Africa: Tanzania Wants Africa to Benefit From Fisheries

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In: Tanzania Foreign Investment News
Africa: Tanzania Wants Africa to Benefit From Fisheries

Tanzania Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy, Dr. Doto Biteko, has called upon stakeholders in Africa’s fisheries sector to intensify their efforts in protecting fisheries resources in a bid to improve the sector’s contribution to the economy.

Daily News recently published an in-depth detailing how the sector was threatening fishermen and business people into bankruptcy.

Addressing the First Africa Small-Scale Fishers Meeting in Dar es Salaam that coincided with the 10th anniversary celebration of achievements in the fisheries sector, Dr. Biteko urged stakeholders to prioritize small-scale fishers to boost the sector. In Tanzania, he said the group accounts to approximately 95 percent for all fishing activities.

Official figures show Tanzania produces an average of 475,579 tons of fish that includes about 429,168 tons of fish coming from natural waters, contributing about 3.4 tril/-. This is nearly 1.9 percent of the annual contribution of the sector to the gross domestic product – GDP.

READ: PM demands report on illegal fishing activities

“Despite efforts in Tanzania and across Africa, the fisheries sector faces several challenges, including the impacts of climate change, limited stakeholder involvement in fisheries management, particularly women and youth, and post-harvest losses,” he said.

Minister of Livestock and Fisheries, Abdallah Ulega, expressed honor in Tanzania hosting the first Africa Small-Scale Fisheries Conference, originating from the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture (IYAFA) celebrated in Rome, Italy, in March 2023.

“The aim of this conference is to give small-scale fishers a platform to voice their needs and improve the sector, ensuring their involvement in policy-making, legal frameworks, and strategic planning,” added Minister Ulega.

The conference themed, “A Decade of Progress: Envisioning the Future of Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries,” celebrates ten years of implementing the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries.

The conference is expected to review the implementation of these guidelines and related policy and strategic frameworks for fisheries and aquaculture development in Africa.

Source: allafrica.com

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East Africa: Tanzania Urges Farmers to Seek Export Markets

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In: Tanzania Foreign Investment News
East Africa: Tanzania Urges Farmers to Seek Export Markets

Tanzanian authorities have urged maize farmers to seek markets in neighbouring countries for their surplus.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, the country expects a bumper harvest, and the surplus will exceed the preliminary demand assessment of maize, more than 1,2 million tonnes estimated for export markets in neighbouring countries.

The National Food Reserve Agency is set to purchase cereals from farmers earlier in July due to expected bumper maize harvests from key growing areas in the southern region.

National Food Reserve Agency (NFRA) executive director Dr Andrew Komba said the agency was set to start buying maize, rice and other food crops from farmers for storage and selling to local and foreign food markets beginning July.

NFRA strategy was to manage food reserves to ensure sustainable supply that would meet both domestic and export needs, the food agency officials said.

The agency had opened 14 crop purchasing centres in leading maize producing areas in the southern highlands. Ministry of Agriculture had allocated Tsh300 billion (US$115 million) for buying some 300 000 tonnes of food crops during the harvesting season between June and July.

Minister for Agriculture Hussein Bashe said Tanzania expects to produce 31,5 million tonnes of food crops compared with 20.4 million tonnes harvested last year. He zsaid the country expects to harvest over 10 million tonnes of maize during the 2024 season that runs between mid-June and July. –

Source: allafrica.com

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Zanzibar launches tourism and investment show

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In: Tanzania Foreign Investment News, Zanzibar Business News, Zanzibar Foreign Investment News

Featuring more than 250 high-quality hotels, tour operators, and attractions from Zanzibar and with visitors from Tanzania, East Africa, and beyond, the show will offer a fertile ground for investment and deep insights into Zanzibar’s flourishing market through exclusive workshops and seminars.Continue Reading

Tanzania: EACOP Project Affected People Harassed and Arrested in Tanzania for Speaking to Media

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In: Tanzania Foreign Investment News

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania — The StopEACOP Coalition condemns the ongoing blatant harassment and intimidation of East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) Project Affected People (PAPs) in Tanzania.

On Sunday, June 2nd, police invaded the villages of Diloda and Golimba in Hanang’ District and arrested four PAPs: Gabrieli Daudi, Tiofili Israeli, Marseli Martini,Kamili Fabiano and a community leader Damiano Malle. Their only crime is speaking to the media about their concerns regarding poor compensation and intimidation tactics employed by police in connection with the controversial EACOP project.

