Put more efforts in wildlife protection
For years now, tourism has been the leading foreign exchange earner for Tanzania. Revenue from the sector has increased over the years as indicated by President Jakaya Kikwete in a speech to dissolve Parliament in 2010.
He had noted that tourism gains increased from US$823.5 million (Sh1.2trl) in 2005 to US$1,198.8 million (Sh1.8trl) in 2008, with positive indications that more visitors would be coming to enjoy the many exotic tourist destinations that abound in Tanzania.
It is obvious that there is a need for more campaigns to promote our country in big tourist markets, such as the United States and Europe. Though expensive, marketing and promotion of tourism will enable Tanzania to reap more benefits.
The government should also continue to encourage investors and push for the construction of more first class hotels, plus sorting out the country’s infrastructure including bettering of roads, railways network, air and marine transport.
After all is said and done, the bottom line is that tourism should benefit the people. We have in mind, especially, the people who live near tourist attractions, such as national parks.
For instance, it would be wise if some of the takings from tourism attractions were used to construct schools, dispensaries or such other social amenities to cater for the needs of villages that neighbour the parks.
This would make the people feel that they are key stakeholders of the national parks. We think this would also encourage them to protect the parks. That is why we consider very apt, efforts by a non-governmental organisation to train villagers in Longido District of Arusha Region, as part of an anti-poaching drive.
It is our belief this will go a long way towards getting wananchi to consider themselves key stakeholders in wildlife protection. It would also be prudent to lend more support to NGOs that demonstrated a commitment in the area wildlife protection.
He had noted that tourism gains increased from US$823.5 million (Sh1.2trl) in 2005 to US$1,198.8 million (Sh1.8trl) in 2008, with positive indications that more visitors would be coming to enjoy the many exotic tourist destinations that abound in Tanzania.
It is obvious that there is a need for more campaigns to promote our country in big tourist markets, such as the United States and Europe. Though expensive, marketing and promotion of tourism will enable Tanzania to reap more benefits.
The government should also continue to encourage investors and push for the construction of more first class hotels, plus sorting out the country’s infrastructure including bettering of roads, railways network, air and marine transport.
After all is said and done, the bottom line is that tourism should benefit the people. We have in mind, especially, the people who live near tourist attractions, such as national parks.
For instance, it would be wise if some of the takings from tourism attractions were used to construct schools, dispensaries or such other social amenities to cater for the needs of villages that neighbour the parks.
This would make the people feel that they are key stakeholders of the national parks. We think this would also encourage them to protect the parks. That is why we consider very apt, efforts by a non-governmental organisation to train villagers in Longido District of Arusha Region, as part of an anti-poaching drive.
It is our belief this will go a long way towards getting wananchi to consider themselves key stakeholders in wildlife protection. It would also be prudent to lend more support to NGOs that demonstrated a commitment in the area wildlife protection.
Shame on TFF, Cecafa
Tanzania may be struggling to make a mark in continental – and indeed, world football – on the pitch, but no one can ridicule the presence on an ultra-modern stadium. The landmark 60-seater Main National Stadium in Dar es Salaam has attracted attention of giants of world football.
They have either set foot on it – like Chelsea’s scoring machine Didier Drogba, Inter Milan’s Samuel Eto’o and Brazilian superstar Ricaldo Kaka to mention but a few, or they have seen in on TV – thanks to SuperSport live broadcasting of selected local and international matches, including ongoing Cecafa Kagame Castle Cup 2011. There is no doubt the stadium – built by the Mkapa administration – presents, by far, a perfect environment for soccer lovers in the city when compared to Uhuru sitting beside it.
But all these praises seem to fly out of the window the moment one comes to sees how this facility is run.
It all lands on the feet of from fan hooliganism to organisers’ disorganisation. For instance, why is it that hundreds, nay, thousands of fans who are getting out of the stadium through a six-meter wide tunnel have to scramble through a one-metre wide door at the VIP main entrances?
Such a simple thing which, left unattended, can cost lives, besides encouraging pick pocketing. Yes, Tanzania Football Federation (TFF)/ Central and Eastern African Football Association (Cecafa) may argue that they don’t own the stadium, but they are the organisers. Are the good organisers trying to tell us we need donor assistance to have doors leading fans outside the stadium opened?
It is simply shameful of TFF and Cecafa to allow this situation to remain as it is.
