitted he has been
making a living by writing dissertations for the past four years. He
doesn’t feel guilty for the work, saying what he does is to help students
achieve their full potential and realise their dreams. “What I do is help
students fulfil their dreams. They give me concept notes or proposals,
and I do the rest of the work. I collect data for them upon negotiations.
At the end of the day, they must read the work and defend it. Now
what’s the problem?” asks the writer.
One student – a postgraduate who had recently submitted her master’s
thesis at a Dar es Salaam-based university – admitted to using these
services. “Mine was prepared by a Kenyan for TSh1.3 million; she’s
very, very good! Talk to her about yours and you will see for yourself,”
she said.
A lecturer at an Iringa-based university who asked for anonymity
admitted the problem was serious but was quick to defend those
 Education 33
who engage in the activity. “Lecturers are receiving meagre salaries;
they can’t maintain their families, so what they do is just one way of
supplementing insufficient salaries,” he said.
“It is true that there are people in town sitting down and writing
dissertations for students. I am the associate dean of the School of
Education; we once discovered a trend, but I don’t have evidence that
my students are engaged in this kind of cheating,” says University of
Dar es Salaam (UDSM) Vice Chancellor, Prof. William Anangisye.
The Tanzania Commission for Universities (TCU) says it has established
standards and guidelines for the purpose of regulating the quality and
conduct of postgraduate training, research, and innovation. It says the
quality assurance standards and guidelines it has set to check academic
fraud and ensure ownership of work by students are being respected.
“Our work as TCU is to set minimum guidelines that must be adhered
to by universities to ensure quality of education. The standards were set
to ensure ownership,” says Prof. Kihampa.

Philip Richards: SPORT

Women’s Rugby – a “Try for Change”
In recent years, the game of rugby union is increasingly being embraced
and professionalized across the world by women. Led by the Tanzania
Rugby Union (TRU), the men’s game in Tanzania has been played and
has grown for many years, and now the women of the country want to
get in on the act.
The person leading the charge is Fatma El-kindiy who is from Botswana
where she contributed to the development of the women’s game
there. El-kindiy had originally visited Tanzania to see her mother but
relocated permanently in June 2021 and admits she first contacted the
Tanzania Rugby Union (TRU) because she “didn’t have anything else to
do” when she first arrived.
Back in Botswana she became an advocate for the benefits the oval-ball
game could provide young women and girls and helped to devise
a programme, ‘A Try for Change’, to help encourage more women
and young girls in the country to pick up a rugby ball. The success of
Fatma El-kindiy at a training session - Photo Women in Rugby
the programme contributed to El-kindiy becoming an ‘Unstoppable’
in Botswana, part of a role model campaign by Rugby Africa to fast
track women’s rugby across the continent. When she moved to Dar es
Salaam she was keen to have a similar impact on female participation
in Tanzania. She now has a new goal: to field Tanzania’s first women’s
national team, and this year a women’s team has been invited to
participate in a Burundi Women’s Day tournament involving 6 nations
from East and Central Africa.
The TRU had struggled to grow interest in female participation and
so when they received the phone call from El-kindiy, they were only
too happy to accept her offer of help. She has since become head of
development for women’s rugby and set about increasing opportunities
for and interest in women playing the game. One area where interest
has ignited is Ukonga, in Illala District of Dar es Salaam Region. There,
with the help of coach Denis Lipiki, El-kindiy has found a growing
group of women who are keen to learn how to play the game. From an
initial squad of 7, there are now training sessions for 25 young women
up to three times a week with sessions starting as early as 6am.The
majority of these new players are aged between 18 and 20, however,
El-kindiy says there is one “determined” squad member who is only 13.
She sees the potential and is confident of attracting players beyond
Ukonga, from across Tanzania. Requests have been sent to men’s clubs
around the country in the hope that they will continue to offer those
Gabriel Geay (right) with Evans Chebet (the eventual winner) at the Boston
Marathon - photo @gabrielgeraldgeay
women opportunities to play beyond the tournament. Beyond that,
El-kindiy is also planning to roll out ‘A Try for Change’ in Tanzania and
hopes to convince schools to offer girls an opportunity to play as part of
their curriculums. (Women in Rugby https://www.women.rugby/ 10/8/22)
Boston Marathon
Gabriel Geay, one of the country’s top marathon distance runners,
crossed the finish line in a creditable second place at the 126th running
of the Boston Marathon in the USA. He clocked a time of 2:06:04 just 10
seconds behind the Kenya winner Evans Chebet who defended his title.
