Unguja. Zanzibar’s First Vice President, Othman Masoud Othman, has on Monday August 12, met with a delegation from the US Embassy in Tanzania, at his office in Migombani, Urban-West Region of Unguja.
The delegation, led by Deputy US Ambassador Mr Andrew Lentz, visited to introduce themselves and discuss various issues, including politics, the economy, development, and the future of the country in the lead-up to the 2025 general election.
During the discussions, Othman emphasised the need to restore the trust of the people of Zanzibar to build a better future of peace, economic stability, and development for both Zanzibar and Tanzania as a whole.
He noted that since the country returned to a multi-party political system, Zanzibar has yet to experience an election that satisfies all parties. Instead, elections often lead to dissatisfaction, pain, and divisions, especially affecting opposition supporters, which undermines national peace and development.
“To restore trust in the government and authorities and to address fears and oppressive electoral systems, genuine political intent and the practical implementation of democracy are essential,” Othman stated.
He highlighted several areas needing urgent reform before the 2025 general elections, including issuing Zanzibar ID cards to citizens, ensuring proper registration in the Permanent Voter Register (PVR), eliminating ghost voters, preventing ballot theft through a two-day election, establishing an independent commission to oversee democracy and fair elections, and ending the use of security forces in election-related violence.
Mr Othman also stressed that strengthening the national economy requires accountability and transparency to attract foreign investment, noting that “investors always invest in peace.”
He requested continued cooperation from the US government to assist Zanzibar in securing reliable electricity, which would promote self-sufficiency and accelerate development, as well as support for implementing the Blue Economy Policy.
He emphasised the economic opportunities available if effective strategies are put in place to empower youth and reduce unemployment, rather than using this vital segment of society to undermine elections for the benefit of a few self-serving politicians.
He concluded that empowering youth in sectors such as fishing, agriculture, and livestock would enable them to self-employ, create wealth, and contribute to national development and income.
Ambassador Lentz pledged to continue fostering cooperation between the US, Zanzibar, and the United Republic of Tanzania, highlighting the importance of citizens’ confidence in their peace and faith as the upcoming general elections approach.
He also mentioned that during his visit, he and his delegation had discussions with several youth who expressed concerns about potential issues in the next general elections.
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Tanzania Declares End of Marburg Virus Disease Outbreak
Tanzania today declared the end of Marburg virus disease outbreak after recording no new cases over 42 days since the death of the last confirmed case on 28 January 2025.
The outbreak, in which two confirmed and eight probable cases were recorded (all deceased), was the second the country has experienced. Both this outbreak, which was declared on 20 January 2025, and the one in 2023 occurred in the north-eastern Kagera region.
In response to the latest outbreak, Tanzania’s health authorities set up coordination and response systems, with support from World Health Organization (WHO) and partners, at the national and regional levels and reinforced control measures to swiftly detect cases, enhance clinical care, infection prevention as well as strengthen collaboration with communities to raise awareness and help curb further spread of the virus.
Growing expertise in public health emergency response in the African region has been crucial in mounting effective outbreak control measures. Drawing on experience from the response to the 2023 Marburg virus disease outbreak, WHO worked closely with Tanzanian health authorities to rapidly scale up key measures such as disease surveillance and trained more than 1000 frontline health workers in contact tracing, clinical care and public health risk communication. The Organization also delivered over five tonnes of essential medical supplies and equipment.
“The dedication of frontline health workers and the efforts of the national authorities and our partners have paid off,” said Dr Charles Sagoe-Moses, WHO Representative in Tanzania. “While the outbreak has been declared over, we remain vigilant to respond swiftly if any cases are detected and are supporting ongoing efforts to provide psychosocial care to families affected by the outbreak.”
Building on the momentum during the acute phase of the outbreak response, measures have been put in place to reinforce the capacity of local health facilities to respond to potential future outbreaks. WHO and partners are procuring additional laboratory supplies and other equipment for disease detection and surveillance and other critical services.
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.
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.
Source: allafrica.com
Dissecting the role of the insurance ombudsman in Tanzania
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Britam half-year net profit hits Sh2bn on higher investment income
Insurer and financial services provider Britam posted a 22.5 percent jump in net earnings for the half-year ended June 2024, to Sh2 billion, buoyed by increased investment income.
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.
“Our customer-centric approach is fueling growth in our customer base and product uptake, particularly through micro-insurance, partnerships, and digital channels.”
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.
“Net insurance finance expenses increased mainly due to growth in interest cost for the deposit administration business driven by better investment performance. This has also been impacted by a decline in the yield curve, which has led to an increase in the insurance contract liabilities. The increase has been offset by a matching increase in fair value gain on assets,” said Britam.
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.
