Serengeti Media Report July 28-final Version

CORPORATE FINANCE ECONOMIC & PUBLIC POLICY MEDIA

JUILY MAY 2009 2009

MEDIA 2009 MediaREPORT: Report,APRIL July 2009

April presented us with a few candidates for Trickster Of the Year. Development Entrepreneurship for Community Initiative subverted Introduction: the idea of poverty alleviation, and almost relieved thousands of The issue of separating religion and state has reared its head in July: investors of their money forever. Meanwhile, Reginald Mengi and while adherents of the Muslim faith fought for their legal-religious Rostam Aziz played out their feud for all to see, in a manner which rights to be accommodated, the Catholic Church is weathering suggested that perhaps the term ‘independent Tanzanian media’ is the the aftermath of a politically-sensitive circular to its faithful in punchline of a bad joke. Not to be ignored, on the very last day of the preparation for the 2010 elections. Meanwhile, former presidents, month army blew a chunk can out rest of the of Dar es Salaam…by prime the ministers and ministers easycity in their retirement as the mistake. And as Dr. Slaa continued to vie for the role of contrarian in

Headlines News Analysis: Headline News Analysis

For the first time since the beginning of the year the headlines have demonstrated the topmonth, three stories together The news tablesconsiderable reveal that, asvariation: in the previous the print media made less than15% headlines for the devoted month ofitsJuly. The was lessupfocused on oneofbigthestory and instead attention the month did not makethe it into thestory top to‘Other moreStories’ varied of selection of (those stories.that Even though main ten) make up in over of theitheadline shares.only The16% Attention spent 24 days the70% headlines, still occupied of theSpan total Index shows thatApril even the didn’t coverage during withinflammatory the rest of Kadhi the topCourt ten story making up get less more that two ofofdeliberation from press. This may than partlyin than a third. Theweeks nature the coverage wasthe more substantive be due tomonths the post-budget speech slump when the diversity of issues previous which is enouraging. Nevertheless, the question still being raised from parliament compete for column inches amongst remains as to whether the short attention span affects how stories are themselves, well as influences with otherthe non-political covered, and as how that narratives developments. that emerge from this coverage.

Top Ten Ranking Stories Top-Ranking Headline Stories

Politics/Religion: No Kadhi Courts Finance/Society: DECI In spite of having made a commitment as part of its 2005 campaign This month’sthe main story covers thehas verydecided rapid demise a pyramid manifesto, CCM government not toofintroduce a scheme that had been and operating since onThe pagefull 4. Kadhi court system, this July put2007. an endSee tofull the story debare. summary can be read in the Main Story. Union Matters: The Curse of Black Gold The future of the Union came under scrutiny following comments by Politics/Religion: Thefor Catholic Lobby Zanzibar’s Minister Energy, Mansour Hamid, that his government will to exclude Oil in and Gas policy from Union issues, ‘Isles Want Theseek Catholic Church Tanzania, through the Tanzania Episcopal Conference (TEC) apparently beenGuardian, issuing circulars its Oil,Gas Off List Of has Union Matters’ (The 4th April).toThis faithful that response touch upon politics since 1995. year’sofmanifesto drew a sharp from the Zanzibar bornThis Minister State for touched on issues pertaining governance, with anoutemphasis Union Affairs, Muhammed Seif toKhatib, who pointed that the on anti-corruption: Nomatters stand made on church document’ constitution stipulates‘CCM: that such are under the jurisdiction of th (The Citizen, 20 July), and ‘Raisthat TEC juuto wanaoupinga’ the Union Government any awajia changes the status quo [TEC would nd president to opposition] (Mwananchi,‘Union 22 July). They areto require the responds consent of the Union Parliament, Parliament usuallyontimed to saga’ precede general while decide oil, gas (Theupcoming African, 6th April).elections, Zanzibarand House of the Church hasmembers yet to bereacted caughtangrily officially endorsing candidates it Representatives to such a suggestion calling does hide the political influence wields from the the issue pulpit,to for thenot minister to resign. They claimedthat thatit he was using considering its estimated Nosupport going ingratiate himself with thefollowing mainlandofin 10 an million: attempt‘Kilaini: to garner th back’ Citizen, in17theJune). year’s round of documents for his (The candidacy 2010This Zanzibari presidential election. has Mr. received somewhat more attention usual:attacks ‘Kingunge Khatib was bullish, claiming that thethan personal were aliangukia an attempt Katoliki’ [Kingunge comes on Catholic Church] atKanisa distracting the voters from the realdown issue, hard ‘Khatib: I’ll not step down th (Habari Leo, 16 CCM8th politicians wereback not and the forth only ones to over oil issue’ (TheJuly). Guardian, April). This had one raise concerns about the of documents’ violation of of oil thein separation commentator sound a note caution, ‘Discovery Z’bar must between religion and politics, as various political party leaders and not develop into a curse’ (Sunday Citizen, 12th April). After the House engaged invoted a newspaper-led debate about the repercussions ofpundits Representatives unanimously for the exclusion of oil and of issues the Catholic Church’s actions: ‘CUF does Church’s gas from union matters-’Zanzibar likelynot to approve back Reps’ views th doc‘Lipumba: Katoliki safi] on oil,Seif gas’’ (The (The African, African, 24 10thJuly), April)PresidentWaraka Kikwete intervened nd (Lipumba: Catholic document (Mwananchi, 22 matters, July), ‘Msekwa and urged people to stop arguingfine] about hypothetical ‘JK:No autetea waraka Katoliki’ [Msekwa defends Catholic circular] Point Arguing Over non-Existent Oil’ (The Guardian, 29th April). (Mwananchi, 26th July).

