Dar es Salaam. Good morning! The Chanzo is here with a rundown of major news stories reported in Tanzania on Tuesday, March 05, 2024.
Fourth ACT-Wazalendo annual convention kicks off in Dar
The opposition ACT-Wazalendo party’s two-day annual convention kicked off here on Tuesday, with the theme of intra-party democracy taking a front seat in the speeches of party leaders and invited dignitaries.
The convention, the fourth one since the founding of the left-leaning political party in 2014, occurs at the Mlimani City Conference Centre, drawing the participation of party leaders from across the country from grassroots levels to national levels.
During the two days, party delegates will participate in the election of the party’s top national leaders, including a party leader, national chairperson, and deputy chairperson. Winners will be introduced to delegates on the second day of the convention, Wednesday.
The convention follows a gruelling week of activities within the party, which involved pitting candidates for various party positions against each other through debates that ACT-Wazalendo organised and moderated by some notable names in Tanzania’s journalism.
The debates among party candidates, which many described as unprecedented in the country’s 32 years of political pluralism, kicked off with the contestants for the chairmanship of the party’s Youth Wing and concluded with those who fought for the title of Party Leader.
Read the full story here
Siti Amina of Siti & The Band: The making of an icon
She has a calming tone when she talks, but her singing is raw and original. You can feel the richness and rawness of Zanzibari culture in her songs, which are usually accompanied by traditional instruments, oud, and qanun.
This is Amina Omar Juma, a 36-year-old Zanzibari musician who goes by the stage name of Siti Amina or Siti & The Band.
At a tender age, Siti developed a deep love for music. She fondly remembers joyfully dancing whenever music played at any party in her home. She started singing professionally in 2012, and that’s when she picked the name Siti Amina as her stage name.
Siti is named after her hero and the Zanzibari music legend Siti binti Saad, who lived between 1880 and 1950, toured the world, and gained global fame.
“After studying Siti binti Saad’s story,” Siti Amina said during an interview with The Chanzo, “I decided to carry on her legacy to the next generation.”
Read the full story here
Makonda unhappy with accusations he participated in assassination attempts against Lissu
Paul Makonda, the ideology and publicity secretary of the ruling Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM), is unhappy with the accusations that CHADEMA vice chairperson (Tanzania Mainland) Tundu Lissu has been levelling against him.
These include a charge that Makonda played a role in the 2017 assassination attempt against Mr Lissu. During a press conference on Tuesday, Mr Makonda accused Mr Lissu of being “unprofessional” and failing to behave like a “proper learned lawyer.”
Makonda’s remarks, prompted by a question by a journalist, followed a consistency that Mr Lissu has been applying recently in accusing the former Dar es Salaam regional commissioner of being involved in the September 7, 2017, tragic incident that’s still fresh in many Tanzanians’ memories.
During a February 16, 2024, interview with Star TV, the firebrand politician spoke at length about his feelings about Makonda’s involvement in the incident that left him with permanent disability.
“The person who led those people who attacked me was Paul Makonda when he was the Dar es Salaam regional commissioner,” said Lissu during the interview. “And I got this information from reliable sources, not small ones.”
Read the full story here
Redefining Urban Mobility: The case for Dar es Salaam’s urban railway renaissance
Dar es Salaam, the bustling heart of Tanzania, is on the cusp of transformation. In just over five years, it’s slated to join the elite ranks of megacities, credited to its rapid urbanisation and population growth.
As one of the next few megacities in Africa after Lagos, Cairo and Kinshasa, Dar es Salaam stands at the forefront of a monumental challenge: how to sustainably accommodate and move millions of residents through its crowded streets and burgeoning neighbourhoods.
The city’s response to this challenge has been the ambitious construction of the Dar es Salaam Bus Rapid Transit System, affectionately known as DART or Mwendokasi. Phase by phase, this system is unfurling its reach, from Morogoro Road to Kilwa Road, Pugu Road and beyond, aiming to ease congestion and provide reliable transport for the city’s growing populace.
However, as the concrete slabs are poured and the buses ply their routes, a nagging question lingers: will the BRT system alone suffice for a mega city like Dar es Salaam?
Read the full analysis here
This is it for today, and we hope you enjoyed our briefing. Please consider subscribing to our newsletter (see below), following us on X (Twitter) (here), or joining us on Telegram (here). And if you have any questions or comments, please drop a word to our editors at editor@thechanzo.com.
