Battle: Dar es Salaam vs Nairobi

Mashashola · Feb 10, 2022

KANAIRO said:
Hii isiolo inakaa the overrated dodoma

View attachment 2114775

Dodoma is a shopping centre compared to osiolo

Geza Ulole · Feb 10, 2022

Geza Ulole · Feb 10, 2022

Trade between Kenya and Tanzania Soars to hit USD 906 Million

Bilateral Trade between Kenya and Tanzania escalates to USD 905.5 million as of latest reports.

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) recorded the figures in the period between from January to November 2021.

But as of February 2022 it being estimated that, the trade between the two East African countries could be even higher.

At least, that was among the highlights from the recently held, Trade Facilitation Forum which took place at the Namanga One-Stop Border Post.

The event was organized by the Arusha-based, East African Business Council.

“Kenya imports from Tanzania stood at USD 501 million and exports USD 404,” said John Bosco Kalisa the Chief Executive of the EABC.

Kalisa applauded President Samia Suluhu Hassan and President Uhuru Kenyatta for resolving Non-Tariff Barriers resulting in better trade ties.

The Station Manager of Namanga Border post in Kenya expounded that the border clears 250 trucks daily, a 3-fold increase in comparison to May last year.

The leaders of Freight and Forwarders Association urged for the separation of the Import Declaration Form (IDF) from the Integrated Customs Management System (ICMS) of Kenya, set-up of a permanent cargo scanner at the border to facilitate trade.

Chairman of Kenya International Freight and Warehousing Association (KIFWA) Daniel Wainaina,said the clearing cost of cargo on the Kenya side has increased by 70 percent due to multiple processes and departments. He noted that for a 20metric tonne truck, the clearing cost is approximately USD 200 resulting in un-competitiveness.

On his part, Mr. Gerald Masila, the CEO of East African Grain Council added that the EAGC spearheaded the development of EAC harmonized standards on grains and cereals and Standards on sampling and testing to boost cross-border trade of cereals in the region.

The traders called for more staff to be deployed at the Agriculture Food Authority (AFA) of Kenya to facilitate approval of pre-applications of maize import from Tanzania to Kenya and joint testing of aflatoxin to be undertaken preferably in Arusha to reduce the number of rejections at the border.

Paloma Fernanda, is the CEO of Cereal Millers Association who also urged for joint campaign on tackling aflatoxin from farm level and post-harvest losses in the region.

Chairpersons of Women Cross Border Traders, Sarah Keiya and Alice Lemowo urged the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania to allow use of national identity cards as travel documents, set up of daycare center for children, sensitization and capacity building on the customs procedures plus exports of beaded jewelry to oversee markets.

Peter Musiba from the Tanzania Bureau of Standards explained that the TBS is tackling aflatoxin setting out premises for testing in several areas in Tanzania such as Dodoma, Shinyanga and Singida to facilitate trade of cereals.

Dr. Irene Musebe from the Ministry of East African Community and Regional Development of Kenya said Kenya and Tanzania have strong trade ties and the Ministry is setting up a Jumuiya Market near the border of Namanga to support cross-border trade.

She promised that the women cross-border trades shall have a stall at the Jumuiya Market.

Ms. Eugenia Mwesiumo, from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation -United Republic of Tanzania said “The EAC Common Market is alive through trade facilitation.” She underscored the important role of border agencies in easing cross-border trade.

The challenges at the Namanga border include: lack of mutual recognition of product standards, system failures leading to delay in issuance of C4 documents, multiple roadblocks on both sides and cargo scanner failures leading to cargo trucks traffic jams.

The forum also recommended regular holding of joint border management committee meetings, simplification & publication of customs procedures, trade information desk for women cross-border traders, capacity building programs to tackle aflatoxin and transform aflatoxin infected cereals into ethanol and industrial glue.

Mr. Kalisa said that EABC shall roll out Border Facilitation Performance Indicator to monitor implementation of the recommendations in a bid to ease trade.

The EABC Trade Facilitation Forum was attended by over 70 delegates including Officials from the Ministry of EAC Affairs, trade facilitation agencies, importers, exporters, transporters and freight forwarders, Kenya National Chambers of Commerce and Industry, women cross-border traders and GIZ.

