An efficient modern railway network is the supreme symbol of economic diplomacy and a well-paved pathway to prosperity and regional integration.
That is why African nations are everywhere reviving and modernising their railway network. Tanzania is one of the African countries investing heavily in the railway as a road to shared prosperity nationally and regionally.
On August 1, 2024, Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan, officially launched the country’s Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) Project that would cost nearly $10 billion at its completion. Kenya’s rulers and pundits won’t agree.
They lampoon their SGR railway as a ‘road to nowhere’, literally and metaphorically, not to prosperity.
Yet, Tanzanians have embraced their modern railway as a sharp tool of economic diplomacy.
They are investing in the modernisation and expansion of their railway network to achieve their national interests and reposition their country as the gateway to East and Central Africa.
The result is the longest, most cost-effective, potentially profitable and modern SGR rail system on the African continent covering 2,102 kilometres.
After Kenya’s proposed 1,300-kilometer SGR line from Mombasa to Malaba town on the border with Uganda was suddenly stalled at Duka Moja near Naivasha in 2019, the country has only 600 kilometers of SGR railway.
This stretch is way below the 1000 kilometres global threshold for profitability.
Moreover, Tanzania’s rulers, unlike their Kenyan counterparts, have bequeathed their nation with one of Africa’s fastest electric-powered SGR, designed to international standards.
Tanzania’s SGR line is designed to accommodate speeds of up to 160 kilometres per hour for passenger services and 120 kilometres per hour for freight.
The only train on the continent faster than this is Morocco’s Al Boraq, a 323-kilometre high-speed rail service between Casablanca and Tangiers in Morocco, the first of its kind on the African continent opened in 2018. Traveling at 120 Kilometres per hour, Kenya’s dissel-powered SGR railway is out of this league.
Regional integration
Obviously, Tanzania is not new to the railway as a tool of regional integration and pan-Africanism.
The Tazara Railway built in the 1970-1975 period and linking the port of Dar es Salaam with Zambia is a testimony to Tanzania’s ‘railway pan-Africanism’.
In addition to developing its SGR railway along the Central Corridor, Tanzania is also modernising its old railway system.
Tanzania operates two railway systems, the meter-gauge railway (MGR) alongside the cape gauge railway (CGR) system, covering a total of 3,682 km.
In April, the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA) approval $200 million for the second phase of the Intermodal and Rail Development Project (TIRP-2) to revitalize the country’s meter-gauge railway network as part of the broader $300 million TIRP project. Kenya, too, has revitalized meter-gauge railway.
The impact of Tanzania’s SGR has been phenomenal. The railway will significantly enhance safety, climate resilience and operational efficiency; stimulate economic activities in sectors such as industry, agriculture, livestock, tourism, and trade; and increase trade with neighbouring landlocked and regional countries.
According to President Samia, the SGR will significantly boost the efficiency of Tanzania’s ports, particularly the Dar es Salaam port, which will be capable of handling 17 million tons of cargo annually.
Apart from the railway’s economic dividends, Tanzania’s political class is using the railway to rekindle nationalism.
The Railway embodies the nation’s grand vision and aspirations.
Tanzanians have named their stations after their leaders: The Dodoma SGR Station after Samia Suluhu, Morogoro station after Jakaya Kikwete, Dar es Salaam station John Magufuli, Tabora station Ally Hassan Mwinyi, Shinyanga station Abed Karume, Mwanza station Julius Nyerere, and Kigoma station Benjamin Mkapa.
Tanzania’s railway network is as much economic as it is a nation-building project. Kenya only stopped at naming 479-kilometer SGR line from Mombasa to Nairobi, completed in May 2017, as Madaraka Express.
Moreover, Tanzania’s leadership has managed to rally national opinion and consensus in around “the SGR as a valuable asset to our economy.”
Tanzanians see their SGR project as a “Railway to Prosperity.” This is a contrast to Kenyans who view their SGR as a “railway to nowhere” or a modern day reincarnation of the British-era “Lunatic Express.”
There are reasons galore why Tanzania’s railway appears to be making success compared to Kenya.
At the heart of Tanzania’s success in modernization of the railway is continuity of leadership.
Tanzania’s third President, the late Benjamin Mkapa, championed the adoption of East African Railway Master Plan, a proposal for rejuvenating the railways serving Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda, and building new railways to serve Rwanda and Burundi.
The fourth President Jakaya Kikwete conducted feasibility studies; and the fifth, John Pombe Magufuli, initiated construction while the Sixth, Samia, has continued the project.
