Author: Giza Mdoe

Giza Mdoe is an experienced journalist with 10 plus years. He's been a Creative Director on various brand awareness campaigns and a former Copy Editor for some of Tanzania's leading newspapers. He's a graduate with a BA in Journalism from the University of San Jose. Contact me at giza.m@mediapix.com

EAC integration
  • Tanzania and Rwanda are warming up to set up second official border post.
  • Currently, Rwanda is the third largest user of Dar es Salaam port.
  • More than 80% of Rwanda’s cargo goes through the port of Dar es Salaam.

The push to foster EAC integration appears to be moving in a positive direction with Tanzania and Rwanda taking steps to enhance one of East Africa Community (EAC) pivotal goal, regional trade.

A top Tanzanian envoy has announced plans to open a new border post with Rwanda, as part of ongoing measures between the two countries to scale up the movement of labour, goods and services providers.

Tanzania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation, January Makamba,  made the announcement at the end of his four-day state visit to Rwanda.

The Minister revealed that the proposed border crossing will be set up in Tanzania’s Kyerwa district in Kagera Region and …

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  • Questions are lingering about US food aid to Tanzania that targets schools, with critics terming it unnecessary.
  • US food aid to Tanzania has been ongoing for the past decade.
  • Tanzania now wants the US to buy the food from Tanzanian farmers and fortify it in public.

An ongoing program of US food aid to Tanzania has come under sharp scrutiny after the public in East Africa’s second largest economy took to social media condemning the support from the American people.

At the moment, X (formally Twitter) is awash with Tanzanians and its thousands of nationals in the diaspora questioning the safety of US food aid which authorities in the country received recently.

Raising more questions was the fact that the food aid was not distributed to the general public but to hundreds of schools.

In its defense, the Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS) has issued a public statement saying the …

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  • Africa is loosing out on bad minerals for loan deals, AfDB warns.
  • AfDB is developing initiatives to  help countries’ address the bad loans.
  • China alleged to be the leader in bad minerals for loan deals with Africa.

Africa’s natural resources are being traded for loans from international lenders and that is why the continent is underdeveloped, the Head of the African Development Bank, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, has decried.

 

In an interview with The Associated Press in Lagos, Nigeria, Dr Adesina called for an end to “loans given in exchange for the continent’s rich supplies of oil or critical minerals used in smartphones and electric car batteries.”

 

The Head of Africa’s biggest lending bank, AfDB, said some countries have gained control over mineral mining in places such as Congo and have left some African countries in financial crisis owing to such ‘mineral for loans deals.’

 

“They are just bad, first

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  • Tanzania is reviewing key business development laws to boost investments.
  • One of the laws under review is the Companies Act and the Business Names (Registration) Act.
  • Amended laws are set to create a more conducive investment environment.

The Tanzania business environment is expected to improve to a great deal thanks to ongoing efforts to amend non-conducive business laws.

It is expected that the business law amendment will serve to help the country attract investors by improving its business environment, the government has announced.

The government of Tanzania has made public its intention to review key laws in the country, including the Companies Act and the Business Names (Registration) Act, with a view to align the regulations with current global trends and market needs.

To this end, the government of Tanzania is now collecting stakeholders’ opinions ahead of the proposed law amendments.

While the two laws are often confused and intertwined,

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  • Tanzania’s population is expected to reach 140 million people by 2050.
  • The World Bank estimates that Tanzania’s population will double every 23 years.
  • Tanzania set to become one of Africa’s and the world’s most populated countries.

Tanzania’s population is expected to reach 140 million people by 2050 given the current high fertility rate of 3.0 per cent. At this rate, the World Bank estimates that Tanzania’s population will double every 23 years henceforth.

In its latest Tanzania Economic Update that was launched in the country’s port city of Dar es Salaam this March, the World Bank says when it comes to population control, the East African country is facing a delicate balance act.

