Professor Mbuya's sober talk

There is a large electronic discussion group called Tanzanet comprising mostly Tanzanians who are within and outside the country. Members come in all ages and carreers, from students to professors; from enterpreneurs to CEOs.

Most discussion that takes place there arise from Tanzania news items. I have taken liberty to post this Professor's reality message here for visitors to check reflect and forward...

********Beginning of paste****************

From: ...a@comcast.net
Reply-To: ...t@tanzanet.org
To: ...@tanzanet.org
Subject: [tanzanet] LOWASSA na KILIMO
Date: Sat, 15 Sep 2007 15:08:21 +0000

Mbona mahindi yanawaozea wakulima wa Songea?
Why should farmers produce if they cannot sell for a profit?

Foreign investors are NOT and will NOT be the silver bullet for the agricultural sector in Tanzania.
You heard it from me and you can quote me if you wish.

We have to address the basics of agricultural production (or any production).

1. Improve extension services
2. Secure markets (internal and external) for agricultural produce and products ...why produce if you can't sell?
3. Post-harvest processing and storage (preserve and store excess during peak (bumper) production to avoid spoilage aand waste)
4. Transportation infrastructure to reach the farmer and farms
5. Subsidy of farm inputs (fertilizers, pesticides) whenever appropriate
6. Mechanization and Irrigation

Tanzania need to encourage, support and protect small farmers from unfair competition from the "big sharks".
Would the farmers (80% or so of the population) be able to afford the food produced by the foreign investors?
And what would the small farmers do then? Go to Malawi?

Mimi nilianza kazi kama Bwana Shamba wa Tarafa kule Sikonge (Tabora) mwaka 1980.
Kwa wale wanaotoka Sikonge, nilikagua mashamba mengi sana ya tumbaku na mihogo kule Tutuo na Kiwele (karibu na Rukwa). Bila kusahau "kipigo" cha mbung'o (tse tse fly).
Baada ya kufanya kazi hiyo ya extension, vile vile nilifanya kazi kama Afisa Kilimo Utafiti katika Kituo cha Lyamungu.
Vile vile niliwahi kufundisha shule ya Sekondari kule Uru (Mwl. Mkuu alikuwa anaitwa Mr. Ndaskoi). Dada Selina unafahamu pale kwa Kisawio? Nilipita maeneo hayo sana.
Nimewahi kufanya utafiti na extension (Farming Systems Research) kule Colombia (Latin America) mwaka 1986 na mkazo ulikuwa wakulima wadogo wadogo (nilifika miji ya Cali, Medelin, Bogota, Pasto, Palmira na miji mingine midogo midogo). Wakati huo nilikuwa chini cha taasisi ya CIAT (Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical, i.e. Center for Tropical Agriculture).
Hapa Marekani tunashughulika na wakulima wadogo na wakubwa, at different levels of sophistication.
I have been in South Africa twice as a Consultant (Irrigation, Marketing and Post-harvest processing) on behalf on the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
I have served in may agricultural panels (State, National and International).

Why am I giving you all this personal information?
Because I think it is time someone (e.g. the government, politicians) take us (myself and other Tanzanian experts) seriously. I presume, at least we have something to offer, across disciplines and continents.

Kama ni utafiti tunaufahamu na tumeshafanya mwingi. tu
Kama ni extension tumefanya vile vile (kuanzia Sikone mpaka Colombia).
Kama ni kufundisha ...kazi hiyo tunaimanya vile vile (kuanzia Uru hadi Florida).
Otherwise the Americans wouldn't keep us around.
How come we cannot be heard at home?

Bongo tumekuwa mabingwa wa biashara ya maneno isiyokuwa na wanunuzi.

Wataalam tunao, lakini kwa sababu tunazozijua wenyewe, serikali inaamua kwenda kutafuta "wataalam" wa mvua kutoka Thailand.
Ati wamekuja kufanya utafiti! Utafiti wenyewe ni utafiti wa kunyunyiza "silver iodide" kwenye mawingu. (please read the literature on this subject).
Where was the Thai research proposal submitted for review?
Who was the highest and lowest bidder?
How were the local (Tanzania) experts involved?

Give me a break!

Now, let me be accused of wanting to be serious :-)

Have a nice weekend.

Mbuya
===================

-------------- Original message --------------
From: "Mwasa2" <....m@blueyonder.co.uk>

2007-09-15 08:36:15
By Lusekelo Philemon
The Prime Minister Edward Lowassa has underscored the need for collective efforts to promote the untapped opportunities in the agricultural sector.

Speaking at the Tanzania Investment Center (TIC) tenth anniversary`s climax in Dar es Salaam yesterday Lowassa said agriculture is one of the important sectors that need special attention.

`This sector still remains the important sector for the country`s socio-economic development hence more investments are highly needed for the country to register tangible success,` he said.

He said agriculture employs more than 80 per cent of the country`s total population, but there were minimal investments in the sector.

`More efforts are needed to ensure that serious investors come in the sector for vibrant returns,` he noted.

Lowassa urged TIC to collaborate with ministries, public institutions and key stakeholde rs to come up with viable strategies that would ensure there is an in crease of investors in the sector.

He said that there is no way we can get out of poverty without agriculture which is the engine for Tanzania?s economic prosperity.

The premier has also challenged TIC?s staff and management to work hard and ensure they seriously promote viable areas for the country`s economic development.

`Apart from today`s success, TIC needs to work hard to make sure that the center`s efforts contribute to the country?s economic growth,` he said.

The TIC Executive Director, Emmanuel Ole Naiko said during the ceremony that the center approved about 680 projects last year and expects to approve more in the near future.

Ole Naiko said: `Next year the centre is expected to approve about 800 projects. This is a good move to us.`

He said the centre has managed to reduce unnecessary delays for an investor to approve his/her projects.

`Currently, it takes only two weeks for the project to be approved by the centre. This is a good development for it as before that an investor spent more than three months,` he said.

He said the center is working hard to make sure that all potential investors come in the country and invest for the benefit of the entire Tanzanian population, and that friendly investment environment has made TIC to be one of the best centres in the world.

* SOURCE: Guardian


***********End of paste******************

Tanzania sliding back to pre-civilization: sitting ducks waiting for a miracle?

The provocative subject may mean different things to different people. I'm, however, posting to address what appears to be increasing belief in the nonexistent--call it occult, witchcraft, stuff, I don't care.

Tanzania ought to have matched into the 21st century with the rest of the world. Some statistics even indicate good upswing in technology use, improved information and communication systems, throbbing construction industry. Yet I sadly note that among us there are several persons, some in good standing in society, some highly educated who still believe there is a "medicine-man" somewhere who can help them keep their office, win election, make their businesses thrive, make their team win soccer match and so forth.

The amount of stories reported in air and print media are on the increase. I wouldn't rush headlong to say the paradox is on the increase because it could simply imply that more news is reaching me compared to when I was reading and hearing fewer stories. Is it, though? Why would this bugger go to graveyard at night, dig a kid's body out, open up its chest, cut off the heart, hastily re-bury the body? In this one case, someone saw the process and told on him, he was caught red-handed while drying the newly-acquired key to the riches: a child's heart that he'd been asked to get by witchdoctor. This story was in the media a few days ago.
I am a scientist, and many people innocently ask me questions about how things work. I try to use as simple language as possible to explain, for example how lightning and thunder are created, because these things are taught in science subjects.

Other come up with a thoughtfully-conceived idea of building up a machine that, once started, shall continue running without requiring any energy input in effect producing net energy. What a lovely world we would have if such thing was possible! no need to buy petrol, no need to pay for electricity. But I slowly and patiently explain that it's only possible to convert energy, not to create or destroy: those are laws of nature equally applying on earth and in outer space. Gravitation, magnetism, heat, light, sound are all explained by different principles of science. I also know sadly only a small fraction of those who got to finish primary school went on to secondary education.

The point I'm coming to is, many people who visit witch doctors do so due lack knowledge, and the sharp fella plays with their desperation to request them make such impossible task as digging a copse up and obtain an organ as a means of making them feel big achievement, building self-confidence whose spill-over effect is that of better performing daily chores and going about thinking, that witchdoctor treatment really works. Talk about faith making a sick person feel better by taking a placebo :-).

That, however, does not end with witchdoctors. Tanzania has been invaded with religious sects of all sorts who are not preaching love and forgiveness, but tell their audience what they expect to hear: there are evil spirits within and around, hindering their success. I bundle these preachers with the witchdoctors. You might ask, "Dan, you mean no evil spirits, no miracles?" The answer is, those things are virtual, and within one's inner self or even subconcience: a person who has a dream while in deep sleep and, upon waking up, becomes convinced the dream is a fact is a person who needs to see a shrink--(s)he is a psychological case.

I therefore get roundly annoyed hearing again and again of news stories of people slaughtering their own grandparents, witchdoctors and preachers alike making small ads on papers etc while there are several more serious things to attend to (and report about and advertise about) for this country which is the richest with resources in the region but doesn't seem to get off the ground. No wonder our neighboring countries are all excited about the advent of federation: they see a land of milk and honey with a small pack of individuals who feel the only way to develop is by attaining a political post (higher, better) at any cost including bribing. Their idea of development is that of themselves and close members of family, not nation.
What should we do to stem the damage course?

• Round up the witchdoctors who are known to have been hired for assisting robbers or such other innuendo and give them hell of their lives such as shaming them in public;
• Basic religions strengthening and actually fighting the two-bit emerging sects which are no better than pulpit witchdoctors, however big they grow;
• People are encouraged to write books and paper articles on the subject to shed light on fact that deceptive people are having their field day cashing in on their apparent ignorance. Scientific books for easy reading in kiswahili language can be quite a tool in killing the ingrained culture of occult such as found in some Tanzanian communities.

