Tag: GreatLakesNews

The theme of the Feb. 9-11 Zanzibar Tourism Investment and Travel Exhibition (ZTITE) 2023 is “Greener Zanzibar,” said Rahim Bhaloo, chairperson of the Zanzibar Commission for Tourism, which organizes the event.

“Preparations for the exhibition are in full swing,” Bhaloo told Xinhua in a telephone interview on Saturday, adding that the show will be opened by Tanzania’s Zanzibar President Hussein Ali Mwinyi at the Mnazimmoja grounds on Unguja Island.

The three-day event will also include a travel buyers lounge, a tourism investment forum, workshops, and panel discussions, he said.

“The goal for ZTITE 2023 is to promote eco-tourism by effectively managing and conserving Zanzibar’s cultural, environmental and historical resources,” Bhaloo said.

He said the theme, “Greener Zanzibar,” calls for tourism that involves strategic investments, sustainable business practices and responsible travel choices.

“Zanzibar is one of the world’s trending destinations with immense potential for development across the tourism value chain,” Bhaloo said.

“We believe the future of Zanzibar’s tourism sector lies in the investment in its people and its natural environment,” he said. “With a rich heritage and an abundance of flora and fauna, Zanzibar is an ideal destination for eco-tourism, heritage tourism, wellness tourism, sports and adventure tourism, and gastronomic tourism.”

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni launched the drilling process at the Kingfisher Oil Field, operated by the Chinese oil giant China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC).

Museveni thanked China for its continued cooperation with Africa, right from the time the continent was fighting colonialism. He stressed that China is cooperating with the continent in the economic sector to ensure mutual benefit.

The president said the country would carefully use the oil revenues for the development of the country. The government has previously said the revenues would be used for transport and energy infrastructure development.

Chinese Ambassador to Uganda Zhang Lizhong said the investment by the CNOOC in Ugandan oil fields is the largest investment by China in Uganda. Zhang was optimistic that the investment will contribute to the well-being of Ugandans.

Chen Zhuobiao, CNOOC Uganda president, said the corporation is committed to ensuring that there is skills, knowledge and technology transfer to Ugandans. Chen said the corporation will ensure that the local people benefit from the oil by providing, among others, contracts to local companies.

He reiterated that the CNOOC will continue to adhere to high standards of environmental protection.

Proscovia Nabbanja, chief executive officer of Uganda National Oil Company, a state-owned oil enterprise, told reporters that 31 wells will be drilled in the Kingfisher Oil Field, producing 40,000 barrels of oil per day.

Nabbanja said Kingfisher will be drilled at the same time with the Tilenga oil field operated by French oil giant TotalEnergies. She said 426 wells will be drilled in the Tilenga area producing 190,000 barrels of oil per day.

She said the crude oil drilled from both fields will be evacuated to a Central Processing Facility before it is exported to the international market through the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) to the Tanzanian seaport of Tanga.

Nabbanja said Uganda is still on track to produce its first oil by 2025.

According to the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development (MEMD), the country also plans to construct an oil refinery.

At the same event, Uganda officially endorsed the start of the construction of the EACOP, after it handed over a construction license.

A construction license is required to enable the EACOP project to formally start on-the-ground construction activities in Uganda as part of the development of the 1,443-km pipeline from the oil fields to the Tanzanian seaport of Tanga.

“This marks another step forward for EACOP as it allows the commencement of our construction activities in Uganda upon completion of the ongoing land access process,” said EACOP Managing Director Martin Tiffen.

Uganda in 2006 discovered 6.5 billion barrels of oil, of which 1.4 billion barrels are commercially viable, according to the MEMD.

Ahimbisibwe Rugaju, Kanungu Deputy Resident District Commissioner, in a statement on Monday said two elephants strayed out of the park on Sunday and destroyed acres of gardens before the residents started chasing them back into the park.

“However, as the elephants moved towards the park, they came across the deceased while he was guarding his potato garden near his homestead where he was killed instantly,” Rugaju said.

According to Rugaju, the residents have been complaining about stray animals destroying their crops despite the government promising to put a fence around the park.

“The residents have since threatened to kill wild animals when they are sighted in their gardens since the Uganda Wildlife Authority rangers have failed in their duty to drive the animals back to the park whenever they attack,” Rugaju added.

He however urged the residents against harming wildlife and to always work with park authorities to ensure that the animals are returned to the park.

Kilimanjaro Regional Commissioner Nurdin Babu said the police were hunting for people who set fire to the game reserve called Namalok, located 50 km south of Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest peak.

He said this is the second time unknown people set fire to the game reserve, adding that the first time was in May when 21 hectares were destroyed.

The Namalok game reserve is home to various wildlife and was created in 2004 for conservation.

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The 48-year-old mother of three has a half-acre piece of land in the Kimuka region, which is located about 40 km southwest of Nairobi, Kenya’s capital, and is covered with healthy green leaves despite the scorching sun which is present in the surroundings.

Tarasha told Xinhua in a recent interview that her fortunes changed for the better when she began tapping free water from the Kimuka-Oloishoibor water supply project which was inaugurated in 2019 and is located a few kilometers from her compound.

“I now have access to water which is sufficient to irrigate my garden throughout the year irrespective of whether it rains or not,” Tarasha said.

She added that before the project came to her area, she had to trek for at least two hours every day with a water container in search of the commodity and farming was not practical due to insufficient rainfall.

Tarasha said that currently, her vegetable farm in her homestead generates enough income to enable her to comfortably meet her daily needs.

“I also have clean water flowing to my house since I was connected to the water project through pipelines,” she added.

The water project was operationalized after the China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) which was constructing the Nairobi-Suswa Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) discovered an underground aquifer while drilling the 4.5 km Ngong tunnel.

