Thursday, February 21st, 2012
Page One: Key stories of the day
Protests over unsolved murders in Songea turn deadly
All the front pages today are covering the story of clashes between police and demonstrators in the southern town of Songea that has lead to scores being injured and a number dead.
Tanzania’s economy in good shape but better policies needed to improve
The World Bank is optimistic about the country’s economic future but warns that it needs to institute changes to consolidate its gains.
Privatisation under scrutiny
As Tanzania continues to transition to a free-market economy, the process of privatization of state-owned companies is called into question.
Concern over Dar’s inclusion in a list of money-laundering black list
Following the release of a report that accused Tanzania of failing to adhere to international standards in fighting financial crimes, stakeholders worry that it may impact foreign trade and investment.
Notable editorials/opinion pieces:
- ‘Dk Bilal anapoleta siasa kwenye uchimbaji wa Urani’ [When Dr. Bilal inserts politics on the issue of Uranium extraction] | Mwananchi
- ‘Seriousness needed at Agricultural Ministry’ | The African
- ‘Determinants of rural income in Tanzania’ | The Guardian
- ‘Vurugu za Ruvuma hazina tija kwao’ [Clashes in Ruvuma will not benefit anyone] | Majira
- ‘Elimu ya kibaguzi imerudi kwa mfumo tofauti’ [Discrimination in education returns in a different form?] | Nipashe
- ‘Viongozi wa dini jiondoeni kwenye ulingo wa siasa’ [Religious leaders should remove themselves from the political sphere] | Rai
Other stories of note:
- ‘Waziri Sitta, Gavana BoT waunguruma’ [Minister Sitta, BoT Governor roar [on the EAC]] | Mtanzania
- ‘Chadema MP condemns “police brutality”’ | The Citizen
- ‘Tanzania isiwe soko la runinga za analogia [Tanzania should not become a market for analogue TV] | Habari Leo
- ‘Activists’ fate rests with State Attorney’ | The African
- ‘Survey: Slaughter houses violate animal welfare laws | The Guardian
- ‘Ya Ikulu na Spika, ya Mponda na Manumba!’ [On State House and the Speaker, of Mponda and Manumba] | Rai
- ‘Slaa aibuka mahakamani, aongezewa mashiataka’ [Slaa emerges in court, has more charges slapped on him] | Nipashe
- ‘Ulegezaji masharti ya biashara ongezeko bidhaa feki’ [De-regulation in business standards source of increase in fake goods] | Majira
- ‘Tanzania: Nchi yenye madaktari wachache duniani’ [Tanzania: A country with the fewest doctors] | Tanzania Daima
- ‘CCM denies split over Arumeru poll | The Citizen
- ‘Bodi ya Machinga Complex yapingwa’ [Machinga Board Complex opposed [over plans to rent the space to big business]] | Uhuru
Business Headlines:
- ‘Tanga to Kampala railway line “secures 13,000ha land”’ | The Citizen
- ‘BG Group to invest $500m in gas exploration’ | The African
- ‘Food prices soar despite slight drop in inflation’ | Daily News
- ‘Airbus forecasts Africa’s aircraft requirement at 1,100 by 2030’ | The Guardian
- ‘Mkonge: Zao linaloongoza kwa kutoa ajira, kuongeza kipato’ [Sisal: A crop that leads in providing jobs, improving a living] | Majira
- ‘Econet sues Airtel for $3.1bn damages’ | Daily News
Regional Headlines:
- ‘London conference to define Somalia’s political future’ | The Guardian
- ‘Kenya Environment minister John Michuki dies [at] 80’ | The Citizen
- ‘South Sudan mutual suffering stance not sustainable’ | The African
- ‘EA University bodies urged to cultivate high standards’ | The African
- ‘“Technical hitches” erode Kenyans trust in M-payment’ | The Guardian
- ‘Uganda’s State House spending jumped to 160bn/-’ | Daily News
Page One: A summary
Protests over unsolved murders in Songea turn deadly
The front-pages of all today’s newspapers are telling the same story. Over three thousand demonstrators clashed with police in the southern town of Songea yesterday leaving scores injured with at least four fatally. According to The Guardian, protestors were marching towards the headquarters of Songea City Council to protest the local police’s inability to stop ‘a recent wave of unexplained killings in the municipality.’ The Regional Commissioner (RC) confirmed the deaths to reporters explaining that the ‘police opened fire while attempting to disperse a rowdy crowd of people marching towards government buildings,’ the Daily News reports.