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chief, religious leaders prayed for better leadership. In keeping with April’s generaloftone of anxiety, Yellow Couch makes government clears a backlog corruption allegations by failing to the case against homicidal marketing schemes. However, some good find evidence of malfeasance anywhere. In a new section, the report news: Business Notes columnists section makes debutup in to thisover months looks The at what the Sunday haveitsgotten the report, and we are also pleased to offer a special Serengeti analytical course of the month while the Yellow Couch puts The East African piece the effectsunder of the financial weeklyonnewspaper its global magnifying lens. crisis on the Tanzanian banking sector.

Politics: Biharamulo By-election Media: Mengi’s anti-corruption’s crusade Three political parties put up candidates to contest the Biharamulo West parliamentary left vacant whenMengi, Tanzania The IPP Executive seat Chairman, Reginald calledLabour a press Party MP Phares Kabuye died in a the bus names accident in April. conference to reveal to the public of early the five people Chadema took on CCM quite credibly in a peaceful election, he considers the most corrupt in the country, ‘Mengi: These are but the seat to the ruling(This partyDay, candidate OscarThe Rwegasira the lost “sharks of corruption”’, 24th April). reaction Mukasa by roughly one thousand votes, with the TLP coming to Mr. Mengi’s statement was mixed. While some opposition MPs acommended very distant him, third others ‘Chadema: We accept Biharamulo questioned the defeat wisdomin of his action, th West News, 8 July). The number of reported “MPsby-election’ hail Mengi(Daily on corruption ‘sharks’” (The Guardian, 25th election ‘irregularities’ and incidents was notably low considering April) and ‘Kauli ya Mengi yaibua mapya’ [Mengi’s statement brings the of aggressive newtradition issues to light] (Mwananchi,competition 25th April).between Chadema and CCM in contesting parliamentary elections. ‘Biharamulo West pollcommentator peaceful’ (Theasked, Guardian, 6th July). One ‘Reginald Mengi ni msafi kiasi gani?’ [How clean is Reginald Mengi?], (Mtanzania Jumapili, 26th April). A few days later SophiaRichmond Simba, the Minister of State in the Office of the President Corruption: Clearances (Good Governance), accused Mr. Mengi of misusing his media outlets, ‘Mengi Slated Over Corruption Outbursts’ (Daily News, 28th April). Mr. Mengi’s action even seemed to have brought the government and the opposition together after the Civic United Front (CUF) Chairman delivered a withering attack on the IPP Media Chairman,’Lipumba slams Mengi over graft list’ (Daily News, 29th April). Mr. Yusuf Manji, named in Mr. Mengi’s list, decided to sue him for defamation. ‘ManjiMengi “soap” comes to court’ (Daily News, 30th April). By the end of the month, some were left to wonder if the whole incident had done irrevocable damage to the reputation of journalism in the country, ‘Reginald Mengi aivuruga taaluma ya habari’ [Reginald Mengi undermines journalism profession] (Rai, 30th April). Crime: ThePrime ZombeMinister Trial Mr. Edward Lowassa, Attorney General Mr. Former The murder trial of former Assistantand Police Commissioner, Abdallah Johnson Mwanyika, and Prevention Combatting of Corruption Zombe, his accomplices continued this month. didbynot Bureau and Director Mr. Edward Hosea have all beenThings cleared theall go the prosecution’s way, ‘Key witness caseLLC diesscandal in Dar’ government from any wrong-doing in in theZombe’s Richmond th (The Citizen, 4th April). AfterLowassa’ fevered speculation the late26Detective ‘Richmond report clears (The Sundaythat Citizen, July). Rashid Lema’s death may have been the result of foul play, the Deputy Minister for Energy and Minerals Mr. Adam Malimapolice said ordered an autopsy, ‘Police order more tests on cause of death of key that the government would not be taking any legal action against witness in Zombe trial’implicated (The Guardian, 7thscandal. April). The got was even government officials in the Mr. story Lowassa stranger as resign news broke that the2008 defendants’ died, issue just a after week forced to in February over thelawyer Richmond before the trial was tofrom resume, Zombecoupled advocatewith diesinformation in hospital in dedicated pressure the ‘Top opposition US’ (The Citizen, 22nd April). The drama continued the courthouse leaks from government sources resulted in the at formation of a after one of the defendants contradicted his fellow accomplices’, parliamentary investigative committee headed by Hon. Harrison‘I witnessed “execution” trader,The saysgovernment’s accused’ (The Citizen, Mwakyembe (CCM- of Kyela). decision29th to April). clear As one newspaper putinit,the ‘Kesi ya Zombe yazidi mazito’ officials implicated Mwakyembe reportkuibua raisedmambo some debate [Zombe’s continues toand reveal strange things] (Mtanzania, 29th April).over The amongstcase legislators, with the Executive: ‘MPs up in arms th Richmond ‘cleansing’ (The Citizen, 30 July), ‘House ‘statement’ on Richmond tomorrow’ (The Guardian, 30th July).

