IN THE NEWS: NO DEATH PENALTY FOR GHAILANI, NYERERE REMEMBERED

• The New York Times is reporting that the US Justice Department will not be seeking the death penalty in their prosecution of Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, the Tanzanian man accused of conspiring in the 1998 bombing of US Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

• Tanzania ranks 151st in the 'desirable places to live' list of countries. Norway was voted the 'most desirable' with Niger the 'least desirable.'

• The so-called 'Gem of Tanzania,' valued at one point at $17 million , has been revealed to be a fake worth no more than $160.

• On the tenth anniversary of the late former President Julius Nyerere's death, The Centre of African Studies at the University of Edinburgh, his alma mater, will hold a two-hour seminar on the 11th of November to discuss his life and influence in contemporary Tanzania.

• Meanwhile, in his Art Column in The East African this week, Frank Whalley writes eloquently about the popular Tanzanian art movement known to its practitioners as 'Tingatinga' and its influence on Tanzanian artists in general. 

Inside Game: Why Sakina Datoo left The Guardian

A few weeks ago, an interesting development took place in the world of media in this country. Apparently, Sakina Datoo, has resigned from her role as the Editorial Director of The Guardian Newspapers Ltd, the print media arm of Reginald Mengi's IPP Media empire. What's strange, however, is the way in which this story has gone largely unreported by almost all of the local press. It is certainly curious why newspapers have chosen to ignore what is clearly one of the biggest media stories of the year. I managed to get a hold of Ms. Datoo's letter of resignation. You can read it for yourself below.

sakina

As you can see, at the very least, the letter offers a fascinating insight into the inner workings of a major media house in Tanzania and the management style of it's Executive Chairman, Mr. Reginald Mengi. For a more contextual look at this story take a look at this piece in Expression Today, the Nairobi based media magazine, one of the few publications in the region that published the story. It still makes you wonder, though, why the Tanzanian media have greeted this news with such extraordinary silence, especially since they tend to treat any whiff of scandal with the crusading fervour worthy of a religious fanatic. Yet, here is a piece of news involving two powerful and influential figures in the industry, with possibly a juicy backstory, and they decide to go mum. I wonder why?

An Exchange: Aggrey Mwasha

Aggrey Mwasha is a Tanzanian artist from Kilimanjaro, the north east region of Tanzania. Born in 1969, he is self-taught and started painting when he was ten years old, making different coloured paints from plants and flowers. While still at school, his work started to garner attention, exhibited in both his local region in Kilimanjaro and also in Dar es Salaam. In 1989 he won first prize in the World Food Day drawing competition that took place in Dar es Salaam. His work has also received international recognition where it was included in the Artpurha Exhibition in Finland in 2001. In 2002, he took part in a work shop arranged by the Fine Arts department of the University of Dar es Salaam with the Dutch artist Mrs. Els Waigers. His paintings have been sold across the globe including countries such as America, England, Finland, Norway and South Africa. He was recently selected to participate in the Pan African Cultural Festival in Algiers, Algeria, in July of this year, the first Tanzanian to do so. When he is not painting, Mr. Mwasha works as a Curator at the Wasanii Art Centre, in Slipway, Dar es Salaam. The other day, he kindly took the time to answer my questions about his Art. The following is an edited version of our conversation.

Tell me a little bit about yourself?

My name is Aggrey Masha, I am a painter. I started painting since I was about ten yrs old. At that time I was making colours using flowers and plants, myself, [and] I was using them to paint on paper. After...I started primary school, I was able to buy some coloured pencils and water colours. I [taught] myself and then when I [got] to secondary school, I [took] fine arts subjects [and] was able to mix colours, paint better paintings. I have been participating in exhibitions since I was very young. When I completed Form 4, I participated in a world food day drawing competition (in 1989) organized by FAO, it was called World Food Day drawing competition. When I completed secondary school, I decided to go to the College of Business Education because I also like business, but when I completed my course, I [wanted] to continue painting. So I continued teaching myself, attending many workshops and exhibitions. I was improv[ing] day after day. I [started] to take the profession serious[ly] from 1991. From 1991, I decided to be an Artist full time. And from there, I have managed to sell my paintings abroad. I have [attended] many workshops. There are some famous artists in Tanzania who have helped me, for example Prof. [Elias] Jengo from the University of Dar es Salaam and Dr. Masanja. I have been with these people for many years, [they] taught me how to improve my work. [Art] I can say is part of my life. I like to do it always. Wherever I am. Even at work. At home. I like to do it. I started with very realistic paintings when I was very young. But I am changing day to day. Now I am not doing realistic. I am doing abstract impressionism, using oil colours, acrylic, pastel, water colours. So I’ve managed to use all media.

Was there a moment or something that made you want to be an artist?

I [wanted] to be a painter because I like colours. Something which is very colourful, I like it. For example, Mount Kilimanjaro (I was born in Kilimanjaro region) in the sunset, Mount Kilimanjaro becomes very colourful, very [beautiful]. It attracts me, the colours, when I see something attractive like that I try to paint it, to mix [different] kinds of colours and make it [...] In fact, automatically. Automatically from nowhere, I decided to be a painter by looking at [beautiful] things, like the Ngorongoro Crater, the Zebras, I like to [create] something which is beautiful. So there is nothing else that made me want to be a painter [but that].

