Overseas accounts:Confusion cleared
By Express Team

Tanzanian individuals or companies registered in the country may open overseas accounts, subject to approval from Central Bank that would establish the merit of having such accounts.
Before the repeal of the Exchange Control Ordinance in 1992 by Foreign Exchange Act and introduction of Foreign Exchange Regulation of 1998, it was strictly illegal for citizens of Tanzania or registered companies, whether local or international, in Tanzania to have overseas account or an account in foreign currency.
According to the Bank of Tanzania (BoT), the operation of accounts in foreign country by Tanzanian individuals and companies is a “restricted transaction under prevailing foreign exchange law.”
“Paragraph 3.3 of foreign Exchange Circular No. 00/DEM/EX.REG/58 “does not allow residents of Tanzania to operate off-shore foreign currency accounts without the permission of the Governor,” BoT says.
BoT was responding to queries raised by The Express seeking to know if companies and individuals are allowed to have offshore accounts following trade liberalisation and globalisation.
The queries answered by B.N. Kimela and S.J. Lalika of BoT’s Legal Services Department said, basically Tanzanians and companies incorporated in the country are allowed to open overseas accounts so long as they obtain the Governor’s permission.
BoT’s legal experts say the criteria used for the approval of one overseas account differs much with another as each account has its own merit and objective.
“There is neither general rule nor general criteria for such purpose,” one legal secretary told The Express this Monday.
However, even after permission is granted BoT says: “ one is required to produce their statements of accounts on a quarterly or yearly basis, so that the Bank (BoT) can monitor the cash flow in those accounts.”
According to Foreign Exchange Act of 1992, any person who makes a false declaration in respect of any transaction provided for under this Act or regulation made with a view to evading the disclosure of the actual specified foreign currency earned; or delaying the remittance of the specified foreign curecy earn; or retaining any potion of the specified foreign currency payable outside the country, shall be guilty of offence.
The Act says: “Upon conviction, the guilty will be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years or to a fine equivalent to a sum not exceeding three times the monetary value of the amount disclosed as due or owing to the person or both — imprisonment and fine.”
However, the Central Bank could not give the number of the accounts approved since 1992.
It said most are companies and not individuals as the former due to the nature of their business need to have offshore accounts. Most of these companies are mining firms, traditional crops marketing boards, and other which are were allowed to export directly.
Normally, BoT issues guidelines to banks, financial institutions and bureaux on such matters from time to time. The bank also provides relevant information on a personal inquiry.
But despite this strict regulation, according to Barclays Bank (T) Ltd., individuals banking with other local banks can have overseas bank account provided they submit a bank statement from their local banks.
One Barclays official, explained that no official approval from the Bank of Tanzania is needed.
While Standard Chartered Bank (T) Ltd. said a Tanzanian resident or company registered in Tanzania cannot have overseas bank account according to BoT regulations. “It is not allowed by BoT and we abide by the BoT regulations,” they said.
Federal Bank of Middle East claimed that for an individual to open an account in Cyprus is very easy, “you just open an account with us and you will be our customer, then we can have an account opened for you in Cyprus and you can deposit either in Cyprus or here - it’s your choice.” Further explaining, the Bank said it is very safe and no legal documents are needed from the Governor of Bank of Tanzania as an approval.
Nevertheless, the BoT could not say what stern action can be taken should they find out that companies or individuals possess an overseas account without approval.
However, students who study overseas are free to open accounts there, as they have a status of residents in those countries.
“Those accounts facilitate their transactions while abroad,” BoT says, admitting “(we) do not have control on such accounts. Even after these students return to Tanzania, the bank does not have mechanism to monitor such accounts, the reason being that they were not authorised by the bank.”
Furthermore, the act of overseas bank representatives scouting for high network individuals in Tanzania to bank with them is not illegal from a foreign exchange legislative framework.
But the Central Bank warned “Tanzanians living in Tanzania irrespective of the amount, must obtain the Governor’s permission to open and operate overseas accounts”.

