Kingunge warns CC to respect people’s opinions

A veteran politician who is also among the elders of the ruling CCM party Kingunge Ngombale Mwiru has warned current CCM leaders to be careful and take into account the opinion of the majority of its members when it comes to decision making. Kingunge was responding to an interview by a Channel ten television crew Charles Hilary which was transmitting live from Dodoma where the process of scrutinizing CCM presidential hopefuls took plac e last week. He said that, the CCM members should not make decisions by their own and instead they should listen to what the majority party members who have the mandate to choose a type of a leader they want. He cautioned the CC over what had transpired during the selection of its 38 presidential aspirants from which top most five names were selected in what is described from the internal sources that the process has been unlawfully done. However, he noted that, although there had already shown signs of disagreement by some members of the CC who are in doubt over how the selection of the five members was carried at CC meetings, the matter here is to ask if among the five are accepted from within and outside the part. The already short listed members by CC from a list of 38 presidential aspirants are January Makamba, Benard Mambe, Asha Rose Migiro, Ambassador Anima Salum Ali and John Magufuli.  The five were later on pruned to three and Maghufuli emerged the winner after having been voted with YES by members of the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC). However, during interview Kingunge quoted what the late father of the nation Mwalimu Julius Nyerere said that in order to have a good leader he or she must have a majority support bin both sides. Kingunge is in doubt of the already selected five members by the CC which no one knows what methods had they used to select them, is purely unacceptable and therefore any  queries raised by other members outside should be discussed in order to rectify any mishaps that might happen in the foregoing election process. He said it is the responsibility of the CC members to ensure that whomever they select  should be diligently loved by all members from outside and within, otherwise however, he has predicted of the party’s disintegration. He outlined among basic characteristic features that a Tanzanian leader must have bearing the fact that then elected President is also a Commander-In-Chief of the armed forces in the country according to constitution. In this aspect, Kingunge noted that all presidential hopefuls must be a person who is well trained in military fatigues and who is aware of the aspects involving security matters in the country. He noted also that the people who are the voters are aware of the poverty stricken situation that is curbing their lives every day, so in view of this only that leader who has been holding various ministerial posts in the country is more reliable for the position as he or she is able to think about what people in the country would want.

NEC prolongs days for BVR registration exercise in Dar region

THE National Electoral Commission (NEC) has prolonged the starting day for registration exercises on permanent voter registration book to be carried in Dar es Salaam region from 16 as earlier announced to 22^nd this month, a statement issued yesterday to the media by NEC has said. The statement signed by NEC Chairman retired Judge Damian Lubuva said that, NEC has changed the date following requests by election stakeholders who wanted the days prolonged so as to pave way for people to celebrate the two day Eid-El-Fitry holidays which is expected to be held on dates scheduled to start the exercise. Lub uva said in his statement that, NEC has accepted the election stakeholder’s request and now the registration which is being undertaken for the first time in the country by using the electronically designed Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) machine, for Dar es Salaam region will be climaxed on 31^st this month. In view of this, NEC has underscored the need for this registration process and called on people in the region to emerge for registration at various registration centres which later will be used as polling stations during elections. However, he said the registration to be carried will also involve people residing at Bunju  and Mbweni wards although some of them had been registered before in a pilot project when the BVR machines were introduced in the country in late last year. Tanzania has adopted the biometric registration process which has replaced manual registrations which was being marred with challenges including double registration and missing names. Using some figures shared by NEC and quoted in the media is that up to now NEC has registered over 11 million people in the country against the approximate number of 25 million Tanzanians of voting age basing on 2012 census, with the Dar es Salaam region being the last region where the registration is done.

Muheza district council excels in revenue collection

MUHEZA district Council in Tanga region has increased its revenue collection by 100 percent for the last five years from Sh. 491,890,420 in 2010/11 financial year to Sh. 911,885,750 in 2014/15 fiscal year. The Council’s chairman Amiri Kiroboto said on Friday last week at Muheza social hall during the meeting that occasioned to dissolve the counselors whose term of service with the council has ended according to the constitution waiting for the general election slated later in October this year. In his speech, chairman Kiroboto noted that, the success behind such a tremendous increase has culminated from the newly established internal sources of revenues in the district which has enabled the council to surpass its targets. He said due to the internal increase of revenue sources, the council has performed well to the extent that it has managed to buy a water drilling machine for drilling deep water wells at a lower and effective cost. He said the council needs staff of different cadre with high professionalism to execute their duties and now the government hbas supplied a considerable amount of staff and services are effectively rendered to the people. Kiroboto noted that in all sectors the council has done developmental matters within five years period which are commendable. The sectors include health education, water, infrastructure, agriculture, livestock, wildlife conservation as well as communication. Biding his farewell to the outgoing counselors, the Muheza District Commissioner Eserina Kilasi thanked them for implementing the ruling party’s (CMM) manifesto and said that the district has made one step further for people’s development. He relieved their mind at this time when contesters are vying for various positions during them coming elections and noted that, in their campaigns of which some might be elected councilors again, should they also insist people to emerge in great numbers to register themselves in a permanent voter registration book which currently is recorded by use of Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) machines. The DC also sent a message to the outgoing councilors that in their campaigns they should also emphasize the need of people from their respective wards to engage themselves in the construction of secondary laboratories. The Director of Muheza District Council Adriano Jungu read a statement to the outgoing counselors which show work procedures on how to conduct the activities of councils in the country after the dissolution of the councilors cabinet in the district council. CCM District Chairman Peter Jambele gave hope to the outgoing councilors and urged them to campaign for their return as the council was really in great need of them at this around. However, he said adding that, they should campaign to show that the ruling party has done many good things to the people.