The forum was supported by GIZ “Support to East African Market-Driven and People-Centred Integration” programme (SEAMPEC).

Trade between Kenya and Tanzania Soars to hit USD 906 Million

Trade between Tanzania and Kenya climaxes 'No man's land,' initiative

tanzaniatimes.net

Geza Ulole · Feb 10, 2022

‘From Russia With Love!’ Strange Safari links Moscow and Zanzibar with New Nyerere National Park

The New Nyerere National Park has some extraordinary connection with Zanzibar where it has been discovered that tourists from mostly Moscow and Warsaw who visit the Islands, link their itinerary with the country’s largest National Park.

Almost daily, Nyerere National Park records between three and five flights from Zanzibar, landing mostly at the Mtemere Airstrip, with International travelers that have been enjoying beach tourism in the isles, flying into the Game Park for wildlife experience.

Seth Mihayo is the Conservator in-charge of Tourism at the Nyerere National Park. He states that this uncanny alliance in tourism between the two destinations can be attributed to the easier and faster flights between Zanzibar and Tanzania’s largest Game Park.

“Plus the fact that Nyerere, being still a new and featuring hardly trodden reserves, boasts abundance of wildlife that can be viewed within a very short time after the tourists disembark from the planes at the Mtemere Gate Airstrip,” he added.

Is Nyerere National Park the ‘New Serengeti’ in town?

Italian Job?

While it has been stated that many of the visitors who enjoy networking their travel itineraries between beach tourism in Unguja and Pemba with wildlife spotting at Nyerere National Park usually come from Russia and Poland, Italian visitors are also joining the adventure.

“It takes less than 45 minutes to fly from Zanzibar to Nyerere National Park,” explains Tomasz Dworczyk, a travel agent based at Unguja, who handles mostly itineraries of visitors from Poland.

“This makes Nyerere National Park more accessible than say Serengeti or Tarangire and therefore we fly tourists from the Isles into Nyerere for game driving or walking safaris within a day, before they return to Zanzibar,” added Mr Dworczyk.

Driver and Tour Guide, Patrick Joseph Haule explains further that under the ‘Beach to Bush’ initiative, many of the visitors from the Isles who tour Nyerere National Park prefer alternative forms of tourism that can only be experienced there and nowhere else.

“Nyerere offers boat safaris on large rivers, this type of tourism is exclusive for the National Park, as well as large herds of elephants that can be moving together in groups of between 30 and 50 or more,” explained Haule.

Panthera Leo

Nyerere is also home to more than 50 percent of the country’s Lion population.
As it happens, Tanzania has the largest number of lions compared to other African countries, according to the recent released global zoological report. The country has more than 15,000 such cats, which means over 7000 of them are hunting in the National Park.

Six piece, Leo orchestra at Nyerere Park

Encompassing nearly 31,000 square kilometers, Nyerere National Park which was carved from the Selous Game Reserve in 2019, is essentially the largest in East and Central Africa and according to the Acting Commissioner of Conservation Dr Emilian Samuel Kihwele, the destination is home to nearly 500 bird species.

Dr Kihwele, with a poster of water wading giraffes at Nyerere behind him

“Nyerere may be only three years old but the National Park is already attracting over 100,000 foreign visitors yearly and producing revenue of more than 3 billion/- per annum,” said Dr Kihwele.

“Nyerere National Park combines it all into one package. Marine tourism in rivers and lakes found within the precinct, abundant wildlife species, birds watching, canoeing safaris, cultural attractions from the Wang’indo Migration trails and holy trees and historical traces of Maji-Maji rebellion and World Wars sceneries.”
Dr Emilian S. Kihwele

‘From Russia With Love!’ Strange Safari links Moscow and Zanzibar with New Nyerere National Park

East Africa's largest National Park gets Russian, Polish tourists from beach to bush

tanzaniatimes.net

Filaria · Feb 10, 2022

Mashashola said:
Hii kesi ya Mbowe, kuna baadhi ya maofisa wa Polisi, hawataisahau maana utakuwa ndio mwisho wao katika utumishi wa ummaView attachment 2114394

Hv wew ni mkenya kwel, mbona unafuatilia kila kitu kwa Tz tena kwa uchungu mkubwa

Geza Ulole · Feb 10, 2022

To rescue Kenya from Hunger, Tanzania to build giant grain silos in Mombasa

Tanzania is envisaging the construction of giant grain storage facilities and distribution center in Mombasa, Kenya.

The proposed large Silos, planned for the Coastal City of Kenya are meant to facilitate trading of surplus food crops between Tanzania and the immeadiate neighboring country.

Tanzania has already established and operating two-grain storage facilities in Lubumbashi, the Southern Province in the Democratic Rebublic of Congo (DRC) and Juba, the Capital City of South Sudan.

Tanzania boasts surpulus when it comes to farm produce

It was recently reported by the Tanzania Cereals and Other Produce Board (CPB) that the grain centres in Juba and Lubumbashi are already doing vibrant business, which means the Mombasa facility should be even better.

The two grain stations in SS and DRC stations started to operate in December 2021.

According to the country’s Agriculture Minister, Hussein Bashe, the Silos in Juba, Lubumbashi and the one envisaged for Mombasa are supposed to be used by both the government and private sector.

In recent years, Tanzania has been recording Food Surplus from the country’s agricultural harvests. In this ongoing financial year, 2021/22 for instance, the country’s Food Surplus has reached 3.6 million metric tons.

Kenyan traders have been traveling to rural Tanzania purchasing grain and other agricultural produce especially onions from Karatu District of Arusha.

With the Mombasa Grain Center, Tanzania will be supplying agricultural products directly into Kenya.

Food processing entity, the Bakhresa Group Limited of Tanzania, had at one time expressed interest to build a maize mill facility in Mombasa but somehow the project never materialized.

Tanzania intends to build giant grain silos in Mombasa, Kenya

Tanzania is envisaging the construction of giant grain storage facilities and distribution center in Mombasa, Kenya.The proposed large Silos, planned for the Coastal City of Kenya are meant to facilitate trading of surplus food crops between Tanzania

tanzaniatimes.net

Mkwanzania · Feb 10, 2022

Geza Ulole said:
To rescue Kenya from Hunger, Tanzania to build giant grain silos in Mombasa

Tanzania is envisaging the construction of giant grain storage facilities and distribution center in Mombasa, Kenya.

The proposed large Silos, planned for the Coastal City of Kenya are meant to facilitate trading of surplus food crops between Tanzania and the immeadiate neighboring country.

Tanzania has already established and operating two-grain storage facilities in Lubumbashi, the Southern Province in the Democratic Rebublic of Congo (DRC) and Juba, the Capital City of South Sudan.

Tanzania boasts surpulus when it comes to farm produce

It was recently reported by the Tanzania Cereals and Other Produce Board (CPB) that the grain centres in Juba and Lubumbashi are already doing vibrant business, which means the Mombasa facility should be even better.

The two grain stations in SS and DRC stations started to operate in December 2021.

According to the country’s Agriculture Minister, Hussein Bashe, the Silos in Juba, Lubumbashi and the one envisaged for Mombasa are supposed to be used by both the government and private sector.

In recent years, Tanzania has been recording Food Surplus from the country’s agricultural harvests. In this ongoing financial year, 2021/22 for instance, the country’s Food Surplus has reached 3.6 million metric tons.

Kenyan traders have been traveling to rural Tanzania purchasing grain and other agricultural produce especially onions from Karatu District of Arusha.

With the Mombasa Grain Center, Tanzania will be supplying agricultural products directly into Kenya.

Food processing entity, the Bakhresa Group Limited of Tanzania, had at one time expressed interest to build a maize mill facility in Mombasa but somehow the project never materialized.

