Taxi Bubu

Kapteni wa mtumbwi akisubiri abiria hapo pwani ya Michamvi.



TrekEarth

9 tons of fake medicine seized in East Africa

(CNN) -- Authorities have seized 9,072 kilograms (20,000 pounds) of counterfeit medicine and arrested 80 people suspected of illegal trafficking in six East African nations, Interpol said Thursday.

More than 300 premises were checked or raided in the two-month operation across Uganda, Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Zanzibar, according to a news release from the international police agency.

The confiscated loot included anti-malaria drugs, vaccines and antibiotics. There was also a significant quantity of government medicines diverted to illegal resale markets.

It was the third such seizure operation in as many years in East Africa, intended to curb the manufacture and distribution of counterfeit medical products.

Representatives of the six nations are scheduled to meet in Zanzibar next week to discuss the seizure and the extent of the counterfeiting problem, Interpol said.
The World Health Organization defines counterfeit drugs as "medicine, which is deliberately and fraudulently mislabelled with respect to identity and/or source."

Counterfeiting can apply to both brand-name and generic products, and forged products may include those with the correct ingredients or with the wrong ingredients, without active ingredients, with insufficient active ingredients, or with fake packaging, WHO says.

The United Nations agency created a global task force in 2006 to deal with the problem, which has been growing as international markets expand and become globalized and internet commerce has taken off.

The fake products can prove detrimental to public health efforts in disease-ridden countries and in worst-case scenarios can cause death, according to the WHO task force.

U.S. Envoy Hopes for Fair Polls

The US ambassador in the country, Mr Alfonso Lenhardt, has expressed his hopes that this year General Election will be peaceful and fair.

He made the remarks in Chukwani, just outside Zanzibar town, when talking to reporters after inspecting a new building for House of Representatives which was inaugurated recently by President Aman Abeid Karume.



Mr Lenhardt said he is happy that the recent move to reconcile Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) and Civic United Front (CUF) has gone well and there are indication that October 31 General Election would result into a government of national unity.

He noted that without peace there was no democracy which can be practiced. He said if it is held under peaceful atmosphere, the election would create a conducive atmosphere for the resultant government to implement the development agenda.

He said the recent referendum has shown that Zanzibaris were ready and able to make decisions without fighting.

"My message and a message from American people is to wish you peaceful and fair elections. Even President Barack Obama has told President Jakaya Kikwete that he wishes Zanzibaris peaceful elections," he said.

He noted that Zanzibaris were duty bound to ensure they cherish the peace and tranquility even after the election.

He said the new building for House of Representatives should save as a catalyst in building true democracy in the Isles.

Ambassador Lenhardt also congratulated journalists for their hard work to educate wananchi on the importance of maintaining peace during the referendum process.

Speaking earlier, the chairman of a six member committee formed by the House of Representatives to oversee the referendum, Mr Ali Mzee Ali, congratulated US government for its assistance to Zanzibar.

He said US government contribution to Zanzibar was immense in various sectors of economy, social and political.


All Africa.com

"Kilimanjaro III" Kuimarisha Usafiri wa Baharini Zanzibar

Incat Crowther Designs Another Fast Cat Ferry

Incat Crowther announced a contract to design a third 121.3-ft Catamaran Passenger Ferry for Coastal Fast Ferries in Tanzania, Africa. To be built by Richardson Devine Marine (RDM), Kilimanjaro III will build on the experienced gained in the operation of sisterships Kilimanjaro I and Kilimanjaro II, previously designed by Incat Crowther for Coastal Fast Ferries.

Kilimanjaro I and II are significantly larger vessels than any fast ferries that have been deployed on the Zanzibar – Dar Es Salaam route, yet the vessels are nearly always running at full capacity. Needless to say, the operator is extremely happy with the success of these vessels, and has been working with Incat Crowther and RDM to develop a vessel that can take further advantage of the operation’s revenue-making potential.

Kilimanjaro III’s two significant enhancements are its increased passenger capacity and new generation hull form, which offers increased efficiency and improved seakeaping. The result is a vessel that will carry more passengers at less cost per-passenger to the operator.

As well as supplementing the operational capacity on the Zanzibar - Dar Es Salaam run at a higher service speed, Coastal Fast Ferries plan to use the vessel to expand their operation by extending the route to the island of Pemba. Kilimanjaro III is specifically suited for this added offshore work.

Taking advantage of its increased beam, Kilimanjaro III will carry 558 passengers in a mix of seating levels and styles. The main deck passenger deck features 249 economy class seats, with those nearest the aft kiosk equipped with tables. The aft end of the main deck has been reconfigured with a larger luggage room, located directly adjacent to the side crew ramps to speed up turn around.

The upper deck has outdoor seats for 107 passengers. Amidships there is a first class cabin with 74 seats. The sundeck has seats for a further 60 passengers. Kilimanjaro III will be powered by a pair of Cummins KTA50 engines, each producing 1340kW, and will have a service speed of 30 knots.

Incat Crowther is pleased to continue its relationship with Coastal Fast Ferries and believe the growth in business is a result of the company’s attention to client service and adding value to the client’s operation.

Specifications:
Length, o.a. 125 ft
Length, w.l. 122.5 ft
Beam, o.a. 34.5 ft
Draft, hull 3.7 ft
Draft, prop 5.11 ft
Depth 12 ft
Construction Marine grade aluminum

Capacities:
Fuel oil 1,585 gal
Fresh water 330 gal
Sullage 330 gal
Passengers 558

Propulsion & performance:
Speed 29 knots
Main engines 2x Cummins KTA50
Power 2x 1340kW @ 1900rpm
Propulsion 2x Propeller
Generators 2x Cummins, 170kVA, 50 Hz
1 x Cummins, 17kVA, 50 Hz

Angalizo:
Boti za Kilimanjaro awali zilikuwa zinajulikana kama Sea Express. Hadi sasa kuna Kilimanjaro I na II.


MarineLink.com

Mabadiliko ya address

Blog iliyokuwa inakwenda kwa address ya http://www.angaliabongo.co.tz, sasa hivi inapatikana kwa address hii:
http://wwww.angalia-bongo.com na ikiwa na mtazamo mpya na mambo kem kem.

Wakimbizi wa Kizenj, karibuni tena Zanzibar

Wale wanzenji wote waliokimbimba Zanzibar kutokana na mtafuruku wa uchaguzi wa mwaka 1995 na mwaka 2000, mnakaribishwa tena Zanzibar.

Zanzibar ya leo ni tofauti sana na ile mliyoikimbia. Sasa kuna makubaliano na kutakuwepo na serikali ya umoja wa kitaifa mara baada ya uchaguzi mkuu mwaka huu. Hivyo basi sio sahihi tena kujiita wakimbizi ilhali hali ya nchi ni shwari.

Aidha naiomba serikali ya Uingereza kuwarudisha wazenj wote waliongia nchini humo kwa madai ya ukimbizi, ombi hili ni pamoja na serikali ya Kenya ambako kuna wakimbizi wa kizenj katika mapango huko Mombasa.

Sina shaka kuwa Wazenj wa UK wengi wao wamepata bahati ya kusoma huko na kuwa na taaluma, hili ni muhimu kwa kujenga taifa jipya la Zanzibar... Kule mapangoni sina hakika kama waliweza kupata nafasi ya kujiendeleza.

