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CORPORATE FINANCEECONOMIC & PUBLIC POLICY MEDIA
NOVEMBER 2009
 As local government elections draw nearer, voter registrationin Zanzibar continued to present a problem as citizens andgovernment disagree on valid documentation. Meanwhile, the
rst conviction for albino killers is received with great enthusiasm-and bloodlust- by the public, but bombs are still claiming lives inMbagala. In the world of business, atomic energy and agricultureare exploring synergies while this month’s Yellow Couch reportson the user-end of television. Finally, we are pleased to announce
that Serengeti Advisers Media Report is now also available onour blog  www.serengetiadvisersmedia.blogspot.com.
MEDIA REPORT: SEPTEMBER 2009
Headline News Analysis Top-Ranking Headline Stories
Politics: Zanzibar Voter Registration Crisis 
 The month of September saw the voter registration exercise inZanzibar come to crisis point. The main story can be read onpage four.
Politics: Chadema Election Week
Following the withdrawal of Zitto Kabwe from running forparty chairmanship, as recommended by the council of elders,Chadema was set to elect its party ofcials from 186 screenedcandidates: ‘Chadema admits Zitto ‘freeze’ ( 
Daily News, 1st September 
 ), ‘Zitto still too young to lead the party’ ( 
The African,1st September 
 ). Although Mr. Kabwe mentioned that ideologicaldifferences exist- he is a socialist while his Chairman supportscapitalism- this was presented as a source of healthy debate anddemocracy within Chadema.Some violence resulting from the Committee of Elders’ decisionas well as a vigorously contested Youth and Women’s Wing elections showed that competition within the party wasn’t only of the verbal variety ‘Chadema annuls youth wing election results’( 
Daily News, 2nd September 
 ), Chadema women council votes in
new leadership’ ( 
The Guardian, 3rd September 
 ). In an interesting 
move, Chadema were the rst African political party to launchan electronic recruitment system to increase their membership‘Chadema’s new recruitment plan’ ( 
The Citizen, 4th September 
 ). In
the event, the party leadership did not suffer any major upsets:‘Mbowe retains Chadema’s national chairman post’ ( 
Daily News,5th September 
 ), Slaa, Zitto retain Chadema posts’
(Sunday News, 6th September).Transport: TRL go slow 
 The Minister for Infrastructure Development, ShukuruKawambwa, had to intervene through a three-hour meeting with workers to assure them that their salaries would be paid andtheir jobs remain secure: ‘Serikali Msalabani’ [ 
Government crucied 
 ]
( 
 Majira, 8th September 
 ), ‘Finally, TRL workers end strike’ (TheGuardian, 9th September). However, TRL continues to facesignicant challenges: ‘Govt to engage RITES over suspendedengines, wagons’ ( 
This Day, 18th September 
 ), ‘Rites deal remains
slippery’ ( 
Daily News, 18th September 
 ).
Politics: Presidential Q&A Session 
One day before the event, State House announced that PresidentKikwete would do a live question-and-answer session that would
be open to the public. People were encouraged to participate
either by phone or email: ‘Kikwete to eld live public questions’( 
Daily News, 9th September 
 ). The session was broadcast on ve
television stations and at least six radio stations and appears to
have been well-received ‘Hopes high after dialogue with JK’( 
The Guardian, 11th September 
 ). In the post-mortem, the mediafocused on the topical issues of the day: religion and the state,the union question, the fear that CCM is gagging its legislators,oil in Zanzibar and the war on corruption ‘JK: Kesi tatu mpyaza masadi zimeiva’ [ 
Three new major corruption cases about to begin 
 ]
( 
 Nipashe, 10th September 
 ), ‘JK: Sijawafunga mdomo wabunge’ [ 
 JK: I have not silenced parliamentarians 
 ] ( 
Tanzania Daima, 10th September 
 ),
 The month of September was not dominated by any one newsstory. The turbulence around the Zanzibar voter registrationexercise earned fteen days of media attention over the courseof the month, followed by the TRL saga that was reported for atotal of 10 days- the frequency of headlines in these two storiescan be explained by their longevity. Other than these two, noneof the top stories of the month earned more than a couple of days of coverage. The news stories were quite scattered- whilethe top three stories only made up 15.6% of the total headlines,the top ten stories took up 31% of the total headline count.Unsupported by the Tanzania Rail Workers Union (TRAWU), Tanzania Railways Limited workers went on a go-slow topressurize the management into paying them their outstanding salaries ‘TRL hit by another go-slow’ (Daily News, 5thSeptember), ‘Mgomo TRL’ [ 
Strike at TRL 
 ] ( 
Uhuru, 5th September 
 ). Passengers registered their displeasure with the
company by rioting briey ‘TRL passengers go on rampage inDar over interrupted travel’ ( 
Sunday Citizen, 6th September 
 ). TRL
and RITES have faced a number of labor and service-relatedproblems since they started operation in 2007, but the cracks were really beginning to show with this most recent event; with TRL being unable to pay RITES for leased equipment on top of the salary problem: ‘TRL to suspend operations’ ( 
The Guardian on Sunday, 6th September 
 ), ‘RITES hits TRL with Sh14bn leasebill’ ( 
The Citizen, 7th September 
 ).
