Govt patrol team to curb illegal deep sea fishing

Adam Malima

The government is set to come up with a well-trained and equipped patrol team to curb illegal fishing in the country’s deep sea.

Deputy Minister of Livestock Development and Fisheries, Adam Malima revealed this in Dodoma yesterday when responding to a supplementary question by Abia Muhama Nyabakari (Special Seats, CCM), who wanted to know government strategies to curb illegal fishing in the Tanzania’s deep sea.

The MP said Tanzania is estimated to have been loosing over US$ 220 million due to illegal fishing in the deep sea.

In his response, the minister explained that the government is fully aware of the challenge and has taken measures to address the vice.

“We are coming up with a comprehensive defense mechanism in the area, which plays an imperative role to the country’s socio-economic development,” the minister stated, without revealing the time frame for the patrol team to start its operation.

Malima said fighting illegal fishing in the deep sea is a very hectic task as perpetuators use sophisticated technologies.

“That is why we resorted to come up with new mechanism to address this challenge,” the minister stated.

Responding to the basic question on the number of tonnes of ornamental fish fished in Lake Tanganyika since companies started exporting the fish species; the minister stated that between 2009 and 2012, more than 223,000 ornamental fish were fished in the Africa’s deepest lake.

He stated that ornamental fish in Lake Tanganyika has created 44 employment opportunities for communities living along the Africa’s deepest lake.

“Most people are employed in fishing, packaging, and transporting the ornamental fish,” Malima said.

He said most of them are employed in five companies exporting ornamental fish from the lake. The companies include; Tanganyika Sunshine, Nunu Mwamba, Tanzania Cichlids, Nyavita and Rift Valley.

“Most of these companies have been licensed and they are paying 40,000/- to 60,000/- per lorry ferrying ornamental fish. They also pay some money for their licenses and part of the money collected are disbursed to responsible regions including Rukwa,” he said.

He also revealed that Muzi villagers in Kasanga ward have managed to build a dispensary following the support issued by Nunu Mwamba Company, which gave them 50kgs of cement.

Lake Tanganyika is a home to a wide-range of ornamental fish species, including trophies, petrochromis, simochromis, Lamprologus, Neolamprologus, Xenotilapia, Tanganicodus, Julidochromis, Paracyprichromis, spathodus, altolamprologus, Variabilichromis and Cyphotilapia frontosa.

Source the Guardians

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Tanzania: Four Suspected Poachers Killed in Serengeti

Serengeti — FOUR suspected poachers have been shot dead by game rangers in Serengeti National Park (SENAPA) allegedly after killing elephants, police reported on Sunday.
Police in Simiyu region confirmed that four people were last week gunned down by rangers at Mlima ngoma area inside the world famous park and about 100 kilometres away from the villages located near the park.
"Bodies of the deceased that have not been identified are still preserved in Bariadi district hospital", Simiyu Regional Police Commander (RPC) Assistant Commissioner of Police)ACP) Salum Msangi said.
SENAPA rangers recovered a sub machine gun (SMG), 367 rounds of ammunitions, as well as traditional weapons that included knives and machetes after some shootings."They also found an elephant killed by poachers at the scene and they were in the process of removing tusks", the regional police chief said.
The rangers were prompted to open fire into the scene after they heard unknown people firing into them from the area."After hearing sounds of bullets the rangers followed up and started firing into the scene where they killed the four poachers ",RPC Msangi explained.
It was until Sunday not clear whether there were poacher who escaped from the scene, according to the RPC.Rampant killings of elephants by poachers looking mainly for tusks has become a major concern in the country's conservation sector in the recent months.
SENAPA is said to be one of the country's national parks which has been badly hit by ivory tusks poachers.It is estimated that an average of 1,500 herbivorous wild animals are killed by poachers in the park every year despite on-going efforts made by the Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA) to curb the vice via the authority's anti-poaching department.
Apart from elephants, other mostly targeted animals are, black rhinos, zebras and wildebeests. Two black rhinos imported from South Africa and received by President Jakaya Kikwete a few years ago have also been possibly killed by poachers while on the watch of the park rangers.
The country's second largest park covering 14, 763 square kilometres has over 200 armed rangers
mainly tasked to fight poaching and other illegal activities in the park. source allAfrica.com

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Four die in Masasi riots, as CHADEMA cautions JK

 Some of the burnt buildings of a primary court and other houses following clashes between riot police and  angry wananchi in Mtwara municipality yesterday

Four people were killed yesterday in the chaos that erupted in Masasi district, Mtwara region pitting ‘bodaboda’ drivers and police.

