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* * Tanzania’s President John Magufuli has today launched the construction of the biggest vessel that will link ports in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda. When completed in January 2021, the 90-metres TSHS 89 billion MV Mwanza Hapa Kazi Tu will have a capacity to carry 1,200-passengers, and 400 tons of cargo and 20 cars. Speaking during the ceremony to lay foundation of the construction, Magufuli said that the construction of the ship is amongst the efforts taken by his government to build conducive environment for business in the East African nation. “We have spent our own money in these projects, and we can do more than these” he said

Staff Writers, Nairobi Tanzania's President John Magufuli has launched the construction of Kigongo-Busisi bridge, the biggest and longest bridge in the East African Community and sixth largest in Africa. The bridge will have 3.2 kilometres long and 28.4 metres wide. It will also has four ways capable to ease the crossing of people and vehicles from over two hours to four minutes respectively. Along with that, the bridge will have 67 pillars, three of them will be 40 metres tall and the distance between one to other pillar will be 160 metres. The construction of this bridge will cost TSHS 700 billions and that it will accommodate 10,200 large vehicles a day and will reduce cross over time from 2 hours to 4 minutes. Speaking during the launch of the construction, Magufuli asked Tanzanians to maintain peace and national unity as key foundations of development. "I am your servant, I will continue to work for you as much as I can, these projects are results of our coope...

By Special Correspondent, Africa54 Speaking for the first time in his new Dodoma State House, Tanzanian President Dr. John Pombe Magufuli is back on his usual no-nonsense tone. In the televised meeting with government and private sector officials in a dividend receiving and award ceremony, President Magufuli has issued a 60 Days ultimatum to all public utilities as well as private entities where the government has a minority share, to disburse dividents to the government. President Magufuli of Tanzania "After the 60 days those Chairpersons of the Boards and Executive officers appointed by the government in those respective organs shall consider themselves dismissed and we shall appoint other able Tanzanaians to fill the vacancies," said the vividly angered Magufuli. According to the national broadcaster live telecast, in over 200 eligible entities, only 77 contributed to the government in the form of dividend by way of corporate social responsibility. In four...

Landmark. President Museveni meets top most government leaders at State House Entebbe on Monday. PPU PHOTO  In Summary The feeling that it is a time for change within government and ruling NRM party is so commonplace When Mr Oulanyah had just become Deputy Speaker, he was accused by some MPs and members of the public of elevating his being a member of ruling NRM party above his being Deputy Speaker, which got him to attend a ruling party caucus meeting with President Museveni at his country home in Rwakitura in Kiruhura District.  ADVERTISEMENT By ERIASA MUKIIBI SSERUNJOGI  On Monday this week, President Museveni hosted topmost officials of government at State House Entebbe in what was the first such meeting on record. Vice President Edward Ssekandi, Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga, her deputy Jacob Oulanyah, Chief Justice Bart Katureebe and Deputy Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo, were joined by Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda and ruling Nat...

Thursday, November 21, 2019 22:00 Kenya’s unemployment rate is expected to rise to 10.5 percent by 2020 from the current 9.3 percent, as formal jobs in continue to dwindle. Advertisement K enya’s unemployment rate is expected to rise to 10.5 percent by 2020 from the current 9.3 percent, as formal jobs in continue to dwindle. Mastercard Foundation plans to create 30 million employment opportunities across Africa. The country is implementing various interventions to help curb the situation with rising youth and university graduants.

By Staff Writers and Agencies  Tanzania Premier Kassim Majaliwa has joined President John Magufuli and other nations in the world to call for an end to sanctions on Zimbabwe and Cuba as they hinder the two countries development and progress leaving negative impacts on innocent common citizens.    Addressing more than 120 Non-Align Movement (NAM) countries in Baku, Azerbaijan yesterday, the Premier said sanctions on Zimbabwe and Cuba cripples the determination towards economic development, access to trade, investment and well-being of their people. The Premier said Tanzania encourages the international community in constructive dialogue towards total removal of Cuba embargo and sanctions in Zimbabwe for economic and transformation and benefit of their people. In May this year, while in Zimbabwe, President Magufuli called for an end to sanctions on Zimbabwe, saying they hindered development and progress. Tanzania reiterated the position during SADC mee...

By Maria Kamazi and Agencies Tanzania is set to receive its second Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner on Saturday increasing its fleet of aircraft to 7 seven those already arrived and to 11, as more are still coming. Like Uganda and Rwanda, Tanzania under its reformist President, Dr. John Pombe Magufuli has vowed to revamp its national carrier into a successful entity. Nicknamed after the “Rubondo Island” the new aircraft which is valued at $224.6 million at list price has been bought by the government under President Magufuli to expand its fleet of regional and international markets. President Magufuli has been frequently insisting that “Tanzania cannot develop its economy without its national carrier”. Since then, he has purchased new nine aircraft using taxpayers’ money.       The arrival of the Dreamliner will make Tanzania to continue establishing long-haul capability by starting flights to Europe (London, UK?) and Asia (with China and Thailand in sight). Early...

KIGALI, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- A job fair connecting Chinese enterprises in Rwanda and Rwandan graduates from Chinese universities was held Friday here to support job creation in Rwanda and localization of Chinese enterprises. The event was organized by the Chinese Embassy in Rwanda and Rwanda-China Alumni Organization in partnership with the Association of Chinese Enterprises in Rwanda. Over 20 Chinese companies from the sectors of construction, information and communication technology, real estate and tourism participated in the event, and talked to more than 200 Rwandan graduates face-to-face. Over 90 percent of the staffers of most Rwanda-based Chinese companies are Rwandans, statistics from the enterprises' association showed. The number of Rwandan students studying in China has grown tremendously. Currently, there are over 2,000 Rwandan students studying in Chinese universities. Youth empowerment has been among the priorities in China-Rwanda bilateral cooperation and...