Cha msingi kwenu wakimbizi wa kisiasa ni kurudi nyumbani, kwani hakuna vujo tena, kura zenu tunazihitaji hali kadhalika maarifa yenu. Hii ajialishi kama ukuweza kufanikiwa huko ugenini.

Karibuni tena nyumbani, tena mjisikie huru kuliko huo uhuru wa kubaguliwa katika nchi za kigeni. Karibuni sana

Skuli....

Shughuli

Halikuniki

Halikuniki bin Gozi gumu

Meghji family saga exciting enough to be a miniseries

An enterprising writer should quickly pen a multi-generational miniseries about the Meghji family.

Who, you ask, are the Meghjis?

They are the people who will begin building a 189-room Courtyard by Marriott Hotel at the Edmonton International Airport next spring.

The next-to-the-planes, eight-storey hotel will be linked to the airport by a heated pedway and boast everything from a fitness spa and top-notch restaurant to banquet facilities and large presidential suites.

"You could say it's the icing on the cake for our family-owned Platinum Investments company," 37-year-old Rahim Meghji told me.

Rahim and his brother, Ali Meghji, 35, are the young face of the Ismaili Muslim family and are gradually taking over the business reins from their uncle, 64-year-old Amin Meghji.

Rather than icing on the cake, it's the natural ending to the first miniseries.

As for the beginning, it goes back more than a century to Gujarat in northwest India. "Our family lived in poverty; and led by my great-grandfather, they sailed across the Indian Ocean in a small boat in 1893," Amin says.

"The boat was so overloaded they threw everything they had overboard, including their shoes. They arrived in Zanzibar penniless."

Amin's father was nine at the time and went to live on a coconut farm. Later, his father bought the farm with help from his wife's family before moving to Dar es Salaam, then Tanzania's capital.

"My father and my two older brothers created a soap, glycerine and oil manufacturing business that did very well," Amin says. "But the government nationalized everything, including residential and commercial properties. We lost everything except some savings.

"My mother was paralyzed with shock at the loss of our empire, suffered a brain hemorrhage and died within the hour in 1972."

The family left for Kenya and rebuilt their business in Nairobi.

"Again we did very well, but the government began taking over businesses and we feared for our future," Amin says.

"My father died in 1975, but not before telling us to get out of the country. We sold our business for about half of what it was worth and came to Canada in 1976."

Finding themselves amid the Alberta oil boom at the end of the 1970s, the close-knit, extended Meghji family bought and expanded a 10-unit, west-end motel. That was followed by a 178-unit, $12-million downtown apartment building.

"We lost everything again in 1981 when the market crashed," Amin says. "The building was 70-per-cent vacant and we couldn't make mortgage payments at 21-per-cent (interest)."

The Meghjis rose again in 1998 and bought the Forum Inn near Rexall Place, renaming it Coliseum.

In 2004, the family opened the 160-room Hilton Garden Inn in the west end, followed two years later by the Hampton Inn and Suites.

"They are rated the top two city hotels by travellers on the Trip Advisor website," Rahim says.

"We hope our Marriott Courtyard opening soon in the west end, and our nearby Marriott Residence Inn, due to open next year, will be just as successful."

Amin is sad his older brother, Aladdin, the visionary of the family, died just before the Hilton opened.

This miniseries would end with Marriott Canada senior vice-president Michael Beckley saying at the airport Friday: "We see Platinum as a key partner in Alberta, Western Canada and beyond.

"Marriott is the fastest-growing hotel brand in North America and has gone from 12 hotels to 60 in Canada in the last 10 years."

Rahim quipped: " The airport hotel will be our flagship. If hotels in Canada are nationalized, the whole family will jump off the High Level Bridge."


Canada.com

After Zanzibar Referendum Comes Constitution Dilemma

The constitutional amendments in Zanzibar on Monday evening, which redefined its territory as a sovereign state within the United Republic of Tanzania, have reignited the controversy over the future of the Union.

Constitutional experts faulted the changes endorsed by the House of Representatives, which they charged, were "meant to neutralise the Union, if not to kill it systematically".

With the Constitution of the United Republic proclaiming Tanzania to be a country resulting from the merger of Tanganyika and Zanzibar, as the one and only sovereign state, the experts were of the opinion that the recognition of Zanzibar as a state would "steal Tanzania's statehood". And they warned that this could herald the break-up of the United Republic of Tanzania.

An extraordinary session of the House of Representatives on Monday evening overwhelmingly passed 10 amendments, which also paved the way for the formation of a government of national unity in Zanzibar after October 31 General Election.

According to the amendments, Sections 1 and 2 of the Zanzibar Constitution, which previously identified Zanzibar as part of the United Republic of Tanzania, have been deleted.

The changes redefine Zanzibar is a state formerly known as the 'People's Republic of Zanzibar' with its territory composed of Unguja, Pemba and all the small surrounding islands, as it was before the 1964 merger with Tanganyika.

Moving the Constitutional Amendment Bill, the State Minister (Constitution and Good Governance), Mr Ramadhani Abdallah Shaaban, said: "The new clause stipulates that Zanzibar is among the two countries that form the United Republic of Tanzania."

But a senior law lecturer at the University of Dar es Salaam, Dr Sengondo Mvungi, described the amendment as the biggest threat ever to the existence of the United Republic of Tanzania. He explained that the House of Representatives had disregarded the laid-down procedure by altering constitutional provisions touching on the Articles of the Union.

Dr Mvungi cited Article 98 (b) of the Union Constitution. Under the article, any Bill for an Act to alter any provisions of the Constitution or any provision of any law relating to any of the matters specified in List Two of the second schedule to the Constitution shall be passed only if it is supported by the votes of not less than two-thirds of all Members of Parliament from Tanzania Mainland and not less than two-thirds of all MPs from Tanzania Zanzibar.

And the matters specified in List Two, which require to be supported by two-thirds of all MPs from Mainland Tanzania and two-thirds of all MPs from Zanzibar, include the existence of the United Republic of Tanzania.

"This article of the Constitution cannot be altered by the Zanzibar House of Representatives alone. They have totally no mandate or authority on this issue," Dr Mvungi said.


He also pointed out that the fact that President Jakaya Kikwete had already dissolved Parliament in readiness for this year's elections, meant there was no room to initiate such changes.

Contacted for comment last evening, State Minister Shaaban strongly defended the amendments, saying they were meant to emphasize Zanzibar's position as a partner state in the United Republic and not a part of the Union Government.

"The United Republic is nation. The amendment means that Zanzibar is a second country forming the union between Tanganyika and Zanzibar. What we have done is to confirm our state boundaries," he said.

For his part, Dr Mvungi said that declaring Zanzibar one of the two countries that form the United Republic of Tanzania was to change the structure of the Union to form a confederal authority between the people to Zanzibar and Tanganyika.

"This means that Tanganyika retains its sovereignty and statehood and so does Zanzibar. So you form a confederation. The statehood automatically moves out of that the United Republic of Tanzania and goes to Zanzibar and Tanganyika," he explained.

If the amendments are implemented there is not going to be a united republic of Tanzania. The nation has broken up," he said in a conversation with The Citizen on Monday before the Zanzibar approved.