Solidarity Forever - The Dar-es-Salaam Workers Peace March

On Saturday 11 August 2007, The Trade Union Confederation of Tanzania (TUCTA) Dar-es-Salaam Region branch organised a peace march aimed at calling for the Government to raise salaries, particularly the minimum wage which currently stands at about TShs 84,000 [USD 67] per month in public sector, but as low as TShs 45,000 [USD 36] in private sector.

The march was a long one, starting from Mnazi Mmoja grounds to Jangwani grounds, some 3 km distance. Now, trekking is not my favourite pastime, therefore i brought up in the rear at a slow pace. Trekking back there I was looking at the development contrasts along the way: apartment blocks rose on roadsides, and there was a park of sorts, complete with fine, rather new concrete benches. The park had been taken over by humanity at the lower echelons of society, not necessarily mentally deranged, but some who had nowhere to turn to for shelter. This you could tell by the threadbare cloths that have endured soapless washing several times to have acquired a tone distant from the original dye. They also each habitually had a large plastic bag where all they had was stored--toothbrush, a doll picked somewhere in hope of getting a buyer some lucky day, etc, mostly scavenged from trash the occupiers of apartments were throwing away.

I also couldn't help but notice car yards where new, reconditioned and used cars of all sizes were on display for sale. Judging by the number of such open yards mushrooming in all parts of the city of late, several among us had money to buy the mechandise. "Just as well I'm participating in this march", I mused, because with my two degrees and more than twenty years of honest and loyal work, I wouldn't be able to afford a decent station wagon of USD 8,000 (which works roughly to TShs 10,000,000) at the monthly takehome of USD 300. If a miracle would occur and freeze all the bills, and I and my dependants wouldn't need any food to eat, so as to pay for the car, it would take me 27 months to settle the score. But not only do I have to eat and pay bills, the car company shall need its money intact in exchange for the car, not pay in instalments while it uses up the garage space.

Back to the events of the march. I eventually caught up with fellow workers just in time to join hands to sing "Solidarity Forever", signifying things have begun: introductions, some speeches some brass band song (which played more than once the song "Mwalimu Nyerere" a tribute song for the late Father of Tanzania nation). Whenever this music in minor scale is played, it sends deep feelings to the minds of many Tanzanians who feel short-changed by politicians and cunning businessmen who are greedily helping themselves to the national cake while umma goes suffering--there couldn't be such a thing if Nyerere was alive, even if in comma.

The key speech given by the TUCTA Dar-es-Salaam Secretary bared it all:

• can't thwart corruption by public servants if you are offering them salaries that won't last more than a week to buy only essentials.
• can't contain the propagation of HIV/AIDS among the population when the workers have to do anything to make ends meet.
• can't reverse the infant mortality if parently can't afford the very bus fare to health centre (in the cases there is one at all).

Even as thousands of us united there as one and applauded to this speech and others from such key speakers like Professor Issa Shivji (who introduced the phrase "walala heri" as a class above "walala hai" and "walala hoi") we weren't all that optimistic that things would turn rosy overnight. Nevertheless this has been a massively supported class struggle which shall be documented in the trade union movements in the country. More importantly, it sends a loud and clear message to the grabbers of the national cake--from gross imbalance of things to outright thieving through tricky wording of contracts and earning commissions from umma wealth: "Stop, reform. Give umma what is rightfully theirs".

With Internet, fraud shall be tamed

Local Tanzania media had recently been talking about Department of Wildlife systematic plunder. Big names were being mentioned, the matter arose in the Parliament. Whoever the source of well-informed anonymous dossier that reached multitudes of online Tanzanians near and far, the recent changing taking place in that ministry are not entirely separated from that news, I daresay.

Daily News, Thursday,July 26, 2007 @00:02


THE government has raised game hunting fees this fiscal year as part of efforts to boost revenue from tourism and ensure greater contribution of the sector to Gross Domestic Product (GDP), currently standing at 17 per cent only.


Tabling the Ministry of Tourism and Natural Resources budget estimates for 2007/8 in the National Assembly here yesterday, the Minister, Professor Jumanne Maghembe, said that the new rates were aimed at aligning the fees with the rest of the 14- member SADC states, of which Tanzania is a founding member.



"Under the new fees, hunting a lion or a leopard, for example, will cost $12,000 (about 12.5million/-) compared to the previous dollars 2,500(about 3m/-)," he said.



The licence to kill a jumbo will now be dollars 15,000 instead of dollars 5,000 whereas a crocodile will cost dollars 2,500 instead of dollars 1,050 previously.



"The rates for leasing hunting blocs have been raised from dollars 10,000(near parks --category A) to dollars 50,000 and dollars 40,000 for blocs near forests(category B) per annum. The amendments are expected to raise the income from 11bn/- last year to $33bn/- this year," said Mr Maghembe.



Prof. Maghembe said plans were underway to prepare new General Management Plans (GMP) for some selected forests, adding that Usangu forests would be merged with the Ruaha Park , to create Africa's second biggest park with 22,226 square kilometres.



The ministry will bring bills to establish Mkomazi Park and another park on Saanane Island, near Mwanza on Lake Victoria.



To increase efficiency in park fees collection, the Tanzania National Parks Authority (TANAPA) will introduce system of payment through credit cards. The CRDB and Exim banks have been engaged to ensure verification and collection of payments.



The minister added that the government's determination to attract 1.2 million tourists by 2012 was on course, saying that massive publicity and marketing drive was underway to promote Tanzania's world famous attractions. About 600,000 tourists, mainly from the western countries visited the country last year.



Prof. Maghembe said a Bill on wildlife regulations was being prepared to allow establishments of ranches , zoos and a law on commercialisation of live animals.



The government also plans to increase price of logs by at least 30 per cent to match with the global market price. The increase will fetch the government 45bn/- from the current 11bn/-.



He said the ban on exports of timber remained intact and that all those involved in smuggling are being dealt with at appropriate levels.



The ministry is also working out ways of reviving the beekeeping industry and the first step towards that goal was the re-establishment of the Beekeeping College in Tabora.



About 400m/- has been set aside in the budget to rehabilitate the college's buildings.



===============================================
Daily News, Thursday,July 26, 2007 @00:02


THE High Court's Commercial Division has restrained Member of Parliament (MP), Mrs Halima Mohamed Mamuya, from dealing with tourist hunting activities in the name of Morogoro Hunting Safaris Limited, which operates in Southern Tanzania.



Judge Bernard Luanda issued the temporary order yesterday after considering an application and submissions made by advocate Deusdedith Dankan on behalf of the company.



The judge further stopped the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) MP under Women Special Seats, her agents, heirs or any person acting under her instructions from entering Sasawala Hunting Block located in Ruvuma Region, which is the lawful asset of the company.



Judge Luanda, however, ruled that the said temporary order would remain in force for six months from yesterday pending determination of the main suit lodged by Mrs Mamuya, who is demanding 350m/- damages from the company. The suit will be mentioned on September 3.



In the suit, the MP is also challenging her termination of membership from the company. Before institution of the suit last year, Mrs Mamuya was a director holding 8,518 shares. Other directors were Mr Jamal Abdallah Suleiman and Mr Alli Ahmed Saeed holding 8,519 and 8,518 shares, respectively.



The company disputes the MP is a shareholder, a director or its managing director. The current directors and shareholders are shown as Mr Suleiman, Mr Mohamed Jamal Abdallah and Mr Ahmed Jamal Abdallah.



The directors want the court to declare Mrs Mamuya as unlawfully interfering with their company and in a counter claim want her to pay them 200m/- damages for unlawfully utilising the company's assets and interference with its business.



It is alleged that Mrs Mamuya, Mr Suleiman and Mr Saeed formed the company in 2003 for the purposes of carring on business of, among others, light and big game professional hunters, export of trophies, stuffed animals and deal with business of tour guides and tourist consultants, trappers and mini-zoo keepers.

Phew, what a week

All world media has been reporting disasters, from burst steam pipe in New York to freak aviation disaster in Brazil, to earthquake of 6+ Richter in Japan.

Closer to home, there were earthquakes in Kenya and Tanzania which is not a normal occurence. There were also a series of daring robberies in what looked like the giant that had been humbled was waking up again. It seems, though, it is crooks from neighbouring countries who regard our country as a soft target to rob.

Crime: This is one of the reasons I am very much against the East African federation: such a union ought to come gradually and not to be imposed by leaders who may have ulterior motives.

A tribute to Amina Chifupa

My tears flowed for the young martyr, Amina. I dedicate the Pink Floyd song Shine on you crazy diamond. It's describing her well, she aged unnaturally and just vanished.

Remember when you were young,
you shone like the sun.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
Now there's a look in your eyes,
like black holes in the sky.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
You were caught on the crossfire
of childhood stardom,
blown on the steel breeze.
Come on you target
for faraway laughter,
come on you stranger, you legend, you martyr, and shine!

You reached for the secret too soon,
you cried for the moon.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
Threatened by shadows at night,
and exposed in the light.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
Well you wore out your welcome
with random precision,
rode on the steel breeze.
Come on you raver, you seer of visions,
come on you painter, you piper, you prisoner, and shine!