Commissioner of Police Paul Chagonja, the head of Operations and Training of the Police Force, confirmed the incident but could not give details.

According to the commissioner, twelve people were injured including a police officer. Earlier on it was reported that one police officer was killed during the violence.

Reports issued by the Ndanda regional hospital’s chief medical officer Dr Crispin Sapuli said the injured are Hosea Kibona (a policeman), Mohamed Abilai, Amami Ali, Athumani Maelezo, Zaruki Mussa, Mohamed Mshamu, Nassoro Mohamed, Yona Mareme and Feti William.

Others are William Matiponi, Jerome Frank and Maisha Hussein who sustained a bullet injury in the neck.

However, the chief medical officer said they received four injured people and the body of one dead person.

Commissioner Chagonja said the chaos erupted when rioting groups of young people clashed with law enforcers.

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FAST ACTION NEEDED TO HEAL RIFT OVER TAZARA

Source The Citizen
Tanzania and its southern neighbour, Zambia, have had cordial relations that pre-date the political  independence  of  the two countries, both having been  British colonies – a disgrace which the nationalists in each put up a spirited battle to neutralize, and succeeded.

Our founding father, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, and  the bearer of  a similar title down south, Dr Kenneth Kaunda, were close comrades in the anti-colonial struggle.

It is  a comradeship that was  cemented  by engagement in noble post-independence causes, chief of which were the liberation of still-colonised African countries and pursuit of pan-African solidarity. Staunch support for Namibian, Rhodesian, Mozambican and South African liberation movements, by, mainly, allowing them to run training camps in the host countries, drew Tanzania  and Zambia closer, especially under the auspices of the Frontline States set-up. The two countries were furthermore active members of the African Union’s precursor,  the  Organisation of African Unity (OAU), thereby transcending the close  Nyerere-Kaunda friendship to the companionship of  the people of the countries over whom the two statesmen  presided.

But the 1,870 kilometre-long  Tanzania-Zambia Railway (Tazara)  towers as the most outstanding symbol of inter-state association between the two countries, as it traverses both countries, the starting-destination points being Dar es Salaam and Kapiri Mposhi.

But  Tazara’s  benefit lies in a judicious combination of symbolism  and economic benefits; that, besides enabling Tanzanians and Zambians to connect geographically and socially, the project must generate revenue that should contribute to the separate coffers of the partners.

Pale shadow
That had  initially been the case, but subsequently, Tazara became a pale shadow of its initial, glorious, much-saluted  original situation. It is virtually in a coma, manifested by poor services, financial doldrums and managerial ineptitude.

The more worrying aspect, however, is chronic wrangling between the partner states, characterised mainly  by feelings  harboured by either, that the other is  the culprit.

It is extremely sad that, 27 years down the line,  Tazara should, instead of being an  enormously beneficial economic powerhouse, be a pitiful  crippled project whose plight is worsened by mistrust and blame-trading.  Lately, a potentially explosive  diplomatic row has arisen, which threatens to worsen the situation. It revolves around accusations by Zambia, that Tanzania acted unfairly, by rehabilitating some Tazara locomotives and assigning them to the nearly three-month-old  exclusively Tanzanian Dar es Salaam  commuter train service  project. Its senior officials are arguing, and rationally, that Tanzanian authorities should have consulted the partners on the proposed project, through such channels as the board of directors, for exhaustive  discussions and blessings or rejection. The Zambians therefore have grounds to feel jittery over Tanzania’s  go-it-alone approach, because it  tends to imply that the partners are inconsequential.

