Dar es Salaam. The leader of the ACT Wazalendo, Zitto Kabwe has raised three key issue that he said are hindering the economy of the islands and wants the authorities to investigate them.
He named the issues as poor efficiency in the operation of the Port of Zanzibar, the violation of the competition law in the operation of the Amani Abeid Karume Airport and investment decisions in the Zanzibar Social Security Fund (ZSSF).
Kabwe was addressing thousands of ACT-Wazalendo supporters who were gathered at a public rally in Nungwi Zanzibar, the rally was the first since the ban on political rallies was lifted.
“The pillars of Zanzibar’s economy are the port and the airport, because two-thirds of the economy depends on trade and tourism. In the absence of efficiency in these areas, the cost of living for the people of Zanzibar must go up,” he said.
According to Kabwe, at Zanzibar port a 40-foot container is charged $7,000, while in other areas it is $2,000 and $1,500 on Tanzania Mainland
This he said has forced business people to shift to other ports as a result making the cost of living shoot up.
Apart from the operational challenges, Zitto expressed surprise at the lack of investment in the port for 60 years.
“We are calling on the President of Zanzibar (Dr. Hussein Mwinyi), if it really hurts him, to dissolve the board of the Port of Zanzibar, remove the management and find Zanzibari people capable of running it according to their environment,” he said.
However, he also spoke of rumors that the port is expected to be leased to the UAE instead of being improved as promised by CCM.
He then touched on the challenge in the operation of the Abeid Karume Airport, saying it is surprising that an investor from Dubai exclusive rights to run the newly built Terminal 3 building at the cost of the previous local investors
As a result he said some 2000 jobs for the Zanzibari people has been lost. According to him it is not that their party is against competition, instead, they want an equal playing field for both local and foreign investors.
“The laws of the United Republic do not allow one company to have a monopoly in one business area, the Zanzibar Airport Authority has exercised monopoly against the law,” he said.
Ground handling laws as enacted by TCAA prevents any airport to have a single hound handler, prevents monopoly and prevents restriction of terminals.
The out spoken politician also raised the issue of an investment decision by ZSSF, saying it threatens to lose the funds of the members.
“Currently, Zanzibar has one social security fund, but the investment decisions that are made are surprising. The projects that are being carried out, you would think that there is no board of trustees… if you are not careful these young people who are contributing today, after they reach the age of Mzee (Juma) Duni, there will be no pension to pay them,” he said.
He called on the CAG of Zanzibar to conduct a special audit of all investments made by the fund.
He gave an example of the investment made between ZSSF and CCM that even its members do not contribute to the fund, instead contribute to NSSF.
“ZSSF has entered into a partnership with CCM to for a project, an entity that is not a member of this fund what if they run away with money? These are the things we want the CAG to audit, but we want the fund’s regulator (the Central Bank of Tanzania) to look at the fund’s investment policies to protect its members’ funds,” he said.
Share this news
This Year’s Most Read News Stories
The reason internet speeds in Tanzania still lag behind
Vodacom Tanzania was placed 16th at 17. ’08 Mbps, while Airtel Tanzania was ranked 18th available on 12. 89 Mbps.Continue Reading
Tanzania Declares End of Marburg Virus Disease Outbreak
Tanzania today declared the end of Marburg virus disease outbreak after recording no new cases over 42 days since the death of the last confirmed case on 28 January 2025.
The outbreak, in which two confirmed and eight probable cases were recorded (all deceased), was the second the country has experienced. Both this outbreak, which was declared on 20 January 2025, and the one in 2023 occurred in the north-eastern Kagera region.
In response to the latest outbreak, Tanzania’s health authorities set up coordination and response systems, with support from World Health Organization (WHO) and partners, at the national and regional levels and reinforced control measures to swiftly detect cases, enhance clinical care, infection prevention as well as strengthen collaboration with communities to raise awareness and help curb further spread of the virus.
Growing expertise in public health emergency response in the African region has been crucial in mounting effective outbreak control measures. Drawing on experience from the response to the 2023 Marburg virus disease outbreak, WHO worked closely with Tanzanian health authorities to rapidly scale up key measures such as disease surveillance and trained more than 1000 frontline health workers in contact tracing, clinical care and public health risk communication. The Organization also delivered over five tonnes of essential medical supplies and equipment.
“The dedication of frontline health workers and the efforts of the national authorities and our partners have paid off,” said Dr Charles Sagoe-Moses, WHO Representative in Tanzania. “While the outbreak has been declared over, we remain vigilant to respond swiftly if any cases are detected and are supporting ongoing efforts to provide psychosocial care to families affected by the outbreak.”
Building on the momentum during the acute phase of the outbreak response, measures have been put in place to reinforce the capacity of local health facilities to respond to potential future outbreaks. WHO and partners are procuring additional laboratory supplies and other equipment for disease detection and surveillance and other critical services.
Marburg virus disease is highly virulent and causes haemorrhagic fever. It belongs to the same family as the virus that causes Ebola virus disease. Illness caused by Marburg virus begins abruptly. Patients present with high fever, severe headache and severe malaise. They may develop severe haemorrhagic symptoms within seven days.
In the African region, previous outbreaks and sporadic cases have been reported in Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Equatorial Guinea, Rwanda, South Africa and Uganda.
Source: allafrica.com
Tanzania PS Wants Greater Public Awareness in Health Insurance
Dodoma — PERMANENT Secretary (PS) for Health Ministry, Prof Abel Makubi, said accomplishing universal health insurance requires greater awareness to members of the public before the programme kicks off on July 1, 2023.Continue Reading
