SAUDI INVESTORS EYEING LEASING TZ FARMLAND

Riyadh, April 16 - Saudi investors have asked Tanzania if they can lease 500,000 hectares of farmland mainly for rice and wheat farming as part of a plan to secure food supplies for the desert kingdom, officials said.

Senior officials from the Saudi capital's chamber of commerce made the request on the sidelines of a meeting with visiting Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete.

"Tanzania is ready to do business with you ... There is 100 million acres (40.5 million hectares) of good arable land," Kikwete told Saudi businessmen.

Samir Ali Kabbani, head of the chamber's agriculture committee, said: "We had very positive feedback."

"He (Kikwete) told us that Tanzanian authorities can lease us plots each of which covers up to 10,000 hectares for a 99-year period," he told Reuters after the meeting.

The Saudi government has joined private operators to invest in farm projects abroad after a long and costly food sufficiency plan threatened to deplete the desert kingdom's water supplies.

Saudi businessmen and officials will visit Tanzania in the next few weeks.

"They can lease the land from the government," January Makamba, an aide to President Kikwete, told Reuters.

"But we have to make sure we don't end up in a situation similar to that of Nigeria: Huge oil reserves but long queues in front of petrol stations," Makamba said.

Saudi officials are particularly interested in Tanzania because of its geographic proximity, political stability and the availability of water resources and farmland.

Several Saudi firms have already started investing in agricultural projects from Indonesia to Ethiopia.

Indonesia said in August that Saudi BinLadin Group would invest $4.3 billion on 500,000 hectares for rice farming.

Saudi Arabia's annual wheat needs are estimated at about 2.5 million tonnes and it imported a little over 1 million tonnes of rice in 2008, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

SOURCE: Reuters

"TANZANIAN AUTHORITIES CAN LEASE THE SAUDIS PLOTS EACH OF WHICH COVERS UP TO 10K HECTARES FOR A 99-YEAR PERIOD!?"

DID I QUOTE THAT RIGHT? YES I DID.

CALL ME ONE OF THE DOUBTING THOMASES BUT IF THIS STORY IS TRUE,THEN PERHAPS THE LIKE OF CHIEF MANGUNGO WERE NOT SO DUMB WHEN THEY WERE DUPPED INTO SIGNING SOME CRAZY LAND CONTACT WITH KARL PETERS&co..AT LEAST THE CHIEFS COULD HAVE AN EXCUSE...IT'S DURING THE "DARK AGES" AND THE FORE-RUNNERS OF COLONIALISM TOOK OF ADVANTAGE OF THE CHIEFS' ILLITERACY AND LACK OF SUFFICIENT KNOWLEDGE IN GOVARNANCE OF THEIR PEOPLE AND PROPERTY.

BY THE WAY,INSTEAD OF BEGGING THE SAUDIS,WHY SHOULDNT THE PRIORITY BE IN EMPOWERING THE LOCAL FARMERS IN A COUNTRY WHERE THE ECONOMY DEPENDES HEAVILY ON AGRICULTURE THAT ACCOUNTS FOR MORE THAN 40% OF GDP?

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SHRIKA LA BIMA LAACHISHA KAZI WAFANYAKAZI WOTE

Wafanyakazi wote wa Shirika la Bima la Taifa (NIC) wameachishwa kazi na kulipwa mafao yao kuanzia jana ili kupisha mpango wa kuliboresha shirika hilo litoe huduma kwa ufanisi.

Taarifa iliyotolewa na Mwenyekiti wa Bodi ya NIC, Dk. Hamis Kibola jana, ilisema kuwa shirika hilo litaajiri wafanyakazi wapya kulingana na mahitaji ya shirika. Dk. Kibola alisema leo na kesho shirika hilo halitatoa huduma ili kupisha kazi ya kuajiri upya na huduma itarejea tena Jumatatu ijayo wakati mchakato wa kuajiri utakapokuwa umekamilika.

Inakadiriwa wafanyakazi 500 wataachishwa kazi na shirika hilo litaajiri wafanyakazi wachache wenye ufanisi na wanaoweza kuleta changamoto mpya ya kulifanya shirika hilo liwe na tija na kuhimili ushindani wa biashara ya bima.

Dk. Kibola alisema mpango huo wa kuwaachisha kazi ni kwa mujibu wa makubaliano kati ya wafanyakazi kupitia chama chao TUICO –NIC, Serikali na Shirika la Kusimamia Mali za Serikali (CHC).

