Author: Giza Mdoe

• According to UN estimates some 53.6 million tonnes of e-waste was generated around the world in 2019.
• The World Economic Forum (WEF) estimate that the annual generation of e-waste will reach 74.7 Mt by 2030.
• Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is a policy or principle that is designed to promote total life cycle of products.

Mobile phone manufacturers release new devices almost every other quarter. Ever wondered what happens to the old ones?

Actually, what happens to old (or not so old) electronics that are simply out-paced by newer technology? Well, just like used cars and clothing, they are exported to Africa and other developing nations.

The so called export of used consumer goods to Africa is nothing more than dumping of electronic waste from rich, developed countries to unsuspecting developing nations that in most cases are forced by loan and grant conditions to buy the environmentally harzadous goods.

Known as …

• 71 LGAs paid $4.3 million (TZS10.08 billion) to various suppliers and clients without demanding receipts.
• About $32.7 million in revenue from rental charges for shops and houses located at the council’s bus stands and markets was not collected.
• Audit has prompted President Samia Suluhu Hassan to dissolve the board of Tanzania Government Flight Agency (TGFA).

An audit in Tanzania has exposed massive corruption and misuse of public finances across Local Government Authorities (LGAs) that led to the loss of billions of shillings, yet another pointer to why the country of nearly 65 million people still ranks high globally on corruption.

Tanzania Controller and Auditor General (CAG) 2021/22 report shows a total of 71 LGAs paid $4.3 million (TZS10.08 billion) to various suppliers and clients without demanding receipts while another 40 authorities wired $725,711 or TZS1.70 billion to beneficiaries without proof of the relevant supporting documents.

A total of $4.7 million …

• Trade between China and Tanzania grew by 23.7% year-on-year, reaching US$8.31 billion in 2022
• China pledges increased cooperation under its Global Development Initiative
• As of 2022, trade volume between China and Africa reached US$282 billion dollars, an 11.1% year-on-year growth.

China-Tanzania relations can be measured in growing trade portfolios and can be seen in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s choice to make Tanzania the first African country to visit when he came into power in 2013.

Not only was Tanzania President Xi’s first African country to visit but his first overseas trip since assuming the presidency.

In his speech 10 years ago, delivered at the Julius Nyerere International Convention Center which was built with Chinese assistance, President Xi cemented relations between the two long-term friends and partners.

In his speech titled; “Be Trustworthy Friends and Sincere Partners Forever,” President Xi emphasized the principles of sincerity, goodwill, good faith, and pursuing the …

• The future of agriculture is digital not the hand-hoe
• The more efficient a farm is, the more productive it becomes without necessarily increasing land size.
• AfDB awards US$140,000 in grants to AgriPitch competition winners

Agriculture development for food security and poverty reduction cannot be realized without the adaptation of digital solutions.

Digital solutions offer more effective traceability, compliance and farm management systems which make the commercial, large or small, much more effective. In these modern times of food scarcity in the face of ever-increasing demand, efficiency is the name of the game.

The more efficient a farm is, the more productive it becomes without necessarily increasing land size or the amount of crops or animals.

“When it comes to subsistence agriculture, digital transformation is no longer a choice – it’s a need. You can either go digital or disappear,” warns Simon Winter, Executive Director at Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture …

• Microbe animal feed supplement doubles milk production in 24hrs
• Bacterial solution solves aflatoxin problem in animal feed
• Tanzania dairy industry to benefit from Kenyan feed supplement

Kenyan dairy farming scientists have developed a molasses-based animal feed supplement that is capable of doubling milk production in just 24 hours.

Using naturally occurring microbes, scientists have figured a way to ‘pre-ferment’ or ‘pre-digest’ animal feed which in turn allows for the cow’s body to easily and quickly absorb nutrients and in turn produce more milk much faster.

Cows, like most other ruminant herbivores, do not have the time to properly chew their feed in the field, this could be a natural self-preservation adaptation i.e. quickly collect the feed when in a hazardous environment filled with predators and only process it later in the safety of their resting places.