They have either set foot on it – like Chelsea’s scoring machine Didier Drogba, Inter Milan’s Samuel Eto’o and Brazilian superstar Ricaldo Kaka to mention but a few, or they have seen in on TV – thanks to SuperSport live broadcasting of selected local and international matches, including ongoing Cecafa Kagame Castle Cup 2011. There is no doubt the stadium – built by the Mkapa administration – presents, by far, a perfect environment for soccer lovers in the city when compared to Uhuru sitting beside it.
But all these praises seem to fly out of the window the moment one comes to sees how this facility is run.
It all lands on the feet of from fan hooliganism to organisers’ disorganisation. For instance, why is it that hundreds, nay, thousands of fans who are getting out of the stadium through a six-meter wide tunnel have to scramble through a one-metre wide door at the VIP main entrances?
Such a simple thing which, left unattended, can cost lives, besides encouraging pick pocketing. Yes, Tanzania Football Federation (TFF)/ Central and Eastern African Football Association (Cecafa) may argue that they don’t own the stadium, but they are the organisers. Are the good organisers trying to tell us we need donor assistance to have doors leading fans outside the stadium opened?
It is simply shameful of TFF and Cecafa to allow this situation to remain as it is.
Somali gangs take piracy to industrial scales
Somali gangs are taking piracy to an industrial scales and the number of seafarers killed due to piracy has escalated in the past four years with 62 merchant sailors losing their lives through torture, execution, suicide and malnutrition, campaigners said.Somali gangs, who are making millions of dollars in ransoms, are becoming increasingly violent, and are able to stay out at sea for long periods and in all weather conditions using captured merchant vessels as mother ships.
"Sixty two seafarers have died in the past four years as a direct result of piracy in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean, through deliberate murder by pirates, suicide during the period of captivity, death from malnutrition and disease, death by drowning, or heart failure just after the hijacking," said SOS SaveOurSeafarers.
SOS said two seamen were killed in 2007 as a result of pirate attacks, adding that piracy had worsened since then.
Overstretched international navies have proved unable to contain the raids in the Indian Ocean due to the vast distances involved in a crisis costing world trade billions of dollars a year."It is government inaction that has allowed piracy to spiral out of control in this area," said SOS, which is backed by the shipping and marine insurance organisations and a major workers' union.
"It's time to stop this outrage. It's time for governments to take action."SOS said during the four-year period, more than 3,500 seafarers had been kidnapped and held hostage by pirate gangs, who have used them as human shields and forced crew members to operate vessels as mother ships.
"Hundreds of these seafarers have been subjected to horrific torture including being hung by the ankles over the side of the ship, being shut in the ship's freezer room, having cable ties tightened round the genitals, being beaten, punched and kicked," said SOS chairman Giles Heimann.
"Many of these seafarers remain traumatised and unable to return to their seafaring careers long after the hijack is over, if at all."Dipendra Rathore, a 22 year-old Indian deck cadet who had been held hostage for eight months on board the Merida Marguerite vessel, said he was determined to return to sea."At my age you can still bear pain -… watching people twice my age being tortured, crying and begging for help is what really measured me," he said.
"I felt so bad for them but I could do nothing about it, except for praying."
The International Maritime Bureau (IMB) says the pirates were using hijacked vessels as bases to extend their range of operations against ships in the Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea and Gulf of Aden.The bureau's piracy reporting centre director Pottengal Mukundan says piracy has surged in recent years off Somalia, a lawless, war-torn country that sits alongside one of the world's most important shipping routes.
The IMB is concerned that some countries, which have deployed naval assets off the Horn of Africa, may cut their anti-piracy surveillance in the area.Mukundan, who is based in London, told AFP that so far this year there were 162 attacks off Somalia with 21 ships captured.
Hijackings off the coast of Somalis accounted for 61 per cent of all attacks on ships, with 362 crewmembers taken hostage, he said.Mukundan said Somali pirates were still holding 21 vessels and 405 hostages for ransom."Since 2007 there has been 62 fatalities as a result of piracy," he said, adding that "the situation is getting very serious."
"We are calling for more naval ships be made available to protect ships off Somalia," he said.Mukundan said this year despite the monsoon period (June to August), Somali pirates had escalated their attacks off the Gulf of Aden."It is an important shipping lane for very large crude carriers which sail from the Arabian Gulf to Asian countries such as Japan, China and Singapore," he said.