Call for pilots on misuse of helicopters during election campaigns

As the national campaigns for the general election is around the corner, Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA) has strongly cautioned pilots to abide by the laid down rules and regulations governing air traffic operations while moving around in airspace with helicopters during campaigns. The acting TCAA’s Director General Charles Chacha issued a warning mid this week in Dar es Salaam after the TCAA discovered that there has been frequent misuse of air traffic services that violates the laid down principles as stipulated in civil aviation Act. He said TCAA has come in light after discovering that some politicians will use airspace to travel in helicopters during the campaigns scheduled to start in mid of August this year. He further noted that, TCAA will curb with air traffic violators judging the experience from the previous elections whereby some politicians used helicopter services to facilitate their campaigns to reach people in far flung villages in some parts in the country but could not strictly follow safety regulations as required by the law. He noted that, during the campaigns most of the pilots are fond of landing closer to where public rallies takes place and sometimes even in undesignated areas which for security reasons is very dangerous that it can cause fatal accidents. He said TCAA will be alert this time around to ensure that safety regulations are strictly observed wherever there is a need to use an helicopter services in the country especially in rural areas whereby services of aircraft controlling is very scarce. However, he has cautioned against flying placards which are tied at the back of a helicopter as it hovers over the sky when landing and taking off with the messages of sensitization for a political charity saying that, such a move is a threat for airspace safety. In view of this, the TCAA boss is optimistic that pilots and other service givers would observe the laid down rules and regulations that governs safety as in accordance to the law, and a failure to that legal measures will be taken against them. To ensure an effective implementation on security grounds, the TCAA has also issued directives to helicopter users that it must have an original certificate of safety which has been issued by the authority concerned where the helicopter was registered prior to the starting of their campaigns. According to Chacha, any helicopter that would not have any legal certificate issued for the intended purposes would not be allowed to operate whatsoever. However, he further noted that for those helicopters which had been registered outside the country must obtain a legal permit from the authority concerned as per the Aeronautical Information Circular (AIC 08/09). Other directives are associated with safety landing whereby pilots will not be required to land and taking off from an area that is not designated for either of the purposes intended. Others are pilots must issue early warnings to the people where they expect to visit on their campaign tour so that a special area must be set for safe landing and that it should be far away that cannot be reached by people. He also pointed out that, chief pilots must identify areas of their landing and these must be known earlier and should be set apart away from where public rallies are being held and that they should be earmarked and if possible be demarcated with a fence to prevent unauthorized people from approaching such areas. He concluded that, legal measures will be taken against those pilots with careless observations of such rules and regulations which are not professionally followed as these are a great threat to the people and their surroundings.

Why a multibillion worth of hydro-electric power project fails to kick off

LACK of fund has been said to be a major stagnating factor to the development of the long awaited hydro-electric power project which is located at Stiegler’s gorge within Rufiji Basin Development Authority (RUDABA) in Coast region. The Stiegler's Power Project as it is known by many is the biggest hydro power generation in the country that is estimated to cost $ 2 billion (Sh. 4.2 trillion) and has been lying idle due to lack of a strategic investor.  A source from Tanzania Electricity Supply Company (TANESCO) said in an exclusive interview on Thursday this week that, the project is geared to end the chronic power crisis in the country as it would generate over 2,100MW of electricity.  This is twice as much as the total installed capacity of 1014 MW that is being currently produced by all sources of power generation connected to the national grid. The power sources with their installed Megawatt capacities in brackets are hydro (561), gas (293) and diesel (160) respectively. Unlike gas which is produced in Mtwara (MW 18) and Somanga (MW7.5) which are not connected to the national grid, the two projects are used within the locality in Mtwara and Lindi regions respectively. A source maintains that, the Stiegler's power project had already been given an international clearance from the World Environment Committee (WEC) of UNESCO for construction work to begin. But in spite of possessing such a global document, it is very unfortunate that, the government is yet to get a strategic investor to run the project due to its expensiveness. Contacted for comments, TANESCO’s Managing Director Felchesmi Mramba said that the Stiegler's power project is in the company’s Power System Master Plan (PSMP) which would be implemented in 2025 prior to another feasibility study which is to be done for the project. The feasibility study for a project in PSMP will determine the technology to be used, evaluated costs, the machines to be involved and other assessments such as the environmental impact assessment. However, he refuted allegations that the project lacks a strategic investor for its development despite of being the oldest in the country and insisted that it will be implemented later on and not now. “Tanesco is currently implementing its hydro-power projects already approved in  its PSMP which are Ruhuji, Rubakali and Kakono”, he said adding that Kakono project is worth $ 250 million whereas the other two costs $ 800 million each one of them. Currently TANESCO largely depends on hydro-power generation from its various four major water sources which are Kidatu (200MW), Kihansi (180 MW), Mtera (MW 80) and Pangani hydro systems that combines a total of 101 MW. The Stigler’s Gorge power plant is to be built in three phases, until the entire potential is realized, implying each stage would involve 700mw of power added to the national grid. The use of hydropower is considered a sustainable power source that is to rescue electricity users by diminishing reliance on gas resources, and raise economic growth as the utility would be over and above the national demand. Generally TANESCO sells power at 16 and 18 USD cents per unit regardless of its mode of generation which are gas, hydro or diesel fuel.