Dar es Salaam. Good morning! The Chanzo is here with a rundown of major news stories reported in Tanzania on Tuesday, February 26, 2024.

Tanzania: Starlink is finalizing processes to get permits

Tanzania Minister of Information, Communication, and Information Technology, Nape Nnauye said that they are waiting for Starlink to finalize the final steps for them to receive a permit.

“They are completing the final steps to obtain permits, once they fulfill all the procedures, they can launch their services. We are waiting for them to complete the procedures,” said Nnauye in an X post.

Starlink has been a trending topic in Tanzania since February 05, 2023, when Elon Musk said that they were waiting for the Tanzania government’s approval to launch Starlink in the country.

In March 2023, the Tanzania government said that one of the requirements for Starlink to launch its services is having a physical office in the country for responding to and solving customer queries.

Starlink’s website shows that the Tanzania service launch is planned for quarter two of 2024. In Africa, the service is operational in Rwanda, Nigeria, Kenya, Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique, Mauritius as well as Mayotte and Reunion islands.

CCM members reflection: ‘At 47 the party needs a rebirth’

On February 05, 2024, Tanzania’s ruling party, CCM, commemorated its 47th anniversary since its founding in 1977. The Chanzo has spoken to 27 members of the party to gather reflections on this milestone. The majority of the individuals interviewed hold positions ranging from the lower hamlet level to the national level.

We asked them three questions: what they perceive as the major successes of CCM in the last 47 years, the challenges the party currently faces, and where they envision CCM in the next fifty years.

In terms of ranking, the majority of the members mentioned social services and infrastructure development as the main successes of CCM. The second most mentioned success was the party’s continuous tenure in power over the last 47 years. Following closely in third place was the party’s role in maintaining national unity, peace, tranquility, and social cohesion.

Read the full story here

Tanzania port signs 678 billion deal with a consortium of Chinese firms for construction of oil tanks

Tanzania Port Authority has on yesterday signed a Tshs. 678.6 billion agreement with a consortium of China Railway Major Bridge Engineering Group Co.Ltd and WUHUAN Engineering Co. Ltd for the construction of 15 oil tankers at the Dar es Salaam port.

The construction work is expected to take about 24 months, and the total capacity of oil tankers is about 420,000 cubic meters.

At the moment the port has two oil terminals, the single point Mooring (SPM) which is an offshore tanker for handling exclusively crude and refined oil with a pumping capacity of 2,500 cubic meters per hour for crude oil and 150,000 deadweight tons. Kurasini Oil Jetty (KOJ) is for handling refined oil products with a pumping capacity of 750 tons per hour and 45,000 deadweights.

At the moment there is a great capacity gap at the port as fuel import has increased from 300,000 tons imported per month to 600,000 tons. Due to this capacity gap fuel loss stands at 1 percent instead of the standard 0.25 percent.

Zitto Kabwe: Tanzania’s main problem is political immaturity

Zitto Kabwe, the leader of the opposition party ACT Wazalendo, has been exceptionally busy lately, from engaging with the media and participating in ad hoc discussions with various groups to a tight party schedule, which is preparation for his completion of party leadership in March 2024.

Aside from the usual politicking about his party which he has led since 2014, the 47-year-old politician has recently been tackling wide-ranging issues in Tanzania politicking.

On February 23, 2024, Kabwe was hosted by Uongozi Institute to discuss the book by Sumei Tang, Eliyathamby A. Selvanathan, and Saroja Selvanathan China Economic Miracles: Does FDI Matter?

An economist by profession, Mr Kabwe highlighted several issues that hinder Tanzania from enacting its economic miracle, such as the lack of institutional consistency in planning, where he cited Tanzania’s shift from its gas-centred electricity master plan, which was on track to building a new dam as one of many examples.

In concluding his talk, Kabwe delved into a discussion around country politics, where he emphasised that Tanzania’s main issue at the moment is “immature politics” among actors involved, from the ruling Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM) to the country’s opposition parties.

Read the full story here

Zanzibar remove VAT on sugar to curb shortage

Zanzibar government has announced the removal of 15 percent VAT on sugar as the country is preparing to enter Ramadan month. This was announced yesterday by Zanzibar President Hussein Mwinyi following his meeting with several government agencies.

“Imported sugar has increased significantly in price; it used to be bought for one ton at $500, now it has reached $750 and is heading towards 800. So, if we leave it with the same tax when it is imported the price will be very high,” said Mwinyi.

“And it has already started to be high because of the shortage in [Tanzania] mainland as well. We have decided that from now until the prices stabilize, we are removing the Value Added Tax (VAT) on sugar.” The annual demand for sugar in Zanzibar is about 30,000 tons while internal production is at 10,000 tons, the gap is filled with imported sugar.