In previous years, there was a respite in attacks during the monsoon period due to strong winds and heavy seas.Mukundan said another worrying trend was the increase in violence against seafarers and hostages in the past six months.
In one incident, Mukundan said two senior officers were put in a ship's meat storage refrigerator for 40 minutes and in another case pirates carried out mock executions."The violence and threat used is unprecedented and unacceptable," he said.Mukundan warned that the IMB expects the number of attacks to be higher than last year.
"Pirates are getting more ransom, so they are escalating their attacks," he said.Mukundan urged countries to prosecute pirates captured at sea and not to release them."We want captured pirates to be prosecuted and punished. Now more than 80 percent of the captured pirates are freed. It is sending the wrong signal to the pirates," he said.
"Sixty two seafarers have died in the past four years as a direct result of piracy in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean, through deliberate murder by pirates, suicide during the period of captivity, death from malnutrition and disease, death by drowning, or heart failure just after the hijacking," said SOS SaveOurSeafarers.
SOS said two seamen were killed in 2007 as a result of pirate attacks, adding that piracy had worsened since then.
Overstretched international navies have proved unable to contain the raids in the Indian Ocean due to the vast distances involved in a crisis costing world trade billions of dollars a year."It is government inaction that has allowed piracy to spiral out of control in this area," said SOS, which is backed by the shipping and marine insurance organisations and a major workers' union.
"It's time to stop this outrage. It's time for governments to take action."SOS said during the four-year period, more than 3,500 seafarers had been kidnapped and held hostage by pirate gangs, who have used them as human shields and forced crew members to operate vessels as mother ships.
"Hundreds of these seafarers have been subjected to horrific torture including being hung by the ankles over the side of the ship, being shut in the ship's freezer room, having cable ties tightened round the genitals, being beaten, punched and kicked," said SOS chairman Giles Heimann.
"Many of these seafarers remain traumatised and unable to return to their seafaring careers long after the hijack is over, if at all."Dipendra Rathore, a 22 year-old Indian deck cadet who had been held hostage for eight months on board the Merida Marguerite vessel, said he was determined to return to sea."At my age you can still bear pain -… watching people twice my age being tortured, crying and begging for help is what really measured me," he said.
"I felt so bad for them but I could do nothing about it, except for praying."
The International Maritime Bureau (IMB) says the pirates were using hijacked vessels as bases to extend their range of operations against ships in the Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea and Gulf of Aden.The bureau's piracy reporting centre director Pottengal Mukundan says piracy has surged in recent years off Somalia, a lawless, war-torn country that sits alongside one of the world's most important shipping routes.
The IMB is concerned that some countries, which have deployed naval assets off the Horn of Africa, may cut their anti-piracy surveillance in the area.Mukundan, who is based in London, told AFP that so far this year there were 162 attacks off Somalia with 21 ships captured.
Hijackings off the coast of Somalis accounted for 61 per cent of all attacks on ships, with 362 crewmembers taken hostage, he said.Mukundan said Somali pirates were still holding 21 vessels and 405 hostages for ransom."Since 2007 there has been 62 fatalities as a result of piracy," he said, adding that "the situation is getting very serious."
"We are calling for more naval ships be made available to protect ships off Somalia," he said.Mukundan said this year despite the monsoon period (June to August), Somali pirates had escalated their attacks off the Gulf of Aden."It is an important shipping lane for very large crude carriers which sail from the Arabian Gulf to Asian countries such as Japan, China and Singapore," he said.
In previous years, there was a respite in attacks during the monsoon period due to strong winds and heavy seas.Mukundan said another worrying trend was the increase in violence against seafarers and hostages in the past six months.
In one incident, Mukundan said two senior officers were put in a ship's meat storage refrigerator for 40 minutes and in another case pirates carried out mock executions."The violence and threat used is unprecedented and unacceptable," he said.Mukundan warned that the IMB expects the number of attacks to be higher than last year.
"Pirates are getting more ransom, so they are escalating their attacks," he said.Mukundan urged countries to prosecute pirates captured at sea and not to release them."We want captured pirates to be prosecuted and punished. Now more than 80 percent of the captured pirates are freed. It is sending the wrong signal to the pirates," he said.
The writer filed this analysis from London.
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