Tanzania: India Plans Agriculture Equipment Hub in Dar es Salaam

By Kenan Kalagho, 19 March 2012

Dar es Salaam — India is looking into the possibility of investing more in Tanzania to create more jobs for nationals.
The Acting Indian High Commissioner to Tanzania Mrs. Hemalata Bhagirath said her country is considering investing in industrial production to make Tanzania, the biggest investment destination for substantial Indian products.
She said India wants to establish an industrial hub to manufacture the tractors in order to realize the kilimo kwanza initiative that was launched by the government in 2005.
"This move will aim to benefit Tanzania and enable it become a major exporter of agricultural products in the East African region and the world at large, Bhagirath said while visiting the Suma JKT, a Kilimo Kwanza agro business project in Dar es Salaam last week. The project is being co-financed by the Indian government and Tanzania.
The Indian government has so far provided loans to Tanzania on the agriculture Kilimo Kwanza initiative in form of tractors to farmers amounting to around $40 million under the Suma Jeshi la Kujenga Taifa (JKT) project in Dar es salaam.
Tanzania's trade balance with India stood at US$895.01 million by the end of last year and within the same year the exports to Tanzania from India stood at US$226.19 million where as bilateral trade stood at US$1,121.2 million with India's export of US$895.01 million compared to import of US$226.19 million in 2011.
The Executive Director of Suma JKT, Col. Ayoub Mwakang'ata, said there was a great improvement in the sales of the tractors, after they the price dropped from the previous US$16,666 to US$10,256.
Col. Mwakang'ata appreciated the Indian support for the project saying I will help alleviate poverty.
Tanzania's major imports from India includes, mineral fuels, oils, iron & steel, pharmaceuticals, motor vehicles (including auto parts), iron & steel, electrical machinery/equipment, machinery/ appliances, plastic products including synthetic polymers, rubber items including tires, cotton fabrics, apparel & clothing, cereals.

A day on the Indian Ocean

Monday, 19 March 2012 05:40 Kenan Kalagho

If you hardly ever have holidays and you happen to get one having worked for too long then think of cruising to one of the four islands owned by Marine Parks and Reserves.
Mbudya is one amongst the four, the others are Bongoyo, Funguyasini and of course Pangavile which is restricted by the government of Tanzania, tourists are not allowed to set their foot on it.
People from all walks of life come to relax to these beautiful islands located to the north-coast of Dar es Salaam city in Tanzania off the Indian Ocean. I happened to visit Mbudya via the white sands hotel in Dar es Salaam at a cost of USD $10 per head.

(The old colonial tombs found on the island are a great attraction to tourist , Photo By Kenan Kalagho)
Cruising from White Sands Hotel took us only 10 minutes by speed boat though earlier I was told it was a 40 minutes sail, so I kept asking myself whether my colleague was just wanted to scare me with his 40 minutes.
I had earlier arranged to be accompanied by an official from the Marine Park and Reserves to the island but officer didn't turn up on that day, so I had to set off without him.
Accompanied with a family of eight whites on the very fast boat, it took us 15 minutes to disembark due to a very strong tide that blowing towards the island.
We were told to hold on to the boat and no one should dare to stand or move around, we have to be seated, people were so cool as everyone ponder of whether he/she should do his/her last prayer.
After 10 minutes, the marine cooks who had arrived there earlier saw us and came out rushing for a rescue pulling boat with a rope out to the sand.
Having set foot on the island, I thought of how a small country such as Malaysia which has little tourism attractions compared to Tanzania engaged in promoting its attractions even on CNN while Tanzania with big potential does little in term of promotion (Tanzania promotes itself on the English premiership matches).
Tourists from all walks of life flock to this island on a daily basis to witness the beauty and greenery that dots the island.
The island is full of pine trees besides the greenish natural mangrove that dots' it.  It has pine trees strings of ropes tied between the tress for tourists to rest on as they feel the fresh breeze from the ocean.
Pius Majembe, a cook with the marine parks that offers foot and catering services told me use of the tent on the island is free unlike that on Bongoyo Island where US$5 is charged per day.
On this island, "the first bird catches the fly" of his choice till the evening, so you can go ahead and look for your choice, said Majembe..