Zanzibar's Attorney General could not be reached for comment yesterday, but a senior official in his Chambers said the amendments were the 10th on the Zanzibar Constitution. The changes, he clarified, only affected the Zanzibar Constitution and had nothing to do with the Union.

When The Citizen pointed out that the amendment of Union matters needed approval by two-thirds of the MPs from both Tanzania Zanzibar and Mainland Tanzania, Mr Saleh Mbarouk, said: "The interpretation of the changes will be given by the Attorney General. What I know is that members of the House of Representatives are not forbidden to pass such amendments."

But the Union Government's Deputy Attorney General, Mr George Masaju, contacted in Dar es Salaam to comment on the developments, said he had not seen the final draft of the Bill passed in Zanzibar on Monday.
"I'm hesitant to address this matter, as I have not seen the final draft. Give me time to find out what exactly has been passed by the House of Representatives in order to comment on the issue," he said.

Another lawyer, who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter, said the changes had violated the Constitution. He said Article 98 (b) of the Union Constitution stipulated the procedure for effecting amendments touching on the existence of the United Republic.

"Strictly speaking, such changes do not any value in the eyes of the law. They actually do not exist. They are unconstitutional," he said.

The president of the Tanganyika Law Society (TLS), Mr Felix Kibodya, speaking in his personal capacity, said although he strongly supported the reconciliation process that had culminated in the constitutional changes, the declaration that "Zanzibar is a state has gone beyond the aim of bringing Zanzibaris together".

He said that for the changes to have any legal authority, they must be endorsed by the Parliament of the United Republic of Tanzania, as specified in Article 98 (b).

"My understanding is that for the amendments making Zanzibar a state to have legal effect, they must have the blessings of parliamentarians from both sides through a procedure stipulated in our constitution," he said.

He added: "How can Zanzibar be a state without a commander-in-chief of the armed forces? How can it be a country without defence minister, Inspector General of Police or a foreign minister?"

He said though it was crucial to bring about peace and unity in the Isles, this should not come at the expense of the Union. "Zanzibar is a part of the United Republic of Tanzania," he insisted.

Under the newly amended Zanzibar Constitution, the Isles' President has been given powers to mark the territory's borders without consulting the Union Government.

According to the laws enacted by the House of Representatives, for effective implementation of government responsibilities, the Zanzibar leader is also empowered to divide the Isles into regions, districts and other areas.



AllAfrica.com

Why Zanzibar Referendum Outcome Left CCM More Bruised

Zanzibar made history last Saturday by overwhelmingly endorsing constitutional changes in a referendum that will pave the way for the formation of a government of national unity later this year.

Such a government will be the first ever in the country since the armed revolution that rooted out the Arab Sultan rulers in the early sixties, and also in the modern times following the introduction of multiparty politics in Tanzania in 1992.


The momentous verdict was issued by 188,705 voters who participated in the exercise at 66.4 per cent against 95,613 at 33.6 per cent of those who were not in favour of the outcome that will now significantly alter the way politics is played in Zanzibar.

Political leaders, representatives of the donor community and even the common man on the streets have immediately welcomed the referendum outcome, with a majority saying it would finally guarantee peace and tranquillity in the Isles that had hitherto remained perilous every election year.

But as the dust settles, different interest groups will take stock of what transpired on the campaign trail and what the final result would mean for their role in the future of Zanzibar. Some are not entirely ruling out new political realignments prior to and after the October 31 General Election.


"It was a positive vote for unity by the people but as observers we could not fail to notice that deep antagonism, mainly within the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi remained," explained Dr Benson Bana, the Chairman of Tanzania Election Monitoring Committee and also head of the University of Dar es Salaam's Research for Democracy and Education in Tanzania (Redet).

That voters on Pemba Island regions gave an emphatic 'Yes' vote and are still the more enthusiastic of the new political order than their colleagues in Unguja Island may have not been entirely surprising. As in the past elections, Pemba has tended to vote for the opposition Civic United Front (CUF) to the last man standing and in the referendum sided with their leaders who campaigned for 'Yes'.

The opposition's supremacy in the referendum results showed that the people of Mtambwe District in North Pemba Region, the home town of Mr Seif Hamad, the CUF leader, had the highest Yes votes, with 95.1 per cent of the 5324 people who cast their votes. Mr Hamad is CUF's secretary general and will run for the presidency under the party in the October 31 general election.

"The people in Pemba voted the way they did because they know this was their only chance to end decades long feeling of alienation from government. They are the ones who have suffered more and paid the huge cost of a system of winner takes all despite the fact that polling results divided Zanzibar into two, almost equal parts," said businessman Said Mohammed said.

Mr Hamad has already been nominated by his party to run for the Presidency in what would be his fourth attempt. Having served as Chief Minister in the CCM government, the opposition leader has not shied from admitting that deliberately skewed government planning have consigned Pemba to poverty due to past political rivalry.

For the sake of this huge constituency, Mr Hamad, who alongside President Amani Abeid Karume engineered the final and significant push for reconciliation and tagged alongside the President to campaign for 'Yes', was at hand to welcome the victory last Saturday.

He declared; "This is a win for Zanzibar, its people and the united republic of Tanzania." President Karume whose extra energy to drive through the vote was pleased with the voters who have given him what political commentators say would be one of his presidency's most important legacy.

While this task is almost done, the remaining few days could prove trickier if divisions within CCM that played out ahead of the referendum are anything to go by. In Zanzibar today, it was expected that Karume could after all now have reason to whip those in CCM's inner circles and in government who gave lukewarm support for the referendum.

A District Commissioner in the seat of government was last week sent packing in a move linked more to his remarks critical of the government's campaigning for a 'Yes' vote. "I will not be surprised if that did happen but what is dangerous for CCM will be what kind of realignments that could follow if he was to sack ministers in the last days in office," a senior party official who requested to remain anonymous said.

All Africa

Hamad Masauni aibuka kidedea Kikwajuni

Aliyekuwa Mwenyekiti wa Umoja wa Vijana CCM, Hamad Masauni Yusuf, ameshinda katika kura za kugombea nafasi ya ubunge kwa tiketi ya CCM katika jimbo la Kikwajuni kwa kura 990.

Hamad ameweza kumshinda Naib Katibu Mkuu wa CCM Saleh Ramadhani Feruzi ambae aliweza kupata kura 155 na kushika nafasi ya tatu chini ya Ahmed Mohamed aliyepata kura 511.

Zanzibar ni Mseto

Matokeo rasmi ya kura ya maoni juu ya serikali ya umoja wa kitaifa yametolewa. Kura za ndio ni 188,705 na kura za hapana ni 95,613. Hii inamaanisha kuwa serikali ijayo ya itakuwa ni ya umoja wa kitaifa.

Zanzibar votes to install unity government

Zanzibar, Tanzania - Tanzania's politically volatile Zanzibar island votes in a referendum Saturday to install a power-sharing government aimed at ending the archipelago's persistent election unrest.

The ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM - Revolutionary party) and the main opposition Civic United Front (CUF) are backing the deal and have called on voters to endorse it.

A new form of government would see Zanzibar have a president with two deputies. The first vice president would be from the party which comes second in the polls and the second from the winning party.

Ministers are to be allocated on a proportional basis.

If passed, Zanzibar's constitution will then be amended to pave the way for a unity government in readiness for general elections on October 31.


