Recent Media Reports about

                               Zanzibar

JK moves to save ‘Muafaka’

SOSTHENES MWITA in Dodoma
Daily News; 2007

PRESIDENT Jakaya Kikwete has asked the “Muafaka” negotiating team of the Civic United Front (CUF) party, which has threatened to withdraw from the negotiations with the ruling Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM) to return to the negotiating table.

In a Press Release released by the State House yesterday, the president who is also CCM chairman said it was the desire of his party to see the dialogue continues and eventually produce the desired results.

“CCM has not reached a point to declare that the dialogue has failed to work. We have declared failure and the intention to disband the negotiation team,” the president said.

He called upon the two sides to continue with the dialogue that would seek solutions for socio-political differences that prompted the dialogue.

The president asked the CUF Chairman, Mr Ibrahim Lipumba, and members of the CUF negotiating team not to pull out, calling for restraint and the will to continue talking.

”We are involved in a dialogue because we have a political and social problem that we must solve,” he said, adding that abandoning the talks would not amount to a viable solution. The president said the CUF pullout would plunge the two parties into an unfriendly climate.

He said before the dialogue CCM-CUF relations were dominated by rivalry, unending criticism, blame games and discrimination. He said the situation got so bad that at one point members of one party did not attend the funeral of a fallen member of a rival party.

He said the two sides (CUF and CCM members) were not even in speaking terms. He said such animosity would threaten to generate into outright enmity and a gross breach of peace and tranquility. He said what the nation wants to see in place is a climate of unity.

On August 7, this year the Chairman of CUF, Prof. Ibrahim Lipumba, issued a statement that claimed that the peace dialogue between his party and ruling CCM had stalled.

President Kikwete reminded the nation yesterday the source of the dialogue was the promise he gave to Tanzanians when addressing Parliament on December 30, 2005. He said in his promise he pledged to look for a solution to the prevailing political divide.

He said he would initiate a dialogue that would aim at unraveling the political situation in Zanzibar. He said at that time he believed there would not be any political or social differences that would crop up and prove impossible defuse with dialogue. He said he still believes dialogue will work.

The president said the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the ruling CCM instructed its party’s Secretary General to contact the Secretary General of CUF and ask him to agree to participate in a dialogue between the two political parties. The CUF Secretary General agreed.

The two secretaries met on January 17, this year and kicked off the dialogue, the president said. He said after the initial January 17 meeting both sides formed a negotiation team for the dialogue. On February 1, this year the two teams agreed to draw terms of reference for future meetings.

The following meeting progressed amicably with agreements on a five-point agenda. The president mentioned the agenda as The Zanzibar General Elections of October 30; an quitable, fair political forum; ways and means of strengthening political affiliation and free and fair polls in Zanzibar.

The meeting also drew strategies of implementing a programme of action for the agreements reached at the talks. President Kikwete said since the talks started, in January this year, the joint negotiating team has met 12 times spending a total of 43 days talking.

The two secretary generals, the president said, have met twice to look for solutions for elusive situations. He said there was amicable consensus on the need for equal political opportunities, the state of governance in Zanzibar and ways and means for improve political relations.

The joint team also reached a consensus on how best to conduct general elections in Zanzibar. However, the two sides are yet to agree on how best to create a friendly atmosphere for CCM and CUF to carry out their political initiatives in Zanzibar peacefully and amicably.

Isles govt to assist disabled

ISSA YUSSUF in Zanzibar
Daily News; August 13, 2007

THE government will continue supporting the disabled to achieve their intended goals, President Amani Abeid Karume has promised.

Mr Karume made the promise during a meeting with officers from the Zanzibar Association of people with Disabilities Umoja wa Watu wenye Ulemavu (UWZ), at the State House here, saying the association had been doing good work for the disabled.

According to the press statement from the Zanzibar State House, the president said his government was committed to seeing that the disabled programmes and activities develop.

The president also said that he supports the UWZ’s plans to form disabled council and their need to have an officer in each ministry to work over disabled issues. He said both moves would push ahead the disabled.

Mr Karume also appealed to the UWZ to expand their activities to rural areas. The UWZ executive director, Mr Khalfan Hemed Khalfan, said that law must be put in place to safeguard interests of people with disabilities.

“Having disabilities laws and a policy will fuel our development including finding disabilities in villages. We are also going on with awareness programme to traditional healers and midwives on how to handle children born with disability,” Mr Khalfan said. He suggested to the government to introduce disabilities Fund specifically to support education.

Z`bar needs coalition govt - US envoy

2007-08-10 09:56:48
By Lydia Shekighenda
Guardian

The American Ambassador to Tanzania, Michael Retzer, has described the formation of a coalition government as the best way to ensure a permanent end to the political impasse in Zanzibar.

He has also explained that it was of fundamental importance for all segments of the population to be equitably represented in the affairs of the government, warning that anyone or anything causing divisions among a country`s people puts national unity at great risk.

Ambassador Retzer said whenever there was division among the electorate national unity was very important since everyone wanted to be represented in the government.

The envoy made the remarks when fielding questions from journalists in Dar es Salaam yesterday at the launch by the US Embassy of an `Education Perspective Chapter` meant to serve underprivileged sectors of the society in Tanzania.

He said negotiations on the Zanzibar issue by the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi and the opposition Civic United Front, due to climax next week, were taking exceptionally long to conclude ``because everyone wants to be represented in the government``.

``Under such a situation, it is important to bring all parties into the government so that everyone is represented,`` he observed.

Ambassador Retzer noted that Tanzania has historically been an exemplary island of peace in an often unstable neighbourhood, adding however that the country has not been completely free from violence and could not consider itself immune to violence.

``Two days ago we commemorated the ninth anniversary of the August 7 East Africa Embassy bombings and today we still face the potential for violence if the Zanzibar question doesn`t get resolved,`` he pointed out.

``Today we still face the potential for violence if the Zanzibar question does not get resolved,`` he explained, expressing hope that CCM and CUF leaders would come up with a mutually agreeable accord before their August 15 deadline to forestall the eventuality.

EPC involves a group of volunteer students from the US expected to assist in implementing highly interactive health knowledge and related programmes, including those on HIV/AIDS, first aid, home safety, personal hygiene, and English language to students in chosen schools.

According to Retzer, the volunteers will share their knowledge and experience with youth in both mainland Tanzania and the Isles.

Yesterday`s EPC launch was confined to the University of Dar es Salaam and Karagwe Secondary School and 14 team members have already left for Karagwe in Kagera Region to work in volunteer services projects.

Other volunteers are set to go to Pemba to inaugurate EPC chapters at Utaani Secondary School and Benjamin Mkapa Teachers` College.

War of unsweet words between rival parties continues

The Express.com
August 11,2007
By Kizito Makoye, in Zanzibar

As the countdown for the forthcoming general elections continues, political tension in Zanzibar is rising with political opponents embarking on a war of words over the weekend.
This Express reporter witnessed many people, allegedly members of Civic United Front, being ferried to Zanzibar from Pemba, chanting malicious slogans against their opponents from CCM.
“We shall finish you, do not ever try to play with us…. it is now our turn. Yours is gone and it is gone forever,” violent young men were heard saying.
The CUF members formed a long procession forcing the traffic along Michenzani Road to come to a halt.
Members of CCM, who were present near the roundabout of Michenzani, tried hard not to allow emotions to carry them away, although others were heard endeavouring to find a means of revenge on CUF supporters.
“We are used to such kind of situation, whenever CUF members pass through this way, some of them usually prefer insults against members of CCM. As you can see, there is a CCM office over there,” a resident of Michenzani who sought anonymity told The Express.
According to Urban West Police Commander, George Kizuguto, CUF members were allowed to march as they escorted the presidential candidate on that party’s ticket to collect forms from the Zanzibar Electoral Commission.
CCM and CUF agreed to bury their differences in the peace accord signed by the secretary generals of the parties in 2001, and witnessed by the Secretary General of the Commonwealth, following violence that erupted in 2000.

Zanzibar duo missing in Germany

3 August 2007
BBC Sport, UK

Zanzibar have been training in Germany for the Cecafa Cup
Two players of the Zanzibar football team have disappeared from a training camp in Germany, an official of the Tanzanian semi-autonomous state has revealed.

The team is in Europe for a three-week training camp ahead of the East African Senior Challenge Cup scheduled for November in Dar es Salaam.

Zanzibar deputy sports minister Mahmoud Kombo said Atif Abdallah and Joseph Malik, regular players in the island's national team, went missing Tuesday in Berlin, but efforts were under way to trace them.

"It is true that the two players have absconded from the camp and we have informed relevant authorities," Kombo said from Zanzibar, which runs its own football affairs.

Kombo, who said the duo's visas will expire on August 9, added that the pair worked with the Zanzibar prisons department and would lose their jobs if they continued to stay away from the camp.

This is the second time Tanzanian sportsmen have gone missing while overseas.

In 2006, two Tanzanian boxers ran away from their team's camp in Australia during the Commonwealth Games.

They are yet to be traced.

CCM picks names for polls

DAILY NEWS Reporter in Dodoma
Daily News; August 03, 2007

THE National Executive Committee NEC) of the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) has endorsed candidates for various posts from district to national level in party elections scheduled for November. Most of the big shots sailed through.

CCM National Ideology and Publicity Secretary A ggrey Mwanri named the 59 candidates who will battle it out for the 20 mainland NEC seats as including Prime Minister Edward Lowassa, former prime minister Frederick Sumaye and the party's Secretary General, Mr Yussuf Makamba.

….. [edited]

The list of Zanzibar's 20 seats for NEC (national) is topped by Vice-President Dr Ali Mohamed Shein, Chief Minister Shamsi Vuai Nahodha, Deputy Chief Minister Ali Juma Shamuhuna and Union Information, Culture and Sports Minister, Muhammed Seif
Khatib.

Dr Salmin Amour, former Zanzibar president, is not contesting in the poll.

…….. [edited]

Too many patches in Constitution

2007-07-31
By Judica Tarimo, Dodoma
Guardian

Opposition legislators yesterday dismissed Tanzania`s Constitution as having too many serious flaws and needing urgent overhauling.

They saw the drafting of a new constitution as the only sure way to enhance democratisation by more meaningfully addressing some of the complex issues the country has been grappling with, including redressing political imbalances.

Giving the opposition�s stand on the 2007/2008 budget estimates of the Justice and Constitutional Affairs ministry in the National Assembly, the respective shadow minister called on the government to stop making frequent amendments to the present Constitution.

She said the amendments have reduced it to a patchwork of changes and alterations of little benefit to Tanzanians.

``We need a completely new Constitution that will be all-inclusive, one that will incorporate and protect the interests and rights of all Tanzanians,`` said shadow minister Fatma Maghimbi.

The opposition MPs said the slogan of �Better life for all Tanzanians`` propagated by the fourth-phase government of President Jakaya Kikwete government would be a pipedream in the absence of a new Constitution.

``The national unity our people have been enjoying for years is likely to disappear unless we dump the present Constitution and come up with something better focused to address present-day issues and problems.

Better life for all is impossible unless we have a Constitution able to help us wage a winning war on poverty, illiteracy and diseases,`` noted Maghimbi.

She said the Constitution now in use was an old-fashioned brainchild of the ruling CCM and was hatched with the express aim of safeguarding the interests of the party�s members during the single-party era.

``It is because of that very fact that the document is legally recognised but is not accepted by the majority of Tanzanians.

It just does not match with present-day realities and has failed to address, much less resolve, some crucial national and other issues,`` she added.

Elaborating, Maghimbi said it is known that land is not
a Union matter in the country, some Articles in the Union Constitution describe Zanzibar and Mainland as one country.

``Where does the word `one country` come from if Zanzibar has its own land? The confusion is triggered by this old-fashioned Constitution,`` she pointed out.

According to the opposition MPs, the present Constitution clearly stipulates the rights of several social groups, among them the youth, people with disabilities, elders, families, refugees and media organizations and also lays emphasis on such issues as the need to protect the environment and the people�s right to nutritious food.

However, they said it does not address the limits of the powers of the central and local governments such as the role of regional and district commissioners.

``There is no specific provision in the Constitution that provides for the drafting of the new Constitution. The present Articles are strictly confined to constitutional amendments and not a possible overhaul,`` they added.

The opposition`s push for a new Constitution is not a new or recent development but it was only recently that a coalition of four opposition parties went to the extent of declared their intention to boycott the forthcoming national elections (in 2010) unless the government took definitive measures to overhaul the Constitution.

Some opposition parties have been openly criticising the current Constitution as too undemocratic for the country to ever hold truly fair and free elections.

Ban on petrol sales is lifted

2007-07-31 
By Mwinyi Sadallah, Zanzibar
Guardian

The Zanzibar Petroleum Company has been given permission to resume distributing petrol in the Isles. The development comes hardly a week after the Zanzibar government barred the private firm from doing the business following reports that it had unilaterally hiked the price of petrol.

Government sources accused the company of raising the price of petrol from the official 1,350/- per litre fixed to 1,450/- without caring to consult the authorities concerned.

According to ZPC manager Hussein Kilongo, the government relented on the matter at a meeting attended by government officials and the company�s management.

He admitted that the firm had hiked petrol price without informing the government but explained that there is no law requiring them to issue such notification or seek such permission.

``We have agreed that next time we shall not take such a measure before informing the government. However, we shall continue charging 1,450/- per litre of petrol,`` he added.

The manager had earlier said they hiked the price following a rise in the oil prices in the international market and that it was �for fear of incurring a loss�.

The world price for a barrel of crude oil in May stood at $877 but has since risen to $938, he observed, adding: ``We deemed it prudent to raise pump prices rather than commit economic suicide while fully knowing where the problem lay.``

Kilongo had blamed the government for ``punishing us while prices in the foodstuff business have skyrocketed without provoking any government interference``.

He said diesel and kerosene prices could also rise at any time depending on the availability of the items in the world market.

Diesel and kerosene currently fetch a retail 1,310/- and 960/- per litre in most parts of the Isles.

The ZPC manager said they recently imported 500 tonnes of an assortment of petroleum products from Mombasa in neighbouring Kenya but would not give details.

The ban on the company came after it raised the price of petrol it had stocked in its reservoirs at Mtoni in the Zanzibar municipality.

Dr Mwinyihaji Makame Mwadini, Minister of State in the Zanzibar President`s Office, was quoted as saying the ban was meant to serve as a lesson to the firm for defying a lawful government order.

He said ZPC had violated rules and regulations governing petroleum business, adding: ``Notifying the government of its intentions well in advance would have enabled the Zanzibar Revenue Board to inspect the imported petrol before giving a green light for increasing prices.``

The only other firm that imports petroleum products for use in Zanzibar is GAPCO, which is still selling petrol and diesel at the old price of 1,350/- per litre.

`Z`bar passenger boats a time bomb`

2007-07-30 
By Mwinyi Sadallah, Zanzibar
Guardian

Marine transportation vessels ferrying passengers between Zanzibar and the Mainland are a ticking time bomb.

Some of the engines fall silent times while in high seas, posing a serious threat to human lives.

Members of the House of Representatives raised their concern while debating the 2007/8 budget for the ministry of Infrastructure Development and Transportation in Zanzibar, which was presented by Minister Adam Mwakanjuki.

Special Seats Representative Zakia Omar said some of the crafts would have their engines going off several times, bringing panic to passengers.

She said: `MV Sepideh is the only company which services its ships annually.`

The representative mentioned Sea Star and Sea Express as some of the companies whose ships had caused passengers� concern. She called upon the government to make a serious follow up on the boat companies.

`A number of registered second hand boats lack quality cleaning services. There are a lot of cockroaches running around the vessels.

Some of the vessels carry passengers beyond capacity.

Should there be an accident, a lot of people would lose their lives,` said Zakia.

Another representative, Mkongwe Nassor, said Pemba Port needed major repairs, saying women were forced to pull their clothes up to their chests to avoid getting wet while getting on or off board.

Wete representative Asaa Othman Hamad said the government had to be cautious about the deteriorating condition of sea vessels.

Hamad said he was surprised to see the problem persisting although experts were inspecting the said ships.

Responding to the allegations, the Deputy Minister for Infrastructure Development and Transportation Mzee Ali Ussi said: `Previously, the Surface and Marine Transport Regulatory Authority (SUMATRA) was in charge of inspecting the passenger boats.

However, we have established a special department that will perform the task.`

Ussi said the department was already operational. He promised to make sure that it would operate efficiently.

Tausi Ki Parara, "I felt like if I touched someone I would infect them"

29 July 2007
IRIN

On Fridays, women who have been abandoned by their husbands congregate in the streets outside Stone Town's mosques to beg for money.
STONE TOWN, In 2001, the private life of Tausi Ki Parara became the subject of much local gossip in her neighbourhood of Stone Town, the capital of Zanzibar, an Indian Ocean island off the coast of Tanzania.

"Peacock", the English translation of her Kiswahili name, was sick and her prospective husband had packed up and left. Rumours swirled. The truth was that Tausi had tested HIV-positive. "In Zanzibar you have to get a blood test before getting married. I went in trusting my health was fine," she said.

"When I found out I was HIV-positive it was a complete shock. My fiance was negative. He took it like I was a bad, promiscuous girl and said he could never trust me. It felt awful. He ran away and to this day I've never seen him again.

"Almost the entire population of Zanzibar [one million people] is Muslim. At that time, they could no longer accept me. They thought I was a prostitute and I didn't belong to their society. There was no counsellor to deal with things, I only had my brother to help me cope. I felt like if I touched someone I would infect them.

"Today things have changed: Muslim leaders on Zanzibar are leading the fight against AIDS. They know it is not just one person's problem, but everyone's, to solve.

"I met someone and married a month ago. My husband is HIV-positive; we plan to have kids. I'm educated, so I know the chances of my children contracting HIV, but I know how to protect them with treatment, and other ways to guard the baby. For example, I will save money to buy formula so I don't have to breast feed.

"When someone asks, now I tell them I'm HIV positive; everyone greets me and accepts me here. The truth has come out - people have learned through television and radio the facts about HIV.

"Because of HIV I have this job [she works for the HIV programme of Zanzibar Youth Advancement for Development, Education and Sanitation (ZAYADESA), a local non-governmental organisation], which has given me the chance to fly all over the world and to save money for my children's education; it's had its advantages, I would have to say.

"For myself, I'm fine. I just try to shout out to others and encourage them to check their health status. If you are asked about your status and can't say 'yes' or 'no', then you should be checked."

Curb influx of illegal visitors - Karume

ISSA YUSSUF, Zanzibar
Sunday News; Sunday,July 29, 2007 @00:03

ZANZIBAR President Amani Abeid Karume said here yesterday that while Zanzibar welcomes people from all corners of the world, it is not interested in illegal visitors.

He called on the Immigration Department to fight and curb the influx of illegal visitors to Zanzibar, including tourists entering the Isles illegally.

The president was addressing immigration officials during a closed door meeting at the Zanzibar State House on Thursday. State House Press Secretary Rajab Mkasaba told a press briefing after the meeting that the Isles will no longer tolerate foreigners who abuse Zanzibar’s hospitality by flouting immigration procedures, whether or not they are tourists.

The president asked the department to ensure foreigners visit and settle in Zanzibar according to immigration laws.

The Immigration Department Director, Mr Kinemo Kihomano, told the president that illegal visitors were entering the Mainland and then entering Zanzibar using different routes. He assured the president that the department will carry out all his instructions.

Zanzibar has new police chiefs

July 25, 2007
Xinhua

Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete has appointed Hamis Mohamed Simba to be the new commissioner of police for Zanzibar.

The appointment was made known through a statement issued by the State House.

Simba is replacing Khalid Idd Neuzan who has retired after completing his term of service on the Indian Ocean archipelago.

The Tanzanian president also appointed three deputy commissioners of police for Zanzibar. They are Samson Kassala as the deputy director of public investigation, Venance Tossi as the police operation chief, and Vicent Matama as the police training chief.

Zanzibar forms special police unit to protect tourists

July 24, 2007
Xinhua

The government of Zanzibar has formed a special police unit to specialize in the protection of tourism that is becoming the key economic pillar of the Indian Ocean archipelago.

The news was broken out by Zanzibar Public Safety and Security Minister Bakari Mwapachu while addressing Monday's session of the Zanzibar House of Representatives, according to reports reaching here.

Zanzibar has already sent some police officers to Kenya to learn from its experience on tourism and tourist protection.

The government of Zanzibar has been attaching great importance to tourism which is catching up with the exports of cloves as the backbones of the isles' economy.

Thanks to concentrated efforts from both public and private sectors, tourism has developed over the past few years to account for 22 percent of Zanzibar's annual gross domestic product and was the leading foreign exchange earner with between 84 and 85 percent of export earnings for the last two years in a row.

During the past tourist season, 137,111 foreign tourists visited Zanzibar while back in 2000, 97,165 foreign tourists came.

The Zanzibar authorities are expecting over 150,000 foreign tourists to visit the isles this year.

But as more foreign tourists came, gangs of bandits have started to pounce on them for cash and other valuables like cameras, mobile phones and wrist watches.

In the past two years, several incidents have occurred with bandits robbing foreign tourists either around sightseeing spots or on tourist hotel premises.

The Zanzibar authorities have been beefing up security in sightseeing spots and tourist hotels to render a sound tourism environment.

Work on Malindi port to be ready in 2009

Daily News,
July 20, 2007

THE rehabilitation of the Zanzibar’s main port of Malindi will be completed by end of 2009, the Zanzibar Minister for Communication and Transport, Mr Adam Mwakanjuki, informed the House yesterday.

Responding to a supplementary question asked by Mr Ali Abdallah Ali (CCM- Mfenesini), the minister anticipated a speedy quality work. “The reason for the delay in constructing the harbour is that we have been in dispute with the European Union (EU) on technical design. Fortunately we have reached an agreement and the port rehabilitation work is in full swing,” Mr Mwakanjuki said.

The minister did not give details, but it is understood that argument between the main sponsors of the project, EU, which has allocated about more than 32m US Dollars and the Zanzibar government (SMZ) erupted shortly after the port rehabilitation work started in 2005.

While SMZ prefers piles design or structure of jetty, the EU stood firm for block pier. The controversy has delayed the work which was previously planned to take 18 months starting July 2007. SMZ had to accept the EU proposal.

The port is the main source of income for the government, and the delay in reconstructing the port has been denying the government a lot of income.

=======ENDS/RENA====
Isles health budget proposal sails through MEMBERS of Zanzibar House of Representatives yesterday endorsed the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare’s 5bn/- budget proposal for 2007-08 fiscal year after a two-day heated debate, during which members took to the podium to express their concern over increasing sale of expired foods in Zanzibar. Health and Social Affairs Minister Mugheiry was called upon several times to clarify issues and promise action on many areas as the House sat as a committee of supply to approve the estimates vote by vote. The rice saga was a thorny issue. Members of the House alleged that there was an increasing importation of fake foods, especially rice, blaming health and trade authorities for laxity in observing food safety laws. They also said the problem was fuelled by corrupt officials. Recently a consignment of about 40 tons of “expired rice” was imported to Zanzibar. It has been alleged that the Zanzibar Chief Chemist gave contradicting results firstly indicating that the consignment was unfit for human consumption and later on showing that only 20 packets were found to be unfit. Mr Salmin Awadhi Salmin called for the formation of a probe team to look into the matter instead of leaving it with the government. “The government is the alleged offender in this case, how can it investigate itself”, he wondered. After several minutes of arguments, the House Speaker (committee of supply chairperson) Mr Pandu Ameir Kificho opted for vote, giving those against the formation of an independent House committee a victory of 31-30. Mr Mugheiry and the Zanzibar Chief Minister, Mr Shamsi Vuai Nahodha, strongly rejected the lawmaker’s demand to form a House committee to probe the rice saga. “The government will take the responsibility of investigating the allegation of importing expired rice. If the investigation proves that health inspectors at the port and the Chief Chemist's office have been dishonest and allowed the expired rice into market, they will be disciplined,” Mr Nahodha promised.

Crew and ship missing for three weeks

Anxiety over fate of ship after contact lost in Indian Ocean

Shipping Times
19 July 2007

Anxiety grows over the fate of 14 crewmembers of a multi-purpose cargo ship that disappeared almost three weeks ago in the Indian Ocean.

The REEF AZANIA, a 2583 dwt vessel built in 1985, was on her way from Dubai to the Seychelles and then Zanzibar with cargoes, but during what has been described as 'turbulence' in the Indian Ocean all contact with the vessel was lost.