A feeling by Zambians of  being intentionally provoked and undermined could degenerate into a diplomatic crisis and poison the otherwise long-time cordial relationship  between the peoples of the two countries. This is  an unfortunate derailment  which  we believe the authorities of the partner states have the will and capability to re-set on proper tracks, and fast.

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Constitution should give liberty audit body to hire personnel, advises CAG

The Controller and Auditor General (CAG) yesterday told the Constitutional Review Commission (CRC) that the National Audit office of Tanzania (NAOT) should be free to work independently without interference.

Ludovick Utouh said this in Dar es Salaam when presenting NAOT views in Dar es Salaam to the CRC chaired by Judge Joseph Warioba. The commission is in its second phase of collecting opinions from various groups within the country.

Utouh noted that his office needs to be like Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA), Bank of Tanzania (BoT) and other bodies.

With the mandate to hire its workers, NAOT would be able to reduce the existing staff gap in the audit body, CAG said. NAOT seeks permission from the government whenever it needs to hire an employee.

Also CAG stated that the government usually works on proposals and recommendations they submit.

Veteran politician and a member of the country’s independence movement Sir George Kahama was among persons who presented views to the CRC yesterday.

However, he would not brief the media on what he proposed on the new constitution. “I am an ethical person, I can’t speak to journalists. I came here for the CRC and not media. You can take my picture…it is enough.”

Dar es Salaam City Mayor Didas Massaburi also turned up to give his views on the envisaged new Constitution. However, The Guardian on Sunday could not get his views.

The second phase of CRC meetings - which are open to political parties, NGOs, the media, professional affiliations, religious groups, farmers’ groups, traders, workers’ unions and other groups - started on January 7 and is expected to end on January 25.

So far the commission has gathered opinions from all 30 regions across the country, during which some 1,365,337 people are on record top have attended the constitutional review meetings – at which 64,737 individuals made verbal contributions and 253,846 made written representations.

Tanzania’s population is estimated to be 44.9 million. According to President Jakaya Kikwete the new constitution would be inaugurated on April 24, 2014 when Tanzania marks 50 years of the Union between Tanganyika and Zanzibar.

SOURCE: GUARDIAN ON SUNDAY

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Court orders mobile tool check on disability fears

The Citizen Reporter

Dar es Salaam. The High Court wants the labour office to thoroughly vet the headsets used by helpdesk employees of local mobile firms following revelations that they cause permanent health damage.  

The order was triggered by a recent claim in which seven ex-call centre workers sued former employer Vodacom Tanzania after they suffered severe hearing loss on the job and were fired for it.
“If these [inspections] are not done, I’m afraid our children might end up disabled, and these companies can just go out and hire new girls who will likely suffer the same fate,” said Justice Sophia Wambura.

Mobile carriers specifically target young women for recruitment into careers as customer service representatives.
Industry overseers “should immediately inspect all devices used by Vodacom and similar companies,” said the High Court jurist in a ruling on the Vodacom matter earlier this month.

In 2011, Vodacom was ordered to pay the seven former customer care workers Sh80 million as compensation for unlawful termination by the Commission for Mediation and Arbitration (CMA).
In its ruling the CMA found that the former Vodacom employees had indeed been given subpar headsets and that this had left them vulnerable to severe ear strain.

The network operator challenged the CMA verdict, setting off a chain of events that culminated in an early January hearing at the Labour Division of the High Court of Tanzania.

Ultimately, Justice Wambura not only upheld the CMA verdict, but also upped the damages. Each of the fired ex-Vodacom workers now stands to receive around Sh16 million in restitution.

Stunned by the level of health risks that client service workers are subjected to, the High Court jurist says strict measures must be taken against companies that “use gadgets which are below standard.”

In Tanzania, the Occupational Safety and Health Authority (Osha) is the government agency responsible for preventing workplace injuries.  Osha chief executive officer Akwilina Kayumba said she has not heard any complaints over the quality of headsets by customer service operators in the local mobile industry.

