Who is this standing, whose hand has been raised up by the late Sheikh Abeid Karume, the first President of the Revolutionary government of Zanzibar? This is John Okelo, a man whose legacy has been forgotten in the history of the revolution in Zanzibar which took place in 12th January 1964. Okello who is said to be a Ugandan national, helped to organise and fought vigorously to tople the Sultanate government in Zanzibar and during the fight, he called himself a Field Marshal of the commanding group. Many Zanzibaris does not recognise him as a heroe who liberated black Africans who by then were subjected under the Arab humiliation. I am planning to compile a book to give an account of his adventure of his political movements ever since he entered in the Islands of Pemba and Zanzibar.

University students display placards as they wait for the outcome of a meeting between their leaders and the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training officials in Dar es Salaam on Tuesday, on their overdue loans which they would have collected on the 27th of this month. (Photo by Robert Okanda of Daily News)

Iramba district is known by its onion production

Business women at Kitukutu ward in Iramba District, Singida Region wait for customers as captured on Tuesday this week. The district is the leading onion producing region in Tanzania. A bucket of onions is currently sold for 5,000/-. (Photo by Daly News of 28/9/2011)

Govt prints constitution in Braille for the blind

In a bid to ensure wide participation of citizens in the process of preparing a new constitution, the government has printed special copies in Braille form for people with visual disabilities. Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs Permanent Secretary Oliver Mhaiki said the 1, 500 copies cost 32m/- to print. Speaking at the handover ceremony in Dar es Salaam yesterday, he said the government will print even more copies to suite all groups of people with disabilities. “We received a request from blind people, we decided to print the copies in a form where the letters are printed as groups of raised dots that can be felt by fingures”, he said. Mhaiki said there are so many laws and regulations for people with disabilities but they don’t understand them. He added, “Hope they will now be able to contribute towards the new constitution”. Elaborating, he said his ministry in collaboration with the office of the Attorney General had embarked on the provision of civic education to different groups of people including people with disabilities. Meanwhile, Secretary General of the Voice of Disabled Women in Tanzania (SAUTA), Modesta Mpelembwa has thanked the ministry for providing them with the copies. “We are very happy for the books since we didn’t have opportunity to read the constitution for 509 years”, she said. She called upon other institutions to volunteer in printing more copies because there are so many people with disabilities in Tanzania. She said the 1, 500 copies would be distributed to their branches countrywide.

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN

The government faulted for skipping major issues

The government has been criticised for leaving out issues which occurred over the last five decades during special events organised ahead of the 50th independence anniversary, slated for December 9. Lindi-Urban legislator Salum Bar’wan sounded the criticism on Monday when addressing hundreds of Dar es Salaam residents who participated in special prayers for the victims of MV 'Spice Islander', which sank near Nungwi few weeks ago organised by CUF-Kariakoo branch. He said issues the recent marine accident in the Isles should be mentioned in pre-independence anniversary events organised by the government and its institutions with a view to finding lasting solutions. “We have been facing serious accidents that need the government to address their cause, instead of all the time telling the people about successes only,” he stressed. Bar’wan said as the government commemorates the 50th independence anniversary, it should evaluate its performance by mentioning both achievements as well as shortfalls it encountered. Wawi Member of Parliament Hamad Rashid, whose constituency is located in Zanzibar, said in his remarks at the same event that government authorities should seek assistance and other alternatives to recover the sank ferry-boat. “It’s better for the government to continue looking for the deceased and stop giving out incorrect statistics of to the public. We have been told that many families lost their beloved ones in accident and they remain unaccounted for,” he detailed. Hamad added, “Concerned authorities found guilty of causing the accident due to their negligence, should be penalized with immediate effect”. For his part, CUF-Kariakoo branch secretary Msafiri Ridhiwani expressed sympathy and condolence to the families of the victims following the loss of their relatives and friends in the accident. Earlier, Shura of Imams chief sheikh, Musa Kundecha, said the mourning time was over, urging Tanzanians to continue with other activities.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN

Diploma engineering students to get full sponsorship

The government has announced that diploma students in civil and irrigation engineering at technical colleges will get 100 per cent loans from the Higher Education Students Loans Board (HESLB).“We want to encourage more students to take civil and irrigation engineering courses. This sector needs more technical personnel. So, by giving them loans, we believe that more engineers will be produced and fill the existing gap,” Education and Vocational Training minister Dr Shukuru Kawambwa said recently when he visited Arusha Technical College (ATC). Other beneficiaries include students taking civil and irrigation engineering degree courses in different technical colleges across the country. Kawanda explained that the loans offered by HESLB would now cover ordinary diploma holders joining ATC, Dar es Salaam Institute of Technology (DIT) and Mbeya Institute of Science and Technology (MIST), as well as universities. He noted that the move was meant to encourage technical education and attract more professionals in science and engineering fields whose demand in the local market remained high. “We’ll make some adjustments so that ordinary diploma holders joining universities can assess loans just like other direct entrants,” he said, without mentioning when the new arrangement would start. He explained that although the loans were meant for direct entrants to universities, priority being given to science students, the move to extend loans to diploma holders in technical education was deliberate. According to ATC principal Richard Masika, until now such loans were only issued to direct entrants to universities and did not cover holders of diplomas from technical colleges. ATC, which was elevated to an autonomous training institution under the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training a few years ago, introduced a degree programme in civil and irrigation engineering last year. "We urge the government to provide HESLB loans to our students in civil and irrigation engineering because failure to do so means that we will continue losing these experts," he said when briefing the minister. He also promised that his ministry would ensure the construction of a laboratory building at ATC was completed on time. The building, which is to be completed next year, is for testing soil and water quality. Meanwhile, ATC has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Tanga Cement Company to help students be innovative in cement use. ATC Link coordinator Jaffar Mwanza said the MoU would enable the college to monitor the quality of cement produced in the country and the one imported by studying cement materials. According to the MoU, TCCL will be giving ATC two tonnes of cement quarterly for practical training.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN