Jaji Mfawidhi wa Mahakama Kuu ya Tanzania Kanda ya Arusha, Joachimu Tiganga ameitaka Serikali kuishirikisha sekta binafsi na kuweka mazingira wezeshi ya kusaidia katika udhibiti wa taka ngumu zinazozagaa mitaani.Continue Reading
Many programmes of the East African Community (EAC) have stalled in the past few months due to a cash crunch blamed on non-remittance of dues amounting to about $40 million by partner States.
By press time, some of the regional body’s workers were yet to be paid their May 2024 salaries, and a number of organs and institutions had suspended their activities due to lack of budget.
The East African Court of Justice (EACJ), the region’s legal watchdog, announced that it was suspending sessions due to financial constraints.
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Mahakama Kuu ya Tanzania, Divisheni ya Makosa ya Rushwa na Uhujumu Uchumi Kanda ya Moshi, imewahukumu kifungo cha maisha jela, Abdalah Halfan Mkwizu na Samwel Eliud Lyakurya wakazi wa Rombo, baada ya kukutwa na hatia ya kusafirisha kilo 690.767 za dawa za kulevya aina ya mirungi.Continue Reading
TANZANIA — THE private sector credit growth has been growing at a decreasing rate since quarter four last year, but still remained in the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) targets.
The latest monthly economic report of the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) shows that credit growth to the private sector slowed to 16.6 per cent in the year ending April compared to 22.9 per cent posted in the corresponding period last year.
According to the central bank report, private sector credit growth started a downward trend in September last year (21 per cent) to April this year (16.6 per cent).
The Head, Research & Financial Analytics at Alpha Capital said yesterday that the private sector credit growth is still growing, rather at a decreasing rate, averaging 17 per cent in quarter one this year from 23 per cent in quarter three last year, as per the Monetary Policy Report by the BoT.
The slowdown in private sector credit growth has been in line with monetary policy implementation, gauging the growth towards a set target of 16.4 per cent, according to the Monetary Policy Statement published in February 2024.
Private sector credit growth and aggregate money supply growth have remained above target for the last two years, prompting the central bank to adopt the less accommodative policy in 2022.
The policy was finally abandoned in the end of 2023 as growth of money supply approached within the central bank’s target, albeit remained slightly afloat.
Vertex International Securities Research and Analytics Manager Beatus Mlingi said the BoT’s economic reviews from January to April 2024, highlight a concerning trend of declining credit to the private sector.
Several factors contribute to this decline, each with significant implications to the Tanzania’s economy.
One primary reason for the reduction in credit is the tightening of monetary policy by the BoT.
To control inflation, the central bank decided to increase the Central Bank Rate from 5 per cent in the first quarter of this year to 6 per cent in the second quarter.
This increase in interest rates makes borrowing more expensive, thereby reducing the demand for credit among private sector businesses.
As a result, companies find it more challenging to secure the funds needed for expansion and operations.
Another contributing factor is the increased risk aversion among banks, particularly tier 2 and lower-tier banks.
Rising non-performing loans (NPLs) have led these banks to adopt stricter lending criteria.
When banks perceive lending to the private sector as riskier, especially in uncertain economic conditions, they become more cautious, further restricting credit availability.
Additionally, new regulatory measures aimed at improving the banking sector’s stability might inadvertently tighten credit conditions.
The BoT’s risk assessment parameters for banks can constrain their ability to lend, as they must adhere to stricter regulatory requirements to maintain stability.
The implications of this decline in credit availability for Tanzania’s economy are significant.
Reduced credit hampers business expansion and investment, leading to slower economic growth. The private sector, which is a crucial driver of economic activity, relies heavily on credit for capital expenditures and operational funding.
Without adequate credit, businesses may cut back on hiring or even lay off employees to manage costs, leading to higher unemployment rates and reduced household incomes.
Furthermore, financial constraints on businesses can lead to a decline in consumer confidence, resulting in lower consumer spending.