"Vote 'yes' in the referendum so that we remain united. We need to work together and heal hatred caused by unnecessary political conflicts after every general election," Zanzibar President Amani Karume told a gathering this week.

"Zanzibaris should not allow a return to division," CUF leader Seif Sharif Hamad told AFP.

"We need to build our country which has been ruined by the prolonged conflicts. I hope that the majority people of Zanzibar will vote 'yes'."

A positive outcome of the July 31 referendum will propel Zanzibar to the league of African governments to have negotiated power-sharing accords in the aftermath of disputed elections.

It will however be set apart from Kenya and Zimbabwe by making the deal a constitutional provision ahead of its next elections.

The Indian Ocean archipelago comprises three islands of Unguja, Pemba and Mafia. Mafia is however administered by mainland Tanzania.

Zanzibar declared independence on January 12, 1964 after a bloody revolution that ended several centuries of rule by Arab sultans.

Three months later, it merged with mainland Tanganyika to form the United Republic of Tanzania, but maintained a semi-autonomous government with its own president, constitution, flag and national anthem.

Rivalry between the CCM and CUF has been bitter and at times bloody since the re-introduction of multi-party politics in 1992.

The CCM has won all subsequent elections in 1995, 2000 and 2005, sparking protests by the opposition, which repeatedly charged that results were rigged in favour of the ruling party.

At least 30 people were killed in January 2001 during clashes between police and supporters of CUF in Zanzibar and Pemba. Dozens of Pemba residents fled to Kenya.

Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete deplored the perennial enmity between the Zanzibar parties, which he said had also divided the society.

"People of the same island and even clan stopped talking to each other," he recently told parliament.

"CCM or CUF members failed to turn out at funerals of relatives who belonged to a different party. This is too bad. I am pleased that things are now changing for the better."

Some 400,000 voters have been registered to take part in Saturday's referendum, whose results are to be announced two days later. Observers from the European Union and the US will monitor the exercise.

Zanzibar, an idyllic travel destination with palm fringed beaches and historic sites, is home to around 1.2 million people.


AFP

FFU kupereka mzuka wa dansi FRANKFURT !

Bend maarufu ya mziki wa dansi barani ulaya "The Ngoma Africa Band" aka FFU
wanatarajiwa kutua kwa nguvu zote !katika onyesho kubwa la Afrika & Karibik Festival,
litakalofanyika katika Viwanja vya Robestock Park, Frankfurt,Ujerumani siku ya Jumamosi
07-08-2010 maelfu ya washabiki wa mziki nchini ujerumani wanaisubiri bendi hiyo kwa hamu kubwa...
kutokana na mdundo wake unaochezeka.

Habari zinatonya kuwa bendi hiyo pia itatingisha jukwaa katika onyesho lingine kubwa
la Festival mjini keiserslautern,Ujerumani siku ya Jumapili 8-08-2010 ambako katika kila
hali washabiki wapo tayari kwenda sambamba na gwaride la FFU wa Ngoma Africa band.
usikose kujipa raha mwenyewe kwa kuwasikiliza hapa http://www.myspace.com/thengomaafrica

Maduka kadhaa yateketea kwa Moto - Darajani

Maduka kadhaa katika mtaa wa Darajani yameteketea kwa moto. Habari zaidi na picha tembelea hapa

Tom & Jenny in Tanzania. Sasa kinapatikana Dar es Salaam

Kwa habari zaidi wasiliana na BASELINE AFRICA

Hamad Masauni aibukia Kikwajuni...

Baada ya kulazimika kujiuzulu Uenyekiti wa Umoja wa Vijana(CCM) kutokana na kashfa ya kughushi umri wake, Hamad Masauni amechukua fomu ya kugombea ubunge katika jimbo la Kikwajuni...

Swali la kizushi, katika fomu hiyo atajaza umri gani?

Zaidi kama inayosomeka hapa

Wapanda Baiskeli Wasaidia Mradi wa Hospitali Makunduchi

Dr Jon Rees, of Brockway Medical Centre in Nailsea, travelled to Zanzibar in June to take part in a bike ride around the tropical island, off the coast of Tanzania, East Africa.

The 38-year-old GP was among a 40-strong group on the sponsored cycle ride for the Makunduchi Project which in total raised a staggering £80,000.

The aim of the trip was to raise funds for a maternity services in a rural area which currently has almost no medical care for mothers during delivery.

Maternal mortality rates are currently 170 times higher than in the UK, with one in 180 mothers dying in childbirth.

Jon said: “The trip was a great success – the local bikes were slightly crude and you were very lucky to have working brakes or gears, the roads were rough, and the temperature high.

“Cycling between 60 – 80kms per day proved a great challenge, but was highly enjoyable also – it was the first time Zanzibar had seen a bike trip of this scale, so the reception in the villages was noisy to say the least.”

The fundraising will allow the Makunduchi hospital to begin maternity services later this year and hopefully lead to significant reductions in maternal and infant mortality, added Jon.

He said: “I had never done anything like this before but I enjoyed the challenge.”

The ride took etween seven-10 days along a route close to the equator.

Jon who is married to Seema, a GP in Portishead, said: “Although there is a sense of paradise on the Indian Ocean Spice Island with its white sandy beaches and coral reef lagoon the average life expectancy is 47 years

“One in 180 women die during delivery of their child and one in six children die under the age of seven with the majority dying when aged less than two years.”

Jon took his one-year-old son Krishan out a lot of the back of his bike is helping with his training.

The doctor, who also has seven-year-old twins Kamran and Jaya, also cycled back and forth from his Bristol home as part of his training.

He said: “My training regime was to cycle into work from Bristol and back is approximately a 21 mile round trip and going out on call on my bike whenever possible.”

Jon is a trustee of the charity with a slogan ‘Money raised is not just a drop in the ocean’.

He said: “We have complete control over the fund, so there can be no corruption.

“People can see exactly where their money is going and monitor progress. People can and will make a difference.

“I am involved with this charity having worked in Zanzibar's main hospital approximately seven years ago as a surgical trainee.

"I spent some time there learning some operative procedures that we rarely carry out in this country.

“I worked at Mnazi Moja Hospital in Stonetown, the capital of the island - the hospital is completely unable to cope with the huge numbers of patients coming in from rural areas, and a terrible lack of resources.

“This project aims to help manage the less sick patients in the community and allow the main hospital to concentrate on more major illness.

“I became involved in a twinning project between this hospital and Musgrove Park where I was working at the time.”

It was a consultant at the Taunton hospital who is the founder of the charity.

Backwell and Nailsea Medical Group practice manager Maggie Robins collected toys for Jon to take out and Backwell & Nailsea Rotary Club is supporting the project by raising funds for an anaesthetic machine for the maternity unit at the hospital.


Nailsea People

Umuhimu wa Kura ya NDIO hapo Julai 31, 2010

Sio siri tena kwamba siasa za umimi,chuki na utenganao hazina nafasi tena katika visiwa vya Zanzibar. Hii ni kutokana na muafaka wa kihistoria uliofikiwa na Rais anayemaliza muda wake hapo Zanzibar Mhe. A. Karume na Mhe. Maalim Seif, ambao kwa pamoja waliona uhumimu wa kuwa na Zanzibar moja yenye kuelewana licha ya tofauti za kisiasa.