Geay was also ahead of Ugandan and twice Olympic Champion Eluid
36 Sport
Kipchoge who surprisingly faded in sixth position. President Samia
Suluhu Hassan was swift to congratulate the athlete as evidence of the
improvement of athletics in the country based upon a history of world
class long distance runners. (Daily News)
Football – AFCON Update
After beating their East African opponents by the same score a few days
previously at Suez Canal Stadium in Ismailia, Egypt, the national men’s
team Taifa Stars conceded a late goal to lose 1-0 to Uganda Cranes at
Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam.
The visitors scored a stoppage time winner to make the qualification
race for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals even tighter. The
result means that both Taifa Stars and Uganda are tied on 4 points in
Group F with two matches remaining to play. The Stars welcome Niger
early in June in a “must win” encounter for the home side.
This was only the first defeat for Stars Head Coach Adel Amrouche at
the helm of the team, and the country still has a chance to qualify for the
AFCON finals to be hosted by Ivory Coast. Algeria top the group and
have already made it through to the finals in 2024. (Daily News)

Donovan McGrath: TANZANIA IN THE

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
In the blood: why diabetes is the scourge of entire families in Tanzania
(The Guardian online – UK) Elisaria has had diabetes for decades. Her husband
died of it and five relatives live with it. Yet millions in this fast-growing
country cannot afford to get the treatment they need. Extract continues: ...
The 70-year-old retired Tanzanian businesswoman from Dar es Salaam
has been living with type 2 diabetes for decades, and she is one of six in
her extended family with the chronic illness... Government health sector
reports show that non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes
are on the rise and now account for about 40% of Tanzania’s disease
burden... Older Tanzanians are disproportionately affected by NCDs,
yet nearly 90% of people over 50 do not have health insurance and have
little access to medical services. The state health insurance scheme can
cost between £70 and £350 a year, and healthcare costs are prohibitive for
many... Victoria Matutu, 35, is shouldering a double burden. Diagnosed
 Tanzania in the International Media 37
with type 1 diabetes two years ago, Matutu spends about £35 a month
on insulin, and the same amount on clinic visits every two months. Her
mother also has the condition, so Matutu has to help her with medical
bills. She earns the equivalent of £140 a month, which is not enough to
pay into the government’s scheme... Mary Mayige, coordinator of the
National Survey for Non-Communicable Diseases, says that conditions
that once mainly affected the elderly now affect people in their 30s
who are “the production engine of the country”. Healthcare has always
been thought about in terms of spending, she says. “It’s high time that
countries begin to look at the situation as a threat to the economy and
human capital development.” ... Tanzania allocates less than 5% of its
GDP to health, which is below the international threshold for provision
of basic services. Donor funding contributes to about 60% of total
public spending, but the health programmes it pays for are heavily
skewed towards infectious diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis,
despite data which suggests that cases of infectious diseases are falling,
while NCDs are on the rise and account for nearly half of the country’s
deaths... (28 December 2022)

Now that’s petrifying! Bizarre lake in Tanzania instantly turns

animals that touch it into ‘STONE’
(Mail online – UK) Extract: The idea of a lake that instantly turns
animals that touch it into stone may sound like a concept from Greek
mythology. But it’s a reality in Tanzania, where animals live in fear
of one of the world’s deadliest lakes. Lake Natron is a key mating
ground for lesser endangered flamingo, but animals risk being frozen
forever in its salt if they dare to go near its shores. Bacteria, which
give the water its blood red tone, are some of the only organisms that
can tolerate its average 78°F (26°C) heat, fatal salt concentration and
alkalinity. Bodies that fall into the water decompose rapidly while
those which fall on its edge are ‘encrusted in salt’ that ‘stays forever’,
according to ecologist David Harper of the University of Leicester...
The lake’s hostile conditions can be blamed on the nearby Ol Doinyo
Lengai – also known as the Mountain of God – which is the only active
volcano to emit natrocarbonatites. These feed into the lake through
stream channels that cut through the volcano, contributing to its harsh
alkalinity of over pH 10. Only flamingos, which eat up the water’s
nutrient-rich cyanobacteria, flock to the area for mating. But even they
38 Tanzania in the International Media
cannot escape the salt lake’s merciless conditions, and can fall victim to
being encrusted at the shore... (22 March 2023)
From Maasai warrior to YouTube star! Son of Tanzanian tribe chief
gains more than a MILLION views online as he tries pizza and takes
a flight for the first time
(Mail online – UK) Extract: ... Kanaya Kolong Parkepu, 38, is the son of
the 95-year-old chief and has become the first Maasai warrior to have
YouTube and Instagram. He created the Maasaiboys channel a year ago,
with his videos gaining up to 700,000 views as he and his friends try
out burgers and pizzas for the first time. He revealed that part of his
motivation to start the channel was his fear that his tribe and culture
will be lost in the future. The 38-year-old influencer told The Times
social media is ‘good’ for the tribe, adding: ‘My dream is to teach people
how the Maasai live. ‘The Maasai all communicate as a group. We pass
down songs. We help each other...’ Kanaya created the page with his
friend Arman Alamdar, 20, who appears alongside him in videos with
other friends, Kili, Simba and Kanaya’s girlfriend, Sally. Meanwhile his
father, the chief of the tribe, Arooni, also appears on screen at times.