Alisema hadi jana taratibu za kuajiri upya zilikuwa zimekamilika, lakini hakusema ni kiasi gani kilichotumika kuwalipa wafanyakazi, lakini taarifa za NIC kwa Kamati ya Bunge ya Fedha na Uchumi mwaka jana zilionyesha shirika hilo limetenga Sh bilioni 5.2 kwa ajili ya malipo ya wafanyakazi. Mwaka jana, Waziri wa Fedha na Uchumi, Mustafa Mkulo alisema serikali itauza hisa nyingi za NIC kwa wananchi pindi shirika hilo litakapoweza kusimama lenyewe miaka michache ijayo.

Akizungumza baada ya mkutano wa 12 wa Siku ya Bima, Novemba mwaka jana, Mkulo alisema serikali itapeleka bungeni mabadiliko ya sheria mbalimbali ili kuibadilisha NIC kutoka kwenye shirika kuwa kampuni na serikali iongeze fedha zaidi kuliokoa ili baadaye hisa zake ziuzwe kwa wananchi na lijiendeshe kwa faida. “Tayari mchakato wote umeshakamilika wa kuliboresha shirika hili ambapo lengo la serikali si kuliuza, bali kuliendeleza,” alisema Mkulo.

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HE! MAKUBWA HAYA: BARABARA NAZO MBIONI KUBINAFSISHWA!?

MSIMU WA MVUA,BARABARA YA KWENDA KWETU IFAKARA NI MITHILI YA SWIMMING POOL YA MATOPE.SIJUI NA HII NAYO WAWEKEZAJI WATATAKA IBINAFSISHWE.HOFU YANGU WANAWEZA WAKAICHUKUA KISHA WAKAIGEUZA SHAMBA LA MPUNGA,SASA SIJUI AKINA SIE TUTAENDA HUKO KWA UNGO...

Kwa jinsi baadhi ya wawekezaji wetu huko nyumbani walivyo wasanii (inasemekana wengi wao huja na empty briefs case na vi-credit cards vyenye dola chache tu lakini huondoka na mamilioni ya dola) si ajabu mpango huu wa kubinafsisha baadhi ya barabara za jiji la Dar unaweza kutufikisha mahala tukakuta daraja la Salender limevunjwa na kugeuzwa kibangaluu cha mwekezaji flani!Sijui njia ya mkato itakuwa baharini au vipi!Nina wasiwasi zaidi na eneo la Victoria kwani kutokana na majimaji ya eneo lile si ajabu mwekezaji akaamua kufunga barabara na kuanzisha shamba la maua.Sounds like a joke,doesnt it?Lakini ukisoma habari hii hapa chini unaweza kupata picha kama hiyo inayonijia mie

Dar es Salaam city authority`s $3bn transport crisis rescue plan, which will involve private individuals funding the multibillion-project, has elicited strong resentment from the public. 

A cross-section of motorists and city residents interviewed on Friday said they were completely opposed to the idea terming it as misplaced. Any attempt to carry on with the plan would only show how things have gone awry for the government.

``No, it can`t be! It can�t just happen! That would be completely outrageous! It will be like selling off this country,`` a visibly surprised and thoroughly agitated Rajabu Hassan Mambo, a taxi driver at Mwenge in Dar es Salaam, said.

He was reacting to the recent mooted plan, which aims to revamp the city`s road transport network through private funding that will see individuals own public utility roads.

Mambo likened the idea to giving out one`s plot to a private developer, and then upon assuming residence on the same plot, you go on to pay rent for the rest of your life.

Overwhelmed by ceaseless traffic snarl-ups on most roads heading to, and from the city centre, city authorities have embarked on an expensive and overly ambitious Dar es Salaam Transport Policy and System Development Master Plan to remedy the situation by 2030. Under the arrangement, private individuals are invited to invest in the reconstruction of sections of some roads and widening of the main highways within the city.

According to the Dar es Salaam city mayor Adam Kimbisa, any prospective private investor will be apportioned a section of the road to finance its refurbishment, and then collect toll from motorists to recover expenses incurred.

Mayor Kimbisa justified the plan, stating that it has successfully been carried out in Malaysia`s capital city, Kuala Lumpur.

Several interviewed by The Guardian on Sunday said they were disappointed with the country`s leadership.

Jankar Mbungo for example faulted the government for remaining out of touch with real issues affecting Tanzanians.

``We, ordinary citizens, are burdened with taxes already. Prices of commodities are all time high, and instead of the government making policies that will solve the country`s problems it`s making life more difficult for us.`` Mr Mbungo stated.

SOURCE: Sunday Observer

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