Dar es Salaam. Good morning! The Chanzo is here with a rundown of major news stories reported in Tanzania on Tuesday, July 18, 2023.
Former African leaders explain motivations to support drive for democracy
Four former African heads of state and governments have named the desire for an economically prosperous and politically stable continent among the chief motivations for supporting the ongoing drive for democracy in the world’s second-largest continent.
The leaders, which include Tanzania’s Jakaya Kikwete, Mozambique’s Joaquim Chissano, Sierra Leon’s Ernest Bai Koroma, and Ethiopia’s Hailemariam Desalegn, shared their motivations Tuesday during a press conference in the city after a two-day retreat at the Gran Melia Hotel.
Known as ‘Elders Retreat on the State of Democracy in Africa,’ the occasion provided the former leaders to engage with experts and scholars working on several issues of concern, including the state of democracy in the continent and ways to improve it.
The retreat, inaugurated by President Samia Suluhu Hassan on Monday, is part of the activities of this year’s Drive for Democracy Conference, a joint initiative by the Centre for Strategic Litigation (CSL), Institute for Security Studies (ISS), and MS Training and Centre for Development Cooperation.
Following two days of engagement, the elders held a press conference Tuesday where, among other things, they explained why their participation in the movements to promote democracy in Africa matters, with some of them pointing out that while they’ve retired, they’re not tired.
Full story here.
Education takes centre stage in Tanzania-Hungary’s cooperation
President Samia Suluhu Hassan and her Hungarian counterpart Katalin Novak Tuesday witnessed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signing, which aims to bolster education collaboration between the two countries.
The MoU was signed by Minister for Education, Science, and Technology, Professor Adolf Mkenda and Hungarian State Secretary Mr Tristan Azbej at the State House in Dar es Salaam Tuesday to pave the way for an exchange programme between Tanzanian and Hungarian students.
Speaking at the State House, President Samia said that Hungary has been an important partner to Tanzania, particularly in higher learning education.
“Together, we have been able to advance our cooperation through this stipendium Hungarian program ‘hungaricum program’. This newly signed agreement is coming with a new approach in which students from Hungary will benefit from the scholarships coming to Tanzania and study in our universities,” she said.
“For this year, we are starting with five students from Hungary, while Hungary will take about 30 students from Tanzania, and the number will keep increasing.”
On her part, President Katalin Novak said the opportunity that Hungarian and Tanzanian young people get from the exchange programme is to study and learn from other countries and know the people and language and be successful in their respective countries.
“Today’s agreements give us a chance, in the coming three years, to offer scholarships for Tanzanian students to study in Hungary at our costs,” she said.
“But today is a milestone because the content of this cooperation changes it becomes a mutual offering because from today on, there will also be Hungarian students who can study at the expense of Tanzania in Tanzania, and so they can also learn the language and get higher education,” she added.
Novák, Hungary’s first female president, arrived in Tanzania Monday evening for a three-day state visit to the East African nation to renew the cooperation between the two countries. She is the first president ever of Hungary to make a state visit to Tanzania.
In a Twitter post on Tuesday, President Samia thanked Novák for “honouring” Tanzania with her visit, describing the bilateral meeting as “very productive.”
“We have reaffirmed our commitment to enhance cooperation between our two countries in the identified strategic areas,” Samia said. “It is my firm conviction that the outcome of this working visit will lead to a stronger, closer and more dynamic relation between Tanzania and Hungary.”
On her part, Novák thanked President Samia for the “open, sincere and fruitful discussion.”
“Mutual respect [is] a foundation for the relations between Hungary and Tanzania,” she said in a Twitter post. “Being the first women presidents of our countries is another foundation for our cooperation. We both encourage girls and women to realise their dreams while also not giving up on motherhood.”
ICSID orders Tanzania to pay Indiana Resources $109.5 million
The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) has ordered the government of Tanzania to pay an Australian-based mining company Indiana Resources US$109.5 million as compensation for the unlawful expropriation of the Ntaka Hill Nickel Project, a nickel sulphide project which the company was managing.
In an update Tuesday, Indiana said that the tribunal delivered its award on July 14, 2023, and unanimously found that Tanzania had unlawfully expropriated the project, which the company is the majority shareholder, on January 10, 2018, in breach of the UK-Tanzania Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT).
ICSID unanimously ordered Tanzania to pay Indiana US$76,706,461 in damages and additional losses, as well as compound interest at the rate of two per cent above the USD Prime rate on the amount awarded from January 10, 2018, to the date of payment.
This amounts to more than US$109.5 million in damages and accrued interest at the date of the tribunal’s award, the company said in its update, adding that interest will continue to accrue until payment.
ICSID also decided that the costs of the arbitration, including the fees and expenses of ICSID and the tribunal, should be borne by Tanzania. The tribunal also ordered that Tanzania pay Indiana US$3,859,161 regarding the company’s legal costs and expenses.
Bronwyn Barnes, Indiana’s Executive Chairman, said he was delighted with the award, which he said reflects the substantial investment shareholders lost through the project’s expropriation.
“My message to shareholders has been consistent – we had a clear and compelling position to support our compensation claim and have worked tirelessly for five years to ensure that we maintained our position with strength and determination,” he said.
“The conclusion of arbitration proceedings brings me great satisfaction, and I would like to sincerely thank those shareholders who have supported the Company during that time,” he added.
Barnes said that the company would now move to the enforcement phase, pointing out that the ICSID Convention has been ratified by 158 Member States of the World Bank, including Tanzania.
“This means that any award issued by an ICSID tribunal is enforceable in any one of those 158 member states as if it were a judgment of one of their own courts,” he said. “We have consistently said that we would look to enforce an award against Tanzania, and that work will commence now. I will keep shareholders updated as we progress.”
Police summons Tundu Lissu for ‘indecent’ remarks against Samia
Police in Dar es Salaam have ordered CHADEMA deputy national chairperson (Tanzania Mainland) Tundu Lissu to report to the office of the Director of Criminal Investigation on Thursday as they’re investigating “indecent” remarks he made against President Samia Suluhu Hassan on July 15, 2023.
In their letter dated July 18, 2023, which has been circulating online, police told Mr Lissu it wants him to finalise the investigation into the remarks it described as “indecent.”
Police did not specify what exactly these remarks were. However, in a separate discussion the Minister of Information, Communication and Information Technology, Nape Nnauye quoted Tundu Lissu remarks, “in one of the discussion [Lissu]said that the President proposal of recruiting critics in the new Ministry of Planning is presidential rubbish,” dismayed by Lissu’s statement Mr Nnauye cautioned that this is not a way for building a society.
The summons comes when the opposition figure has been very vocal in his criticism of the intergovernmental agreement between Tanzania and Dubai, which would allow the latter’s logistic company DP World to operate the Dar es Salaam port.
Lissu becomes the latest person to be summoned by the police because of his criticism of the controversial deal. On July 11, 2023, the DCI ordered lawyer Rugemeleza Nshala to report to the police after describing the deal as equivalent to selling off the country.
Police also searched Nshala’s house in a manner that his lawyers said violated the constitution and established procedure on police conduct.
Tuesday’s development also occurred when concerns were raised over authorities’ encroachment on people’s right to free speech, with reports indicating that several people have been summoned for questioning by the police after criticising the Tanzania-Dubai deal.
Those arrested recently include lawyers Peter Madeleka and Boniface Mwabukusi, both notable critics of the deal. Police also arrested and then released popular CHADEMA member Mdude Nyagali, which critics associated with his opposition to the deal.
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