The operators of the ship, Zambezi Shipping Agency, agents for the ship's owners, Reef Line, say they lost contact with the vessel after this, some 20 days since.

Although some press reports fear piracy, it is not thought she has been another victim.

The shipping agency say that all efforts are being made to trace the ship.

The St Vincent & Grenadines flagged vessel was formerly the AZANIA and before that COLMAR CASTOR, KRISTINE and STENHEIM

Zanzibar spends beyond targets

2007-07-18
By Beatrice Philemon
Guardian

Expenditure by the government of Zanzibar during the month of June went beyond target by almost 10bn/-, latest Bank of Tanzania (BoT) report shows.

Bank of Tanzania (BoT) monthly economic review of June 2007 indicates that the hiked expenditure could be achieved because of increased flow of receipts from development partners than earlier anticipated.

The amount that had been budgeted for spending during that period was 11.5bn/-, though eventually 20.6bn/- was expended.

The allocations of this expenditure was such that development projects accounted for 12.6bn/- (of which 0.13bn/- was local component) while recurrent expenses amounted to 7.9bn/-.

Furthermore, expenditure on wages and salaries amounted to 3.8bn/- in line with target and accounted for 48.1 percent of the recurrent expenditure and 18.4 percent of the total expenditure.

Also cumulative government expenditure from July 2006 to May 2007 amounted to 155.1bn/- slightly exceeding the projected 153.7bn/-.

Elaborating on debt developments in Zanzibar, it reveals that by the end of May 2007, Zanzibar debt stood at 199.3bn/-, equivalent to USD158.4m, almost the same level recorded in the previous month.

External debt was USD103.8m accounting for nearly 65.5 percent of total debt and the balance of 68.7bn/- was domestic debt.

Zanzibar�s fiscal performance during the month of May 2007, was on the deficit side, having recorded a shortfall of 2.0bn/-, compared with a deficit of 0.7bn/- registered in the previous month.

Total resources amounted to 17.8bn/- out of which 7.3bn/- was from domestic sources and foreign resources accounted for 10.5bn/-.

Total revenue collections for the month of May amounted to 7.3bn/- higher compared with the target of 5.8bn/-.

Moreover out of this, tax revenue was 6.7bn/- and the improved performance was on account of remarkable increase of import duties following increase in taxable merchandise imports as well as enhanced tax administration measures by the revenue agencies.

Almost all tax categories recorded higher harvests than targets and the leading revenues sources for Zanzibar remained taxes on imports and value added tax (VAT) and excise duties which altogether accounted for about 67 percent of the total tax revenue.

Travel picks: Top 10 island beaches

[Bwejuu makes top 10 list]

Saskatoon Star Phoenix
Reuters
Published: Saturday, July 07, 2007

NEW YORK, (Reuters) -- Ever wanted to feel like a castaway in a warm, secluded oasis of tranquility and beauty? Conde Nast Traveler has scoured the globe to find the best island beaches.

Following is a list of their top 10 choices:

1. Shipwreck Beach, Zakynthos, Greece -- This is an idyllic, isolated beach scooped out of a vertical wall of white rock.

2. Cumberland Island, Georgia -- With only 300 visitors allowed per day it equates to about 18 tourists per mile of beach.

3. Anse Victorin, Fregate Island, Seychelles -- Almost deserted, the crescent-shaped beach has soft sand, clear, tranquil water and a backdrop of palms and cliffs.

4. Lido, Venice, Italy -- The ultimate seaside resort made famous by author Thomas Mann in Death in Venice.

5. 7-Mile Beach, Negril, Jamaica --The right mix of white sand, tranquil water and enough beach life to keep anyone from getting bored.

6. Gibson Beach, Sagaponack, New York -- With no amenities of any kind, this wild swath of dunes, surf and fabulously wealthy homes is a beach that attracts Manhattan's beautiful people. With minimal parking, cycling is a preferred transport.

7. Cocoa Island, Maldives -- Tiny Cocoa Island is virtually all beach.

8. Bwejuu, Zanzibar, Tanzania -- It's one of the most exotic of Africa's islands and Bwejuu is its wide and blindingly white beach.

9. Kamala Beach, Phuket, Thailand -- The western shores are thick with beaches, and many of those beaches are bustling with commercial activity including food vendors, gift shops, bars and other distractions. Kamala is the antidote. Kamala Bay's main street is a convivial integration of seafood restaurants, shops, and bars that are notably tamer.

10. Waikiki, Oahu, Hawaii -- There's no such thing as boredom in Waikiki. The shops, restaurants and parks of Honolulu are just a block away

Dons establish research institute

ISSA YUSSUF in Zanzibar
Daily News; Friday,July 06, 2007

PROMINENT Tanzanian academicians have launched a research-oriented institution called 'Zanzibar Indian Ocean Research Institute (ZIORI)',

ZIORI Executive Director Professor Abdul Sheriff told journalists here yesterday that the institution will endeavour to encourage, facilitate, and co-ordinate research on all aspects of the Indian Ocean by local and foreign scholars, with particular emphasis on the social sciences of Zanzibar, the Swahili coast, and the Indian Ocean.

ZIORI Board Chairman Professor Issa Shivji said the institution would also encourage inter-disciplinary research, especially to take advantage of the facilities of the Institute of Marine Sciences in Zanzibar .

"In particular it seeks to develop the research capacity among young scholars in Zanzibar and the Indian Ocean region in general. It will organize training on research methodology for young scholars, and help them develop their research capacity. It will try to involve them in research projects to get first-hand experience," Professor Shivji said.

They said that the Institute will organize workshops and conferences on relevant themes, establish a network of scholars and researchers to facilitate consultation and research.

The current ZIORI board of directors also include: Prof Haroub Othman, Prof Mohamed Bakari from Kenya, and Dr Mrs Vijayalakshmi Teelock from Mauritius .

Improve jail facilities in Zanzibar, leaders demand

05 Jul 2007
STONE TOWN, 5 July 2007 (IRIN)

The prison system in the Tanzanian semi-autonomous islands of Zanzibar should be reformed because the jails can hardly cope with the rising number of inmates, leaders from the area said.

During a debate on the 2007/2008 budget proposals for the Ministry of Regional Administration, members of the Zanzibar parliament said the inmates were living in "inhuman" conditions. The jails, they added, were also too congested.

"Prisoners are not happy at any time as they excrete or urinate in the shared buckets, and have no recreation, including being denied to watch TV or listen to radio," the MPs said. "The world is advancing so we must also change and improve our prisons." The Zanzibar state minister for the constitution and good governance, Ramadhani Abdallah Shaaban, admitted that the number of inmates and prisoners on remand had increased in the past year.

"By July this year, the prisons had 420 inmates and 3,163 remandees of different ages, including adolescents," he said.

"This is an increase of 33 remandees, including five women, and 29 inmates, including three women - up by 8.8 percent and 0.93 percent respectively recorded between April 2005 and March 2006," he added.

According to the minister, most inmates (324) and remandees (2,423) were between 21 and 40 years old. Most were in jail over offences such as theft, robbery, murder, rape and under-age pregnancy.

Move to popularise Union

PARLIAMENTARY Reporter, Dodoma
Daily News; July 05, 2007

THE functioning of the Union between the Mainland and Zanzibar will be made more transparent to stem off public complaints on the political marriage, which were rooted in a lack of understanding of union affairs, the National Assembly was told yesterday.

Tabling the 2007/08 budget estimates for the Vice-President’s Office yesterday, the Minister of State, Dr Hussein Mwinyi, said some of the complaints raised by the people about the union reflected ignorance of how the Union worked.

“The people will be enlightened on how the Union works,” said Dr Mwinyi. However, he did not elaborate how. The United Republic of Tanzania is Africa’s oldest political union formed more than 43 years ago.

He also said the Vice-President’s Office will continue to coordinate Zanzibar’s share of economic benefits and earnings from revenue sources connected to Union. Debt relief provided by donors and profits posted by the Bank of Tanzania will also be shared out.

Union matters, he said, were being dealt with fairly and that all 14 union ministries had held both sides' meetings during the last financial year.......

Govt move to sale Michenzani flats

DailyNEWS Reporter
Daily News; July 04, 2007

SOME Zanzibaris will soon own the Michenzani-government flats if the proposed major reform on house ownership gets legislature support, the Minister for Construction, Water, Energy, and Land, Mr Mansour Yussuf Himid, has said.

"Policy changes are in pipeline to include selling of the government houses to the people," Mr Yussuf said amid applause from the House.

The Michenzani flats were build after the 1964 revolution under the stewardship of the then President Abeid Karume in his efforts to improve housing for the poor.

Earlier, the Deputy Minister in the ministry, Mr Taffana Kassim Mzee, had told the House when answering Mr Ame Mati Wadi (CCM- Matemwe), that the Rent Restriction Board (RRB) has improved the condition of the houses and increased revenue collection.

Mr Kassim said the board had collected revenue amounting to 72m/- in 2005/2006 and more than 95m/- by March this year.

Meanwhile, Zanzibar plans to spend about 835m/- for renovating the Sebleni House Estate in a bid to improve the condition of the dilapidated houses, Members of the Zanzibar House of Representatives were told yesterday.

The Deputy Minister for Health and Social Welfare, Ms Shawana Bukheit Hassan, informed the House that the elderly houses at Sebleni, Limbani, and Gombani in Pemba where in bad condition.

Answering a question by Mr Hajji Mkema Hajji (CCM-Koani) and a supplementary question from Mr Awadhi Salmin Awadhi (CCM- Magomeni), the deputy minister said that her ministry was providing minor maintenances in the houses while waiting for allocation of substantial funds from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs.

Ministry investigates discrimination of obese workers

DailyNEWS Reporter
Daily News; July 04, 2007

ZANZIBAR Ministry of Labour, Youths, Children, and Women Development Ms Asha Abdallah Juma, said here yesterday that her ministry will investigate allegations that some female hotel workers had been expelled from their jobs simply because they were fat.

She was responding to a question by Mr Ali Suleiman Ali (CCM-Kwahani) who claimed that some women had been involuntarily retired from their job "just because they were plump".

He told the House that the alleged women had worked at the tourist Hotel in Puani-Mchangani, north of Unguja Island for some years, but when they became fat the hotel management terminated their contracts.

The minister said if the MP allegations were true, then it was totally against human rights to banish an employee because of her physical appearance, adding that it was tantamount to discrimination that should not be allowed in the Isles.

She said that her office would investigate and take appropriate action against any hotel or restaurant exercising such discrimination.

Meanwhile, arguments erupted yesterday in the Zanzibar House of Representatives between opposition and a State Minister over the Zanzibar president status in the International conferences.

Debating the budget proposals for the Office of the Zanzibar President and Chairman of the Revolutionary Council, Mr Assaa Othman Hamad (Wete- CUF) charged that normally Zanzibar president was sidelined in international conferences.

"Zanzibar president deserves international recognition as head of a country because international relations are non union matters," he charged. But the Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs, Dr Mwinyihaji Makame Mwadini, argued that the statement was a fabrication.

The minister demanded Mr Othman to apologize for not telling the truth in the House, but the legislator stood firm, citing a SADC meeting he attended in Swaziland where he witnessed Zanzibar president not sitting at the high-table with other presidents.

However, the Zanzibar House of Representatives Speaker Mr Pandu Ameir Kificho, intervened, ordering the foreign affairs department to investigate the allegations and report to the House.

Japan, Tanzania sign water supply projects

Xinhua
Jun 28, 2007

The governments of Japan and the United Republic of Tanzania Thursday signed an agreement to assist Zanzibar to develop water supply systems.

The water supply agreement will cost 8.8 billion Tanzanian shillings (around 7.04 million U.S. dollars) in all.

Eleven wells will be drilled and water supply pipelines will be extended by 21 km to host supplies in the urban areas in the Indian Ocean archipelago.

Signing the agreement were Japanese Ambassador to Tanzania Makoto Ito and Zanzibar Finance Ministry Principal Secretary Khamis Mussa Omar.

Phase One of the water supply project will be completed in March 2008 while Phase Two will be concluded in March 2009.

Mansour Yussuf Himid, Zanzibari Minister of Water, Works, Energy and Land, expressed his gratitude to the Japanese government for its aid to the Zanzibar isles.

"The completion of the two phases will enable local people to enjoy access to clean drinking water in the Zanzibar West Urban area," said the minister.

Though part of the united republic, Zanzibar has its own president, cabinet and parliament.

World Bank assists Zanzibar in building secondary schools

Xinhua
Jun 26, 2007

Zanzibar has got 42 million U.S. dollars from the World Bank as an aid that will be spent on building 10 secondary schools and on other education-promoting activities.

The aid pact was signed in Zanzibar between the permanent secretary of the Tanzanian finance ministry and the World Bank country representative to Tanzania, according to reports reaching here on Tuesday.

Khamis Mussa, principal secretary in the Zanzibar finance ministry, said after the signing of the aid pact that the World Bank aid would be used to facilitate secondary school education in the Indian Ocean archipelago.

Apart from building new schools, the World Bank aid will also be used to rehabilitate some existing secondary schools in both Unguja and Pemba, the two major islands of the archipelago.

Hotel group to train Zanzibar youths

ISSA YUSSUF in Zanzibar
Daily News; Monday,June 25, 2007

COMPLAINTS by youths in Zanzibar that they are being marginalised in job opportunities in the tourism industry might soon be over if plans to provide hotel management training for youths materialises.

Many youths and some members of the Zanzibar House of Representatives have been protesting against increased employment of youths from outside Zanzibar in tourist hotels while those in the isles are given few chances.

Neptune Group of Hotels has plans to conduct a three-month free training programme to youngsters who wish to pursue hotel management course to bridge the gap between youth unemployment and demand for skilled workers in the tourist industry.

The group's chairperson, Mr Amin Merali, said at the weekend that his organisation has plans to train 100 youths, mainly from villages surrounding tourist hotels.

The trained youth, mainly high school drop-outs, would then be able to work as self- employed entrepreneurs in the growing industry and contribute to the growth of private sector.

"We are determined to help Zanzibar youths get the knowledge and work in the hotels. Currently, there are very few Zanzibari youths working in the hotels just because of lack of skills," said Mr Merali at the Zanzibar Institute of Tourism (ZIT) at Maruhubi here.

Mr Merali revealed the plans at a party to congratulate 11 youths who have just graduated and to welcome 10 more who are about to start training.

The Neptune Hotel in Mombassa, Kenya, will conduct the programme, which includes courses in house keeping, food and beverages and front office management among others.

According to a board member of Neptune Group, Mr Mohamed Baloo, the three-month course, covering training, accommodation and transport costs 9m/- per student.

The Zanzibar Tourism Commission (ZTC) Executive Secretary, Mr Vuai Mwinyi, appealed to other hotel groups to support efforts to train Zanzibar youths in hotel management.

Minimum wage up in Isles

ISSA YUSSUF, Zanzibar
Daily News; Thursday,June 21, 2007

MINIMUM wage, airport service charge and prices of various items including cigarettes, beer and motor vehicle licences are set to rise following adjustments to several taxes announced by the Minister of State in the Zanzibar President’s
Office (Finance and Economic Affairs), Dr Mwinyihaji Makame, here yesterday.

Tabling the budget bill for 2007/08 in the Zanzibar House of Representatives, the minister announced increased minimum salary from current 50,000/- to 60,000/-which is 20 per cent increase.

“The salary structure aims at reducing burden for low income earners and people in general,” Dr Makame said, adding that many Zanzibaris still lived in poverty. Take home pay would be 73,600/- after including other allowances, mainly transport and housing. The minister said the changes would take effect on the date to be announced by the responsible minister. He also told the House that elders under government care would start receiving 3,000/- instead of the 500/- while pensioners will now get 15,000/-, up from 7,500/- monthly.

Dr Makame said in an effort to check brain drain of professionals, salaries for degree holders and above would be reviewed. He appealed to skilled Zanzibaris to remain in the country.

Airport service charge would rise from 25 US dollars to 30 US dollars while new taxes on cigarettes would be mentioned later. The minister said this measure would help reduce use of tobacco, which causes health problems. He said imported beers would be charged 400/- per litre. “This is because the government believes beer is luxurious item,’’ he added.

The minister said licence fees for motor vehicles with two wheels would be 10,000/- while all other motor vehicles will be charged 50,000/- per annum.

Dr Makame expressed satisfaction on the progress of the tourism sector in which taxes for hotels would be reviewed to increase revenue. He underlined the government’s desire to improve the infrastructure, tourism sector, agricultural sector and attract investments to create more jobs.

Social services, including health and inflation, will be improved in accordance with the 2020 vision and Zanzibar Poverty Reduction strategy (ZPRS). The government has proposed to spend 276bn/- out of which 140.36bn/- will be for recurrent expenditure while 35.6bn/- will cater for the development votes.

Karume okays Human Rights Commission Bill

ISSA YUSSUF in Zanzibar
Daily News; Thursday,June 21, 2007

THE Human Rights Commission (HRC) is now free to work in the Isles after the Zanzibar President, Mr Amani Abeid Karume, assented bills proposing the move.

The Zanzibar House of Representatives Speaker, Mr Pandu Ameir Kificho, informed the house yesterday that the bill was one of four proposed legislations signed by the President.

Mr Kificho mentioned them as the 2001 HRC establishment law, Commission for Special Department law, a law to establish Zanzibar agricultural institute, and a bill to improve “Privilege, Powers, and Immunities for members of the House” laws.

Journalists in Zanzibar recently raised concern over the “Privilege, Powers, and Immunities for members of the House” law saying it suppresses press freedom. Clauses 24 and 32 of the law restrict journalists or media practitioners to enter the Zanzibar House of Representatives without the Speaker’s consent. The law classifieds journalists as visitors.

Also under the proposed laws a journalist will not be allowed to report any information from the House including personal behaviours in the assembly of a member of the House without the Speaker’s permission.

Challenges remain on fulfilling children’s rights

ASSAH MWAMBENE
Daily News, June 19, 2007

TANZANIA commemorated Africa Child day on June 16 this year. In this article, Staff Writer ASSAH MWAMBENE looks at the situation of children rights in Zanzibar…

RAYA is a 14-year-old girl who was forced to end schooling in favour of a forced marriage in Zanzibar to a man she did not love. She was however, brave and courageous enough to tell the social workers about her ordeal.

The Ministry of Youth, Employment, Women and Children Affairs condemned such a move and managed to intercept the marriage after almost three weeks of the forced marriage.

However, after such timely intervention by the government and neighbours, the girl, who was schooling at Mwanakwerekwe Primary School, managed to go to class again but unfortunately she did not survive long.

Just three months after rejoining the school she died of unexplained diseases. Maybe she would have lived to tell the story about how she was plunged into a forced marriage at such a tender age and to a man she did not choose.

Another interesting but terrifying story is about Ali Said. Ali Said is not his real name. He is a nine-year-old boy from a remote village in Mahonda, Zanzibar. He has a strong ambition and is determined to become a soldier or work as a security guard when he leaves school.

“I have a keen interest in working as a security guard or a soldier because being a soldier means having a gun and no one will dare to bother you,” he says.

Like many young children, Said seems to take a keen interest on the smart uniforms and other uniforms which workers of the many security companies he sees in town wear.

But what is so interesting about his ambition into the security cycles is that it was not accidental but rather stemmed from physical and psychological trauma he suffered after being defiled by a neighbour and inflicted in the village.

Like many kids, Said says, he was sent to buy bread at a nearby grocery and when he came back, he says the man who sent him threatened to kill him if he ever dared to shout at the heckler.

Ali and Raya’s cases are among many psychological and physical incidents that impair children in Zanzibar and denying them of their rights to education, life and many other social service needs.

But what is more alarming is that incidences like these are on the increase on the Island. There have been efforts to silence few activists who have been trying to advocate for the rights of children.

Lulu Hussein Othman, the Children and Women Affairs Officer in North B Unguja District, says has been a target of the ruthless men and women who have been harassing children in the area.

She believes that her own grandson was defiled as retaliation for her strategy to ensure that detractors were taken to task as opposed to the will of few unscrupulous individuals who have always wanted to conceal the information regarding rape or physical harassment of children.

Lulu says traditionally most of villagers would like to settle out of court any case of rape and defiling to protect the detractors, mostly men, from the public shame and ridicule for demonising children.

Lulu says it has taken more than four months for the grandson to partially recover from the trauma since she says, he felt shy before his fellow pupils at school because almost everyone was aware that he was defiled.

She also noted that last year alone a total of 15 schoolgirls were impregnated and others went on a forced marriage while at school. A total of five incidents of girls being raped in the District were reported.

Lulu believes that cases of the rape and other cruelty against children were on the increase in part because once they land into a court of law, they are dismissed on explanation that there is no evidence to back up the case.

She says for example, between 2002 and 2006 a total of 118 cases of rape of girls were reported at Vuga regional Court, 44 of them were dismissed on grounds that there were no evidence, others offered lenient punishment to offenders.

An official with the Ministry of Youth, Employment, Women Affairs and Children, Sharifa Maulid, says the government has tried to make amendments in the laws that govern women and children’s rights.

She says for example, that the Spinsters, Widows and Divorce Act have been amended to give rights to continue with their studies even when they get pregnant. In the past, she says girls found pregnant were automatically expelled from school.

She says the government, in collaboration with various partners, including UNICEF, WHO and several bilateral donors like Italian and United States governments, funds various programmes aimed at fostering child rights.

Corruption impedes justice in Isles

ISSA YUSSUF in Zanzibar
Daily News; Monday,June 18, 2007

CORRUPTION, inept police officers, overcrowded jails, shortage of judges and lack of funds are some of the setbacks for improving the Zanzibar legal system.

Participants in a one-day meeting to assess the Director of Public Prosecutions (DDP) office performance in Zanzibar also cited “insufficient witnesses in case proceedings, ignorance of the law and communication gap within the legal structure,” as other problems in the Isles.

The meeting was organised by the DPP’s office as one of the activities to mark its fifth anniversary. Participants included senior officers from the police, Zanzibar prisons (reformatory schools), judiciary, Revolutionary Council (executive), Ministry of Finance and the media.

The DPP, Mr Othman Masoud, said his office wanted to get people’s views before handing its five-year report to higher authorities.

The Deputy Director of Criminal Investigation (DCI) – Zanzibar, Mr Ramadhani Kinyogo, said: “We have a problem in recruiting police officers. Normally good performing school leavers do not apply for the job. We need to get officers who can communicate well with other legal practitioners such as judges.”

Mr Zaharan Mbarouk from the Prisons Department lamented that prisons “were too congested. A cell for five people accommodates ten or more, who are mostly charged with minor offences. It is a waste of government resources. Let us find a solution as soon as possible,” he said.

The Registrar of the Zanzibar High Court, Mr Abraham Mwampashi, said that insufficient funds were the major cause for failure to the implementation of various programmes in the judiciary. Other participants complained of prosecution delays in Pemba, where there is no resident judge and sessions took too long to be held there.

The Zanzibar Minister of State (Constitution and Good Governance), Mr Ramadhan Abdallah Shaaban, advised practitioners in the legal system to strengthen networking for efficiency to reduce problems in the legal system including “combating corruption.”

New Websites feature Zanzibar Photographer

6/17/07

The photographs of Javed Jafferji emphasize the beauty of Tanzania and Zanzibar on new websites developed through a collaboration between the Tanzania Tourist Board and the Tourism Confederation of Tanzania and its member organisations: Tanzania Association of Tour Operators, Tanzania Society of Travel Agents (TASOTA), Tanzania Air Operators Association, Hotel Association of Tanzania, Intra-Africa Travel and Tourism Association & Zanzibar Association of Tourism Investors

www.tanzaniatourismonline.com

www.go2zanzibar.net

www.gallerytours.net

US hip-hop group to grace ZIFF festival

Correspondent
Daily News; June 16, 2007

NATIVE Deen, the heart-throb US hip-hop group is scheduled to arrive in Dar es Salaam on July 4 to take part in the ZIFF 2007 festival.

This was confirmed by Dr Martin Mhando, Festival Director, who has promised an exciting festival which turns tenth.

"This is our tenth year and we can crow to the whole world that ZIFF, the largest film festival in the region, is here to stay," said Dr Mhando.

Apart from Native Deen, the Quidang Arts ensemble from China will jet in on June 27 to take part in the opening ceremony to be held at the magnificent Old fort amphitheatre.

He said that Quidang is a 12-member dance group and will entertain audiences with the ever mesmerising mix of traditional and modern dance choreography.

