Dar es Salaam. Good morning! The Chanzo is here with a rundown of major news stories reported in Tanzania on Wednesday, January 26, 2022.

TPDF’s chief of staff visits SADC Mission in Mozambique

The Chief of Staff of Tanzania People’s Defence Force (TPDF) Lieutenant General Matthew Edward Mkingule on January 24, 2022, visited SADC Mission in Mozambique (SAMIM) forces deployed in the Cabo Delgado Province on a one-day familiarization official tour, the mission said in a statement.

General Mkingule, who was accompanied by Senior Staff from the TPDF, was briefed on the operational successes achieved by SAMIM since its launch last July.

Tanzania is among the nations that have deployed their forces in Cabo Delgado Province in Mozambique to bring peace and stability in the region to fight the terrorism orchestrated by Al Sunnah wa Jama’ah (ASWJ).

Other nations include Botswana, Lesotho and South Africa.

According to the SAMIM’s statement, TPDF deployed a Medical Team in the mission area with General Mkingule saying that the Defence Force will increase its existing troops in the mission area to address operational gaps.

He commended the Force Commander of SAMIM, Major General Xolani Mankayi and his Staff for making great strides in achieving the end goal despite the challenges that are always inherent in fighting a non-conventional war.

“We appreciate your efforts in doing such a commendable work,” the statement quoted  General Mkingule as saying. “Challenges are always there but we still have to fight and win the war. The security of Mozambique is part of our security.”

General Mkingule also seized the opportunity to pay tribute to the fallen soldiers and those injured during the battles with insurgents.

UK mining firm Power Metal commences drilling at Haneti project

The UK-based mining company Power Metal Resources said in a statement on Wednesday that drilling had commenced at the Haneti nickel project in central Tanzania.

Power Metal holds 35 per cent shares in the Haneit project that is prospective for nickel, copper, cobalt and platinum group elements. Katoro Gold PLC, also based in the United Kingdom, holds 65 per cent shares in the project.

“This is a great day,” Paul Johnson, Chief Executive Officer of Power Metal Resources PLC, said in a statement. “[The day] that has been years in the making, as we commence inaugural diamond drilling at the Haneti Project targeting magmatic sulphide hosted nickel, copper, cobalt and platinum group metals.”

Johnson said that Haneti represents a district-scale opportunity and the company was hoping that drilling will unlock further value from the Project enabling the company’s technical team to better understand the various geological environments.

“Ultimately,” he added, “a discovery of the metals targeted could be transformational for Power Metal and our partners Katoro.”

Located in central Tanzania, the Haneti project is a polymetallic system with identified potential for nickel (sulphide and laterite), Platinum Group Metals, copper, gold, lithium and rare earth elements.

Meanwhile, the UK firm Kabanga Nickel Company told The East African newspaper on Wednesday that will start mining nickel deposits in Tanzania in three years despite being commissioned to start operations.

The firm’s CEO Chris Showalter cited logistical challenges in the importation of building materials due to COVID-19 lockdowns as the reason for the delay.

Tanzania owns a 16 per cent stake in the project under the Tembo Nickel Company while the UK firm owns the remaining share in partnership with Australian miner BHP Billiton.

China donates 800,000 doses of ​​Sinopharm vaccines to Tanzania

China has given Tanzania a total of 800,000 doses of ​​Sinopharm vaccines, Minister of Health Ummy Mwalimu said yesterday. She said the government plans to use the doses to innoculate about 400,000 people against the deadly COVID-19 disease.

The donation comes hardly a week since the US government donated over 1.6 million additional Pfizer BioNTech vaccine doses to Tanzania, distributed under the global COVAX vaccine sharing initiative.

“On behalf of President Samia Suluhu Hassan and the government she is leading, we would like to thank the Chinese government for ensuring the availability of these vaccines,” said Mwalimu while addressing journalists in the capital Dodoma.

Wednesday’s  was the fourth batch of China’s vaccine donation to Tanzania.

On November 1, 2021, Tanzania received the third batch of Sinopharm vaccines from China on Monday. Health Minister Dorothy Gwajima received the 500,000 doses at the Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam.

“All of the vaccines that were earlier donated to Tanzania [by China] have been used up,” said Mwalimu. “We also believe that this [fourth] consignment will only last for a few days before it is used up.”

Wednesday’s donation makes the total doses that Tanzania has received since it rolled out its vaccination drive to reach 8,821,210, which ​​Sinopharm, Johnson & Johnson, Moderna and Pfizer, according to the minister.

“These doses are enough to inoculate a total of 5,823,800 Tanzanians,” said Mwalimu.

Strong winds kill fisherman, drown 60 fishing boats in Zanzibar

The director of the Zanzibar Disaster Management Commission (ZDMC) Makame Khatib said on Tuesday that at least one fisherman was killed, 190 houses were flooded and 60 tour and fishing boats were swept away by heavy rains and strong winds in Zanzibar.

Mr Khatib said the fisherman died in Uroa coastal village after his boat capsized after it was hit by strong winds in the Indian Ocean.

He said the heavy rains and the strong winds hit the Zanzibar Islands on the Indian Ocean on Saturday and Sunday.

Khatib said most of the houses that were flooded were located in flood risk areas that have been prohibited for construction of houses.

Tanzania earns Sh19 billion from auctioning hunting blocks

Deputy Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism Mary Masanja revealed on Tuesday that the allocation of tourist hunting blocks through auction has earned the government a total of Sh19.2 billion, up from the 5.24 billion U.S. dollars collected during the previous auction.

Tanzania resumed the auction of hunting blocks after it was put on hold for almost two years. The blocks are graded in categories and bidders pay different fees, depending on the category of the block.

In March 2020, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism postponed the electronic auctioning of the vacant hunting blocks – initially scheduled for March 5 that year – until further notice. The decision was made due to complaints from some stakeholders, as well as market instability caused by the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.

“In the sixth auction which commenced on January 12 and lasted for seven days, a total of 75 tourist hunting blocks, with 49 of which ownership expired on December 31, 2021, and other 26 blocks, were vacant,” Ms Masanja told journalists in Dodoma.

“A total of 39 companies participated in the auction and of those 26, which is equivalent to 54.2 per cent, won 45 tourist hunting blocks,” she added.

A total of Sh14.32 billion was collected with Sh392.7 million collected from application fees and Sh13.86 billion from hunting block fees.

Ms Masanja, however, pointed out that the government decided to allocate hunting blocks through auction with the aim of increasing transparency and allowing market competition to show the real value of the country’s resources.

“For example, one category III hunting block which was to be sold through a tender of Sh41.58 million was sold for 462 million which is 11 times the bid price and category II hunting blocks were to be sold for 69.3 million but sold for 577 million,” she said.

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