Dar es Salaam. Good morning! The Chanzo is here with a rundown of major news stories reported in Tanzania on Thursday, February 3, 2022.
Samia holds talks with IFC’s Makhtar Diop
President Samia Suluhu Hassan on Thursday met and held talks with the Managing Director of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, where the two discussed ways to support Tanzania’s private sector.
Mr Diop is visiting Tanzania for what the IFC has described as “for talks on economic growth and recovery.” Apart from meeting with President Samia, Mr Diop also met with Finance and Planning Minister Mwigulu Nchemba. He is also scheduled to meet with Tanzanian business leaders in the capital Dodoma.
“I had a brief but important visit to Tanzania today,” Mr Diop, who became the IFC boss on March 1, 2021, said in a Twitter post on Thursday. “Productive discussion with [Her Excellency] President Samia Suluhu Hassan about how the IFC supporting the private sector to create jobs; expanding lending to small and medium businesses; and empowering the country’s entrepreneurs.”
According to a statement by IFC, the organisation has recently supported projects in Tanzania’s housing and manufacturing sectors. Since 2015, the statement added, IFC has invested more than $300 million in Tanzania’s agriculture, light manufacturing, and infrastructure sectors, among others.
According to IFC, Tanzania’s economy is growing and the country is accelerating its recovery from COVID-19 shocks, which slowed growth and harmed important sectors including tourism and trade.
“The private sector has a significant role to play supporting Tanzania’s recovery and helping it build a strong, sustainable foundation for future growth,” the organisation pointed out its statement.
A statement by the deputy director of presidential communications Jaffar Haniu said yesterday that President Samia congratulated Mr Diop and his delegation for their visit to the country and for IFC’s continued support to Tanzania’s private sector.
Shares of UK-based exploration firm Edenville Energy rise after contract agreed to for Tanzania project
Shares in Edenville Energy PLC traded up 12 per cent on Thursday after the company said that it has entered into a contract with Nextgen Coalmine Ltd. for the operation of the Rukwa coal project in Tanzania, business website MarketWatch reported.
According to the report, at 1340 GMT, shares in the London-listed energy company were up 2.75 pence at 25.25 pence.
The initial one-year agreement replaces prior agreements that have now been terminated and Nextgen Coalmine will take over operations with immediate effect, MarketWatch said.
In December, around 803 tons of washed coal was processed at Rukwa, a decrease from the November figure of 1,125 tons, which reflected shutdowns over the Christmas and New Year holiday period.
“With Nextgen absorbing the costs of production, Edenville’s Tanzanian operations will now become profitable immediately with respect to any coal produced and sold from Rukwa,” the company’s CEO Alistair Muir was quoted as saying.
“It is expected that Nextgen will originate new customers of Rukwa coal, especially given the increasing demand both within Tanzania and the surrounding regions, to complement the established existing and potential order book,” Muir added.
Zanzibar’s Mwinyi fires five senior government officials
Zanzibar President Hussein Mwinyi on Thursday fired five senior government officials in what appears to be the leader’s efforts to get rid of ‘underperfoming’ officials.
A statement released on Thursday by Chief Secretary Zena Ahmed Said announced the dismissal of the Education and Vocational Training Minister’s Director of Personnel and Operations, Omar Ali Omar, and his Institute of Education counterpart Suleiman Yahya Ame.
Other dismissed officials include Labour Commissioner in the President’s Office, Labour, Economy and Investments Fatma Iddi Ali; Director of Gender and Children in the Ministry of Health, Social Welfare, Elderly, Gender and Children Najima Haji Choum; and Senior Administration Officer-In-Charge, Pemba, in the Ministry of Information, Youth, Culture and Sports, Salum Ubwa Nassor.
While the statement was silent on the reason that might have been behind the dismissal, the decision came hardly after four days since President Mwinyi admitted that there was a problem of underperformance within his government, promising to change the situation.
“We entrusted people with the task but it seems some have failed,” he said on January 31, 2022, during a press conference in Zanzibar. “We have both good and poor performers but sincerely, women are doing better than men.”
Process to get Tulia’s replacement for deputy speaker position initiated
The Parliament of Tanzania said on Thursday that elections for the deputy speaker will be conducted on February 11, 2022, to fill a vacant position left by Dr Tulia Akson who was recently appointed Speaker of the National Assembly.
In a statement, the Parliamentary Communications and International Relations Office said that political parties are required to submit names of their candidates wishing to contest for the post by February 10, 2022.
“Every political party represented in the parliament has the right to participate in the elections in accordance with Article 85 (1) of the Constitution,” the statement said. “Parties that intend to take part in the election are cordially advised to begin the process of searching for right candidates.”
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