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From MARC NKWAME in Arusha, 30th July 2011 @ 12:02, Total Comments: 0, Hits: 2481

HIS Highness the Aga Khan has reiterated his intention to establish a network of higher learning institutions in East Africa including the proposed modern university campus in Arusha.

Speaking here during His Highness’ visit to the East African Community Secretariat, Aga Khan revealed that the US$ 450-million (8 trillion/-) complex will be developed over the next 15 years.

In developing the multiple campuses and new programmes in Arusha and Nairobi, Aga Khan University will invest over US$700 million in the region over the next fifteen years, providing direct employment to approximately 4,000 people on an ongoing basis.

Already, one third of the students attending the existing AKU campuses are from East Africa. At full capacity, the new East Africa campuses will educate 3000 students.

The Secretary General of the East African Community, Dr Richard Sezibera, held talks with His Highness the Aga Khan, Chairman of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) on Thursday when His Highness paid a courtesy call on the SG.

He briefed the EAC officials about the ongoing several Aga Khan Development Network projects in East Africa including the inauguration of the US$ 50 million Aga Khan University (AKU) Hospital’s Heart and Cancer Centre in Nairobi, the laying of foundation stone of the AKU Graduate School of Media and Communications in Nairobi and the ongoing construction of a modern university campus in Arusha.

The Secretary General hailed His Highness the Aga Khan for conceptualizing the University of East Africa campus in Arusha, Tanzania which he said would contribute to the creation of an East African identity.

“Your Highness, your vision is very exciting and compelling and we (the East African Community) support these noble objectives meant to develop the region as a unit,” said Dr Sezibera.

The Secretary General called for the need for the Community to work closely with AKDN in the areas of education, research and healthcare. The two sides agreed to form a coordinating team to explore further the areas of collaboration between AKDN and the EAC.

His Highness the Aga Khan was accompanied by the President of the Aga Khan University in Kenya, Mr Firoz Rasul; the Resident Representative of AKDN in Uganda, Mr Mahmood H. Ahmed; and Mr Shafik Sachedina, AKDN’s Director of Diplomatic Services.

The Secretary General was accompanied by his Deputy in charge of Productive and Social Sectors, Mr Jean Claude Nsengiyumva; the Principal Education Officer, Mr Aloysius Chebet; and other senior officials.

The Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), which was founded by His Highness the Aga Khan, the 49th hereditary Imam (spiritual leader) of the Ismaili Muslims, is a group of private, non-denominational development agencies working to empower communities and individuals to improve living conditions and opportunities, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, Central and South Asia, and the Middle East.

The Network’s nine development agencies focus on social, cultural and economic development for all citizens, regardless of gender, origin or religion. The AKDN’s underlying ethic is compassion for the vulnerable in society. Its annual budget for philanthropic activity is in excess of US$ 600 million.

http://www.dailynews.co.tz

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By PIUS RUGONZIBWA, 30th August 2011 @ 12:22, Total Comments: 1, Hits: 857

A JAPANESE firm, Kajima Construction Corporation, has agreed to rebuild a 10-km stretch of a road in Dar es Salaam, following an adverse report by a team of experts who probed the work undertaken by the contractor.

The Minister for Works, Dr John Magufuli, said in the city on Tuesday that the experts have reported that the work done of the 10-km stretch along Kilwa Road was sub-standard and needed massive repairs.

Dr Magufuli told a news conference that Kajima has agreed to the report issued by experts from Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA), Tanzania Roads Agency (TANROADS) and the Ministry of Works.

"The experts revealed massive technical and engineering defects. Kajima Corporation has already sent a letter of apology and in fact top bosses of the firm in Japan have been very co-operative on the matter.

"It has been agreed in principle that the road will be re-constructed to rectify all the defects on the road," the minister said.

The news conference was also attended by his Deputy Dr Harisson Mwakyembe, the Japanese Ambassador to Tanzania, Mr Hiroshi Nakagawa, the Commercial Attache at the Embassy Mr Yukinori Seki and TANROADS Chief Executive Officer, Mr Patrick Mfugale.