These individuals were detained overnight and released today, June 3rd, without charge. Lawyers representing the arrested were denied any explanation for the arrests, with police only stating that the four must return for questioning in “2-3 days” after their investigation is concluded.

This incident follows a May 25th press conference on Africa Day by Ugandan and Tanzanian CSOs working with EACOP-affected communities. The press conference, attended by local and international media, highlighted the project’s severe environmental and social impacts and urged the Chinese government to refuse involvement.

The StopEACOP Coalition is concerned by the continuous misuse of police to stifle opposition to the controversial pipeline. The coalition calls on the Tanzanian government to immediately cease harassing EACOP-PAPs and uphold their fundamental right to freedom of expression.

We further urge the governments of China and France to speak out against this harassment associated with projects developed by companies from their countries. TotalEnergies and China National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC) are also responsible for remaining quiet when these injustices are associated with projects they are involved in.

Quotes

“It is with profound disgust that we witness the ongoing arrests, harassment and poor treatment of community leaders who are simply looking to raise their concerns about EACOP’s devastating impacts on their lives and the wellbeing of their families. It is this violence and destruction that further informs our fight against TotalEnergies and their supporters. We remain resolute: EACOP must be stopped entirely, affected communities must receive restorative justice and reparations, and their developmental aspirations must be respected and upheld.”  – said Zaki Mamdoo, StopEACOP Campaign Coordinator

“As people of faith, we express our solidarity with the EACOP-affected communities in Tanzania. We commend their courage in remaining unfazed despite continued intimidation since March this year. It is deeply troubling that the authorities have resorted to heavy-handed tactics to silence them instead of pursuing meaningful dialogue and addressing these valid concerns. We call out the Tanzanian government under Mama Samia Suluhu to Stop the intimidation and uphold justice, human dignity, and environmental protection. These communities deserve to have their voices heard, and their right to freely express themselves must be respected without fear of retaliation.”  said Meryne Warah, Organising Director at Greenfaith Global

“The ongoing harassment and intimidation of communities affected by EACOP in Tanzania by the authorities is a clear violation of their fundamental rights. We urge the Tanzanian government to uphold the rule of law, respect the rights of these communities, and charge them if there is a valid case instead of forcing impoverished villagers to travel over 120km for fruitless investigations.”  said lawyer Patience Mlowe

Source: allafrica.com

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Credit Bank secures anchor investor listing plan backing

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In: Tanzania Foreign Investment News

Credit Bank’s anchor shareholder, the Sansora Group of companies, has backed the lender’s plan to list shares on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) by way of introduction in a move to grant it visibility and allow price discovery of the investment on the stock market.

This signifies a retreat from an earlier plan announced in August last year that the lender intended to raise Sh1 billion from the stock market through an initial public offering (IPO).

Listing by introduction occurs when a company takes its existing shares and lists them on an exchange without the aim of raising capital immediately, but to be able to do so at a later date when the company is in need of capital.

Listing prospects

Sansora’s backing is a major boost to the bank’s listing prospects ahead of the annual general meeting (AGM) scheduled for June 24 with the listing proposal topping the agenda.

“Our company is broadly supportive of the plans to list at the NSE, even as we await shareholder and regulatory guidance. We at Sansora believe the listing will receive broad support from other shareholders at the upcoming AGM on June 24.

However, Sansora has no plans to sell its stake in the bank in the foreseeable future,” Sansora Group chief executive Leon Nyachae said in an interview.

Sansora, which owns about 27 percent of the bank’s shares said the listing proposal has opened the lender to a growing interest from both the local and foreign investors.

Last year (2023) the tier 3 lender sold a 20 percent shareholding to a Mauritius-based private equity fund Shorecap III after the deal was consummated in April following approvals from the Competition Authority of Kenya and the Central Bank of Kenya.

Credit Bank is seeking more funding to implement its aggressive five-year (2021-2025) growth plan with hopes of achieving an asset base of Sh49 billion and Tier II status.

The lender is also in talks with a foreign private equity (PE) firm to sell an additional 25 percent stake.

As at December 31, 2022, the bank’s authorised share capital was 75,000,000 ordinary shares of Sh100 each of which 29,159,714 shares were issued and fully paid.

“The Sansora group of companies have served as the anchor shareholder of Credit Bank since 1986 and we look forward to playing this role for many years to come,” said Mr Nyachae.

Credit banks began operations in 1986 as a non-bank financial institution before securing a commercial banking licence in 1995.
Between 1995 and 2010, the lender served a niche market, mainly large businesses, before the strategy review in 2010 which positioned it as a retail-facing bank.

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