Trust unveils annual plans, gets new board

Dar es Salaam. The Private Agricultural Sector Support Trust (Pass Trust) plans to introduce three more products this year with the view of consolidating its presence and role in enhancing vibrancy in the country’s economic mainstay sector.
The Pass Trust managing director, Mr Iddy Lujina, told journalists in Dar es Salaam yesterday now that they had a new board in place, all was set to take the country’s agricultural sector to completely new heights.
He outlined the three products as including: linkage banking guarantee; portfolio guarantees; and leasing product. All are aimed at accelerating and widening financial support to the sector this year.
Linkage banking guarantee seeks to provide support to community banks and micro-finance institutions (MFIs) to access funds lending to their customers in rural areas. The portfolio facilitates commercial banks’ accessed loans, thus cautioning lenders against risk.
The leasing product would assist many agricultural firms to acquire machinery and equipment on soft terms and thus facilitate the setting up of more tractor hiring centres and agro-processing facilities across the country.
“We will work with all entrepreneurs who are ready to invest in the regions to exploit opportunities,” he said, adding that they would continue to assist entrepreneurs through other zonal offices so that they would grow their businesses.
He said that in 2013, Pass Trust also plans to consolidate the recently opened branches in Moshi and Mtwara, both of which have large diverse agricultural potentials.
Mr Lujina said that given the high level of expectations on contribution by Pass in catalysing wider provision of credit facilities into agricultural sector, the varied skills and experience of the new board members would complement each other very well. The new board comprises Prof Andrew Temu, the chairman, while Dr Salum Diwani, Mr Dunstan Mrutu, Mr Linus Gedi, Mr Hatibu Senkoro, Mr Benson Mahenya and Peter Shao are trustees.
“Given the wide economic opportunities that are available in Tanzania in the immediate region and globally, the board is expected to steer Pass Trust to enable investors to exploit the country’s vast resource base and resultant comparative advantage in the agricultural sector,” Mr Lujina said.

Read More

Minister heckled as slain priest is buried

The slain Catholic priest, Fr Evarist Mushi, was laid to rest here yesterday with religious leaders dismissing a statement by the government that the priest’s death was the will of God. Speaking on behalf of the Zanzibar government shortly after the priest was buried at Kitope on the outskirts of the municipality, Minister of State in the Second Vice-President’s Office, Mr Mohammed Aboud, said: “What happened was God’s will which we cannot question.”At this point, mourners in their hundreds booed, an indication that they disagreed with the minister’s sentiments. A requiem mass for Fr Mushi, who was gunned down on Sunday morning as he drove to church, was led by the Archbishop of Dar es Salaam Polycarp Cardinal Pengo at St Joseph’s Church in Minara Miwili.
A few minutes before the mass, Zanzibar President Ali Mohamed Shein signed a book of condolence for the 55-year-old cleric.
Following the minister’s statement, religious leaders had to calm down the multitude of mourners who shouted: “Is it God’s will that assigned the killer to gun down the priest?”
Bishop Augustino Mushi of the Catholic Diocese of Zanzibar who was seated beside President Shein stood up, grabbed the microphone and said:
“Let me say this: the statement that the death of the priest is God’s will can’t be true. It was an outright murder and we cannot entertain such criminality.”
The burial of Fr Mushi was attended by a number of religious, government and political leaders, including President Shein, Zanzibar First Vice-President Seif Sharif Hamad, minister for Home Affairs Emmanuel Nchimbi and Mr Aboud.
Others were Chadema secretary general Willibrod Slaa and the NCCR-Mageuzi chairman Mr James Mbatia.
Dr Slaa asked the government to take serious measures to forestall sectarian violence. He said the pledge by President Kikwete that the killers would be hunted down and arrested were not enough to solve religious violence.
On Tuesday, the European Union (EU) Delegation in Tanzania urged the authorities to undertake full investigation into the killing of Fr Mushi. The EU also urged investigations into past attacks on Muslim and Christian clerics to be continued until those responsible are brought to book.
The EU Delegation also asked the governments of Tanzania and Zanzibar and other stakeholders to support open dialogue between the Muslim and Christian communities — and take measures to prevent recurrence of religious animosities.
On Monday, the US offered to support Tanzania in pursuing and bringing to justice those who killed the Catholic priest. The US offer came only a day after the minister for Home Affairs, Dr Nchimbi, toured the scene of the crime and declared it a “terrorist attack”.
Meanwhile, two Cabinet ministers warned yesterday that the recent killing of priests and religious tensions could mess up the robust tourism industry, one of the pillars of the country’s economy.
They also said Tanzanians can’t keep quiet over the killings and have the right to push for the arrest and prosecution of those behind the crime.
“Nobody will come to Tanzania when we senselessly kill one another,” warned the minister for Lands, Housing and Human Settlements Development, Prof Anna Tibaijuka when she officiated at the opening of the Sh16 billion Palace Hotel.
She admitted she could not understand the motive behind the killing of the two priests: one in Geita and another in Zanzibar, noting that Tanzanians have since the independence refused to be divided along religious and tribal lines.
The minister added that the situation was worrisome as the country has in recent years witnessed increase of killings targeting the albinos and old women.
“It is saddening at this era of the digital, Tanzanians are still killing old women on witchcraft suspicions,” she said.
Reported by Elias Msuya in Zanzibar and Zephania Ubwani in ArushaReported by Elias Msuya in Zanzibar and Zephania Ubwani in Arusha