This reduction in spending can further slowdown economic activity, creating a negative feedback loop that exacerbates economic challenges.
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Long-term investments in infrastructure, technology and other productive assets may also be postponed or canceled, reducing the economy’s productive capacity and growth potential.
An economist-cum-investment banker, Dr Hildebrand Shayo said yesterday that some commercial lenders have funded mega and long term projects which take long time to start operations.
“Some commercial lenders have been financing mega projects which take a long time to commence production thus causing delays in loan payment,” he noted.
Dr Shayo said that some private sector players implementing government projects have been experiencing payment delays thus destabilising liquidity stance of the lenders.
He said also the considerable part of the non-performing loans that most commercial lenders are experiencing is from the private sector players.
Source: allafrica.com
DAR ES SALAAM — THE Tanzania Digital Inclusion Project (TADIP) has excelled at the recently concluded World Summit on Information Society (WSIS 2024 PRIZES) held in Geneva, Switzerland.
Implemented by the Internet Society Tanzania Chapter (ISOC-TZ) in Kigamboni District, Dar es Salaam, the project recorded victory in the category of Access to Information and Knowledge.
The award was received by ISOC-TZ president Nazar Kirama, who was accompanied by Minister for Information, Communication and Information Technology, Mr Nape Nnauye.
Mr Nape thanked Tanzanians for their cooperation and vowed that no Tanzanians would be left behind in digital inclusion. Mr Kirama expressed happiness for winning the award, stating that it was a positive gesture towards the digital inclusion journey.
“I am thankful to receive this award alongside the responsible minister. It is my hope that Tanzania will continue to improve in digital inclusion,” Mr Kirama stated.
Explaining about the competition, Mr Kirama mentioned that their project was among 1,049 projects from different countries that entered the competition in the first round.
After screening, 369 projects proceeded to the second and final round, in which the Tanzanian project was among them.
According to Mr Kirama, during the summit’s climax on Tuesday this week, their project was declared the winner in the ‘Access to Information and Knowledge’ category.
The TADIP, initiated in 2020, is a 10-year project aimed at closing the digital divide in Tanzania by connecting the unconnected and underserved citizens in rural and urban centres. The project will connect 32.44 million people and train 6 million youths and women on digital literacy.
It is envisioned that 1,500 WiFi School InfoHubs, 262,260 WiFi Community InfoHubs, and 12,437 WiFi Super InfoHubs will be established throughout Tanzania to connect the unconnected millions.
The WiFi Super InfoHubs will also include a Climate Monitoring Focal Point (CCM-FP), involving students and youths in measuring things like carbon emission levels and air quality. Recently, Minister Nape made significant announcements shedding light on Tanzania’s vision for digital transformation and its role in shaping a sustainable and inclusive future.
He emphasised the transformative power of digital technology and the commitment to leveraging it for the benefit of all citizens.
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The Minister stressed the importance of integrating digital solutions into key sectors such as education, healthcare, agriculture and governance to enhance efficiency, transparency and accessibility.
One of the key announcements made by the Minister was the government’s ambitious Vision 2025, aiming to position the country as a digital leader on the global stage.
This comprehensive vision includes strategic initiatives to improve digital infrastructure, promote innovation and entrepreneurship, enhance digital literacy, and ensure the availability of affordable and reliable internet connectivity nationwide.
Mr Nape emphasised the need to bridge the digital divide, recognising that access to digital tools and connectivity is essential for individuals and communities to fully participate in the digital economy.
The project is at aimed higher-connecting citizens to meaningful internet, creating community network innovation hubs, providing digital skills, digital adult education, e-learning skills for teachers and STEM trainings for girls to reduce digital gender gap.
Source: allafrica.com
Temeke Municipal Counci Mayor, Abdallah Mtinika (in black coat) handing over a gas cylinder to one of the beneficiaries of gas cylinders donated by Tanzania Cigarette Public Limited Company ( TCC Plc) to women entreprenuers from Temeke.
The donation, is part of TCC’s countrywide campaign to distribute over 2000 gas cylinders to women entrepreneurs as a way of encouraging the use of clean cooking energy.