Utengano wa Zanzibar na hasa kijografia umesababisha kuwepo kwa mikwaruzo mingi kwa watu wa visiwa hivyo licha ya baadhi yao kuwa na maingiliano ya kifamilia. Tatizo la utengano huu lilitokana na Mapinduzi ambapo upande mmjoa wa visiwa hivyo kujiona kuwa unahusika zaidi na mapinduzi hayo kuliko upande mwingine wa visiwa hivyo. Hivyo basi utaona kuwa utengano huu ulijengeka zaidi kisiasa.

Imechukua zaidi ya miaka arobaini na sita kwa wanzazibari kuona kuwa kuna umuhimu wa kuelewana na hasa katika uwanja wa kisiasa, ambao umecheza nafasi kubwa katika mgogoro na mtafuruku wa utengano visiwani humu. Awali rais wa kwanza alikuwa akitamka hadharani nafasi ya wananchi wa kisiwa kingine katika uongozi wa juu visiwani hapa. Kauli zake hizo ni baadhi ya mizizi ya utengano visiwani.

Machafuko ya hali ya hewa mwanzoni mwa miaka ya themanini hayawezi kuwekwa kando katika mtafaruku huu. Kwani yalionyesha wazi ni kwa kiasi gani baadhi ya wanavisiwa wanavyochukuliwa katika hatima ya uongozi wa juu visiwani humu. Hii iliongeza mbolea katika utengano na chuki miongoni mwa wanavisiwa.

Kurudi kwa mfumo wa vyama vingi, ndio ilikuwa kilele cha utengano. Kwani kwa mara ya kwanza Watanzania wengi waliweza kujua nini kinaendelea katika visiwa hivi. Kauli nyingi za ajabu ajabu zilisikika katika kuona kuwa utengano wa kisiasa, itikadi na hadi kifamilia unaendelea visiwani hapa, hadi kusababisha kupoteza maisha ya baadhi ya wanavisiwa ambao walikuwa wamechoshwa na kadhia hizo.

Leo hii sio vyema kutupa lawama kwa upande wowote uliohusika na kujenga migogoro hii. Kwani pande zote kwa namna moja ama nyingine zimehusika kikamilifu katika kujenga utengano huu.

Hii ndio inafanya kuwa kila mpandae maelewano visiwani humu aone umuhimu wa kupiga kura ya NDIO. Kura hii ina umuhimu mkubwa sana katika maendeleao ya kijamii visiwani humu na kufuta kabisa historia chafu ya utengano na migogoro isiyokwisha ya kisiasa.

Matokeo ya kura ya NDIO yatawezesha wanavisiwa wote kufungua ukurusa mpya katika maisha yao ya kila siku. Ukurasa ambao utaweka historia miongoni mwetu na ulimwenguni kwa ujumla.

Napenda kusema kuwa hii ni nafasi adhimu iliyotukuta wanavisiwa, ya kuweza kujiamulia wenyewe hatima ya maisha yetu kisiasa kiuchumi na kujamii. Kumbuka kuwa hapo awali maamuzi yote makubwa juu ya maisha yetu yalikuwa yakitoka juu, kabla la hili la tarehe 31/07/2010.

Ni vema kwa kila mwananchi mwenye sifa ya kupiga kura siku hiyo kupiga kura ya NDIO, ili kuweza kuwa na visiwa venye umoja na kuelekea kwenye kuunda serikali ya umoja wa kitaifa mara baada ya Uchaguzi Mkuu.

Tatizo letu tunalijua na tiba yetu ni kura ya NDIO.

Swahili gift "Khanga" transgresses boundaries

It was just a cloth that came with the emergence of slave trade along the coastal line of East Africa, but its revolution and esteem put it on the map of Africa's lifestyle.

The Leso or Khanga as it is commonly known (wrapper or shawl worn around the waist ), is no longer much of a fashion statement in Kenya today or any other East African country -- certainly not what it was in the 1980s, when our mothers would strut around elegantly wrapped in it, making very respectable fashion statements.

Nonetheless, even today, any African women strongly attached to her culture must wear a leso as respectable attire at some point, especially during important social festivals. So how did this legendary piece of clothing come to influence African fashion for so long?

Incredibly, the origin of the Khanga (leso) was in the nefarious slave trade. Female slaves in the 19th century had to be "adequately" clothed before being transported to the Middle East. Because of the local religious obligations, many considered the Khanga a cloth befitting the occasion.

Traders from Gujarat in the Indian sub-continent, who had been visiting the East African coast for centuries, cleverly noted this and responded to the market demand by supplying a black cloth called the Kaniki. Whack was worn by slaves and poorer women.

The Merikani, another expensive cloth worn by high-society ladies, was supplied from North America. A pure cloth, it was embellished using simple dots and lines. Later, red color was added to the initial white, as artists experimented with dyes.

Block printing was the next progression, as patterns chiseled into cassava and sweet potatoes were imprinted onto the cloth. These, therefore, became the hallmarks of the Khanga.

As women wearing the colorful fabric gathered in the groups and chattered in the evening breeze of the Zanzibar sea-shore, men likened them to East Africa's ubiquitous guinea fowl (black and white dots resembling a guinea fowl) -- "Khanga" in Swahili -- with its brightly coloured spotted plumage.

Emancipated female slaves from the East African coast and Zanzibar, together with other women in the region, demanded ever- changing designs, setting in motion the trends that would make the Khanga a high-fashion item in the 20th century.

After the socialist revolution in Zanzibar, there was a lull in the leso trade, but only briefly. Soon, entrepreneurs from India were manufacturing the garments and exporting them to Zanzibar and the whole of the East Africa.

Before India became the leader in the industry, most machine- made Khangas came from Europe and China. In Kenya , there is only one manufacturing plant, while there are five in Tanzania.

The general presentation of the Khanga has improved with time. Text messages and proverbs are among its most recent additions.

This development was pioneered by the famous Hajee Essak family, who originally came from Zanzibar but settled in Mombasa in 1910. Back then, the language used was Swahili and the script Arabic.

The sayings are not just decorative. They have profound meaning both to the wearer and viewer. A typical one goes" Mama ni mama hata hawe nani" (a mother is a mother whatever else she may be).

Historically, such inscriptions solved the communication barrier in a culture where women were not heard or seen publicly. They gave a voice to the voiceless.

Interestingly the cloth is not worn in India , where it is made, because of the enduring stigma of its close association with slave women.

Seyyid Barghash who ruled Zanzibar in the early 20th century, banned noble ladies in his court from wearing it, claiming that it reminded him of the "dirty stinking black woman at the slave market."

The Khanga has not entirely escaped the onslaught of modernization, both in its material and message. Synthetic fabrics such as polyester have been employed in its production and it is now common to see political, religious and social messages written on it.

Even portraits of powerful leaders have found their way onto its material. The hard face of Ernesto "Che" Guevara -- the famed Latin American communist revolutionary -- is seen on many fashionable Khangas in Nairobi.

Other notable faces include the felled South African liberation movement activist Steve Biko, Mau Mau war hero Dedan Kimaathi and Agustinho Neto, the Angolan poet and revolutionary.

Spreading far and wide from its heartland in Zanzibar, the versatile Khanga can now be found on the East African coast, in the hinterland, in Madagascar and the Comoro islands and throughout the Middle East.

