Dar es Salaam. Good morning! The Chanzo is here with a rundown of major news stories reported in Tanzania on Friday.

CJ Juma: TZ’s advocate laws irrelevant in 21st century

Tanzania’s Chief Justice Prof Ibrahim Hamis Juma said yesterday that both the Advocate Act and the Tanganyika Law Society Act were enacted to respond to the needs of the 20th century, urging the new advocates who were admitted to the bar yesterday to find ways through which they can make the pieces of legislation respond to the needs of the 21st century.

Speaking during the admission ceremony that took place in Dar es Salaam, Prof Juma pointed out that Tanzania is facing totally new challenges now than it used to in 1954 when the laws were enacted with their content, objectives and expectations no longer relevant to the 21st century.

“So the main issue with these laws is that they were not enacted to respond to the needs of the 21st century in which we live,” said Prof Juma to the newly admitted lawyers and advocates. “It is thus your responsibility as lawyers and advocates to make sure that during the course of your work you direct the laws at solving our century’s problems.”

Prof Juma called the 21st century “the Fourth Industrial Revolution century” led by “[Information and Communications Technologies] ICTs.” He said that unlike in the past where employment was guaranteed to lawyers and advocates, now they have to look for available opportunities in Tanzania and invest in them.

“But for you to be able to see these opportunities you will have to have competencies, skills, and qualities that are not in your certificates,” Prof Juma told the advocates who were listening attentively. “If it is possible, put the certificates aside and look for additional skills that would help you in the 21st century.”

Speaking on the sideline of the admission ceremony the Tanganyika Law Society (TLS) President Dr Edward Hoseah echoed CJ Juma’s sentiments, adding that Tanzania now needs a serious debate on the relevance of the advocate laws in the context of the 21st century.

“I’ve got a few things to say to our learned advocates. The first is that they have to think beyond. It is not enough to study laws,” said former Tanzania’s anti-corruption tsar. “They must explore opportunities available in the growing digital market in Tanzania. It is also important for the newly admitted advocates to maintain ethics and integrity of the legal profession.”

Over 100 houses to be demolished for road-widening project

Tanzania Roads Agency (TANROADS) in Tarime, Mara region is planning to demolish more than 100 residential and commercial housing units, including the one belonging to the former Chief of Defense Forces the late General Ernest Mwita Kiaro, which exist within 22.5 metres from each side of the road between Tarime Urban and Nywamwaga in order to pave the way for a road-widening project.

According to ITV Tanzania, TANROADS has already issued a 30 days notice to the owners of the houses to have the units demolished. The notice will expire on July 25, 2021. The distressed citizens have asked the government to cancel its plan, saying that they have been living in the area for over forty years in total compliance of the country’s laws and regulations, like paying property tax.

“Why is the government doing this to us?” cried Ms Rebeca Nyakiha, one of the people ordered to demolish their houses, during an interview with ITV Tanzania. “They’re ordering us to demolish our houses and if we don’t they will come to do that for a fee.” There will be no compensation because the government says the occupants ‘invaded’ the area, the residents said.

Mara TANROADS manager Mlima Ngaile told ITV Tanzania that the houses have to be pulled down because it has already been decided that the road has to be widened.

In Dar es Salaam too, TANROADS has issued a 30-day notice to residents of Kimara, in the city’s district of Ubungo to demolish their units that exist in the area between Kimara Bucha and Kimara Resort.

The notice, seen by The Chanzo, is dated July 9, 2021. TANROADS says the units will be demolished to pave the way for a road widening project from Kimara Bucha and Kimara Resort. Some residents of Kimara reported on Twitter yesterday that their houses have already been marked for demolition.

Frustrations over the new mobile money levy 

Mobile money operators are expected to align their tariff systems to introduce the new government levies on mobile money transactions and airtime as provided by The  Finance Act, 2021. In various spaces stakeholders from the leading mobile money operators have informed  that they are waiting for a circular from the government to clarify on which transactions the new levy will be added, as it is not practical to apply levy on every transaction.

The Citizen quoted an anonymous source from one of Tanzania’s leading mobile money operators who explained that if the proposed changes are approved, sending Sh1 million to someone and having it withdrawn will cost a total of Sh31,000 if all the current and new charges are added up from just Sh12,400 people used to pay in the past.

Many people online reacted negatively to the news, with some saying that they’ll now go back to old fashion ways of sending money physically or using public transports. Government is expected to collect about sh. 1.65 trillion from this new levy which will be allocated to water projects, rural roads, higher education loans, education infrastructures, health and on the standard gauge railways.

One of the push that made the government introduce the levy is the pressure to complete some of the cash driven projects such as the standard gauge railways with  its initial phase costing up to sh7.1 trillion, the Julius Nyerere Hydro Power Project (JNHPP) which will cost up to sh6.55 trillion and so far 2.49 trillion has been paid and as well as the government initiative to revive the government owned airline, which has so far costed sh. 1.2 trillion in buying eight planes. In the budget year 2021/2022 government has allocated sh450 billion which among other things is expected to pay for the five additional planes including; the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, cargo plane Boeing 767-300, Dash 8 Q400 and two Airbus A220-300.

Man arrested for killing his brother who stopped him from raping sister-in-law

Police in Arusha are holding thirty-four-year-old Melita Ndaletyan for allegedly killing his thirty-eight-year-old brother Kiseri Ndaletyan after the latter stopped the former from raping the wife of their unnamed senior brother, the city’s police commander Justine Maseju told journalists during a press conference yesterday.

During the incident that took place on July 8, 2021, in the village of Naamalasin, in the Arusha district of Longido, Melita allegedly cut Kiseri’s throat with a sharp object leading to his death. Maseju told journalists that the two, who are pastoralists, were living in one house and at night Melita wanted to rape his sister-in-law whose husband was away.

Thanks for reading this briefing. The best way to make sure you see these briefings is to subscribe to our newsletter (see below) or follow us on Twitter here.  In case of any question or comment, please contact our editors at editor@thechanzo.com.