Dar es Salaam. Good morning! The Chanzo is here with a rundown of major news stories reported in Tanzania on Thursday, March 14, 2024.
Samia hosts Museveni, Ruto in an unannounced meeting over EAC integration
President Samia Suluhu Hassan hosted Kenyan President William Ruto and Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni in a surprise meeting regarding the East Africa Community (EAC) integration talks. The meeting took place in Tunguu, Zanzibar.
According to a post by the Tanzania State House, the three leaders discussed the urgent need to accelerate the collection of citizens’ views on the structure and key areas of the draft constitution of the EAC Political Confederation. This exercise has already been completed in Burundi, Uganda, and Kenya.
Speaking about the meeting, Uganda’s President, Yoweri Museveni said, “The discussion was centered on the significance of the East African Community (EAC) attaining political federation, which would most certainly guarantee the prosperity of our people.”
On the other hand, President Ruto said that the discussion was focused on the fast tracking of the federation.
The East African Community was re-established on July 7, 2000. Among the three presidents who signed the treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community, President Museveni is the only one who remains in power. He has consistently advocated for realizing the vision of the EAC’s founding fathers, the full integration of the region.
The meeting in Tunguu occurred nearly two weeks after President William Ruto, along with Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga, met with President Museveni. Many have characterized the meeting’s purpose as to secure Museveni’s endorsement of Odinga for the chairmanship of the African Union Commission.
It was later revealed the meeting was also used to mend the relationship between the two countries, Kenya and Uganda, which has been strained due to business disputes. And Museveni himself hinted that there were talks about the EAC.
The meeting between the three presidents brought to memory the coalition of the willing. Noticing the reluctance of Tanzania to accept some of the EAC integration proposals, between 2013 and 2015, Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda were aligning in the unity described as a ‘coalition of the willing’, but the unity foiled following the disagreements over business interests, such as the Uganda oil pipeline.
While the EAC Community is much broader now with the addition of South Sudan, DRC Congo, and Somalia, the three founders, Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania still hold much of the political and financial weight. It is expected that an agreement among them will catalyze momentum on any agenda they collectively endorse.
Experts discuss ways banks can increase contribution to Tanzania’s economy
Tanzania’s bankers are having trouble figuring out how to increase their contribution to the economy, reaching the goal of at least ten per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP), a goal that has become distant despite bank growth and windfall profits.
While total bank assets are about 28 per cent of the total GDP, the current contribution of the Tanzanian banks to the economy is about 3.2 per cent of the GDP at the current price, which has been declining over the years.
Reflecting on this situation, Chief Executive Officer of the Tanzania Commercial Bank Adam Mihayo says this is because the banks have not been directing credit to productive sectors of the economy.
“When you look at the contribution of the banking sector to economic growth, it was very minimal, less than five per cent. This has made us think deeply,” said Mr Mihayo during the national tax conference on February 28, 2024, at the Julius Nyerere International Conference Centre (JNICC), in Dar es Salaam.
“One observation is that a large portion of loans issued are personal loans, especially for employees in formal employment,” he added. More than thirty per cent of these loans have gone to individuals.”
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Two arrested for publishing ‘false’ information about Govt officials on social media
Police said Thursday that they were holding two people accused of publishing and circulating “false” information on social media about senior government officials, which the law enforcement agency said was against the laws of the land.
Dar es Salaam Special Zone Police Commander Jumanne Muliro told journalists that thirty-five-year-old Obadia Kwitega from Kigamboni and twenty-eight-year-old Issa Mwamba from Tabata Segerea run a YouTube account, Jamii Digital, which publishes “false” information.
Muliro said on February 6, 2024, Jamii Digital published a story titled ‘January Makamba’s clandestine strategy to remove President Samia [from power] in 2025,’ which he said was “false.” Muliro said that Kwitega and Mwamba also owned an X account, @sukununu01, which also publishes “false” information.
“The two used the two platforms to publish and circulate false and seditious information, including those concerning senior government officials,” Mr Muliro told journalists.
Thursday’s reports by the police have come almost a week since rumours circulated online, particularly on social media platform X, that a person running the @sukununu01 account on the platform has been arrested, but nobody can confirm them.
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