Where do you paint?

I paint at home. I mostly paint at home […] Outside the house or inside. Even when I am here [at the centre] I can paint outside, I can [mix] colours and paint outside. But I need a place which is quiet.

What is your routine? Do you paint everyday or when inspiration comes to you?

I paint everyday. Everyday, but sometimes it happens that, may be I can paint [for] a week everyday and may one day or two days I don’t paint. It depends on how I feel. If I don’t feel good, may be I’ve got problems,  Lots of things to think [about]. [I don't paint]. It happens not always, may be once a week, or twice. But I like to paint everyday. When I wake up I paint at home, when I am at work I paint[...] In fact, I like to paint in the mornings and evenings. When it is cool. In the morning, the mind is fresh. I can paint very peaceful[ly]. But in the afternoon, may be from 12 up to 3, that is not [a] good time. But in the evenings it is a very good time for me to paint.

Can you name may be two or three works of art that mostly inspire you to do your paintings?

I like paintings by Prof. Jengo. I have been with him [for a long time]. Since I started painting. I like how he mixes the colours. And Dr. Masanja, though he is late now […] I like how [Prof. Jengo] mixes the colours, he gets very attractive colours. Just the colours, not the subject. As I said [before] I like the colours [...] when I do abstract [...] in the colours you can get the message. I put the message in the colours.

Tell me about your artistic development, your evolution as an artist

At the beginning I was doing very realistic paintings. Like photographs. I continued doing that for a long time. I [received] a lot of orders from people. Some asked me to do their portraits, to enlarge their [photographic] portraits, to [turn them] from black and white to colour. But the time came when I [got] very bored [doing this]. I felt that I’ll be happy if I do what I like, from my heart. So I decided to create my pictures from my heart […] and that was when […] I started to create my style of painting. I was bored do[ing] [realism]. I wanted to do what I feel from my heart […] so I moved from realism to impressionism [and now] abstract [impressionism] […] I like smooth things. I tried Cubism but [...] I was not comfortable with [it's] sharp[ness]. I like something smooth [that I get with impressionism]. 

What do you think of the Art Scene in TZ, if there is such a thing?

Yea there is. I can say that there art galleries. We have [a] few art galleries, like La Petita Art Gallery, [where] you can see [Art] by Tanzanian artists. There is [the] Mawazo Art Gallery, Colour Centre. And this, Wasanii Art Centre. This is different from other galleries. You know, other galleries they sell [artists’ work] and take commissions, may be 30% or 35%. But [...] Wasanii Art Centre is a place where artists can display their works [and] when they sell [something], they don’t give any commissions. Because in the beginning of this, we donated our art works and we brought two art works each and [when] they were sold, 100% [of the revenue] went to the centre, and the other piece 80%. And the artists who donated, are the ones who are members of this art centre[...] So this is something different.

Pick three of your paintings and talk a little bit about what you were trying to convey in each of them

'The Beginning of the World' (2007)

[Here] I was trying to explain that […] at the beginning of the earth…I can imagine that there was nothing…everything was black. But later on, the light started, and [this shows that], day and night together. [The colours convey that] night is going to be finished, day is coming now.

'The Beach' (2009)

I just like to show our country. [In this painting] you can see a coconut tree and it is showing […] our beautiful coast. Many artists these days don’t paint the beach, I don’t know why. We have beautiful beaches, we have Coco Beach, we have Msasani Beach. So I was reminding them that we have beautiful beaches. We can go and enjoy there. And you can see [in the painting] two people enjoying our beach [...]I did it in an impressionist style because this has been done realistically many times, it is boring me. Something that is very realistic is boring. I wanted to put it in a [different], more attractive way.

'The Harvest' (2008) 

This reminds me of home, where I was born. I was born in Kilimanjaro region. We plant a lot of bananas, plenty. So I just [wanted to convey] our activities in that area, that we have […] these activities going on that are different from other places, like Dar es Salaam you can’t do these [things]. I have done it, in impressionistic style, that is my style. 

What are you working on at the moment?

I just finished a painting, called 'Welcome to Ngorongoro, and I just started on another one, 'The Market', but it's still in my imagination, it has not yet made it to the canvas.

We deserve the leaders we get

The President (Kikwete) went on TV this week and announced that the anti-graft agency, Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB), is about to bring two or three cases to court as part of his administration's ongoing fight against corruption. This is certainly encouraging news and we should give kudos to the President for continuing his efforts on this front. 

But let's take a moment and think more deeply about this. It is always comforting for us to blame the corrupt elements within the corridors of power for the problems we are facing as a country. It massages well that self-righteous muscle within us and leaves us with feelings of superiority that come from excoriating others' moral failings. 

Yet, I wonder sometimes how much we, as a people, have contributed to this. Ask yourself this: how do we measure success in this country? Do we judge someone to be a successful individual because he/she is an honest and hard-working public servant. Not really. We tend to define someone's success materially: the type of car he drives, the size of his house, whether he owns a blackberry or not. We measure success on how much money someone has.