She did acknowledge, however, that someone might have “raised the matter with [their] inspectors.” “Our job is to ensure that employers adhere to safety and health standards,” said Dr Kayumba.
Nonetheless, she was adamant that her agency is not bound by Justice Wambura’s orders. “The High Court ruling is not directed at us,” she insisted.

She does appear conflicted on the Vodacom headsets issue though, and even admitted; “The law forces us to step in and prevent cases like these.”
To officials at the ministry of Labour and Employment, however, the mandate of the High Court ruling is as clear as daylight. Osha needs to step up, they say.

Ministry of Labour spokesperson Ridhiwan Wema said Osha has trained professionals whose job is to investigate cases like Vodacom’s and prevent similar injuries in the local mobile industry.
“They even have doctors on call, so the [court-ordered] inspections are actually their job,” said Mr Wema. The office of labour, he says, only ensures compliance with labour laws in the workplace.

The Citizen on Sunday was unable to get local mobile firms to comment on the High Court ruling, although both Vodacom and Tigo said they have forwarded the matter to their legal counsels for review.

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Public demand Anti Corruption Court

Source the African new paper 14 jan 2013

*Demand PCCB under Parliament
*Legal autonomy from DPP shackles

As graft and duplicity take root in the nation’s psyche, pundits want the agency revamped to restore the lost public trust with the citizens are demanding that time is now ripe to have a special anti corruption court established.

Specifically they want the bureaucratic web around the PCCB untangled and are calling for the agency to be given greater legal autonomy and a robust institution to process cases brought before it.

According to findings by the Anti Corruption Tracker System, which is hosted and managed by Agenda Participation 2000, PCCB has been a lame duck institution depending on the ‘mercy’ or ‘wisdom’ of the DPP and a slow judicial system, bogged down with unresolved cases and over loaded judges.

In an interview the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) lecturer Faraja Kristomus once told a local paper that the PCCB’s crusade against systemic corruption was being hampered by its “overlapping and uncoordinated links” with the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

He further argues that the PCCB has no teeth, and wants the agency pulled to bits. “I think it should be dismantled, (or) at least the President shouldn’t have so much power over it. From the way those people work, we get the impression that they are afraid for their jobs,” he said.

In his view, an efficient anti-graft agency needs to have its head above water. “I suspect the PCCB works on someone’s orders, they are not independent. We need an autonomous body; one that is free to pursue corruption cases wherever they lead,” said Kristomus.

Advocate Bashangeki Mutalemwa takes the argument for an autonomous PCCB further, arguing that the agency should have the legal mandate to not only investigate, but also prosecute both petty and grand corruption cases.

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Four Bandits Caught Red-Handed in Mbeya

Daily News 

Mbeya — FOUR  suspected bandits have been arrested by police in Mbeya for allegedly breaking into a warehouse along Unyamwanga Street, Tunduma in Momba District and stealing various goods.

Mbeya Regional Police Commander (RPC), Diwani Athumani, said the incident occurred yesterday morning, adding that the suspects were arrested by police who were on patrol. He named the suspects as Ramson Mwakilindi (23), Amos Mwandebele (20), Isaka John (26) and Kalitusi Thobias (24) - all residents of Mlowo.

He said the suspects succeeded to break into the warehouse belonging to Nida Textile Mills and stole various goods whose value has not been established. Commander Athumani explained that during the arrest, one of the suspects, Kalitus Thobias, was shot and wounded in his right foot and he was admitted to Tunduma Health centre.

The RPC said at the scene that they found two gas cylinders used to break the gates and padlocks and a Mitsubishi Canter with registration No. T 274 BPF belonging to Amos Mwamlima. "Now, we are making efforts to identify and arrest other suspected bandits who managed to run away.

Fortunately, they were not able to steal even though they had already started to load goods into the vehicle," said the RPC. He urged the society especially youth to use legal means to get money or wealth, instead of resorting to illegal means such as robbery.

Meanwhile, LUDOVICK KAZOKA reports that police in Mbeya Region have embarked on a manhunt for a suspect who butchered his wife over witchcraft accusations at Sambandolo, Ipapa Village in Mbozi District over the weekend

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