Nobody knows where you are,
how near or how far.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
Pile on many more layers
and I'll be joining you there.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
And we'll bask in the shadow
of yesterday's triumph,
sail on the steel breeze.
Come on you boy child,
you winner and loser,
come on you miner for truth and delusion, and shine

Keywords: Amina Chifupa, heroine, dirty politics, martyr, Tanzania, Queen of Hearts

Zitto Kabwe, MP, gave a heart-rending one-on-one to the late Amina Chifupa.
****************************************************
Subject: [tanzanet] Amina - Kwenye macho ya Zitto Kabwe

Zitto Kabwe

AMINA, umetangulia kwa Mola. Umetutoka tukiwa bado tunakuhitaji. Taifa lako ambalo ulianza kulitumikia ukiwa kijana mdogo linakulilia. Nchi imezizima, hakuna anayeamini. Safari hii ni yetu sote, wewe umeanza. Msalimie Bibi Titi. Unakumbuka nilikuwa nakwambia kupitia kwako namwona Bibi Titi? Wengi wanadhani wanakujua. Umeondoka bila kuwaonyesha kuwa wanakujua ndivyo sivyo. Kila mtu anasema chake kutokana na ama amesikia nini au amekuona katika nini. Unakumbuka ulipochaguliwa kuwa mbunge watu walisemaje? Eti hata Amina naye kawa mbunge? Utafanya nini bungeni. Haikukuchukua mwaka ukawaonyesha tofauti. Ukafanya yale ambayo wengi kwa kweli yalitushinda kufanya. Ukaanza vita kubwa na ngumu ambayo hujaimaliza mpaka unaingia kaburini leo. Hata hivyo si lazima umalize vita uliyoianza. Edward Mondlane wa Frelimo alituaga kabla hajaona mwisho wa vita aliyoanzisha ya kumng'oa Mreno Msumbiji. Kina Samora wakamaliza vita hiyo. Umeianza vita, tutaimaliza. Umetupa changamoto. Swali lako la mwisho bungeni lilihusu wizi wa mitihani. Hukupata bahati kuliuliza. Uliuliziwa na jirani yako, Ruth Msafiri, wa Muleba Kaskazini. Najua kama ungekuwapo ni aina gani ya swali la nyongeza ambalo ungeuliza. Nilikuangaza kule unakokaa sikukuona. Lakini nilijua utarudi muda si mrefu. Amina ulikuwa mwepesi kujifunza na wala hukuona aibu kuomba msaada, tena bila kujali itikadi ya chama ya unayemwomba msaada. Mimi nilikutana nawe kwa mara ya kwanza pale tulipoitwa na Mheshimiwa Spika kuhesabu kura za kumthibitisha waziri mkuu. Tukapeana namba za simu na kupoteana tukiwa tunasalimiana pale tunapoonana tu. Sikutegemea hata siku moja kama utakuwa karibu yangu kiasi tulichofikia. Niseme kweli, hata mimi nilikuwa najiuliza utafanya nini bungeni wewe, nikijisemea kuwa wewe ni kilaza tu. Rafiki yangu, na pia rafiki yako kipenzi, Omar Ilyasambe, kwa sasa yupo masomoni nchini Marekani, alinitahadharisha nisiwe kama watu wengine wanaokutafsiri kwa ujumla. Akaniambia nikupe muda wa maongezi na msaada kwa yale ninayoyajua. Urafiki ukaanzia hapo. Urafiki wa kujifunza na kujadiliana mambo mengi ya nchi yetu. Nakumbuka ulikuwa unanilaumu kwa kuwa mkali kwa serikali yako ya CCM na kwamba wakati mwingine nazidisha. Nilikwambia ndiyo kazi yangu katika upinzani. Ulinielewa. Tulijadiliana maswali yetu na maswali gani ya nyongeza kuuliza. Tulijadiliana kuhusu masomo yako na masomo gani ya kuchukua katika juhudi zako za kutafuta elimu. Tulibishana sana kuhusu ni wapi ukasome shahada yako ya kwanza. Wewe na Omar mkitaka uende kusoma nje, mimi nikitaka usome hapa hapa nchini ili pia ufanye kazi zako za ubunge. Niliwashinda na kweli ukaanza kusoma. Ukajitahidi kusoma kwa bidii sana. Walimu wako watakukosa. Amina, ulikuwa na malengo makubwa sana katika maisha yako. Ulianza kujiandaa kuongoza umoja wa vijana wa chama chako katika matayarisho ya kupata mafunzo thabiti ya uongozi. Mapema kabisa ulianza kupambana na vikwazo, lakini hadi unaanza kuumwa, zote uliona ni changamoto tu za maisha ya kisiasa. Siku uliyoanza kuumwa ulikuwa uende Lindi kufanya kazi za vijana, lakini pia kujiandaa na changamoto za uchaguzi mwakani. Masikini umeondoka na ndoto yako. Inauma sana kukupoteza. Wakati tunaokujua tukitafakari kuhusu kifo chako, hatuoni tumempoteza mbunge tu, tunaona tumepoteza mpiganaji mahiri. Mpiganaji wa mstari wa mbele katika vita ya kunusuru taifa kutokana na ubadhirifu wa mali za umma. Wakati mwingine tunaona tumepoteza kamanda mwema, mwenye uwezo wa kupata habari zote za adui na kushauri njia bora za kukabiliana na adui. Amina, maisha yako yana tafsiri nyingi. Umepitia mambo mengi sana. Ulitaka kuandika kijitabu kuhusu maisha yako ili watu wakujue vizuri. Wakati tunajiandaa kukusanya vya kukusanya, ukawa mgonjwa. Umeondoka kabla hujakamilisha azima yako. Bado watu hawakujui. Tutakamilisha kazi yako ili vizazi vijavyo vijue kuwa kulikuwa na kijana kiongozi mahiri mwenye msimamo thabiti. Amina niseme nini kukuelezea wakati tunakupumzisha pumziko la kudumu? Maneno hayaji, vidole vinatetemeka. Tutakukumbuka. Ucheshi wako na umahiri wako katika kuhakikisha unapata unachokitaka. Usiku wa tarehe 6, Mei ulinipigia simu kuniambia kuwa Mkwawa anakuita, na kwamba Mwalimu Nyerere ananipa salamu. Mimi naomba uwape salamu. Uwaambie nchi yao ipo inaendelea, na kwamba huna uhakika ndoto yao ya kujenga taifa imara itafikiwa karibuni. Waambie Mkwawa na Mwalimu kuwa siku hizi ili uwe kiongozi ni lazima upande mabegani mwa mwingine na kumwangusha na wala si uwezo wa mtu. Amina, nakutuma kwa Bibi Titi, mwambie kuwa juhudi zake za kutaka mwanamke, tena mwanamke wa Kiswahili kuonekana ana uwezo wa kuwa kiongozi, bado zinaendelea, na wewe umeziacha zinaendelea. Umefanya kazi yako, umewaachia kijiti wengine wafanye pia. Nenda Amina, nenda kapumzike. Umetuonyesha kuwa vijana tunaweza. Tumejifunza, hatutakuangusha. source : www.freemedia.co.tz

Comments on TanzanNet

On 6/29/07, Sir Nyamranga wrote:

Simba,

Hon. Amina alikuwa Amina na ndio maana watu walimpenda. Alikuwa ni average joe kama kijana yoyote wa Tanzania na ndio maana watu wengi waliona kama anawawakilisha. Wazungu huwa wanapenda kutumia msemo wa "Be Yourselff" na ndio Mheshimiwa Amina alivyokuwa hivyo.

Hakutaka kubadilika kwa vile ni mwanasiasa. Hakutaka kubadilika na kuwa kama kama lile group la wanasiasa tuliowazoea waonavaa kaunda suti na vitambili kwa sababu alikuwa ni Amina. Amina alikuwa ni new generation ya politician ambayo ingeweza kubadilisha mambo mengi sana nyumbani.

Pia sidhani kama Mh. Zitto anataka ku socre point yoyote. Kaandika nakala nzuri sana na inaonyesha ni jinsi gani vijana walivyokuwa wanasaidiana kutetea maslahi ya nchi bila kujali itikadi ya chama walichotoka.Uhusiano wao wa karibu umedhihirisha hilo.

Nilishawahi kupata nafasi ya kuongea na kufanya mahojiano na Mh Kabwe na naweza kusema ni mmoja wa vijana makini sana nchini Tanzania. Mheshimiwa Zitto hakuanzia CHADEMA tu bali alikuwa makini tangia enzi za National Youth Forum. Sidhani kama atataka kufanya hayo unayoyasema.

----------------
On 6/29/07, Simba Yahya wrote:

Nilichangia huko nyuma kuhusu kifo cha bibi huyu "nyota" machoni mwa sehemu kubwa ya jamii ya watanzania.

Baada ya kusoma "Mmtazamo wa Zitto Kabwe" na yale yalioendelea katika kipindi kifupi cha uongozi wa Bi Amina, sina shaka kwamba hiyo haikuwa changamoto ndogo ambayo binti yule kichanga angeweza kuimudu kwa muda mrefu.

Kwa Amina, kuwa Bungeni na kuwa na mahusiano na Wabunge wengine alikuwa anaichukulia kirahisi (business as usual) na kuacha sehemu kubwa ya political mechanics (machination?) nje ya equation za siasa sio tu hapa nyumbani, lakini kwingine kokote! Lau angebahatika kuwa kama kina VITA KAWAWA, Dr. HUSSEIN MWINYI, KIPI WARIOBA na wengine ambao wamebahatika kutoka familia za wanasiasa wakongwe, naamini angepata msaada mkubwa wa kumwongoza ndai ya safu za siasa. Yaliyomfika binti huyu wala yasingemtokea....

