Dar es Salaam. Good morning! The Chanzo is here with a rundown of major news stories reported in Tanzania over the weekend.
Media duped by fake news on new EAC currency
Information spreads faster on the web but misinformation spreads even faster, this is what happened over the weekend when several credible news outlets shared false information about the East Africa Community’s new currency called SHEAFRA.
This false story was first shared by an X’s (formerly Twitter) page EastAfricaGov, a page which identifies itself as a Federal Republic of East Africa Government, a non-existing entity. The page shared a note of ‘five Sheafra’, and the post went viral across multiple platforms as many people assumed it was an official presser from the East Africa Community.
What made the page seem credible is the grey tick verification badge on the page which is provided by X to the official government pages. The official X page used by the East Africa Community which runs under the handle jumuiya is not verified by X.
Read the full story here.
Private hospitals resume NHIF services amidst pricing disputes
Owners of private hospitals have announced the resumption of services to customers using the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF), a day after announcing a boycott that began on March 01, 2024. The hospitals reached this decision after disagreeing with NHIF’s decision to change the prices of various services covered by the insurance.
On the morning of March 02, 2024, The Chanzo visited various private facilities in Dar es Salaam, Mtwara, and Dodoma, NHIF cards were rejected and patients were advised to pay in cash. However, by the end of the day, hospitals have begun announcing the resumption of services for NHIF customers.
In their joint statement, the Board of Directors of the Association of Private Health Facilities (APHTA) and the Association of Private Hospitals Owners in Zanzibar (ZAPHOA) said they reached this decision after the government showed readiness to return to the negotiation table.
“We would like to emphasize that APHTA’s goal is to provide quality health services in an environment that takes into account market conditions and the reality of operating costs. Our intention is never to harm needy citizens who are NHIF members,” part of the statement read.
The National Health Insurance Fund has approximately 4.9 million users nationwide.
Mzee Rukhsa: Farewell to an African statesman
Tanzania has lost one of its greatest icons. Mzee Ali Hassan Mwinyi, affectionately known as Mzee Rukhsa among his people, is gone, announced President Samia Suluhu Hassan on February 29, 2024, declaring seven days of mourning with the national flag flying at half mast symbolic of a nation in grief.
President Mwinyi assumed the mantle of leadership in 1985 under trying moments, implored former Prime Minister Joseph Warioba, and almost everyone paid homage to this great yet humble statesman at Uhuru Stadium on Friday. The nation was in a dire economic situation, with the most essential commodities becoming luxuries.
Tanzania had its challenges, yet to recover from the damages of war, actively engaged in the liberation struggle and was not immune to the intricacies of the bipolar order. A year before, in 1984, political turmoil in the Isles culminated in the dramatic resignation of President Aboud Jumbe Mwinyi.
The circumstances in Zanzibar of 1984 brought Mzee Mwinyi to the helm of the Revolutionary Council of Zanzibar as President and its Chairman, making history later in 1985 to become President of the United Republic in an unprecedented fashion to date.
Read the full article here.
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