Kanaya said his father has ‘embraced’ the new technology in the tribe,
adding he ‘likes to laugh’ and sees the clips as ‘educating people.’ They
have amassed 14,700 followers on Instagram and 17,300 subscribers on
YouTube. Their top video, African Tribe tries Burger for the first time,
has almost 750,000 views, while another African Tribe tries Pizza for the
first time has over 200,000. A third showing them embarking on their
first ever plane journey has over 40,000 views on YouTube... (16 March
2023)
Finding a brighter future for Tanzania’s child domestic workers
(CNN online – USA) Extract: ... Raised by her grandmother in rural
Tanzania, Mercy Esther and her siblings were born into poverty,
sometimes without money for food, let alone schoolbooks. When their
grandmother was approached with a job offer for Mercy Esther in Kenya,
and the promise that money would be sent home, she accepted... The job
offer turned out to be a lie – the first of a string of broken promises that
would deprive a young woman of her childhood and her family. Mercy
Esther was born with a deformity in one foot, causing a pronounced
limp. On the streets of Nairobi she and other children were forced to
Mercy Esther - photo Marek Klosowicz/Kulczyk Foundation
beg. She was told to pretend she could not walk, to elicit sympathy from
the public. Each day, what money she collected was taken from her.
One day, while begging, Mercy Esther was approached by a woman
who offered her domestic work and more promises: a new home, a
wage and good treatment. She went with the woman, but instead Mercy
Esther was abused and received no money for her labour. It would be
six years before she ran away. With the support of the Nairobi police
and Kenyan and Tanzanian governments, Mercy Esther returned to
the country of her birth, but without details of the village where she
was raised, authorities put her in the care of WoteSawa Domestic
Workers Organization, which runs a shelter for trafficked children in
Mwanza ... in the north of the country... “Tanzania is a beautiful and
peaceful country, but there is a dark side,” said Angela Benedicto, the
organization’s founder and executive director. “Many people live in
poverty, and forced labour is a very big problem,” she added. “The most
common form of human trafficking in Tanzania is domestic servitude,
young girls forced into domestic work. They face abuse, exploitation,
and are not paid for their work.” Around one million children – mostly
girls – are engaged in domestic work in Tanzania, according to the non-
profit Anti-Slavery International. WoteSawa was set up in 2014 and
every year takes in around 75 children who have escaped trafficking...
So far, the non-profit has helped hundreds of survivors, but the needs
are greater than the resources available. Benedicto dreams of building
a bigger haven for more children. Her mission is to empower domestic
workers and advocate for their rights. It’s an issue that’s close to her
heart; she is herself a former domestic worker... WoteSawa means “all
40 Tanzania in the International Media
are equal” in Swahili. At the shelter children are housed and provided
with counselling and legal support. They also receive an education
in literacy and numeracy, and vocational skills such as needlework.
Reintegrating children back into education works in step with efforts
to reunite children with their loved ones, “so that when they go back to
their families, they can help not only themselves, but they can help their
families,” said Benedicto... (18 March 2023)
Ancient DNA Confirms the Origin Story of the Swahili People
(Smithsonian Magazine online – USA) Medieval individuals in the coastal
East African civilization had almost equal parts African and Asian ancestry, a
new study finds. Extract continues: A new analysis of medieval DNA has
revealed that around the turn of the first millennium, Swahili ancestors
from Africa and Asia began intermingling and having children, giving
rise to a Swahili civilization with a multicultural identity, at least
among its elites. The discovery matches local stories passed down
through generations that were previously dismissed as myth by outside
researchers... Members of the medieval and early modern Swahili
culture live in towns and villages along the coast of East Africa, shared
the Kiswahili language and largely practiced a common religion of Islam.
The new research published ... in the journal Nature, sheds some light
on how this culture formed. To start, the research team—made up of 44
scientists, including 17 African scholars—worked with locals to excavate
cemeteries along the Swahili coast. They gathered DNA samples from
80 people who lived between 1250 to 1800 C.E. and compared that data
with saliva samples from modern-day coastal Swahili-speaking people,
as well as individuals living in the Middle East, Africa and other areas
of the world. Afterward, the team ensured the exhumed bodies were
replaced in their cemetery plots. They found that about half of the DNA
from the medieval individuals came from African women, while the
other half primarily came from Asian men. Of the Asian DNA, about 80
to 90 percent revealed Persian ancestry, while approximately 10 percent
was linked to India. The genetic material from modern-day individuals
supported this mixed ancestry, though people who identify as Swahili
today have inherited varying amounts of DNA from medieval peoples...
