Tanzania Foreign Investment News (Page 8)

By LUKE ANAMI

By ANTHONY KITIMO

Lack of funds for construction, delays in land acquisition and compensation are among factors cited for expected delays in the completion of a major East African Community Road project, which was billed to boost logistics on the bloc, linking its two main transport corridors.

The $751 million Coastline Transnational Highway project, conceived over a decade ago, covers Bagamoyo-Tanga-Horo Horo on the Tanzania side and Lunga Lunga-Mombasa-Mtwapa-Malindi on the Kenyan side.

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By XINHUA

Some 20.1 million people were internally displaced in July in the Horn of Africa region, the United Nations migration agency said on Thursday.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in a report released in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, that the number is an increase from 19.2 million people in June.

The IOM attributed the total surge to a rise in internally displaced persons from Burundi, Ethiopia, and Sudan. Most of the displaced people were in Sudan (10.2 million), Somalia (3.5 million), Ethiopia (3.3 million) and South Sudan (2 million).

“There are 10.2 million newly forcibly displaced people in Sudan, including 7.9 million internally and 2.1 million in neighbouring countries since the beginning of the conflict in April 2023,” the IOM said.

Other causes of displacements, according to the UN agency, are floods caused by heavy rains and food insecurity, especially in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia.

Read: Africa home to nearly half of global displaced population, report says

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IOM also noted that the Greater Horn of Africa region had some 5.4 million refugees and asylum seekers. Uganda hosts the greatest number of refugees at 1.7 million, followed by Ethiopia at 1 million, and Kenya at 906,000.

About 67 million people were food insecure in the region in July, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, a regional bloc in Africa. Of the number, 39 million are in IGAD member states, including Djibouti, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania, Sudan, and Uganda.

On August 2, international agencies issued an alert that the Horn of Africa would experience below-average rainfall during the October-December season that would transition to drought. This would mean a rise in the number of displaced persons due to food insecurity. 

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The ongoing East African Community (EAC) conference on education, held in light of the African Union’s designation of 2024 as the Year of Education, has spotlighted the persistent challenges in the region’s education sector.

The conference, themed “Educate an African Fit for the 21st Century: Collective Action for Quality, Inclusive, and Life-long Learning in East Africa,” aims to assess the progress and difficulties facing member states in aligning with the continent’s educational agenda.

The gathering follows the Africa Human Capital Heads of State Summit in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, where regional leaders, including Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan, endorsed the Dar es Salaam Human Capital Declaration.

This declaration emphasizes the need for significant investments in health, education, and employment to harness Africa’s youthful population and achieve a demographic dividend.

Despite notable efforts, including the harmonization of education systems and the development of frameworks to facilitate student and staff mobility, the EAC region continues to face several challenges.

These challenges include limited access to education, varying education quality, insufficient teacher capacity, inadequate financing, and the integration of technology in education.

With Sub-Saharan Africa scoring the lowest globally on the World Bank’s Human Capital Index, the urgency for increased investment in education is clear.

Under President Samia’s leadership, Tanzania has initiated significant reforms aimed at improving education access, quality, and relevance.

These reforms include extending compulsory schooling from seven to ten years by 2027/28, a major curriculum review, and investments in educational infrastructure and teacher quality.

The government’s focus on vocational training alongside traditional education paths underscores its commitment to equipping youth with practical skills for the job market.

Education experts have called for greater collaboration among EAC member states and international partners to address the region’s educational challenges.

Source: allafrica.com

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By BOB KARASHANI

Tanzanians will go to the polls on November 27 in the first real political test of President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s administration.

The official date was announced this week as security agencies and the main opposition party, Chadema, clashed over the right to assemble, which the authorities saw as a plot to sow chaos in the country.

Hopes for a smooth conduct of the civic poll, which will lay the groundwork for next year’s general elections, were dealt a severe blow after a heavy-handed police response to Chadema’s plan to hold a rally in Mbeya, south-west Tanzania. 

The party’s leaders and some supporters, more than 500 of them, were arrested ahead of the rally on Monday before being released and sent back to their homes.

The incident overshadowed the long-delayed announcement of the election date by the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Administration (Tamisemi), which was made with fanfare in the capital Dodoma on Thursday.

Police violently enforced a ban on the opposition rally, which was to mark the annual International Youth Day.

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Among those arrested in the raid were party Chairperson Freeman Mbowe, Vice-Chairperson Tundu Lissu, Secretary-General John Mnyika and central committee member Joseph Mbilinyi, who were eventually taken back to their home regions under heavy police guard with other detainees.