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JUILY, 2009

2 Infrastructure: The TICTS and TRL Contracts Tanzania Railways Limited (TRL) and Tanzania International Container Terminal Services (TICTS) have been getting a lot of media attention, sometimes as examples of unsuccessful privatization. Both companies came under scrutiny again when the Ministry for Infrastructure Development presented its budget estimates, and reported on its progress in assessing its contracts with RITES of India which is managing TRL, and TICTS which is a member of Hutchison Port Holdings, a subsidiary company of the Hutchison Whampoa Limited conglomerate. ‘Govt railed over TICTS deal’ (Daily News, 3rd July), ‘Impasse over TICTS, TRL not yet resolved’ (The Guardian, 3rd July). The main concerns are the efficiency of these companies, with both requiring injections from government coffers, TRL failing to provide services as promised and TICTS being grilled over the capacity and efficiency of Dar es Salaam port: ‘Shs 18.2bn/- TICTS amnesty as Bunge action looms’ (The Citizen, 2nd July) ‘Investors suspected of outright sabotage’ (This Day, 4th July). A major point of contention in the TICTS contract is the exclusivity clause which leaves out other potential investors, while the government is interested in reviewing and possibly renegotiating its contract with RITES ‘Kawambwa says govt willing to review TRL contract’ (The Guardian, 8th July), ‘TICTS exclusivity dispute goes on’ (Daily News, 14th July), ‘Axe falls on TICTS monopoly’ (Daily News, 15th July). During the reporting period, TRL was involved in a dispute with workers over salary deductions: ‘TRL workers stage a go-slow’ (The Guardian, 2nd July), and lost 10bn/- : ‘Massive theft at TRL’ (The Citizen, 3rd July), while TICTS also faced union action: ‘TICTS workers on go-slow’ (Sunday News, 12th July), ‘TICTS workers strike, want two senior officials sacked’ (The African, 28th July). Politics/Mineral Resources: Oil, Gas and the Union The sharing of revenue from potential oil and gas resources is a bone of contention between Zanzibar and the mainland, in spite of being one of the issues discussed under Mwafaka: ‘Isles: Oil, natural gas issue yet to be resolved at Union level’ (The Guardian, 1st July). In the event, the government of Zanzibar announced its intention to remove oil and gas exploration from the Union in order to protect the interests of its citizens, claiming that Zanzibar was not benefitting from the exploration that has taken place so far: ‘Zanzibar: oil and gas out of Union’ (The Guardian, 9th July). This apparently unilateral move was not well received by mainland MPs, which raised the ghosts of the Union debate: ‘Z’bar wrong on oil and gas- Speaker’ (The Guardian, 10th July), ‘Oil, gas issues dominate budget debate’ (Daily News, 10th July), ‘Z’bar digs in on oil revenue sharing’ (The Citizen, 11th July), ‘Analysts see oil debate as the tip of an iceberg’ (The Citizen, 19th July). Politics/Mineral Resources: Kiwira Coal Mine During a Bunge Q&A session, Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda let it be known that the government was planning to buy back Kiwira Coal Mine from its majority shareholder the Kiwira Coal and Power Company. This was not well-received by opposition MPs who were concerned about former president Benjamin Mkapa’s role in the possibly illegal privatization and appropriation of the coal mine in 2005 through Tanpower Resources Ltd- a company owned by Mkapa, former Finance Minister Daniel Yona and several of their relatives. This led to a debate about Mr. Mkapa’s immunity from prosecution as a former head of state: ‘Ex-presidents can face criminal charges-