Essentially, the paper reveals a timeline of intermarriage that matches
a narrative told by the Swahili people called the Kilwa Chronicle...
The Kilwa Chronicle tells a story of mixed Asian and African ancestry,
suggesting that an influx of Persian sultans helped give rise to the
 Tanzania in the International Media 41
Swahili culture. But prejudiced researchers have cast doubt on the
story, assuming that the thriving East African port cities were built by
Europeans, writes Popular Science’s Jocelyn Solis-Moreira. It has also
been questioned by some African natives, who accused the elites of
exaggerating their Asian connection to raise their social status, per the
publication... The researchers intend to gather more samples to continue
to fill in the missing pieces of Swahili ancestry... “These findings bring
out the African contributions, and indeed, the Africanness of the
Swahili, without marginalizing the Persian and Indian connection.” (31
March 2023)
African rats are being used to sniff out wildlife crime
(Mail & Guardian online – UK) Extract: The multibillion-dollar illegal
wildlife trade poses a major and growing threat to biodiversity,
pushing species including pangolins, African elephants and rhinos
closer to extinction. Now an unlikely little hero is being trained to sniff
out smuggled wildlife products stashed inside shipping containers—
the African giant pouched rat. The innovative Belgian non-profit,
APOPO, in partnership with the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT), a
conservation NGO in South Africa, has been researching the abilities of
the rodents to detect illegally trafficked wildlife products at APOPO’s
base in Tanzania. The rats, which weigh between 1kg and 1.3kg, have
a highly developed sense of smell, are intelligent and easy to train,
locally sourced and widely available. The non-profit already uses these
scent-detection animals, nicknamed HeroRATS, to find landmines in
countries such as Mozambique and Cambodia and for tuberculosis
detection in Tanzania, Mozambique and Ethiopia. Obeid Katumba,
the wildlife and law senior project officer at the EWT, said one of the
core focus areas of its Wildlife in Trade Programme is the detection
of trafficked wildlife and wildlife products... Standard screening
methods are expensive, time-consuming, and potentially disruptive
to operations, especially if customs officials have to open up and
visually search shipping containers for suspected wildlife contraband.
Coupled with this, organised criminals are innovative and find ways to
circumnavigate these screening methods, he said. The EWT considered
alternative, complementary screening methods to detect and deter
wildlife smuggling. “We knew about APOPO and the work they did
with the African giant pouched rats to detect landmines and to screen
for tuberculosis using the rats’ incredible sense of smell and we thought
Photo from APOPO’s HeroRATs facebook site
that this ability might be transferable to the detection of wildlife
contraband, much like dogs are used to find wildlife products.” ...
There are 16 rats in the project, which are trained at APOPO’s training
facility on the campus of Sokoine University of Agriculture in Morogoro
... said the project’s lead researcher, Izzy Szott, a behavioural research
scientist... The rodents are a potential asset in the fight against wildlife
crime. They have a “fantastic” sense of smell, comparable to dogs.
Another plus is the rats work with any trained handler and, unlike
dogs, are not focused on a specific person... (15 March 2023)
Jane Goodall: ‘People are surprised I have a wicked sense of humour’
(The Guardian online – UK) Extract: ... The scientist in me was evident
early on. At four, desperate to know how eggs come out of chickens, I
hid inside a hen house waiting to witness it. When I finally returned,
Mum had called the police. I’d been missing for hours. Instead of
punishing me, she listened to my discoveries. I was jealous of Tarzan’s
Jane as a child. Yes, I know they were fictional. But I still felt spurned
he didn’t pick me. From the age of 10, I dreamed of living with animals
and writing books. In my early 20s, I travelled to Kenya. Out in the
Serengeti, the palaeontologist Dr Louis Leakey was impressed with me.
He offered me the opportunity to study chimpanzees like nobody had
 Tanzania in the International Media 43
before. It was destiny. I don’t remember my father much. War broke
out when I was young, then he was gone for good. Mum, meanwhile,
encouraged me to follow my dreams. On my first expedition, in today’s
Tanzania, the authorities wouldn’t let a woman work solo in the wild.