Dr Magufuli said despite the fact that Tanzania has been receiving enormous supports from Japan, it was not ready to accept sub-standard works by Japanese construction firms.

"This is the reason we have refused to accept the road until the defects were worked out," he said. He said to ensure the work resumes with anticipated quality the project consultant, Messrs Engerosec, has been suspended with immediate effect.

He said the ministry would continue to supervise development of the project expected to start within the next two months. Dr Magufuli said originally the construction costs was pegged at 30bn/-, but the actual value for the repair works would be determined by the contractor.

"It is our hope that by October 20, the costing exercise will be completed and civil works are expected to start. We want to make sure the road is going to be built according to recommended specifications and meets value for money," he insisted.

Ambassador Nakagawa said his country and the Embassy was concerned over the issue and assured the government of maximum co-operation.

He said billion of money to execute the project were from Japanese tax-payers and the government of Japan will hold the contractor responsible for the loss suffered.

Meanwhile, Dr Magufuli announced yesterday that feasibility studies on a fly-over at TAZARA junction was ready and the Ministry will soon float tenders for construction work.

http://dailynews.co.tz

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When Chante rocked Dar at the ‘Soul Session’
Thursday, 01 September 2011 22:29


Diva Chante Moore

It was glitz and glamour as the glitterati of up-market Dar es Salaam converged at the Movenpick Hotel to witness a unique event that was happening in the city as we marked the end of Ramadhan. The event at hand was the ‘Soul Session’ with Chante Moore which attracted hundreds of music enthusiasts to the five-star venue.As she later on confirmed, it was her first ever performance in this part of the world despite having been to other parts of Africa before.

Alongside the celebrated American diva were Tanzania’s own homegrown talent in the names of Linah Sanga, Barnabas Elias, AVID and the soulful Grace Matata.The multi racial and celebrity audience was one that included the high and the mighty from the corporate world to the tourists who were all yearning for some entertainment.

Having gone through a dry spell in the entertainment industry in past four weeks as many observed the Holy month, there couldn’t have been a greater platform than this one.The sitting arrangement and the décor did all the magic as the red and white which were the colours of the night blended with the general beauty of the arena.
The fashion sense was high especially among the fairer gender who by all standards outdid their male counterparts in that department.

To which I think unless brothers do something in the long run we shall need some affirmative action to get to equal levels.
A paisley get-up here, a mini skirt there, and some didn’t mind throwing in jump suits in the mix as well. But in general the ever trend LBD (Little Black Dress) ruled the night as the belles chatted and danced the night away in style.

But that does not mean that there wasn’t one of those awkward moments like this chic who wore a crisp white dress with black leggings and some red shoes, she looked kind of weird, but all the same that is what showbiz has always been about.
To say the least there were some necks (read men) that kept craning because apart from the great dress sense there were also nice scents in the air from the beauties. The performances that followed were breath taking as the current crop of THT recruits set the ball rolling with some soulful renditions of some of the popular hits around.

They were followed by young Grace Matata who led her M-Band through of set which included one song that is yet to be released.
Listening to Grace brings in that tinge of a Tracey Chapman on stage especially as she coasted through her last hit ‘Free Soul’ that brought cheers from the audience.
May be this could sound like so huge and distant a comparison but, gauging from the applause she got ,she is far more mature as an artiste than what her age might suggest.

She was to be followed by another deep voiced revelation in the music industry called AVID (A Voice I deserve) who just swept the female fans off their feet. This lad was not only well dressed but even his vocal range made his performance a crowd puller as he sang songs like, ‘An Ode to the Woman I love’, ‘Far Away’ and ‘The Way we Were Before’.

Having started off with some of the little known faces, THT graduates Linah and Barnaba were to set the stage for the soul diva Chante Moore as each did a four-song set performance including their up-coming singles.
By this point the stage was for the 44-year-old diva who had arrived the same evening given her commitments in Johannesburg where she featured at the Pop Idols.