Ni mategemeo kwamba the likes of Kabwe hawatatumia kifo hiki ku-score political points ambazo kwao zinaweza kuwanufaisha, lakini kwa kiasi kikubwa kuongeza machungu kwa familia ya Amina Chifupa!!

****************************************************

Fast-changing ICT: why I'll start an ezine

I made an effort of writing a computer hardware book some three years ago. I photographed stuff, I scanned pictures I browsed the web etc, I had quite a cache of material. When I would pause for a couple of weeks or so then get back to the writing work, I would discover some information needed to be updated. After some time I gave in--too much patching up.

My favourite indicator of the computer world gallop is a cutout from Newsweek titled Model price cuts, where they were talking about "fast 386s" and "screaming 486s". Not that far back, that was just 1992. The prices were USD 2,286 and USD 4,891 (down from USD 7,198 a year before.

I bought my Pentium in 1999 and felt really good about it. It was boasting a 3 gigabyte hard disk and 16 megabyte of RAM. A tower design clone, it didn't have sound card, no CD-rom drive and definitely no USB port. At that time 16x cd-rom drive was very good. CD writers were virtually nonexistent and DVD wasn't in the vocabulary.

I like reading the past, therefore I have with me the whole load of magazines--news, computers, aircraft, etc etc. I also browse through old catalogs that I possess, such as Sears. It's interesting that the older non-ICT catalogs don't have much difference with the currernt ones (I guess everyone has heard that humour about Microsoft and GM exchange about their respective technologies).

This yearning for reading the past led me to thinking, heck, whyn't write the current bits of ICT information and publish them somewhere or other, and when they get obsolete they become history? We all know that so many good guys are offering loads of free space on the web, such as this blog.

This therefore announces my intention of publishing an ezine. The idea is still a mere sketch--how often to update, whether it will be on a website, in a blog or mailing list, those matters are still undecided.

Taifa Stars, you done us proud men!

Yesterday evening 21 hrs East African Time, a soccer game kicked off in Oagadugu, Boukirna Faso.

This narrowish West African nation is perhaps most well known for myth: voodoo. I do remember at one time when I was chatting with a certain diplomat who'd been there on a UN mission who was thoroughly convinced that voodoo really worked there--with several stories to tell. He got really cross with me when I said that was all gogolamba (bullshit in Zamundese language). I don't believe the stuff.

Back to the ball game. It was Bukirna national side against Taifa Stars of Tanzania. It was a repeat match, first having played in Dar es Salaam awhile back where Tz team beat the visitors 2-1. Tanzanian team that played at that first encounter had been a weakling that fluked a win. The team lately has been really hard-swinging, holding Senegal National team to a draw some weeks ago in a home tussle (lost badly during the first encounter in Dakar--understandably because the Senegal cards were well-stacked, especially cheers of home crowd). In a patriotic revolution, Tanzanians led by no less than the Tanzanian President, Hon. J.Ml Kikwete, egged on the boys. And there is also this superb coach, the Brazilian Maximo.

Bukirna didn't know what hit them. Tanzanians commanded the ball all the way from the start whistle, and the hosts did their utmost not to get embarrased infront of their home crowd, therefore literally packed themselves at their goalmouth like sardines in a can.Occasional efforts by the Bukirna attackers ended in frustrating fluid motion of Evo Mapunda snatching the ball and diving with it, pausing down there for a sec, likely uttering a short prayer, "Thanks again, God".

Meanwhile the seconds arm of clock kept sweeping, and things seemed certain to end nil-nil, such a fortress the Bukirna side had built around their goal, hardly anytime did the ball even reached their custodian. The opportunity came though, some five minutes or so before full time. The goal was professional, attributed to attacker Haruna Moshi, to put it simply. It broke whatever reserves the hosts still had, kind of like throwing a stone at the nest of hornets. But nuthin' seemed to matter to the emboldened Taifa Stars. Much to the overjoyed multitude of Tanzanians watching the ball live on Television ya Taifa, The whistle went 3 extra minutes after full time putting the gallant boys of Tanzania 1 up.
Tempers flared. One player from each side got awarded a red card, maintaining things scalar balance. Smelling the kill, Maximo didn't want to leave anything to chance. His effort to urge the boys awarded him with a red card. Tanzanians like me would concur that the red card for the coach, if anything, was like a certificate of achievement.

Kilimanjaro snowcap good news

Kilimanjaro's ice set to linger

By Jonathan Amos Science reporter, BBC News, Vienna

Kilimanjaro: Ice fields at the equator are a huge tourist draw

A fresh assessment suggests the famous ice fields on Africa's tallest mountain will be around for decades yet.

Recent concerns that climate warming would rob Mount Kilimanjaro of all its glaciers within 20 years are overly pessimistic, say Austrian scientists.

Their weather station data and modelling work indicate the tropical ice should last well beyond 2040.

Precipitation and not temperature is the key to the white peak's future, the University of Innsbruck-led team says.

"About five years ago Kilimanjaro was being used as an icon for global warming. We know now that this was far too simplistic a view," said Thomas Moelg.

"We have done different kinds of modelling and we expect the plateau glaciers to be gone roughly within 30 or 40 years from now, but we have a certain expectation that the slope glaciers may last longer," added colleague Georg Kaser.

If one wants to be more precise, I would call it the 'evaporating glaciers of Kilimanjaro' Dr Thomas Moelg, University of Innsbruck

The group's assessment was presented here at the European Geosciences Union General Assembly meeting.

It acts as a counterpoint to the most doom-laden projections for the 5,895m-high (19,340ft) peak, which draws thousands of tourists intrigued by the idea of seeing ice just three degrees south of the equator.

Hanging on

The research team has been using three automated instrument stations on the top of the mountain to collect continuous data on temperature, pressure, solar radiation, humidity and wind.

The recording effort was in position late last year to witness heavy snowfall, which will have led to a slight increase in Kilimanjaro's overall ice volume.

Weather station (dot inside circle) data provides new insight

This glacier growth is only temporary, however. The mountain's ice is dependent on the pulses of moist air that sweep across from the Indian Ocean.

Since the late 1800s, these have become less frequent, and the regular snows that would maintain the ice fields are now a rare occurrence in what has become a much drier climate in East Africa.

Today, the total ice extent - on the slopes and on the plateau - is about 2.5 sq km, down from more than eight sq km in the early 1900s.

Some scientists have drawn a fairly straight-line curve and forecast a rapid final retreat to a totally bare mountain.

But the Innsbruck team is more optimistic about the medium term having now put real field measurements into a comprehensive modelling programme.

"Glacier recession has been a feature on Kilimanjaro for more than 100 years, but this is the first time we really have a precise understanding of the physical processes that control the glacier-climate interaction on Africa's highest mountain," said Dr Moelg.

'No reservoir'

This work emphasises the significance of the lack of precipitation (250mm per year on the summit) versus temperature (a mean of -7C).

It indicates that glacier mass loss would be about four times higher if precipitation decreased by 20% than if air temperature on the mountain rose by 1C.

Furthermore, it suggests that two-thirds of the ice that is lost goes straight into the atmosphere through sublimation (the direct conversion of snow and ice to water vapour).

"In recent years many people have talked about 'the melting glaciers of Kilimanjaro'. If one wants to be more precise, I would call it the 'evaporating glaciers of Kilimanjaro'," said Dr Moelg.

This confirms the view that the African peak does not play an important role as a reservoir for water, unlike in the Andes and the Himalayas where some lowland cities and agricultural systems are dependent on summer melt high in the mountains.

"This is not a factor at all at Kilimanjaro and it never has been," said Professor Kaser.

"If you brought all the remaining ice down to the Amboseli National Park and melted it, the water would only cover the park to a depth of one or one-and-a-half millimetres. There is nothing in terms of water up there."

The Innsbruck research was conducted in collaboration with the University of Otago, New Zealand, and the University of Massachusetts, US.

The team stresses that the drying of the East African climate around Kilimanjaro may itself be a regional impact of global climate change.

ICT in Tanzania 2007. Quick evaluation.

TTCL which boasts the widest network of copper and microwave in the country has moved a stage further in grabbing its share of internet subscribers. The (trial?) provision of mobile phone-cum-wireless-modem with flat-rate subscription of about a dollar a day was received with enthusiasm to the point of the pipe being congested making the connection reallly slow.

This month they changed the business model and, while still prepaid, the user will be charged per megabyte, which is fine for anyone not downloading huge files.

Such a move is welcome although one wonders where they were all along...

Meanwhile Vodacom, whom I've regarded as greediest cellphone service provider, made a bold move of leapfrogging the rest by introducing 3G services. I don't know if they will have infrastructure to have the service far and wide, though. Besides, the 3G services require much more expensive handsets that I doubt will be embraced easily by the clientele.

Zantel who don't have own infrastructure on Tz mainland, (roaming using Vodacom network) has launched a bold advertising campaign that has covered everything in green. They also claim lowest tariffs. I don't know what area they cover, and if they can continue piggybacking on vodacom which has its own teething problem with value-added services being introduced rather late after the rest of networks had done so.

TCCIA has a very ambitious plan of having a country-wide network of VSATS at all regional headquarters, providing a high-speed internet connection to small LANs for their members. With a hub at SatCom Network in Dar, this project may be key to internet reaching even further than ever, and starting radiating to district headquarters. Similar WANs are being set up by the Open University of Tanzania. I wonder, though, about sustainability of these two efforts, which begin with donor funding.

The losers in near future seem to be Internet Cafes. With all schools and colleges about to have Internet-connected LANs, and individuals having unlimited internet at home for as little as TShs 15,000 per month, I'm not seeing much prosperity in the once very successful biz venture.