My mother volunteered and joined me. After four months they all
agreed I was crazy enough to go it alone. People often assume I’m stern
and serious: Dr Jane Goodall PhD DBE. They’re surprised I’ve got a
wicked sense of humour. When I started out I was told animals needed
numbers not names, that mind, personality and emotion were unique to
humanity. To me, this was so obviously not the case. A fact anyone with
a pet could attest to... Before the pandemic, I travelled 300 days a year.
Slowly I’m returning to that number. I’ll be 90 in a year – who knows
how long I have left? Yet there’s so much left to do. As long as my mind
and body obey, I’ll keep at it. (18 February 2023)
Young Africans are logging in and clocking on
(The Economist online – UK) The internet creates new kinds of work, but
patterns of inequality persist. Extract continues: His home is Bungoma, a
small town in western Kenya, but his workplace is the world. Kevin,
who asks that his real name be withheld to protect his credibility,
has written about casinos in China without ever going there. He
has reviewed weightlifters’ barbells, headphones and home-security
systems he has never seen. Africa’s digital workers are rewiring the old
geographies of labour. Freelance on online platforms can reach clients
around the world, harnessing skills from blogging to web design. Others
are hired by outsourcing companies, sifting data used to train chatbots
and self-driving cars. Optimists hope that online work can set Africa on
the path of services-led growth trodden by countries such as India and
the Philippines. Pessimists worry such work will entrench injustices...
Freelances, like the wider outsourcing industry, “are fighting against a
reputation of Africa as somewhere where you would not expect digital
work to take place,” says Mohammad Amir Anwar of the University
of Edinburgh, who co-wrote a book about Africa’s digital workforce.
Some African freelances use virtual private networks and fake names
to pretend they are somewhere else. Power cuts and competition for
gigs from cheaper workers in Asia and beyond create other challenges.
The available data suggests that it will take time for Africa to become a
continent of digital freelances... (23 February 2023)
Martin Walsh: REVIEWS
RELIGION, POLITICS AND SOCIETY: A PROGRESSIVE PRIMER.
Karim F. Hirji. Daraja Press and Zand Graphics Ltd., Toronto, 2022.
572 pp. (paperback). ISBN: 9781990263125. USD $45.00 (e-book ISBN:
9781990263217. USD $6.99).
Karim Hirji is an outstanding mathematician and
statistician. He is also a prolific writer about
Tanzania.
He was born in Newala in southern Tanzania in
1949, came to Dar es Salaam to go to secondary
school, and then studied maths and education at the
University of Dar es Salaam – where, in his spare
time, he edited the radical magazine Cheche. He
then worked in Sumbawanga and Dar es Salaam,
obtained Masters degrees at both LSE and Harvard,
and enjoyed a successful academic career in the
USA, which included identifying a number of
false or misleading claims by drug companies. He
returned to Dar as Professor of Medical Statistics at Muhimbili University.
He is also a medical miracle. All but a few centimetres of his intestine were
removed in an operation in the US, and he survives on a diet of predigested
foods and mineral supplements. At times he has been so weak that the only way
he could write was by dictating to his wife Farida.
Yet since retiring he has written eight books. Three are the stories of different
parts of his life, one is a collection of his writings on education, another is a
guide for journalists on how they should use statistics. Another (reviewed in TA
118 in 2017) summarises the work of his mentor Walter Rodney, and especially
his book How Europe Underdeveloped Africa. Yet another is a novel about
two girls who are very good at maths, one from a poor background, the other
better off, who get involved with the Banana Liberation Front (!), and end up
in Ukonga Prison where they gain the approval of the governor by teaching
other prisoners maths.
His latest book, 468 pages of main text and many more of sources and
references, is a presentation and explanation of religions in the world. There
are substantial sections on the four religions with the greatest numbers of
followers – Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam and Christianity, plus secularism
 Reviews 45
and neoliberalism. He draws on his background as an Ismaili to write about
Hinduism and Islam in Africa and other continents. The section on Christianity
shows the heavy involvement of the Roman Catholic Church with the CIA and
State Department in the USA and their disastrous interventions in Vietnam,
Indonesia, Syria, Afghanistan and many countries in Asia, Africa and Latin
America, and the close relationship that Trump and his supporters have with
evangelical churches, especially Adventists. A section on liberation theology
brings out the contribution of theology to leftist individuals such as Paulo
Freire, Franz Fanon, and others. The sections on secularism and neoliberalism
are, broadly, presented without comment.
The book is a form of political economy. Much of it is put together in blocks
of text, making good use the internet – many of these can stand alone outside
the main argument of the book, for example nearly twenty pages on the story
of Indonesia, and a section on the life of Eleanor Marx.
