Dar es Salaam. Good morning! The Chanzo is here with a rundown of major news stories reported in Tanzania on Wednesday, November 10, 2021.
PM Majaliwa to grace Tanzania-UK business forum
Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa is expected to be a guest of honour at the one-day Tanzania-UK Business Forum that will take place on November 16, 2021, at the Julius Nyerere International Convention Centre (JNICC).
The forum is jointly organized by the British High Commission in Tanzania, the government, the Tanzania Private Sector Foundation (TPSF), and the Zanzibar National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC).
Lord John Walney, the UK Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Tanzania is also expected to participate in the forum that is also expected to attract attendance from other ministers from the Tanzanian government, including ministers responsible for industry and trade and investment.
According to a statement released on Wednesday by the forum’s organizers, the forum will seek to explore opportunities to support mutual and sustainable economic prosperity for Tanzanian and UK’s governments.
“[It] will also showcase the strides being taken [by the Tanzanian government] to boost the investment climate in Tanzania,” the statement noted. “The forum aims to boost business match-making that can unlock investments and trade between the UK and Tanzania.”
The forum comes almost a week after President Samia Suluhu Hassan on November 1, 2021, met and held talks with Lord Walney on the sidelines of the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) whereby the two discussed ways through which the UK and Tanzania can improve their trade and investment cooperation.
The November 13th forum, which organizers have said will allow both virtual and physical engagement, will bring together ministries, agencies, regulatory bodies, businesses, investors and funding bodies from both Tanzania and the UK.
You can register for the forum here.
Govt: Over 700 people have died of COVID-19 since its outbreak in Tanzania
Deputy Minister of Health Dr Godwin Mollel said Wednesday that a total of 725 COVID-19 deaths since the pandemic was first reported in Tanzania in March 2020, adding that a total of 26,164 coronavirus cases have been recorded since then with 25,330 people recovering from the killer disease.
Mr Mollel was responding to a question by Special Seats MP Halima Mdee during the ongoing parliamentary sessions taking place in the capital Dodoma.
Mdee wanted to know how many Tanzanians have contracted the disease since it was first reported and the amount the government planned to spend in the fight against the pandemic.
“A total of Sh158 billion has been spent in purchasing various equipment including 19 oxygen concentrators that have the capacity of producing 200 to 300 cylinders,” Dr Mollel was quoted as saying.
Dr Mollel pointed out that so far seven concentrators have begun operations whereas installation of the other 12 are in progress, part of the money was spent in procuring personal protective equipment (PPE), medicine, medical equipment and 15 ambulances.
Over 1,000 girls miss Standard VI exams due to pregnancy, early marriages
Kalambo District Commissioner Ms Tano Mwera told the government-owned Daily News on Tuesday that a total of 1,226 pupils in the district, located in the Rukwa region, missed this year’s Standard IV national examinations due to various reasons, including truancy, pregnancy and forced marriage, authorities have disclosed.
The exams were conducted countrywide on September 8-9, 2021, whereby a total of 1,107,469 candidates wrote the exams.
“Definitely I can’t deny that some of the teen girls may have been impregnated or married off forcibly, this is possible and obvious,” Ms Mwera was quoted as saying.
Breaking down the statistics of the dropouts in each hamlet and the number of pupils in a bracket, she mentioned Matai (533) Kasanga (212), Mambwe Nkoswe (153) Mwazye (159) and Mwimbi (169).
Ms Mwera urged parents to invest in their daughters’ education and their well being rather than marrying them off forcefully in exchange for dowries.
“When parents invest in their teenage daughter’s education, they practically empower them, which is one of the powerful drivers of sustainable development and agent of change,” she explained. “Unfortunately, some families in Kalamboare forcefully marry off their daughters in a quest for receiving dowries, including cattle.”
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