Browsing: Coronavirus

In a bid to keep the sector going, the Tanzanian government has announced plans to significantly lower hunting permit fees.

The relief comes shrouded by coronavirus threat which is the push behind the announced review of annual hunting blocks license fees.

Local media quoted the Deputy Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, Mr Constantine Kanyasu, announcing the fee slash plans. According to the high government official, the planned fee cut is in response to requests by hunting companies who are complaining of reduced bookings owing to the global coronavirus threat.

“The Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism will meet hunters again before the end of this month to inform them on the government’s action to rescue the subsector,” the Deputy Minister told media.

On behalf of the hunting companies, the Tanzania Hunting Operators Association (Tahoa) pointed out that there is still room to review the fees ahead of the hunting …

Food security has always been a matter of much concern across Africa, the threat has only been extenuated by the worsening coronavirus outbreak.

With the rest of the World tied up with response to the coronavirus in their own countries, scientists in Africa have to step up to the food security threat on the continent.

Up to the task are Tanzanian scientists who early this week, in the nick of time, announced a breakthrough in maize research that may very well answer the impending food security threat.

The Tanzania Agricultural Research Institute, announced its scientists have developed two genetically modified maize varieties that to a great extent, stand to solve the food security issue in the country and region at large.

First is a maize variety that is much higher in protein concentration than the regular maize types now been grown across the country. This variety will serve to give …

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) says that almost 25 million jobs could be lost worldwide as a result of covid-19.

Globally, the coronavirus pandemic could cause an economic and labour crisis where unemployment could range between 5.3 million in a “low” scenario and 24.7 million in a “high” scenario from a base level of 188 million in 2019.

In comparison to the 2008-9 global financial crisis, the effect on job losses could now be higher by about three million jobs from the 22 million registered in 2008/9.

How is Africa suffering from US-China trade wars?

During the 2008/9 crisis, Africa largely weathered the impact of the crisis but suffered lower commodity prices, trade volumes, remittances, and foreign direct investment. The financial contagion hit both developed and developing countries by shaving off about  5–7 per cent of GDP which was worth two to three years of growth in rich countries. In …

For decades, African leaders have remained detached from the realities of life for the majority leading to neglect of key and essential infrastructure like healthcare.

With the covid-19 coronavirus outbreak, the systems that have been neglected for as long are starting to show signs of breaking even with the enormity of the virus still way below what some individual countries have suffered.

Most of these leaders have always sought treatment abroad, even for basic illnesses and conditions that can be taken care of at home. But with the distrust in the local systems, they have chosen to always fly out and then come back once they have stabilised to continue with the same cycle of plunder and ignorance of what needs to be done.

See: Coronavirus shakes economies, world forced to change perspective on Africa

The latest cases have been those of Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria who spent the better …

The East Africa Tea Trade Association, the organization that runs the famed Mombasa tea auction has announced that it was postponing indefinitely the planned auction of regional teas, sending the industry into chaos.

With the suspension, 600,000 small-scale farmers and employees. of factories across the region will not be processing tea leaves unless those destined for alternative markets rather than the Mombasa auction.

The postponement comes amid reports that key buyers have failed to turn up for trade at the auction resulting in massive price drops.

“Further developments have come to light with respect to the spread of COVID-19 virus. It is due to this that the East African Tea Trade Association has taken the decision to postpone auction-12, the secondary auction of Monday 23rd and Primary auction of Tuesday 24th April,” noted a statement by Edward Mudibo, the Managing director of EATTA.

According to the figures from the auction, …

According to the Tanzanian Ministry of Health, All 27 people who came in contact with the first patients tested negative for Coronavirus.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) has hit Tanzania, and it is taking a rather serious toll in the East African nation of more than 55 million people, forcing lifestyle choice to change and economic operations to shrink.

In the past weeks, Tanzania had no cases, but currently, there are 6 cases registered in Tanzania. Since the virus made its way to Tanzania, the government of Tanzania has instructed closure of schools, higher learning institutions, and rolled in precautionary measures to various sectors including transport and health.

The ministry of health revealed on 18 March 2020, that the task force tracked all contacts related to the patient, of which have now risen to 27, and tested negative for COVID-19

Since the first case broke, Tanzania has seen a stark rise in hand-sanitizer …

Infections in Africa have been steadily rising after initial indications had shown the continent was not affected by Coronavirus compared to other regions. What started with a few cases in Nigeria and Egypt has risen to over 500 cases and a dozen deaths.

Now, the World Health Organisation (WHO) says there could be more cases that what is officially documented. The explanation according to Ethiopian born and head of WHO is that the tests being conducted by the local governments are not as robust.

“I think Africa should wake up. My continent should wake up,” said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

WHO reports that there are over slightly over 591 coronavirus patients in Africa and the numbers are rising each day.  Egypt reported the largest number of positive cases (196), followed by South Africa (116), Algeria (72), Morocco (49), Senegal (31), Burkina Faso (20), Cameroon (10), Rwanda (8), Democratic Republic …

The airline business is becoming messier by the day as the covid-19 coronavirus continues disrupting business in a way never seen before.

From manufacturing to travel, entertainment to medicine, all sectors of the economy have been jolted by the virus whose epicentre is Wuhan, China. The disease, “a pneumonia of unknown cause detected in Wuhan, China,” was first reported to the WHO Country Office in China on 31 December 2019. From then, it has been a rollercoaster.

The real magnitude of the virus is starting to manifest with deaths, infections and isolations becoming the order of the day worldwide. While the disease in itself is not a death sentence, the fear that people may contract it en masse burdening health infrastructure in several countries has led to people isolating themselves, and observation, in what has now become the norm- social distancing.

See: Coronavirus shakes economies, world forced to change perspective

When President Uhuru Kenyatta stepped out on his Harambee house offices to announce the measures to curb the spread of Novel Coronavirus, no one knew the effect it would have on the East African citizens. In his announcement, the President gave an allowance of 48 hours for non-Kenyans to arrive and be quarantined after which none will be allowed.

While the rules of engagement for a trade block like East African Community has been to allow the free movement of people, goods, and services, Coronavirus has stepped to challenge this notion, with most countries viciously guarding their borders against foreign entry.

In regional bodies like the European Union, the movement of people and goods across the region is becoming more difficult with border chaos being witnessed in countries traditionally with the easiest border crossing exercises.

In East Africa, crossing the boundary is even harder. After Kenya announced the crossing of …

In 2017, 11 of the 43 major infrastructure projects in East Africa were in Kenya and while these numbers may have shifted, the dynamics have not changed much for the region.

For the past 20 years, East Africa has experienced an unprecedented real estate boom which has transformed the skylines changing the building landscape and inventory.

While the demand continues, especially for affordable housing targeting the low-income bracket, the shopping malls and office spaces are outpacing demand leading to declining returns in the sector for some.

The East African region still has a high and unmet demand for warehouses, hotels and student hostels as more and more students continue seeking education far from home.

Read: Intra-regional trade could create 2 million new jobs for East Africa

Over the course of time, construction has primarily focused on high-end assets due to the belief that they delivered higher margins and higher returns …