She went straight to business after the props set up the stage which took some while as the DJ went through some of the mixes.
Dressed in a one shoulder animal prints mini-dress, with her age-defying smile, Chante then came on stage through the unorthodox direction.

At 44, Chante still looked relatively young and could have easily passed for a 20 something and neither did her singing give her away as her voice pierced the dark Dar es Salaam night.

The 55-minute performance took her through hits like the Award winning single ‘Chante Got a Man’, ‘Love Has Taken Over’ and Straight Up among others including a gospel hit. She had the energy that no one could believe that she had done almost a four-hour flight from South Africa a couple of hours earlier.

She got the audience singing with her all the way and when she finally announced that she was through with her performance, she kind of left them yearning as some felt they were shortchanged.

That aside, Dar revellers who were later on treated to an after party at the Kivukoni Hall, were in the rumour mill again as they kept saying next up on the list are artistes like Brandy and SWV.

I am not sure whether this has any truth in it, but should it turn out to be real then we are in for some great entertainment.
There were many things that worked on this night but on top of the list was the quality sound and the lighting both on stage and off stage.
Source:
http://www.thecitizen.co.tz/magazine...l-session.html

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China injects 162bn/- into projects

CHINA has availed USD 95.4m (approx 162.2bn/-) in form of grants and concessional loans to the government of Tanzania that will go into various development projects. The two loans and grants amount to 79.7m dollars (approx 135.5bn/-) and 15.7m dollars (approx 26.7bn/-) respectively.

Speaking at the signing ceremony between the two governments on Monday, the Minister for Finance and Economic Affairs, Mustafa Mkullo, said under the agreements, through the Export Import Bank of China, the government of China will avail Tanzania a concessional loan of USD 64m.

"This will go into supporting an Independent Secured Mobile Network Project under the Ministry of Defence and National Service," Minister Mkullo explained. The Independent Secured Mobile Network Project plays an important role in the communication sector by providing safe and reliable communication within the defence forces, the minister said.

"Once implemented, the project will lower communication costs and link all defence forces with modern and secured communication network as well as allow sharing of information," he added.

Mr Mkullo reaffirmed the government's commitment toward implementing the project, noting that it would make close monitoring to ensure the design and quality of work meet acceptable professional standards.

The government of China would provide a batch of vehicles worth 5.6million US dollars that will be used at the Julius Nyerere Conventional Centre and others to be used for city transportation.
Mr Mkullo said construction of the Centre would be completed in May next year.
Another framework agreement signed yesterday is an interest-free loan of USD 15.7m that will finance social-economic activities and a grant of USD 10.1m that will support projects agreed by both governments.

The minister thanked the government of China and China Exim Bank for their commitment in fast-tracking construction of gas processing plants and gas pipeline from Mtwara to Dar es Salaam.
He said, once completed, the project will reduce costs of power generation through replacement of costly imported liquid fuel and avoid costs amounting to USD 42m earmarked for compression of the pipeline under the Songo Songo expansion project.

China agreed to loan Tanzania USD 1.06bn for construction of a natural gas pipeline from the Southern part of the country to Dar es Salaam. Part of the money will be used to construct a processing plant at Mnazi Bay.

"This will also increase the use of natural gas for domestic and industrial use and transportation, which will in turn result in reduction of deforestation arising from overdependence on firewood and charcoal and imported fuel," he explained.

In assuring EXIM Bank that the government will commit 5 per cent of the total cost of the project, Mr Mkullo said the government's monthly revenue collection is approximately USD 350m.

"Therefore rest assured that the government is in a position to allocate enough funds to the implementation of this project and will open a special account specifically for the repayment of the loan," he added. The government of China was represented by the Vice-Minister for Commerce, Mr Jiang Yaoping.

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Efforts to turn Dar es Salaam into regional ICT hub underway


DAR ES SALAAM is set to become an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) hub for the East and Central Africa region, with Despic Tanzania alone promising to create some 500 jobs and boosting the country’s annual exports by 100 million US dollars (about 180bn/-).

