Dar es Salaam. Good morning! The Chanzo is here with a rundown of major news stories reported in Tanzania on Wednesday, December 8, 2021.
Samia: Here’s why you should be proud of 60 years of independence
President Samia Suluhu Hassan on Wednesday shared six reasons why she thinks Tanzanians should be proud of the 60-year journey that Tanzania has made since the people of the East African nation lowered the Union Jack and replaced it with the flag of Tanganyika on December 9, 1961.
Tanganyika, now commonly referred to as Tanzania Mainland, is celebrating its independence today, with dignitaries from various parts of the world expected to grace the celebration whose arrival is a national holiday in the country.
During a live broadcast yesterday, the Head of State told her compatriots that they have every reason to “walks with head high and chest out,” knowing that their country has registered “tremendous milestones” in all walks of lives namely socially, economically and politically.
According to President Samia, the following are some of the things that Tanzania has been successful at in the past 60 years since its independence.
Defending Tanzania’s sovereignty and its borders; building national unity and harmony that gave birth to peace and security that the nation now enjoys; improving the economy and reducing poverty that enabled Tanzania to graduate from the list of least developed countries to lower-income status; improving basic social services; building Tanzania’s reputation regionally and internationally; and improving democracy and the rule of law in the country.
“The truth is that we haven’t achieved what we actually want to achieve,” said President Samia in her closing remarks. “But where we have arrived is not that bad. It is better than where we were. We should be proud of ourselves and never look down on ourselves.”
Tanzania put in US travel red list
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has put Tanzania together with France, Portugal, Andorra, Cyprus, Jordan and Lichtenstein under its high-risk countries, discouraging American citizens from travelling to these destinations over COVID-19 related risks.
The decision comes amid rising tension around the new COVID-19 variant namely Omicron that has put many governments around the world in a panic mode.
On Monday, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health Prof Abel Makubi assured the public that Tanzania has not recorded any case of the Omicron following reports that an Indian national from Tanzania tested positive for the COVID-19 variant in New Delhi.
Over the weekend, the Indian government reported that the city of New Delhi had recorded its first Omicron case from a citizen who had travelled from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania’s commercial capital.
“Avoid travel to Tanzania,” CDC said in its latest notice, adding that, if one must travel to Tanzania, they should make sure they are fully vaccinated before travel.
“Because of the current situation in Tanzania, even fully vaccinated travellers may be at risk for getting and spreading Covid-19 variants,” CDC says.
Barrick’s Bulyanhulu acquires six new prospecting licences
Twiga Minerals, a joint venture between Barrick and the government of Tanzania, announced on Tuesday the acquisition of new prospecting licences in Tanzania by Bulyanhulu Gold Mine Limited, a subsidiary of Barrick.
Bulyanhulu has entered into a binding agreement with Barrick Gold, Tembo Gold Corp, and the Mineral Industry Promotion and Consulting Company Limited (MIPCCL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tembo, for the acquisition.
In a statement, Barrick that Bulyanhulu will acquire from MIPCCL a 100 per cent interest in six prospecting licences located in areas adjacent to the Bulyanhulu mine and have the potential to add significant mineral reserves to Barrick’s asset base in Tanzania.
The consideration payable by Bulyanhulu is $6 million-plus certain other contingent payments that will be calculated based on the inferred, indicated and measured gold mineral resources identified in the areas of land which are covered by the licences using Barrick standards for determining mineral resources, it said.
Bulyanhulu is required to invest a minimum of $9 million in the licence area over the course of the four years and has agreed to subscribe for, on a non-brokered private placement basis, 5,518,764 of common shares of Tembo for C$0.27 each. Closing is expected to occur in the first quarter of 2022.
Barrick president and chief executive Mark Bristow said the acquisition was a significant step forward in the company’s strategy of increasing its investment in new growth opportunities in Tanzania and a further demonstration of the value-creation potential of its partnership with the government
From The Chanzo’s website
Abdulrazak Gurnah: How I Became a Writer
The Nobel laureate Abdulrazak Gurnah delivered this Nobel Prize lecture in the literature on Tuesday, December 7, 2021. We have published the transcripts of the lecture here. Among other things, the Zanzibari-born novelist says that he started writing after realizing that there was a task to be done and regrets and grievances to be drawn out and considered.
EAC Membership Is No Panacea for DRC’s Problems
In response to an article published on The Chanzo recently arguing that admitting the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) into the East African Community (EAC) carries a game-changer potential, mainly because of DRC’s natural wealth and untapped market size, Dastan Kweka, one of The Chanzo’s contributor did a rejoinder that argues that the EAC is not in a position to solve DRC’s security challenges. You can read Kweka’s piece here.
HIV/AIDS: Is It Women’s Pandemic or Are Men Just Left Behind?
What do you think about that question, is HIV/AIDS a women’s pandemic or are men just left behind? This is the question that our contributor Kuduishe Kisowile is grappling with in her latest piece for The Chanzo. You can Kisowile’s perspective on the issue here.
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