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MP’ (This Day, 1st July). Minister for Energy and Minerals William Ngeleja confirmed at the end of the month that the government was indeed planning to reimburse the current owners of the mine “all costs they incurred after taking over the mine.” Some gray areas that the media was unable to clarify include the real ownership of Kiwira coal mine, and whether Mssrs. Mkapa and Yona can be charged with corruption for the way in which they procured the coal mine while they were in office ‘Mkapa, Yona in line for yet another big payday,’ (This Day, 24th July), ‘Kiwira: Minister clears Mkapa’ (The Citizen, 24th July). Mining: North Mara Water Pollution The North Mara Gold Mine has come under pressure to close after reports of human and cattle deaths from drinking polluted water exploded in the media in June. It appears that toxic waste from mining activities has been spilling into the Tigithe river, which then empties into lake Victoria. Lobbying by environmental and human rights groups succeeded in getting the issue into the public domain: ‘45 wadaiwa kufa sumu mgodi wa Barrick Mara’ [45 claimed to have died of poisoning in Barrick’s North Mara gold mine] (Nipashe, 7th July), ‘Govt Must act on North Mara Gold Mine now’ (The African, 1st July), ‘Call for Bunge to probe North Mara gold mine deaths timely’ (This Day, 1st July), ‘Government under pressure to close down Barrick mine.’ (This Day, 9th July). National Environmental Management Council (NEMC) and researchers from the Universtiy of Dar es Salaam recommendations suggest that there may indeed be some cause for concern: ‘NEMC: close or relocate North Mara Gold Mine’ (The Guardian, 9th July), ‘Independent reserachers detect high levels of pollution around North Mara gold mine’ (This Day, 10th July), ‘MP: close down North Mara mine’ (Daily News, 28th July). Budget 2009/2010: Ministry of Infrastructure Budget hiccup. Anthony Diallo (CCM- Ilemela) and three other CCM Members of Parliament held up the Ministry of Insfrastructure budget vote. Their main concern was that the government had dropped some long-term road construction plans in favor of newer projects: ‘MP blocks endorsement of Infrastructure budget’ (The Guardian, 3rd July), ‘Diallo akwamisha bajeti ya barabara’ [Diallo impedes road budget] (Mwananchi, 3rd July). After a couple days of negotiation the government succeeded in bringing its MPs back in line and passed the Ministry’s budget without changes, although there was a commitment made to source funds to invest in at least one project: ‘Roads budget gets the nod’ (The Guardian on Sunday, 5th July). Infrastructure: Tanesco housing scandal Members of Parliament challenged the national power company to improve its service and speed up electrification after hearing a presentation on the country’s Power System Master Plan in Dodoma. One major complaint was that the Masterplan only promised 75% electification in 2033- a timeframe that underwhelmed legislators: ‘Wabunge waikatalia Tanesco’ [Parliamentarians say no to Tanesco] (Nipashe, 13th July), ‘Tanesco to seek further power tariff hikes’ (This Day, 21st July). Yet the financially beleaguered utility company was caught with its hand in the till when it emerged that 1.4 bn/had been spent renovating seven houses for company executives: ‘Tanesco in spotlight over houses scandal’ (The Citizen, 28th July), ‘Ndassa alipua Tanesco’ [Ndassa takes on Tanesco] (Mtanzania, 28th July), ‘State forms team to probe Tanesco’ (The Citizen, 29th July).

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JUILY, 2009

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Watch Word: On power... From The Citizen “The public mistrust has greatly impaired the performance of the mine”Minister for Energy and Minerals, Mr. William Ngeleja, reading a statement on the Government’s decision to take over and run Kiwira Coal and Power Limited, the company formerly known as Kiwira Coal Mine Ltd., to which former president Mr. Benjamin Mkapa and former Minister of Finance Mr. Daniel Yona were linked. ‘Kiwira: Minister clears Mkapa’ (24th July) “It is a parliamentary affair. I can’t say anything. It is for the Energy Minister to comment” – Dr Idris Rashid, Tanesco MD, when asked about the alleged misuse of funds to renovate Tanesco executives’ houses. ‘Tanesco in spotlight over houses scandal’ (28th July). “There is no evidence which demonstrates that the officials failed to use their expertise to duly advise the Government in the entire process pertaining to the power generating contract” – The Implementation of the Parliamentary Directives Report read by Dep. Minister for Energy and Minerals, Mr. Adam Malima, clearing Attorney General Mr. Johnson Mwanyika, PCCB Director General Mr. Edward Hosea and former Prime Minister Mr. Edward Lowassa of any wrongdoing in the Richmond affair. ‘Richmond report clears Lowassa’ (26th July)

by 165% and its Loans and advances by 130%. Bank M credits this performance largely to its customer service initiatives: by offering 8am- 8pm banking seven days a week as well as fast domestic electronic money transfers, the Bank has made itself attractive to small business customers. (28th July). The Citizen: Affirmative Finance- The Tanzania Women’s Bank (TWB) opened in a soft launch at the end of the month. Starting with capital to the tune of 2.9 billion TShs- 2.1 billion of which came from government coffers- the bank aims at providing women with services in a sector in which they have been underrepresented due to access constraints amongst other issues. Other marginal groups will also be targeted by the Tanzania Women’s Bank. (29th July) The Guardian: Make a call, grow the economy- According to an interview with Vodacom CEO Mr. Pieter Uys, studies have indicated that there is a direct correlation between mobile phone penetration and Gross Domestic Product growth. Apparently, for every 10% additional penetration of mobile telephony there is a corresponding 0.8-1.8% increase in the GDP. (31st July)

Inbox: Dear Serengeti Team, I must say, there is no other publication out in Tanzania that manages to walk the fine line between rigorous analysis and an entertaining read such as yours! I am, and am sure, will continue to be impressed! Thank you.