 
SERENGETI ADVISERSMEDIASEPTEMBER 2009
 
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 Apparently, the new regulations were put in place to capturethose who did not have a voter’s card or a local government letter. At the same time the army is trying to discourage people fromrebuilding their houses on army property ‘TPDF: No rebuilding near Mbagala depot’ ( 
The African, 8th September 
 ), ‘Mbagala bado
si Salama- JWTZ’ [ 
 Mbagala not safe yet 
 ] ( 
 Mtanzania Jumapili, 13th September 
 ). Soon after the announcement, three children died andanother two were injured when a bomb hidden in a trash pileexploded near them ‘Fresh blasts rock Mbagala’ ( 
Daily News, 25th September 
 ), ‘Third child in Mbagala blast dies’ ( 
The Citizen, 26th September 
 ), ‘Mbagala waandamana hadi kwa Waziri Pinda’ [ 
 Mbagala 
residents march to Minister Pinda’s ofce 
 ] ( 
 Mwananchi, 29th September 
 ).
Corruption: BoT Corruption Trial 
Mr. Kimela is currently also charged with negligence in theExternal Payments Account (EPA) trial. ‘4 in Sh100bn BoT scam’( 
The Citizen, 16th September 
 ) ‘BoT ofcials in court over banknotesfraud’ ( 
This Day, 16th September 
 ).
Society: Albino Killers Trial 
Emmanuel Masangwa, Charles Kalamuji and Masumbuko Madata were found guilty of murdering 13-year old albino Matatizo Dunia,and sentenced to death by hanging by Justice Gabriel Rwakibalilain Shinyanga: ‘Watatu kunyongwa kwa mauaji albino’ [ 
Three to hang  for albino murder 
 ] ( 
Habari Leo, 24th September 
 ), ‘Albinos want public
hanging of murderers’ ( 
The Citizen, 24th September 
 ). Demand foralbino body parts in recent years has caused a major upsurge inmurders, with albinos being targeted for attack at any age. Whilesome members of the public feel that the death sentence is tting punishment, and will serve as a deterrent to would-be albino killers,others are not in favor of capital punishment. The ‘guilty’ ruling has been universally popular, however, as public concern withthe issue has been high ‘Three albino killers to hang…as ruling greeted with joy’ ( 
The Guardian, 24th September 
 ), ‘Death sentence is
a non-starter’ ( 
The Guardian, 25th September 
 ).
Power: Tanesco in the news 
It emerged that one of the Directors of Strategies InsuranceLimited and PharmaAccess International- the company that won
a tender to provide Tanesco with health insurance services to the
tune of 3.7bn Shillings- is also a Tanesco board member. ‘Usadi wamtisha Ngeleja’ [ 
Corruption shocks Ngeleja 
 ] ( 
Tanzania Daima,17th September 
 ), ‘Serikali yachunguza usadi wa bima Tanesco’[ 
Government investigating Tanesco insurance corruption 
 ] ( 
 Mwananchi, 17th September 
 ). This news came relatively soon after the government‘JK apinga nyaraka za kidini kuhusu uchaguzi’ [ 
 JK opposes religious documents about the elections 
 ] ( 
Habari Leo, 10th September 
 ).
Corruption: The Alex Stewart Assayers Case 
Former Minister of Finance Basil Mramba, along with formerMinister for Energy and Minerals Daniel Yona and formerPermanent Secretary for the Ministry of Finance Gray Mgonja were charged last year with abuse of ofce and occasional loss of money to the government for according preferential treatment toM/S Alex Stewart Assayers Government Business Corporationin procuring gold assaying services. Other charges include
extending the contract with Alex Stewart as well as approving 
tax exemptions ‘Preliminary hearing starts on Mramba case’ ( 
The  African, 17th September 
 ), ‘Mramba granted tax exemption without
approval from cabinet’ ( 
The Guardian, 17th September 
 ).
