Good morning! The Chanzo is here with a rundown of major news stories reported in Tanzania on March 05, 2025.
SADC ministers hold emergency meeting on DRC. Heads of State to convene today, March 6
Tanzania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and East Africa Cooperation, Mahmoud Thabit Kombo has chaired an extraordinary summit of the Ministerial Committee of the Organ on Politics, Defense, and Security of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) on March 05, 2025, to discuss the security situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The meeting was called for the preparation of today’s Extra-Ordinary Organ Troika Summit. The high-level meeting will bring together leaders from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), SADC member states contributing troops to the DRC, and the SADC Organ Troika to discuss the escalating crisis.
Before the ministerial summit, a meeting of the Permanent Secretaries of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence, and Security Cooperation was held for the preparation of the agenda, which was adopted by the ministerial meeting.
This development follows a Joint Chief of Defense Forces of the EAC-SADC on February 24, 2025, and a subsequent ministerial meeting on February 28, 2025.
Since the last SADC and EAC-SADC summits, the security situation in the DRC has worsened, with M23 rebels advancing from Goma, where they had appointed a new administration, to Bukavu, and also have appointed a new administration. In response, the DRC government has intensified diplomatic efforts, reaching out to allies such as the United States and European nations, leveraging its mineral resources to seek security guarantees.
Meanwhile, Rwanda has faced sanctions from the United States, Germany, and Canada over its support for M23 rebels. The United Nations has also called on Rwanda to withdraw its troops from the DRC.
Rwanda has criticized the sanctions, calling them an interference in the African-led solution to the crisis. However, tangible solutions or mitigation measures from this African-led approach have yet to be seen.
INEC highlights functionality of new BVR Kit: Runs on Android, operates offline and online, and is more portable for efficiency
The Tanzania Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) revealed to stakeholders key improvements to the Biometric Voter Registration Kit (BVR Kit), including transitioning to an Android-based system. This was during a stakeholders’ meeting in Dar es Salaam ahead of the voter register improvement exercise, which is set to take place from March 17 to March 23, 2025.
One of the major enhancements is the portability of the new kit. Compared to the 2019/2020 model, which weighed about 35 kilograms, the latest version weighs approximately 18 kilograms and includes a tablet, printer, and fingerprint scanner.
The system has also been upgraded to integrate with the NIDA database. Additionally, eligible voters can update their records online through a self-registration option. The online system will be activated two days before the voter update exercise begins in a specific region and will be deactivated two days before the exercise concludes.
To prevent duplicate registrations, the system will match voters’ fingerprints against existing records to detect any double registration attempts.
Although the new BVR Kit includes SIM card functionality, it is capable of operating entirely offline. Data collected in offline mode will be uploaded to the system once an internet connection is available, addressing connectivity challenges in remote areas.
‘Be Warned’: ACT Wazalendo will sue personally public officials involved in human rights violations against members, citizens
The opposition ACT-Wazalendo party announced Wednesday that it will go after public officials involved in human rights violations against party members as well as members of the general public by targeting them personally with legal actions, primarily lawsuits.
The party’s attorney general, Omar Said Shaaban, told journalists in Zanzibar that regional and district commissioners in the semi-autonomous archipelago have been interfering with the voter’s registration exercise, while engaging in “wanton” violation of human rights and principles of natural justice.
Mr Shaaban, who doubles as ACT Wazalendo’s central committee member, said the RCs and DCs in the isles have been using the pretext of “maintaining law and order” in their interference with the exercise while their main motivation is to “aid” the ruling Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM) in the exercise. Read the full article here
When hard work is not enough: Tanzanian women’s struggle against sextortion in the workplace
In 2017, two years after graduating without a job, Furaha Msami landed a six-month paid traineeship at a private company in Dar es Salaam, hoping to secure a full-time position. But soon after starting, her departmental manager – an older man – began making unwelcome advances.
When rejection didn’t work, his attitude shifted. He became harsh, unhelpful, and angry. “At first, I thought he was just tough on me professionally,” she says. “Then he hinted that I’d be ‘lucky’ to secure the job that other trainees were competing for. That’s when I reported him.”
His superiors warned him, but the retaliation was swift. He cut off communication, turned colleagues against her, and made the office unbearable. Msami requested a new supervisor and was reassigned to a woman. “It was a relief, but I still felt like an outcast. Some staff saw me as a snitch.”
Read the full article here
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