Dar es Salaam. Good morning! The Chanzo is here with a rundown of major news stories reported in Tanzania on Tuesday, September 27, 2022.

Twenty U.S. firms are in Tanzania to explore business opportunities

A total of U.S. firms are in Tanzania for the ‘U.S. Business Fact-Finding Mission’ that commenced on Tuesday focusing on the agribusiness, energy, healthcare, and information/communication technology industries, a statement by the U.S. Embassy in Dar es Salaam said.

The mission was developed by the American Chambers of Commerce (“AmCham”) of Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa. The mission will explore business opportunities available both in Tanzania Mainland.

The event was opened on Tuesday by the U.S. ambassador to Tanzania Donald J. Wright and the Deputy Minister from the Ministry of Investment, Industry, and Trade Exaud Kigahe.

Tuesday featured an overview from the Tanzania Investment Centre, a briefing by the American Chamber of Commerce of Tanzania and the CEO Roundtable of Tanzania, and roundtable discussions with representatives from the government of Tanzania, according to the statement.

While opening the event, Ambassador Wright said congratulated the firms for their decision to examine Tanzania as a place to consider investing in key sectors of the economy and expanding their business.

“We welcome more American involvement in the Tanzanian economy – in fact, it is one of our Mission’s primary goals,” Dr Wright said.

“U.S. firms bring ingenuity, know-how, and capital, but also a desire to train Tanzanians to manage and run their local operations,” added the envoy.  “The jobs they develop in Tanzania are not just line-level employees, but highly skilled technology and management professionals.”

On his part, Mr Kigahe said that the U.S. and Tanzania enjoys a cordial relationship since 1961 characterized by mutual respect, shared values and aspirations for a more peaceful and prosperous future.

“The U.S is Tanzania’s third largest bilateral investor in Tanzania and has provided development and other assistance for capacity-building to address health and education issues, promote broad-based economic growth and advance regional and domestic security to sustain progress,” a statement quoted Mr Kigahe as saying.

Mulamula holds talks with her UAE counterpart on the sidelines of UNGA

Foreign Minister Liberata Mulamula and her United Arab Emirates (UAE) counterpart Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Tuesday held bilateral talks on the sidelines of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly in New York.

According to a statement, during their conversation, the two touched on a number of issues on the assembly’s agenda, including climate change and efforts to promote the use of renewable energy in African countries, as well as international cooperation in facing food security challenges.

The two sides also reviewed bilateral relations between the two countries and ways to further develop joint partnerships across various fields, including trade, economics, renewable energy and others, the statement added.

For her part, Mulamula expressed her country’s aspiration to strengthen bilateral cooperation relations with the UAE in various sectors, commending the leading stature that the UAE enjoys at the regional and global levels and the outstanding development it has achieved in all fields.

The meeting was attended by Sheikh Shakhboot bin Nahyan Al Nahyan, Minister of State.

LHRC celebrates 27 years of defending human rights in TZ

Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC) on Tuesday celebrated 27 years since the founding of the Dar es Salaam-based organisation that works to promote and defend human rights and good governance in Tanzania.

This year’s anniversary took place in Njombe and it was preceded by the provision of legal aid support to hundreds of people in the region.

LHRC Executive Director Anna Henga said that a total of 796 residents benefitted from the support since the campaign was launched on September 19, 2022.

“The support ranged from issues pertaining to marriages, inheritance and labour,” Henga said during the event. “LHRC is committed to continuing providing this support not just in Njombe but across the country so to ensure everyone has access to justice in Tanzania.”

Established in 1995, LHRC has been instrumental in ensuring that Tanzania becomes a nation that respects human rights. Apart from providing legal aid services, LHRC also produces yearly reports that assess the human rights situation in Tanzania.

Speaking during the event, Permanent Secretary from the Legal and Constitutional Ministry Dr Mary Makondo lauded LHRC for the work it has been doing in the area of access to justice, saying it is playing “an essential role.”

Dr Makongo reiterated the government’s promise that it will work with stakeholders like LHRC in improving the country’s criminal justice system that lately has been receiving numerous complaints from stakeholders which include members of the general public.

“But it is important that we all understand the role each of one here has to play in respecting and defending other people’s basic human rights,” Dr Makondo told those who attended the event.

World Bank approves $335 million loan to Tanzania to expand electricity grid

The World Bank Board of Executive Directors on Monday approved an additional loan of $335 million to support Tanzania’s efforts to scale up grid extension and grid densification, following the country’s important achievement of one of the fastest electricity access expansion rates in Sub-Saharan Africa over the past decade.

The international lender said in a statement that the new International Development Association (IDA) credit to the Tanzania Rural Electrification Expansion Program (TREEP) will facilitate an additional 1,000,000 last-mile grid connections, including 8,500 education facilities and 2,500 healthcare facilities, as well as provide renewable energy options and clean cooking solutions to rural households.

The initial IDA financing of $209 million for TREEP was approved on May 31, 2016, and the program became effective on March 17, 2017, the statement pointed out.

“Scaling up access to modern forms of energy is an important component of the Government of Tanzania’s long-term economic growth plan,” the statement quoted Preeti Arora, acting World Bank Country Director as saying.

Adding: “We are pleased that our support to this objective over the past five years helped to provide electricity access to over four and a half million people including 5,900 education facilities, 1,664 healthcare facilities, and 14,316 business enterprises.”

Despite Tanzania’s impressive progress in increasing electricity access from seven per cent in 2011 to 38 per cent in 2020, the World Bank reports that a large gap remains between electricity access rates in urban areas (73.2 per cent) and rural areas (24.5 per cent) and between national grid coverage (78.4 per cent) and overall access/connectivity rate (38 per cent).

The NREP’s new Rural Energy Master Plan 2022-30 builds on the implementation experience of the Prospectus 2013-22 to provide a roadmap to reach 100 per cent energy access by 2030.

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