At the centre is TCC’s Corporate Affairs and Communications Director, Patricia Mhondo and other dignitaries.
Source: allafrica.com
New entrants in the budding collective investment schemes industry have leveraged technology and low entry thresholds to drive greater retail participation while taking the fight to legacy fund managers.
The newbies, who include Kuza Asset Management, Enwealth Capital and Etica Capital, have for instance grown assets under management (AUM) in the collective schemes to a total of Sh1.6 billion as of March 2024 in just over a year since setting up shop, according to data from the Capital Markets Authority (CMA).
The new breed of fund managers have multiplied their assets under management in an industry already controlled by legacy players including insurers CIC, Britam, Sanlam and asset manager ICEA.
In the quarter to March, Etica Capital saw its unit trust assets rise the highest, tripling to Sh1 billion from just Sh275.5 million in December 2023.
In contrast, CIC, the largest collective investment scheme with a market share of 27.5 percent, saw a 2.2 percent drop in assets under management to Sh61.9 billion from Sh63.3 billion.
Britam and ICEA also marked a 5.3 percent and 1.9 percent contraction in assets respectively in the same quarter.
According to Kenneth Maina, the co-founder of Etica Capital, technology including a paperless onboarding process and round the clock customer support has played a central role in the growth.
“A client can onboard from anywhere without needing forms. They can come in, deposit and even upload their know your customer credentials online and also withdraw without ever speaking to anyone. We also offer customer service 24/7 even on weekends and holidays which the big boys often don’t,” he noted.
He added: “We have also targeted a mass market with an entry level of as low as Sh100. Those individuals were not served before and that’s why after 15 months we have over 36,000 clients.”
The CMA has so far approved 36 collective investment schemes made up of 150 funds.
Despite the seemingly saturation of the market, the assets under management of the funds have grown from Sh56.6 billion in March 2018 to Sh255.4 billion as of March 31, 2024.
At the same time, the industry has continued to draw in more players with CMA issuing a record number of licences in the past year.
Xeno Investment Management is one such licensee set to debut its unit trust scheme later this year which shall comprise of a money market fund, an equity fund and a fixed income fund with the minimum investment amount set at Sh500.
Xeno CEO and founder Aeko Ongodia said he sees the potential to still tap new participants despite the saturation of players by going for the mass market which he terms as underserved.
According to Mr Ongondia, new entrants can find success by focusing on financial inclusion and reaching the highest number of retail clients as opposed to legacy fund managers who might view unit trusts as just another revenue line for a larger business.
“There has been a publicising of returns and AUM but not as much emphasis on the number of participants. When you look into the number of participants, there are just about 200,000 unique accounts. This means there is still very low coverage given the size of the Kenyan population,” he said.
Collective investment schemes are pools of funds that are managed on behalf of investors by a professional fund manager.
In return for putting money into these funds, the investor receives units that represent their pro-rata share of the pool of funds assets.
The unit trusts may take the form of equity funds, bond/fixed income funds, balanced funds, money market funds and special funds.
Oktoba 9, 2023, Makamu wa Pili wa Rais wa Zanzibar, Hemed Suleiman Abdulla akiwa wilayani Mkinga, mkoani Tanga aliwaonya makada wa CCM walioanza kujipitisha kuacha, vinginevyo wanajimaliza wenyeweContinue Reading
Dar es salaam. Serikali imesema bado inaendelea na uchunguzi dhidi ya aliyekuwa Mkurugenzi Mkuu wa Mamlaka ya Bandari Tanzania( TPA) Madeni Kipande (66) na wenzake watano wanaokabiliwa kesi ya uhujumu uchumi.
Kipande na wenzake wakikabiliwa na mashitaka matatu likiwemo la kuisababishia mamlaka hiyo hasara ya dola za Marekani 1.85 milioni sawa na Sh4.2 bilioni.
