Dar es Salaam. Good morning! The Chanzo is here with a rundown of major news stories reported in Tanzania on Tuesday, October 18, 2022.

Queen Máxima of the Netherlands is in Tanzania for digital financial services

Her Majesty Queen Máxima is visiting Tanzania in her role as the UN Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development in an attempt to encourage more digital financial services in the East African nation.

The visit commenced on Monday, October 17 and concludes today, October 19, 2022, where Queen Máxima will meet with President Samia Suluhu Hassan together with other senior officials from her administration.

Tanzania is currently drafting its third National Financial Inclusion Framework on access to digital financial services for all Tanzanians amidst reports that more need to be done to ensure many people have access to digital financial services in the country.

According to the World Bank Group’s Global Findex database, 52 per cent of adults in Tanzania now have a bank account, compared to 17 per cent in 2011, an increase attributed to the fact that more people have a digital bank account.

However, there is still a 13 per cent gap between men with a bank account and women, to the disadvantage of women, according to the bank’s analysis.

During her visit to Tanzania, the Queen will speak with representatives of the government and of international development organisations, financial institutions – including fintech – and non-profit organisations on what else needs to be done to increase access to financial services for disadvantaged groups, according to a statement by the Royal House of the Netherlands.

“The focus will be on people on low incomes, women and small business owners (including farmers),” it reads. “In an inclusive digital economy, everyone should be able to participate.”

Topics that the Queen will discuss with President Samia  will include digital public goods, such as identity documents, digital payments and data privacy.

“These contribute to optimum use of financial services, financial inclusion and resilience, inclusive fintech and the new National Financial Inclusion Strategy,” the Queen’s office said.

The Queen will also speak with members of the Generation Equality Forum, a five-year action journey launched in 2021 under UN Women’s leadership to speed up progress towards gender equality worldwide. The forum was co-hosted by Mexico and France.

In Tanzania, the meeting will centre on ways of bridging the gap between men and women when it comes to access to financial services in that country. Queen Máxima will also speak with representatives of fintech companies about innovations to increase digital financial and economic inclusion.

Noble Helium begins soil gas survey over North Nyasa

Australian helium explorer Noble Helium has begun a soil gas survey over the North Nyasa project in Tanzania, The Market Herald reported Tuesday.

Soil gas surveying takes samples from one metre below the ground where they are assessed for helium and other useful gases such as nitrogen and methane.

This method is an indicator of helium and other gases potentially trapped deeper underground.

The North Nyasa survey is expected to take one month with a detailed analysis of the data to be completed and combined with the legacy exploration data to develop a maiden prospective resource estimate.

“The Soil Gas Survey team have been doing an excellent job at the North Rukwa project and have now shifted their operations down to the North Nyasa project,” The Market Herald quoted Mr Justyn Wood, Co-Founder and CEO of Noble Helium as saying.

“The North Nyasa Project has a very similar geological setting to North Rukwa, which as we have seen is highly prospective for helium.

“The data that we acquire from this survey is a critical next step in being able to produce a maiden prospective resource estimate for North Nyasa,” he added.

Tanzania, Saudi Arabia share knowledge, experience in policing

Home Affairs Minister Hamad Masauni recently visited the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia where he was hosted by the Dubai Police “within the framework of sharing knowledge and experience between” the Middle Eastern nation and Tanzania, according to a report by Emirates News Agency.

At the Dubai General HQ, the Commander-in-Chief of Dubai Police, Lieutenant General Abdullah Khalifa Al Marri, welcomed Mr Masauni in the presence of Major General Abdullah Ali Al Ghaithi, Assistant Commander-in-Chief for Operations Affairs, Major General Saif Muhair Al Mazroui, Director of Traffic Department and other senior officers, according to the report.

Lt. Gen. Al Marri and Mr Masauni discussed a number of common interests in security and policing, including ways to cement cooperation and coordination between both sides.

Mr Masauni visited the Command and Control Centre, where he was briefed on the latest services and initiatives that enhance security and safety in the emirate, Emirates News Agency reported.

He also learned about the centre’s equipment and latest additions, such as the 3D map that covers Dubai and the patrol dispatching system that ensures swift and efficient response to reports and emergency calls.

Masauni also toured the General Department of Traffic and was introduced to the services that Dubai Police offers in Road Security Control and the Force’s role in reducing accident and fatality rates by organising awareness campaigns and launching community initiatives to ensure road safety.

He also visited the operations room at the General Department of Traffic, where he learned about the emirate’s smart monitoring systems in traffic management.

He was also briefed on the mechanism of the smart CCTVs that are programmed and used to detect road violators and issue fines automatically, which are after that sent to the traffic control unit.

Masauni expressed his appreciation for the warm reception and praised Dubai Police’s utilising of the latest technologies, according to reports.

This is it for today and we hope you enjoyed our briefing. Please consider subscribing to our newsletter (see below) or following us on Twitter (here) or joining us on Telegram (here). And in case you have any questions or comments, please consider dropping a word to our editors at editor@thechanzo.com