This is the first time in three years that a Chinese dance group tours Tanzania and the first time ever to have China participate in the festival.

The Chinese artists will be in Dar es Salaam for only one show to be held at the Kempinski Kilimanjaro on June 30.

The Malian musician and composer Moussa Diallo has also confirmed taking part in the event and is scheduled to stay for five days in Zanzibar.

He will perform in Stone Town as well as in the village panorama and plans are underfoot to enable the Diallo Trio to perform in Dar es Salaam. Moussa Diallo now resides in Denmark and has reputation for high-strung compositions of European, Malian and reggae fusion styles.

The South African group Strings and Skins makes its East African debut at the Award night on July 7, bringing the curtain down for what is projected to be a memorable festival which sees for the first time in the world a film competition about slavery.

The slavery-film theme will feature 15 recently produced films competing for the 10,000-US-dollar award, breaking the Chains Award for the best film on the theme of historical slavery.

On July 4, he said, the festival will come to a halt as all the guests relieve the pain and horror of slavery through visiting slavery sites that dot the Island of Zanzibar.

"Through this event we commemorate the loss of life and honour the memory of the courage, pain and suffering of enslaved African people", concluded Dr Mhando adding:

"A live broadcast of a public forum about slavery in Zanzibar on both TVT and TVZ will highlight the 200th commemoration of the abolition of slave trade".

Activists vow to control maternal deaths in Isles

ISSA YUSSUF, Zanzibar
Daily News; Sunday,June 17, 2007

FAMILY planning campaigners have vowed to intensify efforts in the on going campaign for "Repositioning Family Planning (FP) and Reproductive Health (RH) Programme," to controll the "rising maternal deaths in the Islands."

Health experts believe that FP/RH is the most reliable means for youths, and female/male parents to control unplanned pregnancies, and Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs), including HIV/AIDS.

The Family Planning Programme manager in the Zanzibar Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Dr Hanuni Waziri Sogora, said that a nationwide campaign would be launched on Wednesday.

"We need to make sure that people understand the benefits of family planning and reproductive health for individual and national development," Dr Waziri said as she appealed to religious leaders and media to support the campaign.

She said that in Zanzibar Family Planning started late in 1990s but it slopped-down due to little funds from the government and after development partners diverted their support to combating Malaria and HIV/AIDS problems.

"The development partners are now back and even the government is now fully committed to support the programme to save lives of mothers," Dr Waziri said.

She said that the programme intended to "cut-down or prevent" maternal deaths from current more than 300 in 100,000 annually, and have health families, "should involve journalists in an awareness and distribution of contraceptives."

Dr Waziri said that apart from the government, the programme is being supported by the USAID through EngenderHealth- ACQUIRE project. "The ACQUIRE project is to assist Ministry of health and other service partners coordinate efforts to scale up and expand access to and utilize reproductive health facilities with the main focus on contraceptive and permanent methods."

Zanzibar Chief Minister Mr Shamsi Vuai Nahodha is expected to officiate the launching of the Family Planning programme at Kivunge Village, North Unguja but also Zanzibar Minister of Health Mr Sultan Mohammed Mugheiry and Mission director of USAID Ms Pamela White are among the expected people at the function

CUF GOVERNING COUNCIL SUPPORTS MUAFAKA

KILASA MTAMBALIKE
Sunday News; June 17, 2007

SOME opposition Civic United Front (CUF) members remain divided over talks with the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) on the political situation in Zanzibar (Muafaka), but the party's supreme Governing Council has ruled that "it remained committed to the reconciliation efforts."

The party's National Chairman, Prof Ibrahim Lipumba, briefed reporters at the party's headquarters in Dar es Salaam yesterday that the party was committed to end the crisis in the Isles and the stand was adopted at the governing council's meeting on Friday.

Yesterday, CUF members and supporters categorically rejected that position and demanded that they back out of the talks. They alleged that they know CCM is only playing a time wasting game until the next elections so that they can use the same tactics to win.

Some disgruntled party members forced their chairman to hold an impromptu meeting after briefing the media to explain to them on the need to continue with dialogue with CCM instead of withdrawing from the talks.

Earlier, Prof Lipumba reproached comments made by CCM Secretary General, Mr Yusuph Makamba, in Pemba recently which he blamed as the main cause for the distraction to the goodwill behind the talks.

"We would like President Jakaya Kikwete as Chairman of CCM to explain to the public whether the statements by Mr Makamba represented the party's position or were his personal views", Prof Lipumba said.

He said that his party is democratic and matured and called on CCM to take the talks seriously so that an agreement could be reached and also urged the ruling party to expedite the talks and decisions and implementations of the same be done soon.

A party supporter, Mr Said Ally, said that they have lost faith in CCM because of the comments by Mr Makamba in his tour of Pemba Island which he said were derogatory and wanted his party to withdraw from the talks.

Another supporter, Ms Habiba Mohammed, called on the party leaders to focus on strengthening the party instead engaging in talks that will not bear any fruits.

JKT, JKU cause heated House debate

SOSTHENES MWITA in Dodoma
Daily News; June 14, 2007

THE government clarified in the National Assembly yesterday that the National Service (JKT), which is under the Ministry of Defence and National Service, together with the Tanzania People’s Defence Forces (TPDF), was a Mainland entity and had nothing to do with the Union.

Heated debate ensued when Mr Ali Said Salim Ziwani (CUF) demanded to know why Jeshi la Kujenga Uchumi (JKU) existed in Zanzibar parallel with the JKT on the Mainland while the JKT, which is part of JWTZ, was a Union defence institution.

In a supplementary question, Mr Salim demanded that JKU should be disbanded. The Deputy Minister for Defence and National Service, Mr Omar Yusuf Mzee, said JKU, which was created by the House of Representatives, could not be disbanded. He said JKT was established by the Union Parliament. “The two forces have different beginnings.

It is the House of Representatives which has the sole right to disband JKU”, he said. Mr Hamad Rashid Mohammed (Wawi – CUF) opposed the deputy minister. The Wawi MP argued that if JKT was a legitimate affiliate to JWTZ which is a Union Defence Force, then JKT should be a recognised military force in Zanzibar too. Mr Mzee maintained that the Union Constitution did not recognize JKT as a Union entity. Mr John Cheyo (Bariadi East—UDP), demanded clarification from the state on the matter. He asserted that JKT was recognised constitutionally as part of TPDF.

“If Zanzibaris do not agree to this stark reality a state explanation is necessary,” he said. Attorney General Johnson Mwanyika stood up and said he agreed entirely with the deputy minister that JKT was only for the Mainland. He said JKT was not a Union force.

The whole thing started with a question asked by Ms Mwajuma Khamis (Special Seats – CUF), who had sought to know the number of Zanzibaris who had joined JKT. Deputy Minister Mzee said 370 youths (336 boys and 34 girls) from Zanzibar had joined the force since 2001.

Education tops priority in Isles' budget

ISSA YUSSUF, Zanzibar
Daily News; June 14, 2007

EDUCATION sector is slated to get the biggest share in the Zanzibar government's 2007/08-budget proposal to be unveiled next Wednesday.

According to the figures in the budget summary, 16.80 per cent of the total budget or 279bn/- would go to the Zanzibar Ministry of Education and Vocational Training.

In the 2006/2007 financial year, Zanzibar allocated 21,079,426,000/= to the education.

In his pre-budget media briefing last Friday, the Zanzibar State Minister- Finance and Economic Affairs, Dr Mwinyhaji Makame Mwadini, said that it was going to be people's budget as it was focusing on some crucial areas such as education and development.

Asked to comment on his ministry's biggest share, the Minister of Education and Vocational Training, Mr Haroun Ali Suleiman, responded that it was an indication that education was being given priority.

He said his ministry gets support from the development partners to reform education. Compulsory education in the Isles would now be 12 years instead of 10 years.

Other ministries with hefty shares are Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, which will get 5.92 per cent of the total budget up from 6,351,461,000 allocated during the 2006/2007 financial years.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Environment gets 4.23 per cent while the Auditor General's office gets 0.48 per cent, and Anti-Smuggling Unit pockets 3.40 per cent of the total budget if the members of the House accepts.

Dr Makame said that the government would also embark on improving infrastructures to attract foreign investors, tourism, and agriculture mainly boosting coconut growing to sustain the crop.

Passenger, cargo vessels must be insured -minister

DAILY NEWS Reporter in Dodoma
Daily News; June 14, 2007

MARINE vessels that transport cargo and passengers between Zanzibar and the Mainland commit punishable criminal offences if they do so without insurance cover, the Deputy Minister for Infrastructure Development, Dr Maua Daftari, told the National Assembly yesterday.

She was responding to a supplementary question floated in the House by Ms Mwaka Ramadhan (Speacial Seats - CCM) why vessels such as MV Takrima which capsized at Msasani recently, were allowed to ply the ocean without insurance.

Dr Daftari said it was a crime for marine vessels, including ships and canoes, to work without insurance. In her original question, Ms Ramadhan had wanted to know if the state recognized sea vessels that plied between the Mainland and the Isles.

Dr Daftari said the state knew all the vessels that served on the Zanzibar-Dar es Salaam route and that they were registered. She mentioned the vessels as MV Aziza I (which has a carrying capacity of 350 tonnes) and MV Aziza II (400 tonnes).

The other ships are MV Mudahiri (250 tonnes) and MV Maendeleo (650 tonnes). She said since last year containerized cargo ships that plied between Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar and Tanga included MV Royal Zanzibar (1,700 tonnes) and MV Mantehna (1,600 tonnes).

She said all vessels that ply the Dar es Salaam-Zanzibar route are duly registered and are inspected routinely. She said owners of passenger and cargo marine vessels are required by law to insure their vessels and pay compensation in case of losses of cargo or lives.

Somalia: Five Zanzibar Refugees Among Hundreds of Young Boys Arrested

Shabelle Media Network
13 June 2007
Aweys Osman Yusuf
Mogadishu

Five Zanzibar refugees in Somalia are among hundreds of young Somali men seized in the biggest mosque in Mogadishu, the Somali capital.

Relatives of the Zanzibar refugees who called on Shabelle Media Network on Wednesday said they were very much concerned about the health state and whereabouts of their loved ones.

Ariya Saed, a mother of Suleiman Ali Ismail, one of the inmates, told Shabelle that her son was missing since last week when the government said it captured 1,000 Somali young men who were being trained by Islamic insurgents in Al-Hidaya mosque in north of the capital Mogadishu.

Mogadishu mayor, Mohammed Dheere, told journalists last week that a joint Ethiopian and Somali military operation to hunt down remnants of the routed Islamists facilitated the seizure of one thousand young boys in the mosque.

"We rescued 1,000 young boys, most of them under the age of 16 from the Islamists. They have told us they were trained to be suicide bombers. Anyway we will release them once their parents contact us," he said.

Relatives of the five expressed that most of the Somali boys who were apprehended along with their family members have been freed while theirs remain locked up.

Mohammed Aden, a brother of one of the Zanzibars, said his fellow countrymen were learning the holy Quran in the mosque.

"They had nothing to do with fighting or terrorism. They were simply studying the holy Quran as freebie," he said.

The five inmates were identified as: Mohammded Juma Omar, mohammed Kombo Mussa, Omar Saef Yusuf, Saed Suleiman Juma and Suleiman Ali Ismail.

Ariya Saed appealed to the Somali transitional government officials to release the Zanzibars whom she said were refugees and poor, living in former government office compound at Bandir intersection, south of Mogadishu.

Most of these non-native refugees claimed they fled the island of Zanzibar following deadly clashes between the government and rebel groups. The have lived in the capital Mogadishu for at least seven years.

INTERVIEW: Baraka Shamte on Zanzibar

2007-06-12
Guardian

Recently, BARAKA SHAMTE, a veteran Zanzibar politician and son of first Zanzibar Chief Minister Mohammed Shamte, granted an exclusive interview to The Guardian`s Deputy Managing Editor BERNARD MAPALALA at his home in Stonetown. It dwelt on the political situation in Zanzibar and its historical dimension. Excerpts:


Q: You are the son of former Zanzibar chief minister Mohammed Shamte, to be exact, his sixth son, many people who were followers of his party are right now with the political opposition, how did it happen that you became a member of the ruling party?

A: I have been on the side of the current ruling party ever since I was young. I was a member of the Afro-Shirazi Youth League, while my father was originally a leader in the Afro Shirazi Party.

He did not place any obstacles on my path. To say the truth, my departed father was a very gentle and civilized person.

He advocated political freedom within the family. When he left the ASP and formed the Zanzibar People`s Party, I was at that time the deputy secretary general of the ASP Youth League.

We continued in different paths until the Zanzibar Revolution occurred in 1964. At that time, my father was already the chief minister of a government which was formed by his ZPP and the ZNP--a coalition that was opposed to the Afro Shirazi Party.

Q: So he was overthrown while he was the chief minister?

A: Yes, but the one who was overthrown was the Sultan, contrary to what people are saying, that it was my father who was overthrown, because the government did not have any real authority.

When the British left here, they left behind a monarchial government, which was in fact powerless because it was under the Sultan. The Afro Shirazi Party was not satisfied with the continued rule of the Sultan, and that was what led to the Revolution.

Q: What happened to your father after the Revolution, did he remain behind in Zanzibar or leave the Islands?

A: My father went into hiding, and I took part in helping him to go to a safe place. When time came and the government sought them, I personally took him to a place where he would be confined, and had I not done that, he would have lost his life.

Q: How did your personal relationship continue, given that situation?
A: It continued between father and son, and other relatives. As a family, we still remain one although we belong to different parties. So whenever any family events occur, we are always together.

Q: Did your father leave the country?
A: No. He didn?t. He was detained with other leaders of the deposed government, until time came for him to be released.

Q: How long was he detained?
A: It was more than 15 years. He was released from Keko Prison in Dar es Salaam. He thereafter lived in Dar es Salaam in a rented house.

Ten years later, he decided to visit his son the last born Juberi Mohammed Shamte, who was living in the Gulf States. Quite unfortunately, he died there during his visit, and he was buried there. It is not that he ran away from Tanzania. We lived with him here until the time he travelled to the Gulf.

Q: So despite the occurrence of the Revolution, you still had the heart to remain in the ruling party?

A: I am still with Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM), being one of its cadres. With the advent of multi-party politics, I was posted as party district secretary in Wete, then became party secretary in Unguja Urban, and was later transferred to Pangani.

Q: Now let us dwell on politics. Since the 1964 Revolution, Zanzibar has been ruled by six presidents, including the incumbent President Amani Abeid Karume. Do you think that this frequent change of guard in the past 40 years has been useful?

A: The experience has been quite useful, first because we got democracy. Every ruler has come up with a form of democracy of his own. The first president was Mzee Karume, when there was no democracy it was a revolutionary government.

The second president (Aboud) Jumbe, when he came, introduced the House of Representatives. This was a step forward. When Ally Hassan Mwinyi came, he introduced the democracy of free trade. Until then, all the business was owned by the government.

So each one of them had brought a peculiar benefit. What remains at the moment is to consider that given our poverty, and the long list of retired presidents, will the economic situation allow us to take care of all of them?

This is what the ruling party should deliberate?the system of one president ruling for 10 years and retiring, then having a new one, does this mode satisfy the needs of a poor country?

Q: Given Zanzibar?s experience in the transition of power, are there any lessons which African countries can learn from Zanzibar?

A: This is indeed a big lesson (for Africa). And this lesson does not come from Zanzibar alone, but from the whole of Tanzania. The way our leaders hand over power to each other, is a unique example for Africa.

You cannot compare these criteria with any African country. It is rather unfortunate that we find it a problem in Africa to accept the democracy of this kind, where there is so much rivalry.

Q: For a keen observer of Zanzibar politics like yourself, you can see that since the late 1950s to date, when the Afro Shirazi Party entered several elections, and now CCM, the voting pattern has remained almost the same, with the winner usually scoring an additional narrow margin. Why has the pattern of voting in Zanzibar remained polarized?

A: There are many reasons for this. The first being the beliefs of the populace. Secondly, our type of democracy in Zanzibar is what Europeans call simple majority.

In 1962 at Chakechake, the Chakechake seat was snatched by Afro Shirazi Party by a single vote. Idarusi of ZNP and Hamisi Masoud of ASP were competing, and we won by just one vote.

The ballots were counted twice; still the British recognized the vote outcome. So Hizbu (ZNP) accepted the outcome and the winner entered the House, and there was no argument about the matter.

I am now surprised that these days, people are querying a narrow victory. A simple majority victory just one vote makes a decision, which we must all accept. Our politicians, especially those of the opposition, are trying to misread this kind of outcome.

When you lose by one vote, it means that you have been defeated. The problem that we have in Tanzania at the moment is that people have no civic education, and this is the mistake of party leaders, who are themselves conversant with civic education but deny it to their members.

They only feed them with explosive politics which make them believe that election victory always comes out in a big margin.
Q: But who is responsible for providing civic education. Is it not the government?

A: The government only prepares the way, but those who have to provide civic education are the political leaders?
Q: It is said that in Zanzibar, people are more faithful to their parties than their own country. If somebody is a CCM member, he would be prepared to die for that party, likewise a CUF member.

It is alleged that party loyalty is stronger in the Islands than patriotism?
A: Do you know why this is the case? It is the mistake of the leaders.
Q: Which leaders?

A: All leaders of political parties. They are the cause of these mistakes.
Q: You mean leaders of both (CCM and CUF) political parties?
A: Yes. They do not give civic education to their members. I?ll give you an example.

If you go to Pemba at this moment, you`ll find that once a CUF member crosses over to CCM, the whole family blacklists him.

And this is what happened to both parties in Pemba, during the controversy of the ghost votes? election.

Q: What were the ghost votes?
A: There you are?The ghost votes. This was CUF?s political creation by mobilizing people not to cast their votes, so that whoever would be voted for, would receive just a few votes.

That person would become the area`s representative, but be elected by some very few cast ballots. The aim of this was to imply that although he had won, the votes that were not cast were far more than those which were cast?However, civil education dictates that if among 1,000 eligible voters, 400 did not turn out to vote, then the 600 who would vote are the ones to dictate who would win.

Q: Zanzibar has a long history of interaction with people of various races from other parts of the world, dating back to perhaps a thousand years. How do you assess its current multi racial status?

A: I wish to inform you one thing, that is, the history of Zanzibar?anybody who is on the Mainland will speak as if he knows the history of Zanzibar?even Nyerere? it took him many years to come to know Zanzibar.

It was during the meeting which he held at the JKU headquarters in Zanzibar, when he ultimately realized the politics of Zanzibar. He had failed to understand Zanzibar throughout this time, despite all his expertise. That?s why despite all his efforts, he failed to for a single (Union) government.

Even the current Prime Minister (Edward Lowassa), he understood Zanzibar during the voting for EALA representatives, after seeing the intrigues of the Civic United Front.

These people (CUF) are unpredictable. They would say one thing, but deep inside, they mean the other. They have got internal and external policy. They don?t state their internal policy.

Q: According to this statement, you imply that Zanzibar is very difficult to govern.

A: It is true, because the citizens themselves have got their own internal policy which all other people cannot understand. No leader can visit here, or stay for a month or a year, then conclude that he knows the Zanzibar situation more than we do?

Q: Do you mean that this internal policy of Zanzibaris is stronger than the official policy?

A: Yes, it is. President Jakaya Kikwete, despite all his attempts to end the political stalemate, I personally think that he will not succeed. The situation in Zanzibar?it is the Zanzibaris themselves who are embroiled in a conflict.

I will tell you one thing: In the Civic United Front, Sultanism is still in their blood, even though they will deny this fact at political platforms. Secondly, in CUF, there is Pembaism, even if they will deny this fact. All its leaders, 100 percent, are Pembans.

Go to Dar es Salaam; do your research, all CUF leaders who are leading the neigbourhood branches hail from Pemba. There is nobody from the Mainland.

Q: Many reasons are being given for the political impasse in Zanzibar. There are those who have gone as far as saying that the colour bar is the historical problem in Zanzibar. Any comments?

A: The problem is not the colour bar. It is simply discrimination. Here (in Zanzibar) there is Africanism and Arabism, not the colour bar that you are talking about, like in South Africa, where you have the whites, Africans, Goans etc?Here you have Arabs and Africans. Although people still deny the existence of the Arabism factor, it still exists. And Arabism means Sultanism.

Q: And where are these people?
A: They are in the opposition parties. Every person who indirectly supports Sultanism goes to the opposition CUF.

Q: All these people are living in one country. How can they be united as Zanzibaris? What strategy can be applied to make them united and see themselves as one people?

A: It is not possible?If you tell someone that now we are independent and the Sultan is no longer at the helm, but that person believes that the Sultan should still reign in Zanzibar, what will you do to that individual?

Q: Is there no positive contribution made by CUF in the political arena, like during House debates and various other proposals on how the country should be governed?

A: Such proposals have been given after CUF had failed to achieve its objectives through heavy handed methods.

If Zanzibar was all alone, there would have been more than 10 coup changes. What prevents such occurrences is the Union.

Q: The language that you are using contradicts the current terminology of ending the political conflict between CUF and CCM. It seems that things are now moving in the right direction.

A: Political conflict? Who is bringing this political conflict? When we talk about conflict, we have to discuss its source. And for CUF, as long as there is no person from Pemba who is elected as President, they won?t believe that democracy exists.

Q: Why should a person from Pemba not become president?
A: Not that they are not wanted; the important thing is to have one who qualifies for that post?

Q: The ruling CCM which is the TANU/ASP umbrella has been in power for so many years. How long do you think it will continue to reign?

A: Given the existing situation where all those opposition parties are in fact not parties but people`s private companies it will continue for a long time?

Q: We have discussed the problem areas; let us now turn to the future. What is the future hope of Zanzibar, politically, economically and socially?

A: Economic issues fall in the reserve of the Zanzibar and Union governments. There are sticking issues between the Zanzibar and Union governments.

Once a solution is found and the Zanzibar government is given the opportunity to develop the economy?and the economy is not just internal, it is also external. Zanzibar has no arable land. Zanzibar depends upon factories.

There are no cloves?The government is solely depending on tourism. How far has the Union government shown a resolve to help Zanzibar have a reputable port of its own? How about supporting Zanzibar in building factories that will process marine products?

We have no minerals? Right now there is talk about the presence of oil. The Union government should help Zanzibar exploit that oil.
Q: Won`t there be any conflict on dividing the oil income?

A: The important thing is negotiation, as democracy demands. Those who question too much about what falls under the auspices of the Union government are usually from the political opposition, although they don?t raise up the issue in the legislature as to how a particular aspect should be integrated as a Union affair.

Theirs is just street talk.
Q: The vehemence in Zanzibar`s political arena is not reflected in the economic field. Indeed, the Isles` politics are more vehement than those of the Mainland. Why the prominence of economics over politics in Zanzibar?

A: Your attitude is not correct?Firstly, Zanzibar is a small country?do not expect traders in Zanzibar and those in Mwanza to prosper in the same manner.

The economic outlook of Mainland and Zanzibar is different?The political temperature in Zanzibar is high only during elections, and people are preoccupied with economic activities at other times...

Zanzibar kerosene shortage to end today

ISSA YUSSUF in Zanzibar
Daily News; Wednesday,May 30, 2007

KEROSENE shortage which had hit Zanzibar for the past several days is expected to end today, officials from the main fuel suppliers, Gulf Africa Petroleum Company (GAPCO) and Zanzibar Petroleum Company (ZP) said yesterday.

The officials said kerosene consignment was expected to arrive today.

"We expect to receive kerosene tomorrow (today). Our ship-- MV Mkombozi-- is already loaded with the product at Mombasa," the ZP terminal manager, Mr Zakaria Taib, said.

The GAPCO General Manager, Zanzibar branch, Mr Fakhruddin Tayabali, also confirmed, saying: "We expect to have our fuel station filled with kerosene tomorrow (today)." He said his company sells about 2.2million litres of kerosene monthly in Zanzibar.

Both officials said there was no shortage of the other petroleum products, attributing kerosene shortage to the congestion of cargo at Mombasa port in Kenya, the traditional source of petroleum supplies for Unguja and Pemba.

The shortage sent prices of the essential energy source for domestic cooking and lighting shooting to 1,500/- a litre in the black market instead of the official 980/- a litre.
Asked why they imported fuel from Mombasa and not from Dar es Salaam, the officials said the product was cheaper in Mombasa.

"We buy fuel at reasonable prices from Sharja in the Middle East and then ship it to Mombasa depot before transporting it to Zanzibar and Pemba," Mr Taib said.