The Citizen says that since November of last year, nine people have been murdered in the town, some mutilated. “The trend has triggered panic and anger amongst wananchi, who are in the dark over whether the crime is the work of a serial killer or a gang…So long as the motives of the murders are not known, anyone was a potential next victim,” the paper reports. One resident told The African, ‘the source of today’s rally is impatience among people who have been witnessing a series of unexplained deaths occurring without any measures being taken by the Police Force.’
Mwananchi reports that a male body was found yesterday morning, mutilated by what appeared to be a machete with his genitals removed. After seeing the victim, people began to congregate and started making their way to the RC’s office to complain what they deemed to be lack of protection from the police. But when the police tried to stop them, that was then problems started leading to the aforementioned fatalities.
The RC has issued a curfew and said that unless people have urgent matters, they should refrain from leaving their homes. ‘The police will be looking for those responsible for the violence to make sure they face the full letter of the law,’ he said as per Mwananchi. The paper also reports that, following the protests, the region’s Defense and Security committee has instructed local officials to increase night surveillance failing which, should a murder takes place in their neighborhoods, they would be arrested and charged. They have also asked local government officials to probe into all new residents and report any suspicious characters to the police.
Tanzania’s economy in good shape but better policies needed to improve
A report from The World Bank (WB) commends Tanzania’s economic direction and argues that ‘accelerated and shared…growth through a combination of fiscal prudence, cost-effective reforms in education and smart policies aimed at transformation’ of business will catapult it to huge success, reports The African. Acting WB director Jacques Morisset told reporters that, ‘Tanzania’s relative isolation from global market has helped it to survive recent external and regional shocks. However this resilience of the economy in the past does not necessarily guarantee immunity in the future.’
According to the Daily News, the report titled ‘Stairways to Heaven: Fiscal Prudence, Value for Money in Education, and Economic Transformation of Firms’, reveals that while the country’s economy has grown consistently over the last few years, there is little evidence that this has trickled down. Mr. Morriset warned that such a reality is problematic. ‘For the economic growth to tickle down, the country has to consistently grow at between six and seven percent, but quality education and job creation will have better impact on the national development,’ he said.
Bank of Tanzania Governor (BoT) Professor Benno Ndulu agreed. While the country has increased spending in education, ‘low rates of return are the result of multiple factor(s), they are partially due to low quality of education, with many school leavers unprepared for the labour market,’ he said. Mr. Ali Mufuruki, CEO of the clothing chain Woolworth, who was also in attendance during the launch of the report, urged the government to ‘improve vocational training and prepare our people to engage in self-employment.’ The report concludes that SMEs are now reliable ‘sources of employment and manufacturing exports have been booming in the last seven years,’ says the Daily News.
Privatisation under scrutiny
As the Tanzania’s economy continues to grow, there is concern that the resulting wealth is not being shared by everyone. One way in which the government has been trying to respond to this is to encourage Tanzanians to buy struggling parastatals and rejuvenate them, thereby creating opportunities for local investments and job creation. Instead the result has been instances of alleged fraud and embezzlement.
This week, Rai has on its front page an example of privatization gone bad. The paper alleges that St. Mary’s International School bought a factory from the government, Mangu’la Mechanical and Machine Tools Limited. After paying the first installment, the investor has now failed to complete the rest of the installments while at the same time treating the factory as its own. Reports of machines being dismantled and sold for parts are rife and there are also accusations that the investor has used the real estate where the Mang’ula factory once stood to build more classrooms for its school.
The paper concludes its report by saying that of the 74 state owned companies that have been privatized, 42 are flourishing, 15 are struggling and 17, including Mang’ula, are not functioning at all.
Concern over Dar’s inclusion in a list of money-laundering black list
After the decision this week by the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF) to black list Tanzania for reportedly failing to adhere to international anti-financial crime measures, businesses are in uproar of what they will be a challenging international environment for local businesses abroad. ‘[This] will further erode [international businesses’] trust in us. Our businesses are going to suffer as some of them may stop doing business with us because the country has failed to meet the international standards in financial management,’ Mr Mtemi Naluyaga, the chief executive officer of the Tanzania Exporters Association (Tanexa), told The Citizen. ‘In essence, this blacklisting means that it will now take longer to complete business transactions originating in or coming to Tanzania,’ Mr Naluyaga went on to say.
The tourism sector, mining, and agriculture, and all industries that are export-based in nature believe that the decision from FATF will make it tougher for them to do business. ‘Abdukadir Mohamed, the Tanzania Air Services Limited director, told The Citizen that, ‘this will make the export business hard,” he said. “It’s obvious that only a few greedy Tanzanians are involved in this game, but we’re all affected as the image of the country is tarnished.’