On the one hand, Tanzania has managed to lower its mortality rates and raise its life expectancy but as a result, it is now facing the effects of high birth rates and, they are not all good.…

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  • As national debts grow, many African countries find themselves spending more on debt than on health.
  • IMF says the debt ratio in Sub-Saharan Africa surged to 60% from 30% of the countries’ GDP between 2013 and December 2022.
  • Kenya is for instance using nearly 60% of its annual revenues on paying debt obligations.

As the Africa debt crisis roils, over half of the countries have found themselves spending more money in servicing their loan obligations than even the amount they have budgeted for health services to their citizens.

This unfolding scenario is further burdening millions of their citizens who have little choice but to shoulder heavy tax burdens to settle mountains of debt.

Prof Danny Bradlow, a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for the Advancement of Scholarship in Pretoria, South Africa, captures the dire situation, stating: “over the  last three years (2019/22), more than 25 African governments allocated …

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  • The IMF has issued Uganda $120 million as part of its Extended Credit Facility (ECF) Arrangement to aid recovery.
  • Total disbursement to Uganda under the ECF Arrangement now reaches $870 million.
  • IMF urges Uganda to give its Central Bank independence 

Kampala is set to receive $120 million as part of its Extended Credit Facility (ECF) Arrangement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to aid Uganda’s economic recovery amidst various challenges, including backlash due to a harsh anti-LGBTQ law.

The IMF executive board has approved immediate disbursement of the said amount after the conclusion of its fifth review of Uganda’s ECF Arrangement. “This brings the aggregate disbursement under the ECF Arrangement to about $870 million,” the IMF note says in part.

Uganda qualified for about $1 billion under the ECF Arrangement as of June 2021, which is now distributed in part every other year.

IMF loan to aid Uganda’s economic recovery

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  • Agriculture is one of the leading causes of climate change.
  • Without action, emissions from food systems will rise even further, with increasing food production.
  • Climate-smart agriculture offers a holistic approach to end food security.

It may surprise many that agriculture and its activities are, in fact, one of the leading causes of climate change. Agriculture is reported to be responsible for some of the highest emissions of greenhouse gases, making the sector one of the main contributors to global warming.

It strikes the environment with a double-edged sword, emitting greenhouse gases on one hand and destroying forests and marine ecosystems on the other.

According to the World Bank, agriculture is the primary cause of deforestation, threatening pristine ecosystems such as the Amazon and the Congo Basin. With the global population exploding, there is an inevitable need to increase food production, which can only be achieved by expanding agricultural activities.

This …

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  • Irrigation in Africa has the potential to essentially double agricultural productivity.
  • In Sub-Saharan Africa, irrigation is a key factor in achieving food security, yet it remains vastly under-utilised.
  • FAO advises that each African country assess its irrigation potential as the basis for planning sustainable food production.

Irrigation in Africa has the potential to essentially double agricultural productivity, boosting output by up to 50 per cent. This optimistic evaluation is provided by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). However, even with this potential, FAO shares concerns that it is vastly underutilized, with agriculture in Africa remaining predominantly rain-fed.

“Although irrigation in Africa has the potential to boost agricultural productivity by at least 50 percent, food production on the continent is almost entirely rainfed,” reports FAO.

According to FAO data, the area under irrigation in Africa currently makes up just 6 percent of the total cultivated area. In Sub-Saharan Africa, irrigation …

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  • Tanzania to earn $400 million annually from tobacco export/sells.
  • The country now ranks second largest tobacco producer in Africa after Zimbabwe.
  • Tobacco has no known health benefit. On the contrary, it causes disease, disability and premature death. Over 6 million people die globally every year from tobacco-related illnesses.

Tanzania has been ranked as the second-largest producer of tobacco in Africa, falling behind only neighboring Zimbabwe, even as tobacco's toll worsens globally. The ranking comes after a bumper harvest in the year 2022/2023, as announced by Tanzania’s Minister for Agriculture, Hussein Bashe.

According to the minister, the country’s tobacco production has more than doubled over the last year alone to 122,858 tonnes in FY2023/2024 from 50,000 tonnes earlier.

As of December last year, the export value of tobacco stood at $316 million, and with the increase in output, the minister is confident that this year the country will attain its…

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