He said whereas kerosene was sold for 1,500/- per litre in Dar es Salaam, in Zanzibar it was traded at less than 1000/= per litre."

`The African respects people who do not fear`

2007-05-29
By Bernard Mapalala
Guardian

The above quotation was bestowed on WOLFGANG `WOLF` DOURADO by famous British journalist Colin Legum in the 1970s. He was referring to Dourado`s tightrope performance in the pursuit of human rights under difficult political climate in Zanzibar, where he served as Attorney General for 13 years.

His father, Domingo Constancio Dourado, whom Wolf describes as having a quick temper, when he noted this trait in his son, advised him that the civil service was not for him as only ``Yes-Men`` could succeed there.

However, Dourado went against his father`s advice and joined the Zanzibar Attorney General`s Chambers in 1950 and paid for it.

After the 1964 Zanzibar Revolution, Dourado chose to remain behind and support the Revolutionary Government as other Goans fled, strongly believing that he could effect change from within the system.

In Zanzibar recently, The Guardian`s Deputy Managing Editor Bernard Mapalala was able to interview Dourado at his `White House` residence in Stone Town. Here are the excerpts:

QUESTION: We just want to go back to the past and the perspective on what you see about the present and future situation.

You have been a major player in the political transition of Zanzibar, having served in the top position of Attorney General immediately after the Revolution and for several years onwards.

Having retired now, although serving on contract as a Judge in the Lands Division and also as chairman of the Land Tribunal, are you comfortable with Zanzibar`s political and government institutions, are they stable and durable?

ANSWER: Well! Yes, I think I am. As far as they go they are stable. We don't have too many changes up and down up and down So I can vouch for the stability.

Q: Do you think that they are durable enough to take Zanzibar into the future?
A: I think they should improve on the fitness.

Q: Much as it occurred over 40 years ago, the Zanzibar Revolution is still the main factor in the Isles` contemporary history and the major turning point from Arab rule. There are some people in Zanzibar, who seem to question both its legality and legitimacy. What is your opinion regarding this matter?

A: First briefly, for a revolution to take place it must succeed. It must succeed because a lot of revolutions have been thrown out. And they (the Zanzibar Revolutionary Government) have been in now for about forty years.

That`s quite a reasonable period, forty years. I have been all throughout the period with them. Before then I was with the British colonial government.

The British Government liked the Goans because they could be trusted with the cash, whereas our ndugus have light fingers! I think they (SMZ) are getting on alright.

Q: But what about the issue of people who have question marks about the legality of the Revolution? What would you say to those people?
A: But they are not many...

Q: But how valid is their stance?
A: How can it be valid? The Revolution has succeeded. It has gone on for forty years. It is there, whether you like it or not.

Q: Likewise, there are those who eye the Union of Tanganyika and Zanzibar with cold eyes. Being a prominent lawyer, and an insider in the political system, can you dwell on the legality and the legitimacy of the Union?
A: As for the legitimacy (of the Union), since it has succeeded, well there it is! The Sultan has been thrown out. By and large the people are happy about it.

Q: You are still talking about the Revolution. What about the Union of Tanganyika and Zanzibar?
A: Since it has come into existence, now it is 40 years, it is legitimate. There are people on both sides. Some criticize it, but not openly.

Q: Do you think that the opponents of the Union will succeed at some point?
A: No! No! Too much time has passed. They will not succeed.

Q: I hope you know about people who have gone to court seeking to get the Articles of the Union. Do you think they have a point?
A: These people (the Government) should produce these documents. I do not know who is having them.

Q: As far as you know, because you were around then, are the documents really there?
A: Oh yeah! I have seen them. Where they are now, I don`t know.

Q: Zanzibar`s current legal structure is a departure from what it used to be in the past. It has evolved. During the treason trial, after President Karume had been assassinated, you served as both prosecutor and defence lawyer for the accused. Was this not a flawed legal system?

A: Of course it was flawed, and it was not my choice. They called me, Karume (before he was assassinated) had called me before the Revolutionary Council, and he said: `Hii ma-lawyer, ma-lawyer hatutaki. (We don`t want these lawyers).

We don`t want the system of private lawyers defending individuals, because poor people can`t afford lawyers. I told him he would face a lot of problems, and Mwalimu would not prefer such a legal system. He responded: `Leave Mwalimu in my hands. I will handle him`` (laughter).

So it was decided that there was no private practice in defence matters. Some of the members of the Revolutionary Council who opposed me on this issue were later to appear in the treason trial as accused persons.

When the trial was over, I reminded them that they had been opposing the commissioning of private lawyers and they were now experiencing the result of their stance.

Q: But do you think that those people (the accused) got justice, given the circumstances?
A: Not one was hanged. Some got light jail terms. I think they got justice, given the circumstances.

Q: In the earlier years of the Revolution, just as you have hinted, the political dynamics in Zanzibar were quite intense and unpredictable, what personal quality enabled you to survive in such a precarious situation?

A: You see, the African basically respects people who do not fear, and I did fear no one. So they respected me. They would say: `Huyu kweli dume.` (This is a real man). And I got along month to month until it is now forty years! So you ask me how I survived, heaven knows! But I survived.

Q: You won the trust of founder President Abeid Amani Karume up to the time he was assassinated. How close was your personal relationship?
A: We were very close, even if he flogged me.

Q: He flogged you? Why did he flog you?
A: I opposed forced (inter-racial) marriages (in 1970). I didn't oppose natural marriages; I opposed forced ones, because both parties must be willing. So I got `viboko.`

Q: What position were you holding at that time?
A: Attorney General.

Q: And you were flogged?
A: Yes.

Q: And what did you do after that?
A: Then Karume came to prison to see me. I asked him: `Mzee, umefanya haya?` (Old man, why did you do this?). He answered: `Even though we do not agree with you on this matter, we shall still support you to continue holding the position of Attorney General. So you can go back to work now.`

Q: But he had imprisoned you already.
A: Only for one day.

Q: You said he flogged you and his sons also?
A: And his sons.

Q: Amani was also flogged?
A: Yes, with me!

Q: Why was Amani flogged?
A: Because when I opposed forced marriages, I told Ali Karume (Amani`s brother) `Don`t marry anyone by force. It (the marriage) will break up.` So he told his father: `Dourado has told me this, and he is an intelligent person.` And Amani told his father: `Why implicate Mzee Dourado in this matter? He has nothing to do with it.` So he was also thrown out of the house.

Q: You were close to the President. You knew both his positives and negative qualities. Can you briefly explain Mzee Karume as a person? Where did his personal strength lie?

Do you recall any specific incidents which reflect his character?
A: One thing, he was always neatly dressed, starch and all that.

For example, he came to my office during the colonial days, he eyes were brown very brown- and was putting on a very neat vest. On the paper he was holding was written a case number related to a widow.

He asked: 'Why are you delaying dealing with this case?` I answered: 'It is not me who is causing the delay. There several people who handle a particular case.`
So I sent for the clerk who was dealing with the matter.

He said that the widow had not been paid yet. I said: `Why is she not paid?` He answered: `The accounts are all ready. We are only waiting to pay.` So I said: `You make this payment right now in front of Mzee Karume, otherwise you go home and never come back.` The payment was made. So Karume went out, then he came back holding some money. He said: `You have helped us, and we must help you also.`

I responded, `People are saying that we are corrupt, and this is corruption!` Karume said: `Now I tell you this: I trust you. When the day comes for me to lead the government, I will make you the Attorney General.` That was before the Revolution. And of course, after the Revolution he called me, and from that time I was Attorney General.
Q: And how did you assess Abeid Karume as a leader?

A: He had good ideas. He wanted equality among the people. You now can`t do it the way he was doing, but he has done a lot of good. The Michenzani housing is a good thing, except that he flooded Stone Town with people. There too many people in Stone Town.

Q: As a long time observer of the Zanzibar political scenario, what do you think are the reasons behind the widened political divide in Zanzibar? Are there any lessons to be drawn from the Islands' troubled history that can shed light on the future, especially the having of a durable political solution?

A: Well! The divisions will always be there, even now. There are differences between Pemba and Zanzibar, and in Zanzibar, there is North and South.

So these problems can carry on for a while, but to end them completely, it takes some time. We need elders, durable leaders. The elders, more elderly than me (laughter)
Q: Finally, what is your advice to young Karume?
A: Amani?

Q: Yes.
A: He is a very gentle person, and the flogging that we had together, had brought us together (laughter), so whenever we meet we embrace each other. I recently won a human rights award, and I had a photograph with him.

I went to tell him personally. Then he called me, and said: `Take this photograph, circulate it to have money, and then give it to the Saint Francis Society to help the poor.` They wanted to give me a party, and I said: `Goans are not rich.

We don`t have money. Now the little money you have you want to spend it for a party! I don`t want the party. I appreciate the thought, (but) let us collect the money for the society.`

Karume third term discouraged

2007-05-29 09:31:38
By Mwinyi Sadallah, Zanzibar
Guardian

Zanzibar Attorney General Idd Pandu Hassan yesterday decried manipulations aimed at amending the country`s Constitution to enable Zanzibar President Abed Aman Karume extend his tenure in office to a third term.

The Attorney General was reacting to suggestions made by CCM elders in the Isles who asked Karume to look into the possibility of contesting for the third term, following impressive economic and social developments recorded during his leadership.

The Isles AG said in an exclusive interview that implementation of the proposals would not be possible because the majority of Tanzanians preferred and respected the current two-year presidential term system.
``Debate on the third-tenure controversy is therefore a matter long ago closed,`` Hassan said.

He said the Zanzibar leadership respected democracy and good governance, as well as the interests and rights of the majority who were for a two-term, five-year leadership system.

Some Zanzibaris want the constitution to be reviewed so as to increase the number of years in one leadership term from five to seven years, urging that the five-year period is not enough for good leaders who make wonders during their tenure of office.

In his recent address, President Karume said some elders had approached and requested him to extend his leadership tenure because he had brought significant development in Pemba and Unguja.

Karume assumed power after defeating Seif Sharrif Hamad of the Civic United Front in two general elections -2000 and 2005. His term ends in 2010.

Zanzibar installs meters

DAILY NEWS Reporter, Zanzibar
Daily News; Monday,May 28, 2007

ZANZIBAR Electricity Company (ZECO) will today start installing computerized prepaid meters in customers' homes, the company's Public Relations Officer, Mr Salum Hassan, said yesterday.

He said that already 2000 meters popularly known as TUKUZA (Tumia Umeme Kwa Uangalifu Zanzibar), have been imported from South Africa and another consignment of 3000 meters is expected to arrive this week.

"We expect during this first phase to cover 20,000 customers in both Unguja and Pemba," Mr Hassan told the 'Daily News'.
The ZECO customer care manager, Mr Abdallah Hajji, said the power utility company had spent over 2bn/- on the project.
"We have spent about 500m/- to purchase the 5000 electric meters from South Africa, but the whole project cost more than 2bn/-," Mr Hajji said.

He said that upon the project completion, ZECO revenues would increase drastically and also it would provide lasting solution to complains from customers over electricity bills.

Currently Zanzibar has about 13,900 customers, some of them already have TUKUZA meters installed in their homes but ZECO says majority of the clients still use outdated post-paid meters.

Nahodha calls for educative radio programmes

DAILY NEWS Reporter in Zanzibar
Daily News; Monday,May 28, 2007

THE Zanzibar Chief Minister, Mr Shamsi Vuai Nahodha, has appealed to media owners and practitioners to give priority to radio programmes that harnesses unity and harmony in the society.

Mr Nahodha made the appeal over the weekend at Saateni area in the Zanzibar Town Municipality when opening new premises for the Zenji FM radio. The previous station was located at Mikunguni.

"People might not enjoy when you spend much of air time on music only. Make sure you air educative programmes because people love to hear about different issues such as development programmes and others of good values," the chief minister said.

He also stressed for recruitment of trained journalists because of the sensitivity of the profession.

The chief minister also advised government leaders to extend cooperation to journalists, but also cautioned journalists not to distort information, to harness relationship between the two.

"I think we have to work together, journalists need us for information as much as we need them to put our messages across to the public," he said.

The owner of the Zenji FM radio, Mr Mohammed Seif Khatib, said at the opening that his radio had employed 24 youths, 11 of whom are girls.

Zenji FM is one of the five privately owned radio stations in Zanzibar. Others are Adhana FM Radio, Radio Maria FM, Coconut FM, and BBC FM. Zanzibar State owned Radio Sauti ya Tanzania Zanzibar (STZ) has a wider coverage.

Zanzibar deports Kenyan businessman

ISSA YUSSUF, Zanzibar
Sunday News; Sunday,May 27, 2007

TANZANIA Immigration has declared a Kenyan citizen - Anilkumar Gordhandas Ramji Kamdar - who has been working in Zanzibar, a Prohibited Immigrant (PI) accusing him of “endangering national economy.”

Both Ramji’s advocate Abdallah Juma and Immigration Officer in Zanzibar George Kaswende confirmed the deportation yesterday.

Advocate Juma told a press conference here that the Immigration had planned a forced expatriation of his client back to Kenya by air, but after “the Immigration failed to justify a forced deportation, he was allowed to travel by road from Dar es Salaam and served with PI notice No. 00000477 of May 16, 2007.

“We are now planning to sue the Immigration because the procedures used to deport Mr Ramji are contrary to the laws and human rights violation. We also believe the move tarnishes the image of Tanzania,” Mr Juma said, adding that his client was not given the right to be heard.

Asked to comment on the issue, the Immigration Officer Mr Kaswende told the ‘Sunday News’: “I acted according to the instruction of my bosses, and served Mr Ramji with PI notice. What is contained in the letter is also true.”

Part of the deportation notice reads: “Mr Anilkumar, who was a resident director of Zanzibar Beach Resort, situated in Mbweni area, Zanzibar, has been ordered to leave the country according to clause 10 (h) of the Immigration Law No. 7 of 1995.”

Further the Immigration letter signed by Mr Kaswende, the Deputy Immigration Director, Zanzibar, on behalf of the immigration director, reads “the deportation is in response to the testimony in the Zanzibar High Court, after finding the deportee a threat to the national economy and deserves deportation.”

However, the Registrar of the Zanzibar High Court, Mr Abraham Mwampashi, when asked to explain if there had been any case filed against Ramji, he replied: “I am not aware of any case concerning Anilkumar.”

According to advocate Juma, Mr Anilkumar had been linked to the loss of about 195m/- from the Zanzibar Beach Resort last month when he was away on travel. But after learning that he was being linked to money loss Mr Anilkumar decided to return to Zanzibar to clear his name.

“When he arrived in Zanzibar the police arrested and put him in custody before releasing him after accepting to settle matters out of court. Just in order to clear his name he had to agree to pay about 67m/- out of the lost money, but before he implemented this he has been surprisingly kicked out of the country,” advocate Juma told the press.

Mr Juma said that immigration laws do not empower any immigration officer other than the immigration director to sign deportation notice, and therefore the “deportation notice signed by Mr Kaswende is illegal.”

Tanzania suspends Somali troops training due to hostage crisis

May 25, 2007
Xinhua

Tanzanian Foreign Minister Bernard Membe has announced a temporary suspension of the government's plan to help train up to 1,000 Somali troops due to the ongoing hostage crisis.

Membe demanded an unconditional release of all the crew staff of two fishing vessels that have registered with Zanzibar, part of the United Republic of Tanzania.

The foreign minister said: "We had agreed to train 1,000 Somali troops, but we cannot do so until the hostages are released. "

The government official said that all preparations to receive and train the Somali troops had been completed as planned and if all had gone well, the Somali soldiers would have been placed in camps used by Tanzanian trainee soldiers, according to Friday's reports by local English newspaper The Citizen.

Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete has promised the international community as a contribution toward peacekeeping efforts in the war-torn country to train Somali troops.

A dozen armed men on May 16 attacked two Zanzibar-registered fishing vessels, Mavuno I and Mavuno II, and held all on board hostage since then.

The two fishing vessels are registered by a South Korean national, Ahn Hyeon-Su.

Zanzibar introduces environment levy

2007-05-21
By Guardian Reporter, Zanzibar


The Zanzibar government has introduced a levy seeking to facilitate a cleaner environment in the Isles.

An official with Isles` Labour, Works and Environment ministry, Abdi Alli, said here yesterday that the levy would take effect later this year.

`The levy will range from 1,000/- to 7,500/- a month for each household in the Zanzibar municipality for the cleaning of sewerage systems collection and disposal of garbage.

Low-income earners will pay a monthly fee of 1,000/- for the former service and 2.000/- for the latter,` he noted.

However, families considered well-to-do will cough up a monthly 5,000/- for garbage collection and 2,500/- for cleaning sewerage systems.

Alli said implementation of the first phase of the project would start at Mji Mkongwe (Stone Town), gradually covering the remaining areas.

He said the municipality would soon receive five trucks specifically for carrying garbage containers at Mji Mkongwe, adding: `Our goal is to make sure the municipality is sparkling clean so that we can curb epidemic diseases like cholera.`

`Sewerage systems will undergo regular servicing and maintenance because they have been causing inconveniences to people whenever they block,` he observed.

He said the municipality has already provided businesspersons with wheelbarrows for carrying garbage to designated areas.

Meanwhile, members of the Zanzibar business community who have commented on the introduction of the levy have stressed that municipal trucks should collect the garbage in their business premises alongside the cash.

Many parts of Zanzibar have for long been in poor hygienic condition, with decrepit sewage disposal systems posing a serious health hazard.

Residential areas especially at risk of contracting epidemics like cholera, dysentery and typhoid as a result include Kilimani, Michenzani and Mji Mkongwe.

Culture and development inseparable

2007-05-20
By Perege Gumbo
Sunday Observer

Researches have revealed that culture can do a lot on human development while fostering peace and harmony in the society.

As Tanzania prepares itself to celebrate the `Tanzania Cultural Day` tomorrow, it is essential to examine socio-economic benefits likely to accrue to the nation as a result of promoting cultural values. Staff writer Perege Gumbo takes a look at the subject

As Tanzania marks another cultural day anniversary, it`s probably important to access how culture can facilitate and foster the goal to national development.

The Tanzania cultural day was officially launched on May 21, 2005 when the government declared that the day will be commemorated annually.

The decision was a result of the United Nations Assembly Resolution number 57/249 which proclaimed May 21st as the day of cultural diversity for culture and development.

So examination of the relationship between culture and development is vital because Tanzania as a poor and developing nation has set her own development goals which aim at uplifting people`s lives.

``We want to create awareness on how our cultural values can contribute to the national development`` the Minister for Information, Culture and Sports, Muhammed S. Khatibu, said.

The link between culture and development is seldom disputed and many international and local researchers have underscored the close relationship of the two.

A society struggling to attain faster development, for instance, might face difficulties in achieving the set developmental goals in isolation of her people`s cultural values. In trying to show the relationship, various approaches have been used.

Prof. Abdul Sheriff, a historian and former director of National Museum in Zanzibar says that measurement of economic development using sustainable expansion of production, productivity and per capita income alone was elusive.

He emphasizes the fact that economic criteria alone could not provide a programme for human dignity and well being.

The narrow economic interpretation of development was, in his view sterile, following its failure to reduce the gap between the rich and the poor within and between the nations.

Tanzania as a multi-ethnic nation has many reasons to join the world in cherishing the culture as she aspires to attain fast development. .........[excerpted from longer article]

Form Six results irk Z'bar minister

ISSA YUSSUF, Zanzibar
Daily News; Friday,May 18, 2007

THE Zanzibar Ministry of Education and Vocational Training has expressed concern over the recent Form VI examinations results, prompting it to form a team to probe the cause of the failure after five years of good performance.

"This is unbelievable, but it is a fact that 2007 Form VI examination results are very bad for Zanzibar," the Minister of Education and Vocational Training, Mr Haroun Ali Suleiman, said.

The minister showed his displeasure yesterday after meeting with headteachers from all secondary schools with Form VI classes in Unguja Island. The general performance for Form VI has been steady since 2001, where 90 per cent of students passed.

Out of about 1,541 students who sat for the final Form VI National examinations in both Unguja and Pemba, only 25 managed to get division one as compared to 118 who scored with division one out of 1,005 students last year.

"All of us in the government were shocked with 2007 Form VI examinations outcome. Let us now work hard for good results next year. This is possible because we have all been provided with the results," Mr Ali said.

He said that there could be a number of reasons behind the poor performance, but blamed congestion in classrooms, inadequate teaching aids especially in science subjects and shortage of skilled teachers to handle Form Six students as well as laxity on part of some teachers.

"I have always said we may have a number of reasons for poor performance in Form Six, but the probe team will tell us the truth," he added.

The minister gave an example of a class of 105 students in one of the schools, saying it was a big burden to teachers to meet the learning requirements of each student.

The minister said that the seven-member probe team led by Mr Ahmada Hamadi Khatib from the State University of Zanzibar (SUZA) would start its assignment on Monday.

Tanzania: 10 children drown as passenger boat capsizes

Tue. May 15, 2007
By Bonny Apunyu.

(SomaliNet) A passenger boat carrying 45 people capsized in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Tanzania leaving at least 10 children drowned on Monday, police and eyewitnesses said.

Tanga region police Chief Issaya Mngulu said by phone that the boast,- dhow, MV Sahara- was sailing from Tanzania's semi-autonomous state of Zanzibar to the port of Tanga when the accident happened.

The police official added that fishing boats managed to rescue 30 people.

"Coast guards and other volunteers are searching for other missing people and also to recover dead bodies," said Mngulu.

The dhow left the Zanzibar island of Pemba coast at around 11am (08h00 GMT) on Sunday and capsized at around 8pm (17h00 GMT) Monday as conditions deteriorated, officials said.-AFP

Zanzibar Women athletes star in new film.

March 2007

ZANZIBAR SOCCER QUEENS is a documentary that presents fresh insights into other lived experiences and realities in Africa, particularly women’s experiences. The stories of the players of Women Fighters present a complex and diverse perspective of untold African Herstories: visions of hope; self-determination; empowerment; solidarity; aspirations and personal identity.

A film by FLORENCE AYISI.

http://www.zanzibarsoccerqueens.com/index.html

Regional military games to be held in Zanzibar

May 10, 2007
Xinhua


Defense forces from east Africa region are scheduled to hold the third edition of regional military games as part of annual cultural week in Zanzibar later this month.

A statement from the East African Community (EAC) Secretariat said on Wednesday the EA Military Sports and Cultural Week will bring over 300 participants representing various services of the Defense Forces from Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania

The games will involve the disciplines of Athletics, (Cross-country Race), Boxing, Football, Netball and Handball, said the statement.

"The Zanzibar event is expected to have a high profile participation intended not only to popularize the event but also to raise the sporting competitive levels thereby contributing to the highest standards within the East African region commensurate with international standards," it said.

"When the people perceive that our defense forces are working together, carrying out joint exercises and engaging in sports activities that project mutual trust and confidence, they inevitably garner higher levels of confidence in the EAC project at both economic and political dimensions," said EAC Secretary General Juma Mwapachu.

"Indeed, our common security future is best guaranteed by the moulding of an East African soldier and a unified territorial defense system," he added.

The East African Military Sports and Cultural Week is an annual event instituted since 2005 when the first edition was held Kampala, Uganda while the first was held in Nairobi in the following year.

The objective of the Military Games is to contribute to building confidence among the EAC Defense Forces under the EAC Memorandum of Understanding on Co-operation in Defense Matters.

Zanzibar needs more court judges

ISSA YUSSUF, Zanzibar
Daily News; May 09, 2007

THE Zanzibar High Court is facing shortage of judges, it has been said. The Registrar of Zanzibar High Court, Mr Abraham Mwamapashi, told the ‘Daily News’ yesterday that transfer of high Court judges to High Court of Tanzania and Court of Appeal has caused the shortage.

However, he said efforts were being made to fill the gap soon. Apart from the Chief Justice, the Zanzibar High Court has only one judge currently, he said, adding that the situation was contrary to the constitution.

“For normal operations, the High Court should have at least two judges excluding the Chief Justice. We have to fill the gap to meet the constitutional requirement,” Mr Mwampashi said:

Recently, two judges left Zanzibar High Court: Judge Suleiman Kihio has moved to the High Court of Tanzania, while Judge Mbarouk Salim has been appointed as Court of Appeal judge.

Talking about the judges’shortage issue last Monday, Zanzibar Chief Justice Hamid Mahmoud appealed to judiciary practitioners mainly magistrates in the lower Courts to upgrade their skills to fill vacant positions in the High Court. Judge Mahmoud made the call after upgrading three district magistrates to regional status, after attaining the required experience and education.