Despic Tanzania will be one of the tenants at the ICT infrastructure that Lena Holdings and Investments Tanzania Limited envisages developing under a contract signed between Lena Holdings and the Export Processing Zones Authority (EPZA).

“We had to make choices between Dar es Salaam and Mombasa but we favoured Dar which we consider as the best suited place to invest because of the political stability and easy of transport,” Despic International Chairman and CEO Riyaz Jamal said in Dar es Salaam over the weekend.

He said his firm already operates sales offices in Dar es Salaam, Nairobi and Kampala but the plan is now to base its operations in Dar es Salaam with call centre, technical and distribution office targeting export markets in 11 countries.

Legal Advisor with Lena Holdings Saleem Sheikh said the developer plans to invest 10 million US dollars (about 18bn/-) to develop the ICT centre, covering 23,000 square metres at the Benjamin William Mkapa Special Economic Zones at Ubungo external.

EPZA Director General Adelhelm Meru described the envisaged investment as a big boost to the country’s exports and job creation, “These are the kind of investments that we need to fight poverty through increased exports and job creation…EPZA is determined to double efforts in looking for investors.”

Dr Meru said that with the well developed infrastructure, many ICT companies will come to invest in the country, providing Tanzanians with jobs and boosting the country’s exports,

“We are looking forward for thousands of jobs for Tanzanians…Despic alone will employ 500 people and there could be even 20 more investors.”

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TCCIA working to change Arusha city

The Tanzania Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (TCCIA) has chipped in to ensure that Arusha is transformed into a modern city and make it the best destination for investors in the East African region and Africa at large.
“So far, we have formed a special committee which will work closely with public and private sectors to accomplish this noble mission,” chairperson of TCCIA — Arusha Chapter, Adolf Olomi stated.
Speaking recently here in Arusha, Ulomi said: “We want to make Arusha the best that is possible...to make it a modern city."
The official, who is also the managing director of the Arusha-based Banana Investment winery, explained that a first meeting of the task force on the development of the city took place recently to lay ground for the way forward.
According to him, the committee is made up of officials from the city council and representatives from the private sector, among others.
The new master plan is also expected to phase-out the overwhelming traffic chaos in the safari capital of Arusha However, Olomi could not divulge much information on the proposed master plan, saying much work remains to be done to set in motion preparation of a new development plans for the fast expanding town.
He said the growing city, which is the headquarters of several regional institutions like the East African Community (EAC), cannot afford to continue with slums in the next 30 to 50 years.
The TCCIA leader that in developing "a world class city", local administrators should not hesitate to order pulling down of squatters dwellings as well as compensate for the buildings to be demolished in the surveyed areas.
"We can't afford to have the present structures in Arusha in the next 30 years if the town is to become competitive in East Africa", he stated when reached by this reporter to elaborate further on the matter.
According to him, the last development master plan for Arusha was prepared in 1978 and, according to the TCCIA chairperson and other stakeholders; it had largely not been implemented.
"I can't say why it had not been implemented. May be some people did not like it", he said of the plan prepared by the Canadian urban experts when the population of the town was well below 100,000.
He further argued that the Arusha "of tomorrow" would need the industrial parks, well demarcated areas for low and high density as well as specially designated areas for commerce and social services.
Officials of the Municipal Council could not been reached to comment on this though known to be part of the drive to prepare a new master plan for the city where increasing businesses has outstripped available services.
The government, nevertheless, in 2010 tripled the size of the city to 270 square kilometres from 93 kilometres square after hiving off some wards in the neighbouring Arumeru district.
The population of the city is currently estimated at well above 500,000 with some projections hinting that it could reach one million by the time the National Population Census is held next August.
Key infrastructure development projects that have started being undertaken including expanding the road network as well as opening new roads around the city to cope with huge traffic.
Arusha remained a hub of local, regional and international organizations as well as higher learning institutions; hence revamping it up remained a necessary step.

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN