Soko la Samaki

Women in Unguja and Pemba Happily Making Money and Saving

Pemba — A popular Kiswahili proverb known by many Zanzibarians goes like this "Haba na haba hujaza kibaba" in other words drop by drop the vessel will get filled.

This wise saying has been vividly demonstrated by women in the rural areas of Unguja and Pemba and is calling on others to follow suit.

Women in Unguja South and Pemba North have for a long time never engaged themselves in income generating activities and they had little hope for any sort of economic improvement of their lives.

In 2008 Women Empowerment in Zanzibar (WEZA) initiative was introduced and their lives took a new turn bringing hope for the women.

Around 8742 women at their own individual pace saved between 200 and 1,000 shillings each week after receiving savings and financial training from the Tanzania Media Women's Association (TAMWA), Jozani Credit and Development Organisation (JOCDO) and Pemba Savings and Credit Association (PESACA). The project was co-financed by the European Union (EU), Government of Austria and Care Austria.

The training marked the beginning of a big take off and by 2011 the women collectively had saved a total of 693,790,000/=.

This was a big surprise not only to the Zanzibari population but to women themselves who could not believe they had the potential.

"How can we save 500 /- a week while at the same time we did not receive that amount of money for our family meals?" asked a section of women members in Kiungoni Shehia of Pemba North during the sensitisation meetings before the savings began.

Now the very same women save more than 2,500 shillings per week owing to the various business activities they are engaged in including the making of handicrafts and agro- business.

The general rule for acquiring a loan is that a member has to convince the group that she has something useful to do with the loan. Secondly she needs to have four sureties (wadhamini) from the group who sign contract which among others request them to take due responsibility in case the member fail to repay the loan.

In the case a member fails to repay the loan, her weekly shares are first taken away by the group in addition to that of her sureties. However, this has only appeared once at Jambiani in Unguja while Pemba it has never happened. Most of the members repay their loans in three months and if one fails giving reasonable grounds, the group gives her additional two weeks in which to settle the debt before further action is considered.

Mr. Omar Khamis, a Shehia leader of Kiungoni, Shehia in 2009 said WEZA changed the perception and status of his Shehia. Speaking to the project's representatives and the villagers, he said that before WEZA was established the women in his village were not involved in any business contrary and now every woman is struggling hard to earn an income and erase illiteracy.

Ms. Fatma Ali Haji (40) of the same Shehia narrated her experience while talking to Daily News recently. Fatma says her life has changed drastically from struggling to make ends meet to setting up business person while she save 15,000/= per week.

"WEZA taught us how to and utilise the resources around us. I now buy for basic items such as food and clothes for myself and my family," she said.

She sells coconuts and tailors clothes for women wiping out the old stereotyping of women staying indoors. She sells coconuts at Kiungoni and as far as Chake chake, Pemba South. An officer for Savings and Loans with Women Empowerment in Zanzibar (WEZA), Muhiddin Ramadan said on average members' savings stands between 1000/- and 5,000 each week. He said the saving shares were raised as a result of the increased income generating activities.

He says that the common business activities are locally made hand bags, spice based soaps, batik, rosella juice , liquid soaps and selling of fresh vegetables. As much as Zanzibar appreciates the achievement there are challenges which that need urgent redress. Mwanakhamis Mrisho, an officer from TAMWA mentioned the challenges as lack of reliable market of the finished products and low quality products to face stiff competition in the competitive market.

She attributed the challenges to financial constraints, lack of mobility and confidence calling for concerted efforts to improve the quality of women's products in order to be fully fledged entrepreneurs. She feels that the government in particular should put more emphasis in promoting women's products of these areas as well as introducing more women into the business world.

This will help the women fully utilise the Sunday market launched recently by the government at Mwembeshauri Grounds, Unguja Urban, which is albeit at its fragile stage. Most of the women currently do not have bank accounts as they consider still consider themselves poor. For the time being they are concentrating on expanding their businesses, building and or repairing their homes and taking their children to school.


Daily News

KUMBUKUMBU.

Ni miaka 23 sasa tangu umetutoka lakini sisi kama watoto wako pamoja na baba ulietuacha huku tunaona ni kama jana tu umeondoka maana umeenda kimwili lakini kiroho bado tupo nawe, na kamwe hatutaacha kukumbuka malezi yako bora!

Tukiwa kama familia (watoto wako pamoja na mumeo (baba)) daima hatuishi kukuombea DUA njema kila kukicha upate kupumzika kwa kwa amani huko uliko.

Ni matumaini yetu mungu anasikia dua zetu MAMA.

Ni sisi wanao wapendwa Mariam, Hussein, Salum, Mariam Hawa pamoja na Baba yetu (mumeo) Sheikh Suleiman hatuna la zaidi ila ni dua tunakuombea.

INNA LILLAHI WA INNA ILAIHI RAAJIUN.


Salum Suleiman Lyeme (Sule Junior)
Entertainment writter (Freelance), Graphic Designer (Freelance) / Mwananchi Communication Ltd
C.E.O of SULE'S Inc. & ENTERTAINMENT

A rare mind revelation from the Civic United Front

Interviewed by Mlimani TV station early this week about why his party recorded abysmal performance in the just ended by-election in Uzini constituency on Zanzibar island, Ismail Jussa Ladhu, deputy secretary general of the Civic United Front, declared that CUF didn’t win the seat because there are more Christians and churches in the area than Muslims and mosques.

It’s a rare mind revelation from one of the more highly trusted CUF officials, better educated than average and with considerable exposure locally and outside, becoming a symbol of what kind of leaders we have in this country.
It’s perhaps the clearest illustration of what some of the CUF leaders especially those who defected have been saying about this political party. They have accused CUF of being a Muslim-dominated party, saying it has a clear religious bias.

Though we don’t believe those allegations seriously because the Political Registration Act of 1992 has proper safeguards on such misdirected politicking, one cannot ignore even the more glaring signals, as in this case. The Act provides that any party that is statutorily identified with religious activities and faith partiality can’t be registered, but the revelation from Jussa confirms what its party dissidents, past and present, have all along critics have been saying.

Jussa simply wants us to believe that Christians are anti-CUF while Muslims are pro-his party. We thought and believed that those who have been voting for the party in the past elections in Tanzania did so because of being attracted by CUF’s policies.

But according to Jussa, it’s the opposite. He clearly believes that his party can win easily in those areas where there are Muslims in majority and Christians as a minority. Jussa might be right because being one of the members of the CUF’s inner circle; he has all the facility to understand why in some areas his party is popular while in others it registers abysmal performance.

What is appalling is that we still have leaders who believe in the politics of divisions along race, ethnicity and faith based issues, instead of advocating for a clear policy that will eradicate poverty as well as bringing prosperity economically, politically and socially.

From Jussa’s verdict, those who voted for CCM and Chadema are Christians because in Uzini constituency there are more churches and Christians than Muslims. While Jussa might have some details in the area’s demography or psychology which most other observers may not be aware, his comments can only be qualified, unavoidably, as totally unacceptable.

The point here is that if this is how politics is going to be managed in this country, then Tanzania is slowly descending into chaotic politics in future. It means that the CUF, when it has its back on the wall, is ready to abandon statutory rationality (policies), pluralism (non-racial and non-sectarian) attitude in favor of playing to the gallery of religion, to attract irrational fears and votes, with readiness for violence. All religious politics ends in violence, by definition.

That Jussa might statistically be right doesn’t count, but rather that his comments are unjustifiable if they represent the spirit of that political party, their line of action in the months to come – that is, in any future polls and in preparing for polls.

Those sentiments and the political orientation implied therein is what must be avoided at all costs and are consequently harmful to the political climate, to the peace and understanding constituting the reason both for the constitution and the formation of a Government of National Unity. He has simply shown how he treads in cheap politics of divide and rule.

In a country that has been battling and weathering serious allegations of religious division between Muslims and Christians in the history of the ruling party, Jussa’s comments serve to add petrol to the fire, worsening the situation.

Our leaders have to be careful about what they say to the public and what they shouldn’t, the sort of imagination they should keep to themselves, so that they don’t stir up the tiger of revolt that is part of politics, itching for a fight for whatever reason, so long as an important person has said it is right to burn and kill. They should be mature enough to distinguish between ‘pillow talk’ and public discussion.


IPPMEDIA