Politics: Election Guide Documents 
 At the end of August, the Central Committee of Shura Politicsof Imams in Tanzania put out a document titled ‘Mwongozo wa Waislamu kuelekea Uchaguzi Mkuu wa Mwaka 2010’ or MuslimGuidelines in the Run-up to the 2010 Elections ‘Mwongozo wa waislamu waibua mjadala’ [ 
 Muslim guidelines spark debate 
 ] ( 
 Mtanzania,1st September 
 ). The document was launched by the Committee’s
chairman, Shehe Ponda Issa Ponda, and is aimed at addressing 
 what is perceived as systemic marginalization of Muslims by the
state since independence. This document has come on the heels
of Catholic Church’s recent circular to its faithful, a documentaimed at inuencing voters’ thoughts about the 2010 electionsusing a religious platform. The Muslim Council of Tanzania,BAKWATA, has distanced itself from the Mwongozo ‘Maimamu waja na Mwongozo’ [ 
Imams come up with guidelines 
 ] ( 
Habari Leoonline, 1st September, retrieved October 2009 
 ). Not all clerics are of the opinion that religion should insert itself in politics: ‘Kakobeapinga Waraka, Mwongozo’ [ 
Kakobe opposes Circular, Guidelines 
 ]
( 
Habari Leo, 3rd September 
 ), ‘Kakobe ashambuliwa’ [Kakobeattacked] ( 
Tanzania Daima, 4th September 
 ). Religion and state alsoreceived some parliamentarian interest: ‘MP mulls motion against
religious debate’ ( 
Daily News, 7th September 
 ).
Society: Mbagala Blasts 
 A change in the regulations with regards to the documents
required from Mbagala bombing victims to get compensation wasmet with fury. A few days after the exercise had started, TemekeMunicipality decided that claimants would have to produce eithera housing license or a land tax receipt in order to be eligible forcompensation ‘Masharti mapya ya dia Mbagala yazua balaa’[ 
 New compensation requirements calamitous 
 ] ( 
 Mwananchi, 4th September 
 ).
In the middle of the month, four senior employees of theBank of Tanzania have been taken to court on for corruption,having allegedly caused the loss of Sh104 billion shillings by inating the cost of printing new currency. Deputy Directorin Charge of Currency Kisima Mkango, and former Directorof Banking Simon Jengo are charged with using documentsto mislead their superiors, and on the second count Mr. Jengorequested the printing of a larger number of Tanzanian bank notes than had been requested by the User Department. Onthe third count- that of failing to discharge their duties in areasonable manner- they are joined by the Acting Director of Legal Services, Bosco Kimela and Director of Banking Ally Bakari. All three accused have pleaded not guilty to the charges,however the prosecution submitted that they had confessedto having abused their ofces during interrogation when thepreliminary hearing resumed in September ‘Court told of Mramba and Yona confession’ ( 
The Citizen, 17th September 
 ),
Mramba, others disown PCCB confessions’ ( 
The Guardian,18th September 
 ). There was some back and forth about thenumber of witnesses that the prosecution would be allowed:‘17 witnesses to testify in Mramba case’ ( 
The African, 23rd September 
 ), ‘State nally yields in tussle over witnesses’ ( 
The Citizen, 225th September 
 ).
 
had to launch an investigation into 1.4 bn Shillings that wereapparently used to renovate 17 houses for senior Tanesco staff ‘Tanesco kitanzini’ [ 
Tanesco in trouble 
 ] ( 
Habari Leo, 17th September 
 ).
 The current Managing Director of the utility company, IdrisRashidi, was appointed by the President in 2006 during the peak of the power crisis and the Richmond debacle. In a departurefrom the usual presidential appointment, Mr. Rashidi’s position was recently advertised: ‘Tanesco boss’ exit set as job is advertised’( 
The Citizen, 19th September 
 ), ‘Mystery surrounds TANESCO jobadvert for MD’s position’ ( 
This Day, 19th September 
 ), ‘Behind Dr.
Rashidi’s exit’.
SERENGETI ADVISERSMEDIASEPTEMBER 2009
3
Daily News: Atomic Agriculture 
- lending its support thegovernment’s Kilimo Kwanza strategy, the Tanzania AtomicEnergy Commission (TAEC) has declared its interest in using radiation technology to improve seeds, insecticides, pesticides,food processing and preservation. However this would requireserious government intervention to ‘facilitate the commissionto enable it [to] start applying the technology.’ The discovery of uranium deposits in the country supports TAEC’s visionof a future in which Tanzanian will be able to use radiationtechnology to improve the local food supply. (8th September).
The Citizen: The World Economic Forum on Africa comes to Dar- 
 The
2010 World Economic Forum on Africa will be hosted by  Tanzania, making it the rst time that the conference will be heldin East Africa. Although traditionally meetings of this magnitudehave historically been held in Nairobi, it is rumored that Dar esSalaam may have benetted from the ongoing unpopularity of the Kenyan government, which lost its bid to host. The WorldEconomic Forum on Africa is ‘renowned for its informal stylethat engenders frank and open discussions’ over the course of three days. (21st September).
The African: Chinese Business 
- While speaking to at a luncheon onthe eve of the US-Africa Business Summit, President Kikwetechallenged American investors to follow the example set by their Chinese counterparts: “The Western Media paint a very bad image of Africa, and that threatens investors, while theChinese are grabbing the opportunity to invest in Africa.” ThePresident had recently inaugurated the new Tanzanian Embassy in Washington which cost the country Tshs 13.5 bn. Sino- Tanzanian relations have been very cordial during the fourthadministration, especially in the area of economic diplomacy.
The Guardian: International Mobile Banking 
- The regional mobilephone service company Zain is offering international mobilebanking through their Zap service. According to their pressrelease, “this is the rst time in the world any mobile bank account has been congured so that its users can receive fundsfrom any point directly to their mobile handset as well as sendfunds directly to their bank account.” The Zain network isavailable to 100 million people across the African continent.
Business Notes At Leisure:
 A glance at the Sunday Columns
 The Pro-Kiswahili Lobby:
“It is getting tougher to defend the useof our national language, Swahili” laments Madaraka Nyerere in hisLetter from Butiama. Even the national carrier is likely to serve itspassengers in English, to his dismay. And that’s not the only place in which service insists on dealing only in English- Madaraka goes onto relate his experiences at a tourist hotel where the waiter steadfastly refused to speak to meet him halfway as he ‘ordered a few more itemsfrom him, all the while using Swahili while he responded only inEnglish.’ Mr. Nyerere makes a decidedly grim and somewhat dramaticcomparison with the beleaguered French who have unsuccessfully tried to stem the tide of English linguistic imperialism when he statesthat ‘perhaps it is only a matter of time before Kiswahili, whosespeakers do not care whether they themselves speak their languagecorrectly or use it, also crumbles.’ As he concludes that ‘the struggle todefend the use of Kiswahili might also have to involve transforming myself into someone who looks like he speaks the language,’ theleast he could do is list the visual attributes of a Kiswahili speaker.( 
Sunday News, 6th September 
 ).
 The Pro-English Lobby:
in her Snap Shots at Life, Angel Navuri
sees the language issue as one where Tanzanians have to adapt to
a labor market that clearly privileges those who can speak Englishover those who cannot: ‘Professionals [from] countries like Kenyaand Uganda manage to grab jobs in this country because they areseen to be uent in the language.’ This leads her to a very utilitarianassessment of the situation- ‘The national Kiswahili language canstill be used but should not be given priority like the English languageespecially in this era.’ Ms. Navuri asserts that contrary to popularbelief, most people in the ‘new generation’ prefer to use Kiswahilirather than English, and she acknowledges that ‘in the past, Kiswahili
made tremendous progress in developing the language and literature,
partly because there was a parallel development in […] economicand political pursuits.’ However, the pressure to succeed in thecontemporary environment means that English cannot be ignoredbecause ‘Young people follow activities which will provide them with future security.’ As far as she is concerned, languages cannot betreated as static entities because ‘after all, a language is only as goodas the people who use it. ( 
The Guardian on Sunday, 6th September 
 )
 The Cynical View:
Adam Lusekelo touches very lightly on the issueof language by taking the opportunity to tease Steven Kanumba-prolic Tanzania lm producer, director, actor, scriptwriter, composerand singer- about his home-brewed English during a recent interview in South Africa. He advises him not to worry because ‘it is very easy to be shot down by a bunch of mediocrities.’ Ascribing StevenKanumba’s roasting at the hands of the mediocrities to jealousy, Mr.Lusekelo was more interested in exposing the real day-to-day frictionsthat arise in our multi-lingual and multi-cultural societies: ‘If people want to laugh at all those lingual hostilities in any language to others,they should hear Indians speaking Kiswahili.’ He goes on to pointout that even mighty Kiswahili isn’t welcome everywhere in East Africa: “Listen to the Baganda in Uganda. They don’t want to speak Chiswahili. That is the language of the oppressor. The language wasspoken by some murderous Ugandan dictator and his goon squad.It reminds them of terrible days.” Whatever the language of interestmay be, Adam Lusekelo offers this pragmatic advice to those who
are concerned with getting it right: ‘language and school help in
furthering careers.’ ( 
The Sunday News, 20th September 
 )
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