In order to benefit the local residents, CRBC constructed two underground water reservoirs, each with a storage capacity of 800 cubic meters that holds the water before it is distributed to the community at no cost to consumers.

The water aquifer and reservoirs are currently maintained by AfriStar which is the operator of the SGR commuter and freight services.

Obed Kirwa, the Track Technical Supervisor at AfriStar’s Nairobi-Maai Mahiu Workshop, said that since the water project was rolled out, the once-dry area is now a producer of various agricultural and livestock products.

Kirwa added that approximately 5,000 households and 10,000 animals are currently benefiting from the water project.

He observed that the area has largely avoided the negative effects of the ongoing drought due to the presence of abundant water resources.

Kirwa revealed that in order to ensure that the area has a continuous supply of clean water, Afristar has a dedicated team who regularly inspects the water aquifer to confirm that the system is operating smoothly.

He said that the underground water which was tested and found to be fit for human consumption has eradicated scarcity of the precious liquid in the arid surroundings.

“Before the water project was established, neighboring communities used to track for long hours by foot or using donkeys in search of water but now the issue has been solved,” said Kirwa.

Liu Qican, who was a structural engineer for CRBC during the construction of the SGR, said that CRBC found it wise to harness the water resource for the benefit of the local community instead of letting the water go to waste.

Catherine Kanya, a teacher at Cradle Education Center which is located in the Kimuka area, said that her school was connected to the water project in 2019 which has become a big blessing because the school used to lack a reliable source of clean water.

“Before the water project came to being, we had to walk for about two hours each day in search of water,” said Kanya.

She added that the school used to depend on water from a nearby dam but the problem was that it was contaminated which posed a major health challenge.

Kanya said that the project now provides clean water for cooking meals for students, watering their small farm as well as maintaining general cleanliness in the compound.

Beatrice Wanjiku Sekuda, the female owner of about 50 acres of land in the Kimuka region, is also a beneficiary of the water project.

“My land was mostly idle and left for animals to graze before I was connected to the water project,” Sekuda said.

The mother of seven currently practices commercial farming on her land thanks to the water project which allows for irrigated agriculture throughout the year.

“I am now self-sufficient since I sell vegetables, tomatoes, and onions to the nearby towns,” said Wanjiku.

Majaliwa, who visited the crash site on the shores of Lake Victoria in Bukoba district in Kagera region late Sunday afternoon, said it was likely that some passengers were still trapped in the plane’s wreckage.

The Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA) stated earlier that Precision Air flight number 5H-PWF from Dar es Salaam to Bukoba was involved in the landing accident at 8:45 a.m. local time (0545 GMT).

“The aircraft landed in water short of the runaway about 500 meters before the threshold,” said the statement.

The statement said a rescue operation was in progress, adding the TCAA would keep the public updated on further information and proceedings.

The Kagera regional medical officer, Isesanda Kaniki, said at least three victims — two men and a woman — died while receiving treatment at a regional hospital.

Precision Air, owners of the plane, said in a separate statement there were 39 passengers, including 38 adults and one infant, and four crew members flying in its ATR-48 aircraft before it crash-landed in Lake Victoria as it approached Bukoba airport from the Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam.

The statement said an investigative team consisting of Precision Air technical staff and aviation experts from the TCAA has been dispatched to join the rescue team on the ground.

Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan said earlier she was shocked by news of the accident.

Margaret Muhanga, minister of state for health in charge of primary health care, told the parliament that the budget for the response plan was presented to the Cabinet and submitted to the Ministry of Finance for funding.

Muhanga said that as an emergency, the ministry has cut back on its spending and reallocated 2 billion shillings within its budget to support affected districts in carrying out response activities.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the World Health Organization Director General, in a tweet on Oct. 28 said adequate resources are urgently needed for scaling up the Ebola response in Uganda, as well as supporting neighboring countries to prepare.

Tedros said while 67.9 million dollars are needed for the Ebola response in Uganda, the current gap stands at 58.2 million dollars. He said the regional strategic readiness and response plan requires 133 million dollars to ramp up preparations in neighboring countries.

Uganda is grappling with the spread of the deadly disease. Some counties have started issuing travel advisories in fear of importing the disease.

Ministry of Health figures show that as of Oct. 26, the country has registered 115 confirmed Ebola cases and 32 deaths since the outbreak was announced on Sept. 20.

Nurdin Babu, the Kilimanjaro regional commissioner, told Xinhua in a telephone interview that the firefighters have been drawn from the Tanzania Fire and Rescue Force, the Tanzania National Parks, police, scouts, members of the militia and the private sector.

The fire broke out on Friday night at about 4,000 meters altitude on the south side of the mountain and was quickly spread by strong winds, said Babu.

“We are hoping that the fire will be contained by tonight by the 600-plus strong team of firefighters,” he said, adding that the cause of the fire and the damaged caused were yet to be established.

He said initially there were plans to request the Tanzania People’s Defense Forces (TPDF) to help in fighting the fire but the plans were dropped after reports indicated that there was good progress in putting out the fire.

On Saturday afternoon, Babu said he flew over the mountain with a team of experts for aerial survey to assess damage caused by the fire but the mission was cut short due to heavy smoke and bad weather.

“We made another attempt on Saturday night and managed to see affected areas,” he said, adding that there were no reported casualties.

In October 2020, a fire broke out on the mountain and destroyed 95.5 square kilometers of vegetation and 12 huts, two toilets and solar equipment used by tourists climbing the mountain.

Mount Kilimanjaro, with its snow-capped peak with about 5,895 meters above sea level, is one of Tanzania’s leading tourist destinations.

Roughly 50,000 trekkers from across the world attempt to reach the summit of the mountain annually.