It is a prodigious achievement to have written something so wide-ranging - a
book for the general reader who is asking questions about the world and the
way religious thinkers deal with them. It should be on every religious education
teacher’s bookshelf and shared with anyone who is overconfident about a
particular religion, or looking for a third world perspective. It should be held by
libraries in universities which study comparative religion or world history. It is
non-judgemental – recognising that there is good in all religions, especially in
their early years, but also showing how power corrupts religions once they get
into the hands of wealthy capitalists or governments.
There are limitations. An index would make it easier to use the book, and more
on Judaism would have enlightened the sections of Islam and Christianity, and
the discussion of the situation in Palestine. More credit might have been given
to Pope Francis and his reforms of the Roman Catholic Church, and to other
reformers in the Dominican and Jesuit orders. It was written before the COVID
pandemic and the war in Ukraine and there is little on the climate emergency –
these will no doubt be addressed in the promised second volume that will focus
on science and scientists and their relations with religious ideas.
It is hard to improve on the following from the promotional material for the
book:
“Its foundational premise is that while their spiritual beliefs differ, all humans
are equal in dignity and have equal rights. No belief system is more exalted
than the rest. There are no chosen people; there is no chosen religion. We all
46 Reviews
are a part of the global human family. Our religious and cultural diversity is
a cause for celebration, not conflict.” If anything, it is more critical of most
religions, but Hirji’s underlying sympathy for those who are searching for
meaning in the world is not in doubt.
Andrew Coulson.
Andrew Coulson worked in the Planning Unit of the Ministry of Agriculture in
Dar es Salaam 1967-1971 and taught agricultural economics at the University
of Dar es Salaam 1972-76. His edited book African Socialism in Practice: The
Tanzanian Experience was published in 1979. Tanzania: A Political Economy
followed in 1982, with a second edition in 2013. His most recent book, with
Antony Ellman and Emmanuel Mbiha, is Increasing Production from the Land:
A Sourcebook on Agriculture for Teachers and Students in Africa (Muki na
Nyota, 2018). He was Chair of the Britain Tanzania Society 2015-18.

SOCIAL PROTECTION AND INFORMAL WORKERS IN SUB-

SAHARAN AFRICA: LIVED REALITIES AND ASSOCIATIONAL
EXPERIENCES FROM KENYA AND TANZANIA. Lone Riisgaard,
Winnie V. Mitullah, and Nina Torm (editors). Routledge, Abingdon and New
York, 2022. 274 pp. (e-book). ISBN: 9781003173694 (free to download from
https://www.taylorfrancis.com; print versions can also be purchased).
There has been little research into informal social protection mechanisms in
Sub-Saharan Africa and not much is documented about their extent or form,
nor, until now, has there been a systematic analysis of how informal workers
access any type of social protection.
This book starts with a thorough literature review of how social protection is
organised in informal economies, highlighting gaps in the literature, and then
provides an overview of the methodology used by the authors of this book.
The book continues with chapters written by different authors, exploring
how informal workers in different sectors access formal and informal social
protection (if at all), examining in detail what people “actually do on the
ground” (p. 19). They have taken a comparative approach, examining two
countries (Tanzania and Kenya) and three urban sectors prone to informality
in those countries. There is a chapter each on transport, micro-trade and
construction workers in Tanzania and in Kenya, each following a similar
pattern of presenting the findings of the research, and the book finishes with
two chapters comparing the sectors and countries and drawing together the
threads of the study.
 Reviews 47
The authors have three specific research questions:
1. Do informal workers or associations offer any kind of informal social
protection, what characterises the format of these services, who benefits from
them and how do they compare to formal social protection measures?
2. What extent do formal social protection schemes cater for informal workers,
and how do informal associations provide access to formal protection schemes?
3. How far are the viewpoints and realities of informal workers represented in
institutions?
In both Tanzania and Kenya, the provision of any form of social protection
by government or others, including international donors, has been fragmented
and inadequate, hampered by the absence of a policy framework with clear
institutional roles and responsibilities, and an overall plan. At the same time,
there has been a lack of capacity and financial resources at government
and civil society level to implement the necessary measures. There are also
challenges which make it difficult to put into place a system of social protection
for informal workers – workers must make contributions from their extremely
limited income, and due to a lack of understanding and information, but also
experiences of previous schemes and a suspicion that any subsequent initiative
will turn out the same, many will not choose to take part in such schemes. The
limitations of social protection for informal construction workers are summed
up by a Kenyan contractor: “we pray to God so that a bad incident does not
occur” (p. 216). Several of the papers analyse the reasons for poor uptake of
various forms of social protection.
However, the authors find that in recent years there has been a move towards
more coherent social protection, and this includes the extension of coverage
to informal workers. Indeed, many see that social protection is a potential
solution to issues of poverty.