Tanzania intends to build giant grain silos in Mombasa, Kenya

Tanzania is envisaging the construction of giant grain storage facilities and distribution center in Mombasa, Kenya.The proposed large Silos, planned for the Coastal City of Kenya are meant to facilitate trading of surplus food crops between Tanzania

tanzaniatimes.net

The hungry neighbor can be the reason of your sleepless nights

Geza Ulole · Feb 10, 2022

How Mount Kilimanjaro Produced Maiden Passports for Ethiopians

One of the remarkable Pan-African achievements that can be accredited to Tanzania is how the country, through Mount Kilimanjaro treks, pioneered the issuance of passports to ordinary Ethiopians in Addis Ababa.

The country’s first Chief of Defense Forces (CDF), Retired General Mirisho Sarakikya revealed here that Mount Kilimanjaro, located in Moshi, Tanzania was the main factor which convinced the then Ethiopian Government to start issuing travel documents to its citizens.

On the 9th of December last year (2021), Tanzania celebrated the 60th Anniversary of Independence from Britain (during the former Tanganyika), but again later this year 2022, the country will once more be marking the 60th anniversary of being Republic.

Speaking at his home in Nkoaranga Village of Arumeru District, Arusha Region, the retired CDF, General Sarakikya in recalling some of the triumphs attained by the nation, pointed out that other than championing the continent’s freedom movement, Tanzania also helped ordinary people in other African countries to attain a number of developmental issues.

“During my tenure as Tanzanian Ambassador to Ethiopia, in the early eighties, I was Promoting Mount Kilimanjaro in the country but while many Ethiopians expressed interest to come to Tanzania and climb this Africa’s highest peak, their government (by then) wasn’t issuing passports to ordinary people!”
Retired General Mirisho Sarakikya – Former Tanzanian Chief of Defence Forces who also once served as envoy to Addis Ababa.

Ethiopia is landlocked, but in the early days the country’s citizens were also border-locked. This means that the people of Ethiopia were never allowed to travel outside their country. As it seems, their government suspected that once let out, they may never return.

And according to General Sarakikya, that was reason why Ethiopia never produced passports for ordinary citizens.

But Ambassador Sarakikya was craving to have Ethiopians get out so that they may climb Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, expeditions that the former CDF had been champining since when he was the Tanzanian envoy to Nigeria.

General Sarakikya thus struck friendship with the then Ethiopian Head of Immigration, managing to convince the latter to start producing and actually issuing international travel documents to the Ethiopians to allow them fly to Tanzania and climb Mount Kilimanjaro.

“I assured the Ethiopian Government officials that they need not worry, because Tanzania will ensure that none of their people will disappear,” said Sarakikya. Adding that he guaranteed their return after completing the Kilimanjaro treks.

And it worked. The Ethiopian Military Government started producing and issuing passports to ordinary residents, but on condition that they were only going to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, and that is it.

Indeed. From that time, Tanzania started receiving Ethiopian tourists for Mount Kilimanjaro expeditions.
Still, upon landing at the Kilimanjaro International Airport (KIA), the Tanzania Immigration Department in the terminal would take the Ethiopians’ passports for safe keeping and only handed them back to them when they were boarding their planes for returning to Addis Ababa.

As more Ethiopans travelled back-and-forth between Addis and Kilimanjaro, without any of them getting lost, trust was created. Since then, the Ethiopian Government would be providing even more passports to its people for Kilimanjaro trips. This tradition was maintained for years.

“Suffice to say that Kilimanjaro is the Mountain which opened Ethiopia to the world. Many Ethiopians in the Diaspora had acquired their first passports through the initial Kilimanjaro expeditions initiative,” Said General Sarakikya, adding that most of them still remember the role which Tanzania played in granting them such freedom.