The police and the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties said they were concerned that the rally could spark anti-government protests along the lines of the Gen-Z youth movement in neighbouring Kenya as the reason for prohibiting it.

But at their first press conference on Wednesday after returning to Dar es Salaam, the Chadema leaders condemned the “unprecedented brutality” they had experienced at the hands of the police.

Lissu and Mnyika minced no words in describing how police officers used batons, pepper spray and tasers to rough them up, and how their colleague Mbilinyi was seriously injured and taken to hospital in Dar es Salaam.

Mnyika recounted how the police team leader, Commander (CP) Awadh Haji, who heads the force’s Operations and Training Unit, “snatched my spectacles off my face, broke them and then stomped on them, before other police officers began beating us up mercilessly”.

“We were then thrown into police trucks and driven for hundreds of kilometres, lying face down. Mbilinyi in particular was in a very bad state,” he added.

Mbowe said the police action was “totally uncalled for” and said it was a deliberate strategy to cripple the opposition ahead of Tanzania’s new election season.

“Instead of achieving their intended purpose of deterring the youth from pursuing the kind of mutinous stances we have seen in Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria and elsewhere, such actions could actually spur them on. And it would be pointless to blame the opposition [if this were to happen],” the party leader said.

He said that despite the incident, Chadema would continue its quest for political equality and that if such police violence was repeated in either of the two upcoming elections, “this country will not be safe for anyone”.

Read: Tanzania 2025 elections: Why Magufuli legacy persists despite Samia’s political reforms

The party has also announced its intention to take legal action against CP Haji and Assistant Registrar Sisty Nyahoza, who signed the letter to Chadema banning the Mbeya rally, in their personal capacities for spearheading the week’s events. 

Mr Nyahoza’s letter quoted invitation videos posted on social media by the party’s youth leaders calling on youths across the country to attend the rally “to show that they are as serious as their Kenyan counterparts in charting a new destiny for the country and doing away with state control”.

He said such statements were tantamount to inciting social chaos, which Mbowe dismissed as a “completely baseless assumption”.

The nationwide November 27 civic poll will see the election of village, street and ward chairpersons and council members.

It is expected to be a litmus test for the 2025 presidential and parliamentary elections, in which the ruling CCM party will seek to maintain its legislative dominance and President Samia Suluhu Hassan will seek to secure an outright electoral mandate for the first time.

She was elevated from vice-president by constitutional decree after her predecessor John Magufuli died in office in 2021.

However, the Mbeya incident has fuelled scepticism about the chances of a free and fair vote in November, especially as questions have also been raised about the government’s continued oversight of local elections, despite the establishment of an Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) following amendments to the electoral law earlier this year.

Kicking off the November race on Thursday, Tamisemi Minister Mohamed Mchengerwa, whose portfolio falls directly under the president’s office, said ballot papers and other required documents were ready for the exercise.

Contesting political parties will only be allowed to start formal campaigning a week before the polls on November 20, and have also been instructed to submit their campaign meeting schedules to the ministry’s approved election supervisors at least a week in advance.

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TANZANIA: AS President Samia Suluhu Hassan prepares to assume the Chairpersonship of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation, analysts express strong confidence in her leadership.

They believe her commitment to democracy, good governance and her Reconciliation, Resilience, Reform and Rebuild (4Rs) philosophy will contribute in setting high standard in other member states.

President Samia is set to officially take over the role from Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema at the 44th SADC Summit.

The summit, themed “Promoting Innovation to Unlock Economic Growth and Sustainable Development Opportunities Towards a More Industrialised SADC” will take place tomorrow in Harare, Zimbabwe.

In an interview with the ‘Daily News’, a lecturer at the Dr Salim Ahmed Salim Centre for Foreign Relations (CFR), Mr Innocent Shoo praised President Samia’s proven track record in advancing democracy and good governance in Tanzania.

He believes her leadership will be an inspiration for other SADC member States and anticipates she will work towards enhancing peace and stability in the region, especially in conflict-prone areas like northern Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in Kivu and Goma.

ALSO READ: Samia issues directives after swearing in ministers, other officials

He noted that President Samia’s leadership could serve as a model for other countries in the SADC and Great Lakes regions in promoting peace, security and stability, which are crucial for enhancing intra-regional trade.

“Recently, regional blocs like SADC, COMESA, and EAC signed a tripartite agreement to collaborate on trade between African countries. If peace and stability are lacking, trade between these regions will be unsuccessful,” Mr Shoo explained.

