Dar es Salaam. Good morning! The Chanzo is here with a rundown of major news stories reported in Tanzania on Thursday, June 16, 2022.
Tanzania, Kenya beef up border security at Loliondo
Tanzania and Kenya have increased security on the Loliondo border as the crisis in the Ngorongoro conservation area intensify, leading to a number of Maasai people from Tanzania crossing over to Kenya in the recent few days.
Kenyan media reported on Thursday that the government there deployed security personnel in Olposimoru to monitor the movement of the Tanzanians, with reports of mass eviction of the Maasai community that had been residing in the conservancy.
The situation has continued to deteriorate in the Ngorongoro area of Loliondo since authorities tried to turn 1,500 square kilometres of 4,000 square kilometres of designated village land comprising the Loliondo Game Controlled Area into a game reserve.
On June 7 and June 8, members of Tanzania security forces were deployed to five locations in the area, where they installed tented camps to start demarcating the 1,500 square kilometres.
On June 9, the police placed markers to delineate the game reserve, but local Maasai people removed them and remained overnight to guard the site. When security forces returned at daybreak, they started firing live bullets and lobbed teargas at the Maasai.
On Wednesday, Narok County Commissioner Mr Isaac Masinde, who also chairs the County Security Committee, was quoted as saying that they had received more than 400 refugees in camps at Olposimoru, saying there was a need for Kenyan top leadership to discuss the matter with Tanzanian authorities.
“We have channels the leadership can use and solve the problem with Tanzanian leaders. We warn those coming in not to carry any weapons. Our security officers are on the lookout,” The Standard newspaper quoted Mr Masinde as saying.
“The sick and the injured will be offered treatment at Olposimoru health centre, while the critically ill will be taken to Narok County Hospital. The rest are advised to find their way back home,” he added.
Meanwhile, Home Affairs Minister Mr Hamad Masauni ordered the Immigration Department to control the Loliondo border with Kenya in order to prevent the illegal entry of foreigners into Tanzania so as to “maintain law and order” in the country.
Mr Masauni also ordered “a thorough” investigations into all non-governmental organisations (NGOs) operating in Loliondo, and ensure that they carry out their activities in accordance with the laws and their own constitutions.
“This is to prevent their activities from leading to instability in the country,” said Mr Masauni. “And if it arises that there is an NGO carrying out its activities against the laws and destabilizes our country’s security, then strict legal actions should be taken against such an NGO.”
In another development, U.S. Ambassador to Tanzania Mr Donald Wright said on Thursday that he had held a meeting with Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa to discuss US-Tanzania relations on a number of issues. The government exercise in Ngorongoro is being overseen by the Office of the Prime Minister.
“We also talked about tensions in Loliondo, and I asked the PM to work with stakeholders to peacefully and equitably resolve the situation,” Mr Wright said in a Twitter post.
All these are happening at a time when Arusha Regional Commissioner Mr John Mongella is saying that over 290 residents from the Ngorongoro conservation area have registered to relocate to Msomera village in the Tanga region.
“Infrastructure is increasingly being strengthened there as 103 houses have already been constructed and [on Friday] we are starting the first phase of removing livestock, their property and the residents themselves as we are prepared for that,” explained Mr Mongella.
Tanzania concludes deal with World Bank over a $278 million loan for urban management
At least seven million residents in Tanzania’s secondary cities will benefit from strengthened urban management and access to better infrastructure and services through a new $278 million World Bank loan approved on Thursday.
Tanzania’s urban population is expected to increase from 34 per cent in 2018 to 49 per cent by 2040, with the highest growth rates occurring in the country’s secondary and tertiary cities, according to the World Bank estimates.
According to a statement by the international lender released on Thursday, the loan will be used to support key areas of urban management in participating cities, including municipal finance, urban planning, resilience and green development, improved service delivery, and local economic development in addition to infrastructure investments.
It is expected that a total of over seven million people will benefit from the loan through strengthened urban management performance and among them five million people through improved basic infrastructure and services.
This will include the urban poor and vulnerable populations who will benefit from increased access to urban infrastructure, basic services, economic opportunities, and reduced risks from climate impacts. At the national level, the project will also strengthen the institutional capacity of central ministries.
“Tanzanian cities are increasingly at risk of climate change, particularly due to projected changes in rainfall patterns which, when coupled with poor development controls and environmental degradation, will increase flooding,” the statement quoted Ms Mara Warwick, World Bank Country Director for Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe as saying.
Ms Warwick said that the loan directly responds to these vulnerabilities by including climate change adaptation as a cross-cutting issue in its design.
“It also supports connectivity and access to markets through road infrastructure, bus stop improvements and public space upgrades to reduce travel times and costs, and safety improvements,” she added.
For the project’s details, see here.
Tanzania, India explore possibilities of investment in port development, agriculture
Tanzania and India held the second round of Foreign Office Consultations on Thursday in New Delhi, during which both sides agreed to explore possibilities of investment in health, education, port development and the agriculture sector.
The discussions were led on the Indian side by Puneet R Kundal, Joint Secretary (E&SA), Ministry of External Affairs and on the Tanzanian side by Caesar C. Waitara, Director (Asia & Australasia), Ministry of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation of Tanzania.
According to a statement released yesterday, the consultations reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral relations including political, economic, trade and investment, defence, cultural, people-to-people, and other areas of mutual interest.
Multilateral and regional issues including cooperation in the UN, East Africa Community (EAC), South African Development Cooperation (SADC) and African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) were also discussed, an official statement said.
Both sides expressed satisfaction over the growth in bilateral trade, which touched the US $4.5 billion for 2021-22.
India is one of Tanzania’s biggest trading partners and among the top investors in Tanzania. Both sides agreed to further strengthen bilateral cooperation in various sectors and explore possibilities of investment in health, education, port development and the agriculture sector.
Tanzania is also a major development partner of India and India has extended six lines of Credit worth over $1.1 billion to Tanzania, especially in the sector of city water supply and management. The Indian side reiterated its commitment to continue the development partnership with Tanzania through loans, grants and other mechanisms.
Both sides also agreed to continue high-level political exchanges and regular meetings of the Joint institutional mechanisms to keep the partnership vibrant and mutually beneficial.
The Consultations were held in a friendly and cordial atmosphere. Both sides agreed to hold the next round of Consultations at a mutually convenient date in Dar es Salaam.
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