Good morning! The Chanzo is here with a rundown of major news stories reported in Tanzania on Thursday, January 18, 2024.
Stakeholders rattled as more govt primary schools transform into English mediums
Some education stakeholders in Tanzania have raised the alarm over what they consider an “unprecedented” transformation of public primary schools into English mediums, warning against the perpetuation of class divisions in providing public education services in the country.
The stakeholders, some of whom have been actively working in Tanzania’s education sector for decades, have accused the government, which has been allowing such changes, of “double standards” over the medium of instruction in public schools, with others going as far as claiming that the transformations are “unconstitutional.”
They have noted with concerns the growing interest among public primary school managers to transform the schools into English mediums, a wave they claim has swept the country in recent years, further threatening to “erode” the already “sorrowful” state of public education in the East African nation.
Full story here.
Tanzania orders C-27J Spartan transport aircraft from Italy’s Leonardo
Tanzania has ordered two C-27J Spartan transport aircraft from Italy’s Leonardo, becoming the fifth African customer for the aircraft after Chad, Kenya, Morocco and Zambia, it has been reported.
According to reports, Leonardo and the Tanzanian Ministry of Defence celebrated the purchase on January 9, 2023, attended by the Tanzanian Minister of Defence and National Service, Stergomena Tax, and Italian Ambassador to Tanzania, Marco Lombardi.
Reports suggest that the deal will see Tanzania use the aircraft primarily for civil support duties, as the aircraft will be equipped with kits for humanitarian, search and rescue, and firefighting missions. One of their roles will be for firefighting operations on Mount Kilimanjaro and in the East African region.
Full story here.
Who will likely succeed Zitto Kabwe as ACT-Wazalendo’s party leader?
After serving ACT-Wazalendo for almost a decade and seeing the leftist party grow significantly in membership and popularity, Zitto Kabwe is set to step down as a party leader in the upcoming party elections in March 2024, a decision the firebrand opposition figure announced on November 23, 2023.
Since the announcement, several names have been discussed as the most likely successor of Mr Kabwe, whose leadership will be remembered for, among other things, successfully convincing the late Seif Sharif Hamad and his faction to join ACT-Wazalendo on March 18, 2018, from the Civic United Front (CUF), following internal conflicts.
Such names include Ismael Jussa, a prominent Zanzibari politician currently serving as the party’s central committee member; the party’s current deputy chairperson (Tanzania Mainland) Dorothy Semu; the party’s secretary-general Ado Shaibu; and Othman Masoud Othman, the party’s deputy chairperson (Zanzibar) and the archipelago’s First Vice President.
Full analysis here.
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