(There are also a display of items being sold at the ilsand like sandals and swimming costumes. Photo By Kenan Kalagho)
For every place that a man has ever lived, there is one thing that will betray to a visitor, that people actually lived there.
On this island, there are ancient old graveyards that stand firm to this day. It is believed these graveyards were remnants of the ancient Arabs sharifians who used to buy slaves from Bagamoyo.
They had built themselves points of stoppage on these three marine islands on their way as they headed with the slaves to Zanzibar.
These ancient tombs attracts more than just tourists but also witch doctors, artists, soccer teams for what Majembe said in search of good fortune.
We could have headed a bit to the thick forest on the island to discover more on the island but alas! there are no passable paths on it.

(A tourist accompaned by his children after the swim on the island walking past the sandy white beach on the isalnd of Mbudya. Photo By Kenan Kalagho)
Majembe also owns a small shop on the island where he sells traditional made tools like sandals, ear-rings, necklaces, towels and bags which he said are liked by tourists.
He said the prices of his items being range between US$ 10 to US$ 20. On the island one is not allowed to spend a night, so he usually sells the items every Saturdays and Sundays being the busiest days for tourists.
A catering service from the marine also offers snacks usually fast foods at USD $6.
Majembe says the island is also a best place to spot Spinner dolphins, Humpback dolphins, and whales especially during low tides. These attract a lot of tourists.
He says while tourists usually will jump in to play alongside with dolphins whales are very dangerous because they can cause a boat to capsize.
The mere thought of a boat capsizing run me cold especially that there was a return journey to make. No wonder I became silent since I did not want to hear more scary stories especially having gone through the arrival ordeal when our boat nearly failed to land.
But with the high tide on the Indian Ocean neither the whale nor the dolphin moves around to be seen.
I left with the first boat at 3pm leaving Majembe and other marine cooks including several tourists still enjoying the beauty of the island.
The tide that left us being showered by the Indian Ocean waters all the way to the white sands hotel.
I was almost "half dead" as we disembarked the boat at the White Sand. Hotel.  I will be back again on Mbudya island to view dolphins and whales being spotted from the shores of the island. The island can be visited at any time.

Dar es Salaam city builds gas pipeline

Dar es Salaam city builds gas pipeline

Tuesday, 28 February 2012 05:43 Kenan Kalagho

DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA - A state owned, Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) has embarked on US$2.8m (Tsh4.5b) project aimed at connecting Dar residential houses and industrial areas with compressed natural gas (CNG).
The TPDC's senior principal research and project development officer responsible for natural gas, Ms. Joyce Kisamo   said construction of the gas pipeline from Ubungo in the northern part of Dar city to the light industrial area, Mikocheni which located in the north east is in progress.
Ms. Kisamo said the pipeline aimed to connect about 57 residential houses in the area once the project completed.

Songo Songo Gas Plant staff demonstrate how gas is produced at the Kilwa plant recently. (Photo By Leonard Magomba)

"The purpose of this project is to connect more residential houses as well as industrial areas in Dar es Salaam and later on the other parts of the country, "she said. 
"The project will provide affordable power that will reduce the cost of production as well as deforestation and pollution in the country."
Dar es Salaam Institute of Technology (DIT) has been mandated with gas installations activities after receiving training from the UK based firm, Consultant Brackno Limited in partnership with Kimpils Consult Limited, a local consulting firm based in Tanzania.
According to Ms Kisamo,  other institutions which will receive similar gas installation training include  the Bureau of Industries Corporation (BIDCO) under the University Dar es Salaam and Vocational Education and Training Authority (VETA).
She said the training would enable local engineers and technicians to train other Tanzanians to carry out natural gas pipeline project connections and installations wherever needed. The training was also aimed at building capacity and       practical demonstrations to Tanzanian engineers on maintenance and on operation of natural gas infrastructure in the country,Kisamo said.
Minister for energy and minerals William Ngeleja said the government partnership with Swala Energy is very important for the development of     both oil and gas exploration and drilling in the country.
The TPDC managing director, Mr. Yona Kilagane, said since the discovery of gas from  2004 to 2011, the government has saved almost US$2.10 m (Tsh.3.3b) from the importation of fuel used to run generators.
"This is due to the fact that natural gas contributes 416 megawatts to the national grid which accounts for 35% of all the electricity produced in the country," Kilagane said.