“You have to observe legal ethics and work hard to raise your education. We need judges in the High Court just from our judiciary system, without hiring from outside,” Judge Mahmoud said.

The new regional magistrates are Nassor Ali Salim, Haroub Sheik Pandu, and Salum Hassan Bakar. Zanzibar High Court is the Supreme Court in Zanzibar. However, the Tanzania Court of Appeal can hear some cases.

No more free nets in Zanzibar

ISSA YUSSUF, Zanzibar
Daily News; May 08, 2007

HEALTH officials in Zanzibar have announced that mothers and children will no longer enjoy free Insecticide Treated Mosquito Nets (ITNs).

The Zanzibar Health Minister and Social Welfare, Mr Sultan Mohammed Mugheiry, told the ‘Daily News’ yesterday that people would now be required to pay 1000/- per a net.

Zanzibar Malaria Control Programme (ZMCP) official Ali Khamis Abbass, said that the contribution was intended to sustain the ITNs distribution programme mainly after withdrawal of donors’ support.

He said: “We need to maintain ITNs distribution even after our friends who have been supporting the programmes have left. We are determined to wipe out Malaria in the Isles.” Mr Abbass said Zanzibar’s ongoing success in combating malaria was admired by many countries around the globe, but maintained that sustainability of the trend was the main challenge.

The ZMCP officer attributed the achievement to ongoing campaign to use ITNs, accurate diagnosis and combination therapy treatment, and Indoor Residual Spray

5 suspected thieves killed in Zanzibar

ISSA YUSSUF in Zanzibar
Daily News; May 07, 2007

FIVE people suspected to be thieves have been killed by people here in the past seven days.
Following the deaths, police have cautioned citizens against taking the law into their hands, saying that all alleged suspects must be reported to the police for necessary action.

According to Regional Police Commander (RPC) for Urban-West Region, Bakar Khatib, his office recorded two incidents of mob justice, while others were recorded in the South and North Unguja regions, respectively.

"In the fight against crime, we must always remember that we cannot, and must not take the law into our hands," said the RPC, adding that mob justice was wrong, and was a violation of law.

When contacted for comment, the North Unguja RPC, Mussa Ali, said that there was no justification for a group of people, who take the law into their hands, because the state had a procedure to follow in dealing with such issues.

However, some people here defend their move to arrest and kill suspected thieves, claiming that the judicial system was ineffective and corrupt.

`Fast-tracked East African Federation will chock Z`bar`

2007-05-07 09:16:22
By Abdullah Salehe
Guardian

It is now 43 years since Zanzibar and Tanganyika formed what is now called the Union of the Republic of Tanzania. While the latter seems to be braving the storms of the said union, the former seems to have a handful of problems on this score.

And while Zanzibar still thinks of ways to solve what it sees as a myriad of problems between the two brothers, another issue has squeezed itself in, that of the East African Federation, whose policy makers want it formalised in the fastest possible time.

Indeed, the issue of the EA Federation contemplated to be in position by the year 2010 seems to have overfed into Zanzibar�s mouth. It is being done at a time the Island is struggling to consolidate various political and economic matters.

A closer look-back at Zanzibar`s proclivity in the current politics, particularly that pertaining to the union of Tanzania, will obviously note a certain level of reluctance.
Some of the major scores to this effect include the `unfurling` of the Isles` flag and launching of its own national anthem, etc.

These are just some of the most visible factors which carry with them elements widening the gaps in the union which is now under a fourth government.

For those who remember well, Zanzibar has been doing all it can to join international social, political, cultural, etc, organizations as an independent state and nation.

It is unfortunate that most of such efforts have always been in vain, as it has always and ultimately been found that Zanzibar is part of the United Republic of Tanzania.

Just to mention a few, Zanzibar attempted some years ago during the second-phase union government to join the Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) but failed on grounds that it was part and parcel of the Tanzania government.

It has also made many attempts at joint the Confederation of African Football and the United Nations organisations as a separate entity from the government of Tanzania and all these attempts have ended up in failure.

On the other hand mainland Tanzania has taken a much more sober approach to the issue as it probably nurses no fear about losing anything except gaining something.

The picture might not be all that rosy on the part of Zanzibar which is comprised of two small islands with hardly more than a million people who are divided on the Union, founded under the late Abeid Amani Karume and Julius Kambarage Nyerere.

While there are those insist the the Union remains valid, there are also those who claim this matter runs completely to the contrary to the wishes of the people of Zanzibar.

Dissenting voices claim that the reasons that pushed the then leaders of Zanzibar into uniting with Tanganyika are no longer valid and hence, the muscles which constituted the strength of the union are now weaker than stronger!

So, the current fast move towards formation of an East African Federation, while Zanzibar political and economic situation is still delicate could have negative repercussions on the Isles.

Moves towards the said federation still await finalisation of pertaining small hitches in order to obviate future problems when the federation comes into being.

In this respect, Tanzanians and particularly the people of Zanzibar should be given ample time to recover from the current tide of political and economic recession facing the Isles.

Isles to invest more in education

ISSA YUSSUF, Zanzibar
Daily News; May 04, 2007

ZANZIBAR President Amani Abeid Karume yesterday underscored the need to invest in education as a way of fighting poverty in the Isles.

The president made the call when inaugurating a recording centre for children programmes at Vuga in Stone Town. He said children and parents have a role to play in promotion of education.

He lauded the Zanzibar Ministry of Education for its performance in the last seven years, including the establishment of the State University of Zanzibar (SUZA), describing it as a big achievement.

The president said the recording centre was yet another milestone in education development, thanking the US government for the support 'of the new pre-primary school project and other development projects in Zanzibar."

The president appealed to all people who will be involved in the recording of the children programmes to observe and safeguard Zanzibar culture and education policy. Speaking at the same occasion, the Zanzibar Minister of Education, Mr Haroun Ali Suleiman, said Zanzibar has been making strides in education prompting donors to support it.

"Soon we shall launch science textbooks starting with biology for Forms 1 to Form IV students. The books are truly suitable for Zanzibar students. Currently we enrol 15 per cent children in pre-primary schools but our target is to have 50 per cent enrolment as soon as possible," Mr Haroun said.

He said recently the World Bank released a loan of 42 million US dollars for education programmes.

"We are planning to use part of the money to construct about 19 modern secondary schools in the islands and a teachers' college at Mchanga- Mdogo area in Pemba." The US ambassador to Tanzania, Mr Michael Retzer, told the audience at the launching ceremony that his country was impressed with Zanzibar education progress, and that about 2.7bn/- has been allocated for the project starting to broadcast programmes in July this year.

"The project will provide radio instructions to community-based pre-school and after school learning centres. Through this and its implementing partner, Education Development Centre (EDC), USAID has built and equipped a state-of-the-art digital recording studio and its training teachers to develop
278 interactive radio education programmes," Mr Retzer said.

The children programmes recording centre inauguration was also witnessed by the USAID director in Tanzania, Ms Pamela White, Zanzibar deputy Chief Minister Mr Ali Juma Shamuhuna, First Lady Ms Shadya Karume, students, and politicians including Ministers, Members of the Zanzibar House of Representatives.

Zanzibar bans 19 clinics over sub-standard tools

DAILY NEWS Reporter, Zanzibar
Daily News; May 03, 2007

NINETEEN private hospitals in Zanzibar have been closed down for using substandard microscopes in diagnosing malaria, it was revealed yesterday.

Private Hospital Board official Shaaban Seif told journalists here that his board had inspected about 37 private hospitals last week, discovering that 19 clinics had unsuitable microscopes for diagnosing malaria.

"It is disappointing to learn that some medical practitioners are business minded and do not abide by professional ethics," Mr Seif emphasized.

The Zanzibar Private Hospital Board punishment on private clinics comes a week after the Zanzibar Malaria Control Programme (ZMCP) officials complained against widespread use of unacceptable microscopes in diagnosing malaria in Isles.

The Acting 'Zanzibar Malaria Control Programme (ZMCP)' manager Mr Ali Khamis Abbass, told a press conference on the Malaria Day marked on April 25 that out 68 private clinics surveyed in Unguja, 45 had substandard microscopes.

"Some of the private clinics have also been conducting substandard malaria diagnosis, with their slides always giving positive results for malaria," Mr Khamis told journalists at the ZMCP offices at Mwanakwerekwe.

He said Zanzibar malaria prevalence had dropped from 45.4 per cent in 2003 to 35.3 per cent by end of last year after the use of treated mosquito nets, proper diagnosis and use of combined therapy, and indoor residual spray campaigns had paid off.

He said that Zanzibar had surpassed the Abuja Declaration on malaria, which set to reducing malaria prevalence in individual countries by at least 60 per cent particularly among the pregnant women and children, by 2008.

He said Zanzibar impressive record in the eradication of the disease was also owed to the government decision to change the first line drug in treating malaria from Chloroquine to Artemisininbased combination therapy.

Karume promises salary hike

ISSA YUSSUF, Zanzibar
Daily News; May 02, 2007

PRESIDENT Amani Abeid Karume said here yesterday that salaries for civil servants in Zanzibar are to be increased come the financial year 2007/2008.

In his May Day speech at the Amani Stadium here, President Karume told thousands of workers who braved a heavy down pour that the government as promised at the 43rd Zanzibar Revolution on January 12, was working on ways of improving salaries and incentives in the civil service.

"Those who were assigned to make recommendations are through with the exercise and new salaries will be announced soon. The government has also reviewed remuneration of experts, pensions and allowances for the elderly," Mr Karume said without giving more details amid thunderous applause and ululation.

The current minimum wage for Zanzibar civil servant is 50,000/- a month, while the elderly under the care of the Zanzibar social welfare receive monthly allowance of between 500/- and 1500/-.

The president said that his government was striving to get rid of ghost workers in the civil service. Last year authorities in Zanzibar said that there were hundreds of ghost workers on the government's payroll and some of those involved in the syndicate have appeared in court. He stressed on good industrial relations, saying peace and co-operation at work places increased efficiency and productivity.

The celebrations were also attended by Zanzibar Chief Minister Shamsi Vuai Nahodha, Deputy Chief Minister Ali Juma Shamhuna, several ministers, political leaders and diplomats. Before presenting different awards to about 83 employees from different institutions for their outstanding performance, President Karume viewed a long procession by thousands of workers, many of whom were dancing and displaying various products, as well as parading placards revealing services offered by their institutions.

President Karume, however, said that he was not happy with the absence of the opposition parties in the procession, saying: "I have only witnessed CCM supporters, let us all unite."

A Change for the Better

Tanzania
May 2, 2007
The World Bank Group

—For Mwashamba Alimuse, a simple food product – eggs – has changed her life.

Just two years ago, Alimuse, who lives on Zanzibar off Tanzania, used to spend her day at the sewing machine, trying to earn money by making handicrafts.

But now Alimuse has a guaranteed income through the sale of eggs to hotels catering to tourists who flock Zanzibar’s two islands in the Indian Ocean for their famed beaches and historic old town.

Alimuse was one of 17 women and one man who banded together and pooled their money to secure a grant under a community-based farmer project aimed to improve agricultural production in Zanzibar and on the mainland, Tanzania.

Called PADEP (participatory agricultural development and empowerment project), it’s a scheme targeting an estimated 376 farmer groups in Zanzibar, with the aim of benefiting people in more than 7,500 homes.

Under the scheme, Alimuse and the other members of her committee had to put in about US$26, with the money matched by a grant funded by the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar and the World Bank. The money was used to build a hut to house egg-laying chickens.

Tanzania, once an economic laggard among African nations, has become a world-class reformer.

"Africa is speeding the pace of reform, with Rwanda and Tanzania showing the way, and this is a very positive development," said Michael Klein, World Bank/IFC Vice President for Financial and Private Sector Development and IFC Chief Economist, at a recent Washington meeting where the Bank and the U.S. Agency for International Development honored top reformers.

Klein was referring to Tanzania’s leap to the No. 10th slot among reformers worldwide in the World Bank’s ”Doing Business 2007” ranking.

To make the leap, Tanzania slashed the cost to register new businesses, streamlined port operations in Dar es Salaam, cut property transfer red tape and strengthened laws protecting small investors.

While the country has doubled its per-capita growth rate over a reform-filled decade, it still ranks 142 out of 175 countries in the overall Doing Business ranking. To continue this reform, the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA), with Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom as partners, is supporting a number of projects. Those initiatives are aimed at modernizing taxation, improving competitiveness of small and medium-sized businesses and broadening access to judicial and legal services and making public financial resources more accountable and transparent.

In separate action, the Bank has approved a US$190 million credit to Tanzania to support implementation of the National Strategy for Growth and Reduction of Poverty (MKUTA).

All those moves can favorably impact on Tanzania’s growth rate, which is slightly under 6 percent, and help it achieve its Millennium Development Goals.

In the World Bank’s ”Africa Development Indicators 2006,” Tanzania ranked in the middle of the 16 Sub-Saharan nations that had sustained their growth since the 1990s.

The report said Tanzania is one of the selective African countries that “have the ability to compete effectively in certain global service markets.”

For Alimuse and the others it’s an investment that has paid off – they have now sold more than 220,500 eggs, earning themselves US$2,538.

Alimuse – a mother of five children ranging in age from 18 to the youngest at 5 years old – now says she has money to spend on her family and to invest in extending their business. The group has plans to build another chicken hut and buy 500 more chickens.

About a 20-minute drive away in another village, community members proudly show off a shop they’ve built under a similiar community investment project.

The farmers of Bumbwisudi community contributed about 20 percent of the total cost (US$13,270) of the shop and its supplies – by putting in materials and manpower – with the shop now selling fertilisers and other farm goods.

In the village, the average income is only about US$250 a year and community members say the returns from the shop allow them to increase their agricultural yields and use the extra money to send their children to school and hospitals when they’re sick.

The PADEP scheme, now five years old, is funded by US$3.5 million from the Bank’s concessional financing arm, the International Development Association, and US$77,700 from the Government of Zanzibar. So far about US$784,000 has come directly from the people.

And it’s that element – a contribution by the community – which officials believe contributes to the scheme’s success.

Kassim Biwi, PADEP coordinator for Zanzibar, says because farmers have to put their money into the project, it creates a sense of ownership.

“In my opinion the best aspect of the project is that element of ownership,” he says. “You see we have had many, many projects before, but at the end of the donor contribution, that’s the end of the project, because it didn’t involve the people very much. But this project involves the people right from the start, right up to maintaining the project. “

The PADEP scheme is just one side to the Bank’s work in Zanzibar and Tanzania. In the last 12 years, the Bank through the International Development Association has supported Tanzania with more than US$3.2 billion.

Now the Bank’s Board of Executive Directors has approved a future funding strategy for Tanzania which will see the Bank provide more than US$2 billion to the year 2010.

The move came as the Board approved the new Joint Assistance Strategy for Tanzania – a strategy jointly developed by 35 donor groups, including the Bank.

Tanzania stands out as a country in which assistance from the international community is all channeled through a single strategy – supporting the government’s own efforts to reduce poverty and promote the economy’s growth..

It’s a move applauded by Tanzania’s president, Jakaya Kikwete.

“It has worked well because we have evolved in our relationship with the donor community, “Kikwete says.

“Initially the donor knew everything. They knew everything, they knew what was in our interest so they would simply say you want this, you want this; this is how we are going to do it. So, the paradigm has shifted through this new compact. Now, there is greater involvement of us, the recipients now have a great say, greater ownership on what we think is what works best for us.”

In an interview with the Bank last month, Kikwete singled out the need for the country to improve its agricultural base, as one of its key challenges going forward. Eighty percent of people live in the rural areas – but as the President readily acknowledges “it’s subsistence agriculture – living from hand to mouth.”

“Of course the overriding challenge really – the major challenge for me is how to attain higher growth levels, because if we were able to get to 8-10% growth, sustained over a period of 10 years, probably that’s going to really make the difference. “

Tanzania: Whose Idea Was It to Form a United Country
 

The East African (Nairobi)

May 1, 2007

Karl Lyimo
Nairobi

April 26 marked the 43rd anniversary of the union between the former Tanganyika and the Republic of Zanzibar to form the United Republic of Tanzania.

Basically, it involved the late Mwalimu Julius Nyerere and the late Sheikh Amani Abeid Karume.

The two gentlemen went about the Union so secretly that it surprised the region and the world.

Some countries in the West were interested in Zanzibar at the time, and it was quite a shock to learn of the Union. It was even more painful that Zanzibar had joined Tanganyika and gone the communist way.

At that time, the Western (capitalist) camp and the Eastern (communist) camp were vying for influence in the newly independent countries in Africa. Tanganyika and Zanzibar were a coveted prize.

PERHAPS THIS prompted Mwalimu and Karume to get together and seek strength in unity.

But perhaps not! The real reasons behind the Union have never been fully explained.

Along with many of the leaders of the so-called 'Independence Political Parties' of the time, Mwalimu Nyerere was already a Marxist and a committed pan-Africanist. The same can be said of Karume, although at a more parochial level.

BUT, EACH was his own man: fiercely independent, self-preserving and nationalistic. Perhaps this was a natural reaction after decades of colonialism.

Karume was a step ahead of Nyerere though. He was the first in East Africa to recognise East Germany and accord it diplomatic status, much to the chagrin of West Germany, Britain and the United States, among other Western powers.

It has been murmured in some quarters that it was actually Karume who approached Nyerere with the idea of a closer political relationship or even some sort of Union. This was supposedly out of fear of the West, deepened by Frank Carlucci, a US diplomat.

Another school of thought has it that the Tanganyika-Zanzibar merger was Nyerere's brainchild.

But, irrespective of the originator of the idea, the United Republic of Tanzania stands.

BUT, WHAT have those 43 years been like for the Union? Analysts will have a hard time giving an accurate description of the status of the Union today.

The Union government has been all praises about it. In this, it has an able chorus in the government of Zanzibar.

Other stakeholders in the Union - including charlatans - see little or nothing but a can of worms in the Union.

For example, Zanzibar has its own national anthem, a presidential flag and a national flag. It has its own parliamentary system incorporating the House of Representatives and the Revolutionary Council.

It also has its own Constitution, budget system and a judicial system from Kadhi's Courts (unknown under the Union Constitution) up to the High Court. Then it has its own 21-gun salute which is distinct from that of the Union government.

ONE WAY to describe it all is that the Union is unique to the world, and peculiar to Tanzania. As such, it must be preserved even if only as a historic oddity.

It must also be remembered that, in the early stages of the Union until his assassination in 1972, President Karume exercised absolute control over Zanzibar, ruling by decree.

And, there was nothing that the Union President of the time, Mwalimu Nyerere, could - or did - about it.

Would it be farfetched to surmise that inside the Union, Karume was stronger than Nyerere?

Karl Lyimo is a freelance journalist based in Dar

JK leads Union Day celebrations
 

2007-04-27 08:55:27
By Christina Mwangosi

President Jakaya Kikwete yesterday led thousands of Dar es Salaam residents in marking 43 years of the Union between Tanganyika and Zanzibar.

A grand parade mounted by members of the defence and security forces took place at the National Stadium in Dar es Salaam.

President Kikwete arrived at the Stadium at 9.55 am and received a 21 gun salute, before inspecting a guard of honour.

In attendance were Vice-President Ali Mohammed Shein, Zanzibar President Amani Abeid Karume, Prime Minister Edward Lowassa and Zanzibar Chief Minister Shamsi Vuai Nahodha.

Retired presidents Ali Hassan Mwinyi and Benjamin Mkapa were also in attendance. Others were Chief of Defense Forces General George Waitara and cabinet ministers.

Members of diplomatic corps were among dignitaries who graced the occasion.

Civic United Front (CUF) Secretary General Seif Sharrif Hamad was also present and other leaders of the opposition.

His presence signified the lessening of the political rift between the Civic United Front and the ruling CCM. Previously, the CUF leader has not been attending on such occasions.

Tanganyika united with Zanzibar to form Tanzania on April 26, 1964.

The Union was founded by Mwalimu Julius K. Nyerere and
Sheikh Abeid Amani Karume in 1964.

Yesterday, the Union clocked 43 years of existence. It has survived various challenges since its inception and is independent Africa`s only successful unity model.

Since the Union was formed, top national leadership has changed five times in Zanzibar, with Aboud Jumbe, Ali Hassan Mwinyi, Idris Abdulwakil, Salmour Amir and Amani Abeid Karume being at the helm.

Zanzibar`s founding President Abeid Amani Karume, who was also Tanzania`s first First Vice President, was assassinated in April 1972.

He is the father of current Zanzibar President Amani Abeid Karume.

On the Mainland, change of guard at the helm has occurred thrice, with Ali Hassan Mwinyi taking over after the retirement of Mwalimu Nyerere.

He was followed by Benjamin William Mkapa and incumbent President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete.

In Zanzibar, there had been a serious political rift caused by intensive rivalry between CCM and CUF, with violence occurring in some elections.

However, the problem is now being addressed by on-going talks between the two parties.

Other issues of contention between the two parts of the Union are handled by a special committee led by Union Prime Minister Edward Lowassa and Zanzibar Chief Minister Shamsi Vuai Nahodha.

TANZANIA: Big drop in malaria cases in the spice isles

STONE TOWN, ZANZIBAR, 26 April 2007 (IRIN) –

While many countries marked Africa Malaria Day on 25 April with shocking case figures, health practitioners in the Tanzanian semi-autonomous islands of Zanzibar pointed to their success in cutting malaria numbers. "We have few or no cases in many hospitals or clinics in Zanzibar. The big drop has prompted us to reduce malaria therapy stocks by donating to our friends on the mainland where malaria is still a big problem," the Zanzibar Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Sultan Mohamed Mugheiry, said. The anti-malaria programme is supported by USAID. "Since we declared joint war against malaria in September 2005, we have recorded success. But to maintain the success remains the biggest challenge to the people of Zanzibar," Mugheiry said. Addressing Bwejuu villagers about 41km south of Zanzibar Stone Town, the health minister said the "strongest weapon in fighting remains keeping the environment clean and free of stagnant water". Bwejuu village is one of the most successful in Zanzibar in fighting malaria; the villagers have formed groups for keeping the surroundings clean. The minister promised to take disciplinary measures against the minority still refusing to keep their surroundings clean or allowing their houses to be sprayed with anti-malaria chemicals. Mugheiry attributed the islands' success in the battle against malaria to increased awareness in seeking early treatment, accurate diagnosis and combination therapy, and the ongoing campaign to use insecticide-treated mosquito nets (ITNs) and indoor residual spraying (IRS). "Since September 2005 we have distributed more than 300,000 treated mosquito nets to mainly pregnant mothers and children below five years of age. Our recent estimate shows that 82 percent of Zanzibar children below the age of five, and 62 percent of nurturing or pregnant mothers, sleep under nets," Mugheiry said.

Ninety percent of residential homes, he added, had been sprayed with chemicals against mosquitoes, and the ministry has started to spray larvae sites. The lambda-cyhalothrin (ICON) chemical is being used for IRS because DDT is not allowed in Zanzibar. "We prohibited DDT because it is unfriendly to the environment and humans," the minister said.

The USAID director in Tanzania, Pamela White, said: "The world is watching Zanzibar's success story in combating malaria. We have sprayed houses, but we need to spray all houses. If your neighbour is hesitating to have his house sprayed, convince him or her." One problem, however, is poor equipment in treatment centres, according to a programme officer from the Zanzibar Malaria Control Programme in the health ministry. Ali Khamis Abbass told journalists that out of 68 private clinics surveyed on Unguja Island last October, 45 had 'unfit' microscopes. "Private clinics have been conducting substandard malaria diagnosis, with slides always giving positive results for malaria. We need all health centres in the islands to give quality assurance on malaria," Khamis said.

Isles on ‘miracle’ growth path

ISSA YUSSUF, Zanzibar
Daily News; April 26, 2007 @00:03
 
ZANZIBAR’s economic growth will reach 10 per cent per annum by year 2010, the Zanzibar President, Mr Amani Abeid Karume, said here yesterday.
 
“We recorded impressive economic growth of six per cent by end of last year, and we hope to do better in future,” President Karume said at the opening of a touristclass Neptune Pwani Beach Resort, about 33- kilometres on the east coast of Unguja Island.
 
He attributed the economic achievement to increased foreign investments due to the revised investment law and policies.
 
President Karume said that his government was committed to continue offering conducive environment for investments, including improving the infrastructure.
 
He told a large gathering that Zanzibar now boasted of five five-star hotels built in the past five years and more hotel opportunities were being explored.
 
The number if tourists, he said, had also increased from about 97,000 in 2000 to 137,000 tourists in 2006,” Mr Karume said, adding that efforts were continuing to market Zanzibar’s attractions abroad.
 
According to the new Neptune Pwani Beach Resort Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mr Amin Meral, the five-star hotel with 150 rooms has been built jointly by the Neptune Group and the Thomas Cook International Tourist Operators, at a cost of US 12m.
 
Thomas Cook Representative at the function Ms Stephanie Berk said that her company would increase charter flights to Zanzibar in efforts to boost tourism on the Isles.
 
The Zanzibar Minister of Tourism, Trade, and Investment, Ms Samia Suluhu Hassan, said the government was promoting the construction of high class hotels.
 
The Executive Director of Zanzibar Investment Promotion Agency (ZIPA), Mr Salum Nassor, said that bout 289 private investment projects worth US $891m have been registered in Zanzibar.

Africa's cassava comeback

19 April 2007
Fred Pearce
New Scientist magazine

Mzee Hamis is a proud man. For half a century he fed his three wives and brought up 18 children on his 2-hectare plot on the island of Zanzibar in east Africa. His fields of cassava were his store cupboard, yielding food when other crops failed. Then one day, four years ago, the cupboard was bare. "The bushes looked healthy," he says. But when he dug them up to harvest the tubers, he found every last one had rotted away. "I had lost my entire crop. We were hungry and I was desperate."

What he didn't know then was that his crop was the first known victim of a plague caused by a new and virulent strain of the cassava brown streak virus that is now spreading across eastern and central Africa.

Reps to be allocated plots in Isles

ISSA YUSSUF, Zanzibar
Daily News, April 18, 2007

MEMBERS of the Zanzibar House of Representatives are among the priority people to be allocated plots to construct houses, the Isles Deputy Minister for Construction, Energy, Water, and Land, Mr Tafana Kassim Mzee, said yesterday.

"No more bureaucracy in land allocation. The exercise has been going on well and members of the House applying for the plots will be given," Mr Mzee said when responding to the question from Ramadhan Nyonje Pandu (CCMMuyuni).

Mr Pandu had raised his concern over the delay in giving plots to members of the House for six months, after the ministry promised to give the plots. He amused the House after mentioning that some members of the House were living with their parents-inlaw because they lacked houses.

The deputy minister said his ministry had already worked on some plot applications as he mentioned some names of legislators who would be given plots in Pemba Island soon. He named them as Ms Shawana Buheit Hassan, Mr Khamis Jabir Makame (Deputy Minister for Educational and Vocational Training), Mr Machano Othman Saidi (Deputy Minister for Communication and Transport), Mr Khatib Suleiman Bakar (Deputy Minister for Agriculture), and Mr Mahmoud Thabit Kombo (Deputy Minister for Information, Culture, and Sports) to be in the list of first legislators to get the plots in Pemba.

Proving further that his Ministry was committed to giving plots to members of the House, he immediately ordered one of the directors: "I need you to bring to my office tomorrow (today) enough plot application forms for the Members of the House."

He said that all members of the House would get plots for building houses because the government had set areas of Tunguu in Unguja Islands and Tumbe in Pemba for the plots allocation.

Zanzibar security forces to reform

ISSA YUSSUF, Zanzibar
Daily News; Wednesday,April 18, 2007 @00:05

THE Zanzibar Revolutionary Government should ensure the welfare of its security forces, as part of its strategies to reform them. "The behaviours of some Members of our security forces, mainly forces under the revolutionary government are unfriendly.

Low earnings and poor working conditions could be
contributing to such behaviour," some members of the House said yesterday. They were discussing a Bill to establish "Commission for Special Department, which deals with security activities in the Isles.

Presenting the Bill, the Zanzibar State Minister — Constitution and Good Governance, Mr Ramadhani Abdallah Shaabani, said the proposed "Commission for Special Department" is intended to reform the welfare of the security officers.

"We have some outdated laws for the Special Department; therefore we need to reform including welfare of the security forces which include: KMKM, JKU, MAFUNZO, ZIMAMOTO, and VOLANTIA units. All the forces carry guns and normally take part in police work.

Members of the House mainly from the opposition-- Civic United Front (CUF)-- asked the government to make sure that security forces are reformed to the required standard.

"The government must reform the security forces especially in respecting human rights. Most but not all the security forces in Zanzibar violate human rights," said Mr Rashid Seif Suleiman (CUF- Ziwani).

He said Zanzibar was the only country "probably in the World" with the highest ratio of security forces to people, but there has been questionable rule of law and respect of human rights.

Mr Suleiman and his colleagues in the opposition camp recalled in the House that during 2000 and 2005 general elections, a lot of harassments and human rights violations was done by the Zanzibar security forces.

Although some members of the House from the ruling party, CCM, such as Mr Salmin Awadhi Salmin (Magomeni) welcomed the idea of reforming the Special Department, they were of the opinion that there was too much exaggeration about the behaviours of the Zanzibar security forces.

Oman, Tanzania to boost ties in tourism, civil aviation sector

Khaleej Times
17 April 2007

MUSCAT — Key officials from Oman and Tanzania, meeting here on Sunday, decided to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the tourism and civil aviation sectors.

Tourism Minister Dr Rajia bint Abdulameer bin Ali and Basil P. Mramba, Minister of Industry, Commerce and Marketing in Tanzania, and Samia S. Hassan, Zanzibar's Minister of Tourism and Investment, actively discussed the possibility of signing a memorandum of understanding to step up cooperation in the field of tourism.

They also discussed resuming direct flight by Oman Air to Zanzibar.

"The two sides underlined the importance of encouraging investment in tourism in Tanzania, opportunities and incentives offered by Tanzania to Omani investors, in addition to promoting tourism in both countries," Mohammed bin Hamoud Al Toubi, Tourism Under-secretary, said. He said the visit of the Tanzanian delegation was aimed at "enhancing bonds of friendship and cooperation between the two countries, particularly with Zanzibar due to the historical links between the province and the Sultanate.

Also on Sunday, Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Salim bin Said al Ghattami held a session of talks with the two visiting ministers. He reiterated the Omani private sector's interest in the Tanzanian market in particular and in the other African markets in general.

He added OCCI planned to organise visits by Omani trade delegations to Tanzania and an exhibition of Omani products in that country.

Ghattami urged Tanzanian businessmen to benefit from the facilities and services provided by the Sultanate in the field of re-exporting because of the country's strategic location.

Traditional medicines to be regulated

DAILY NEWS Reporter, Zanzibar
Daily News, April 14, 2007

ZANZIBAR government will soon introduce a policy to control practices of traditional medicine and healers, according to Isles Minister for Health and Social Welfare, Mr Sultan Mohamed Mugheiry.

Mr Mugheiry said that there are many people using traditional medicines, and also that the number of traditional healers in the islands had been growing because of loose regulations.

The minister was responding to questions asked by members of the House who wanted to know what the government was doing to control the mushrooming of traditional medicines and healers.

“A policy to manage use of traditional medicines, and doing the work of traditional healers is in pipeline, and soon we shall have it hopefully before the end of this year,” Mr Mugheiry said.

Mr Ali Denge Makame (CCM- Amani) said that there were many traditional healers “coming to Zanzibar from neighbouring countries with unmonitored local medicines, which sometimes caused death.”

Mr Hija Hassan Hija (CUF- Ziwani) also asked in a supplementary question if the Health ministry had made any study on the traditional medicines in the market and the number of traditional healers in Zanzibar.

Responding to the question, Mr Mugheiry said that his ministry had not conducted any study because lack of regulations requiring registration of the traditional healers.

He said that upcoming policy would help to identify traditional healers in the islands, and also the ministry, in collaboration with medical research in higher institutions such as the University of Dar es Salaam, would study the medicines.

Karume Cup soccer tourney put off

Xinhua
4/11/2007

The Confederation of East and Central African Football Associations (Cecafa) has postponed the scheduled under-20 soccer championship known as the Karume Cup due to the withdrawal of hosts Eritrea.
Eritrea withdrew from hosting the championship because of financial constraints.
Tanzania Football Federation Information Officer Florian Kaijage said on Wednesday that the annual championship would have to be re-scheduled for probably this May or June when a new hosting country is picked up.
Mainland Tanzania plays host in November to this year's senior Cecafa championship known as the Challenge Cup while Zanzibar hosts the inaugural Cecafa Women's Competition in September, both in accordance with the original schedule.
Cecafa now includes member countries and regions of Burundi, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Tanzania's Zanzibar.
 

Furore compels Sumatra to close Isle office

2007-04-10 10:04:22
Guardian
By Mwinyi Sadallah, Zanzibar

The Surface and Marine Transport Regulatory Authority (Sumatra) has wound up its operations here after members of the Zanzibar House of Representatives rejected its presence in the Isles as illegal.
Sumatra�s operations recently locked Zanzibaris, the Isles government and House members in a tug-of-war, with the legislators saying the agency was operating here contrary to the law and government officials insisting that the controversy is over.
Zanzibar Communication and Transport minister Adam
Mwakanjuki has confirmed the indefinite closure of Sumatra`s operations here, explaining that the Isles government would establish its own body to assume Sumatra`s duties.
These include overseeing the safety and registration of ships and marine transport generally.
``It is true that they (Sumatra) have gone. I am planning to issue an official statement on the matter during one of the House of Representatives sessions any of these days,`` the minister said in an exclusive interview.
Authoritative sources meanwhile say that, following the closure of the Sumatra offices, there is no more inspection of the quality of imported vehicles and other transport facilities.
Zanzibar`s decision to send Sumatra packing was triggered by recommendations by CCM and CUF legislators during debate in the House of Representatives.
Mkanyageni legislator Haji Faki Shaali submitted in the House that the agency, a wing of the Infrastructure Development ministry in the Union government, had been collecting money from operations of transport facilities illegally.
Most other legislators who contributed to the debate argued that overseeing surface and marine transport was not a Union matter and Sumatra should therefore pack up and go.
Ironically, the ban on Sumatra comes at a time when Prime Minister Edward Lowassa and Zanzibar Chief Minister Shamsi Vuai Nahodha are continuing to steer talks aimed at ironing out long-standing controversy over some aspects of the structure of the April 26, 1964 Tanzanian Union.

Deal with key matters first, Church tells govt

2007-04-09
By Mwinyi Sadallah, Zanzibar
Guardian

The Catholic Church has said it was improper for the Union government to go for massive expenditure on luxury items or items whose purchases could wait instead of dealing with key problems facing the country, including delays in the investigation of murder cases.

The Church`s head in the Isles, Bishop Augustine Shao, made the criticism in a sermon at Stone Town�s Minara Miwili Cathedral on Saturday night to mark the eve of the Easter holiday.

Believers had assembled at the cathedral for the customary Easter Mass, to commemorate the resurrection of Jesus Christ over 2000 years ago. Easter was marked at the national level in Mbeya.

In 2002 Tanzania bought an air control systems at a cost of 28 million pounds from United Kingdom, triggering heated debate in the country and the UK. Some critics suggested that massive corruption was involved in the purchase of what they described as ageing technology.

Bishop Shao said detaining remandees in prison for years without concluding investigations into their cases was against international conventions on human rights and Section 12 of the countrys constitution.

Any government observing the principles enshrined in the Constitution and the rule of law is bound to ensure these rights. Now, let us ask ourselves how a country can buy a radar costing billions of shillings and then fail to guarantee its citizens safety and rights, he observed.

On behalf of our followers, we religious leaders would like to see the respective authorities search for a permanent solution to the problem so as to bring to an end acts of irresponsible prison staff stigmatising and oppressing inmates fighting for their rights, added the bishop.

He explained that Tanzanians were facing many problems, among them poverty and diseases, and that there was a need for the government to put more emphasis on developing key economic and social sectors, particularly education.

In the present era of swift advances in science and technology, he noted, the government has to be really steadfast in protecting the countrys natural resources for the best interests of our people.

He also underlined the need to take good care of people forming the vulnerable and disadvantaged groups of the society as well as fight vices like drug abuse and health problems like HIV/Aids.

At another Easter Mass at the Mkunazini Anglican Church, Rev. Michael Hafidh attributed the rising incidence of outbreaks of diseases like bird flu, rift valley fever and HIV/Aids to �the giant advances made in science and technology.

He said some newly erupting diseases are hints to Christians and the world community at large that there is an urgent need for humankind to conserve the environment and protect natural resources for the benefit of the present generation and posterity.

Karume fought and died for unity

Editor
Sunday News; April 08, 2007

THIRTY-five years ago on this day the founder President of Zanzibar and Chairman of the Revolutionary Council, Mzee Abeid Amani Karume, was assassinated at the Kisiwandui headquarters of the Afro-Shirazi Party (ASP) in Zanzibar town. Mzee Karume was a symbol of unity, perseverance and patriotism.

Those who planned his murder targeted the three values, not the human soul of Karume. They did not like ASP; they hated the Zanzibar Revolution; they hated the Union. Mzee Karume was instrumental in founding the ASP, planning the Revolution and Union. That is why they chose to eliminate him.

The killers of Mzee Karume thought his death would create a vacuum to be exploited to break the ASP and the Union. On the contrary, the ASP and the Union between Tanganyika and Zanzibar grew stronger after the assassination of Sheikh Karume.

Sheikh Karume was murdered, almost at the same time, when 13 Uhuru stalwarts -- under the chairmanship of Muhiddin Omari -- met in 1957 and founded the ASP at Mwembe-Kisongo. Abeid Karume was elected by that meeting President of ASP.

ASP was a merger of two independent associations of Africans -- the African Association and Shirazi Association. That merger was a response to machinations of the British colonial masters. In 1956, out of the blue, the colonialists announced that general elections would be held in 1957 to pick members of the pre-independence legislative council.

The British colonialists knew Africans had no political parties to mobilise and organise people for elections in 1957; but went ahead and called elections at such a short notice. Leaders of the African Association and Shirazi Association had to rise to the challenge, and formed the Afro- Shirazi Party.

They used unity to save the dignity of the Africans.

When elections were held in 1957 ASP won all but one seat in the Stone Town. But the colonial British government did not allow the President of ASP, Mr Karume, to form the government. In elections that were held thereafter, ASP won but tricks were made to block it from forming the government.

In 1964 the People's Republic of Zanzibar merged with Tanganyika Republic, forming the United Republic of Tanzania. It was President Karume who willingly surrendered presidency for the good and dignity of Africans. Who else has done that?

Africa is irrelevant and marginalised in the present world. It is in unity that Africans have some kind of dignity; it is in unity Africans are less disregarded; it is in unity Africans have a semblance of a voice in the world affairs. Unity is hard to earn.

Yet it is this unity that Abeid Amani Karume fought and died for. No amount of intrigues shall erase this truth.

Karume remembered

Correspondent ISSA YUSSUF, Zanzibar
Sunday News; April 08, 2007

PRESIDENT Jakaya Kikwete and Zanzibar President Amani Karume yesterday attended special prayers to observe the 35th anniversary the death of Zanzibar's founder President, Sheikh Abeid Amani Karume.

Zanzibar's Chief Kadhi Ali Khatib Mranzi led hundreds of the faithful who prayed for the fallen hero.

After saying the prayers people visited the grave of Mzee Karume at the Kisiwandui CCM sub-headquarters here. Mzee Karume was assassinated at the same place in 1972.

Yesterday was a national holiday in honour of Karume. Mzee Karume and Mwalimu Julius Nyerere led the people of Tanganyika and Zanzibar to form Tanzania in 1964.

Zanzibar Diocese Roman Catholic Church bishop Cosmas Shayo called upon Tanzanians to treasure the peace and unity saying "it was a gift from God." Speaking at the special prayers, the bishop said: "Peace and unity have been nurtured for many years. They must be cherished by everyone".

The Vice-President, Dr Ali Mohamed Shein, Union and Zanzibar ministers also attended the prayers.

Zanzibar: Cultural Dialogue Through Film

2007-04-05
Screen Africa

The picturesque Indian Ocean island of Zanzibar is set to play host to the 10th edition of the Zanzibar International Film Festival (ZIFF) from 29 June to 8 July. As East Africa’s largest cultural event, ZIFF celebrates the unique cultural heritage of Africa and the Dhow countries of the Indian Ocean region and their global diaspora.

A highlight of this edition of the Festival will be the ZIFF-UNESCO special award worth $10 000 for a film that best discusses issues of slavery – both historical and contemporary. This award will be enriched with a one-day event that will include an organised tour of specific slave route sites culminating in a three-hour discussion on issues of slavery and a presentation of one major film shown in the Amphitheatre.

With many sites of memory in Zanzibar and Tanzania in general relating to slavery, the 10th anniversary of the Festival coincides with the 200th commemoration of the abolition of slave trade. ZIFF CEO Dr Martin Mhando says: “The flagship credo of the Festival, ‘Celebration of Water and Dreams’ will be strongly reflected this year. ZIFF will endeavor to initiate stimulating and relevant dialogues between the East African and Western worlds through a series of forums and events reflecting our objectives.

“ZIFF 2007 will again be a celebration of the plurality of world cultures. Our commitment this year will be to further advance inter-cultural understanding, promote respect and facilitate broader interaction between societies through the medium of film.”
Organisers are promising another week of thought-provoking films and exciting industry events for the people of Zanzibar and ZIFF’s honored guests.

Two Zanzibaris win BBC music prize

MUHIDIN ISSA MICHUZI

Daily News; April 04, 2007

TWO renowned Zanzibar based music promoters, Yusuf Mahmoud and Hildegard Kiel, have been awarded the World Shaker Award 2007 presented annually by BBC Radio 3.

The award was presented to Yusuf and Hildegard in recognition of what has been described as “their enormous contribution to both the local scene in Zanzibar and the world music scene”.

The award recognizes the contribution made to World Music by those who are rarely in the public eye -- but whose work is nonetheless invaluable. According to a BBC Radio 3 online article posted early this week, the duo have had a huge influence on revitalizing the local music scene on the island.

“Zanzibar's traditional music was slowly falling out of favour with its young people... until Yusuf and Hilda got involved.

It goes on to describe DJ Yusuf as a person who has revitalised the local scene in Zanzibar, the traditional roots music from unyago kidumbak to taarab through his annual Sauti za Busara Swahili Music festival.

“He has put Taarab in all its modern forms on the world music map. Yusuf first introduced taarab music in Europe through the larger than life persona of taarab queen, Bi Kidude, Zanzibar's most famous cultural ambassador and East Africa's legendary barefoot diva of taarab and unyago traditional music," the article reads.

Kiel is the founder of The Dhow Countries Music Academy Zanzibar (DCMA), a non-profit, non-governmental organization established in March 2001.

The DCMA provides music lessons as well as instruments at minimal cost to anyone interested in studying music or acquiring mastery of an instrument. Particular emphasis is placed on teaching traditional Zanzibar music styles, such as Taarab, Beni or Kidumbak, with most of the teachers coming from Zanzibar.

“I thought you only usually got this kind of award posthumously”, DJ Yusuf told the 'Daily News' by phone when contacted for comment yesterday.

Too few lecturers in Z`bar universities

2007-04-04 

By Issa Yussuf, Zanzibar

Guardian

Higher Education, Science and Technology minister Peter Msolla has said the ratio of students to lecturers in all three universities in Zanzibar`s is unacceptably skewed.

He raised the concern here yesterday at the end of his familiarisation tour of the universities, two of which are private and the third public.

The universities may be recording progress, including promoting gender balance among their student population but the scarcity of lecturers remains a serious challenge all must address, he said.

While noting that it was true that Tanzania is short of lecturers and teachers in the country, Prof Msolla said he found the students-to-lecturers ratio in Zanzibars universities too tilted for comfort.

The ratio is completely out of tune with the standard required for academic development, he pointed out, when addressing senior officers from the Isles Education and Vocational Training ministry.

At the Zanzibar University College of Education, the minister was told that only 20 lecturers were employed on permanent basis to serve a total of 571 students.

The State University of Zanzibar has 40 lecturers, only a handful with PhDs, for its 1,000 students.

Zanzibar University College does not fare any better. It has an estimated 1,500 students and only 30 lecturers.

In most of universities here in Zanzibar the ratio of tutors or lecturers to students is about 1:50.

This is unacceptable because the required or recommended ratio is 1:10 for the natural sciences and 1:15 students for social sciences, Prof Msolla said, as he appealed to the universities management to look for a solution to the problem.

He also urged them to explore the possibility of having more buildings for students and staff to have a comfortable academic environment.

Improve training facilities and seek to have quality graduates able to deliver anywhere in the world, he stated.

On a more optimistic note, the minister noted that the universities have been doing very well in ensuring gender balance among its student population.

The national target is to have female students constitute at least 33 per cent of the student population in higher learning institutions. Fortunately, you have surpassed it, he observed.

I am also impressed with your teaching of different languages and having Information and Communication Technology in your programmes. The two areas are very important in the current era of globalisation, he added.

Prof Msolla also learnt that none of the three universities have managed to get full accreditation from the Higher Education Accreditation Council but all are working hard to satisfy the requirements for the award.

He promised to work for closer collaboration between them and his ministry for the development of the education sector in our country.

Tanzania: Zanzibar President narrowly escapes accident

March 28, 2007
(SomaliNet)

Zanzibar President Amani Abeid Karume`s motorcade escaped an accident narrowly last week, it has emerged. This was after a commuter bus tried to overtake it at Kilimani area in Unguja.

The motorcade was coming from Karume`s residence at Mbweni in Unguja and heading to the State House, Mjini Magharibi Regional Police Commander, Bakar Khatib Shaaban said yesterday.

Immediately after reaching Kilimani area, a commuter bus with registration number ZNZ 46224, attempted to overtake the presidential motorcade.
With the commuter bus in the middle of the road, things changed abruptly. The convoy leader drove to the right while the security cars drove to the left.

The Tanzanian police managed to stop the bus and ordered passengers to disembark before arresting the driver,`` the police boss said.

EU financially supports political talks in Tanzania

3/25/07

Xinhua

The European Union (EU) has offered Tanzania 8 million euros (10.4 million U.S. dollars) to assist the ongoing talks between the country's two major opposing political parties.

The EU pledge was revealed by Tanzanian Foreign Minister Bernard Membe who is accompanying Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete on a visit to Britain.

The Tanzanian foreign minister said the EU had been impressed by Tanzania's resolve to seek internal solutions to internal problems, according to reports reaching here on Tuesday from London.

Tanzania's ruling party and the country's main opposition started in January this year a new round of talks in hope of finding a way out of their political impasse.

The closed-door negotiations started with talks between Yussuf Makamba, secretary-general of the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi party (CCM), and Seif Shariff Hamad, secretary-general of the opposition Civic United Front party (CUF).

Now a special committee with five members from each of the CCM and the CUF is continuing the talks.

Intra-party relations entered an impasse in the wake of the 2005 general elections in Zanzibar, where the CCM won the polls with a small margin.

The CUF has been boycotting the activities of the Zanzibar House of Representatives though the party's elected members have been sitting through sessions of the Zanzibar parliament.

The opposition party claims that the October 2005 elections had irregularities and had been rigged by the ruling party.

This is the third formal talk between these two parties that concluded their previous talks in October 2001 with a peace accord known as Muafaka.

Zanzibar records highest temperature: meteorologist

March 23, 2007
Xinhua

The Indian Ocean archipelago of Zanzibar has saunaed in recent days in its highest recorded temperature and local meteorologists fear that the mercury may go up even higher.

The highest ever recorded temperature for Zanzibar of 39.4 degrees Celsius was disclosed by Philbert Tibaijuka, director of forecasting at the Tanzania Meteorological Agency, on the eve of the World Meteorological Day, which falls on Friday.

"Although we have had temperatures around 35 or 36 degrees centigrade, it has never been as high as 39.4 before," said the meteorologist.

He warned the public that due to the rising temperature because of the greenhouse effect-caused global warming, the sea level is estimated to rise by between nine centimeters and 88 centimeters by the year 2100.

Zanzibar, a tourist resort just off the East African coast, had the following as the previously recorded highest temperature for each month between January and December: 36, 38, 38, 36, 32, 31, 31, 31, 35, 36, 37, and 36 degrees Celsius.

The monthly average high temperature for the isles ranges from 32, 32, 32, 30, 28, 28, 27, 28, 28, 30, 31, to 31 degrees centigrade.