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Mkapa launches book
By Kizito Makoye

President Benjamin Mkapa yesterday launched a book titled ‘Indigenous Knowledge: Local Pathways to Global Development’, published by the World Bank at a ceremony at the Global Learning Centre at the Institute of Finance Management in Dar es Salaam.
Speaking before the official launch, the President said that indigenous knowledge has continued to be the primary factor in the survival and welfare of the majority of Africans.
“I lived long enough to get good education and eventually become the President, because of the indigenous knowledge of my community in Masasi in southern Tanzania,” the President said.
“People cannot be ‘developed’ by an external force; they can only develop themselves, they need above all not dictates, but empowerment and facilitation,” he emphasised.
The publication marks five years of the World Bank indigenous knowledge for development programmes. The book will be available in three languages: English, French and Kiswahili.
The book will be distributed for free and will subsequently be available on-line so that most people can have access to it.
Earlier the Minister for Science Technology and Higher Education Dr. Pius Ng’wandu said most Tanzanians believe that indigenous knowledge is the key element for the social capital of the poor and it constitutes their main asset in their efforts to gain control of their own lives.
The Minister added that Tanzania is willing to collaborate with the World Bank and other development partners in their collective endeavours to build capacity and support for cooperation between holders of indigenous knowledge and those of scientific knowledge.
The launching ceremony could also be witnessed by the audiences in Uganda, Burkina Faso and Ghana though video conferencing facilities.
In the introductory chapter which was written by the President himself, he insists that indigenous knowledge is a necessary resource to avert social problems such as access to food, maintain healthy lives, conflict prevention, manage local affairs and eventually contribute global solutions.
“As scientists struggle to respond to global challenges, they have increasingly distanced themselves from local ways of solving problems,” he said.
The specific chapter of the book focusing on Tanzania deals with the role of traditional healers in combating AIDS.
Tanga has a total of 670 traditional healers who have been practicing for an average of 19 years. There is on average one healer for every 343 urban residents whereas 146 rural residents have access to at least one healer.
According to the book traditional healers, modern physicians and health workers have combined their efforts in exciting programmes implemented by Tanga AIDS working Group (TAWG), a group dedicated to care and treating people with HIV AIDS.

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College Fair at the US Embassy
By Express Reporter

The Public Affairs Office at the American Embassy will sponsor a college fair on Thursday, November 11, 2004.
According to information given to The Express yesterday, American and Tanzanian students will be invited in order to learn about colleges and universities in the United States.
There will be special presentations from college recruiters from the Council for International Schools (CIS). Topics will include characteristics of US higher education, choosing the right college, how students are selected, and scholarships and financial aid.
The fair aims to give participants a chance to find out what US college and university life is like, from staff as well as alumni of the institutions themselves.
The colleges and universities will be represented by their Alumni and recruitment officers from ten US universities, including one from Canada.
Among the colleges that will be present are University of Pennsylvania and Princeton University.
There is a rapid increase in the number of Tanzanian students studying in the U.S. According to the Institute for International Education’s annual Open Doors report for 2003, Tanzania ranks number six in Africa in the number of students in the US.

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TBS to tackle environment issues
By Kizito Makoye

The Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS) in collaboration with the International Organisation for Standardization (ISO) has prepared seminars on the implementation of Environmental Management Systems (EMS) to take place in Dar es Salaam and Arusha respectively.
According to TBS Irene Mwakatundu, the seminars will be partially sponsored by the Swiss government, adding that TBS deals with standards and implementation of standards that is why it has opted to conduct seminars on environmental management.
The training aim to promote the implementation of EMS in any type of organisation with the view of preserving the environment and achieving sustainable development though the application of international standards of environmental management.
According to TBS officials the target groups include industrialists, academicians, regulators and environmentalists.
The seminars will be jointly conducted by an ISO expert, Yasser El Khalout, a Lecturer on Total Quality Management and Michael Mooser who is a graduate in Environmental Engineering and Management.

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WFP assist 600,000 Tanzanians
By Angela Mazula

About 600,000 Tanzanians have benefited from the World Food Programme (WFP) in different ways, the Executive Director James Marries of WFP has observed.
Speaking to The Express after celebrating the WFP Day last week, James Marries said that the WFP has particularly provided food to those affected by the 2003/2004 drought.
He added that many pockets of food insecurity remain in the country despite the fact that the situation is monitored by the Prime Minister’s Office and other partners in the food security information team.
He said the WFP aim to contribute to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) as regards agriculture, self-reliance and sustainable food security in the country; but added that it needs the investment by the government in agriculture, health and education sectors.
He said that despite the MDG being adopted by the UN General Assembly, in some parts of the world the number of people not receiving enough food had gone up.
Morris said “We can break this spiral … there is already enough food in the world for everyone but it is a question of will and determination not just on World Food Day but tomorrow, the next day and over the year to come.”
The WFP focuses on “routine hungry” i.e. people left without enough food not because of natural disasters but simply because they are too poor to provide food for themselves and their families.
According to Morris the people affected by routine hunger make up more than 90 per cent of the world’s hungry. However, when high profile emergencies erupt most of the donor aid budgets goes to those immediately affected by hunger, which hits hard on those who are faced with hunger in a daily basis.