A broad-based network of partners has enabled Tanzania to secure funding and technical support from diverse donors, avoiding Western propaganda booby-trap around the ‘debt-trap diplomacy’ associated with China.
South Korea has supplied Tanzania with the state-of-the-art electric trains.
Turkish and Portuguese companies have been involved in construction work.
And the African Development Bank (AfDB) funding for the construction of 411 kilometres of Tabora-Kigoma SGR line and the 156-kilometers Uvinza- Malagarasi rail.
Tanzania’s deeply nationalistic political culture has also shielded the SGR project from parochial ethnic politics that framed Kenya’s SGR during the 2017 and 2022 elections.
Finally, Tanzania’s leadership has minimized the kind of allegations of corruption that bedeviled the Kenyan SGR project. Agencies have moved in fast to fight corruption associated with ticketing.
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Tanzania Confirms Outbreak of Marburg Virus Disease
Dodoma — Tanzania today confirmed an outbreak of Marburg virus disease in the northwestern Kagera region after one case tested positive for the virus following investigations and laboratory analysis of suspected cases of the disease.
President of the Republic of Tanzania, Her Excellency Samia Suluhu Hassan, made the announcement during a press briefing alongside World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, in the country’s administrative capital Dodoma.
“Laboratory tests conducted in Kabaile Mobile Laboratory in Kagera and later confirmed in Dar es Salaam identified one patient as being infected with the Marburg virus. Fortunately, the remaining suspected patients tested negative,” the president said. “We have demonstrated in the past our ability to contain a similar outbreak and are determined to do the same this time around.”
A total of 25 suspected cases have been reported as of 20 January 2025, all of whom have tested negative and are currently under close follow-up, the president said. The cases have been reported in Biharamulo and Muleba districts in Kagera.
“We have resolved to reassure the general public in Tanzania and the international community as a whole of our collective determination to address the global health challenges, including the Marburg virus disease,” said H.E President Hassan.
WHO is supporting Tanzanian health authorities to enhance key outbreak control measures including disease surveillance, testing, treatment, infection prevention and control, case management, as well as increasing public awareness among communities to prevent further spread of the virus.
“WHO, working with its partners, is committed to supporting the government of Tanzania to bring the outbreak under control as soon as possible, and to build a healthier, safer, fairer future for all the people of Tanzania,” said Dr Tedros. “Now is a time for collaboration, and commitment, to protecting the health of all people in Tanzania, and the region, from the risks posed by this disease.”
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.
“The declaration by the president and the measures being taken by the government are crucial in addressing the threat of this disease at the local and national levels as well as preventing potential cross-border spread,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa. “Our priority is to support the government to rapidly scale up measures to effectively respond to this outbreak and safeguard the health of the population,”
Tanzania previously reported an outbreak of Marburg in March 2023 – the country’s first – in Kagera region, in which a total of nine cases (eight confirmed and one probable) and six deaths were reported, with a case fatality ratio of 67%.
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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.
Marburg virus is transmitted to people from fruit bats and spreads among humans through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected people, surfaces and materials. Although several promising candidate medical countermeasures are currently undergoing clinical trials, there is no licensed treatment or vaccine for effective management or prevention of Marburg virus disease. However, early access to treatment and supportive care – rehydration with oral or intravenous fluids – and treatment of specific symptoms, improve survival.
Source: allafrica.com
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European Union Bans Air Tanzania Over Safety Concerns
Kampala — The European Commission added Air Tanzania to the EU Air Safety List, banning the airline from operating within European Union airspace. This decision follows the denial of Air Tanzania’s Third Country Operator (TCO) authorization by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), citing significant safety deficiencies.
The EU Air Safety List includes airlines that fail to meet international safety standards. Commissioner Tzitzikostas emphasized the importance of passenger safety, stating: “The decision to include Air Tanzania in the EU Air Safety List underscores our unwavering commitment to ensuring the highest safety standards. We strongly urge Air Tanzania to take swift action to address these safety issues. The Commission has offered its assistance to Tanzanian authorities to enhance safety performance and achieve compliance with international aviation standards.”
Air Tanzania joins several African airlines banned from EU airspace, including carriers from Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, and Kenya. Notable names include Congo Airways, Sudan Airways, and Kenyan carriers Silverstone Air Services and Skyward Express. The ban reflects the EU’s strict approach to aviation safety worldwide.
Source: allafrica.com
