Good morning! The Chanzo is here with a rundown of major news stories reported in Tanzania on Thursday, November 30, 2023.
Making sense of Tanzania’s politics towards 2025 as election fever grows
One thing that is clear is that Tanzania’s politics are becoming incredibly confusing. For those who are pro-reform, the lingering rhetoric in their ears is that positive reforms are coming.
Still, even this group isn’t spared the confusion based on the actions of the government and the ruling Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM).
For those who oppose any meaningful change in the country, the past few months have taken them to cloud nine as things have changed by returning to their default positions.
The pace of reforms has continually been decreasing, ignoring the mainly symbolic gestures that President Samia Suluhu Hassan throws here and there.
The process gets even more complicated when we observe the return to the government and CCM of people with questionable records because of their actions during the previous administration.
Full analysis here.
LATRA explains how Tanzania’s transport sector will be electrified
The global transport sector is in the midst of a revolutionary transformation. Electric motors are replacing combustion engines in record time, with the new technology offering a way to lessen the world’s dependency on fossil fuels and slowing climate change.
It is a development Tanzania is very much part of, as The Chanzo reported recently. Electric two- and three-wheelers are introduced to the country in impressive numbers. Electric cars, however, are yet to arrive.
The Land Transport Regulatory Authority (LATRA), which regulates commercial transport in this country, aims to change that, its Director of Road Transport Regulation, Johansen Kahatano, explained during a recent interview with this publication.
Full story here.
Cashewnut farmers seek govt intervention as they fault ‘primary marketing system’
Agriculture Minister Hussein Bashe directed the formation of a special committee this week to investigate concerns that cashew nut farmers across Tanzania have raised regarding the primary marketing system, arguing that it does not serve its original purpose.
Introduced in the 2022/2023 season, the system allows local cashew nut processors to buy the cash crop at the ‘primary markets’ instead of getting them at the auctions conducted by cooperative unions, which are unfavourable to local processors.
The government sought to encourage local cashew nut processing through the arrangement. This goal informed who can buy cashew nuts at the ‘primary markets,’ which should be processors only and not exporters. The price at the ‘primary markets’ tends to be lower than at the auctions.
But during a consultative meeting on November 27, 2023, in Mtwara, cashew nut farmers from across the country complained that the arrangement had been hijacked, noting that many exporters have been storming the ‘primary markets,’ a situation they said affects the cash crop’s prices at the auctions.
Full story here.
EACJ dismisses petition by activists challenging EACOP’s construction
The East African Court of Justice on Wednesday dismissed a petition filed by activists in the region who oppose the construction of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), a project that has continued to face criticisms from environmental advocates.
Filed on November 6, 2023, the case challenged the construction of the oil pipeline because the project proponents failed to conduct effective and meaningful public participation and consultation.
Natural Justice (NJ), Centre for Food and Adequate Living Rights (CEFROHT), Centre for Strategic Litigation (CSL) and Africa Institute for Energy Governance (AFIEGO) filed the petition.
The organisations also asserted that neither human rights nor climate impact assessments were conducted before commencing the EACOP project. According to the organisations, this raises significant concerns regarding environmental sustainability, social justice, and climate justice.
But in its judgment on Wednesday, the EACJ upheld the preliminary objection the Tanzanian and Ugandan governments raised regarding the timeframe within which the case was filed at the EACJ.
Full story here.
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