Wakili wa Serikali, Winiwa Samson ameieleza Mahakama ya Hakimu Mkazi Kisutu, leo Mei 29, 2024, wakati kesi hiyo ilipoitwa kwa ajili ya kutajwa.
Samson amesema hayo mbele ya Hakimu Mkazi Mkuu, Anna Mabutu, wakati shauri hilo lilipoitwa kwa ajili ya kutajwa.
Hata hivyo, kutokana upelelezi wa shauri hilo kutokukamilika, aliomba mahakama ipange tarehe nyingine kwa ajili ya kutajwa na kuangalia kama umekamilika.
Hakimu Mabutu alikubaliana na maelezo hayo na kuahirisha kesi hiyo hadi Juni 27, 2024, itakapotajwa na washtakiwa wapo nje kwa dhamana.
Mbali na Kipande, washtakiwa wengine katika kesi hiyo ya uhujumu uchumi namba 38/2022 ni Peter Gawile (58) aliyekuwa Ofisa Rasilimali Watu wa TPA na mkazi wa Mianzini, Casmily Lujegi (65) mkazi wa Mbezi Juu na Mwenyekiti wa Bodi ya Manunuzi wa TPA, Mashaka Kisanta (59) Mkurugenzi wa Idara ya Manunuzi, Kilian Chale (51) Kaimu Mkurugenzi Idara ya Teknolojia ya Habari na Mawasiliano pamoja na Andrew John.
Kwa mujibu wa hati ya mashitaka, washtakiwa wanadaiwa kati ya Oktoba Mosi, 2014 na Oktoba Mosi 2020 Dar es Salaam, walikula njama ya kutenda kosa la kuisababishia TPA hasara ya Sh4.2 bilioni.
Pia, kati ya Januari Mosi, 2015 hadi Februari 17,2015 washitakiwa kwa pamoja wakiwa maofisa wa TPA, walitumia madaraka yao vibaya kwa kutangaza zabuni namba AE/016/2014-15/CTB/G/39 kwa nia ya kujipatia dola za Marekani 1,857,908.04 .
Shitaka la tatu, inadaiwa kati ya Oktoba Mosi, 2014 na Oktoba Mosi, 2020 eneo la TPA na maeneo mengine ya Dar es Salaam, washtakiwa kwa makusudi walitangaza zabuni ya Enterprises Planning Resources (ERP) bila kupata kibali cha bodi ya zabuni ya mamlaka hiyo na kushindwa kufuata kanuni za zabuni, hivyo kutoa malipo ya awali ya asilimia 40 bila idhini ya bodi hiyo, jambo lililosababisha TPA hasara ya dola za Marekani 1.8 milioni ambazo ni sawa na Sh4.2 bilioni.Continue Reading
The Rufiji River, which drains into Tanzania’s south-east coast, experienced a major wave of flooding in April 2024. The flooding caused tragic loss of life and affected at least 88,000 individuals. More than 28,000 hectares of crops were damaged.
There has been much debate in Tanzania on the causes of this disaster, particularly the presumed role of the new Julius Nyerere Dam, which is built on the river. Barnaby Dye has studied the development and funding of dams, including those in Tanzania. He provides some insights into the potential risks and solutions.
What are the large dams in Tanzania and what were they built for?
Tanzania has a long history of dam building, from its early independence days in 1961. The country’s founding leader, Julius Nyerere, inaugurated the small Nyumba Ya Mungu hydroelectric plant in 1968. A steady programme of large dams followed. These included the dual Kidatu and Mtera dams completed between 1975 and 1988. The New Pangani Falls dam and Kihansi were completed in the mid to late 1990s.
The primary goal for all these dams was hydropower, which has historically dominated Tanzania’s electricity mix.
The 20th century also saw the dominance of an ideology trumpeting the power of these dams – and their electricity – to transform Tanzania’s economy into an industrialised society. The long-planned Stiegler’s Gorge Dam, in particular, which was recently renamed the Julius Nyerere Hydropower Project, captured these development dreams. They were part of Nyerere’s socialist vision for creating a so-called modern developed country.