Tanzania new oil bulk system hurting Zanzibar

Tanzania new oil bulk system hurting Zanzibar

Sunday, 04 March 2012 20:16 Kenan Kalagho

DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA - The new bulk oil procurement system that was introduced by the government of Tanzania with an aim of cutting the number of importers and curbing price fluctuations, has led to insufficient oil supply to Zanzibar.
Speaking in Dar es Salaam last week, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Petroleum Importation Coordinator (PIC), Mr Shanif Mansoor, said he had received complaints from the government of Zanzibar regarding the new system that has been denying the country access to petroleum products.
Under the new system, a firm that wins the bidding process is required to import a specific amount of oil which usually lasts two to three months.
“This gives a vessel to load a specific needed consignment of oil without any surplus,” Mansoor 
said.
(Minister Ngeleja stressing apoint during the meeting. Photo By Kenan Kalagho)
He said it was now hard for the government of Zanzibar to access oil under the new system.
“The government of Zanzibar used to buy the surplus from traders, but this time the vessels coming into the country carry specific tons of oil consignment as per the agreement with the firm that wins the oil importation contract,” says Ngeleja adding “This is denying Zanzibar access to fuel.”
Mansoor noted that under the new system the government was much assured of the oil imports in the country due to the  agreements made with the oil importation firm. 
Currently Tanzania has off loaded a total of 453,606.94 metric tonnes of oil at the Dar es salaam port following the first tender which was won by a Swiss oil marketing firm, Augusta Energy of Geneva, to import 530,000 metric tonnes of oil worth $500m (about Shs850billion).
Mansoor said there were still three vessels waiting to offload the remaining 100,000 metric tonnes of oil at the Dar port in-order to attain a total of 530,000 metric tonnes from the first tender consignment.
He said some of the achievements of the bulk procurement system were stability of fuel prices in the country, and the reduction of demurrage which has now stood at USD $5 a day instead of $30 a day that was previously being incurred.
The Energy and Minerals Minister, Mr William Ngeleja, said it was important that the government installed the mechanism like PIC to regulate oil importation in the country as petroleum plays an important role in the economy of Tanzania.
The Petroleum Importation Coordinator (PIC) was established in September 2010 under the  Petroleum Act with an aim of coordinating all issues pertaining to the bulk procurement of oil.

Tazara workers demand salaries

   EAST AFRICAN BUSINESS WEEK

Tazara workers demand salaries

Monday, 20 February 2012 04:54 Kenan Kalagho

DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA-  Former employees of the Tanzania -  Zambia Railways Authority (TAZARA) have not been paid their three months pensions since November last year.

 (The abandoned wagon at Tazara, workers have of recent months not been paid their three months wages Photo By Kenan Kalagho)

Officials from TAZARA confirmed that the Authority does not have money to pay the pensioners. 
"This issue is very sensitive because it involves the government of Zambia and that of Tanzania. There is no such money for now," said TAZARA Public Relations Manager Conrad Simuchile.
Mr Simuchile said the Chinese government has been rendering support to TAZARA but 'million of shillings' you usually hear are in form of equipment and training of experts in different capacities but TAZARA does not get cash from China.
He said TAZARA has been expecting new wagons from the Chinese but they have not yet arrived.
"We have been expecting new wagons out of that money from the Chinese government," he said. Probably the wagons will be in Dar es Salaam at the end of this month."
Speaking with the East African Business Week in Dar es Salaam last week, one of the former employees of TAZARA, Mr. Daudi Mbaga, said they were around 4,000 former employees whose pension salaries have not been remitted to their accounts.
He said last week their taxed funds were not being remitted to the National Insurance Company, a firm which deposits their pension salaries to Tanzania Postal Bank.
"I have worked in this company for my entire life in the production section till my retirement but my pension salaries were not being deposited to the National Insurance Company as we agreed with our employer, said Mr. Mbaga.
"Last week, we had a meeting with Mr Akashambatwa Lewanika (the firm managing director) to discuss our pension salaries' fate but he told us that the railway firm had no money to pay them," said Mr Mbaga.
Mr. Mbaga said; "Once we confronted him, he told us that he had no money to pay us and he will pay us once he gets the money."
An official from TAZARA who preferred anonymity said even the current workers were finding it hard to get salaries salaries.
"Just imagine we have been paid the December salaries in the first week of February and we are still not certain when our January salaries will be paid," the official said.
He said even the December salaries were borrowed from TAZARA Savings and Credit Corporative Society.
"The problem is that TAZARA can hardly transport goods.  We have a lot of goods in the depots of Kurasini, Yombo and Bandari in all depots located in Dar es Salaam awaiting to be transported but there are no wagons to transport them due to fuel shortage," the official said.