Grass is stored in one of the four chambers (four stomachs) before being regurgitated …

• Lithium battery industry to grow over 30 percent annually from 2022 to 2030
• Market value for lithium batteries to exceed US$400 billion by 2030
• DRC, Zambia and Tanzania looking to refine cobalt, manufacture lithium batteries

The sale of Electric Vehicles (EVs) is booming in the transport industry of the developed world, and now Africa wants in.

Rather than continue to supply raw materials for the making of the electric vehicle, countries like DRC, Zambia, and Tanzania, want to refine the ores and even manufacture the final product, lithium batteries.

Their ambitions are well placed because the lithium battery industry is booming and will only keep growing. A 2022 analysis by the McKinsey Battery Insights team projected that the entire lithium-ion battery chain, from mining through recycling, could grow by over 30 percent annually by 2030 when it would reach a value of more than US$400 billion.

“Batteries for mobility applications, …

• Saudia Airlines launches direct flights to/from Tanzania
• Saudia Airlines direct flights to Tanzania less than 5 hours
• According to the Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority, the number of international travellers to Tanzania increased by 55 percent in 2022

Saudia Airlines on Sunday 26th March made its maiden flight to Julius Nyerere International Airport (JNIA) in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, cutting travel time and reducing travel costs to the Kingdom by more than half.

This inaugural flight by the Saudi Arabian carrier marked the start of direct flights to and from Jeddah to Dar es Salaam four times a week. With the commencement of these direct flights, travel time between the two countries has been cut down by more than half.

Before the Air Saudia direct flights, passengers had to endure a flight time of up to 10 hours. Now, the same distance will be covered in only 4 hours and 40 …

• The prospect of establishing a common currency will be a top agenda at the upcoming BRICS Summit in Durban, South Africa later this year.
• The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is working towards trading in their own national currencies.
• Roughly 40 percent of international trade transactions in goods are invoiced in dollars

The prospect of establishing a common currency will be a top agenda at the upcoming BRICS Summit in Durban, South Africa later this year.

Should the common currency be formed, it will be based on a basket of the currencies of the BRICS countries; the Chinese RMB Yuan, the Russian Ruble, the Indian Rupee, the Brazilian Real, and the South African Rand.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has on several occasions announced plans by the BRICS countries to unify their currencies and untangle themselves from dollar dependency.

At a media conference during his Africa tour at the start of …

• Zanzibar President Mwinyi signs Zanzibar Sustainable Tourism Declaration
• Greener Zanzibar Tourism Strategy to boost island’s blue economy
• World Bank urges Zanzibar to increase local content in tourism

Zanzibar President Dr. Hussein A. Mwinyi has pledged to ensure a greener and more sustainable approach to tourism in Zanzibar following the signing of the Zanzibar Sustainable Tourism Declaration.

The declaration recognizes and commits Zanzibar to uphold global sustainable tourism standards as adopted by international institutions and world leaders. As part of the island’s Greener Zanzibar Tourism Strategy, the declaration sets Zanzibar on a path to embed sustainable strategies as part of its tourism growth plan.

President Mwinyi signed the declaration at the first Zanzibar Tourism Investment and Travel Exhibition (ZTITE) held on the island in February where he was the guest of honour.

The three-day event was held from the 9th to the 11th by the Zanzibar Commission for Tourism (ZCT)  under …

• US Vice President Kamala Harris pledges increased US trade with Tanzania
• This visit by VP Harris is expected to encourage US investment in Tanzania through trade, which already the office of the Vice President has pledged to do.
• US Lifezone Metals to set up second cobalt, nickel refinery plant in Tanzania

The trip to Tanzania by US Vice President Kamala Harris is already bearing fruit with the US announcing plans to increase trade with the country.

Air Force 2 landed in Tanzania late Wednesday where the US second in command was received in a colourful ceremony at the Julius Nyerere International Airport (JNIA) in the commercial port city of Dar es Salaam.

Her host, Tanzania president Samia Suluhu Hassan who was herself Vice President less than two years ago, hosted Vice President Harris at the State House fondly known in Swahili as Ikulu. Vice President Kamala Harris is in Tanzania …