However, a reliance on hydropower in the 21st century has plunged the country into repeated power cuts during droughts. Hydropower is also being questioned, given long build times, and environmental and social costs. There was a fall in dam building as the government prioritised quicker-win, and sometimes deeply corrupt, gas and oil plants.
This changed with the arrival of President John Magufuli (2015-2021), who decided that the Julius Nyerere 2.1 gigawatt megadam was the answer to Tanzania’s development and electricity needs. He refocused stagnant planning efforts and construction started in 2018.
Six years later, the dam is nearing completion, with the main dam wall and reservoir in place and first turbines operational.
Do any of these dams pose particular risks in the event of flooding?
Dams can prevent floods, storing water in large reservoirs and slowly releasing it downstream. But they can also make flooding worse, or trigger a disaster.
Dam collapses caused by poor maintenance, incorrect operation, or inadequate planning and construction quality are among the worst human-made disasters. The 2019 collapse of a Brazilian dam, for example, killed at least 250 people. China’s 1975 dam disaster killed 240,000 people after heavy rainfall overwhelmed a series of dam walls.
None of Tanzania’s dams have been built primarily for flood control. Most 20th Century dams operate more like run-of-river projects, meaning that they are built to constantly produce electricity and not to store significant volumes of water from the rainy season for drier spells. Therefore, with the exception of Mtera Dam, Tanzania has not historically had the storage reservoirs to prevent significant flooding.
The Julius Nyerere Dam could be different given its large reservoir. However, some media reports blamed the Julius Nyerere Dam for the 2024 floods,, as the new hydropower project sits directly upstream of the area that flooded in April. Other reports argued that it prevented a worse flood. It’s difficult to judge as little has been released about the current design and operation of the nearly-complete dam.
Earlier versions of the design envisaged a large storage dam. So it’s plausible that the dam is benign, as the government has claimed. Official spokespeople insisted that it prevented flooding in 2023 when the reservoir was being filled.
Without the necessary information, though, it’s impossible to reject arguments that the dam caused the destructive flooding. Tanzania has endured painful and constant power cuts. Thus, it is plausible that the government sought to maximise electricity generation from the new dam. Such a strategy would involve keeping the reservoir at its highest level over time. This could leave authorities ill prepared to store water from abnormally heavy rains like those experienced across east Africa in 2024.
As the reservoir approached dangerously high levels, dam operators would need to suddenly release as much water as possible to prevent it from overflowing and breaking the dam wall. Such actions, while preventing a worse dam collapse, would have caused severe flooding. Indeed, officials from the state-owned electricity utility reportedly stated that a release from the Julius Nyerere Dam caused April’s floods.
Thus, Tanzania’s dams, like others around the world, constitute a flood risk whose likelihood depends on how the dams are planned and operated.
What are some solutions to the flood risk?
Climate change models predict increased rainfall variability, and therefore more floods, in Tanzania’s future. Given the inherent risk of emergency dam releases in the short term, the government needs an effective early warning system to alert those downstream when water releases occur. Such a system seems to have failed this year.
Longer-term solutions should focus on slowing water and addressing the ultimate cause of flooding: having too much water in too short a time.
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The government’s proposal involves construction of more dams. In my view, this approach to flood control seems shortsighted. These dams could worsen, rather than solve, extreme floods. And planned dams are designed only for hydropower – they leave little storage for flood prevention.
New dams on the Rufiji River come with major trade-offs as they pose a risk for other economic mainstays:
Natural infrastructure that slows water movement, like wetland or groundwater capture, holds the best potential. It is a cheaper, more effective solution, with economic opportunities for livelihood diversification. Equally, adaptation may hold the key, as researchers Stéphanie Duvail, Olivier Hamerlynck and colleagues found in thier participatory study. Changing housing and agriculture to cope with periodic flooding would allow Tanzania to enjoy the economic benefits that natural river floods bring.
Barnaby Joseph Dye, Lecturer, University of York
Source: allafrica.com