Read More

Nairobi’s meteoric rise hampered by failings

 

Partly for scoring low in liveability and governance indices, EIU cautions that Nairobi and other growing African cities may fail to overtake the old political powerhouses of Europe and the economic giants that have over the past three decades sprouted in Asia. In this survey, Nairobi is ranked 115 out of 120 cities for overall competitiveness

Jane Weru, a lawyer who litigates on behalf of the urban poor, describes Nairobi as one would an especially confident young woman.

“Nairobi is edgy,” she begins. “It’s a bit brash. It’s not shy. It’s young and it is a city on the go.”

If Nairobi is a young woman, then she is coming of age... and the suitors have noticed, because the narrative of the city’s transformative growth is one that currently permeates briefs circulated by investment analysts.

It is a narrative that is woven into the strategies of multinationals expanding into new markets, and one that carefully laces the speeches of C-suite executives trooping to Kenya to woo the government and its people.

However, Nairobi does have a dark side. It is a city of stark inequalities with serious infrastructural challenges that may yet stall its rise to the top.

“Nairobi is also a paradox,” says Ms Weru. “Abject poverty co-exists with near First World luxury. The city’s expansion may just push these extremes farther apart.”

The importance of Nairobi to the national and regional economy and its failings are by no means unique phenomena.

Financial services firm Citi last year commissioned the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) to carry out a survey of 120 cities globally, assessing their competitiveness as investment destinations.

The resultant report noted that middle-tier cities in emerging markets — once considered too risky — may now steal the show from European cities that are stuck in economic doldrums and facing the challenge of infrastructure fatigue.

“Already, global business is beginning to plan strategy from a city, rather than a country, perspective,” EIU said.

In China, for instance, megacities such as Beijing, Guangzhou, and Shanghai compete with each other for investors.

In this new economic order, where the city rises in status above the country, African, Asian, and Latin American cities are leap-frogging the smog and coal industrialisation of the old world to carve themselves new niches.

They are choosing to invest billions to excel in narrow fields such as financial services, technology, or business process outsourcing (BPO).

Over the past two months, Microsoft, IBM, and Google top brass have made their way to Nairobi. In public forums and university lectures, they extolled the virtues of the city, justifying their need to suddenly turn to Kenya for profits.

“Nairobi has emerged as a serious tech hub and may become Africa’s leader,” noted Google chairman Eric Schimdt in a blog post following his visit.

One of the factors behind the city’s rise is basic geography. In 1890s, when Nairobi was set up as a railway depot, its central location was a major selling point. This advantage has not waned over time.

Within the regional context, Nairobi is prime real estate. It is connected to a coastal harbour and is within a four-hour flying distance of most African destinations.

Technology has been adopted wholeheartedly, increasing efficiency in communication. For any multinational looking to extend its tentacles across the continent, the city is a entry point.

Read More

Big leads in senate and governor races

Many county races have clear front-runners and are more likely to be determined by the qualities of the candidates rather than their party, according to opinion polls commissioned by the Nation Media Group.

The first wave of opinion polls carried out in five counties shows candidates with commanding leads and others where the frontrunner is not necessarily the choice of national politicians.