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NSSF meet Kenyan counterparts
By Kizito Makoye

A nine people delegation from Kenya National Social Security Fund (NSSF) on Monday paid a visit to Tanzania for a three day conversion programme to exchange experiences with their counterparts in Tanzania.
Tanzania NSSF’s Chief of Public Relations and Customer Services Crescontius Magori told reporters on Tuesday that the delegation is led by the Kenyan Minister for Labour and Human Resources Development, Dr. Newton Kulundu.
Other entourages are the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Nancy Kirui, Hon Patrick Muiruri (MP), Hon Samson Okioma (MP), Jane Mwangi Trustee - NSSF and others.
The delegation got the opportunity to visit various NSSF investments including the Ubungo Plaza, the Mabibo Hostel which accommodates 4,000 Dar es Salaam University students, the Cheap Houses Project at Kinyerezi in the City and the Zanzibar National Social Security Fund.
Magori added that a total of 104 cheap houses costing between Tsh. nine and 14 million have been built at Kinyerezi, particularly for NSSF members who are optioned to take loans and pay in instalments. He added that another 94 houses will be built to serve other customers.
He hinted that the Mafuta House which its construction has been stalled for years will now be ready by October next year.
NSSF Tanzania and NSSF Kenya started conversion programmes from a Provident Fund system in the 1990s.

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COSOTA faces hardship after contract ends
By Kizitto Joseph

The contract between the Copyright Society of Tanzania (COSOTA) and the government will end in June next year, putting the Society in a difficult financial position.
The Secretary General for COSOTA, Steven Mtetewaunga said in his statement that since its formation October 24, 2001, the Society has been sponsored by the Tanzania Culture Trust Fund.
The government has been providing the Society with Tsh. 65 million each financial year to support its day to day activities, he said.
“The society was formed on the basis of government sponsorship and assistance up to June next year, from then it will have to be independent,” said Mtetewaunga.
He said the end of the contract will shake the Society as it will face an acute shortage of funds to run its activities given that it has not been able to acquire enough members to support it.

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Bursting river causes havoc
By Kizito Makoye

The Msimbazi river valley is on the verge of creating a humanitarian disaster if the City Municipal Authorities are not taking adequate efforts to remove the garbage that are piling up in the river making it narrow and overflowing during rainfalls.
The heavy downpour over the weekend made life miserable for the residents living close to the river.
Some of the river’s distributaries are also blocked with trash and seemingly no efforts by the authorities are forthcoming. Consequently, the Tandale and Mwananyamala areas where the river passes through are often subjected to floods.
The bridge which links the two areas was swept away over the weekend as a result of the heavy rains, which according to the Tanzania Meteorological Agency, will continue for some time.
The torrential rains also caused havoc to residents of Kinondoni Mkwajuni and Mwananyamala Mbuyuni whose houses were engulfed with water despite being situated in more secured areas.
“We are very unhappy about the situation, our houses as you can see are not in the prone areas but we have been victimised by the heavy rainfall. In my opinion this is because of poor drainage system,” said a woman who asked not to be identified.
Makumbusho Ward Leader, Anzuruni Munguna expressed concern over the distressful situation. He said he has been trying to liaise with Dar es Salaam City Council Authorities in a bid to secure a bulldozer that could widen blocked areas of the river.

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Disabled unable to register
By Emmanuel Lazaro, Mwanza

The government has been advised to appoint interpreters at voter registration centres to give an opportunity for the deaf to get registered in the Voters’ Permanent Registers.
The call was made by the Chairman of Mwanza Region Disabled Association of Tanzania (CHAWATA), Ludonya when he spoke on preparations being made for registering voters in the Voters’ Permanent Registers’.
Ludonya said the preparations indicate clearly that disabled are discriminated as the government hasn’t informed how the disabled will get registered.
He said CHAWATA fears that if interpreters will not be appointed at the registration stations; definitely, many disabled will fail to register, thus being denied their right to vote.
Besides interpreters, Ludonya advised the government to deploy special people to go around registering disabled who are crippled, including the sick that are unable to walk to voting registration centres.
In another development, CHAWATA in Mwanza Region is completing the preparation of establishing a special fund which will provide loans to disabled, enabling them start economic projects which would raise their standard of living.
CHAWATA Secretary in Mwanza Region said the special fund is expected to be inaugurated in December this year.