We wait and see...but one thing is sure: things are getting better and better for end users, as more and more players are making more and more efforts in ICT.

Smile, ladies..Mmm, there you are! Click!

Festive season

I haven't been in upbeat mood in the past fortnight, what with my niece Magret falling sick to extent of being admited and placed in ICU with life support machinery and transfusion. Thank God she's (as I write this post) already out of hospital and recuperating in Mamba Komakundi.

Countdown for Christmas has began, though. Saturday was Tanzania Mainland Independence 45th anniversary, and I found myself in Vingunguti hunting for a goat to buy. The art of bargaining for a goat deserves its own post, so I'll not delve deep into that now.

Sunday 10th--like the previous Sunday--was feverish with activitiy as Lutheran churches in different parts of Dar-es-Salaam were holding Confirmation ceremonies. This tsunami of extravaganza must have contributed a point of a percentage in global warming considering all gas for vehicles ferrying all stuff here and there; and the firewood and charcoal roasting all those goats. Most of us found ourselves in difficult situation as to whose party we'll attend and whose not.

I chose to give company to my cousin David, who was also my best childhood friend. His two boys, Mathew and Timothy were confirmed that day at the Kimara Temboni Lutheran Church (a building of ugly, square simpleness a cathedral should never be). The church site is adjacent to his own place, a magnificient dacha with beautifully landscaped undulating grounds. We went there and blew the afternoon with booze and food. Our nephew, Jimmy, also had his love child confirmed that day so it was a three-way blessing.

That was not the end of story though. David's brother Julius had prepared a grand dinner at a suburb club in Msasani called Anabella in honour of confirmation of his son, Obrey. The ceremony had taken place in the Azania Front Cathedral earlier during the day.

By the time I left at about midnight riding my bike, the action was just starting.

Power from Jet Engines?! I don't believe it.

I've been hearing so many stories about this to the point I'm starting to believe none is the truth. No one in their right mind could pull this stunt.

http://www.africa-interactive.net/index.php?PageID=2003

25 October 2006, by PowerNell. The East African comes with a critical analysis on the cabinet reshuffle of president Kikwete. In this article it is said, amongst others, that Richmond Development sold Tanesco "an unserviceable second-hand Boeing 707 engines purporting to be new power equipment" (The East African, 23 October, 2006). It gets crazier by the day.

Richmond linked to president?

Let me give you the full quote: "Richmond, it turned out, was after all briefcase outfit owned by Tanzanians who call the shots at State House. Initial investigations link Richmond Development (…) to an Arusha-based tycoon. He is said to have bankrolled Kikwete's presidential campaigns when his party appeared to be wavering. It also emerged the directors of the briefcase company had sold to the state-owned Tanzania Electric Supply Company's (Tanesco) an unserviceable second-hand Boeing 707 engines purporting to be new power equipment."

Richmond generators are arrived in the country

Other news is that the Richmond generators have arrived in the country. This raises many questions, and no one can formulate them better than Makwaia wa Kuhenga, a senior journalist of The Citizen. I quote: "Last weekend suddenly all the big television houses had deployed their cameramen to record the arrival of the long awaited generators from a seemingly non-existent US based company, Richmond Development Inc.
As I watched the event unfold on prime time news Saturday night over the weekend, I had mixed feelings of both disgust and contempt for my own profession. Contemptuous because I had the feel that someone somewhere was pulling a trick in news management; trying to cool down public tempers over the whole Richmond furore or perhaps to cool down public opinion that the company in question was around and very much in place and my collegues in the electronic media were consciously agreeing to be manipulated!
Disgusted because media people sometimes have no choice but to be there to record an event even though they may know that some powerful individuals are manipulating them. (…)This scenario made my mind even more curious: so the company exists after all? (…) How good are the machines anyway? Who has checked them and certified them as up to the required standard? Has the state made any upfront payment? How much?" (Source: The Citizen, 23 October, 2006).

See for the complete analysis: The East African, Ernest Mpinganjira, October 23, 2006: Kikwete Lives in Utopian World As Tanzanians Wallow in Problems

Accidental maturing of reproductive organs?

Sounds like a miracle that an eight-year-old conceived and actually gave birth to a healthy baby.

People have come up in arms that whatever man did this should be done this or that.

I tend to look at it differently though: There is that mammalian instinct in all humans, and there is something like female species of homo sapiens being on heat and seeking a male using whatever means. That's quite natural: we've all been seeing them on National Geographic movies, isn't it?

That could have been the case here, something went wrong with life clock and gave her a reproductive maturity early on--not much different from someone going grey in their early teens: life clock ran amok.

Congo Democratic Republic

Congo DR recently held a run-off elections for top office. Incumbent Kabila was being challenged by Bemba, who had been his Vice-President. The first round of elections had Bemba trailing Kabila at a distance, but constitution dictated that the winner must obtain 50 pc of the ballots cast. Therefore run-off.

While voting was done and Electral commission was working frantically to complete the counting job and announce the winner, Bemba had been interviewed by prominent media houses and said he would accept results, whichever outcome. This was maybe a slip of tongue. As results continued pouring in it was clear that Kabila was going to be the winner.

When at last the results were officially announced this week, who, but Bemba, held a press conference saying there was no way he was going to accept the results. I wasn't surprised, this is what I'd been expecting all along. Typical African elections. And in the land of the Ramble in the Jungle too! Someone will sing about it sometime, for the Congolese are so musical...

Fraud office is investigating £28m deal agreed by Blair

Revisited from way back in June 2003--BBC article at the bottom of this post. Since then several things have changed. Tanzania has a new president, and Blair has fallen from grace due to Baghdad hiccup...


The Times November 13, 2006

Fraud office is investigating £28m deal agreed by Blair
By Sam Coates
Members of the Cabinet were overruled by the Prime Minister when they queried a BAE Systems contract in Tanzania, writes our correspondent

Protesters dressed as Tony Blair and Sir Richard Evans suggest close
links between the two in 2004 (Nick Ray/The Times)

A CONTROVERSIAL deal personally approved by Tony Blair to send a
multimillion-pound air traffic control system to Africa is being
investigated for corruption, The Times can reveal.

The Serious Fraud Office and Ministry of Defence police are looking
into allegations that BAE Systems paid backhanders to the Tanzanian
Government for a £28 million military air traffic control system.

The Prime Minister overruled Gordon Brown and other Cabinet ministers
to approve the deal, despite warnings from the World Bank that it could
have bought a non-military system for a tenth of the price.

Investigators, who have been studying the deal for more than six
months, made a fact-finding visit to the House of Commons last
Wednesday. They were handed a dossier of evidence compiled by Norman
Lamb, the Liberal Democrat MP who has played a key role questioning the
deal.

The news that a Serious Fraud Office (SFO) investigation is under way
risks reopening one of the most divisive rows of the last Parliament,
which pitted the Chancellor and Clare Short, the former International
Development Secretary, against Jack Straw, Patricia Hewitt and Geoff
Hoon, who were in favour of the deal.


Friday, 14 June, 2002, 08:34 GMT 09:34 UK
Tanzania radar sale 'waste of cash'

A £28m military air traffic control system the UK Government wants to sell Tanzania is a complete waste of money, according to the World Bank. Sources have told the BBC the bank had branded the system old, inappropriate and unworkable in a United Nations' International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) report commissioned by the bank. Tanzania could buy a civilian system for an eighth of the cost, it said. And the British system would not even cover all of the east African country's civil aviation needs, according to the report. Tanzania's President Mkapa has held urgent talks with Tony Blair about the findings, according to press reports. BBC defence correspondent Andrew Gilligan said the report is highly critical and claims the technology is old and inappropriate. Liberal Democrat MP Norman Lamb told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "I think this brings into strong question the judgement of the prime minister and Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon. Norman Lamb: Report raises serious questions "International Development Secretary Clare Short made very clear in autumn last year that she was very unhappy with the deal. "And yet they pushed through this export licence in December last year, despite clear evidence the entire system was inappropriate." Manufacturers BAE Systems have accused the report of making false cost comparisons. But Liberal Democrat international development spokesman Norman Lamb has conducted his own investigation. Objections He told The Guardian newspaper: "A modern civilian air traffic control system can cost as little as £3.5m. "The Department of Trade and Industry, with the apparent support of the prime minister, has colluded with British Aerospace and Barclays Bank in foisting an expensive and unnecessary arms deal on the desperately poor people of Tanzania. "It is no surprise the Tanzanian Government have reacted with horror." Clare Short was concerned about the cost Barclays Bank said they do not comment on individual loans but any loan they do make has to conform with export licensing laws. Mr Blair over-ruled objections from Cabinet colleagues, including Chancellor Gordon Brown, to grant an export license for the product last December. Ms Short had argued that such an advanced system was unnecessary and the cash could be better spent. In March she ordered the delay of a £9.7m aid payment to Tanzania pending the results of the report.

Whew Ditto, Rummy make a commot

High-profile Tanzanian politician ended his career dramatically when he shot dead a bus driver who'd caused a dent on his car. Naturally he has tendered his resignation as Regional Commissioner for Tabora.

Unbelievable that such occurrence should take place in Dar-es-Salaam where a sound of gunshot is a rare thing to hear.

US Defence Secretary Rumsfield is a man the whole world knew in detail from media coverages and proceeded to dislike him with intensity. Yet he hung on until it was no longer possible; when Democrats took the House from Republicans (he must have contributed to this defeat) and knew the sack was coming. So he bowed out to go eat pancakes and coffee in his cozy home while young Americans are having rough times in Iraq unnecessarily.

