Tanzania - Global pulse News
  • Blast in sugar factory eliminates 11 in Tanzania

    Blast in sugar factory eliminates 11 in Tanzania

    Eleven individuals have actually been eliminated and 2 others hurt in a surge at a sugar factory in Tanzania’s eastern district of Mvomero, authorities state.

    The blast occurred after a strong steam pipeline burst as employees were beginning production on Wednesday night, the fire and rescue group stated.

    In addition to Tanzanians, people of Brazil, India, China and Kenya are amongst the dead, authorities state.

    Alex Mkama, the local fire and rescue commissioner stated that his group was examining the reason for the occurrence.

    The surge happened at about 01:00 regional time on Thursday [23:00 GMT Wednesday] at a factory run by Mtibwa Sugar Estates Limited, among Tanzania’s primary sugar makers.

    All the deceased were electrical and device personnel who were operating in the control space at the time, Mr Mkama included.

    Following the blast, Mtibwa Sugar Business has actually suspended all production activities in the factory.

    The bodies of the departed employees have actually been relocated to the mortuary of the factory’s health center.

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  • Tanzania floods and landslides kill more than 150

    Tanzania floods and landslides kill more than 150

    At least 155 people have died in floods and landslides in Tanzania following heavy rains caused by El Niño, the prime minister has said.

    Kassim Majaliwa warned that the rains might continue into May, and urged families to leave flood-prone areas.

    About 200,000 people and more than 51,000 households were already affected by the disaster, he added.

    Heavy rains have also swept through neighbouring Kenya and Burundi, causing a humanitarian crisis in the region.

    Giving a report to Tanzania’s parliament on the situation in his country since January, Mr Majaliwa said that in addition to the 155 people killed, 236 had been injured.

    “The heavy El Nino rains, accompanied by strong winds, floods, and landslides in various parts of the country, have caused significant damage.

    “These include loss of life, destruction of crops, homes, citizens’ property, and infrastructure such as roads, bridges, and railways,” he added.

    A resident in northern Tanzania’s Siha district told the BBC that his home had been destroyed.

    “I have nothing left, everything has been wiped away,” he said.

    In Kenya, President William Ruto has ordered the army to help with recue operations, as heavy rains pounded large parts of the country, including the capital, Nairobi, where homes in some slum areas have been swept away, along with furniture and other goods.

    More than 10 have died in Kenya this week, bringing the death to at least 45 people since March, the Red Cross said.

    In Burundi, heavy rains have displaced nearly 100,000 peoples.

    BBC Weather’s Chris Fawkes says that one of the biggest drivers of the rains is the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD).

    The IOD – often called the “Indian Niño” because of its similarity to its Pacific equivalent – refers to the difference in sea-surface temperatures in opposite parts of the Indian Ocean.

    During a positive phase, the waters in the western Indian Ocean are much warmer than normal and this can bring heavier rain regardless of El Niño.

    However, when both a positive IOD and an El Niño occur at the same time, as was the case last year, the rains in East Africa can become extreme.

    One of the strongest positive IOD patterns on record coincided with one of the strongest El Niño patterns in 1997 and 1998, with severe flooding reported. These caused more than 6,000 deaths in five countries in the region.

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  • Flooding in Tanzania has killed 155 people as heavy rains continue in Eastern Africa

    Flooding in Tanzania has killed 155 people as heavy rains continue in Eastern Africa

    NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Flooding in Tanzania caused by weeks of heavy rain has killed 155 people and affected more than 200,000 others, the prime minister said Thursday.

    That is more than double the number of deaths reported two weeks ago as the amount of rainfall increases, especially in the coastal region and the capital, Dar es Salaam.

    Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa told parliament that the El Niño climate pattern has worsened the ongoing rainy season, causing the flooding and destroying roads, bridges and railways. Flooded schools have been closed and emergency services have rescued people marooned by the flood waters.

    Majaliwa warned those living in low-lying areas to move to higher ground and urged district officials to ensure that provisions meant for those whose homes were washed away go to those in need of the supplies. He said more than 51,000 households have been affected by the rains.

    The East African region is experiencing heavy rains, with flooding also reported in neighboring Burundi and Kenya.

    In Kenya, 35 people were reported dead as of Monday, and the number was expected to increase as flooding continues across the country.

    In the Mathare slum in the capital, Nairobi, at least four bodies were retrieved from flooded houses on Wednesday. Local media reported that more bodies were retrieved from the Mathare River.

    Kenyan President William Ruto chaired a multi-agency flood response meeting on Thursday and directed the National Youth Service to provide land for people in flood-affected areas.

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  • World Bank suspends funding for Ruaha National Park project

    World Bank suspends funding for Ruaha National Park project

    The World Bank has halted its funding of a $150m ($120m) tourism project in Tanzania following allegations of rape, evictions and killings.

    The Ruaha National Park was reportedly meant to double in size as part of the project, but critics say the expansion has led to widespread abuses.

    The bank began investigating last year after it was accused of complicity in the abuses.

    On Tuesday, it said it was “deeply concerned” about the allegations.

    “We have therefore decided to suspend further disbursement of funds with immediate effect,” a spokesperson from the bank, which provides loans to developing countries, said.

    The Resilient Natural Resource Management for Tourism and Growth (Regrow) project was launched in 2017 in an effort to improve the “management of natural resources and tourism assets” in southern Tanzania, including in a number of national parks, the bank said.

    At least $100m has already been disbursed for the project, according to the US-based think tank Oakland Institute.

    Work to expand the boundaries of the Ruaha National Park, a 12,950-sq-km (5,000-sq-mile)conservation area that is home to lions and other wild animals, has been under heavy scrutiny.

    For over a year Oakland Institute has reported alleged abuses linked to development which, while being funded by the bank, has been carried out by the Tanzanian authorities.

    The Tanzanian government had not responded to BBC requests for comment.

    Last September, Oakland Institute said its research team had interviewed several villagers who alleged they were raped by rangers funded by the Regrow, (Resilient Natural Resource Management for Tourism and Growth).

    In its publication, Oakland Institute also pointed to reports from a Tanzanian MP and a community organisation that rangers had allegedly killed villagers.

    The think tank said government agencies had seized cattle en masse in a bid to force villagers off their land and that the Tanzanian government “blatantly” violated the bank’s procedures by planning to evict villagers without a formal plan to resettle them.

    The bank had “turned a blind eye to the horrific abuses unleased onto the communities”, the report alleged.

    The following month, the bank announced an investigation into allegations.

    After the bank announced it was suspending its funding of Regrow on Tuesday, Anuradha Mittal, executive director of Oakland Institute, said the “long overdue” decision was a “crucial step towards accountability and justice”.

    “It sends a resounding message to the Tanzanian government that there are consequences for its rampant rights abuses taking place across the country to boost tourism.”

    The think tank said villagers who “have been victims of gross human rights violations” must now receive “adequate” and “prompt” reparations.

    It also said the bank must prevent the forced evictions of other villagers.

    The bank said it has “robust policies” in place to prevent any potential “harmful impacts” and that it will “continue to work with the authorities and the local communities to ensure all Bank-supported projects protect and improve the lives of Tanzanians”.

    Allegations of abuse are not limited to tourism projects is the south – in recent years groups like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have accused the government of forcibly evicting thousands of Tanzanians from the Maasai ethnic group in order to develop a game reserve in the northern Ngorongoro region.

    The government has previously denied the allegations.

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