Dar es Salaam. Good morning! The Chanzo is here with a rundown of major news stories reported in Tanzania on Wednesday, June 8, 2022.
Tanzania opens up investment in govt securities to regional countries
Tanzania will for the first time allow residents of East African and Southern African trade blocs to invest in its Treasury bonds and bills, the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) said Wednesday.
In a statement, the BoT said a new law regulating foreign exchange had been gazetted in May, replacing two previous ones that had restrictions on the sale of government securities to foreign investors.The Foreign Exchange Regulations, 2022, also permit a person resident in Tanzania to invest in any EAC or SADC country. You can read this analysis from our contributor regarding the new regulation, These New Regulations Seek to Control Dollar Trade in Tanzania.
Over 1000 Burundian refugees in Tanzania have returned home since January 2022
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), in collaboration with the governments of Tanzania and Burundi and with the support of the international community and partners, assisted some 192 Burundian refugees voluntarily returning home in April 2022.
The UN agency mandated to aid and protect refugees said in its inter-agency operational update for April 2022 that the successful returning of 192 Burundian refugees make a total of 1,101 in 2022 and 140,599 since 2017 when voluntarily repatriation started.
“Moreover, UNHCR Tanzania continues to support the voluntary repatriation of Burundian Refugees in Uganda transiting through [the] Kagera region,” the update stated. “In April 2022, Uganda conducted two movements where a total of 794 individuals were repatriated to Burundi.”
In its update, UNHCR also reported the decision by the Turkish embassy in Dar es Salaam to distribute food packages to urban refugees. The event took place on April 28, 2022, at the Refugee Community Centre in Dar es Salaam.
The Ambassador of Turkey, together with the UNHCR Representative in Tanzania, the Refugee Services Department, and the Relief to Development Society (REDESO), distributed food packages to urban refugees in Tanzania.
“[The] focus was placed on targeting the most vulnerable urban refugee families consisting of those not receiving any assistance from UNHCR, female-headed families, families who have members with specific needs, and larger size families, among other criteria,” the update explained.
Tanzania surpasses the national target for polio vaccination
Tanzania has completed the second round of supplemental polio vaccination, reaching a total of 12,131,049 children against a target of 10,295,316, an equivalent to 117.8 per cent, a statement by the World Health Organisation (WHO) said Wednesday.
The second round of supplemental polio vaccination is part of four rounds of synchronized campaigns aimed at preventing the possibility of the spread of polio in countries bordering Malawi and Mozambique that have each reported a case of wild polio in February and April this year respectively.
In Tanzania, the second round covered all 195 districts and ran from May 18 to May 21. Dr Florian Tinuga, Incident Manager of the polio campaign, said: “We got support from high-level leaders down to grassroots in mobilizing people to invite vaccinators in their households. Because of the positive response from leadership and the community, we have not experienced challenges related to a negative response.”
“We are grateful for the commitment showed by vaccinators, mobilisers, enumerators, supervisors and high levels to the objective of reaching every under five in this country,” said Dr Zabulon Yoti, WHO Tanzania Acting Country Representative. “The same level of commitment is critical for the two rounds ahead of us.”
Based on the results of the completed second round, it is expected that the third round and fourth round are going to be equally successful, considering that 100 per cent of households where vaccinators visited are informed that a third and fourth round of supplemental polio vaccination is on the way, the statement explained.
Barrick announces social, skills and infrastructure investment in Tanzania
Barrick Gold Corporation president and chief executive Mark Bristow said Wednesday that the Toronto-based mining company will spend $6 (Sh13,900) for every ounce of gold sold by its two mines in Tanzania on improving healthcare, education, infrastructure and access to potable water in the communities around them.
At the same time, Mr Bristow said that the company has committed up to $70 million (about Sh163 billion) for investment in value-adding national projects, including mining-related training, skills development and scientific facilities at Tanzanian universities, as well as road infrastructure.
This is in accordance with the conditions underlying Barrick’s framework agreement with the government, which included the establishment of their Twiga joint venture. Twiga oversees a 50/50 split of the economic benefits generated by the mines as well as their management.
Mr Bristow said in a statement that the investment program was the latest evolution of the company’s very successful partnership with the government.
“Since we took over the Tanzanian mines from their previous operator in 2019, we have rebuilt relations with the state and renewed our social licence to operate here,” he said. “North Mara has been redesigned as an integrated underground/open pit mine and Bulyanhulu has been resuscitated as a long-life underground mine. Together they are expected to produce more than 500,000 ounces1 of gold per year at the lower end of the cost spectrum.”
Newly appointed Cuban, Ethiopian ambassadors to Tanzania present credentials to Samia
The newly appointed Cuban ambassador to Tanzania Yordenis Despaigne presented his credentials to President Samia Suluhu Hassan at the State House in Dar es Salaam on Wednesday.
Despaigne is replacing Prof Lucas Polledo who has been recalled to Cuba. During the occasion, Mr Despaigne also ratified Cuba’s willingness to work to strengthen political-diplomatic relations and bilateral economic and commercial ties.
President Samia in her turn expressed Tanzania’s desire to raise economic relations to the political level and acknowledged Cuba’s support in areas such as health care and human resource training, which contribute to the development of her country.
Shortly after submitting his credentials, Mr Despaigne, accompanied by the head of the Cuban Medical Brigade in Tanzania, Juan Miguel Arias Reyes, visited Cuban collaborators at the Benjamin Mkapa Hospital in the capital Dodoma.
He was welcomed by Hospital Director Alphonce B. Chandika, who praised the selfless work of the Cuban physicians in the institution.
Participants in the meeting discussed the historic ties between Cuba and Tanzania, which have held diplomatic relations for six decades.
They also spoke of mutual solidarity as well as the possibilities of increasing Cuban medical collaboration in Tanzania, according to a statement from the Cuban Embassy.
Another envoy who submitted his letter of credentials on Wednesday is Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ethiopia in Tanzania, Shibru Mamo.
During the occasion, Mr Mamo and President Samia noted the need to tighten the longstanding relationship between Ethiopia and Tanzania with multiple and diversified engagements.
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