As Christed De Wit, a leading researcher of early forms of fashion in East Africa, notes in her book Evolution of Fashion in East Africa: "The Khanga has transgressed all boundaries of culture, religion and language. It has become the Muslim Swahili gift for those who seek to embrace it."

Xinhua

Islanders’ mistaken reverence for Kenya

By Joe Ombuor

To many Zanzibaris of African origin, Kenya produced their most revered liberator from Arab yoke, Field Marshall John Okello.

This is the notion I walked straight into and basked in the high regard that Kenya commands in the archipelago while on a brief trip on the semi autonomous Island recently.

Yet Okello, the ex-policeman who led poorly armed unemployed youth of the defunct Afro Shirazi party in a bloody revolution against the reign of Sultan Jamshi bin Abdulla on the night of January 12, 1964, was an Acholi from Uganda, and not a Kenyan Luo as is widely believed on the Island.

Records at the archives in Zanzibar say the self-styled revolutionary entered Zanzibar from Kenya through the northern Island of Pemba in 1958, claiming to have been a field marshal during Kenya’s Mau Mau uprising.

The Revolution

Older Zanzibaris who spoke to The Standard on Saturday on condition of anonymity said it was Okello, and not first President Sheikh Abeid Amani Karume late father to the current president as is officially claimed, who planned and executed the revolution with the Afro Shirazi Youth League.

Records have it that the young revolutionaries overcame the largely Arab police, taking automatic rifles, submachine and bren guns, with which they swiftly armed themselves to take control of strategic buildings such as the Sultan’s palace and other installations.

Dr. Shein awasili Zenj

Picha kwa hisani ya Mapara

Indian Ocean Sea Levels On The Rise

Newly detected rising sea levels in parts of the Indian Ocean, including the coastlines of the Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea, Sri Lanka, Sumatra and Java, appear to be at least partly a result of human-induced increases of atmospheric greenhouse gases, says a study led by the University of Colorado at Boulder.

The study, which combined sea surface measurements going back to the 1960s and satellite observations, indicates anthropogenic climate warming likely is amplifying regional sea rise changes in parts of the Indian Ocean, threatening inhabitants of some coastal areas and islands, said CU-Boulder Associate Professor Weiqing Han, lead study author. The sea level rise -- which may aggravate monsoon flooding in Bangladesh and India -- could have far-reaching impacts on both future regional and global climate.

The key player in the process is the Indo-Pacific warm pool, an enormous, bathtub-shaped area of the tropical oceans stretching from the east coast of Africa west to the International Date Line in the Pacific. The warm pool has heated by about 1 degree Fahrenheit, or 0.5 degrees Celsius, in the past 50 years, primarily caused by human-generated increases of greenhouse gases, said Han.

"Our results from this study imply that if future anthropogenic warming effects in the Indo-Pacific warm pool dominate natural variability, mid-ocean islands such as the Mascarenhas Archipelago, coasts of Indonesia, Sumatra and the north Indian Ocean may experience significantly more sea level rise than the global average," said Han of CU-Boulder's atmospheric and oceanic sciences department.

A paper on the subject was published in this week's issue of Nature Geoscience. Co-authors included Balaji Rajagopalan, Xiao-Wei Quan, Jih-wang Wang and Laurie Trenary of CU-Boulder, Gerald Meehl, John Fasullo, Aixue Hu, William Large and Stephen Yeager of the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Jialin Lin of Ohio State University, and Alan Walcraft and Toshiaki Shinoda of the Naval Research Laboratory in Mississippi.

While a number of areas in the Indian Ocean region are showing sea level rise, the study also indicated the Seychelles Islands and Zanzibar off Tanzania's coastline show the largest sea level drop. Global sea level patterns are not geographically uniform, and sea rise in some areas correlate with sea level fall in other areas, said NCAR's Meehl.

The Indian Ocean is the world's third largest ocean and makes up about 20 percent of the water on Earth's surface. The ocean is bounded on the west by East Africa, on the north by India, on the east by Indochina and Australia, and on the south by the Southern Ocean off the coast of Antarctica.

The patterns of sea level change are driven by the combined enhancement of two primary atmospheric wind patterns known as the Hadley circulation and the Walker circulation. The Hadley circulation in the Indian Ocean is dominated by air currents rising above strongly heated tropical waters near the equator and flowing poleward, then sinking to the ocean in the subtropics and causing surface air to flow back toward the equator.

The Indian Ocean's Walker circulation causes air to rise and flow westward at upper levels, sink to the surface and then flow eastward back toward the Indo-Pacific warm pool. "The combined enhancement of the Hadley and Walker circulation form a distinct surface wind pattern that drives specific sea level patterns," said Han.

The international research team used several different sophisticated ocean and climate models for the study, including the Parallel Ocean Program -- the ocean component of NCAR's widely used Community Climate System Model. In addition, the team used a wind-driven, linear ocean model for the study.

"Our new results show that human-caused changes of atmospheric and oceanic circulation over the Indian Ocean region -- which have not been studied previously -- are the major cause for the regional variability of sea level change," wrote the authors in Nature Geoscience.

Han said that based on all-season data records, there is no significant sea level rise around the Maldives. But when the team looked at winter season data only, the Maldives show significant sea level rise, a cause for concern. The smallest Asian country, the Maldives is made up of more than 1,000 islands -- about 200 of which are inhabited by about 300,000 people -- and are on average only about five feet above sea level.

The complex circulation patterns in the Indian Ocean may also affect precipitation by forcing even more atmospheric air down to the surface in Indian Ocean subtropical regions than normal, Han speculated. "This may favor a weakening of atmospheric convection in the subtropics, which may increase rainfall in the eastern tropical regions of the Indian Ocean and increase drought in the western equatorial Indian Ocean region, including east Africa," Han said.

The new study indicates that in order to document sea level change on a global scale, researchers also need to know the specifics of regional sea level changes that will be important for coastal and island regions, said NCAR's Hu. Along the coasts of the northern Indian Ocean, seas have risen by an average of about 0.5 inches, or 13 millimeters, per decade.

"It is important for us to understand the regional changes of the sea level, which will have effects on coastal and island regions," said Hu.

The study was funded by a number of organizations, including NCAR, the National Science Foundation, NASA and the U.S. Department of Energy.


Red Orbit

Je Huu ni Mwisho wa Siasa za Makundi hapo Zenj?

Wapenda muafaka katika mstakabala wa siasa za visiwani, watakuwa wamefarijika sana kwa Dr. Shein kuongoza katika matokeo ya wagombeaji wa urais visiwani Zanzibar. Ingawa hakuwa wazi juu ya muafaka kama mgombea mwingine wa urais huo Ali Karume, kupita kwa jina la Dr. Shein kunafungua ukurasa mpya katika utawala visiwani humo.

Cha msingi hapa ni kujua ni kwa namna gani anaweza kulinda na kusimamia hatua za awali za kuondoa mpasuko wa kijamii visiwani humo. Sifa kubwa ya nje ya Dr. Shein ni kutojulikana msimamo wake, zaidi ni kuwa amehusu kisiwa cha pili, hivyo kuwepo na uwezekano mkubwa kuweza kusimamia maendeleo ya kuwepo na serikali ya mseto.

Tofauti na Dr. Bilal na Waziri Kiongozi, Dr Shein anaonekana kutokuwa na makundi yenye lengo la kuzoretesha jitihada muhimu zilizofikiwa hivi karibuni juu ya utaifa wa Zanzibar. Hii ni silaha yake kubwa na inabidi aitumie vizuri ili kuweza kutibu gonjwa la muda mrefu la siasa za visiwani hapo.

Kwa kuchaguliwa kwake kwa kura nyingi, kunaondoa dhana iliyojengeka miaka mingi juu ya utawala wa ngazi za juu huko Visiwani, ambao ulitokana na mtazamo wa rais wa kwanza wa serikali ya Mapinduzi. Kuchaguliwa kwa Dr. Shein kutaboresha mambo mengi ambayo yalikuwa yanaidhoofisha Zanzibar,na atafanikiwa tu iwapo ataweza kuendesha serikali bila kujali makundi.

Kwa upande mwingine Dr. Bilal amekumbwa na laana ya ubaguzi ambayo ilianza kumwandama mapema baada ya Dr. Salmin kumaliza muda wake wa uongozi. Ukimya wake wa kutoweka msimamo wake wa wazi juu ya siasa za chuki kisiwani hapo, ndio huo ambao umeendelea kumwondoa katika nafasi hiyo ambayo amejaribu kuigombania mara kadhaa bila mafanikio.

Waziri Kiongozi, kwa mtazamo wangu nae tayali alishaanza kujenga makundi katika safari yake ya kuelekea kuchukua urais visiwani humo. Misimamo yake katika masuala yenye kusumbua zaidi visiwa hivyo hakuweza kuyaweka bayana, hivyo kuashiria kusimamia baadhi ya makundi fulani. Ilikuwa ni njia nyepesi kwake kuweza kuchukua nafasi ya urais, kwani ameitumikia nafasi yake kwa miaka kumi hivyo kumwezesha kumrithi rais Karume.

Zanzibar International Film Festival to attract films from 43 countries

STONE TOWN, Tanzania, July (Xinhua) -- The Zanzibar International Film Festival in Tanzania is expected to attract films from 43 countries to the annual event scheduled on July 10 to July 18.

With the theme of "Hopes in Harmony", the film festival provides one opportunity for all Zanzibaris to come and watch films for free on a big screen, and calls for peace and harmony in Zanzibar, the Indian Ocean archipelago.

Opening films includes "I Bring What I Love", which takes the audience behind the scenes and into the world of Africa's most famous musician Youssou N'dour.

Among the special highlights this year's festival is the world Cup final, which would scream the climax of this extraordinary African football extravaganza on late July 11 in the old fort.

Many of the films to be shown at the festival have highlighted every day life of women in the society, according to the press release. It also includes performing arts, which is a street theatre component and it shall work with the literary forum in showcasing the spoken word in an event and it will bring the local repertories to contact with other spoken word performances.

The film festival is seen by the government as a symbol of enhancing Zanzibar culture and acts as a factor of propagating Zanzibar tourism sector, and thus enabling more tourists to visit Zanzibar and boosting Zanzibar economy.

Zanzibar artists fight for tourist cash

Tourism is now Zanzibar's biggest industry - easily outstripping the trade in spices, traditionally the Tanzanian island's biggest foreign currency earner.

But local artists complain that they are not able to reap the rewards from the tourist boom.

They say that most of the art on sale is mass produced and has little relevance to the island's culture.

The so-called "tourist art" is ruining their livelihood, they claim.

'Commercial artist'

Saidi Omary, 24, paints up to 15 pieces of "tourist art" a week.

"I am a commercial artist, I paint what is marketable," he said.

"I do create original works but they don't sell quickly which is bad because I need the money."

Despite the thriving tourism industry, the island is still very poor.

The average wage is just 60 US cents a day and it is not surprising that artists are turning out effortless reproductions that they can sell for a few dollars.

Awareness
But some artists working in Zanzibar deplore this commercial approach to art.


Artist Hamza Ausiy is dismissive of "tourist art" and says it is ruining his business.

"For me tourist art is boring and confusing, because if you are an artist, you have a dream and creativity but if you do this sort of work you are always looking for bread," he said.

He says his canvases - which cost $200 or more - are all original artworks and feature exclusively Zanzibari scenes.

Artists selling the original works have now got together to form an association to promote their work.

Musa Ramadhan is secretary of the Zanzibar Young Artists Association.

He says artists should be selling to the local market, even if their volumes are small.

"We need to create awareness among the local people to make them like our art and even hang our works in their homes," Mr Ramadhan said.

He says artists in Zanzibar need to change and create ideas from their culture.

"People on this island like religion we should put religion in our pictures," Mr Ramadhan recommends.

For the time being though, the art market in Zanzibar is driven by the hoards of artists selling mass-produced art.


BBC NEWS

Taste of Zanzibar

For authentic halal east African cuisine, the Taste of Zanzibar is the place to go. The dishes reflect the rich heritage found in this ancient part of Tanzania from the spices to the staples, namely chapatti and rice.


When we walked into this eating experience we had little knowledge of this culture's culinary facets, yet we left with a deeper understanding of the fusion of flavors and components that earmark this cuisine. We felt very comfortable in the casual setting and knew that we were in good hands.

More info visit here

Fegi

Zanzibar will resonate to Mutoko’s gospel beat

DUBAI-based gospel musician John “Mr Fantastic” Mutoko could be among the few Zimbabwean artists to tour East Africa when he stages shows in Tanzania and Uganda this week.

Mutoko is expected to be in Tanzania on Wednesday ahead of gigs in Zanzibar and Dodoma.

The Zanzibar stop-over will see the musician performing at Mnazi Mmoja Sports Centre on Friday while on Saturday he goes to Old Fort. The only show in Dodoma is slated for Dodoma Stadium on Sunday.

The musician was upbeat about his maiden show in East Africa saying he would work with popular gospel musicians from both countries.

“The exciting thing about my shows in Tanzania is that I will perform alongside Wanguchi Mbogo who is very popular in that country.

“I feel so much honoured to be on stage with such a talented and respected gospel musician,” said Mutoko.

“It is my first time to perform in that country but I have been following Mbogo’s music for sometime and I know we will be able to stitch our performances in an exciting way.

“We have planned to do a duet and I will use the tour as groundwork to that arrangement.

“It is the beginning of a good partnership and I hope we will be able to stage shows together in Zimbabwe.”

In Uganda Mutoko is expected to join gospel musicians from that country that include Kampala-based choir, The Living Sound Gospel Singers, which is led by the popular Steven Ogwang.

The group is well known for its successful international tours that have seen it performing in Europe and the United States over the past two decades.

The Uganda shows are set for Entebbe and Mbarara on July 10 and 11 respectively.
Mutoko said he would use the tour to shoot some videos for his songs since he is putting together a video album titled The Voice of Silence.

“I have been shooting the videos in different parts of the world for the past four months.

“Although the audio album has eight songs, the video album will have 12 including two new releases.

“I will also pick songs from my previous albums but one of the new songs is titled Ngochani Mwana Waani.

“This song takes a swipe at gays. I am surprised that some people who call themselves Christians are openly supporting gays.

“In this song, I make a straight point that it is a sin before God because from the beginning normal marriages and love relationships have been between opposite sexes. I strongly condemn gays.”

Speaking about his annual tours to Zimbabwe, Mutoko said he might not perform back home in the near future claiming that his last shows had been disrupted in unclear circumstances.