There is much discussion about associations, including the relationship between
membership of associations and access to more formal social protection. It is
concluded that social dynamics among members make associations a much
stronger means of social protection than programmes which come from
government. Many of these associations are savings and credit societies, where
trust around financial matters has been built up. In addition, associational
power is able to advance the interests and conditions of informal workers. One
association member in Dar es Salaam said: “We have one hope only, and that
is our associations. That is why we call our group ‘Our Hope’” (p. 184). But
48 Reviews
the associations themselves may be weak, with poor leadership, and inadequate
training, so many challenges remain.
The book provides a comprehensive study of the subject, with plenty of data
from both countries, and the authors have clearly spoken to a wide range of
informants. In my experiences with people working on the margins of the
economy in Tanzania, those mostly without a voice, I have found people to
be coherent in their analysis of their own situations and I was glad to find in
several of the papers quite extensive quotes of the actual words of some of
the interviewees, vividly explaining how difficult their situation is, or why the
attempts of various bodies to increase social protection has failed. In presenting
this information, this book has gone some way to giving these informal workers
a voice.
Kate Forrester.
Kate Forrester lived in Tanzania for 15 years, working as a freelance consultant
chiefly in social development, and carrying out research assignments throughout
the country. She now lives in Dorchester, where she is active in community and
environmental work.
Also noticed:
THE EAST AFRICA CAMPAIGN 1914-18: VON LETTOW-VORBECK’S
MASTERPIECE. David Smith (illustrated by Graham Turner). Osprey
Publishing, Oxford, 2022. 96 pp. (paperback). ISBN: 9781472848918. £15.99
(e-book £12.79).
The publisher describes this book as a “beautifully illustrated study of the
daring war in East Africa waged by German colonial forces under Paul von
Lettow-Vorbeck against the wide array of colonial and expeditionary forces of
the Allied Powers.” The blurb continues:
“The East African Campaign in World War I comprised a series of battles and
guerrilla actions which began in German East Africa in 1914 and spread to
portions of Portuguese Mozambique, northern Rhodesia, British East Africa,
the Uganda Protectorate, and the Belgian Congo. German colonial forces
under Lieutenant-Colonel Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck attempt to divert Allied
forces from the Western Front. Despite the efforts of the Allied forces, Lettow-
Vorbeck’s troops remained undefeated at the end of the war.
In this fascinating work, David Smith documents how a wide array of British,
Indian, South African, Belgian, Portuguese and local native forces invaded
 Reviews 49
German East Africa and slowly ousted the German forces, a process made
tortuous by Lettow-Vorbeck’s masterful management of the campaign. Among
the events covered in this work are the Battle of Tanga, the scuttling of the
Königsberg, the German railway campaign, and the battles at Salaita Hill,
Kondoa-Irangi, Mahenge, Mahiwa and Namacurra. Colourful period and
specially commissioned illustrations bring to life a wide-ranging and eventful
campaign in which a high price was extracted for every inch of ground given
up.”
The period photographs are of course in black and white, but there is plenty
of colour in the maps, plans and drawings provided by Graham Turner. While
this is not presented as a work of academic scholarship, David Smith is an
experienced military historian, and his well-informed account will be of interest
to a wide audience, not least admirers of von Lettow-Vorbeck’s extraordinary
guerrilla campaign.
IMPERIAL POWERS AND HUMANITARIAN INTERVENTIONS: THE
ZANZIBAR SULTANATE, BRITAIN, AND FRANCE IN THE INDIAN
OCEAN, 1862-1905. Raphaël Cheriau. Routledge, Abingdon and New York,
2021. 270 pp. (e-book). ISBN: 9780429323232. £29.59 (also available in print
formats).
This book will likely be of interest mainly to specialists in Indian Ocean and
imperial history, and indeed Routledge have included it in their ‘Empires in
Perspective’ series. Their short description (reproduced below) is short and
not particularly illuminating. Readers wanting more information may like
to consult the list of contents provided by the publisher, or seek out Edward
Alpers’ review on the website of the Australian Institute of International Affairs
(https://www.internationalaffairs.org.au/).
“In the second half of the nineteenth century, the Zanzibar Sultanate became
the focal point of European imperial and humanitarian policies, most notably
Britain, France, and Germany. In fact, the Sultanate was one of the few places
in the world where humanitarianism and imperialism met in the most obvious
fashion. This crucial encounter was perfectly embodied by the iconic meeting
of Dr. Livingstone and Henry Morton Stanley in 1871. This book challenges the
common presumption that those humanitarian concerns only served to conceal
vile colonial interests. It brings the repression of the East African slave trade
at sea and the expansion of empires into a new light in comparing French and
British archives for the first time.”