In this context, is it then a surprise that those in power never pass up an opportunity to make a buck, even when doing so involves accepting bribes and indulging in corruptive behaviour? If making money is how we define success, is it therefore shocking that our leaders always make sure they get paid at every possible opportunity? The obsession with money is deeply ingrained in our culture. And from this, inevitably, have emerged leaders obsessed with money. While this does not excuse the corruption in our public officials, I want us to remember that we, as a people, have played a role in their creation. If we continue in this mentality, we deserve the leaders we get. They exist for a reason. We invented them.

In THE NEWS: AN ALL WOMAN'S BANK, FORODHANI RE-OPENS

• Tanzania becomes the first country in Africa to open an all-women's bank, taking an important step forward towards the realisation of their economic dreams and aspirations.

• The Ministry of Defence has announced plans to compensate veterans of the Second World War, half a century after the end of that great conflict.

• Haji Chilonga is one of four painters showcasing their work this month at the Wasanii Art Centre in Slipway. The Exhibition is open on weekdays between 1 pm - 8 pm and 1 pm - 6pm on Saturdays.

• After more than a year of renovations, the world famous Forodhani Gardens in Zanzibar re-opens.

On Art and Michael Jackson

Here is one interesting perspective:

Artists, as they say, lose interpretative control over their art. Picasso's paintings, for example, tell of the disconnect and disjointedness of the modern human mind and the life of disproportion and of a severe crisis of emphasis. His depictions of human anatomy, those circus freaks, reveal a diaspora at the level of limbs and body bulges.

Look at Michael’s moonwalk, his most mimicked move. Unintentional or otherwise, it is the postmodern view of progress: the motions of walking forward while actually moving in reverse, a regression marketed as advancement, steps ahead.

Staying White?

Louder Than Swahili is pissed off by the phenomenon of exclusive clubs in Bongo:

A personal, favorite mantra is to hate the Dar Es Salaam Yacht Club (but not enough to stay away if invited). Basically I'm against the idea that a certain group of people can decide who else they'll allow access to its premises through procedures which are too conservative for my liking.

Besides, if you end up finally becoming a fully granted member, you have to spend every f***ing single night in the rest of your Dar Es Salaam residency life there among all the other sun-dried wazungu in order to benefit from your membership fee.

I could go on & on about this phenomenon, but it wasn't the intentional plan for this post.

I am, however,  wondering why many wazungu in Dar Es Salaam never go anywhere else, but in circles on Msasani, the most expensive area in Dar Es Salaam, also called the Peninsula. Nice area, but also such a diluted version of what Dar Es Salaam really is.

One possible reason for this may be race and a fear of the 'other'. But this may be too simplistic. I think human beings tend to naturally gravitate towards the familiar, the comfort and security it affords. Nevertheless, I am baffled by folks who choose to move away from home, settle in another country and while there proceed to surround themselves with similar people to the ones they left behind. It smacks of intellectual and social laziness and inevitably leads to a narrowness of perspective. Being in a different cultural milieu is unsettling, but in a wonderfully challenging way. It is a chance to experience a reality different from the one we are used to, an opportunity to expand the sense of what is possible and hopefully evolve and grow. This is something that the wazungus in Msasani seem to have missed.

Food for Thought

"Cultural education is just as bad as it's ever been [...] It's difficult in this country to do things that have meaning. Things aren't set up that way [...] We still tend to think of science and math as the meal, athletics as the dessert, and the arts aren't even really on the table. There is an idea that a mind is wasted on the arts unless it makes you good in math or science. There is some evidence that the arts might help you in math and science. But, more importantly, the arts tell you who you are," the jazz trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, in an 18th of July 2009 interview with The Guardian

Feelin' the Beat: A Mixtape by Patrick Neate

Patrick Neate is a British novelist, journalist and poet. He has just published his fifth novel, Jerusalem. His other books include the award-winning Where You're At: Notes From the Frontline of a Hip Hop Planet.

He recently shared with us the story of how he came to fall in love with hip hop and named five pieces of music that have been influential in shaping his artistic sensibility.

"I started listening to hip hop in my early teens. The seminal record was probably 'Streetsounds: Electro Vol 9'. I don't know quite what it was that captured my imagination, but I'd never heard anything like it. It sounds daft now, but at the time 'The Fat Boys are back/ And they won't never be wack' sounded like the height of wit. But it was when Public Enemy emerged in the mid to late 80s that I really got hooked. It may seem obvious or ridiculous, but as a white teenager growing up in London, I had no sense of racial politics, let alone the civil rights movement. I wouldn't say that Public Enemy educated me exactly. But they sparked my interest and led me to investigate a whole realm of subject matter that has been profoundly influential on the way I think and, consequently, my work.

"It's funny - I'm often now asked what hip hop's appeal is to teenage boys. It strikes me as remarkably obvious and the trite answer is that it's testosterone-fuelled and often features videos of semi-naked women - if you're a 15 year-old boy, what's not to like? But another way of looking at it is this - if most western pop music is about love and sex, hip hop tends to be about sex and everything else ... and it was the 'everything else' that caught my imagination. From Public Enemy and Nas to Biggie, Jay-Z, Common and Eminem - the stuff that's not about sex is about politics, struggle, friendship, deprivation, hope and all sorts else besides. No other genre of Western pop music could make such a claim."

His Top Five...

1. 'Bring the noise' - Public Enemy

I saw Public Enemy at Brixton Academy in the late 80s and I was energised and terrified in equal measure. Art indistinguishable from politics, I'd never seen/ heard anything like it.

2. 'Spirit' - Lewis Taylor

Lewis Taylor is the great undiscovered genius of British music. His album 'Lewis Taylor', the one I always fall back upon. I wrote a novel called Twelve Bar Blues, which is all about New Orleans jazz and I was repeatedly asked what music I was listening to when writing it. It is true that I listened to a whole lot of jazz, but it was Lewis I  turned to in order to capture the emotional substance of what I wanted to write. And 'Spirit' always makes me cry ...

3.'Optimistic' - Sounds of Blackness.

OK, I know it's a really cheesy record, but I heard it at a particular age when I needed to know that creativity could be simple and joyful. I kept my love for this tune under wraps for years, but I recently read an interview with Norman Jay where he name-checked it as one of his favourite records of all time. So at least I'm cheesy in good company.

4. 'Mississippi Goddam' - Nina Simone.

Creativity is about talent and craft, of course; but, above all, it's about integrity of intention. Nina Simone had a funny voice and was, by all accounts, a bit of a nutcase, but when she wrote and sang, there was no doubting that she meant it.  And it is that meaning that gives her music such unquestionable beauty.

5. 'Halftime' - Nas

I could have chosen almost any tune off 'Illmatic' - I just love that record. A key aspect of art is the way it stands the test of time and, frankly, most hip hop doesn't. But this does. I would maintain that this is still the closest hip hop has ever come to poetry.

(Photo: Patrick Neate performing at the Book Salaam! event during the 'Sauti za Busara' music festival in Zanzibar earlier this year.)

Obama on Africa: Is He Sending Mixed Signals?

In today's British Independent, Eric Kabendera suggests as much:

The initial signs from the Obama presidency were far from encouraging as far as promoting good governance was concerned. The first of the continent's leaders to be granted an Oval Office meeting with the new black occupant of the White House, was my own president: Jakaya Kikwete, of Tanzania.

He had just finished his stint as the rotating head of the African Union, so it might have been a matter of diplomatic protocol, but it was a disappointing choice nonetheless. While at the AU helm, President Kikwete was far from impressive. He stuck to the Africa old norm of "respecting your elders even when they are convicted thieves". So even when ordinary Zimbaweans were suffering at the repressive hands of Robert Mugabe, Mr Kikwete failed to denounce the rigged election and call him to account.

I am not sure Mr Obama grasped the signals he was sending by choosing the Tanzanian leader as his first African guest. This was a man who rabble-roused the AU into refusing to cooperate with the International Criminal Court regarding the indictment of the Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir for his role in the genocide in Darfur. The AU's refusal was a blessing to corrupt criminal leaders around the continent.

You can read the rest of the article here

Swine Flu in Tanzania

Agence France reports:

Tanzanian officials said Wednesday that a 17-year-old British student who was hospitalised earlier this month has been confirmed as the east African country's first case of swine flu.

Andrew Swai, director of clinical services at the country's main referral hospital in the capital Dar es Salaam, said the teenager was among a group of 15 students and teachers who flew in from Britain via Kenya on July 2 to carry out volunteer work.

"The victim has undergone a first diagnostic test and it was positive" for A(H1N1), he told AFP. "No need for panic this is just a single case and we know how it came about."

Swai added there was no cause for alarm over the patient's condition.

The government's chief medical officer Deo Mutasiwa said Tanzania was well prepared for an epidemic, that stocks of Tamiflu were satisfactory and that doses had recently been sent out to the touristic island of Zanzibar.

The Daily News also quotes Dr. Swai reassuring the country that the government was taking all the necessary precautions to contain the situation:

He said that the government would distribute more PPE at all port of entry, facilitate the production of health declaration forms and strengthen patient management and care. However, Dr Swai said that there was no cause for panic, giving assurances that everything was under control and that the disease would not spread beyond Tanzania borders.

Begging to Master II

It's budget season here in Bongoland. And this year's 9.51 trillion shillings money chest, proudly boasts 40% of it's income from foreign aid. As always, this comes with those 'know who the boss is' strings attached. So after the Swedish government pledged about $231 million for 'budget support' for the next four years they added this little warning:

"Two areas are especially highlighted, public financial management, crucial not least in the fight against corruption, and the local government reform programme, because local government is key to service delivery," Swedish Ambassador Staffan Herrstrom said during a signing ceremony [...] "There are certainly concerns about business climate, where Tanzania has been slipping. Again, we hope to see that taken care of," Herrstrom said.

This comes at the heels of this announcement from the Dutch government:

Development Minister Bert Koenders has suspended financial aid to Tanzania. In a letter to the Lower House, he explains that Tanzania is an unreliable partner for foreign investors. Koenders took the decision after a Dutch entrepreneur lost his investment. 

It makes you wonder why we demanded independence at all if in our 'freedom' we are always begging for money to feed ourselves and placidly accept being treated like children in the process.

Things That Make You Go Hmmmm...

The country is poor. We can barely educate our children or provide them with adequate healthcare. Consistent electricity service is still a luxury and, for 80% of the people, an unattainable dream. 40% of our budget is foreign subsidized. So what does our government choose to focus on? A national dress code:

Tanzanians will soon be officially introduced to a national dress, a move that would help put in place a dressing code to preserve African tradition norms and culture, the Parliament was told yesterday.

Responding to a question by Hafidhi Ali Tahir (Dimani, CCM), who had wanted to know if Tanzania has a national dress, Deputy Minister for Information, Sports and Culture, Joel Bendera said the process of introducing a national dress was progressing well.

Bendera admitted that the style of dressing by most young Tanzanians was not satisfactory despite efforts made by the government and its stakeholders in sensitizing the community on decent dressing.

“If this habit is left unchecked, it might lead to moral decay among young Tanzanians,” he said, adding that dressing in provocative outfit presents a negative picture of the nation. “The whole nation, I believe, is not impressed by this,” he said.

Venansio Ahabwe reacts:

The Comrade pledges his prayers for Tahir and Bendera to surmount the gigantic wall that they have offered to scale. 

Yes, let the dressing policy come into force; whereupon we can separate aliens from residents. Two things can then happen, however. 

Some Tanzanians will forge documents to present themselves as visitors who know little or nothing about the official dress code and thus cannot abide by  the rules. 

Others could resort to hide and seek games: carry spare outfits all the time, pull on the official attire when authorities are in sight and revert to the illegal code anon.

Mh. Bendera must be prepared to erect roadblocks and plan for a special police unit to supervise the implementation of and adherence to the national garb [...] The Comrade knows that such a policy was successfully executed in Uganda by Idi Amin Dada. 

Well, good then. As long as we are following the path laid out by such upstanding role models.

Pirates are responsible for your slow internet connection

From The East African:

East Africa will have to wait a little longer to be connected to the global broadband network due to pirate attacks off the Horn of Africa and Somalia that have delayed the laying of the undersea cable there.

The connection to the global broadband network was supposed to have taken place by the end of this month but on Wednesday the managers of Seacom, a $600 million project owned by private investors, said that its cable would not come into service until July 23 – nearly a month later than planned – due to piracy off the coast of Somalia that had delayed the work of its cable-laying contractor.

Tyco Telecommunications, the contractor, was at one point forced to suspend its cable-laying around the Horn of Africa so it could revise its security arrangements following the latest surge in piracy, the Financial Times reported.

Piracy from Somalia has been on the rise since last August, but last week’s announcement from Seacom marked the first time the pirates have disrupted efforts to end the region’s dependence on satellite Internet links, which are slow, unreliable and often prohibitively expensive.

What's happening in North Mara?

According to environmental activists, the mine is a source of deadly pollution:

Tanzanian human rights activists have called on the government to close down North Mara Gold Mine to aid a probe into allegations of pollution of Tigithe river which passes through the mine property. 

Locals say that since the start of June, up to 18 people and 270 head of cattle have died after drinking contaminated water from the Tigithe river. The river is a source of domestic water for thousands of locals in northwestern Tanzania.

Barrick Gold, who own the mine, through their spokesman, deny that North Mara is a source of the contamination. Meanwhile, the PM, Mizengo Pinda, has ordered an investigation into the allegations. 

Mining companies have struggled to endear themselves to local communities and this will do nothing but further people's negative suspicions about them. However, let's wait and see what the investigation reveals before passing judgement. 

UPDATE: Apparently, The National Environment Management Council (NEMC) has concluded that the mine is responsible for the contamination of the Tigithe river. In a report submitted to parliament they have recommended that either the government close down North Mara gold mine or re-settle the local residents. From The Guardian:

The recommendation is contained in a report compiled by NEMC and handed over by its director-general, Bonaventura Baya, to parliamentary committees on Land, Environment and Natural Resources, and Minerals and Energy which were following up the matter.

He said the government made a wrong decision to allow the gold mine to be established in residential areas.

Baya advised the government to either evacuate residents from the area or  close down the mine because it is located in residential areas.

“The government has to decide on whether people should continue residing in the area or it should close down the mine because the situation is very pathetic,” said Baya.

Making History

                                                  Photo by Fred Beckham/AP

Hasheem Thabeet becomes the first Tanzanian to make it into the National Basketball Association (NBA) as he is picked 2nd by the Memphis Grizzlies in the draft held in New York last night.

We wish him the best of luck.

The way we live now

Every year, half a million women die over preventable pregnancy complications. Denise Grady, over at The New York Times has a piece about how small communities in Tanzania are dealing with this tragic reality. In her second of three article on the subject, she looks at how a small orphanage in Berega, a village in Tanzania's midwest, is dealing with children whose mothers died giving birth: 

The orphanage here, started in 1965 by United German Mission Aid, an evangelical Christian mission, began recruiting relatives to move in about five years ago. Ute Klatt, a German missionary and nurse who has been director of the orphanage for 10 years, said she learned about the practice from another orphanage in Tanzania. Now many of the children at the orphanage are cared for by a teenage girl from the extended family — a binti, in Swahili — often a sister, cousin or aunt, who lives with them and learns how to take care of them.

You can read the rest of the article here

"It's like these guys are proud of being ignorant"

And the winner of this award goes to.....Kanye West. Here is what he said while promoting his new book, Thank You and You're Welcome:

Sometimes people write novels and they just be so wordy and so self-absorbed. I am not a fan of books. I would never want a book's autograph. I am a proud non-reader of books. I like to get information from doing stuff like actually talking to people and living real life.

Are you still wondering why Hip Hop is dying?

(HT: The Millions)

IN THE NEWS: BOTCHED ABORTIONS, TAIFA STARS WIN

• The New York Times is reporting that anti-abortion laws in Tanzania are forcing women to turn to untrained amateurs who tend to bungle the procedures leading to complications that can be fatal.

• East African countries are urged to do more to combat the horrific trend of albino killings.

• Mwinyi Kazimoto's strike in the dying seconds secured a thrilling 2-1 victory for Taifa Stars in a friendly against New Zealand played at Dar es Salaam's National Stadium.

• Africa's longest serving leader, President Omar Bongo of Gabon, died at a clinic in Spain. He was 73.

• 24-year old Josephine Achieng Owino becomes the first Kenyan woman to be drafted in to the NBA's women's counterpart, the WNBA.

Tax hikes?

You better believe it. In his budget preview in today's The Citizen, Karl Lyimo makes the case that with the government struggling to raise revenue, increasing taxes would seem to be one way to put some cash in the treasury's coffers. To wit:

To cut a long story short, it should not come as a surprise if June 11 sees Finance Minister Mkullo once again hitting the traditional victims petroleum, beverages, tobacco and textiles with a hike in tax rates! If he curtails discretionary tax exemptions, and starts to tax leaders (the President, MPs, etc) and others who still bask in the tax-exemption sunshine, then that would be an added bonus for already heavily-taxed Tanzanians and peasant farmers.

This sentiment seems to be shared by the Finance Minister, Mr. Mkulo, who according to this news piece, has sent a letter to the IMF detailing the government's plan to review the tax code for a whole host of sectors:

Among the expected announcements are changes in the mining sector's tax regime and review of the huge tax exemptions. The Government wants revenue accruing from mining to play a bigger role in national development. 

Tax exemptions to government agencies, non-governmental and religious organisations will also be targeted for review.

Hail To The Chief

This week's African Voices on CNN features this intriguing little interview with President Kikwete.

 

From the Deep South

A friend of mine, who is a Peace Corps volunteer in Madaba, Ruvuma, sent me this email about an ugly incident that took place at his school. I feel it is worth sharing. Here it is in full:

I think it was May 9 that the riot took place.  I was in the laboratory preparing a practical for the following day.  A student knocked on the door - the laboratory is in a building that is almost in the center of the campus - and asked for the teacher on duty (TOD). I told him he had gone home and didn't think much of it until around 9:30PM - about twenty minutes later - when the TOD came into the lab with a different student. His face was swollen and his nose bleeding. The TOD said that he had been hit by another student with a club. The student himself then recounted his story - the first of three times that I would hear his story that night. 

The student who had been hit, Oscar Kiyao, lives with the TOD in one of the school's teacher's residences.  He was at home in his room with the lights on - we run a generator for three hours in the evenings each day - when he heard a noise in the sitting room.  He got up and investigates.  He saw that another student, Jackson Mponda, had entered the home and was in the process of stealing something off of a table in the sitting room. Jackson was startled and ran out of the house, Oscar pursued him across campus, through the boys' dormitories, into the forest and down to the river. Oscar caught Jackson near a river in a valley adjacent to the school, at which point Jackson hit him with a club he was carrying or a branch he had picked up.  He then threatened Oscar that if he followed Jackson any more, Jackson would stab him with a knife. 

After I had heard the story we went to see the acting head of school, PHD Mgaya. Oscar recounted his story again and PHD said that the I, the TOD, Oscar and some of the students' leaders should go to Jackson's home.  In hindsight it appears that this decision helped to escalate tension and it helped spread the word that a teacher had been robbed and who the culprit was.  So we went to his house - he lives only a ten minute walk from the capmus - and found his mother there, asleep.  We had someone wake her and told her what had happened. At this point I suggested we wait until the next day to deal with the situation.  Jackson's mother is quite old and I didn't see any reason to wake her and tell her that her son was a thief.  The TOD disagreed and we woke her.  Again, Oscar recounted his story.  The mother threw her hands up and began weeping. Nothing came of the visit except that Jackon's mother was alarmed.  We then all returned to school. 

I went back to the lab to close up and then left to go home.  It was about 10:20 at this point.  On the walk home I heard commotion at the boys' dorms so I went to check it our.  Many boys were out, half clothed, running and shouting in all directions.  I proceeded back to the staff room, in the middle of campus, and saw that Jackson had returned and was standing outside with the acting head of school and TOD.  At this point the boys had organized themselves and were approaching the staff room from their dormitory. Then I started hearing rocks and brick fragments landing on the metal roofs of the classrooms.  The boys were throwing bricks.  They were also chanting "mwizi apigwe!"  We sent a student leader to talk to them, he was repulsed with flying bricks.  We entered the office with Jackson and decided it would be best if we escorted him off campus.

We went opposite the boys' dorms, past the girls dormitories towards the field, and a back way out of school which leads to his home.  As we passed the girls' dormitories they were singing and jeering Jackson. As we left Jackson at the border between the school and our soccer field, near the path the leads in a roundabout way to his house, the acting head of school told him to go straight home and that if the students got their hands on him, they would kill him.

We turned to go and saw that the boys - now a mob, really - had been following us and continued to encroach.  The acting head of school suggested we go through the girls' dormitory to avoid them, and then back to school.  I refused, preferring instead to confront the boys. I stood my ground after the TOD and PHD had left.  The boys approached, stopped, continued chanting and rattling their clubs. Then I saw and heard bricks falling near me.  I had to duck and dodge a couple that were heading for my face.  At that point I realized these people would not be reasoned with.

I don't know if you've ever looked into the face of an angry mob but it was jarring for me.  I couldn't see faces because it was dark but felt as though the people I was looking at were not human beings because they had lost their faculties of reason.  Culpability for whatever they were prepared to do was going to be shared amongst them and spread so thin that feelings of conscience and guilt were nonexistent. These people were mindless, living in a consequence-free space and, perhaps, believing that whatever punishment they were prepared to mete was justified.

The TOD rang the bell and called a meeting near the staff room, in the center of the campus.  A group of, about 50 students, assembled in front of us in various states of undress. PHD started to address them and there was lots of back-talk so I went to stand among them in the back.  I identified a few and tried to confiscate their clubs. I grabbed one kid's shirt and he hid his face and started pulling away. I didn't let go and asked him "utanipiga?"  He eventually relented and put down in club.  At this point I realized that we, the teachers, had completely lost control of the school and that if the students were prepared to beat someone to death we would be powerless to stop them.

We decided it would be best if I went home, which I obligingly did. The TOD escorted the boys back to their dorms and noticed that others had stayed behind, collecting kerosene - normally used for lamps and studying after-hours - and making preparations for a raid on Jackson's house.  The TOD was able to talk them down but, he said, only after some heated exchanges.  The students had been, apparently, prepared to go to Jackson's house, pull him out, douse him with kerosene, and immolate him.  This realization still disturbs me today. In the following days I talked with some teachers and villagers about it.  All the conversations I had were horrifying and deeply disturbing.  No one seemed to think that what had happened warranted a special meeting or punishments for the ring-leaders.  One teacher said that the students were merely protecting law and order.  A villager said that thieves should be killed. The TOD told me that when he was in secondary school, some of his classmates had beaten a student to death because he had been suspected to be a thief. They beat him and killed him - or left him to die - on the school track.  The police didn't come to take the body - dead? rotting? - away for two days.  In short, no one was shocked by the riot, no one was upset by it or felt it required special attention.

Thinking back, I am still as shocked and disgusted now as I was then. In the days following I seriously considered leaving the country. Some of the student ring-leaders are students of mine.  One student, Jejison Ngomano, stood up in front of the teachers and students present that night, after the TOD had rung the bell and called the meeting, and said that that very day he had had two t-shirts stolen and that someone had to pay with his life. And I'm supposed to just let this kid into my class, teach him like nothing happened? Exams have started so I have no pressing school work to do until July. I'm so glad that we have this time off.

CCM flexes its muscles

                   Lolensia Bukwimba (CCM) celebrates her victory with supporters

(Photo by The Citizen)

In the last two months, a couple of polls made everyone excited after they seemed to indicate that CCM's stranglehold on power may be slowly eroding. I wrote about this here and here. The two by-elections held recently presented a perfect opportunity to test this proposition. And in both cases, CCM proved that the talks of a crisis were way premature. 

In the Magogoni by-election in Zanzibar, the ruling party's candidate, Asha Mohamed Hillal, secured a convincing 58% of the vote to defeat her Civic United Front (CUF) opponent. And at Busanda, Lolensia Bukwimba won a comfortable 10-point victory against Chadema's Finias Magesa. In the latter case, a strong showing in the rural areas managed to guarantee victory for CCM while Chadema's support seems to have been confined mostly within the urban centres.

What do these two results tell us? Put it simply, the ruling party still retains the trust and confidence of most Tanzanians. All this talk of CCM struggling and so on is for the most part a media construction. As Dr. Mohamed Bakari of The University of Dar-es-Salaam (UDSM) told The Citizen:

CCM still enjoyed wide support in rural areas, adding that the ruling party took full advantage of this fact in elections. 

He said CCM's win was not entirely surprising as media reports on campaigns concentrated to what was happening in semi-urban areas.

The opposition were unable to get through to these rural voters. Since 80% of Tanzanians are a rural people, to win, they have to come up with a coherent vision that will appeal to them. As of now, they don't have one. Hence, the defeats in Magogoni and Busanda. And until they do so, CCM will exploit this vulnerability all the way to another landslide in 2010. 

But one thing that I think all of us ought to celebrate is the fact that we have elected two more women to parliament. Our democracy is certainly better for it. 

One positive from the global economic crisis

For decades, African leaders have struggled to convince the most talented of their citizens to stay in their home countries and help build a better Africa. A significant number of those educated abroad tended to stay and work there, draining the continent of its most skilled workforce. But now that the West is experiencing its worst recession in almost a century, some from the diaspora have been forced to head home. From The Washington Post:

"I personally know many people who are going back," said Erastus Mong'are, who works as a program manager for an insurance company in Delaware and heads an association of Kenyans living there.

In a broad sense, the return migration to Africa is in line with studies suggesting that despite persistent poverty and civil unrest in places such as Congo, Somalia and Sudan, much of the continent has been buoyed in recent years by a sense of optimism driven by economic growth. Pew Research Center studies tracking global attitudes have found that people's level of satisfaction with their quality of life is rising across much of Africa, while it has stayed level or decreased in the United States.

This will definitely work to the advantage of Africa. Foreign investors often complain of a lack of a skilled workforce in sub-Saharan Africa (look below at that quote I pulled from The Economist). Folks from the diaspora should help plug that gap. Amidst the horrific state of the global economy, this is one silver lining that, here in Africa, we will embrace with open arms.

Wait! But I am way cooler than him!

At least that is what Kenyans are thinking after President Kikwete became the first African leader to meet with the new kid on the block, President Obama. Or as The Daily Nation put it, 'Tanzania elbows Kenya to become darling of US. It continues:

Tanzania President Jakaya Kikwete this week claimed the honour of being the first African head of state to visit President Obama’s White House, in a move that will further highlight Kenya’s diminished status on the international scene.

The visit came on the back of a public snub by President Obama, who has opted to make Ghana the destination of his first visit to Sub-Saharan Africa.

The Sunday Standard got all hot and bothered, whining, like an insecure child, that Mr. Obama and Mr. Kikwete were gossiping about Kenya:

[US Ambassador to Kenya] Ranneberger spoke against the backdrop of a closed-door meeting between Obama and Tanzania President Jakaya Kikwete. It is believed Kenya’s troubled coalition and the gradual loss of grip by the weak-kneed Somali government featured at the meeting.

Our Kenyan brethrens can be so self-involved. Not everything is about you, man. Now I know this must hurt. You've always thought of yourselves as a more civilised peoples than us folks down south: better educated, more sophisticated, possessors of a more cultured sensibility. So the prospect of seeing Obama, someone whom you've embraced as one of your own, making nice with the Tanzanian President must sting a little. But this doesn't have to mean that you've lost your mojo. It's just that we have that 'peace' thing. Nowadays, that will get you a lot of play. Ask Obama, he'll tell you. No need to cry, though. We'll show you how its done, okay. Wipe them tears, now. Its all gonna be fine. 

They are laughing at you...

The Economist, in that self-righteous, holier-than-though tone, turn their focus on Tanzania:

Yet those who set up shop in the country are often disappointed. Tanzania, many complain, is a “slow” or even “terrible” place to do business—and “ungrateful” for foreign aid or investment. Even its boosters admit it is wrapped in red tape and lacks skilled workers. Almost everyone says Mr Kikwete is spending too much time burnishing Tanzania’s image abroad and not enough fixing problems at home. Last year he chaired the African Union. 

I like that 'ungrateful' for aid bit. But what do you expect when almost 50% of your budget is subsidized by foreigners. You are always going to be a joke to these people. Here is the lede from the same article:

THE country already gets 40% of its government budget in aid, but now it wants even more foreign cash to help it through the economic downturn. How much is enough? Tanzania’s president, Jakaya Kikwete, smiles grimly. “We’re trying to bring down our dependency, but we’re grateful for what we receive.”

Where is your dignity, man? This is what we are reduced to: a bunch of beggars. It is embarrassing. Reading the article, you can't help but be ashamed to be Tanzanian. 

(h/t to Louder Than Swahili)

Road Rage, BongoFlava Style

From The Citizen:

A Tanzania People's Defence Forces (TPDF) soldier yesterday slapped a police officer at a busy traffic intersection in Dar es Salaam. 

The impatient army officer slapped the traffic policeman, identified as Sergeant Thomas, during the morning rush hour at the Morogoro Road, Mandela Expressway and Sam Nujoma Road junction. 

The soldier, whose identity and rank were not immediately established, was apparently angered by the police officer's decision to hold up the queue coming from Buguruni for over ten minutes and give preference to traffic heading to the city centre from Kimara. 

Now I am not the kinda guy who supports vigilantism. But any Bongolander who has gone through a similar experience - being made to wait by a traffic cop for minutes on end, through some weird logic, while he prioritises motorists from one route, oblivious to those of the other routes - will feel that soldier's frustrations. As Chris Rock said of O.J's alleged killing of his wife and her boyfriend: 'I don't condone it, but I understand.'

IN THE NEWS: ROSTAM WINS LIBEL, IPP MEDIA SEXES UP

• The High Court has ruled that MwanaHalisi is guilty of defaming the businessman and Igunga MP, Rostam Aziz, and has ordered the tabloid to pay Tshs 3bn/- in damages.

• The poet and Nobel laureate, Derek Walcott, is forced to withdraw from contention of the Oxford Poetry Professorship election after the resurfacing of decades-old sexual harassment allegations. For more on Derek Walcott, here is a 2004 profile from The New Yorker.

• As part of their 'Something From Nothing' exhibition, the Nafasi Art Space Gallery in Mikocheni, is showcasing a series of joint works by a group of Tanzanian and European artists to celebrate Europe week in the year of innovation and creativity. The exhibition will run till the end of May.

• Economists from the African Development Bank (AfDB) are forecasting that East Africa will bounce back quicker from the economic crisis than any other region of the continent due to its growing diversity of income generating streams and markets. 

• Last but not least, IPP Media's website gets a new, sexy makeover.