Kilimanjaro — The Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism Dr Pindi Chana has said the government will continue to collaborate with various tourism stakeholders in promoting local tourism to increase the number of local tourists.
Dr Chana made the remarks during the occasion to flag off this year’s climbers who have embarked on the Mount Kilimanjaro climbing trek as part of this year’s 61 years of independence of Tanzania.
“Currently, only 5 per cent of local tourists visit our 22 national parks, this number is small compared to many high-profile tourist attractions found in the country, which means there needs to increase efforts to improve local tourism”, she said.
Dr Chana said there will be special campaigns that will involve persuading Tanzanians to develop the habit of visiting various national parks and other tourists attraction sites found in the country during holidays, annual work leaves, or when they celebrate various family occasions including memories, a move she said would contribute the increase in local tourism.
During the event that went along with the planting of trees to commemorate the occasion, Dr Chana reiterated the government’s appeal to Tanzanians to continue protecting the environment which is important in preserving the natural resources including Mount Kilimanjaro.
She hailed the team of Ambassadors representing Tanzania in various countries who participated in this year’s event, led by Dr Asha-Rose Migiro, whereby she urged them to go and promote the tourist attractions found in the country to attract more tourists and investors in the tourism sector.
For his part, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA) General (Rtd) George Waitara said that the number of people climbing Mount Kilimanjaro through the campaign known as Twenzetu Kileleni has continued to grow every year.
“When we started this campaign in 2008, as part of the celebration of Tanzania’s Independence, the number of participants was very small, at one time it did not reach 50, but today it is encouraging that there are 200 participants,” he said.
Speaking on behalf of the 11 Ambassadors who are participating in the exercise, Ambassador Dr Migiro said that the group represented their colleagues who she said are representing Tanzania in different parts of the world.
“We have conducted this exercise to support President Dr Samia Suluhu Hassan in the campaign she started meant to promote Tanzania’s tourism sector through the film Royal Tour Tanzania, we promise to promote Tanzania to support the President’s initiative,” she said.
She added, “We are also taking part in this exercise to honour our Nation’s Independence Day, which is a historic event that has allowed us to bring about our development processes independently, which we have been able to do successfully within the 61 years of our Independence”.
Source: allafrica.com
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The rise in half-year net profit from Sh1.64 billion posted in a similar period last year came on the back of net investment income rising 2.5 times to Sh13.27 billion from Sh5.3 billion.
“We are confident in the growth and performance trend that Britam has achieved, supported by its subsidiaries in Kenya and the region. Our business is expanding its revenue base while effectively managing costs,” Britam Chief Executive Officer Tom Gitogo said.
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The investment income growth was fueled by interest and dividend income rising 34 percent to Sh9.1 billion, which the insurer attributed to growth in revenue and the gains from the realignment of the group’s investment portfolio.
Britam also booked a Sh3.79 billion gain on financial assets at a fair value, compared with a Sh1.8 billion loss posted in a similar period last year.
The increased investment income helped offset the 12.7 percent decline in net insurance service result to Sh2.13 billion in the wake of claims paid out rising at a faster pace than that of premiums received.
Britam said insurance revenue, which is money from written premiums, increased to Sh17.8 billion from Sh16.6 billion, primarily driven by growth in the Kenya insurance business and regional general insurance businesses, which contributed 30 percent of the revenue.
The group has a presence in seven countries in Africa namely Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, South Sudan, Mozambique, and Malawi.
Britam’s insurance service expense hit Sh13.6 billion from Sh11.3 billion, while net insurance finance expenses rose 2.6 times to Sh12.3 billion during the same period.
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Britam’s growth in profit is in line with that of other Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed insurers, which have seen a rise in profits.
Jubilee Holdings net profit in the six months increased by 22.7 percent to Sh2.5 billion on increased income from insurance, helping the insurer maintain Sh2 per share interim dividend.
CIC Insurance Group posted a 0.64 percent rise in net profit to Sh709.99 million in the same period as net earnings of Liberty Kenya nearly tripled to Sh632 million from Sh213 million, while Sanlam Kenya emerged from a loss to post a Sh282.2 million net profit.
