Now Tanzanian Eala members boycott session

                         

                                                             Eala members
 Arusha. The East African Legislative Assembly (Eala) continued to be plagued by crisis yesterday when Tanzanian legislators walked out, a day after their Rwandan counterparts staged a temporary boycott.

The regional legislature was for the second day running adjourned and will resume at 2.30pm today when it starts debating a motion on the rotation of sittings which was finally tabled during yesterday’s brief session.

“We have walked out to protest the way the Speaker was humiliated yesterday (Tuesday),’’ Mr Abdallah Mwinyi after leading four other Tanzanian members out of the chamber about 20 minutes after the session started.

He said the Tanzania Chapter of the regional assembly had been dismayed at the way Speaker Margaret Zziwa was “humiliated” after Rwandan members walked out in protest at Ms Zziwa decision not to allow a motion on rotation of Eaala sitting among East African Community (EAC) member countries.

Another Tanzanian legislator, Ms Shyrose Bhanji, said: We condemn what happened yesterday. We didn’t do justice to the Speaker.”

She warned if such boycotts were allowed to continue the integrity of the assembly would be grossly undermined.

Other Tanzanian members fo walked out were Mr Twaha Taslima and Dr Nderakindo Kessy. Mr Makongoro Nyerere remained in the chamber.

Mr Mwinyi said Tanzanian members had no problem with the motion on the rotation of Eala sittings, and only wanted to express their supported for the Speaker’s insistence that laid-down procedures should have been followed before it was tabled.

The motion sought to object the desire by the Eala Commission, a newly reconstituted body previously known as House Business Committee, to have all sessions of the Parliament held in Arusha, the headquarters of the EAC.

Under Eala regulations, the House cannot conduct any business if there are less than three MPs from any country in the chamber. The other Tanzanian legislators – Ms Angela Kizigha, Ms Mariam Ussi, Mr Adam Kimbisa and Mr Bernard Murunya have not been attending the sessions – as they are outside Arusha.

The Speaker was forced to temporarily adjourn the House at 3.08pm to allow various parties to consult on the stalemate. The four Tanzanian MPs insisted to the journalists outside the chambers that they won’t go back because they were dismayed by what took place on Tuesday. The House reconvened at 3.23pm during which a roll call established that there was only on Tanzanian legislator from Tanzania and had to be adjourned again at 3.28pm and will reconvene today when the motion is expected to be debated.

Unlike the Tuesday’s protest, the Tanzanian walkout was not supported by Eala members from the other EAC partner states – Kenya, Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda. They remained in the chamber, but eventually had to leave as business was paralysed.   source The Citizen

Read More

Tanzania's Twiga Cement freezes dividends as profits drop 40pc

 Kenya's cement maker EAPCC. Tanzania Portland Cement Company (TPCC) has said that it will not pay an interim dividend for the six month period ended June this year, following a 39.59 per cent drop in profit after tax

Tanzania Portland Cement Company (TPCC) has said that it will not pay an interim dividend for the six month period ended June this year, following a 39.59 per cent drop in profit after tax.

The cement manufacturer, listed on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE) as Twiga Cement, said that its profit after tax fell to Tsh19.25 billion ($12 million) from Tsh31.86 billion ($20.3 million) in 2012.

It attributed the reduced performance to a fire in May which destroyed the main transformer that fed power to its plant, thus hampering production.

An increase of cheap imported cement from Pakistan has also made it difficult for its products to effectively compete for market share.

Twiga Cement’s total dividends per share amounted to Tsh185 ($0.118) for the full year ended December 2012, the highest amount the company has paid per share in any year since 2008, of which Tsh50 ($0.032) was paid out in October 2012 as an interim dividend.

TPCC chairman Jean-Marc Junon said the completion of investments in Cement Mill 5, which is expected to bring additional capacity of 700,000 tonnes next year, will help improve volumes and lift revenues.

“The new investments will require financial resources over the coming months. The board is therefore not recommending interim dividends,’ said Mr Junon.

He added that that the company has had to rely on imported clinker and as a result of the fire, it had to rent and operate electricity generators.  source the East African

Read More

Children at grave risk in gold mining, says report

Human Rights Watch senior researcher on children’s rights Juliane Kippenberg speaks at a press conference in Dar es Salaam yesterday during the launch of a report on children working in small-scale gold mining in Tanzania. Others are Tanzania Children’s Forum coordinator Eric Guga and Janine Morna, a research fellow with Human Rights Watch




Dar es Salaam. Thousands of children risk serious injury and even death in small-scale gold mining in Tanzania, Human Rights Watch says in a new report released yesterday.

But the government swiftly queried the accuracy of the findings, saying such reports were meant to please financial backers of Western NGOs.

The report, released at a news conference in Dar es Salaam, documents how children dig and drill in deep, unstable pits, work underground for shifts of up to 24 hours, transport and crush heavy loads of gold ore and process gold using toxic mercury.

Working in mines also harms children’s schooling and places girls at risk of sexual exploitation, according to the 96-page report titled Toxic Toll: Child Labour and Mercury Exposure in Tanzania’s Small-Scale Gold Mines. The report is based on interviews with over 200 people, including children.

Contacted for comment, Energy and Minerals minister Sospeter Muhongo said he had not seen the report, but added that he doubted its accuracy.

“It could be one of those negative reports compiled by non-governmental organisations for their survival,” Prof Muhongo said.