In Machakos county, Dr Alfred Mutua, the former government spokesman and now Cord politician, was a clear favourite among those polled, with 68.3 per cent saying they would elect him governor if the polls were held at the time of interview.

The interviews were conducted between 14 and 17 February with a margin of error of +/-2 per cent and a confidence level of 95 per cent.

In the senate race, Mr Johnstone Muthama, the former Kangundo MP, was the choice of three quarters of those polled, with 73 per cent saying they would have voted for him had the election been conducted at the time of the interview.

In the governor race, Dr Mutua’s closest challenger, assistant minister Wavinya Ndeti, who is running on a Chama Cha Uzalendo ticket, was the choice of 18.7 per cent of the respondents.

In the county that boasts of the multibillion Konza technocity, there are 10.2 per cent undecided voters, according to the poll by Infotrak Consulting. The pollster interviewed 631 people in the county.

In the Senate race, Mr Muthama’s closest challenger is Mr Boniface Kabaka of Ford People, being the choice of 11 per cent of those interviewed.

Some 11 per cent of the respondents were classified as undecided on which way to vote.

While Cord is leading in Machakos, Jubilee Coalition dominates both the senate and gubernatorial races in Nakuru county.

Former commandant of the Administration Police, Mr Kinuthia Mbugua, was supported by 75 per cent of those interviewed.

Most of those who preferred him said they did so because Mr Mbugua “had previously performed well”, “has good policies” and “has good administrative skills”. Other supporters said they will vote for him because he is “intelligent”.

Cord’s Lawrence Bomet of ODM had 16.4 per cent support while 6.3 per cent of the voters had not made up their minds at the time of the survey.

For the Senate, Mr John Kiarie was supported by 55.7 per cent of those interviewed by Strategic Research and PR, also contracted by the Nation Media Group.

Ms Jayne Kihara, the former Naivasha MP, was second with 10.4 per cent. Seven per cent of the voters were undecided.

Strategic interviewed 600 registered voters in Nakuru.

In the Meru senate race, Mr Kiraitu Murungi, Energy minister and former Imenti South MP, could be heading for a landslide with 93.3 per cent of those interviewed saying that they would vote for him.

Mr Murungi’s closest challenger is the fiery politician Gitobu Imanyara who, according to the pollsters, was supported by 6.2 per cent of respondents.

Mr Imanyara will be vying on the ODM ticket. ODM is a member of the Cord coalition.

Mr Murungi is vying on the ticket of the Alliance Party of Kenya.

For the gubernatorial race, assistant minister Peter Munya has a slim lead over his colleague in government Dr Kilemi Mwiria.

Mr Munya, according to the poll conducted by Strategic PR, had the support of 48.4 per of those interviewed, while Dr Mwiria had 43 per cent.

Mr Munya is in Kiraitu’s APK, while Dr Mwiria is in TNA, a member of the Jubilee coalition. The pollster interviewed 600 registered voters in Meru County.

In Siaya, Mr William Oduol of the National Agenda Party of Kenya is well positioned for a landslide in the gurbernatorial race.

According to Consumer Insight, which conducted an opinion poll in the county, Mr Oduol was supported by 68 per cent of those interviewed while Mr Rasanga Amoth of ODM (Cord) had the backing of 14 per cent of respondents.

Some 18 per cent of respondents were undecided. The pollster interviewed 557 registered voters in the county.

In Uasin Gishu, Mr Jackson Kiplagat Mandago of URP (the Jubilee Coalition) is the favourite for the governor’s seat with 62 per cent of those interviewed saying they would have voted for him.

Higher Education minister Margaret Kamar (Cord/ODM) was a distant second with the support of 27 per cent of those interviewed.

Uasin Gishu is the home county of Mr William Ruto, the presidential running mate of Jubilee coalition’s candidate Mr Uhuru Kenyatta.

For the Senate in Uasin Gishu, Mr Isaac Melly of URP was ranked tops with support of 58 per cent of those interviewed, while Abraham Kiptanui of Kanu comes second with 12 per cent.

The poll was conducted by Infotrak and involved interviews with 600 registered voters in Uasin Gishu.

Read More

Jiggers infect 700 children in Moroto

A staff of International Rescue Committee treats the feet of a child affected with jiggers in Nadunget Sub-county last week. PHOTO BY STEVEN ARIONG  

A jigger outbreak in Nadunget Sub-county in Moroto District has left at least 700 children between the ages of two and five years almost physically impaired.