[Note: 39.4 Celsius in equal to 103 Fahrenheit.]

Malaria: Zanzibar residents oppose indoor spraying

Date: 20 Mar 2007
By ASNS correspondent

Attempts by Zanzibar authorities to carry out massive indoor residual spray have met mild opposition from the island’s populace. While some people in Zanzibar are refusing to have their homes sprayed with an anti-malaria pesticide when the exercise is about to end next Saturday, Juma Hassan Mcha the coordinator of the exercise says, the spraying will nevertheless be carried out. ``Our goal is 90 percent coverage and we aim to achieve it”, he said. Mcha said that reasons for some people in both Unguja and Pemba Islands for refusing to allow sprayers into their houses remain unclear, but did not rule out misconception and unconstructive political motives. The Zanzibar deputy Minister for Health and Social Welfare, Shawana Bukheit Hassan, has also raised concern over the ``sad reports.`` She has appealed to the people to abandon the unhelpful behaviour and join hands in eradicating malaria.
 

Zanzibar AG evasive on ex-chief ministers debate

2007-03-19
By Mwinyi Sadallah, Zanzibar

Zanzibar Attorney General Iddi Pandu Hassan has refrained from being drawn into giving his views on a proposal to disallow retired chief ministers from running for president.

The idea has been floated by leaders of two opposition parties, who are based in Zanzibar.

`This is a matter that could be debated nationally,` he told The Guardian.

The AG`s comments come soon after leaders of the National League for Democracy and the Democratic Party (DP) recently proposed that retired chief ministers should be stopped from seeking the top office in the Spice Islands.

Pandu said yesterday during an interview that the proposal had indeed reached his office, but would not be worked upon as it lacked inputs from other political parties which hold permanent registration certificates.

`The matter should first be put to a national debate before being ruled out, as it touches both the political parties and the public. It cannot be decided basing on the ideas of a few individuals,` he said.

Pandu said he was aware that some opposition parties had been objecting to retired government leaders, including former chief ministers, contesting for the ultimate post in the government; at a time when they were retirees who were being catered for by the Zanzibar government.

Pandu said the issue concerning retired leaders was not for the Isles alone as it touched both sides of the Union and therefore called for a national debate.

CUF Secretary General Maalim Seif Shariff Hamad and Dr. Mohammed Gharib Bilal in the Isles; retired Prime Ministers Dr. Salim Ahmed Salim and John Malecela on the Mainland had all attempted to run for President at one time or another.

NLD Deputy Secretary General Rashid Ahmed had said that ex-chief ministers� pensions were being paid for by the public from tax-payers money.

He said it was not good for the retired leaders to climb the stage and advocate policies that could divide the public.

He said that retired government leaders deserved respect from all due to the contribution they had already made to the nation.

`Their continued involvement in politics could jeopardize their reputation and sow seeds of division among the people,` he said.

Zanzibar: Socio-Economic Conditions Rise

2007-03-16
Daily News
by Ali Uki

The Zanzibar President, Mr Amani Abeid Karume, has said abject poverty in the Isles had gone down to 49 per cent from 60 per cent while the economy grew to 6.8 per cent this year from 5.6 per cent two years ago.

Mr Karume revealed the impressive achievements during the launch of the second phase of the Zanzibar Poverty Reduction Plan at the Bwawani Hotel here yesterday. The first plan was adopted in 2002.

The president attributed the performance to good initiatives between the government and development partners. Central to the success was improved social services in all urban and rural areas of Unguja and Pemba islands, the president said.

"These are achievements we have to be proud of," stressed the isles leader at a colourful ceremony also attended by all Isles top leaders. The first phase had also witnessed impressive inflows of investments, road construction and increased tourism.

He said the achievements recorded were also a result of increased internal revenue collection, international aids and greater play by various development partners.

Zanzibar: Committee to Ensure Representation

2007-03-15
Daily News
by Ali Uki

President Amani Karume says they have started preparing Zanzibaris to compete as equals in the proposed East African federation.

"We have started to prepare ourselves by creating an environment that will enable us to compete and dominate in the proposed East Africa federation," said Zanzibar president.

President Karume said this yesterday, when opening a one-day seminar to prepare the people before the arrival of a committee, collecting views on the fast-tracking of the federation.

He also said that all the citizens of the East Africa member countries must be given a fair chance to air their opinions towards the establishment of the federation.

Mr Karume also said leaders have a role to play in guiding their people on the federation instead of dictating the terms.

"I believe if the people would be given a chance to speak out their minds on this matter, they would be ready to work with their respective governments to establish a sustainable federation," he said.

The team, traveling around the country to gather opinions on the fast-tracking of the federation, decided to postpone its planned tour of the Isles, so as to give more time to the local authorities to prepare their people.

Members of the Zanzibar House of Representatives have often expressed their opposition to the fast-tracking idea, saying at least 40 years is needed before the countries integrate.

Zanzibar port rehabilitation "back on track"

afrol News,
13 March 2007

The impasse which stalled the rehabilitation exercise of the Zanzibar port "has now been resolved," according to the EU donors behind the project. The port, which was poorly constructed in 1992, has been awaiting repair to finally be able to accept cargo and passengers. Legal and technical struggles have halted the work.

The Zanzibar Port and Malindi Wharves were reconstructed and extended in 1992 with resources from the European Development Fund (EDF). Within less than ten years after completion, the works revealed to be of poor quality and the condition of structures deteriorated seriously to the extent of hampering smooth operations of the port. Loading restrictions had to be introduced for safety reasons.

Since that, the government of Tanzania's autonomous Zanzibar island has struggled with legal and technical battles to secure modern port facilities. The Zanzibari government took legal action against both contractor and supervising consultants and finally was awarded a sum of approximately US$ 11.6 million - or more than 75 percent of the investment cost.

As new donors were needed to secure rehabilitation and up to date facilities, the EDF agreed to contribute with another euro 32 million and works were tendered for in 2005. The contract was awarded to a Danish contractor, who started works in October 2005 with a contractual completion date of 31 December 2006.

But last year, new complications arose as the Zanzibari government's consultants urged to include alternative technical solutions at a higher cost. Lacking the budgetary means to fund the new technical solutions and the donors being unwilling to contribute with even more, works on the port were again halted.

By end-2006, donors and the contractor managed to convince the government of Zanzibar that their option would "imply inappropriate use of public funds" and the simpler solution was therefore agreed on. Although Press Assistant Henry Lyimo at the EU's delegation in Tanzania holds that "the impasse which stalled the rehabilitation exercise has now been resolved," works are still not underway at the Zanzibar port.

The reason is that supply of the required materials from overseas requires between 4 and 6 months and, hence, works will re-start in May or June. "Under the revised contract, works will be completed by October 2008 and Zanzibar will finally get an operational, modern and efficient port accepting cargo and passengers," the EU delegation hopefully notes.

VP awards best 2007 Zanzibar musicians

 
JOYCE MACHA, Zanzibar
Daily News; March 12, 2007

ZANZIBARI artistes, who excelled in various disciplines, on Saturday won a number of prizes from the Zanzibar Music Awards 2007.

Speaking at a brief ceremony to present the awards, the Vice-President, Ali Mohamed Shein, called on the artistes to abide by dress and other pertinent codes, when performing on the stage.

He said: “Taarab singers must dress properly to display Zanzibari culture and what they sing should carry positive messages to the public. To do otherwise is disservice."

Shein presented the 2007 Best Musician Award to late Seif Salim, whose daughter, Yasub Seif Ali, received.

The VP described the late Salim as a teacher, an artiste, entertainer, author and a singer, who mastered a wide range of musical instruments.

Other winners were the Coconut Band (best band award) and Bururdani za Mashaka Drama group (best drama award). Best female singer (Modern Taarab), Mwanahawa Ali with best female singer (Traditional Taarab), Fatma Issa, pose with their awards.

North Unguja to build orphanage

DAILY NEWS Reporter, Zanzibar
Daily News; Monday,March 12, 2007

ZANZIBAR’S North Unguja Region plans to build an orphanage that will accommodate over 1,000 destitute children in the Isles, it has been learnt.

A space for the purpose has already been provided by the Zanzibar government in Upanje area, Kitope constituency, for the 240m/- project, according to Mr Makame Mshimba Mbarouk, who represents Kitope in the House of Representatives.

“The orphanage will have primary and vocational schools and dormitories,” Mr Mbarouk said. “We are determined to change the fate of these children and make them self-reliant,” Mr Mbarouk said.

A fund-raising musical concert has been organised to raise some of the funds for the project. Top musicians, including a Ugandan popular singer, Chameleon, have been invited to perform.

Z`bar youths say they voted twice
 

2007-03-10 09:35:42
By Austin Beyadi

Some Zanzibar youths enrolled at the Zanzibar Democracy College say they voted more than once in the 2005 general election and took part in the subsequent political violence.

Dr Laurean Ndumbaro, co-chairman of the University of Dar es Salaam`s Research and Education for Democracy in Tanzania (Redet) project, said this at a press conference in Dar es Salaam yesterday.

He said he hoped the first 50 `young democrats` from different parties in Zanzibar to graduate from the college would bring understanding among members of differing political parties and ideologies in the Isles.

`Most youths have admitted taking part in violence during and after voting, blaming ignorance of the importance of democratic practice. Gaining such knowledge at the recently established college has made them realise that political parties arent inherited,` he noted.

He said most of the youths became party followers because their parents and relatives were once followers of particular parties, but he added: `Youths who have gone to school now know that it is their constitutional right to support what is right and ignore what is wrong.`

During their studies, which last some three months, the youngsters share accommodation and other facilities as a way of interacting and making friends irrespective of their political or ideological differences.

The Redet official said while at the college, the youths form sporting teams comprising members of different parties.

`At first they had resisted but, as time went by, they got on well without any difficulties. Some 80 per cent of those enrolled said they had never taken part in any community development activities previously,` he added.

During the graduation ceremony, first term students recommended that the college enrol more young democrats from the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi and main opposition party, the Civic United Front.

Z'bar build centre for petty traders

DAILY NEWS Reporter, Zanzibar
Daily News; March 06, 2007

THE Zanzibar Municipal Council (ZMC) is planning to construct a new trading centre for petty businessmen and hawkers so as to ease congestion in the town.

The ZMC Public Relations Officer, Mr Ameir Pandu, told reporters here yesterday that the centre would cost about 300m/-, which is a loan from the central government that will be paid back in installments. He said architectural drawings and surveying of the site at Saateni have been completed.

Mr Pandu said a contract with the Building Brigade of the Zanzibar Security Forces would be signed for the construction of the centre. He said the construction of the proposed centre would soon begin and be completed in six months' time. All petty traders commonly known as 'Juakali' at the Darajani trading and shopping centre would be relocated once the centre is completed.

The Zanzibar Municipal Council and the Zanzibar Stone Town Development Authority are working together to maintain the status of the Isles historical Stone Town declared one of the World Heritage Sites by Unesco. One of the conditions to maintain the reputation of the World Heritage Sites is to keep the town clean and remove all business kiosks and unofficial structures.

Scars of Slavery Still With Us, Warns Williams

February 20, 2007
Associated Press

Scars of slavery are still with modern society, Zanzibar’s slave trade history is crucial to the understanding not just of the history of East Africa, but of humanity, says Archbishop of Canterbury.
by Maria Mackay

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has said the scars of slavery are still with modern society and that Zanzibar’s slave trade history is crucial to the understanding not just of the history of East Africa, but of humanity.

Dr Williams’ comments came during a visit he made to the main island of Zanzibar together with Primates of the Anglican Communion, who are currently engaged in a meeting in nearby Dar Es Salaam.

Speaking yesterday at a lunch attended by Zanzibar’s President Amani Abeid Karumi on Sunday, Dr Williams said that the scars of the slave trade could still be seen.

“So much of the history of this region is bound in with commerce, with civilisation, the highs and the lows of what happened on this island. We have commemorated already the role – the tragic and sad role – of this island in the slave trade. The President has already told me of some of his own family’s recollections of the last days of that trade and it’s startling to think that even in living memory that that was still a reality in this part.”

Earlier Dr Williams and the Primates took part in a service in Christ Church Cathedral. The Eucharist was led by Archbishop Donald Mtetemela, the Primate of Tanzania, and included a commemoration marking the abolition of the slave trade.

In his sermon, Dr Williams spoke of John Newton, the author of the hymn Amazing Grace, and how even after his conversion, it took some time for him to realise the evil of slavery. This, he said, was proof that peoples’ eyes needed to be opened.

“ … for hundreds and hundreds of years – in fact for thousands of years – people did not see the evil of slavery. Around them human beings were suffering in terrible ways and yet somehow people did not see, even Christians did not see. It is possible to look at another human being and yet not see what their real need is and what their real suffering is."

He challenged the congregation to look for other forms of blindness:

“ … what it is that we now are blind to; who is it now whose suffering we cannot see, cannot understand? In some societies it may be women or old people, it may be children. It may be minorities of one kind or another. It may be that in our wealthy countries – it is the case in our wealthy countries – that we do not see the reality of suffering and injustice in so much of the world. And we may not know for a long time just how many things we have not seen. But at least we can begin to pray ‘Lord, open our eyes’.”

Zanzibar flops at regional event

 Nairobi
Daily News: February 19, 2007

ZANZIBAR started well winning a gold on the first day of the inaugural East Africa Judo championship at the Nyayo National Stadium's basketball hall in Nairobi yesterday.

In the under-100kg category, Zanzibar's Kambo Masoud Omar took the title after he brought down with ease his rival Nashiman Christian of Burundi in the final while Gchomer Samuel also from Burundi beat Meshack Sango to claim the silver.

Kenya and Burundi also started well winning a gold and silver medal. With favourites Uganda pulling out of the championship following a motor accident on their way to Nairobi from Kampala, Kenya took over the task and stamped their prowess in the under 73kg category.

Felix Bwire of Prisons clinched gold in an all Kenyan final beating compatriot Tony Odhiambo on a technical stoppage. Odhiambo settled for silver while James Mbae also from
Kenya made sure it was a clean sweep as he dismissed Hamad Hamad Shame from Zanzibar for the bronze medal.

In the under 90kg, Kenya judo-ka Tobias Siungu salvaged a bronze medal after he was stopped in the semifinals by champion Abdelaziz Simon of Burundi in the second round. Simon clinched the gold after trouncing compatriot Nzitunga
Aime as the tiny East African country stepped forward to affirm their skills in the sport. Other Kenyan judo-ka Peter Mogaka and Innocent Nzomo lost in the preliminary rounds.

Kenya national team head coach Yutaka Kakinuma from Japan and his compatriot Masahiro Maeda said they were impressed by Kenya's performance and hoped the team would be able to claim the overall title at the end of the championship today.

Karume says committed to tolerance

By Issa Yussuf , Zanzibar
19 Feb 2007
Guardian

President Amani Abeid Karume has said that as people jointly 'share the joy of this abominable practice of slave trade,' his government is committed to maintain religious harmony and tolerance in the islands.

Karume made the remarks yesterday in Zanzibar, in his brief speech to welcome primates of the Anglican Church, who were in Zanzibar for special prayers for unity and remembrance of the abolition of slave trade.

'I wish to make a special mention of the earlier church missionaries who contributed to the abolition of slavery in Zanzibar and East Africa and their establishment of care centres for freed slaves,' Karume said.

He said: 'Our contentment is heightened by the fact that Zanzibar and the Christians' church have long historical relationship. I am glad to note that we have become partners in social development, especially in sectors of education and health.'

The President said his government welcomed any cooperation needed to provide people the desired economic freedom so as to uplift their standard of living and quality of life.

Prior to Karume's speech, the spiritual leader of the world's 77 million Anglicans, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, reminded his bishops of the need for humility in a veiled rebuke to those whose wrangling over gay clergy threatens to tear the church apart.

'Very early in the history of the church there was a great saint who said God was evident when bishops were silent,' Archbishop Williams said to some laughter in a packed cathedral in the predominantly Muslim Indian Ocean island of Zanzibar.

'There is one thing a bishop should say to another bishop ... that I'm a great sinner and Christ is a great saviour.'

Anglican Church leaders are meeting in Tanzania to try to resolve a long simmering row over the US Episcopal Church's consecration of openly gay bishop Gene Robinson in 2003, which has set a liberal minority against a conservative majority.

Absent from the service was the leader of the second-biggest Anglican province, Nigeria's conservative Archbishop Peter Akinola, who an official said was ill.

Akinola, together with six other African, Asian and Latin American archbishops, refused to take Holy Communion - bread and wine symbolising the body and blood of Christ - on Friday with the head of the U.S. Episcopal Church.

The group snubbed Katharine Jefferts Schori, the first elected female leader of an Anglican province, in protest at her unwavering support for Robinson's elevation and for same-sex unions.

Akinola, who calls homosexuality an 'aberration' has organized a parallel conservative movement in the Anglican church, rallying traditionalist parishes on Jefferts Schori's own turf.

Akinola's view of homosexuality has strong support in much of Africa, home to more than half the world's Anglicans, where Christians and Muslims often clash and the orthodoxy of one side reinforces the orthodoxy of the other.

'Today we remember the abolition of the slave trade, and that reminds us that ... for thousands of years, people did not see the evil of slavery,' Williams said, standing in the cathedral built in 1874 on the site of Zanzibar's slave market.

Anglican primates visiting Zanzibar tomorrow

 
2007-02-17
By Issa Yussuf, Zanzibar
Guardian

The Anglican Church primates from across the globe who are now in Dar es Salaam will visit Zanzibar tomorrow for special prayers.

Zanzibar Anglican church Diocese Secretary Nuhu Sallanya said yesterday that the primates would visit here for prayers as part of their first mission conference in Africa.

He explained that they will also visit former major slave market in commemoration of 100 years of abolition of slavery.

``They are coming tomorrow...they will pray for sustenance of the prolonged religious harmony in the Islamic majority Zanzibar and also commemorate the abolition of slave trade,`` Sallanya said.

Sallanya explained that Zanzibar would officially mark the 134th anniversary of slave trade abolition on June 6, this year.

He said that a number of religious leaders including Muslims have been invited to attend the prayers which will be graced by Zanzibar President Amani Abeid Karume.

``The 38 primates led by Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams will lead the prayers to be held at the former slave market,`` Sallanya said.

Anglican Church was built on the site later after the abolition of slave trade in 1873.

Zanzibar minister of Constitutional and Legal affairs Ramadhan Abdallah Shaaban who is responsible for religious affairs said he was not aware of the visit.

Also the director of Zanzibar Archives Hamad Ali said he was not aware of the event.

Frenchman surfs Z’bar-Dar

Daily News; February 14, 2007

A FRENCHMAN Patrick Leipold (42), has become the first person to windsurf straight from Zanzibar to Dar es Salaam.

He said afterwards: "The challenge started at around 10.15AM in the morning in front of Serena inn Zanzibar and ended at 2.50PM on the other side of the Mainland, almost on a straight line. The board was 2.97m long mistral board with 6.00m sail. The winds were light around 15 knots and picking up upon arrival."

He said the challenge is part of his grand plan to cross all mythical straights in the world, from Bering to Gibraltar to Ormuz or Tasmania, on the footsteps of the French windsurfer Arnauld de Rosnay, who died trying to cross the Sakhaline straight between sakhaline island and Russia more than 20 years ago.

He added that the water temperature in Zanzibar has no comparison to other channels that he had crossed before. "Crossing in the indian ocean between zanzibar and the Mainland was a delight, only wearing a wetsuit against the burning sun," he said.

"The only problem I faced at some point was a light wind, that makes the board unstable, you always have to compensate and keep your balance, otherwise with a 25 knots wind, you could easily do the crossing in less than two hours, and strong winds give you better stability." he added.

He also paid tribute to fishermen who cross it everymorning. "It's also a tribute to all those fishermen that cross this channel everymonth to make a living, and this can be deadly sometimes.

The surfing guru also challenged yacht club in Tanzania to think of initiating races covering Dar- Zanzibar distance. "Races could be organised between the coast of Tanzania and the spicy island of Zanzibar as a way of promoting this sport," he said.

Pemba Finally Gets Power From the National Grid

The East African
February 13, 2007
Mohamed Issa Mohamed
Nairobi

A $45 million power project to transmit electricity from mainland Tanzania to Pemba Island through a marine cable in the Indian Ocean has been launched.

The Tanzania Electricity Supply Company (Tanesco) in collaboration with Zanzibar's Ministry of Energy is mapping the route, which tentatively stretches from an inland sub-station in Tanga city to a receiving station at Mkumbuu in Pemba.

Tahir Abdullah, Director of Planning in the ministry, says laying of the 70-km cable will be the most challenging part of the project since Pemba Channel is 800 metres deep.

The project is funded by the Norwegian government and is expected to be completed in 2009.

Mr Abdullah said last week that initial paper work for the project has been completed and the Union and Zanzibar governments have approved its design.

He said the environment impact assessment (EIA) done by consultancy firm Norplan has been favourable.

"The EIA report states that the project poses no danger to fishing or commercial activities such as marine transport," he said.
Norplan said the transformation of Pemba from a thermal to a grid-powered economy will reduce expenditure and divert maintenance costs of the aging generators to other uses. Electricity in Pemba is produced by diesel generators and has become unsustainable due to maintenance costs and rising fuel prices.

Zanzibar was connected to the national grid in the 1970s and uses generators only for standby purposes. Zanzibar gets 70 per cent of its power needs from mainland Tanzania. Up to 75 per cent of the electricity is used for domestic purposes while industries take up 25 per cent.

Once Pemba is connected, it will overcome its power deficit, which stands at 0.5 megawatts. The Island has a capacity to consume 5 megawatts but its generators can produce only 4.5 megawatts.

Zanzibar: Show Concern for EAF

2007-01-30
Daily News

Most Zanzibari legislators yesterday called for more time to discuss fast-tracking of proposed East Africa Federation (EAF), saying the set 2013 date was too short for meaningful regional integration.

Speaking before the committee that is collecting public opinion on the matter, the legislators suggested more time to study the implications of a federation to Tanzania.

Abubakar Khamis Bakar ( Utaani-CUF) suggested that more time should be given to deliberate on the proposed EAF, saying fasttracking would not give Tanzania ample time to study the advantages and disadvantages of the federation.

He said it was also important that the proposed federation safeguarded Zanzibar’s interests as enshrined in the union, short of which, he said he would be forced take the union government to court for marginalizing Zanzibar.

“If we are to embrace the EA federation, then we must consider the agreement of the union structure between Tanzania Mainland and Zanzibar. But if the federation would marginalize Zanzibar then there is no point of having it,” he said.

Machano Othman Said (Mwembe Makumbi-CCM) said the phrase “fast-tracking” signified that Tanzania was in a hurry, something he said demanded more time to ponder on rather than rush into it.

“What is the point of fast-tracking in a serious matter like this one” he said adding that since Zanzibar was economically weaker, special programme should be devised to ensure that it traded on equal terms with the Mainland before embracing the federation.

Hija Hassan Hija (Kiwani-CUF) was of the opinion that Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda traded on different political and economic structures and that before accepting the federation there was a need to harmonize existing operational differences.
Dr Mwinyihaji Makame (Dimani-CCM) was also against the fast tracking method, noting also that it was a matter that required more attention. “This should be a slow tracking rather than a fast-tracking regional federation,” he said.

Dr Makame, who is also Minister responsible for Finance and Economic Planning, said it was important for Tanzania to seriously study the proposal, especially its benefit before moving further.

Zanzibar insists no foreign land ownership

ALI UKI, Zanzibar
Daily News; January 30, 2007

THE Isles government has insisted that foreigners are not allowed to own land in Zanzibar. The Deputy Minister responsible for Lands, Mr Tafana Kassim Mzee, told the House of Representatives here yesterday that the Isles Land Tenure Act of 1992 prohibited non-Zanzibaris to own land here. Mr Mzee, who was answering Mr Ali Suleiman Ali (Kwahani-CCM), said the Law to that effect was still in force and that no amendments had been made to the opposite.

He cautioned all non-Zanzibaris to be careful on the matter and that ignorance of the law would not be a defence to them. The deputy minister reminded that land remained a government property and that Zanzibaris were only granted the rights of occupancy.

But he said the rights of occupancy given to the islanders could also be revoked any time if it was discovered that a certain piece of land was reallocated to non-Zanzibaris.

He said foreigners were allowed to lease land for investment purposes for a period not exceeding 49 years. He explained that the government had decided to stop foreigners from owning land as a precaution to safeguard the interests of Zanzibaris as a result of selling land at throw away prices.