By Staff Writers, KAMPALA KAMPALA -  Height gives power to people. For the womenfolk, this power is often borrowed by putting on high heels. Not so for Modesta Akello who was naturally blessed with a height estimated at 7feet and six inches (unofficial sources that could not be independently verified).  She was a traffic Police Officer and towered over her colleagues as well as motorists. She was posted to different locations and the prying eyes of motorists with problematic cars would not miss her. But she could easily net them because she always had a commanding view over her surroundings.  This human spectacle in height ended on October 24th. Akello’s life ended suddenly yesterday after a series of eventful events, according to a colleague who did not want to be named.  “She woke up in the morning and she looked full of life,” said the Officer at Nsambya. “She greeted Ochan, one of her neighbours before she went for her household chores.”  At about...

Reuters in Nairobi Thu 24 Oct 2019  14.58 BST Last modified on Thu 24 Oct 2019  16.01 BST Shares 284   Members of the Ugandan LGBT community say they risk physical attacks in their daily lives and routinely encounter harassment. Photograph: Rebecca Vassie/AP Uganda  has said it has arrested 16 LGBT activists on suspicion of gay sex, which is punishable with life imprisonment, in what fellow activists called an escalating campaign against sexual minorities. The 16 men, believed to be aged between 22 and 35, were taken into custody late on Monday at the office of a sexual health charity where they all worked and lived, fellow activists said. It was not clear if the men had been formally charged nor when they might appear in court. A police spokesman said on Thursday officers had found lubricants, condoms and antiretroviral drugs at the charity, and had conducted medical examinations on all 16. Advertisement ...

By Staff Writer, NAIROBI Last week, Barrick Gold Corp. and the government of Tanzania under President Dr. John Pombe Magufuli, announced the launch of Twiga Minerals Limited, a new company replacing the mighty Acacia PLC, that will be jointly owned by the two parties.  Under the new arrangement, Tanzania will own 16% free-carried interest but the two will share the economic benefits of the company in a 50/50 mechanism. This is contrary to the previously arrangement before Magufuli came into power when, Barrick through her subsidiary, Acacia, owned everything in three gold mines in Tanzania, leaving the East African Economy, depend on taxes and levies, mostly missing them out, due to escalated operating costs or lack of transparency. Africa should congratulate President Magufuli of Tanzania for winning this battle. It was the battle that teaches other Africans a lesson of a lifetime. I bet, it was a fierce battle because we can read and hear lots of noise from Tanzania after ...

  The President said through AfDB’s funding, the country more than tripled the number of households connected to electricity over the last six years. The President spoke today at State House, Nairobi when he bade farewell to Mr Gabriel Negatu, the outgoing AfDB’s Director General for the East Africa Regional Development and Business Delivery Office. President Kenyatta also thanked Mr Negatu for championing the funding of programmes aimed at enhancing trade and people-to-people interactions in East Africa such as the one-stop border post projects.     The outgoing Director General who was accompanied by acting National Treasury CS Ukur Yattani assured President Kenyatta of AfDB’s commitment to continue supporting Kenya’s development agenda.  

By Chief Correspondents, Dar es Salaam and Nairobi, 16:30 GMT Tanzania’s tax revenues rose 29.18 percent from 1.335 trillion of last month to the total amount of TZS 1.767 trillion in September 2019, the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) said today, a figure that sets a new monthly revenue record in the East Africa’s fastest growing economy. The increase, highest in the monthly revenue history of Tanzania since the Independence in 1961, and the biggest ever since the creation of the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) which started its operations on 1 st July, 1996, is a reflection of the massive transformation work under the reform minded President John Pombe Magufuli. “These collections amounts to 97.20 percent of our target for the month of September, which is, TZS 1.817 trillion,” said the Commissioner General of TRA, Dr. Edwin Mhede. Monthly revenues averaged TZS 1.3 trillion from TZS 850 billion prior to Magufuli administration.   Since November 2015, Presi...

Source: Bukola Adebayo, CNN Updated 1608 GMT (0008 HKT) September 24, 2019 Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo speaks during the Concordia Annual Summit on September 24, 2018, in New York.   (CNN) Three suspects have been arrested and explosives and other weapons have been seized over an alleged plot to destabilize Ghana's presidency, the country's minister of information said Monday.   Security forces in the West African nation had been monitoring the suspects' activities for more than a year before their arrest Friday, Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah said in a statement.   "The joint operation was to neutralise an elaborate plot targeted at the presidency, and with the ultimate aim of destabilising the country," Nkrumah said in the statement, which was posted to Twitter and confirmed to CNN by his deputy, Pius Enam Hadzide.   The suspects are being questioned as the investigation continues, Nkrumah said. T...

The dream of Tanzania to acquire the middle income status by 2025 is becoming a reality. This time, the data extracted from the September 2019 version of the  PovcalNet database has put Tanzania the first country in Africa that has reduced extreme poverty. Early this year, the WB stated clearly that Tanzania’s middle income status will be achieved in 2021 instead of 2025 due to mega projects implemented by the government of President John Magufuli. The report that has been also published in the World Bank Blogs states that Tanzania has reduced extreme poverty from 86% in 2000 to 49% in 2011, cutting its extreme poverty rate by 3.2 percentage points per year. This is about three times the pace of the average country in the region. Much more gains have been achieved in the last two years. The report states that the rapid reduction in extreme poverty has been measured as the annual percentage point change in the international extreme poverty rate, circa 2000 to ...