Ms Glades Nangiro, a village health team volunteer in Nadunget, said Acherer and Loputuk villages were the most affected.
“The district health team should help this sub-county like they did in Rupa last year,” Ms Nangiro said.

Last October, jiggers broke out in Rupa, leaving nearly 300 children and the elderly physically impaired, but after the Daily Monitor run the story, the district dispatched a health team to treat the cases.
The LC3 chairperson, Mr Max Lokabenyan, said residents cannot afford to treat the fleas attack.

“I have been advising residents to smear children with any cosmetic jelly but many parents are complaining of lack of money for buying the jelly,” Mr Lokabenyan said.

The district health director, Mr Michael Omeke Ebele, promised to send a team to treat the affected families.

Mr Ebele blamed the outbreak on poor hygiene, saying most parents do not bathe their children and clean their homes.

“Jiggers breed in places where there is poor hygiene. The major problem with our people is that they do not want to bathe, creating room for jiggers,” he said.

Local authorities say due to poverty and ignorance, residents share their tiny dusty houses with livestock, giving the fleas room to choose between humans or livestock as their host .

Read More

12 years of sleepless nights

Mr Lawrence Dawa at his shop in Kiswa, a Kampala suburb. He says since he did not get justice from court, relaying his son’s story for the record would be justice enough. PHOTO BY ismail kezaala.  

The morning of February 2, 2001 carries sombre memories for Mr Lawrence Dawa – on that day, his son Alex Adiga Remo was murdered.

Twelve years later, Mr Dawa keeps his son’s O-Level and A-Level certificates, a photograph he had taken days before his death and campaign flyers of Dr Kizza Besigye, which were recovered from the scene. “He was a very intelligent young boy; he would now be grown up and important,” the 72-year-old Mr Dawa says, struggling to hold back tears.

Remo’s body was found lying in a pool of blood between Lumumba and Mary Stuart halls at Makerere University. The 19-year-old government-sponsored student was shot thrice in the chest by a suspected security operative after Dr Besigye’s rally at the university the previous evening.
Ronald Onen, whom Mr Dawa suspects to have shot his son, was arrested and charged with the murder. The trial, however, never took off.

Mr Dawa had been advised by the former Speaker of Parliament, Francis Ayume, to tread carefully because the “State is very powerful”. He had met Ayume during a reunion meeting for the Koboko community in Kampala.

Between June 29, 2001 and September 25, 2002, Mr Dawa made it a point to appear at Buganda Road Court. He was there 20 times. “Most of the time they would just read out his (suspect’s) name, he would stand up and then the magistrate would give another date for him to appear. It usually took about five minutes,” Mr Dawa says. Because Onen had been charged with murder, a capital offence, Buganda Road Magistrates Court could only commit him to the High Court, which never happened.

On August 8, 2002, there was a twist in the case. “He (Mr Onen) had been appearing before Court 5A but this time he appeared before Court 5B.” The reason given for the change was that both the magistrate and prosecutor in 5A had given birth.

Case closed
On that day, Onen was released on bail and ordered to appear again on August 23, 2002. When he appeared on September 25, 2002, the case file was missing and all the charges were dropped. Part of the advice Ayume gave Mr Dawa was to appeal to the Human Rights Commission (HRC). But the appeal was fruitless because, the HRC officials were “legally barred from intervening in cases which were already before court”.

They advised him to try Legal Aid, a civil society which provides legal assistance to the financially disadvantaged. Unfortunately for him, the projects Legal Aid was running did not cover criminal matters.