Meanwhile GWB who has just undergone transformation from a man to a lame duck, he'll be forced to toe the logic line. It wasn't possible this time to pull a fast one on ballots.

Plain stupid: Malawian reaction from Madonna's adoption bid

I'm sure all of us must have heard the story by now.

Madonna, the American super-star, with what I see as wholly
well-meaning gesture, sought to adopt a year-old malawian boy, Banda.
The boy was in an ophanage. It's not as if Madonna is desperate for a
child--she and her husband have two kids already.

The reaction of human rights groups and press surprised everyone,
especially Madonna and her husband. I am not at all surprised. That is
typical African way of doing things. Grab any subject as long as you
can get some popularity, attract media attention, and have something
to report as one of your major annual activities.

The amount of money the human rights watchdogs are spending as legal
fees to fight the madonna case could have helped other kids still in
Malawian ophanages--Madonna had been right all along when she sang, "A man can tell a thousand lies", although I'd express it as, "A thousand men can tell a lie": that's what so called press and human rights critics are doing in exchange for cheap popularity.

Dear Madonna, have heart, thousands of us are rallying right behind you!

Lost and Found

My previous post was a lament of having been shut out of my loaded yahoo account. I'm glad that the rescue came in a way I couldn't believe.

I have had this hotmail account that I usually ceased to use for emails on account of 2 MB storage being too little. (They have improved the situation a bit now, they give 25 MB).

Recently I was introduced to a cool IM client called meebo.com, where one never needed to install any program for any of the popular IM such as yahoo, msn, aol and icq. I found this quite practical, therefore signed up, pulled my buddies from some IMs including msn. Out of curiosity I tried to sign into my hotmail account. It had been put in mothballs, therefore was re-activated.

Yesterday in desperation I looked into the newly-revived hotmail account, and, dang me if there wasn't a yahoo message sitting in the inbox, carrying a spare password! So that had been my alternate account.

Few lessons from this experience
ONE: don't dump an email address you've had for ages. It may save your noseskin sometime. It did mine.
TWO: registration time question should be answered truthfully, otherwise after year if the answer given was bogus, you ain't going to be resupplied a lost password.
THREE: If you own groups (yahoogroups, googlegroups etc) appoint one or more members to be moderators. It will not be doing justice to Internet communications if group cannot commence with activities just because only one person was holding the keys to run things
FOUR: Review your profiles every now and then: When it's February 29 (once every 4 years) or on your birthday, or, even better, during the long christmas public holidays (once per year). Some routine can also be built into yahoo calendar or google calendar to pop up reminder maybe after every six months.

If you find this post handy, publicise it. No rights reserved.

In a Yahoo! fix

I don't know how it happened, but I'm stuck. My yahoo mail login refuses to acknowledge my login password, claiming it's invalid. I've had the account for as long as 8 years, all without a hassle.

When I try to go for password recovery, the bot nicely leads me through stages: birth date, security word etc. Then there is a choice to make between two alternatives - EITHER receive a new temporary password in alternate email address OR to answer a question as once answered long ago during subscription.

Now here comes a problem: when I choose to receive a new temp password on alternate email I receive none in a number of email addresses that I'm keeping. In the course of 8 years I've also disposed (or lost) a number of email addresses, (lycos.com, hotpop.com, libero.it, hotmail.com, avu.org etc etc) it's likely the alternate email belong ot one of those.

When it comes to answer to simple question "what was your first school?" the true and only answer I give is not accepted. Reason is most likely that I didn't answer truth during subscription.

I'm still trying although I'll miss a wealth of information saved in that account if I never get to recover it. And, er, I have been using that as my yahoo id in all services including geocities, groups and IM. I am an owner/moderator in a number of y!groups. I guess I just have to get it back.

I've obtained another yahoo login from mothballs in a scenario thatI suspect has something to do with loss of my popular login. Years after attempting to create a simple makundi(at)yahoo.com account (unsuccessfully), I received email message from alternate email address requesting me to verify it. I did with several unsuccessful attempts of passwords, sending request for lost pwd recovery of makundi y! ID. This morning, pronto, my most obvious (call it obsolete) password sprung makundi ID without much ado.

Websurfers who crawl this blog, post ideas...

Tanzania Phase Four Government Ten Months on

Our rather new phase 4 Government is some 10 months old now. Since coming to power, there has been a major upheaval of institutions for security and internal affairs. Crime rate which shot staggeringly high at the entry of the phase 4 was dealt with and one could say it's been put under control.

However, the country has experienced one of the worst electrical power crises with outages for hours everyday.

On Sunday 15 oct 06, there was a first major cabinet reshuffle (but without any new appointment), whereby 10 ministers and 8 deputy ministers were moved to different ministries. Methinks this is warning flare to the old guys: deliver or vacate. The ministers who had to be moved around include that of Industries, Trade and Markets (and his Deputy), Minister for Energy and Minerals, Minister for Water, Minister for Natural resources, to name a few.

I'm keen to see what comes out of this move for our country which is still one of the poorest in the world.
--
Q. What's this phase four thing?
A. First- president Julius Nyerere 1964-1990, Second- President Ali Hassan Mwinyi, 1985-1995; Third- President Benjamin Mkapa, 1995-2005; Fourth, President Jakaya Kiwete, 2005-now.

Squatter businesses

During new year day this year, I'd taken some photos at the popular Dar shopping complex referred to as "international" due to proximity of the International School of Tanganyika Upper School. I posted some on this blog (see archive).

The place was intact, business brisk, until 30 September 2006. That was the lapse of 6-month grace period given by Prime Minister for squatter traders to pull down their shacks and relocate in designated alternative trading places.

Now, these "Internatioal" businesses were not mere shacks. They included hardware shops, beauty saloons, green grocers and, especially, bars. Ruffly 500 persons were employed by these businesses, and about that number were "parasites" such as cabbies, shoeshine johnnies, fishmongers and the whole lot of man and women who trekked with various mechandise from ripe fruits to cellphone charger to imitation jewelry to Makonde artcraft.

No-one expected such a thing would ever come to be carried out. Nevertheless when the day came there was nothing like running battles on the streets, instead individuals were busy removing and relocating their valuables and taking apart the buildings.

In the space of 48 hours, about 50 different businesses ceased to exist. Engaging average of 3 persons, that was flushing some 150 breadearners to the street: that is without counting the parasites whose businesses went down under as well.

It was also, needless to say very much to the inconvenience of thousands who live and work in the Msasani Peninsula area. I felt sooo sad about the episode, I was sure there could have been an amicable arrangement--indeed such a proposal was contained in my paper presented in the National Science and Technology Conference held in Dar es Salaam just months before (I'll make links to my papers available here sometime soon). The inspiration for me to write on such a subject was my experience in China whereby in the busy shopping districts there were smallholder providers of services such as catering, but support systems for maintained sanitation and cleanliness such as drain and potable water supply had been installed in those places by the city (it was in Beijing in December 2004).

I am still optimistic something ought to be done. Anyone visiting this place who has some ideas, please punch your comments in...

Dori and Zach Wedding - some photos

http://doriandzach.weddings.com 

Some photos of the event of Sept 22 have been placed on the photo albums link of the wedding website. Here are some of them.

