Saturday 20 July 2013
Tabora Investment Forum urges potential investors to come to Tabora and invest there
By Nasser Kigwangallah
THE vice
president Dr. MohaMmed Gharib Bilal has urged potential investors to come
forward and invest serious in Tabora so as to increase the rapid growth of the
region and Tanzania as a whole.
Dr Bilal was said
this at an official opening of Tabora Investment Forum in Dar es Salaam yesterday.
“On behalf of the
Government of the United Republic of Tanzania , Tabora Region and Municipality
of Tabora, I would like to extend our deepest thanks to the Government of
Finland for the financial support provided to Tabora under the Regional
Partnership to Promote Trade and Investment in Sub- Saharan Africa, and our
appreciation to the Millennium Cities Initiative (MCI) for providing the expertise
to implement this project in Tabora,” he said.
He said Tabora has a
rich history as the railway hub and centre of commerce, with well-developed
agriculture and light industry.
He added that Tabora,
being the centre of education in Tanzania, it has a large number of schools providing
good-quality education in many areas, such as agriculture, commerce,
administration, and so on.
He said the
Beekeeping College is an example of one of the specialized institutions that is
directly intended to support a sector with high potential for further
development, i.e., honey production and processing as well as related products,
such as beeswax, propolis and royal jelly.
He
remarked: “Infrastructure deficits in Tabora have led to its full potential for
manufacturing and trading not being fully achieved; however, steps have been
taken to improve the situation. Roads are being built and improved.”
Speaking
on the occasion, Fatma Mwasa, the Tabora regional commissioner said Tabora, in
cooperation with the Earth Institute (under which the Millennium Cities
Initiative also falls), also is proud to have access to the Millennium Villages Program, which has been
very successful, improving the livelihoods of many people in the Mbola Village
and providing an example to others.
“Indeed,
the farm to market linkages between the village and Tabora Municipality is also a key element in
developing the local value chain for the agricultural product and agribusiness,”
she said.
According to her, under
the Regional Partnership project, the following initiatives were undertaken; specific
investment opportunities were identifie.
Mwasa said: “So I
warmly welcome you and your business to Tabora.
There are unlimited investment and business opportunities which you are
invited to explore. I know some of you are
interested to invest in agriculture and agro-processing.”
She added that Tabora
has a conduncive weather for the growth of a variety crops such as sunflowers,
groundnuts, maize and rice, fruit and vegetables, cotton and tobacco.
In Tabora we have huge
potential for edible oil production, fruit and vegetable canning, cereal
storing and processing, meat processing, leather production.
Most of the farmers
already work in strict adherence to Good Agricultural Practices and with high human
rights standards.
Kaisa
Alapartanen Programme Officer, Embassy of Finland said she was pleased as her
government was a key partner in development of Tabora and would continue to
help the programme to its success.She said Tabora Region and Tanzania Investment Centre in cooperation with the Millennium Cities Initiative, a programme of the Earth Institute of Columbia University in New York jointly organized an investment forum to promote awareness of investment opportunities in and around Tabora.
Tabora is a natural centre of western Tanzania as it is located on a major crossing of railway lines connecting the coast with the interior of Africa.
It is therefore a centre of business and commerce, not only for Tanzania but also for adjacent countries, with an estimated market exceeding 20 million consumers.
Tabora also offers a skilled and educated labor as it is home to several educational institutions.
The region is endowed with abundance of natural resources and farming land, and growing population in the city and attracts new companies from Tanzania and abroad to study investment and business opportunities it can offer.
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Thursday 4 July 2013
CORRUPT government officials to face the music, Prof. Muhongo
Professor Sospeter Muhongo, the Energy and Minerals minister
By Nasser Kigwangallah
THE government has reiterated its commitment to curb corruption and embezzlement of public funds saying that it will take stern and immediate steps to those found indulging in corrupt practices.
This was said by Professor Sospeter Muhongo, the Energy and Minerals minister in Dar es Salaam yesterday at a one day stakeholders meeting.
The meeting was called by his ministry to show case and commitment to the public on their performance and how they have committed themselves in implementing twenty nine projects aimed at electrifying Tanzania.
“I want to tell you that I and my team of experts in the ministry declare to you that we are committed in implementing various electricity projects in the country and anyone of us who fails to perform will face the wrath and ultimately will be dismissed from job outright,” he said angrily.
He said Tanesco, the power utility firm, has already sacked 49 officials for being unfaithful to their work.
Tanzania has coal reserves of up to 5 billion tones, more than thrice its previously stated figure of about 1.5 billion tones and sees no reason at all why Tanzania could continue to face blackout day in and day out.
The country produces coal from two mines mainly for domestic power generation.
He said: “Developing coal production is part of broader energy strategy, which includes exploiting recent big gas finds.”
He added that the government's power generation mix will focus on generating power from natural gas, coal, hydro-power and renewable energy sources.
According to him, in 2011 China's Sichuan Hongda Co. Ltd. signed a USD3 billion deal with the country to mine coal and iron ore and build a 600-megawatt coal-fired power plant.
Tancoal Energy, a joint venture between Australian-listed Intra Energy Corporation and Tanzania's government, runs the Ngaka coal project, while Tanzania's other mine at Kiwira is run by the state.
The government, he said has plans in which Kiwira and Tancoal will produce power plants with 400 megawatts capacity.
Recent oil and gas explored recently at Songo Songo in Kilwa and Mnazi Bay in Mtwara will make the country able to turn Tanzania into a hydrocarbons exporter.
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Tuesday 2 July 2013
THE US President Barack Obama makes a historic tout to Tanzania
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By Nasser Kigwangallah in Dar es Salaam
THE much awaited US President Barack Obama finally arrived in Dar es Salaam, the largest and commercial capital of Tanzania on Monday noon.
He was welcomed by his host, Jakaya Kikwete the Tanzanian president and other top government dignitaries.
Obama was welcomed by troupes of traditional dancers, to say that he hoped Tanzania would benefit from a regional trade partnership that would improve lives in ways that foreign aid cannot.
"We are looking at a new model that's based not just on aid and assistance, but on trade and partnership," he said.
He added that ultimately, the goal here is for Africa to build Africa for Africans.
Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete praised Obama and his predecessor, George W, Bush, who provided the country with millions of dollars in aid to prevent the spread of HIV, spending that Obama has cut in Africa.
Obama praised Bush's funding for AIDS treatment and the two will have a brief meeting in the country where Bush is attending a conference on African women organized by his institute.
Hundreds of young people lined the streets wearing T-shirts and sarongs bearing images of Obama in the biggest welcome of his three-country visit to Africa. He has already visited Senegal and South Africa.
Obama's message has been that African countries must work hard to strengthen good governance practices and ensure human rights abusers are held to account.
Obama pledged to foster further bilateral cooperation that existed between the two countries.
"I am very happy to see President Obama. It has been my dream since he got into power because he's such a charismatic person," said many people who lined along the root in which Obama and his entourage passed.
But others criticized his trip to Tanzania, saying they know Obama is coming for "American interests and that his trip to the country has brought hardship to local people than ever in their lives which has been disrupted.
"One thing I would like to note is that there has been a scramble for Tanzania's resources, like gas and gold, and there's an obvious competition between the U.S. and China," said retired teacher Jesca Mbelwa, 65.
"But I want to see Africans benefit from their resources first and second the Americans or the Chinese."
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