Business Notes

Adam-Maliq Walter Muro The Citizen: Tackling unemployment- The Government announced that it has created 1,271,923 jobs since the present administration came into power in 2005, which is far in excess of the million jobs that it promised to deliver by 2010. Of those jobs, 93% came from the private sector. Youth employed in the agricultural sector were not counted. Nevertheless, youth employment is a problem that has hardly been tackled by this effort. According to the Shadow Minister for Labour, Employment and Youth Development, 800,000 young Tanzanians join the labour marked every year. High unemployment rates are creating friction with visible immigrant populations as Tanzanians seek to protect jobs. (7th July). Daily News: The High Cost of Cheap Fakes- East Africa may be losing USD 500 million per year in tex revenues thanks to counterfeit products, according to a report released by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Speaking at an intellectual property rights workshop in Dar es Salaam, EAC consultant Mr. William Maema pointed out that Tanzania is the only EAC country that has an anti-counterfeiting law in place. However, corruption gets in the way of implementing the legislation. As the Community moves towards the full implementation of the Customs Union in January of 2010, the EAC Secretariat is putting together Intellectual Property Rights policies that will have to contend with a globalized world that is hostile to import restrictions. (22nd July) The African: Bank M swells to more than twice its previous size- Bank M Limited has recorded growth in its balance sheet of 140% at the end of the 2008/2009 fiscal year. It closed 2008 with a balance sheet of 42.3 bn/- shillings last year and this year the figure is at 100 bn/-. Similarly, Bank M has grown its deposits SERENGETI ADVISERS

St. Paul, Minnesota

On Air: (Saturday, East Africa TV do the Bongo Movies show!) Bongo Movies Like any late-comer into the game, Tanzania’s fledgeling movie industry is at liberty to take its influences from a variety of ‘Woods.’ Many films are a combination of kitchen sink drama, Nollywood and Hollywood aspiration, but thankfully no Bollywoodesque song-and-dance routines..yet. Bongo Movies, hosted by Joyce Keria Nkongo, is a program for Tanzanian film enthusiasts. It covers in some depth an industry which is becoming as vigorous and prolific as the Bongo Flava wave. The quality of local films, their marketability outside of the country, and the paucity of trained industry workers and professional actors are some of the recent topics covered in this program, which combines a tangible love for Tanzania’s movie makers with candid examinations of their limitations. Highlights:

smart and entertaining industry news, fresh editing, great interviews

Lowlights: Half-hour format Channel:

EATV Channel 5

Day:

Wednesday 21:30-22:00, Sunday 18:00-18:30 (rpt)

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JUILY, 2009

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Main Story

Kadhi Courts

During the 2005 election campaign, CCM included in its manifesto a promise that, should they return to government, they would get to work on establishing Islamic Courts in the country. Two years later, Tanzanian Muslims are still waiting for this pledge to be fulfilled. In his budget presentation, the Minister for Constitutional Affairs and Justice, Mr. Mathias Chikawa, announced that while the government has been trying to incorporate ‘Islamic principles’ into existing laws, Kadhi courts did not feature in the government’s agenda, ‘Chikawe: Kadhi courts not in the offing’ (The Citizen, 1st July). This statement provoked an angry reaction from the Islamic community with some accusing the government of flip-flopping on its campaign promise, ‘Mahakama Kadhi yakoroga Waislamu’ [Muslims stirred by Kadhi court issue] (Mwananchi, 2nd July). The Tanzania Muslim Council threatened CCM with electoral consequences, ‘Bakwata: No courts, no votes for CCM’ (The Citizen, 3rd July). During a Parliament question and answer session, Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda told legislators that his government would not be pressurized, especially since the issue may lead to divisive debates in the country, ‘Shinikizo lisitumike – Pinda’ [Don’t use pressure - Pinda] (Uhuru, 3rd July). Nevertheless, Muslim organizations maintained their push for what they believe to be a just demand with plans to protest against the government’s decision, ‘Waislamu kudai zaidi Mahakama ya Kadhi’ [Muslims will continue to demand Kadhi court] (Mwananchi, 4th July). While publicly demonstrating resolve, privately senior figures within CCM were concerned that the groundswell of anger amongst Muslims may cost the party in the local elections to be held later this year, ‘Viongozi CCM wahaha, wajadili BAKWATA’ [CCM leaders worried, discuss BAKWATA] (Majira Jumapili, 5th July). Such fears proved well founded after news broke that leaders within the Muslim community were mobilizing for nationwide protests, ‘Mtikisiko’ [Earthquake] (Majira, 6th July) and ‘Masheikh 400 waanza dua kuwalaani waliowahadaa’ [400 Sheikhs to start prayers cursing those who betrayed them] (Mwananchi, 6th July). The government, called what appeared to be a truce by announcing the formation of a joint committee of Muslim leaders and civil servant officials to find ways to resolve the issue, ‘Team to look into Kadhi’s courts’ (The Citizen, 7th July). This news came following a meeting between the PM and influential sheikhs in the country, after which Mufti Issa bin Shaaban Simba urged his fellow Muslims to be patient and not allow anger to govern their decisions, ‘Mufti: Jazba isitawale Mahakama ya Kadhi’ [Mufti: Emotion should not drive the debate over Kadhi Court] (Uhuru, 7th July). In Parliament, Mrs. Mgeni Kadida (Special Seats – CUF) urged the government to expedite the process of establishing Kadhi Court, arguing that such a court would protect women’s rights, ‘Mahakama ya Kadhi italinda wanawake’ [Kadhi Court will protect women] (Majira, 10th July). Meanwhile, the European Union injected itself into the middle of the Kadhi debate after the head of the EU Commission in the country, Ambassador Tim Clarke, implored the government to remember the secular foundations laid down by Father of the Nation Mwalimu Nyerere when contemplating the Kadhi issue, ‘EU yatolea kauli Mahakama ya Kadhi [EU gives its opinion on Kadhi Court] (Tanzania Daima, 11th July). Ambassador Clarke went on to say that he hopes Tanzanians will retain the strict separation of Church and State as it was envisioned by Mwalimu Nyerere, for it has served the country well making it the beacon of peace in the region. SERENGETI ADVISERS