Mtanzania Amkumbuka Nyerere Kwa Hisia Nzito

osted: Thu Sep 28, 2006 10:42 am Post subject: Barua kwa Mwalimu-By Nthelezi Nesaa
POSTED on KUMEKUCHA.COM forum Mpendwa Mwalimu Nyerere, Mbuya ori tata? Katika kuadhimisha miaka saba tangu Marehemu Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere ututoke, nimeamua kufanya hivyo kabla ya tarehe yenyewe kufika ili lau nikupe nafasi ya kutafakari nitakayoyasema. Kwanza Mwalimu watanzania wako bado wanakukukumbuka sana hasa wanapopambana na matatizo ambayo wakati wa uhai wako uliyatatua au kuyashiriki sawa na wao.Wanaikumbuka falsafa yako ya usawa wa binadamu. Kwa sasa kuna binadamu zaidi ya binadamu kutegemea una nini na nafasi gani. Tangu utuondoke Mwalimu watu wameanza kuona jinsi ulivyokuwa na mapenzi ya dhati na ya aina yake kwa nchi na watanzania. Kwani kama tulivyoambiwa kuwa wakati ukikata roho ulikuwa unasema kuwa unawaacha pabaya watanzania wako. Badala ya kumtaja mkeo mpendwa Mama Maria na watoto wako, ulikuwa unawalilia watanzania wako. Hayo ni mapenzi yaliyotukuka kiasi cha kuwafanya baadhi ya matapeli wa kidini kutaka sifa kwa kukutumia eti wakutangaze mtakatifu. Wale uliowaacha laiti kama wangefikia hatua ya kukata roho, wangesema "maskini wawekezaji wetu tunawaacha pa baya" Kitu kingine kinachofanya watanzania wakukumbuke ni utabiri wako kutimia wakati ukikata roho kule Guy and St. Thomas London tarehe ambayo haijulikani vizuri mwezi wa kumi 1999. Kama wahenga walivyowahi kusema kuwa si ajabu panya wakala viatu hata ngao ya shujaa maarufu kwa uuaji wa simba. Kwani tangu uondoke, wale ulioamini kuwa uliwafundisha wakakuelewa kumbe siyo, waliigeuza nchi chaka la wezi. Nguchiro, vinyamkera, vicheche na vinyama vyote vya usiku vilivamia nchi iliyokuwa ya watu na kuigeuza nchi ya wanyama. Yale maonyo yako kuwa Ikulu ni sehemu takatifu yalionekana upuuzi kwao. Kwanza tangu uondoke shilingi Bilioni tatu zilishatumika kuitia mkorogo Ikulu ukiachia mbali ulaji na matumizi mengine mabaya juu ya ununuzi eti wa mashine za kuditekti moto! Mwalimu sijui katika kuzinunua walitumia kiasi gani lakini najua kuwa Mungu aliwaumbua baada ya kutenda dhambi ile. Maana chumba cha Rais kiliungua wakati yeye na mkewe wakiwa nje wakitanua. Hatujui kama hata kwenye hekelu lao la kule Lushoto nako wameweka manjonjo haya. Pia tangu uondoke matumizi mabaya yamekuwa ndiyo mtindo wa maisha. Kwani kuna mdege mkubwa ya kisasa amenunuliwa Rais baada ya wananchi kupinga kuwa ni aghali sana. Unaitwa Gulf stream na hauwezi kutua kwenye viwanja visivyo vya kisasa kama wenyewe. Ili ujue hali ilikuwaje, Mwalimu bado nadhani unakumbuka kuwa kipindi fulani washamba wetu walikuwa wanashindana kununua mipete ya dhahabu na mikufu utadhani ni akina Defao. Kwa ushamba wao hawakujua kuwa mikufu ya Tanzanite na almas wanavyochezewa ndivyo mali kama wakiamua kuwa malimbukeni. Mwalimu wahenga waliwahi kusema kuwa simba aweza kuzaa mbwa. Haya ni kweli tangu uondoke. Kwani wale tuliowaamini kutokana na wewe kutuambia kuwa ni wasafi, walikuangusha vibaya wakageuka vibaka na manyang'au walioshirikiana na watu wanaoitwa wagenishaji na wawekezaji kuiibia nchi yetu. Wakati wakiingia tuliwajua kama mabwana na mabibi wasafi lakini wakati wa kutoka wameondoka wakiwa mabingwa wa uchafu tena waliondoka kimya kimya hata bila kuaga! Wangemuaga nani iwapo hata inzi walikuwa wakiwazomea? Kwa mfano, wao na mashemeji wao waliiweka rehani TANESCO. Ilipoingia serikali mpya ambayo samahani kuwa nilikuwa sijakuelezea kuwa kuna Rais wa nne, nayo serikali mpya inataka kuleta Makampuni wake wa Kigeni. Hii haikuingia na uwazi na ukweli bali kasi mpya nguvu mpya na ari mpya lakini kwa bahati mbaya wasaidizi wa jenerali wa batiani hii ni re-cycled sometimes or completely re-cycled. Hao waliokuwa wamekopa TANESCO kujua hivyo waliamua kufungulia maji yote kwenye mabwawa kiasi cha kusababisha ukame wakati wa masika. Hivyo Mwalimu kama ulivyotabiri, watanzania wanaishi kama nungunungu au popo kwenye kiza takriban kwa mwaka huu wote. Majenereta yanafuka moshi na kupiga mikelele utadhani Baghdad. Wahenga mwalimu walisema kuwa kutu hutafuna chuma. Najua kuwa uliacha marehemu NBC, DAHACO hata baadhi ya migodi vikiwa vimeishapigwa mnada. Nakumbuka ulivyokinusuru kiwanda cha nguo cha URAFIKI kisinyakuliwe na manyang'au na wakora. Sasa Mwalimu huwezi kuamini kinachoendelea kwani hata pale Musoma watu wameishapigwa risasi na kufa! Ya Bulyankhulu uliayaacha. Kisa eti wanakatiza au kujitafutia riziki kwenye sehemu zinazomilikiwa na wawekezaji. Mwalimu, huwezi kuamini kuwa hata wale uliowabwatukia kuwa wamejilimbikizia mali za wizi ambazo hawawezi kuzitolea maelezo sasa ndiyo viranja na manabii wa kuwahubiria watanzania wako injii ya watawavusha na kuwafikisha Kanani! Wenye akili wameishaanza kuonya kuwa huu ni mvinyo ule ule bwate lile lile au kanzu mpya lakini shehe yule yule. Kwa sasa viranja ambao wengi wao uliwasomesha kwa pesa ya mlipa kodi kutokana na wazazi wao kuwa makapuku, ni mabilionea wenye harufu ya utajiri na ukwasi utokanao na ujambazi na umalaya wa kiuchumi. Kitu kingine Mwalimu ni kwamba zile nyumba ulizowanyang' anya majambazi wa kiuchumi pale mwaka 1967 zimeishatokomea. Kwani wale manyang'au si walizigawana na kuanzisha upuuzi mwingine eti kujenga nyumba za watumishi wa serikali. Mwalimu namshukuru Mungu kwani alikupenda mno na kukulindia heshima kwa kukuchukua mapema ili usishuhudie makufuru yaliyofanywa na wale uliodhani kuwa ni watu kumbe ni aina ya wanyama waitwao masupials. Wao na wake zao ni watu wa kutanua kwani ni matajiri kwa kutupwa. Watoto wao wanatanua ughaibuni, wakiugua mafua wao hata hawara zao hupelekwa majuu kupima hata mafua na uchovu wa kawaida. Kama kuna sehemu Mwalimu walikudhalilisha si kwingine bali kwenye msiba wako. Maana walitumia jina lako na kulinajisi. Eti walitwambia kuwa walitumia shilingi Bilioni moja na ushee kwa ajili ya mazishi yako utadhani ulikuwa Bilionea au mfalme. Walikutumia kutuibia pesa maana tunakujua ulivyochukia makuu ungekuwa hai usingekubali isirafu hii hata huu utakatifu wa kuchongwa unaotaka kupewa. Kabla sijasahau Mwalimu, kumbe ni kweli kuwa paka akiondoka mipanya hujitawala. Kwani baada ya kuondoka, ule mpapure uliotuachia uliota mabawa baada ya kunywa kwenye kombe la madaraka. Najua Mwalimu ulipenda kuchanganya na umombo kwenye hotuba zako. "Do you know what? The dugong-like thing played God and holier than thou to commit all buffoonery" The guy brought his gang of goons and kit of caboodle of devils in the sacred place. The holy of the holy was defamed God knows Mwalimu. Wapo vijana waliojaribu kuhoji hii Infallibility and corruption, unajua waliambiwaje? "Nyinyi ni wavivu wa kufikiri. Kwanza mna wivu wa kike. Basi kama hamnisifii wafadhili watanisifia" Huwezi kuamini Mwalimu kuwa utumbo huu ulisemwa na mtu aliyewahi kuingia kwenye darasa lako! Lakini ilitokea huu ndiyo ukweli. Kuwa kumbe ulikuwa unaishi na kulea michui iliyokuwa imevaa ngozi ya fisi. Enhee! Mwalimu ule Muungano uliouasisi mwaka 1964 kwa sasa umebaki kama kichekesho. Kwani serikali ya mapinduzi ya jimbo la Zanzibar hivi karibuni ilitoa amri ya kuwataka wabara kuwa na vibali kuingia huko. Huwezi kuamini kuwa hata kwenye uchaguzi wa 2005, wakati mtoto wa Rafiki yako aking'ang'ania kuendelea kukalia ulaji, wanajeshi na polisi waliwapiga watanzania wako kile kipigo cha mbwa mwizi. Najua wewe hukupenda cheo ambacho ni dhamana kurithiwa na mtu ndiyo maana hakuna mwanao uliyemuandaa kuwa mwanasiasa. Usishangae siku moja nikakuletea salamu toka nchi ya Tanganyika, Pemba na Zanzibar. Wala Mwalimu usishangae ukisikia msamiati wa Wazanzipemba, Wazanziafrika na wazanziarabu. Pia Mwalimu katika uchaguzi huo chama chako cha Mapinduzi kulipewa sifa na majina lukuki. Kwani kiliitwa chama cha Matajiri, Majambazi hata magabacholi maana pesa zilimwagwa kama njugu. Kumbe ule utabiri wako kuwa kuna kipindi Rais wa nchi ataamuliwa na mfuko wake. Hatusemi kuwa ilikuwa hivyo japo ndo hiyvo hivyo, ni kwamba uchanguzi huu ulikuwa ni matanuzi si kawaida. Hatujui hadi leo nani alimnunua nani kati ya watawala wetu na washitiri wao na wapiga kura wetu! Mwalimu si uliacha migodi ishapigwa mnada tena kwa bei ya "Tajiri leo kapata kichaa anagawa bure".Kwa taarifa zilizopo ni kwamba hata mbuga za wanyama na misitu na mapori hata vichochoro vya Msasai kama wawekezaji watavitaka vitauzwa kama utawala uliopo nao utaendekeza ulevi wa madaraka. Sisi tunasema watauza hadi kaburi lako Mwalimu kama hawatajitofautisha na wale waliofanya makufuru yote tuliyokusimulia. Enhee Mwalimu, pia tukukumbushe kitu kingine muhimu. Wewe ulishutumiwa kuwa ulibana uhuru wa vyombo vya habari. Afadhali yako maana kwa sasa huwezi ukajua vyombo vya habari viko wapi. Waandishi siku hizi wanaukwaa ukuu wa mkoa hata wilaya. Hii ni baada ya kutembeza kampeni hadi mtu wao kupita. Maadili ya vyombo vya habari hakuna. Kwani kama waandishi wapewavyo mishiko midogo ya elfu tano, waandamizi wanapewa maulaji ya vyeo. Hayo tuyaache. Ili tusikuchoshe sana, ndiyo maana tumekukumbuka mwezi mmoja kabla ya siku yenyewe ili uwe unajisomea taratibu. Pia nisisahau miaka kama miwili iliyopita, ilifikia mahali hotuba zako marehemu zikawa na mantiki na akili kuliko viumbe waliokuwa hai wakitangaza injili ya ubinafsishaji, ujambasishaji, ugenishaji, ushemesishaji. Kwanza walijifanya mabingwa wakawa wanaandika mihotuba mirefu, kavu na yenye ukali utadhani walikuwa wakihutubia wafungwa. Mwisho, ukimwi bado unaua. Ila ajabu Mwalimu si unajua wale TACAIDS. Basi Mwalimu wao wanachofanya ni kununua mishangingi ya bei mbaya, kuandaa masemina kwenye mahoteli ya kifahari na kupiga picha za Makete na kusambaza na kupata mshiko huku watu wanateketea. Mwalimu ile ajali ya kisiasa uliyokuwa ukitufundisha pale Pugu kumbe ilikuja kutokea ambapo wananchi walijuta na kusaga meno. Maana ilitokea hata watu wakaanza kuamini kuwa kumbe mtaua aweza kuzaa jambazi na bikira kuzaa kahaba! Kwa vile ulikuwa mtu wa kimataifa, hatuwezi kumaliza barua yetu bila kukupa lau salamu kidogo. Mzee Mandela na Rafiki yako Kenneth ni wazima. Yule rafiki yako wa zamani Obote na hasimu wako Amin waliishakufa. Pia kule Malawi yule Rais mfanyabiashara Bakili aling'olewa kwa aibu kama Chiluba walipong'ang' ania kunya sorry kuchafua katiba. Charles Taylor, yule jambazi wa kimarekani si unamkumbuka? Yuko ananonihino kwenye debe. Walimwengu wanawangojea majambazi wengine kama Meles Zenawi, Yoel Museveni, Paulo Kagame, Theodore Obiang Ngwema, Dennis Sassou Ngweso, Omar Bashir na Yahaya Jammeh. Kule Rwanda yule Rais Kibaraka aitwaye Pasteur Bizimungu aliishapinduliwa na mfalme Paul Kagame wa ukoo wa kifalme wa MUSEVENI ndiye anatawala akitumia vitisho na kutunza mafuvu ili dunia imuonee huruma na kumchukulia kama mtu aliyeituliza ile nchi ilhali ndiye alifanya mauaji ya marais watatu. Pia Marekani ilizivamia Afghanistan na Irak ikazipindua na inaendelea kuzikalia. Ila nayo sasa inajuta maana inapokea kipigo cha mbwa sawa na watanzania wako kule Zanzibar. Mama Maria ni mzima hata vijana wako nao pia. Watanzania hao maskini hawana uzima wowote zaidi ya kuishi kwa matumaini tu. Mzee Mwinyi naye ni mzima ila mvi zinamsumbua sana. Rashid hajambo jambo japo haishi kulazwa. Kingunge bado anaendelea kuwa kijana maana ni waziri! Hata John yupo na siku hizi amepoa si haba ila Ben amejificha sana maana alichowafanyia watu wako sijui! Mwlimu naona kwa taadhima na unyenyekevu nikuage nikikutakia mapumziko mema. Wasalimie Kwame Nkruma, Patrick Lumumba,Modibo Keita, Obafemi Owolowo, Nnandi Azikiwe,Ken Saro Wiwa, Gamal Nasser, Oliver Thambo, Walter Sisulu, Govan Mbeki, Steve Biko, Seletse Khama,Augustino Netto, John Garang de Mabior na mashujaa wengine uwajuao. Hizo ndizo habari za huku Mwalimu. Ni Binti yako akupendaye daima na watanzania wako Nthelezi Nesaa