Martin Walsh
Ben Taylor: OBITUARIES
BTS Vice President and former BTS Chair, Ron Fennell, passed away
peacefully on April 12th, attended by family. He and his wife, the late
Liz Fennell MBE, had a great love for Tanzania and were stalwarts of
the Society, including providing substantial support to the work of the
Tanzania Development Trust.
Ron and Liz met in 1950 while both were studying geography at
Cambridge University and they married in 1956. He worked in Sierra
Leone for 12 years until 1966, when he joined the International Monetary
Fund and moved to Washington, DC. He joined the World Bank three
years later and the family lived first in Nigeria and then Tanzania,
where Ron served as the World Bank’s Resident Representative for four
years, before returning to the United States in 1987. They retired to the
UK in 1995, settling in West London.
Thereafter, Ron and Liz were active members of BTS known in particular
for their energetic support to the Society at events and to TDT where
they would take long trips to Tanzania to assess and support projects,
at their own cost and even to the most remote areas.
Writing in 2000 about his time in Tanzania, Ron wrote: “When I was
sent to Dar as World Bank Resident Representative in January 1984, the
Bank’s Senior Vice President made it clear to me that all Bank lending
to Tanzania would stop after the approval of the Mtera Power Project in
early 1984 unless the government entered into a more active dialogue
with the World Bank on economic reform. Times were hard. People
were suffering. The picking of tea in the Mufindi plantations fell behind
because the women pickers were unable to get sugar to put in their own
morning tea, which constituted their main source of energy in the fields.
There was a severe shortage of basic consumer goods.”
It was an unpromising situation to be facing, and the negotiations
between the government and the World Bank were at times highly
strained. Tensions were also high between reformists and traditionalists
within the government and ruling party – this was after all, the same
period that saw President Julius Nyerere step down.
The World Bank’s insistence that policy change should come before
Bank funds were released weighed heavily on Finance Minister Msuya.
Nevertheless, agreement was reached, in the form of a Structural
Adjustment Programme, which Nyerere accepted as necessary.
Liz and Ron Fennel, pictured in 2013
“There is no doubt that mistakes had been made by both sides,” wrote
Ron. “The Bank itself went through major changes in its approach to
development assistance over the period,” and Nyerere “was slow to
recognise that parastatal inefficiencies were having such a detrimental
impact on peasant farmers. … He refused to accept the need to devalue
the shilling until donor consensus and the parlous state of the economy
made it unavoidable.”
These reforms, and the Bank’s role, are still somewhat contentious
in Tanzania. Researchers like Prof Ruth Meena have repeatedly said
that World Bank/IMF-driven structural adjustment programmes
undermined development in health and education. It was a difficult
time for the population, as the government reduced spending on public
services and introduced cost-sharing for schooling and health services,
price controls were lifted and the shilling was devalued. And yet few
would dispute that the state of the economy necessitated major changes.
Despite these challenges, Ron maintained good relations with his
counterparts in the Tanzanian government, later commenting that
the friendliness of the people, the stable political environment and a
commitment to consensus building, made it possible to work through
the difficulties. And his ongoing work in Tanzania after his retirement
amply demonstrates the fondness he felt for the country.
Ron and Liz were both made MBEs in the 2013 New Year’s Honours list
for services to building relations between the UK and Tanzania. “We are
thrilled,” said Ron at the time. “It is nice that we both got one because
we have worked as a team for many years.”
52 Text
CONTRIBUTORS
TANZANIAN AFFAIRS (ISSN 0952-2948)
EDITOR and POLITICS, ECONOMICS, TRANSPORT, HEALTH: Ben Taylor. E-mail:
[email protected].
GRAPHICS, ELECTRONIC PUBLISHING: Jacob Knight. E-mail: [email protected]
CO-EDITOR and TZ IN THE INTERNATIONAL MEDIA: Donovan McGrath. Tel: 020
8960 6668. E-mail: [email protected]
FOREIGN RELATIONS and AGRICULTURE: David Brewin, 14 Westbourne Grove
Terrace, London W2 5SD. Tel: 020 7727 1755. E-mail: [email protected]
TOURISM & CONSERVATION: James L. Laizer.
BUSINESS & THE ECONOMY: Hildebrand Shayo.
ENERGY & MINERALS: Volunteer requested.
EDUCATION: Angela Ilomo. E-mail: [email protected]
SPORT: Philip Richards. E-mail: [email protected]
BOOK REVIEWS EDITOR: Martin Walsh. E-mail: [email protected]
The views expressed or reported in Tanzanian Affairs are those of
the person concerned and do not necessarily represent
the views of the Britain-Tanzania Society

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