Dar es Salaam. Good morning! The Chanzo is here with a rundown of major news stories reported in Tanzania over the weekend.
MV Mwanza, the locally-manufactured vessel, launches operations in Lake Victoria
The much anticipated MV Mwanza launched its operations in the waters of Lake Victoria on Sunday, with a number of senior government officials taking part in the launching ceremony.
Named ‘Hapa Kazi Tu’, MV Mwanza is a 1200-passenger ship under construction at Mwanza shipyard. The ship shall be powered by twin engines, each developing 2380 kW.
The vessel is 92 m long, with a beam (width) of 17m. In addition to over 1000 passengers, the ship shall be freighting 400 tonnes of general cargo, 20 cars and three (3) trucks.
The building of the ship started on September 3, 2018, when the contract was signed between Tanzania and the South Korean company, GASEntec in collaboration with the KANGNAM shipyard, also from South Korea won the tender.
The newly-launched MV Mwanza weighs 3500 tonnes and it will ply between Mwanza and Bukoba ports in Tanzania as well as Kisumu port of Kenya and Port Bell in the Nakawa Division of Kampala, in Uganda.
CDF Mkunda holds talks with Oman’s Deputy PM for Defence Affairs
The Chief of Defence Forces of Tanzania People’s Defence Forces (TPDF) General Jacob Nkunda on Sunday met and held talks with Oman’s Deputy Prime Minister for Defence Affairs Sayyid Shihab bin Tarik Al Said.
According to reports by the Omani press, Al Said received General Nkunda and his military delegation in his office at Al Murtafaa Garrison.
The reports suggested that the meeting reviewed the advanced relations between the two countries. The two sides also exchanged views on a spectrum of topics of mutual interest.
The meeting was attended by Oman’s Vice Admiral Abdullah Khalis Al Ra’eesi, Chief of Staff of the Sultan’s Armed Forces and the Tanzanian Ambassador to the Sultanate of Oman.
Govt beefs up border surveillance as cholera kills over 1,200 in Malawi
the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Health Dr Abel Makubi has said that the government has beefed up surveillance measures at health facilities and communities along the border with Malawi to control the spread of cholera to the east African nation.
Dr Makubi told Xinhua in a telephone interview that the measures included active search and follow-up for suspected cholera cases along the border with Malawi and health education to the community on cholera prevention.
Makubi was reacting to reports by the World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday saying the deadliest cholera outbreak in Malawi’s history has killed at least 1,210 people, while vaccines remain scarce as several other African nations reported outbreaks of the disease.
WHO said it assessed the current risk of a spread inside Malawi and to other neighbouring countries and termed it as “very high.”
But Makubi said healthcare workers along the border have been trained in case identification, surveillance and case management.
He mentioned other measures as emphasizing the placement of hand washing facilities in public places along the border and hand washing practices, including at points of entry.
He said health facilities in the border districts have been provided with cholera rapid tests, adding that there was also frequent testing of water sources and sensitization on the treatment of water for domestic use.
“All these measures are being overseen by regional health management and district health management teams in consultation with the Ministry of Health,” said Makubi.
According to WHO, Malawi’s neighbour Zambia has also reported cases of cholera, as have Burundi, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria and Somalia.
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