Dar es Salaam. Good morning! The Chanzo is here with a rundown of major news stories reported in Tanzania on Friday, April 8, 2022.
Samia named winner of 2022 Babacar Ndiaye Trophy for transport success
President Samia Suluhu Hassan has been named the 2022 winner of the Africa Road Builders–Babacar Ndiaye Trophy, the African Development Bank (AfDB) said Friday in a statement.
The prize is awarded to leading figures in Africa who have demonstrated their commitment to the development of transport infrastructure on the continent.
The selection committee for the award commended President Samia for her “personal leadership, huge investments and commitment” to extending roads and the railway network in Tanzania.
“We send our warm congratulations to President Samia Hassan and the people of Tanzania,” the selection committee said, according to the AfDB statement,
The committee noted the $290 million provided by the AfDB to support the revitalization of road, rail and air transport in Tanzania.
It also took into account the $172.2 million contract signed with China Corporation Limited to supply the country with 1,430 modern freight wagons to implement the ambitious Tanzania Railways Corporation railway program.
Finally, the committee noted the official start of construction on the historic project to build an outer ring road around the city of Dodoma. The project was launched by President Samia on February 11, 2022, in the presence of the AfDB president Dr Akinwumi A. Adesina.
The Africa Road Builders Babacar Ndiaye Trophy is organized by Acturoutes, an information platform on infrastructure and roads in Africa, and the organization Media for Infrastructure and Finance in Africa (MIFA), a network of African journalists specializing in road infrastructure.
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari received the award in 2021.
The trophy was instituted in honour of Babacar Ndiaye, President of the African Development Bank Group from 1985 to 1995.
The 2022 trophy will be awarded at the final conference of the Africa Road Builders, which is scheduled to take place alongside the African Development Bank’s next Annual Meetings in May in Accra, Ghana.
Tanzania abstains in a yet UN vote against Russia
Tanzania on Thursday was among 58 countries that chose to abstain from the United Nations General Assembly vote to expel Russia from the UN Human Rights Council.
The resolution received a two-thirds majority of those voting, minus abstentions, in the 193-member Assembly, with 93 nations voting in favour and 24 against.
Fifty-eight abstained from the process, including India, Brazil, South Africa, Mexico, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq, Pakistan, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Cambodia.
Russia, China, Cuba, North Korea, Iran, Syria, and Vietnam, were among those who voted against the resolution.
It was the second-ever suspension of a country from the council. Libya was the first, in 2011.
The latest move aimed at pushing Russia away from the international community came after disturbing photos emerged from the city of Bucha, a suburb of the capital, Kyiv, where hundreds of civilian bodies were found in the streets and in mass graves following Russia’s withdrawal from the area.
Russia has however denied any involvement in the atrocities.
On March 3, 2021, Tanzania abstained from the UN resolution on Ukraine that demanded Russia to stop its offensive in Ukraine.
Tanzania’s Ambassador to the United Nations Prof Kennedy Gaston defended the decision, saying the ongoing conflict between the two Eastern European countries of Russia and Ukraine could be properly resolved through diplomatic means instead of condemnations.
On March 31, 2022, Vice President Phillip Mpango also defended the decision, saying the East African nation abstained from voting in the UN resolution on Ukraine because the East African nation “wanted to give diplomacy a chance.” The VP was speaking at the World Government Summit in Dubai.
Mulamula wants Rwandan genocide fugitives arrested, trialled
Minister of Foreign Affairs Liberata Mulamula on Thursday appealed to countries worldwide to arrest and try Rwandan genocide fugitives on the run, on their territories, as one of the strong measures to prevent impunity and the recurrence of genocide, the Rwandan New Times newspaper reported.
Ambassador Mulamula made the appeal during an event to mark the 28th commemoration of the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi, Kwibuka 28, in Dar es Salaam, organised by the Rwandan High Commission in partnership with the UN country office.
“As we stand in solidarity with those who survive and support their continued quest for justice to hold the perpetrators of these atrocities accountable,” Ambassador Mulamula was quoted as saying. “In this regard, we appeal to the International Community to arrest and try genocide suspects on their territories who are yet to face justice for their role in the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi, as one of the strong measures to prevent impunity and the recurrence of genocide.”
She assured Rwanda of Tanzania’s “unwavering commitment” to ensuring that all fugitives are brought to justice in accordance with international law, “and deepen our resolve to work together in this decade of action as we march towards the Sustainable Development Goals of the Agenda 2030.”
In March 2021, an official from the Genocide Fugitives Tracking Unit (GFTU) told the Rwandan parliament that by then a total of 1,146 indictments and arrest warrants against genocide fugitives in 33 countries were issued, the New Times reported.
At the time, it was reported that 408 genocide suspects were in the neighbouring DR Congo, 277 in Uganda; 63 in Malawi, 52 in Tanzania, 47 in France, 42 in Congo Brazzaville, 40 are in Belgium, 35 in Kenya, 23 in America (USA), 18 in The Netherlands, 15 in Zambia, 15 in Burundi, 14 in Canada, 13 in Mozambique, and 11 in the Central African Republic.
Tanzania announces August 23 as date for national census
President Samia Suluhu Hassan on Friday announced Friday that Tanzania will conduct a National Population and Housing Census (PHC) on August 23, 2022, urging citizens to turn out en masse for the exercise.
She was speaking in Zanzibar during the launch of the official logo that will be used in this year’s census. President Samia said the exercise will help the government plan its development programmes.
She directed a logo to be used in all government activities and private institutions to encourage citizens to realise the importance of the census.
“For government institutions, this logo should be placed on publications, websites and social media networks,” the Head of State remarked. “And for the private institutions, they can even be placed on packages or receipts and tickets, what matters is the logo to be seen.”
Preparations for the census have reached 79 per cent, according to Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa who doubles as the chairperson of the census committee.
The exercise is being coordinated by both the Tanzania Mainland and Zanzibar governments.
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