Speaking at a campaign rally in Mwanza, Civic United Front (CUF) Chairman Prof. Ibrahim Lipumba attacked President Kikwete, saying that his government’s u-turn led to the recent rancorous and divisive tone on the Kadhi courts’ issue, “‘CCM imehadaa Waislamu Mahakama ya Kadhi’” [CCM deceived Muslims on Kadhi Courts] (Mwananchi, 13th July). Nevertheless, the government held firm and reiterated its commitment to work with Muslim leaders to resolve the Kadhi Courts issue amicably, ‘PM clarifies on Kadhi courts’ (Daily News, 17th July). Parliament continued to be rocked by debate, with several MPs warning against the inclusion of religion in legal matters arguing that such a decision could lead to a Rwanda-style bloodshed, ‘Udini watikisa Bunge’ [Religion rocks Parliament] (Mtanzania Jumapili, 19th July). As another diplomat advised against the establishment of Kadhi Courts, ‘Balozi wa Kenya aonya uanzishaji Mahakama ya Kadhi’ [Kenya’s Ambassador warns against the formation of Kadhi Courts] (Mwananchi, 22nd July), some senior figures within CCM threw gasoline onto the fire, telling reporters that those who read into the 2005 election manifesto a promise to establish Kadhi courts were confused and in the process they revealed the divisions this issue has exposed within the party itself, ‘Msekwa, Makamba waibuka’ [Msekwa, Makamba emerge] (Majira, 23rd July).

What the commentators said… CCM cannot afford to take for granted the level of disquiet that its u-turn on the Kadhi Courts issue has generated because ‘reneg[ing] on their promise [would risk] losing massively at the next elections,’ said Alfred Ngotezi in the Sunday News (5th July). Is the Church behind the government’s dithering on this? They better not be as ‘Christians…have no reason or mandate to get involved in this matter.’ The notion that such a court would create divisions amongst the different religious communities is without evidence. Both Kenya and Uganda have such a system and ‘we have never heard of any substantial acrimony pitting M[u]slims and Christians in these countries.’ This is another instant of our government avoiding its responsibilities of finding solutions to the fundamental questions facing the country, wrote Tumaini Makene in Majira (8th July). All sides involved in this debate need to take a step back and discuss the issue more broadly than in the simplistic way they have done thus far, ‘it will be good if both sides, those who want the establishment of Kadhi Courts and those skeptical of it, to explain a few things: What does a Kadhi Court mean, what are it’s functions [and] what problems, if any, will be caused by a Kadhi Court to those who are not Muslims?’ These are a few of the issues that a serious conversation about Kadhi Courts need to elucidate on and it is vital that the government address this issue once and for all before the country can move on to the other problems facing us. Hawra Shamte pointed out in Mwananchi, the responsibility for establishing a Kadhi Court lies with the Muslims themselves and not the state (22nd July). ‘Personally, I agree 100% with the Prime Minister, since it is clear that if the government forms such a court, inevitably it will be considered an institution of the State and less a Muslim one,’ she wrote. Muslims need to stop pointing fingers at others for their problems. Yes, there is a need for a Kadhi Court but ‘Muslims themselves need to establish and lead them and only ask the government to recognize their legality,’ she concluded.

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July News Week 1: 1 - 7 July HEADLINES Kadhi Court Quarrel Biharamulo Election TICTS/TRL Issue Infrastructure Budget Ex-Mkapa/Kiwira Mine Issue Other Stories Total

English 8 6 11 4 2 74 105

Swahili 32 25 10 17 4 64 152

Totals 40 31 21 21 6 138

Appearances 7 4 3 3 2

Ranking 1 2 3 4 5

Appearances 2 4 3 3 2

Ranking 1 2 3 4 5

Appearances 4 3 2 2 2

Ranking 1 2 3 4 5

Appearances 5 6 3 2 2

Ranking 1 2 3 4 5

257

Week 2: 8 - 14 July HEADLINES Tourism Budget Z’Bar Oil/Union Matter North Mara Scandal ID’s Project/Masha’s Budget Yemen Air Crash Other Stories Total

English 6 6 8 2 6 81 109

Swahili 14 9 6 9 5 116 159

Total s 20 15 14 11 11 197 268

Week 3: 15 - 21 July HEADLINES Church Document Issue Kadhi Court Quarrel Kyela/Ukonga Police Violence Phone Voucher Prices New Media Bill Other Stories Total

English 5 3 2 5 3 89 107

Swahili 19 17 11 3 5 92 147

Total s 24 20 13 8 8 181 254

Week 4: 22 - 30 July HEADLINES Richmond Scam Church Document Issue Ex-Mkapa/Kiwira Mine Issue Tanga/Iringa Accidents Z’Bar Oil/Union Matter Others Stories Total

English 8 4 10 4 3 114 143

Swahili 23 25 16 11 8 141 224

Total s 31 29 26 15 11 255 367



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ECONOMIC & PUBLIC POLICY



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July-09 Top Ten stories Number of Headlines

Headline Share (Percentage)

Attention Span Index

71 53 34 31 30 26 24 22 21 15 819

6.2 4.6 3.0 2.7 2.6 2.3 2.1 1.9 1.8 1.3 71.5

14 10 5 5 6 6 5 4 3 3

No Kadhi Court The Catholic lobby Biharamulo by-election Richmond clearances TICTS/TRL contracts Z’Bar Oil and the Union Kiwira Coal Mine North Mara pollution Infrastructure budget hiccup Tanesco housing scandal Other Stories

Ten Headline Stories Headline 1146 Top TenTop Stories Share Share

TOTAL Stories

Top Ten Stories Headline Share No Kadhi Court

No Kadhi Court The Catholic lobby The Catholic lobby No Kadhi Court Biharamulo by-election The Catholic lobby Biharamulo by-election Biharamulo by-election Richmond clearances Richmond clearances Richmond clearances TICTS/TRL contracts TICTS/TRL contracts TICTS/TRL contracts Z'Bar Oil and the Union Z'Bar Oil and the Union Z'Bar Kiwira Oil and the Union Coal Mine Kiwira Coal Mine North Mara pollution Kiwira Coal Mine North Infrastructure budget hiccup Mara pollution NorthTanesco Mara housing pollution scandal Infrastructure budget hiccup Other Stories Infrastructure budget hiccup Tanesco housing scandal Tanesco housing scandal Other Stories Other Stories

Methodology

Attention Span Index

The top five weekly stories and top ten stories of the month are extracted from a survey of headlines in 17 newspapers: 5 English dailies, 2 English weeklies (one regional), 7 Kiswahili dailies, and 3 Kiswahili weeklies. Number of headlines surveyed in July: 1146.

No Kadhi Court The Catholic lobby Biharamulo by-election Richmond clearances TICTS/TRL contracts Z'Bar Oil and the Union Kiwira Coal Mine North Mara pollution Infrastructure budget hiccup Tanesco housing scandal 0

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Days in the News

SERENGETI ADVISERS

ECONOMIC & PUBLIC POLICY



JUILY, 2009

7

Yellow Couch The Sophisticate and the Simpletons If an extra-terrestrial being landed on any of the large metropoli in East Africa and picked up a copy of The EastAfrican, what might it learn about the region? It would inevitably encounter a myriad of stories depicting a people grappling with the challenges that are typical of developing nations: entrenched institutional corruption, an ageing political elite with a paradoxically strong grip on power, struggles towards economic freedom, attempts at deeper co-operation with regional neighbours, and accounts of creative energies dedicated at rising above the brutal reality of poverty and the humiliation of being indebted to distant and more powerful benefactors. But the extra-terrestrial visitor will also learn about the vibrant culture that characterizes this region, and its immense talents in sports. All in all, The EastAfrican will give our visitor a pretty good, general, sense of what the East African region is about. As the saying goes, however, the devil lies in the details. What sort of impression, specifically, will the visitor get of the countries that make up the main subject of this grand weekly newspaper, The EastAfrican? Take Tanzania. In July’s four editions of the paper, three of its front-page stories about Tanzania cover a failed privatization deal [‘Canadian firm finally pulls out of $5 million TTCL contract’ (6th July)], a faltering public policy scheme [‘Political power plays derail govt project to issue identity cards’ (13th July)] and a judicial system seemingly hostile to business [‘Breaking The Bank: Dar Appeal Court in Huge Award Against EADB’ (20th July)]. Before proceeding, it is important to note that these articles are finely written, well balanced and display the high level of journalistic rigor that is characteristic of this newspaper, notwithstanding its sometimes irritating over reliance on anonymous sources. Despite this, the narrative that emerges from these articles is that of a Tanzania that is commercially incompetent, politically inept and a jungle in which any would be-investor can prowl in at liberty. This picture meshes in nicely with the worldview of Mr. Karl Lyimo, the lone Tanzanian columnist in the op-ed section, who week after week works hard to advance the thesis that Tanzania may be the most inhospitable place on earth for human existence. The alien visitor would be forgiven for believing that too.