Read More

Blame game as Form 4 results sink in

Dar es Salaam. The mass failure in the 2012 Form 4 examinations has triggered a national outcry, with educationalists describing it as disastrous enough to shake the foundations of the government’s thinking on education.
The results announced two days ago pointed to a 60 percent failure rate.
Now stakeholders are warning that the government should see this as a wake-up call and not imagine that doing more of the same thing that it has done in the past decade will somehow improve future results.
“That would be sheer folly,” fumed the head of Twaweza, Mr Rakesh Rajani. “There is absolutely no other way to interpret it (the shocking results).”
On Monday, the government announced that nearly six out of every 10 students who sat last year’s National Form 4 examinations failed, with the number of students who scored Division Zero rising from 31.94 per cent in 2011.
A total of 240,903 students out of 397,126 students who sat the 2012 National Form 4 exams failed, according to the results announced by the minister of Education and Vocational Training, Dr Shukuru Kawambwa.
What was required, Mr Rajani said, was a complete rethink of the education agenda, adding: “Since 2002, we have been building classrooms and getting teachers certified. It has not worked. Examination results have got worse.”
Instead, he said, the government and education stakeholders needed to get a better grip on what drives quality and learning, considering that evidence from other countries suggests it is not inputs such as classrooms, formally certified teachers or even books that make the difference.
He added: “We need to get over our fixation with inputs. We need to innovate and think about incentives and experiment with new ideas based on solid evidence—for example, paying teachers a bonus for every child who passes with a Division I or II (cash on delivery).”
He commended the National Examinations Council of Tanzania (Necta), though, saying the results suggest that Necta is probably doing a good job of tightening the screws on cheating and in making sure that the results are not fiddled with even when they are a national embarrassment.
“If this is indeed the case, Necta deserves credit for not succumbing to pressure to cook the results to give a more positive picture,” he said.
Mr James Mbatia, the chairman of NCCR-Mageuzi, who early this month moved a private motion in Parliament asking the House to form a select committee to come up with recommendations that would save the education sector from further decline, yesterday appealed to President Jakaya Kikwete to form a commission of experts to look into the education crisis.
He told a news conference that the President needed a quick and serious intervention, adding that he was ready to volunteer.
Mr Mbatia said the examination results proved right his recent private motion on education. “It is now an open secret that the country lacks an education curriculum to direct both the teachers and pupils,” he added.
In his private motion, which had the support of MPs from both the ruling CCM and the opposition, Mr Mbatia said the ministry of Education and Vocational Training does not have credible and cohesive school curricula.

Kawambwa ‘should resign’
Chama Cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (Chadema) shadow minister for Education and Vocational Training, Ms Susan Lyimo, termed the results a national disaster. Ms Lyimo told a news conference that it was high time Dr Kawambwa and his team resigned because they have shamed the nation.
Most leaders did not care about education in the country because their children are in prestigious schools overseas, she added, and the root of the mass failure could be a go-slow by teachers who are demanding payment of their outstanding arrears.
In Arusha, there were calls on Dr Kawambwa to resign while one of the civic leaders suggested that the results be scrapped and the exercise repeated.

Poorly equipped schools
“There is nothing surprising in the results,” lamented Elibariki Mangi from Babati. “The schools are poorly equipped and don’t have enough teachers. Moreover, we have lowered the secondary school entry marks.”
He said many secondary schools lacked teaching equipment and laboratories. Some have only a few teachers, with some subjects not being taught at all.
Business consultant Simon Mapolu said everyone should be concerned because the results reflected a host of problems facing the education sector, including a skewed student/teacher ratio and shortage of books and other teaching aids.
A tourism sector official, Cyrill Akko, said the poor Form 4 results were the result of teacher strikes over the poor working environment and apparent neglect by society. “The government has no option but to sit down with the teachers and seek a solution to the education crisis,” he said on the phone.
Mr Gesso Bajuta, a councillor from Endamillay ward in Mbulu district, Manyara region, said the situation was worse in ward secondary schools and pleaded with the authorities to salvage them.
According to the executive director of Sikika, Mr Irenei Kiria, trends showed that Tanzania was likely to have an uneducated workforce unable to cope with the competitive job market and education should not be politicised.
He added: “If the education system is not overhauled, the nation will have a large number of uneducated citizens.”
The Tanzania Teachers Union President, Mr Gratian Mukoba, dismissed the idea that the recent teachers’ strike had something to do with the poor examination results. He put the blame squarely with the government which, he said, did not have a competent monitoring system.
Ms Mary Kitunga, the director of Soma, a non-governmental organisation, said the problem started in primary schools, where there was “overpopulation of pupils” in classrooms.
According to Mr Bonas Ndimbo, the president of the Tanzania Heads of Schools Association, the examination results have left thousands of Form 4 leavers with an uncertain future. HakiElimu said in a statement that the results were a clear indication of weaknesses in the education system.
Reported by Fariji Msonsa, Mulemwa Mulemwa, Raymond Kaminyoge and Alex Bitekeye in Dar es Slaam and Zephania Ubwani in Arusha

Read More