Author: Padili Mikomangwa

The 39^th Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit, which was hosted in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania for two days saw the participation of 16- member states, delegates, and other invited guests.

The summit which took place on August 17^th and 18^th saw the Tanzanian President, Hon. John Pombe Joseph Magufuli assuming Chairmanship of SADC for one year till August 2020, indicating another signal of faith to the president and his regime in steering the bloc to the right socio-economic and political direction.

As one of the largest economies in Africa, prior to the summit Tanzania via its Ministry of Industry and Trade hosted the 4^th SADC Industrialization week, whereby more than 2000 people registered for the exhibitions.

Noted by a local media outlet, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Eng. Stella Manyanya said that almost 1,766 of the participants were Tanzanians and 938 were exhibitors. Participants …

For over 20 years, Acacia and its forerunner mining companies including African Barrick Gold, Barrick Gold, Placer Dome, Pangea Minerals and Afrika Mashariki have been operating in Tanzania in three gold mines, Bulyanhulu, Buzwagi and North Mara, found in the north-west region of Tanzania.

Acacia-Tanzania’s largest gold producer was recently cleared by the Magufuli government and resumed its metal concentrates exportation after a series of regulations led by The Mining Commission of Tanzania Ministry of Minerals that impeded the export of the mineral.

In a press release published by Acacia on 15^th August, export permits are now received by Acacia that noted to have missed 30 percent of sales since the ban went live.

Despite the latter, Acacia and Tanzania could mutually benefit form the mining industry which has grown by 10 percent in the first quarter, according to Tanzania’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) 2019 first quarter highlights.…

Tanzania has recently lifted its halt on Acacia Mining exporting its gold which was issued on March 3^rd 2017.

The leading African gold miner with over 15 years, faced the suspension after Government of Tanzania took a keen eye on its mining operation in North Mara, located in the northern part of Tanzania.

Acacia published a press release on August 9^th documenting the good news relayed by the Mining Commission of Tanzania.

“Acacia notes that today it’s North Mara Gold Mine has received a letter from the Mining Commission of the Tanzanian Ministry of Minerals (the “Mining Commission”) authorizing the Company to resume gold exports from North Mara subject to its adherence to the export procedure. The letter follows an investigation which the Mining Commission conducted at the mine on 30 and 31 July 2019 and an earlier letter dated 12 July 2019 from the Mining Commission which …

Powering 58 million Tanzanian lives has been featured by numerous large-scale electricity generation projects.

This includes the controversial, USD 3 billion Rufiji Hydro Project construction at, Stieglers Gorge and the 150 MW solar farm to kick off December 2020.

Electricity in Tanzania has never been one energy-source show. Solar energy, biomass, and hydro-power have been contributing to electrifying urban and rural Tanzania for decades.

According to Tanzania Electricity Supply Company (TANESCO) data, a state-owned company responsible for generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, 1, 382.95 MW are generated from hydropower (43 percent) and thermal (57 percent) sources.

Available data on renewable energy point out that only 6 MW of solar off-grid PV has been installed across Tanzania, which is mainly lighting up the rural areas; school, hospitals, health centers, police stations, and households.

And yet, the Energy Access Situation Report of 2016, points out that only 16.9 percent of rural …

The Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) project, is a railway under construction in Tanzania which was seeded in 2016, linking the country’s strategic regions and neighboring countries including, Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the anticipated project with the line length of approximately 1,800 kilometers, intends to revolutionize mobility and distribution of commodities in Tanzania, through replacing the ineffective meter-gauge railway system.

The Turkish (Yapi Merkez)  contractor, is on the clock to bring to life the awaited transportation machine that, might transform Tanzania’s economy (for starters; production, labor supply, and consumption). Tanzania Railway Corporation (TRC), the state-owned railway company, oversees a strategic railway network of 2,561 kilometers length, of which is a 112-year-old German colonial transportation remnant. Running from Dar es Salaam (nation’s
business hub) to Kigoma, then having a north-south connection Korogwe to Ruvu. More than USD 1.2 billion has been attached to the project, which …

On June 1, 2019, Tanzania ushered in a new way, for domestic packaging without plastic bags.

Plastic Manufacturing Association of Tanzania (PMAT) stated that the government would lose more than 50 billion TZS, in terms of annual tax, including corporate tax, excise duty, and city service duty, that they paid.

Now, the Tanzanian packaging market is game, as cheaper and durable packaging solutions are yet to surface within communities’ reach. Local, entrepreneurs artisans and recyclers stand to generate millions in revenue, through making renewable bags that could replace the beloved-plastic bags, which were previously sold at 100 TZS a piece, of which is sold at a slightly higher cost of 300 TZS.
Tanzania Invest data indicates that Tanzania is among the 20 fastest growing economies in the world. The latter, promote the possibility that channeling financial and technical resources into small and medium-sized renewable bag factories might be the …

Aviation stands to be Tanzania’s greatest source of investment, as the industry is considered to be one of the most preferred routes to enter the country.

Via data from the US Government’s International Trade Division, there has been a 62% increase in air passengers from 2.1 million in 2010 to 2.5 million in 2015 (these figures include internal air transportation).

According to African Development Bank, Tanzania hosts 368 airports managed by Tanzania Airports Authority (TAA), wherea58 airports are in mainland and more than 300 private airstrips in Tanzania which are under mining companies and tour operator’s

As a country with the largest growing economy in Africa, Tanzania has only 3 international airports: the Julius Nyerere International Airport (JNIA) in Dar Es Salaam, the commercial capital, the Kilimanjaro International Airport (KIA), and the Abeid Amani Karume International Airport (ZNZ) in Zanzibar.

According to the US ITA also indicates there are 21 …

Approximately 10% of Tanzania’s landmass is covered by freshwater.

This essentially means that nearly 4,868,424 million hectares of wetlands can generate billions of dollars in revenue earnings for the country if harnessed correctly. When looking at this in the greater context of East Africa, Tanzania is the leading country with the largest freshwater reserves, an economic advantage over its neighbors.

The Great Lakes region of East Africa, that encompasses Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania as the main countries, are currently undergoing dynamic changes with respect to various water demands occurring across the region.

Still, Tanzania remains to reap significant rewards. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) place Tanzania to be an owner of 96. 27 km3 of renewable water resources per year, which corresponds to 2,266 m³ per person and year, despite being unevenly distributed over time and space, still these numbers give way more financial leeway to Tanzania’s economic …

National parks, great lakes, tall mountains, and exotic landscapes are part of the great-deal that Tanzania’s tourism package tends to offer to its visitors.

Tanzania’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism released recently new statistics, showing Tanzania assuming a rise in visitors from 1.3 million in 2017 to 1.5 million in 2019, sparking a 2 million increase in course of two years.

While Tanzanian counterparts- Kenya crossed 2 million visitors into her borders, taking the top spot across East Africa, apt to take a view on Kenya’s attractive list, anyone with “2 cents” on tourism would desire to experience, the vast wild beast migration of Serengeti, Tarangire, including the exotic heritage sites of Tanzania’s breath-taking Kilimanjaro and of course the beautiful beaches of Zanzibar.

With a half a million difference in visitors, there are important questions that hover across Tanzania’s tourism sector that is strictly driven by a country’s political …