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Mvomero lacks secondary schools
By Kim Aidan, Mvomero

More than 200 primary school leavers in Turiani Division, Mvomero District in Morogoro Region annually, fail to secure secondary education due to lack of secondary schools in the division.
Turiani Division has only two secondary schools with a capacity that does not exceed 200 students per year. Saddiq Muraad has a capacity of 126 Form I students and Lusanga, is able to accommodate 80 Form I students.
Presenting a report on education development for Turiani Division to the Deputy Minister for Regional Administration and Local Government, Mazengo Pinda, Saddiq Murad Secondary School Headmaster, Said Miimba said many primary school graduates fail to obtain places in secondary schools. According to Miimba, besides retarding the youths’ efforts to advance educationally, it also provides a loophole for the youths to join bad groups of illicit drug smokers and violent robbers who want quick money.
Speaking on the same issue, Deputy Minister Pinda said, in order to confront the problem, residents of Turiani Division should cooperate to build more secondary schools for their children.
To fulfil their ambition he said parents should be ready to contribute financially and materially in the construction of schools.
Deputy Minister Pinda was on a seven day tour of Morogoro Region to inspect development projects in all the districts of Morogoro Region.

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Parents urged to allow children education
By Kim Aidan, Morogoro

Parents have been urged to stop the habit of marrying off their children after they complete primary school; instead they should allow them to continue with their studies such as craft studies at vocational training colleges.
The call was made by the Assemblies of God Church Reverend Dr. Barnabas Mtokambali, when talking to parents during Mwembosongo Primary school graduation ceremony last week, held at DDC Hall in Morogoro Municipality.
Reverend Mtokambali said Morogoro Region is known for marrying off young children while still at school or immediately after completing primary education; this is unfair to children in building their future.
Although the government has tried its utmost to improve the education sector, Reverend Mtokambali said some families are reluctant to support the government in eradicating poverty through the education sector.
The Reverend thanked the government in improving education countrywide, by abolishing some fees and contributions to schools.
Morogoro Municipal Education Officer, Queen Mlozi advised Morogoro Municipal parents to follow up their children’s attendance and school progress reports.

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Mvomero District on the verge of becoming a desert
By Kim Aidan, Mvomero

Mvomero District in Morogoro Region is in great danger of turning into a desert, following increased environmental destruction, due to extensive bush fires.
According to Mvomero District Commissioner (DC) Samwel Kamote, the number of fires has increased greatly in the last few months, a thing that threatens the natural vegetation and accelerates the fear of the district becoming a desert.
Kamote, who was reporting on the development activities undertaken by the district to the Deputy Minister of State, President’s Office Regional Administration and Local Government, Mizengo Pinda said fires are on the rise, despite efforts made by the government in the district of motivating people to stop bush fires.
Bush fires go hand in hand with rampant tree felling for various uses, including construction and other economic gains.
The failure of the government’s efforts in fighting bush fires is caused in one way or the other by weak administration of heads of environmental protection committees at village levels in the district, according to Kamote.
In order to combat the danger of the district turning into a desert, the DC said, from now on, environmental protection committee chairpersons who are negligent in their daily duties will be taken to task, including legal actions.
“From now on, we have decided to make environmental protection committee leaders accountable in their areas of jurisdiction, as environmental protection is not well taken care of in our district,” the DC said.
Areas which have suffered much from wild bush fires are mountain areas and areas occupied by herders who want grazing grounds for their livestock.

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Teachers get AIDS education
By Merline Mhamaka, Morogoro

Teachers in Kiswahili, science and social studies in primary schools in Morogoro Municipality, have been orientated in the use of participatory methods to enable them to give AIDS education in their subjects.
The Coordinator of the studies Bilhilda Maliyaga said recently that, the orientation course which started early September and closes at the end of October this year incorporated 130 teachers.
Maliyaga, who also is Municipal Adult Education Officer, said the orientation course which has been sponsored by United Nations International Children’s Fund (UNICEF), aims at protecting children from AIDS.
She further said, the teachers will be providing AIDS education, including counselling when they teach their subjects after they finish the course.
The orientation course follows the Government Circular No. 3 and 11 which direct each school and college to provide AIDS education and techniques of protection against AIDS.
The orientation course was conducted, in response to a research conducted in 2002 that revealed that 64 per cent of primary school pupils in Morogoro Municipality had already had more than one sexual encounter.
However, the teachers have requested the government to appoint independent teachers for AIDS education and counselling, instead of combining such teachings with Kiswahili, science and social studies.
The teachers also suggested that AIDS education should be taught in all classes, instead of earmarking Class Six alone, since even those in the lower classes have had sexual experiences.

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