Elephant trade ban reaffirmed for Tanzania, Zambia

A U.N. wildlife conference has rejected proposals by Tanzania and Zambia to loosen a trade ban on elephants to allow a one-off sale of their ivory stockpiles.
The vote, cast by 175 nations, opposes the two countries which say they want to relax the trade to permit a sale of 112 tonnes of ivory in order to control a rising elephant population.

Conservation groups broadly welcomed the vote.

A director of the International Fund for Animal Welfare said since the poaching of elephants and ivory seizures are escalating, not decreasing, this decision is a victory for common sense.

The last CITES meeting in 2007 agreed to a nine-year moratorium on any further trade in ivory, after a sale of 105 tonnes of elephant ivory from Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe to China and Japan.

Drive underway to ensure Tanzania will reap benefits

Some Sh7 billion has been set aside to support a special drive that will ensure Tanzania reap benefits from the World Cup. The Chairman of the Presidential Committee tasked to use the 2010 FIFA World Cup as a launching pad to brand and develop the country as a preferred tourism and investment destination, announced that Tanzania has high prospects of benefitting from the global soccer event.

The country is expecting an influx of tourists coming from the Southern African region to watch their countries in the competitions, and funds have already been secured, of which a large amount was realised from the private sector.

Tanzanian PM visits Vietnam

The Prime Minister of the United Republic of Tanzania, Mizengo Peter Pinda, paid an official visit to Vietnam from March 29 to 31 at the invitation of Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung. The three-day visit was spent promoting the relationship between Tanzania and Vietnam.

The Prime Minister was accompanied by the Tanzanian Minister of Agriculture, Food Security and Co-operation, the Ambassador and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Relations, Regional Commissioner of Mbeya, and other senior officials.

Barrick Gold says three workers killed in mine collapse in Tanzania

Operations at a Barrick Gold Corp. mine in Tanzania were suspended after three workers were killed in a cave-in. African Barrick Gold said the workers died when part of the Bulyanhulu mine collapsed in late March. The mine employs 1,445 workers and is a major employer in the central east African country.
The company is investigating the cause of the collapse, and until the investigation is complete, the area where the tragedy occurred will remain closed.

Telephony to be top economic driver in Tanzania in 2010

Statistics from the Tanzanian treasury show that the communications industry, which has been the fastest growing Tanzanian sector in the past five years, will be the main driver of the country’s recovery from the slowdown caused by the global recession. It is now a multibillion-shilling enterprise led by mobile telephony, which is now generating over Sh2 trillion revenues annually.

The telephony sector’s contribution to the generation of wealth will be 2.7 per cent this year (compared to 2.5 per cent in 2009). 

The treasury department report indicates that though the dominant activity in Tanzania remains agriculture, the economy has increasingly become diversified, embracing activities such as manufacturing, trade and repairs, mining, construction, real estate and business services, as well as transport and communication.

Tanzania has room for infrastructure funds, says IMF

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced in March that Tanzania may raise spending on infrastructure projects in the fiscal year starting in July, against a background of higher economic growth and slowing inflation.

The Tanzania economy is predicted to grow by 6.2 percent in 2010, in comparison to 5.5 percent in 2009, the fund said in a statement. The report added inflation could fall to 8.0 percent by June from 9.6 percent in February.

The IMF cited higher revenues, successful efficiency measures and new financing as a means of creating additional fiscal space to enable the scaling-up of infrastructure investment. The committee also cautions that accessing new financing sources needs to be handled carefully and in the context of a strategy that comprehensively weighs the risks as well.

Like neighbouring Kenya, Tanzania is taking another look at plans to issue a debut sovereign bond, which the global financial crisis forced it to shelve. The IMF statement concluded by saying policy responses and the pace of recovery of the world’s economy helped the country fare well in the face of the crisis.

Tanzania given thousands of books by Canadians

A consignment of books weighing more than eight tonnes is on its way to the country thanks to initiative by New Brunswick students in Canada.  Roughly 10,000 books were collected and sent by students from the Canadian province.

The books have been stacked in a container and are ready to be dispatched to Tanzania. The texts, some of which have been rarely used, became surplus when recent changes to the education curriculum meant they are no longer required in Canadian classrooms. So the Moncton-area students decided to give the books a new lease on life by passing them on to Tanzanian students, many of whom lack the most basic educational resources.

The community schools co-ordinator said the idea to send the books overseas came from the local superintendent who had heard about a similar initiative for students helping students.

EU funds solar energy project for local schools

Solar panels are to be installed in all primary and secondary schools in the Tanzanian Oldonyo Sambu and Ngarenanyuki wards in Arumeru district in an effort to promote the use of renewable sources of energy.

Under the 1.5 million Euro project funded by the European Union (EU), energy will be generated to run computers, provide light as well as for cooking in schools and households.

During the inauguration of the vocational community training centre for the project at Oldonyo Sambu, the project manager announced that promotion of solar energy was one of the initiatives taken to reduce dependence on firewood.

The EU granted the money for energy support which also includes promotion of bio-gas energy and improved cooking stoves of which 200 would be distributed to villagers.

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