Author: Padili Mikomangwa

Over the past few days, the East African corridor witnessed a border closure that had serious impacts to Tanzania, Zambia, and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

According to information from The Citizen, the border saga has a new ground as Kenya allowed Tanzanian truck drivers to cross the Namanga entry point, prior clarifying their COVID-19 test results.

Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Zambia make up over 2,000 cases of the coronavirus. The pandemic forced the Tunduma-Nakonde border vicinity to be monitored closely as the Nakonde district recorded 76 new cases on Saturday.

Kenyan border

However, government authorities in Tanzania said yesterday of the 300 trucks that were denied entry into Kenya until their drivers had undergone Covid-19 tests, had been allowed to proceed.

This is a consequent measure brought to curb the virus, as on Tuesday two truck drivers tested positive compelling Kenyan health authorities requiring truck drivers to undergo …

Africa second-largest economy, South Africa—is anticipating to reopen its economy by easing its nationwide lockdown.

According to information from Bloomberg, South Africa’s government announced the plans for the reopening on Wednesday.

South Africa—which had the most strict lockdown perhaps in the entire region, has taken the imitative due to business leaders constant pressure on South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, to take back the economy to its normal life, arguing that the lockdown does more harm and could do more harm to the economy over time.

The South African government rolled in a 21-day lockdown on March 27 to fight the virus spread, but then added two more weeks.

The lockdown has been used as the preparing base to levitate the health system, as nearly 25,000 beds were added for quarantine, personal protective equipment and other supplies, according to information from Bloomberg.

Speaking to his countrymen via a televised address, …

The coronavirus (COVID-19) fight is getting into a different dynamic as Tanzania anticipates unlocking its tourism potential, some of the East African member states decided to close their borders to curb the highly contagious virus.

Zambia closes its border with Tanzania

The transit landscape between Tanzania and Zambia just got stuck, as Tunduma-Nakonde border got closed to curb the coronavirus pandemic.

The shutdown came to life on Monday, May 11, after border district confirmed 76 new cases on Saturday, which was the steepest increase to date. Hence, Zambia has around 267 confirmed cases and 7 people have died from the virus.

Zambian Health Minister Chitalu Chilufya said the closing the border allows for cleaning, disinfection and virus testing to be conducted in Nakonde. But also retraining immigration staff at the border on how to deal with the entry of persons and goods, according to information from The Citizen.

However, according …

The Bank of Tanzania (BoT) has aligned various approved policy measures necessary for rescuing the economy from gruesome effects of the Coronavirus (COVID-19), which has already demonstrated its impacts by destabilizing the tourism and aviation sector in Tanzania.

The bank announced the new move on Tuesday, through a statement.

As Tanzania still records nearly 500 confirmed cases and 16 deaths, the central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), which met on 8 May 2020, agreed on the measures to “safeguard the financial sector stability and continue facilitating the financial intermediation process” according to the central bank’s statement.

How local banks get saved

Tanzanian business shutdown and some worrying about their loan repayment schedules, the central bank has emerged with a rather customized solution to aid the banking and business community in that manner.

The bank has urged banks and other financial institutions to assess financial challenges faced by borrowers triggered …

The globe is at a stand-still position and Africa is hurting and expected to also sustain serious repercussions from the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which has already claimed nearly 2,000 lives, infected over 60,000 people and around 21,000 managed to recover According to the latest data by the John Hopkins University and Africa Center for Disease Control on COVID-19 in Africa.

The pandemic has brought rather crucial ideas from South Africa’s President and African Union chairperson Cyril Ramaphosa on Africa requesting a two-year debt standstill to provide governments with the fiscal space to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

As the world strives to attain a balance between staying safe and breathing life back to the economy, Africa is taking the entire perspective of the pandemic on its axis, while other nations move around several measures, some African nations have managed to somewhat contain the virus to a certain extent.

The

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is stealing the life out of the billion-dollar tourism industry in Tanzania, the government has already laid out a warning that at about 477,000 jobs could be lost, while revenue will shrink by 77 per cent if the virus outbreak endures hurting people past October this year.

According to the Tanzanian ministry of tourism, the number of tourists arriving in Tanzania rose from 1.3 million in 2017 to 1.5 million in 2018, whereas this increment made the sector to garner $2.4 billion (7.2 per cent increase) compared to 2.3 billion in 2017.

This means that the forex earning sector could collapse as the virus outbreak takes various dynamics over time and space in Tanzania, thus currently health authorities reports indicated 480 people have contracted the virus and 16 people succumbed by the virus.

Tanzania is one of Africa’s leading tourism markets, with exotic landscapes of the …

Tanzania has taken the virus fight to another level this week, as the Tanzanian President John Magufuli promised to fetch the rather controversial Madagascan local herbs believed to cure the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) was fulfilled yesterday.

The Madagascan cure

According to information from The Citizen, and various images circulated in several news outlets, Tanzania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation Prof Palamagamba Kabudi, landed in Antananarivo a few minutes after midday for the mission.

The Tanzanian minister and his host drunk the herbal medicine which is designated for lab testing before administering to patients national wide as argued by Magufuli last week.

Madagascar’s herbal cure named Covid Organics (CVO) which has received calls from World Health Organization (WHO) to subject it for clinical trials will also be analyzed and researched by the Tanzanian National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR).

“We are advising the government of Madagascar to take …

The East African coronavirus (COVID-19) battle has been fortified with $1.23 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Both Kenya and Uganda have so far confirmed more than 600 cases of the virus.

COVID-19 Funding in Kenya

According to the IMF statement, on Wednesday the IMF Executive Board approved the disbursement of SDR542.8 million (100 per cent of quota, about US$739 million) to be drawn under the Rapid Credit Facility (RCF).

“This will help to meet Kenya’s urgent balance of payments need stemming from the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic,” The statement read in part.

The impact of COVID-19 on the Kenyan economy will be severe. It will act through both global and domestic channels, and downside risks remain large.

The Kenyan authorities have taken decisive action to respond to the pandemic’s health and economic impacts, the sudden shock has left Kenya with significant fiscal and external financing needs. Authorities …

Tanzania is one of East Africa’s nation battling the spread of coronavirus on a daily basis.

The country has now taken measures to curb the spread of the deadly virus, including acknowledging the role of traditional medicine and even reshuffling the health sector to bring new energy in winning against the virus.

Traditional Medicine

The novel coronavirus that has taken 16 lives and infected nearly 480 people in Tanzania, could be dealt with new support from the traditional medical landscape.

According to information from The Citizen, the Tanzanian National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR) has joined forces with the ministry of health to develop guidelines on how and what type of traditional medicines should be used for the treatment of the coronavirus (COVID-19).

The incorporation of traditional medicine came with critical support from the President John Magufuli and other influential legislators who argued for the right use of the traditional …

Digital supremacy has not only ended with space-technology and communication, but has made its way towards health. In this case, Tanzanian youth have used ingenuity in domesticating seamless digital solutions and in making sure essential health services are simplified.

It is the youth who are now innovating realistic and customized digital solutions that link pharmaceutical suppliers, manufacturers, importers and retailers in one system, to ensure pharmaceutical services are executed proficiently and in an organized manner.

The health sector in Tanzania, a nation with more than 55 million people,  whose Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 6.8 per cent in the third quarter (according to Bank of Tanzania Quarterly Bulletin), contributed less to the real GDP with only 0.7 per cent, still, its stakeholders strive to develop different spheres of the sector which is crucial for the nation’s welfare.

According to WHO, and UN Comtrade and Business Monitor, Tanzania’s pharmaceutical market …