East Africa Business Week

Land shortage dogging Tanzania housing corporation

Monday, 13 February 2012 08:10 Kenan Kalagho

Muungano Saguya, is the  Corporate Social Responsibility Manager for National Housing Corporation (NHC). East African Business Week's Kenan Kalagho talked to him about the company achievements since its inception in 1962. Here are excerpts:

(Muungano Saguya the corporate Social Responsibility Manager with NHC.  Photo By Kenan Kalagho)
QN: Tanzania is experiencing a massive shortage of housing and you recently introduced the mortgage finance system in partnership with seven local and regional commercial banks in the country.  How beneficial is this system to the local Tanzanian?
ANS: The government reinstated the system, that has led the National Housing Corporation to sign an MoU with  seven local and regional commercial banks including National Bank of Commerce, KCB, National Microfinance Bank, Exim Bank , Bank of Africa, Azania and Commercial Bank of Africa.
With this system, Tanzanians will get loans from these banks to buy new houses that will be constructed by the NHC.

QN: What role will the National Housing play to make sure that more Tanzanians own homes using the mortgage finance system?
ANS: The National Housing Corporation leads as the corporation that has been assigned by the government to provide good shelter for citizens. One of the aims is that the NHC constructs many houses to enable more Tanzanians own homes.

QN: What effects will this mortgage finance have to the economy of Tanzania and its citizen at large?
ANS:The  mortgage finance system is a forum through which many citizens will have access to loans from the banks and the positive effects on this is that it will boost production of the housing industry in the country and this will in turn reduce rental charges. This will mean that the economy will grow because people will have access of loans from banks and build houses for business and therefore generate revenue for the government through taxation.
This can also have a negative impact to the economy because the housing sector is a very fragile industry, which means that if a lot of money is borrowed from banks to finance construction and these constructed houses fail to attract more customers, that will mean that the borrowed money and its interest rates charged will fail to be remitted to the banks and this might lead to the economic crunch.

QN: Recently the National housing  have focused much on public-private partnership in as far as the construction of houses is concerned. Is this partnership open to all individuals willing to partner with the National Housing Corporation and what are the conditions for one to enter into this partnership?
ANS: We had this policy of public-private partnership since 1988 because we realized that the National Housing Corporation had no financial resources, but this policy was revised in 2008 and the joint venture activities were halted in 2010. This was in a bid to create a win-win situation because we realized that the National Housing was not being treated fairly in these policies. We are hoping that the policies will be revised this year and hopefully the private-public partnership will be reinstated in a more meaningful way that will benefit all the parties.

QN: There has been a negative perception about the National Housing failure to beat the growing demands of housing in the country, what expectations should the public have to the National Housing Corporation especially with the mortgage system in place?
ANS: This is true because the National housing Corporation was mandated to cater for the housing industry in Tanzania, however there were various hindrances that were holding back the growth of the national housing sector in the country like the issue where the national housing could not evict its tenants who fail to pay for their rents except with an order from the court. These laws and many others which have now been revised were a hindrance to us and for the past five years we have barely been able to construct less than 600 houses.