Compare, for instance, the kind of image of Kenya that emanates from The East African to that of its southern neighbour, Tanzania. In addition to stories about a gridlocked government [‘Kenya going the Somalia way? Apparently yes’ (6th July)], the crisis in education [‘Kenya’s education sector scores poorly on all fronts’ (13th July)] and corruption [‘US boosts anti-graft book as smug Kenya govt looks on’ (27th July)], you will find long features that wax lyrical about a flourishing cultural milieu. A weekly arts column by Frank Whalley, essays by Betty Caplan about the vibrant literary scene regularly appear alongside the more critical political pieces in the pages of the newspaper. All this works to construct a more complex and nuanced picture of the country, portraying it as more than its seemingly entrenched political and institutional problems. Why is it the case then that Tanzania, and for that matter all the other countries in the region, are not showered with the same kind of coverage that Kenya enjoys? Are the Rwandese merely political animals, clueless about culture and devoid of any artistic sensibilities worth writing about? Are there no writers and poets in Uganda? Where are the regular features about exhibitions, and essays about literary culture in Tanzania? Only the editors of The EastAfrican can provide definitive answers to these questions. From regular reading of the cultural coverage in the paper, it appears that The EastAfrican is very much a Kenya-centric publication, and its portrayal of the rest of the region as being made up of one-dimensional, unsophisticated backwaters is inadequate. If you are going to name yourself a regional publication then cover that region to its fullest extent: socially, politically, economically, and culturally. Otherwise, alien visitors reading such a publication will tend to believe that Kenya has a monopoly on everything that is cultivated about East Africa. Surely, that’s not what folks at The EastAfrican want people to believe. Or do they?

This is not to say that there are never any positive stories about Tanzania in The EastAfrican. Sometimes there may even be more than one article pointing to some palatable feature about the country. But this is not standard practice. It may well be the case that Tanzania is indeed a rather backward, uncivilized, banana republic of a place. There are times when even the Yellow Couch has expressed sympathy for that view. But is that all? Surely there must be some redeeming feature about the country, otherwise the suicide rate here would surely equal that of Lithuania.

SERENGETI ADVISERS

ECONOMIC & PUBLIC POLICY



JUILY, 2009

8

At Leisure: A Glance at the Sunday Columns The Sinner: - Who wants their leaders to be held accountable for crimes against humanity? Apparently Africans do not, according to Alfred Ngotezi. “The AU’s unflinching support for al Bashir is the optimal answer to Luis Moreno Ocampo’s outrageous audacity against the continent” claims Mr. Ngotezi, who points out that the International Criminal Court’s record brands it as a racist institution which has Africa firmly in its cross-hairs because it has to date indicted 13 high-ranking African officials while turning a blind eye to hot spots such as the Middle East and Ireland. As such, the AU’s decision to reject al Bashir’s indictment is a strong statement of of Pan-African leadership and dignity… ‘Thinking Out Loud: AU’s slap on International Criminal Court overdue’ (Sunday News, 12th July). The Fallen Saint:- Evarist Kagaruki, on the other hand, sees some value in the ICC and turns his criticism against African presidents: “They are crying fourl over Bashir’s indictment (and even feeling pity for him) not because they think he isinnocent, but basically because they fear the ‘dangerous’ legal precedent set by the ICC.” However, Mr. Kagaruki offers this historically

suspect justification for his support of the ICC: “in Europe, unlike here in Africa, the idea that crimes like genocide and ethnic cleansing should go unpunished was totally unacceptable […] That is why they have the moral authority to tell us that al Bashir must not (cannot) be let off the hook.” ‘Hard Talk: The International Criminal Court can end the culture of impunity in Africa’ (Sunday Citizen, 19th July). The Crusader: - “What’s needed is to publish an independent assessment, audit or whatever.” Insists Karl Lyimo, in order to gauge the benefits to Tanzania accrued from such intenational meetings as last year’s Leon Sullivan Summit. “Tanzania has hosted or organized a zillion investment forums which start off with a bang, and invariably end with a whimper” yet it is hard to say for sure how much money may have been generated from them in terms of investment. Perhaps the hospitality industry is better furnished to answer Mr. Lyimo’s questions than the institutions that he singled out- the Tanzania Investment Center. ‘Book, Bell and Candle: Remember that Sullivan Summit in Arusha? I do!’ (Sunday Citizen, 19th July).

567 Kibo Road, Mikocheni A P.O.Box 105620 Dar es Salaam, Tanzania email: [email protected] [email protected]

SERENGETI ADVISERS

We would like to acknowledge the kind sponsorship of Minesite Tanzania Limited

ECONOMIC & PUBLIC POLICY



JUILY, 2009