He added: “President Samia will lead by example in showing what she is doing at home, enabling other nations to learn from Tanzania’s dedication to democracy, good governance, peace and security.”

Mr Shoo also highlighted the financial challenges faced by regional integration blocs, including SADC, in funding peacekeeping operations.

He emphasised the need for increased intelligence sharing and the deployment of peacekeeping forces to conflict zones.

An Assistant Lecturer at the same institution, Mr Dennis Konga noted the significance of President Samia’s leadership, particularly as a woman in a traditionally male-dominated role.

He believes her appointment will inspire other women in the region and advance gender equity, while underscoring the importance of peace and security for economic growth and trade within the SADC region.

Ambassador and retired Brigadier General Benard Mdolwa expressed confidence in President Samia’s ability to enhance Tanzania’s positive image within SADC, building on the legacy of former President Julius Nyerere.

He urged Tanzanians to support President Samia in her efforts to promote peace and security across the African continent.

Source: allafrica.com

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MINISTER of State in the Vice-President’s Office (Union and Environment), Dr Ashatu Kijaji has announced that the government plans to conduct a comprehensive assessment across various regions to evaluate the impacts of flooding caused by climate change.

Dr Kijaji made this statement while presenting a report on the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the El Niño rains of 2023/24 and detailing how the office has addressed the challenges.

Speaking before the Parliamentary Standing Committee for Water and Environment in Dodoma on Tuesday, she explained that the Vice-President’s Office has begun preparing the necessary documentation for this assessment.

“We will enlist experts in the field to inform the Tanzanian public about the impacts of climate change and the government’s measures to address them,” Dr Kijaji said.

She outlined that the Vice-President’s Office, in collaboration with stakeholders, is focused on providing information to communities, particularly at the village and ward levels, regarding the effects of the El Niño rains.

Additionally, the office has developed initial response plans and strategies for emergency measures, especially in flood-prone areas.

Dr Kijaji also highlighted ongoing efforts to prevent human activities within 60 metres of water sources to minimise the impact on citizens and property affected by rainfall.

ALSO READ: Scientists: El Nino not responsible for East Africa floods

Permanent Secretary in the Vice-President’s Office, Engineer Cyprian Luhemeja said that the office is preparing a guide on resource management for water bodies.

Furthermore, an institutional framework for implementing the blue economy policy is being developed, along with educational programmes to enhance public understanding.

Earlier, Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee for Water and Environment, Mr Jackson Kiswaga underlined the need for research centres to regularly assess and report on the effects of climate change, noting the enduring nature of these issues.

The report aims to provide an overview of the environmental impacts caused by the rains between November 2023 and April 2024 and the responses implemented to address these impacts.

The assessment covered several areas: in the Eastern Zone, including Rufiji, Kibiti, Kisarawe, Kinondoni, Temeke, Kigamboni and Mlimba; the Northern Zone including Kisongo Ward in Arusha Region, Arumeru District Wards of Suye and Mianzini, Mto wa Mbu in Monduli District, Ngaramtoni in Arusha District Council-Arumeru District and Karatu District.

Additionally, the assessment included the Western regions of Kigoma and Katavi and the Southern Highlands of Rukwa, Mbeya, Njombe and Songwe.

Source: allafrica.com

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PRIME Minister, Kassim Majaliwa has reaffirmed Tanzania’s commitment to strengthening its partnership with Cuba, focusing on advancements in education, health, agriculture and tourism.

His remarks came during a meeting with Cuban Vice-President Salvador Mesa at the Revolutionary Square in Havana on Tuesday.

Mr Majaliwa was in Havana for a two-day official visit aiming to strengthen the bilateral relation between Tanzania and Cuba.

He highlighted on-going collaborations between Tanzania’s Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology and its Cuban counterpart, particularly a long-term agreement allowing Tanzanian students to pursue medical degrees in Cuba.

In the health sector, Majaliwa noted that Tanzanian medical institutions have benefited significantly from Cuban expertise. Cuban specialist doctors have frequently visited Tanzania, contributing to skill exchanges and providing critical care across various regions.

“We have seen Cuban doctors making a tangible difference in Tanzanian hospitals, including Muhimbili National Hospital, Mloganzila, Bugando, KCMC and Dodoma. Their dedication and patriotism have been exemplary,” Majaliwa said.

The Prime Minister also expressed Tanzania’s interest in learning from Cuba’s successes in tourism. He praised Cuba’s advancements in beach tourism, which include world-class hotels, well-developed infrastructure and a robust car rental system.

“Cuba’s achievements in tourism are impressive and Tanzania looks forward to adopting similar strategies to enhance our own sector,” Majaliwa noted.

“I assure the honourable Vice-President that together we will continue to embrace such friendly bilateral cooperation,” he added.

ALSO READ: Tanzania-China friendship force to reckon with in health sector

Additionally, the two leaders discussed the promotion of Kiswahili in Latin America. Tanzanian Ambassador to Cuba, Humphrey Polepole, has been tasked with advancing Kiswahili education and usage in Havana and beyond.

Kiswahili is already taught at Cuban universities, including the University of Havana.

Ambassador Polepole emphasised that the Prime Minister’s visit has significantly boosted political, economic and biotechnology relations between the countries.

He also highlighted preparations for the Kiswahili International Symposium, scheduled to take place in Havana from November 7 to 9, which President Samia Suluhu Hassan is expected to attend.

Source: allafrica.com

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When President Samia Suluhu Hassan took office, her easing of opposition restrictions was praised. But a recent protest crackdown shows that progress on political freedom under her leadership has been inconsistent.

A recent crackdown on opposition party activities in Tanzania has left many political observers and analysts concerned about the East African country’s democratic space and the lack of competitive politics.

Ahead of International Youth Day on Monday, police arrested prominent politician Tundu Lissu and four other officials from his Chadema party. Authorities had banned a youth rally organized by the party on Sunday, citing concerns that it would incite chaos and violence.

Those arrested were subsequently released on bail — but the incident seems to have cast a slur on Tanzanian President Samia Hassan’s promise to allow her political opponents to freely operate.

Tanzania’s constitition guarantees the liberties of citizens, granting them free speech and freedom to peacefully asssemble, but opposition politicians have hardly enjoyed this, Godwin Gonde Amani, a political analyst, told DW.

What is the issue?

“The problem comes to the definition of freedom of speech and how those in government want people to express themselves. And it has been seen that few people are enjoying more freedom than the others,” Amani said.

“The mass arrests and arbitrary detention of figures from the Chadema party, as well as their supporters and journalists, is a deeply worrying sign in the run-up to local government elections in December 2024 and the 2025 general election,” Amnesty International said in a statement.

A year ago, President Samia Hassan ended a ban on opposition rallies imposed by her strongman predecessor, John Magufuli.

She also promised to restore competitive politics in the country, a practice that had been absent during Magufuli’s presidency.

Inconsistent progresss

But progress hasn’t been consistent under Hassan’s leadership.

Beatrice Bandewa, a Tanzanian citizen resident in the Tanzanian capital Dar es Salaam, told DW that the president has demonstrated good faith so far and can’t be faulted for recent turn of events.

“In 2021 when President Samia came into power, she allowed all political activities to take place in the country, on condition that [political] parties observe rules and regulations,” she said.

Bandewa said that hasn’t been the case. “In any political demonstrations, not all partakers are in good will. Some are taking advantage of displayingn hate speech and inciting violence.”

Police reportedly cracked down on Monday’s planned rally because organizers had asked people to come out like the “youth in Kenya” — a reference to Gen-Z protests against Kenya’s now-scrapped finance bill which demonstrators said would raise taxes on already overtased Kenyan workers.

Kenyan President William Ruto refused to sign the Finance Bill 2024 into law following the significant public unrest and calls for his resignation.

William Maduhu, a Tanzanian who disagrees with the actions of the police said, the latest move points to a return to the dark days in Tanzania when opposition parties and their supporters faced significant crackdowns, arbitrary arrests and other forms of political persecution — particularly during Magufuli’s rule, which lasted from 2015 until his death in 2021.

“Those dark days of 17 years are like coming back,” he said as he expressed concerns about how other Tanzanians seem to be worried.

At a public event earlier this week, Emmanuel Nchimbi, the secretary general of Tanzania’s ruling center-left Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), expressed concern about the actions of the police. He fears they could thwart efforts to reduce tensions between the opposition and the ruling party.

“Give us politicians the chance to address these matters through dialogue,” he said. “Not everything should be handled through legal channels. Some issues are inherently political.”

Achieving political reconciliation

Amani suggested that the recent crackdown could hinder reconciliation efforts aimed at reducing political tensions.

“A lot has been changing with the president compared to the previous times under President Magufuli and the other presidents,” the political analyst told DW.