QN:  It is said that the construction industry contributes barely 0.3% to the national economy, is there any way of reversing this trend?
ANS: We still believe that the housing sector can play a great role in contributing to the GDP of this country because housing is a business, employment and can lead someone to get capital from different banks. We believe that if the government can play its part in this sector, it can contribute heavily to the national economy. However with the new system of mortgage finance that the National Housing Corporation have signed with different local and regional banks, we can be sure of realizing this dream.

QN: The National Housing Corporation strategic plan  (for 2010/2011-2014/2015) targets on constructing 10,000 houses for middle income earners and 5,000 for low income earners. Why should the target dwell much on middle income earners yet the housing demand is even worse for the low income earners?
ANS: People with low income need to have subsidy that means that the profit that will be obtained from the 10,000 houses that will be constructed for the middle income earners will be used to subsidize the low income earners and if the profit beats the margin then the number of houses to be constructed for the low income earners might also increase.

QN: The country celebrated 50 years of its independence in December.  What would you say are some of the challenges that you have faced during the period?
We have survived but face challenges like the scarcity of land. There has also been a negative mindset of most Tanzanians to see the National Housing Corporation houses being rented or sold at a low cost. This mindset needs to be reversed.

Food prices remain high on dry season regional demand

East African Business Week

Food prices remain high on dry season regional demand

Monday, 13 February 2012 07:50 Kenan Kalagho

DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA - Food prices in Dar es Salaam continued to rise despite the end of the festive season.
A random survey made last week by East African Business Week at the city's main market of Kariakoo in Dar es Salaam, revealed that there has been a sharp increase in prices of food produce since the end of the festive season. The survey showed that the best rice, which during the just ended season was being sold at TShs 2,100 (US$1.35) a kilogramme was now hovering around TShs 2,500 (US$1.59) a kg, whereas the lower grade rice that was previously sold at TShs 1,900 (US$1.22) a kg is now selling at TShs 2,200(US$1.35) a kg.

A customer weighs his options at one of the markets in dar es Salaam. (Photo by Kenan Kalagho)

There has been an increase in prices of commodities such as beans, spices, maize flour, meat and other essentials.
The prices of beef at many Dar es Salaam  butcheries also have shot up from the previous TSh 6,000 (US$3.87) during the festive season to TShs7,000 (US$ 4.45) a kg where as in other places like Buguruni to the outskirts of the city the price of beef has relatively gone down to the previous TShs 5,000 (US$ 3.18) a kg.
The price of maize flour on the other hand has gone up from the previous TShs 800 (US$0.50) a kilo to TShs 1,200 (US$0.76).
Mr Hamisi Mzee, a trader at the Dar es Salaam Kariakoo main market says the prices of food are being driven mainly by the high costs of living in terms of house rent and fuel as well as the country's bad economic shape.
"The costs of fuel and transporting these produce to Dar es Salaam is expensive and this leads us to increase prices as well, says Mzee.  "Even in the houses we are staying in the rent has gone up so high so that you rarely find a room below TShs 30,000  (US$19.10) a month.”
Speaking in Dar es Salaam last week, the Minister of State in the Presidents office,  Civil Society Relations and Co-ordination, Mr Steven  Wassira, said the prices of food in Tanzania were  a result of the increased fuel prices and the cost involved in transporting them to their markets.
"The prices of fuel are very high and these produce needs to be transported from their place of produce to find customers in the cities" the minister said. He said Tanzanians should also know that neighbouring countries like Kenya, Sudan, and Somalia which have been experiencing long droughts have driven the prices of food in Tanzania as well.
Wassira said Tanzania should produce more food in order to get the surplus which will have a positive effect in reducing the escalating of food prices in the country.
"As much as we need investment in agriculture sector, we need to focus on providing  support to Tanzanians so that they move out from the hand hoe system of agriculture to a modern large farming technology which will allow them to produce more food for business benefits," Wassira said.
Wassira noted other challenges like poor infrastructure that hinder the produce from reaching the market. "Tanzania produces more food in Rukwa, Kagera and Kigoma but there are no good roads that connect such places so that food produce can be transported to Dar es Salaam and or across other regions of the country."