He said he had expected Human Rights Watch to submit the report to mining experts in his ministry before releasing it to the media. “The international media have been calling me since morning asking me on the same issue. They (Human Rights Watch) should have submitted the report to the ministry for discussion. I would have sent experts on a fact-finding mission to areas visited by the organisation,” Prof Muhongo said.

He added that negative reports compiled by Western NGOs were aimed at frustrating government efforts to attract more investment to the mining sector.

“And since the Chinese are involved in investment in small-scale mining one may conclude that such reports are intended to discourage Chinese investors.”

Human Rights Watch says it visited 11 mining sites in Geita, Shinyanga and Mbeya regions and interviewed more than 200 people, including 61 children aged between eight and 17, involved in small-scale gold mining.

The report says children risk injury from pit collapses and accidents with tools as well as long-term health damage from exposure to mercury, breathing dust and carrying heavy loads.

“Tanzanian boys and girls are lured to the gold mines in the hope of a better life, but find themselves stuck in a dead-end cycle of danger and despair,” said Ms Janine Morna, a children’s rights research fellow at Human Rights Watch.the Citizen

Read More

TRA, Dar Port praised for efficiency

                                           TRA Deputy Commissioner General, Rished Bade

weeks of criticism, the Dar es Salaam port is finally receiving some compliments for its performance and the subsequent impact it has had on the economy of the Democratic Republic of Congo the leading user of the facility followed by Zambia.

Businessmen from the DRC are praising the Dar es Salaam Port as well as the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) for improved efficiency which has occasioned significant rise of their country’s economy.

The compliments were issued yesterday by a special delegation from the DRC commissioned by the country’s Revenue Authority Commissioner General. The communiqué came during celebrations to mark the one year memorial since inking the first agreement to establish the Congo custom service in Tanzania.

Speaking in Dar es salaam yesterday on behalf of the DRC Revenue Authority, the Commissioner General and the traders, the Deputy Commissioner DRC Custom Representative Officer, Peter Mulishu said since the signing of the agreement their country’s revenue has increased drastically.

“Thanks to the agreement we are enjoying increased revenue…the Dar es Salaam Port services and TRA are both performing very efficiently. This is why the DR Congo Revenue Authority, Commissioner General has deployed this delegation to congratulate you,’’ said the Deputy Commissioner.

So impressed is the DRC that they are planning to send students into the country to pursue studies the TRA operations.

“We also need to visit the Tanzania revenue schools… we are looking into the possibility of bringing some of our people to study here,” he said noting that currently they are forced to send them to Germany which is considerably expensive.

Responding, TRA Deputy Commissioner General, Rished Bade assured the DRC delegation that services will only improve for the better and that they can be assured of continued increased revenue for efficiency is the authority’s goal.

He acknowledged that by partnering with the other countries TRA and the Dar Port have been able to reduce obstacles that slow the logistics process. He urged other countries to also establish the Customs offices in the country to ease transactions.
“Previously there were a lot of complaints since there was nobody to coordinate their businesses in the country but now because they have the DRC Custom representative offices here, they are enjoying good results,’’ he said.

Bade also dismissed as rumours, reports that Rwanda and Uganda are planning to move from Dar es Salaam port. He made it clear that TRA has not received any official communication from the said countries. source the Gurdians

Read More

Revenues to fall as Kili ice goes

Nairobi/Dar es Salaam. The income generated from tour operations based on East Africa’s mountains -- Kilimanjaro, Ruwenzori and Kenya -- is under threat due to the receding glaciers, studies have revealed.

Incomes of hundreds of tour operators in the region is also in jeopardy.The studies show that the mountains are the main source of attraction for tourists from different parts of the world.

Commenting on the study results, Tanzania National Parks (Tanapa) public relations manager Paschal Shelutete, admitted yesterday that the melting of glaciers will impact heavily on the tourism industry.

“The real magic about Mount Kilimanjaro is its snow. This is what attracts thousands of climbers each year to climb it and see the snow,” said Mr Shelutete over the phone.

He said Tanapa was implementing projects aimed at saving the Kilimanjaro National Park (Kinapa) from further environmental degradation.

He said the projects included discouraging people from felling down trees for making charcoal and giving them alternative means of energy such as biogas.

“Deforestation is one of the reasons behind the trend,” he said, adding that Tanapa has been running tree planting projects in surrounding villages.

Evidence links snow melting to global warming, he said, adding that the government should partner with other countries in pressuring industrialised nations—whose gaseous emissions are mainly behind climate change—to provide funds for adaptation and mitigation.

According to a UN Environmental Programme (UNEP) study and studies by other environmental experts, glacier loss on the three EA mountains is likely to mean a loss of tourism revenue that is important to the economies of the respective countries.

Tanzania received 945,794 tourists in 2012 while Kenya’s stood at 1.7 million during the same period.

Tourism earned Tanzania Sh109.3 billion in 2012 while Kenya earned over Sh1.7 trillion in foreign revenue in the same period.

A big part of this income could be wiped out unless global warming is controlled.
According to a tour guide, Mr Faris Mtui, a resident of Marangu-Mbahe Village in Moshi on the slopes of Mt Kilimanjaro, the effects of the diminishing glaciers have started being felt.

“There is not only change in weather patterns, but some plants that were found around here have disappeared. A number of springs and water falls like Monjo, Kona and Kipungulu in our village have also dried up,” he said.

“The red cabbage, a medicinal plant that villagers used to treat fractures with in the 1970s has disappeared,” he said.

Mr Mtui said in the 1970s and 1980s there used to be snow in villages on the slopes of Mt Kilimanjaro but this is no longer the case, while the dry spells were also more intense. source The Citizen

Read More