“Now there are issues of reconcilation, there are issues of resolving the conflict between the opposition and the ruling party.”

Amani criticized the police and other governmental agencies for excessively exercising their powers and mandates in response to the potential replication of youth protests from Kenya and Nigeria in Tanzania.

“What happened in Nigeria and what happened in Kenya can affect any country and Tanzania has a lot to learn from it,” Amani said.

Bandawe said the recent crackdown shouldn’t be considered irrelevant since they only seem to prevent any act of violence ahead of the elections.

“As we know, this year the country is going for local government elections. This is the reason why the government organs are not allowing these political demonstrations and protests of any kind,” she said.

Human Rights Watch said in a report on Wednesday that Tanzanian police arbitarily arrested 375 members and supporters of the country’s main opposition party.

Amani said Tanzania must free up its democratic space and allow for divergent opinions and activities if it is to deepen its democratic system.

Tanzania must allow for “tolerance within the field of politics because people cannot think the same all the time,” he said.

“Using pressure or force trying to limit the [opposition] in exercising their freedom seems to be a threat towards sustainable peace.”

Edited by: Keith Walker

Source: allafrica.com

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Top leaders from Tanzania’s main opposition Chadema party and other senior officials were freed on bail Tuesday following their arrests ahead of a planned youth event in the southwestern city of Mbeya. Chadema said they had been badly beaten during their detention.

Chadema chairman Freeman Mbowe and his Deputy Tundu Lissu – both former presidential candidates – were “seriously beaten during the arrest” on Monday, the party’s deputy secretary general Benson Kigaila said on Tuesday.

Secretary general John Mnyika and the head of the party in the southern Nyasa region Joseph Mbilinyi were also beaten, Kigaila said.

Lissu, who survived an assassination bid in 2017 and had previously lived in exile for several years, “was dragged by the officers before he was thrown to the vehicle”, Kigaila told reporters.

Mbowe, 62, was detained on Monday at the airport in Mbeya, the day after Lissu and other officials were arrested.

Tanzania arrests top opposition figure Lissu in mass round-up

The detained opposition leaders had been escorted from Mbeya to Dar es Salaam where they were released on Tuesday, Kigaila said.

“After their release this morning, they individually went to hospital and we will give their health status in future,” he added.

Over 500 arrests

As many as 520 people were arrested across the country, according to a police statement, before the Chadema youth wing’s rally that had been expected to draw thousands of young people.

Rights groups and government opponents have raised fears the arrests could signal a return to the authoritarian policies of Tanzania’s late president John Magufuli, who died suddenly in March 2021.

His successor President Samia Suluhu Hassan had vowed a return to “competitive politics” and eased some restrictions on the opposition and the media, including lifting a six-year ban on opposition gatherings.

Samia Suluhu Hassan sworn in as Tanzania’s first female president

Awadh Haji, police chief of operations and training, confirmed the Chadema releases but warned that police would “take strict legal action against any individual or group involved in disrupting peace”.

Officers will continue to closely monitor the situation, he said, and will “strengthen security in the city of Mbeya and all other regions of Tanzania to prevent any planned acts of violence”.

Hundreds of youth supporters were also rounded up by police as they travelled into the city, according to the party. About 10,000 had been expected to meet in Mbeya to mark International Youth Day on Monday.

But police accused Chadema of planning violent demonstrations and made reference to widespread anti-government protests in neighbouring Kenya, led largely by young activists.

Worrying signs

Rights groups and government opponents voiced alarm at the developments as Tanzania gears up for local and national elections.

“The mass arrests and arbitrary detention of figures from the Chadema party, as well as their supporters and journalists, is a deeply worrying sign in the run-up to local government elections in December 2024 and the 2025 general election,” Amnesty International said.

Tanzania’s opposition rallies against ‘cosmetic’ electoral reforms

“The Tanzanian authorities must urgently respect people’s rights to freedom of expression and association.”

Tanzania’s Legal and Human Rights Centre also denounced the arrests, noting that the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) and another opposition party ACT Wazalendo had been able to hold youth day rallies at the weekend without any issues.

Lissu, 56, a fierce critic of the CCM, returned to Tanzania in 2023 after Hassan lifted the ban on opposition rallies. He had spent the previous five years largely in exile in Belgium, returning only briefly to run for the presidency in 2020.

Mbowe was also previously arrested in July 2021 ahead of a Chadema meeting to demand constitutional reforms but was freed the following March after prosecutors dropped terrorism charges against him.

(with AFP)

Source: allafrica.com

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