Shortly after adoption of the trade liberalization policy in 1986, he said, some Zanzibaris had sold land at give away prices.

In his question, Mr Ali had wanted to know whether non Zanzibaris including Tanzanians of Mainland origin had the rights to own land.

However, the deputy minister was not specific on the issue of mainlanders. Instead, he generalized the matter saying only Zanzibaris could own land here.

Pressure for diversity in economy up in Zanzibar

2007-01-27 10:24:57
By Beatrice Philemon

Excessive dependence on cloves as an export crop is squeezing Zanzibar�s economy to the brink of instability.

By the end of December last year, the archipelagos� export revenue decreased to USD 9.1m from USD 11.0 m recorded in the previous month, on account of a decline in export volume of cloves, despite slight increases in world prices.

Latest Bank of Tanzania Monthly Economic Review indicates that service receipts slightly declined to USD 8.1 m from USD 9.1m in October 2006 but remained the dominant source of foreign receipts as it accounted for about 89 percent of export earnings.

On year to year basis, export earnings improved to USD 89.7m in November from USD 85.3m registered in the corresponding period in 2005.

Receipts from tourism related activities amounted to USD 81.4m representing 90.8 percent of total exports receipts and cloves and seaweeds exports amounted to USD 3.8m and USD 1.5m respectively.

Furthermore manufactured goods exports rose to USD 1.6m from USD 0.3 in 2005 and exports of fish and fish products amounted to USD 0.3m while earnings from other exports was USD 1.1m.

The value of imports slightly decreased to USD 5.7m from USD 6.0m registered in the previous month largely on account of decline in imports of oil and construction.

The decline in oil imports was due to the modest fall in world oil prices and consumer goods imports remained the same as in previous month, while capital goods in the form of machinery and transport equipment increased slightly.

However, receipts from tourism activities declined from USD 8.4m in previous month to USD 7.4m as the end of the peak season came to a close.

'It touched my heart'

Local optometrists talk about recent trip to Zanzibar where they put on free eye clinics
By KEVIN CRUSH
Herald-Tribune staff
1/27/07

(Editor's note: The Grande Prairie area is well-known for its strong base of community-minded volunteers - but the volunteers don't just pitch in around here. Each year, dozens of local residents travel abroad to help out the less fortunate in many ways - from providing free medical services to free labour. Today is the second of series of feature stories that will run on this page on Friday about local residents who have made a difference in other parts of the world).

Weeks after returning from Africa, Jeremy Begalke can still see the looks of thanks when he gave out eyeglasses.

"Most of them just assumed that they would never be able to see again," said the optometrist from Northern Vision Centre. "Now you put on (them) this simple pair of reading glasses and now they can see their print for their religious books or even just for doing sewing. A lot of them were fishermen and they couldn't thread the needles for the fish hooks."

In November, Begalke led a team of 19 people from the Peace Country to the town of Jambiani on the Zanzibar coast on a mission for the Vancouver-based Third World Eye Care Society under a program that sends opticians to countries where many people may never have seen eye doctors.

Setting up shop in the town of about 5,000 people, the group spent Nov. 9-26 checking people's eyes at a rate of around 100 people per hour. By the end of the mission, 4,760 people had their eyes checked with another 2,500 glasses handed out and 200 more patients referred for cataract surgery.

A veteran of past missions, this was the first mission that Begalke led, offering him a new experience on the trips. "We had a really good group of people and with a group like that you just need one person to make basic decisions rather than having 20 opinions on everything. I just delegated jobs and people just jumped to it."

It also gave him a break from the repetition of seeing hundreds of people every hour, he said, so that he could go and check up on other people at their stations.

While the intention was to try to check every person in the town, attendance started to lag after the first three or four days. A broadcast on TV and radio was sent out to the surrounding region to invite people to the free clinic.

"By the second week we were quite busy, with people just coming in on the bus or finding rides to come into the clinic. People as far away as four hours drive would come. And then other people would walk from the next village, which would take them half a day," said Begalke.

Cataract problems are common in the region, he said, because of the glare created by the equatorial sun's reflection off the ocean. Youths there have pretty good eyesight, he said after checking 1,600 kids, but problems seem to pop up around age 30 for many people when they often become near-sighted. "It's not common but you'll get the taxi driver who can't see past their hand and they're driving the cab."

For many of the opticians and assistants making the journey, this was their first trip on this type of mission. Some, like Peace River's Alaina Fletcher, saw it as an eye-opening experience.

"It was nice to have a hand in helping someone to see who hadn't seen before ... it touched my heart," she said. "Each day we appreciated the fact we were there. We lived in the moment each day but knowing we had to leave was sad."

'AFRAID OF DOCTORS'

Since this was the first time this kind of project took place in Jambiani, there was some wariness among the residents. "A lot of people there were afraid of doctors," said Fletcher. "The elders were a bit hesitant at first."

The children especially were scared but she said once they convinced them they were not getting needles things went smoothly. Fletcher says she made a connection with the people, which resulted in a feeling of compassion. "I thought that we have so much here and I felt sad because they had so little," she said.

But it was not a matter of pity because, despite the poverty, the people are not destitute.
"I thought they would be lacking but they weren't," she said.
Fletcher said the children would often use old bicycle tire rims as toys by pushing them, delicately balanced, with a stick. "It was just amazing, something so simple and they were happy with it."

Also coming along on the trip was Begalke's wife, Esther, who was on her first mission.
"She had a great time holding all the babies when the moms came in for a check-up, and she really liked working with all the kids, that's for sure," said Begalke.
The couple also celebrated their first anniversary while in Zanzibar.

The trip did get off to an auspicious start because of air travel rules prohibiting passengers from having liquids in their carry-on luggage. All of the mission's liquids had to be checked in baggage, but that piece of luggage got lost.
"We didn't have any sunscreen or things. People got a little burned," said Begalke with a laugh.
(Peace River Record-Gazette)

Isles deputy ministers soon to shift to Pemba

2007-01-26 08:58:24
By Mwinyi Sadallah, Zanzibar
Guardian

President Amani Abeid Karume has ordered all Isles Government deputy ministers and permanent secretaries to move their offices permanently to Pemba Island.

Pemba is regarded as the stronghold of the opposition Civic United Front, which has won the majority of votes cast in Pemba Island in all previous elections.

The landmark decision is therefore seen as designed to ease political tension in the Isles.

The Clerk of the Zanzibar House of Representatives, Ramadhan Muombwa Mwinyi, said in an interview held on the sidelines of the ongoing House session that he had been notified about the presidential order.

The President wanted the respective public officials to operate from Pemba `with a view to putting them closer to the people so that they help speed up the implementation of development projects there`, he said.

Mwinyi explained that the directive was in response to frequent complaints by some Pemba residents that all top Isles� government offices were based on Unguja Island and the government`s authority was practically non-existent in Pemba.

Until now, top officials in the Zanzibar government have been normally making official visits to Pemba twice a year and their duties in Pemba were handled by ministerial staff.

The House Clerk said the arrangement just announced was not entirely new because it was earlier mooted in 1979 by one-time Zanzibar President Aboud Jumbe although it did not become operational.

Arrangements for providing the basic social and other support services the deputy ministers and permanent secretaries would need while in Pemba were already under way, Mwinyi explained.

Impeccable sources hinted that information on Karume�s order had already been relayed to all the relevant officials.

Recently, President Karume named Zainab Omar Mohammed as minister without portfolio with her office based in Pemba.

Union must stay

Editor
Daily News; January 26, 2007

THE proposal that Zanzibar should be an independent member of the East African Community is astounding. It is another way of proposing the break-up of the union between Tanganyika and Zanzibar, which created Tanzania.

For, as explained by the Isles Attorney General, Mr Idi Pandu Hassan, in the House of Representatives on Wednesday, the EAC is a grouping of sovereign states, which Zanzibar is not.

Unless it disbands from the Union, Zanzibar is a member of EAC through Tanzania. This fact is, of course, well known to the proponents of separate membership.

The question is: Why the demand for separate representation of Zanzibar in multilateral organisations keeps popping up. Those advancing the demand could be harbouring a real urge to see Zanzibar breaking away from the Union.

That remains a minority view but it has to be taken seriously when it is raised in the legislature, the only consolation being that it comes from the opposition camp.

We think it is a distortion to associate the divisive agenda with the process of rectifying genuine shortcomings that undermine healthy co-operation between the two sides of the Union.

The process presided over by Prime Minister Edward Lowassa and Zanzibar Chief Minister Shamsi Vuai Nahodha is constructive. It aims at strengthening, not disrupting the Union.

That is why the joint team has devised a formula for more equitable distribution of foreign aid; reviewed the role of the Bank of Tanzania in the Union; revisited taxation of goods entering the mainland from Zanzibar and instituted better ways of co-operation in petroleum exploration and exploitation of marine wealth.

There are more weaknesses to be addressed to enhance the Zanzibar economy and safeguard its cultural and political identity without undermining the Union. That is a delicate balance from which reckless autonomists must be barred.

CCM, CUF vow to end impasse

ASSAH MWAMBENE in Zanzibar
Daily News; Thursday,January 18, 2007 @00:07

THE ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) and Civic United Front (CUF) yesterday started talks aimed at ending decades of political impasse in the Isles.

"We have started our negotiations and appeal to our respective party members to remain calm and have confidence in us. These talks will meet their expectation," read a brief statement jointly signed by CUF Secretary-General Seif Shariff Hamad and CCM's Yussuf Makamba.

The talks being held at the Zanzibar Beach Resort are in response to a recent directive by the CCM National Executive Committee (NEC) issued in Dodoma, which called for a firm and thorough negotiations between the two parties.
CUF Chairman Ibrahim Lipumba had earlier endorsed the CCM's desire to go to the negotiation table.

No details were issued on the proceedings of the closed-door meeting in which the CCM's delegation was led by Mr Makamba, assisted by Mr Saleh Ramadhan Ferouz, CCM Deputy Secretary-General (Zanzibar), and Mr Ali Ameir Mohamed, a senior CCM official; CUF's team, led by Mr Hamad, included Mr Hamad Rashid and Mr Jusa Ladhu.

Mr Rashid is the leader of the official opposition in the Union Parliament and Mr Ladhu is the Director of Foreign Affairs of CUF.

This is the third initiative after the failed Commonwealth brokered peace talks that later led to homegrown initiatives that ended up with the formation of a peace accord on October 2001, known as Muafaka.

Zanzibar vows to battle poverty

ASSAH MWAMBENE, Zanzibar
Daily News; Tuesday,January 09, 2007

THE government of Zanzibar yesterday vowed to initiate more development projects to implement the country's poverty reduction strategy and cherish the 1964 Zanzibar Revolution.

The commitment was made here yesterday by the Isles President Amani Abeid Karume at a function to lay a foundation stone of a vocational training Centre at Mkokotoni in North Unguja region.

The President said, laying of the foundation stone signified added benefits to the public in the spirit of the 1964 revolution.

The Isles President also said that vocational training was one of the key areas that his government emphasised, saying it created more employment.

He said Zanzibar was marking the 43rd anniversary of the Zanzibar Revolution at a time when a lot of economic, social and cultural development has been achieved.

The President also noted that his government would strive to ensure that social services like provision of safe and clean water, education, health service delivery and telecommunication facilities were improved for the benefit of the people.

"The aim of these centres is to enliven youth's experience and teach them new skills which are necessary in becoming self-reliant" the President said, adding that the government would give them all due support.

He said in future, the government would consider providing loan and working tools to the youths who complete their studies at these vocational training centres.

The construction of the Vocational training centre, with 11 buildings including a laboratory, an administration bloc, hostels, classes and dining hall will cost more than 2bn/=. It is being financed by the African Development bank (ADB)
in collaboration with the Isles government.

The project was expected to be completed in a period of nine months and is being undertaken by L.H. Ladwa Contractors and supervised by Gaulf Engineering Consultant.

On Friday, the president also laid a foundation stone at a similar vocational training centre in Vitongoji in Pemba. The move, the President said was meant to bring more social services closer to Zanzibaris.

`60pc of Zanzibaris are poor`

2007-01-09 10:15:47
By Issa Yussuf, Zanzibar
Guardian

Over 60 per cent of the population of Zanzibar lives below the poverty line, the Zanzibar Deputy Chief Minister, Ali Juma Shahumuna, has said.

At the same time, the minister called for members of the Small and Medium Entrepreneurs (SMEs) to work hard to redress the situation.

Opening a one-day seminar on promoting small and medium enterprises in the islands last week, Shamuhuna said strong SMEs would reduce poverty.

Zanzibar economy still relies on undeveloped agriculture, with subsistence production of cash crops- cloves, sea products.

Poor production in Zanzibar is linked to lack of market and good price in the world market or undeveloped to compete in the international market,� Shamuhuna said.

Shamuhuna, who also heads the Zanzibar Ministry of Information, Culture, and Sports told participants of the seminar held at Bwawani Hotel that lack of raw materials, poor infrastructure, lack of foreign investor�s incentives, was also a drawback to the development of SMEs in Zanzibar.

He said more than 80 per cent of the Zanzibar population depends on agriculture for employment and subsistence while a small per cent has been depending on trade.

Shamuhuna said: What I have said justifies that our islands are still engulfed in poverty, and the battle to eradicate poverty has not been so easy but possible.�

He appealed to the business community to learn from the other developing countries mainly in the far-east where small and medium entrepreneurs have been contributing much to the individual economy.

He said that 55 per cent of the Indian foreign export products were from small and medium entrepreneurs.

He said the trade and industrial sectors in Zanzibar are still undeveloped and that even before the 1964 revolution, the sectors were not developed.

Closing the seminar, the Zanzibar Minister of Tourism, Trade, and Investment, Samia Suluhu Hassan, also asked members of the Zanzibar business community to unite and work hard and develop the industrial sector.

Do not get discouraged, you have to work as a team, by first solving problems hindering your development.

The government is determined to support you because you have an important roll to play in the island�s economic development, Samia said.

She said that as one of the strategies in developing trade and industries in the islands, the government was strengthening the Private Public Partnership (PPP).

She asked members of the community to utilize whatever opportunity is available in developing SMEs.

Going bananas over his art

By Mrudu Naik
Monday, January 08, 2007
Times of Oman

MUSCAT — Masterfully depicted on a banana leaf, an aerial view of the Stone Town, triangular peninsula of Shangani in Zanzibar, the magnificent work of art looks absolutely realistic. The architectural synthesis is caught perfectly on this banana leaf art.

Banana leaf? You would ask. Yes, dried banana leafs. Naaman Ali Khamis from Zanzibar is an artist with special skills. He makes perfect pieces of art (you may call it mosaic) out of dried banana leaves.

Banana leaf art or mosaics are made from dried banana leaf and fibres. Authentic banana leaves are perfectly cut and pieced together using glue to make striking depictions of life, animals and landscapes.

Naaman’s stall, which displays his work at the Zanzibar pavilion at the Forum of People’s Culture at the Qurum Natural Park, speaks volumes of his artistic calibre.

The stall highlights the mind-stirring works of art done by Naaman who is basically a nurse by profession.

Naaman’s love for the arts started from a young age.

“I have been a topper in art subjects in school. Whether it is painting or sketching, I would stand first or second. I started trying out art on dried banana leaf and it started turning out well. Basically, it is a hobby close to my heart,” Naaman told Times of Oman.

Many awards have come his way. He has travelled worldwide with his work and has found many admirers. Twice, his government awarded him and his work was adjudged the best art of Tanzanian exhibition in Denmark. In 1999, his work was also featured in CNN.

“You got to be careful while cutting the dried banana leafs. Banana fibre has to be carefully cut and glued to the image you intend to make. Thankfully for the artists, the dried banana leaves come in different colours and textures,” he says.

The process of preparing the dried banana leaf to make it ready for use takes a long time. You have to scrap out the outer layer to give a smooth finish.

The banana leaf art or mosaic can take anywhere between five minutes to three months to finish depending on the size of the piece one is creating. The banana leaf art cost anywhere between RO2 for a small card to RO200 for a big wall piece.

Naaman wants to make sure that this knack of creating masterpieces on banana leaf is passed on to future generations. He trains his sons and other enthusiastic students in his hometown in Zanzibar. Their works too feature at his stall.

Framed portrait of Oman Sultans in Zanzibar also finds a place in his stall.

Other than wall pieces, Naaman makes a lot of greeting cards, which have a huge demand. These cards are cut and arranged on cardstock to depict various scenes. All the cards are blank on the inside and hence, once can use them for any occasion or just share with others the beauty of these works of art. Whether it is a landscape, illustration of the wild or the stunning depictions of life, you can be sure you will be taking home an enchanting piece to add to your collection.

ZanAir operates commercial flights

ASSAH MWAMBENE in Zanzibar
Daily News; January 08, 2007

THE ZanAir, one of Tanzania’s premier charter flight companies, yesterday launched a new 70-seater Fokker 28, becoming the first private airline in the Isles to own such a plane.

ZanAir’s Chief Executive Officer Mr Carl G. Salisbury said here yesterday that his company started operating commercial charter flights in 1992 with one five-seater plane.

"When I started off, I was somehow frustrated when I was denied the right to fly to the Mainland, but things were sorted out when the Zanzibar President, Amani Abeid Karume, intervened," he said.
He said his company had now moved a step ahead, from charter flights to scheduled operations.

Mr Salisbury, who is also the honorary British Consulate General here, said the launch of the Fokker 28 makes ZanAir one of the premier airline service providers in the country with a demonstrated sense of corporate management and growth.

In her remarks before launching the aircraft, the Minister for Trade, Industries and Tourism, Samia Suluhu Hassan, said her government was proud of ZanAir’s performance.

"With this growing fleet, it is obvious that the scale of operation will have a positive impact on the tourism industry in the country," the minister said, adding that his government would fully support initiative.

She paid tribute to the Zanzibar Association of Tourism Investors (ZATI) saying the organisation, of which ZanAir is a member, was instrumental in the formation of the successful public-private partnership in the isles.

Sultans of swing

Zanzibar's traditional music has fallen out of favour with its young people. But the Culture Musical Club and a new festival are bringing the islands' musical past into the present. Robin Denselow reports from Stone Town

January 5, 2007
The Guardian

Bi Kidude... the veteran diva of Zanzibar

On the edge of Stone Town, the ancient and exquisite maze of narrow alleyways on the seafront of Unguja, the largest of the islands of Zanzibar, there's a large, whitewashed building. For over four decades it has been the headquarters of Culture Musical Club, one of the most intriguing musical institutions in east Africa. Tonight it is holding a concert, but it's been delayed by a power cut - a regular occurrence both in Zanzibar and mainland Tanzania. Musicians disappear in the darkness, searching for generators, but at last they open the doors and invite their audience up past a battered drinks machine and collection of instruments hanging from the walls, to the first-floor performance area. It's well worth the wait.

On one side of the room, seated on plastic chairs, are the band, with seven violins, two accordions, an Arabic ney flute, and the zither-like qanun, backed by double bass and hand drums. Seated facing them, on yet more plastic chairs, are their followers, and non-playing members of the Club. The show starts with a sad-edged instrumental, dominated by the violins and accordion, and then the singers join in. One by one, women make their way from the back row of the orchestra to the microphone for their solos, as other women in the crowd begin dancing and handing money to their favourite performers.
Taimour Rukini, the Club's secretary-general, explains. These are love songs, both happy and sad, in the taarab style, which blends African, Arabic and Asian influences and dates back to the 19th century, when the islands were ruled by sultans of Oman. It was Sultan Seyyid Bargash bin Said, known for his love of music and luxury, who first brought taarab musicians to Zanzibar from Egypt, and introduced Arabic instruments to east Africa.

These days, the Sultan would no doubt be horrified to learn, there are so-called "modern taarab" bands in Zanzibar, who play the old music on electronic keyboards. The Culture Musical Club, however, insist on keeping the old, big-band style alive. And they also provide a reminder that taarab is not the only traditional music on Zanzibar. For their finale, the band slims down to violins, hand drums and a tea-chest bass (similar to those favoured by British skiffle bands in the 1950s) and a new singer, Makame Faki, launches into what sounds like a blend of African call-and-response vocals matched against a demented Scottish reel. This is kidumbak, a more frantic local style that is influenced both by taarab and African ngoma songs, and is popular at traditional weddings. By the end of the night, extra percussionists are using sticks to bash away at the plastic chairs.

It has been a rousing evening, but the secretary-general admits there are still problems in Zanzibar. Sitting in his office after the show, he complains that these days the young people of the islands prefer listening to American hip-hop and its local Swahili-language equivalent, bongo flava, rather than taarab. Makame Faki adds: "Younger people want to dance and jump around, but the older people will stay with taarab." But kidumbak, they both agree, is becoming more popular among the young.

As for the Culture Musical Club itself, it has survived a turbulent recent history. It was the sultans who first encouraged music clubs like this - meeting places where musicians and their friends could go after evening prayers to talk, practice, or simply listen. The oldest club on the island, known simply as Malindi, may have started back in 1905, but it's the more recent Culture Musical Club that developed the higher profile, perhaps because of its political links. It was founded back in 1958, when it was aligned to the youth wing of the Afro-Shirazi Party in the independence struggle, and its members were called the Freedom Fighters.

Their name was changed in 1964, after independence and the violent backlash against Zanzibar's Arabs, in which thousands were killed. Its stated aim today is to promote taarab and Swahili culture, and the club currently consists of some 45 musicians (who are paid when they perform at commercial events) and some 25 non-playing members who can come along any weekday to socialise or listen to rehearsals. Almost all members have other jobs: the club chairman works for the Board of Censors, the secretary general is a civil servant.

Back in the "golden era" of the late 1960s, taarab was a major form of entertainment across Zanzibar, and Club members performed regularly at social gatherings or state functions. Today, with the local changes in musical fashion, they rely increasingly on a very different audience - world music fans from abroad - and they have adapted to meet the new challenge. Like a strong football club, Culture Musical can field a series of lineups. As tourism in Zanzibar expands, they now play regularly on the hotel circuit, and the best performers join the touring band, playing across the US and Europe, and appearing at events such as Womad. They often perform alongside Bi Kidude, the veteran diva of Zanzibar, who is now in her mid-90s but is still famous for breaking taboos, both in her sexually-explicit lyrics and her bravery for daring to sing with her face uncovered. It was with Kidude that Culture Musical recorded their much-praised collaboration with American bluesmen Taj Mahal two years ago. Did that change their status on the island? The secretary general pulls out a picture of his musicians with the American band and shakes his head. "No. Only members of Culture Musical Club know about the CD. It's never played on the radio. You can't even buy it here."

Zanzibar's musical traditions are, it seems, becoming more popular among foreign fans than young local people who take their homegrown music for granted. But that could change, thanks to world music tourism. Each February for the past four years Culture Musical Club and Bi Kidude have played a major role in the Zanzibar music festival, Sauti za Busara (Sounds of Wisdom), which is held in the gardens on the sea front in Stone Town near the Old Fort. The festival director is Yusuf Mahmoud, better known across Zanzibar simply as DJ Yusuf who operates from an office that can certainly claim musical pedigree - Freddie Mercury was born just a few yards away. Yusuf himself was born in the UK, where he worked promoting African music events for Anti-Apartheid, and first came to Zanzibar working for VSO. He stayed on to become a DJ (visitors the islands should check out the all-night full moon parties he hosts every month on the beach at Kendwa Rocks), and to start his own NGO. Its aim is to help local musicians and promote the music of the Swahili-speaking region. His current sponsors include the Ford Foundation and British Council - who also help Stone Town's Dhow Countries Music Academy, which has provided training for several of the younger musicians in Culture Musical.

The result has been an intriguing musical experiment. World music tourists now come to Zanzibar to check out the festival, which has begun to rival those other African attractions, the Festival in the Desert and the Segou Festival in Mali, or Morocco's Fes Festival. This year's lineup in Zanzibar looks set to include drummers from Burundi and the British Zimbabwean singer Netsayi, but the emphasis will be on local bands and styles. Culture Musical Club and Bi Kidude will be there, once again, playing traditional taarab, kidumbak and ngoma styles alongside the hip-hop and bongo flava favourites that attract Zanzibar's young music fans. In the process, it's hoped, the veteran bands will discover a new local audience. "The popularity of taarab may have been going down," says Culture Musical Club's secretary general, "but I'm not worried. We will survive, and taarab will take its place again."

• The Sauti za Busara Festival is in Stone Town, Zanzibar from February 9-14. Details: www.busaramusic.com