Dar es Salaam. Good morning! The Chanzo is here with a rundown of major news stories reported in Tanzania on Thursday, July 28, 2022.
Clash between farmers, pastoralists leave two injured in Tanga
Clashes between farmers and pastoralists broke out this week in the district of Kilindi, in Tanga, leaving two injured, the government-owned HabariLeo newspaper reported Wednesday.
According to reports, farmers were protesting the destruction of their farms by pastoralists, a situation that escalated into violence leading to the two farmers – Saidi Mwanamagari and Omari – being injured and hospitalized at the district hospital.
Kilindi district commissioner Siriel Shaidi Mchembe confirmed to HabariLeo that the clashes erupted but no further information about the incident was shared with the public.
This, however, is not the first time that clashes between farmers and cattle herders occur in Kilindi.
In January this year, for instance, six people were reportedly killed in the Kibirashi village of the Kilindi district in the Tanga region, as herders armed with machetes, axes, swords, and guns clashed with farmers in a dispute highlighting a huge scramble for resources.
Twenty people were arrested in connection with the incident with the then Inspector-General of Police Simon Sirro describing what happened as “a very sad incident.”
Full story here.
Mining company seeks Sh163b in damages from Tanzania
Canadian mining company Montero Mining & Exploration Ltd has dragged the government of Tanzania to the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) to seek CAD$ 90,000,000 (about Sh163.3 billion) in damages for the expropriation of the Wigu Hill Rare Earth Element project.
The government expropriated the Wigu Hill retention license in 2018 following the enactment of the Mining (Local Content) Regulations 2018, which cancelled all previously issued retention licenses.
In 2015, the government awarded the five-year retention license to the project that Montero had commenced exploration activities in March 2008 under a prospecting license, spending over CAD$ 15.5 million on the discovery and development of the project.
According to the company, since the government expropriated the retention licence Montero had made repeated attempts to reach an amicable solution with the government with no success, leaving the company with no other option apart from filing a request for arbitration with the ICSID on January 8, 2021.
The company provided an update on Thursday with its President and CEO Dr Tony Harwood, saying that Montero was committed to pursuing fair treatment of its shareholders and a return on its substantial investment of time and money in Tanzania through a fully funded arbitration process governed by ICSID.
“Montero has submitted a claim to the ICSID for damages of CAD$ 90 million,” Globe News Wire quoted Dr Harwood as saying. “The Company has made repeated attempts to work with the Tanzanian Government to reach an amicable settlement without success, while the discovery and development of the Wigu Hill project has created significant value for Tanzania.”
The company says that the government’s “unlawful expropriation and mistreatment of Montero’s investment” were in breach of the agreement between the governments of Canada and Tanzania for the Promotion and Reciprocal Protection of Investments (BIT) signed in 2013.
Montero is one of a number of companies that have filed arbitration procedures with ICSID against the government of Tanzania for the expropriation of retention licenses, according to Globe News Wire.
Others include Winshear Gold Corp. with a claim of CAD$ 124 million for the loss of the SMP Gold Project and Indiana Resources Limited with a claim of AUD$ 127 million for the loss of the Ntaka Hill Nickel Project.
According to the arbitral tribunal’s Procedural Order No. 1 dated February 18, 2022, Tanzania will respond to Montero’s Memorial by October 2022, after which a new round of written submissions will follow in Q2 and Q3 2023.
Tanzania, USAID celebrate five years of youth empowerment project
Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister Joyce Ndalichako and USAID Mission Director V Kate Somvongsiri on Thursday celebrated the achievements of the of Feed the Future Tanzania Advancing Youth program in the capital Dodoma, a statement from the U.S Embassy in Tanzania said.
Implemented in the Iringa, Mbeya, and Zanzibar regions, the five-year, $20 million program has supported rural youth, aged 15-35, to engage in agribusiness and other rural value chains and increase their economic opportunities while promoting leadership and healthy lifestyles.
The Feed the Future Advancing Youth activity addresses obstacles present in the Tanzanian job market by increasing income opportunities for young people through rigorous, professional training and matching youth to formal and informal jobs.
USAID Mission Director V Kate Somvongsiri that the organisation was proud that the Advancing Youth activity has reached more than 43,000 young people and provided over 5.3 billion Tanzanian shillings ($2.3 million) in grants to youth-led agribusinesses.
“Advancing Youth has also helped youth gain life skills, and lead community development efforts,” the Mission Director said. “This work has shaped communities’ perspectives of young people as change agents, capable of transforming the communities in which they live.”
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