“Something unusual happened when I was in Zimbabwe. Some unidentified people came to one of my shows and confronted me.

“They demanded explanations to (the meaning of) some of my songs that include Pasi Idandaro and Mweya Wangu Chizorora.

“The songs attack social ills but I do not target anyone. I feel that anything that corrupts the society should be exposed.

“I am a Christian musician and not a politician. But you know, whenever dry bones are mentioned old people feel uneasy.”

Mutoko says he cut short his last tour because he feared for his life since he was not sure about the motive of the people who disrupted his show.

UZINDUZI TAWI LA CCM HELSINKI. MABADILIKO YA UKUMBI NA TAREHE

KUTOKANA NA SABABU NJE YA UWEZO WETU TUMERUDISHA NYUMA SIKU MOJA YAANI ALHAMISI BADALA YA IJUMAA AMBAYO NI SIKUKUU MUHIMU HAPA FINLAND (MID-SUMMER-JUHANNUS) KUTAKUWA NA SHIDA YA USAFIRI. PIA KUTOKANA NA KUPOKEA EMAILS NYINGI ZA WASHIRIKI KAMATI YA MAANDALIZI IMECHUKUA UKUMBI MKUBWA NA WA KISASA PALEPALE KATIKATI YA JIJI LA HELSINKI-RAVINTOLA KAISANIEMI (THE HOME OF AFRICAN NIGHT) KAISANIEMENTIE 6.


TAREHE: ALHAMISI 24.6.2010
MUDA: 18.00pm -23.30pm
BAADA YA MKUTANO: KUTAKUWA NA BURUDANI YA NYIMBO ZA KINYUMBANI TU NA DJ. ALTUNEZ.
KWA WALE WANAOJISIKIA KUJA KUFAHAMIANA NA WATANZANIA WENZAO, TUTAKUWA NA MAZUNGUMZO YA PAMOJA NA BAR KUWA WAZI KWAAJILI YA VINYWAJI BAADA YA MKUTANO 21:00.


NB: WANAWAKAMATI WANAFANYA MAWASILIANO NA BALOZI WETU WA SWEDEN AU MWAKILISHI WAKE ILI AWEZE KUWA MGENI RASMI KWAAJILI YA UFUNGUZI.

TANGAZO: Uzinduzi wa Tawi la CCM Helsinki - Finland

Tunayo furaha kubwa kukukaribisha katika mkutano wa kwanza wa tawi la Chama Cha Mapinduzi(C.C.M) nchini Finland.

Dhumuni la mkutano wetu huu wa awali ni kufahamiana katika chama kama wanachama hai wa C.C.M. vilevile kupitia vipengele hivi viwili muhimu.

A) Ufunguzi rasmi wa tawi C.C.M Finland na uandikishaji wa wanachama wapya wa C.C.M.

B) Uchaguzi wa kwanza rasmi wa viongozi (wawikilishi) wa tawi la Chama Cha Mapinduzi Finland.

Uzinduzi Wa Tawi La CCM Helsinki Finland utafanyika siku ya Ijumaa, tarehe: 25-08-2010

ZIFF: Gang drama could fund dream trip for Hornsey arts group

A VIBRANT Hornsey arts club will perform their own play tonight to raise funds to send young people on a volunteering trip to Tanzania.

Kori Arts hopes to take 16 of its young artists to Tanzania on June 27 to work with orphans as part of a special film festival project, but are £5,000 short of their goal.

Using a combination of poetry and theatre, Gang Initiation Clinic tells the story of young men living on housing estates, who turn to gangs for belonging and acceptance but end up destroying their lives.

Kori said it hopes to raise as much as possible from the performance.

Odiri Ighamre, Kori Arts managing director, said: "They are an incredible, inspiring group of young people who are all determined to go. This is a real community effort and we will keep fundraising until the last second."

If successful, the young people will spend a month in the coastal African country, using a variety of art forms to empower the orphans to do their own live performance at Zanzibar International Film Festival.

They will also be thrown out of their comfort zones, as Swahili is the main spoken language.

The trip's aim is to develop a pack for other young people to run similar trips, as well as the benefits the experience will bring for themselves.

Kori also plan to document their adventure by filming and writing.

Group member Anthony Brown, 17, said: "I can't wait to go, I feel so stressed here. I want a new experience teaching children, and them teaching me."

He added: "I want to become a better man. When I come back I can use this experience to be a better person."

Lydia Newman, 22, dramatist and youth worker, was part of the first group of young people to visit Tanzania in 2008.

She said: "I'm really excited to go and work with young people from a different environment. I’m frustrated with the young people over here.

"It’s completely different and it will refresh my energy. It’s going to be amazing."

Even though she has been before, she is confident she will not have the same experience as last time.

Lydia said: "It will give me a greater appreciation for life. The children there are thirsty and are happy to learn.

"I had tears in my eyes when I heard that they were still playing out drama games and that they still remembered them. It just shows that we need to keep inputting."

After the trip the young people will share what they have learnt with their schools, colleges, universities and the wider community.

"This trip will sharpen their leadership skills and will culturally enrich them by learning the politics and history behind Africa," said Ms Ighamre.

To support the young people of Kori Arts, Gang Initiation Clinic will be performed tonight at Moors Cafe, in Crouch End, at 7.30pm.

Tickets cost £10.

For more information, contact Odiri Ighamre on 020 8889 2863.


Source:Haringey Independent

Lesley Simpson Communications gains new account

Lesley Simpson Communications is proud to announce their recent appointment by Serena Hotels in East Africa to handle their public relations requirements in the South African marketplace.

Covering Kenya, Tanzania, Zanzibar, Mozambique, Uganda and Rwanda, Serena Hotels boast a portfolio of luxury resorts, safari lodges and hotels, blending indigenous culture, design and materials with the highest of international standards of hospitality, care and service. A division of the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development, they are pioneers of eco-tourism in East Africa, and are committed to protecting its wildlife, communities and fragile habitats.

Africa Spirit at the Fez Festival

SUNDAY, JUNE 06, 2010
Sunday at the Fes Festival has been a musical celebration of Africa. The afternoon concert under the oak at the Batha Museum took the audience on a voyage to the spice-filled isle of Zanzibar.

The virtuoso qanoun player, Rajab Suleiman, and his ensemble of bass and percussion played the ngoma rhythms of traditional songs as well as classical Arab pieces. The music had all the elements of Asia, Arabia, Africa and the Indian Ocean that make up the population of the island of Zanzibar. Suleiman is the musical director of the Culture Musical Club in Zanzibar. As a teacher at the Dhow Countries Music Academy he interprets just about anything from jazz to Bach.


Accompanying the trio was the legendary taarab singer, Shakila Saidi (pictured above). Saidi was the doyenne of the famous Black Star Musical Club in Tanga on the coast of Tanzania in the 1970s, and then joined the Taarab Orchestra in the 1980s. Taarab is the musical ecstasy that all Arabic singers strive to achieve. In Zanzibar, with its slave-trade background, the Swahili taarab is a mixture of eastern, Egyptian, Indian and Swahili music and forms the basis of dance rhythms such as the samba and rumba.

This was a languid afternoon of compelling rhythms and music easy to listen to - and hot enough to conjure up vanilla- and clove-scented beaches with swaying palm trees