Healthy networking: Alumni online networks could be it!

Perhaps the most welcome meeting is that of coming across someone you schooled with sometime back. The further back the more exciting.

There has been efforts to form alumni associations here and there, but few really make anything out of it bcoz of diversity in several variables for would-be members.

It was therefore a good thing I stumbled across two websites that are dedicated to bringing people together, namely alumni.net and graduate.com . I promptly entered my profile and felt happy doing so because with increase in net use, someone who knows me is bound to stumble upon it--likely from search engine results.

Besides, I registered into relevant groups
- graduates of '74 komakundi primary school
- graduates of '78 mawenzi secondary school
- graduates of '81 kibaha high school
- graduates of '90 ahmadu bello university
Motto behind such posts: if you have it, flaunt it.

Forming opinion

In the course of day-to-day life, one comes across many types of individuals.

Different kinds of interaction do occur, from simple ("Xcuse me U got a lighter?") to a more extensive one ("This is Mr John Doe, your new CEO.")

In some cases someone would be uttering a monologue on a podium or pulpit, while in others it will be a passenger on adjacent seat in a 10-hour flight from Amsterdam to Beijing.

Musician may sing with a gravelly voice, such as those of Phil Driscol and Joe Cocker while others would croon with smooth sopranos such as Billie Holiday and Sandra.

You come across a man with stomach spilling over the waistline, or other with a weasel-like nose.

A normal person quickly forms opinion about any such interaction/encounter. Indeed it is a healthy thing--makes one feel real good thinking, "Gee, if that girl knew what I think of the dress she's wearing, she'd run home like a shot to hide or at least change into something else.."
That is, AS LONG AS YOU KEEP THAT OPINION TO YOURSELF. Keep your opinion to yourself.

A few humans are blessed with a sixth sense that's like being able to read minds. This kind of individuals instinctively note the value entered into your head's registry about them (your opinion about them) and react in different ways. from scowling to smiling to offering a handshake. Nevertheless even with these weirdos, as long as you don't voice (or write or key) your opinion and keep it to yourself, no problem. If (s)he comes forth and asks, "So you are of the opinion that my ears look like rabbit's?", you face them, turn on the most clear-eyed, innocent look and gasp, "OGodNooo! Whatever made you think so??", and when they are out of earshot, chuckle with glee and go about your business.

© D. Makundi, 2006.

Emotional story of Matilde

Radio One Stereo, Dar-es-Salaam has a Monday feature program on children exposed to hard times for one reason or other. The program has a large following, judging by a number of people who dial in to contribute.

This morning (4 September 2006) the host Janet Mwenda-Talawa was interviewing a young girl whose only name I managed to catch was Matilde. I feel it my duty to list her story in summary on this blog: It may serve as a good snapshot to how things could easily go wrong where a guardian angel doesn't materialise on time.

The girl was born and grew up in Bukoba, an upcountry northern Tanzania region. She schooled there up to class 5 whereupon one of her parents' relatives visited and offered to take her along to Dar-es-Salaam where she would receive a better quality education compared to the rural setting that she was in at that time.

In Dar-es-Salaam the expectations were dashed. The person who'd made the promise used it as an excuse to get her to travel, then set upon giving her household chores. When she would enquire about her situation with respect to resuming school, she was told that it was unnecessary for her.

For three long years she stayed in this pattern. She would look so longingly when she passed schoolchildren, wearing uniforms, carrying schoolbags.

One day her godsend chance came forward--she got to meet a person named Evans who, after learning of her ordeal, told her about an institution called Friends of Don Bosco in Dar-es-Salaam, that was offering support for cases like hers. As she had no chance of being released from her apparent slavery, she opted for the only option available for her: receive tuition classes from Evans.

When asked what she was being taught, having cut her classes at the age of 15 three years back, she said it was actually her tutor testing her knowledge and capability so as to know the direction to take. How did she manage to sneak to these classes then? After the grown-ups had left the house for work every day, she would take kids to school, and then in two hours time fetch them back home. That two-hour window was the only time she dedicated to her training.

The tutor was far from unhappy with her progress. In one year time he told her she would attempt the Class Seven examination. So far everything had been hush-hush, not even neighbours knew what was taking place. It just came to light when she revealed that she was going to sit for Primary Education Examination. Her guardians thought of it as some kind of silly joke. My God, how blind these snobs are! I guess, alone, they must have rubbed their palms and laughed with mirth. But there she went and did the exam. She had gained a great deal in English Language, Math and General Studies, the three subjects that were determinant in passing.

The exam came to pass and she got selected to pursue secondary education. Her keepers were incredulous. They were sure she would be turned back home in one month or so: how would she cope? They therefore allowed her to attend a day secondary school so as to continue with house chores after classes.

For Matilde, days were short--what with putting up with school as well as housework. In no time at all the four years had raced by. The Form Four Examinations were here. She had reached here enjoying every moment of it, for, such was her thirst for education. It seems during the three-year limbo she was always dreaming of blackboard and oblong classrooms. She got whatever support from the Friends of Don Bosco, it is implied.

She smashed through the exams with gusto and landed unscathed with a 12-point Division One certificate. This time around heads lifted in wonder--are you sure that's her name up there, really? How could she? At this point, Matilde says, the indifference her guardians had been practicing towards her turned magically into affection. Smiles. Praises. (no apologies, though). "That's great, our child", and such stuff.

The rest is easy to figure. She got selected to join high school--this time Msalato, an upcountry boarding school, no less. The two years raced by and she came up with 8-point Division one. That was last year.

Epilogue
At the beginning of this month She has enrolled for Laws (LLB) degree programme at the University of Dar-es-Salaam.

An eventful weekend

On Saturday 26 Aug nephew got married. Folks from all over Tz came to Dar to witness the occassion. My place was a-brimming with guests. On Sunday 27th, the normal stuff, faraway guests visiting relatives around Dar. In one such visit the car carrying my 2 sisters crashed into a railroad flyover and were both slightly injured. Those who were at the accident scene said that they were lucky to get out alive, as that very joint was notorious for similar accidents.