How Mount Kilimanjaro Produced Maiden Passports for Ethiopians

Kilimanjaro is not only towering as Africa's highest peak. The Mountain is being credited for helping produce the first Ethiopian passports

tanzaniatimes.net

coodip1 · Feb 10, 2022

Somi said:
Yote kwa yote EAC hakuna haja ya kushindana sisi kwa sisi , tuunganishe nguvu ukanda huu uwe na maendeleo kushinda Afrika magharibi na kusini kasoro Afrika kusini pekee

Kuunganisha nguvu ukanda huu ni ngumu kwanza kila nchi ina ideology yake ambazo ni tofauti pili hulka za watu wa nchi husika zinatofautiana hivyo kufikiria pamoja ni mtihani. Maana mmoja anaweza akawekeza kwenye miradi yenye tija na mwingine akawa anawekeza kwenye miradi isiyo na tija kisa 10% hapo tatizo lazima litakuwepo mfano mzuri tuu ni huu wa monetary convergence in EAC some members are flouting the agreed principles by borrowing more than the set limit and I dont think kama EAC wana strong oversight bodies kuweza kuzuia hali kama hii na nyinginezo zisitokee popote pale. If these economies are locked together na mambo kama haya yakiachwa yaendelee willy nilly ni wazi some countries that are obedient to the rules for establishment of EAC community zita suffer economic meltdown if one disobedient member falls.

My take: It will take some times before the idea of moving together economically as a block to bear fruit unless mindset zetu zibadilike na hali ya chumi zetu ziwe improved to a certain level.

Geza Ulole · Feb 10, 2022

KANAIRO said:
sgr viaduct is sexier than these overrated kivukios

Who asked u Mkunya maarufu?

nguvusimba · Feb 10, 2022

Somi said:
Yote kwa yote EAC hakuna haja ya kushindana sisi kwa sisi , tuunganishe nguvu ukanda huu uwe na maendeleo kushinda Afrika magharibi na kusini kasoro Afrika kusini pekee

mkunya hawezi kuwa business partner mwaminifu, tulishawahi kuwa na EAC yenye nguvu, hawa jamaa walipoona jumuiya ikivunjika watafaidika zaidi wakaivunja . kenya walibaki na ndege nyingi sana huku tanzania na uganda tukiambulia patupu

Geza Ulole · Feb 10, 2022

IamLee · Feb 10, 2022

What is a Central Bank Digital Currency and why should people prefer CBDC over bank accounts

Why should people prefer CBDC over bank accounts and how Daml Smart Contract allows for interoperability between various types of infrastructures used by banks through the Canton privacy-enabled distributed ledger.

daml.com

Central Bank kicks off debate on issuing its own digital currency

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 10 2022

The Central Bank of Kenya building in Nairobi. PHOTO | DENNIS ONSONGO | NMG

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has invited the public for the first time to submit their views on the introduction of a central bank digital currency (CDBC) as it seeks to keep pace with global financial innovation.

The CBK on Thursday released a lengthy discussion paper that will serve as the basis of what is expected to be a landmark debate — though it maintained that the risks surrounding digital currencies remain at this point.

The paper said a CBDC issued by CBK would be “a sovereign currency in an electronic form and it would appear as a liability on CBK’s balance sheet and an asset to users holding it.”

Kenyans have been given 120 days to submit their views that will form part of considerations to create a CBK-backed digital currency.

CBDC is a national fiat currency in digital form. This means that besides the printed cash, CBK will also issue the electronic equivalent.

CBDC is different from cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, meaning the CBK will maintain reserves and deposits to back it up.

ALSO READ

“Whilst CBDC offers opportunities to reduce costs associated with digital payments, it also comes with risks particularly related to cybersecurity and unknowns on how it would impact central banks’ core functions of monetary policy, financial stability, and payment systems oversight,” CBK said in the paper.

Experts posit that the use of digital currency will eliminate the cost of printing cash and lower transactions costs. Further, central banks will find it easier to implement monetary policy in real time.

Many central banks have been carefully monitoring the development of CBDC.

Studies by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) show that there is reason for governments to consider replacing cash with digital currencies.

Some of the IMF studies mirror many other studies done in Kenya (notably by Financial Sector Deepening (FSD) on the benefits of digital currencies.

“The key elements to be considered by CBK before issuing a CBDC are legal and institutional preconditions. These would include infrastructure, regulatory and supervisory framework, governance and risk management, central bank resources, and central bank legislation,” CBK said.

A recent survey by the Bank for International Settlements on 66 central banks revealed that more than 80 percent are working on CBDCs.

The CBK will now join other countries including the United States, Canada, China, Turkey, and India that are exploring the technology.