Dar es Salaam. Good morning! The Chanzo is here with a rundown of major news stories reported in Tanzania on Wednesday, August 16, 2023.
Tanzania cries foul over reports on the arrest of DP World port deal critics: ‘Gross misrepresentation’
The government Wednesday described the ongoing reports condemning the arrest of the critics of the Tanzania-Dubai intergovernmental agreement as a result of a failure by their authors to differentiate between criticism of the deal and the rule of law.
Nape Nnauye, the Minister for Information, Communication and Information Technology, said in a statement that no one has been arrested for criticising the deal approved by the parliament on June 10, 2023. Instead, those arrested have violated the country’s laws.
“The police arrested the three individuals in question for making specific public threats of a serious criminal nature, which include calling for the violent overthrow of the government of the day,” Mr Nnauye, who doubles as Mtama MP (Chama cha Mapinduzi – CCM), said.
The three individuals are a former ambassador to Tanzania Wilbrod Peter Slaa, advocate Boniface Mwabukusi, and activist Mpaluka Said Nyagali who remain in detention as they allegedly face treason charges after calling for non-stop nationwide rallies to oppose the Tanzania-Dubai deal.
Full story here.
USAID donates US$29.5m for conservation in western Tanzania
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has generously donated US$29.5 million (Sh47 billion) to support conservation efforts led by the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) in western Tanzania.
This contribution marks another step in USAID’s ongoing collaboration with JGI to uphold conservation initiatives in Tanzania and worldwide, to preserve the fragile ecosystem and safeguard endangered chimpanzees.
JGI is in the final stages of a five-year, US$19.9 million (Sh45 billion) project known as the USAID-funded Landscape Conservation in Western Tanzania (LCWT) activity.
The official signing ceremony for the grant was held in Dar es Salaam on August 16, 2023, and was graced by Dr Jane Goodall and the US Ambassador to Tanzania, Michael A. Battle Sr.
Full story here.
How can Tanzania’s youth organisations build capacity for effective civic education?
In today’s rapidly evolving world, young people’s role in shaping their societies’ future has become more crucial than ever before. Recognising this, youth organisations in Tanzania have emerged as powerful platforms for channelling young people’s energy, creativity, and passion towards positive civic engagement, leadership, and decision-making.
To effectively empower youth to participate in such critical processes, these youth organisations must possess the right capacities. During the recently-concluded 2023 Tanzania National Youth Forum in Dodoma, I spoke about my experience working with the Ajenda ya Vijana consortium.
Given the issue’s importance, I also decided to share those thoughts for wider public consumption here; as we seek to improve the country’s youth organisations’ capacity to play a significant role in civic education and empower young leaders.
Remembering that a fundamental pillar of effective civic education is empowering young leaders with essential skills is important. Therefore, the emerging generation of leaders must be equipped with the tools to construct compelling arguments and engage in critical thinking.
Full analysis here.
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