domingo, 19 de fevereiro de 2012


Did minister lie to the House?

19th February 2012
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Controversy is clouding the ownership of the newly named Serena Hotel Dar es Salaam (formerly Movenpick) as the government maintains that there are only changes on the hotel management.
The Guardian on Sunday has learnt that the five-star hotel was sold last year to Serena Hotels Group, one of 96 companies that make up the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED) trading under the name Tourist Promotion Services (TPS Serena).
Whereas all transactions for the sale of the 230 room posh hotel were engaged and finalised late 2011, Deputy Minister for Finance Pereira Silima told Parliament during the just ended meeting in Dodoma that what has been changing was just management and not the owner.
Silima was then responding to question number 67, posed by Chiku Abwao (Special Seats-Chadema), who wanted to know how much in terms of revenue share the country had benefitted through various change of business names and sale of companies including hotels and mobile telephone firms.
“On the example of Sheraton, Royal Palm, Movenpick and now Serena what is changing is the hotel management and not the hotel owner. The hotel owner who is the taxpayer is the company, Tanruss Investment Ltd,” deputy minister Silma told the House.
He affirmed that in case of change of share ownership for the same business the government’s entitlements are tied to various available tax laws, nature of change in share ownership, shareholding structure among local and foreign shareholders and company registration within and outside the country.
But when tasked through supplementary questions as to what the government was doing to ensure all state revenues are rightly collected, Silima pledged that the ministry would keep tabs on all businesses in a bid to curb evasion of rightful governments dues.
However this paper has established that the entire property of now Serena Hotel has been sold to Tourism Promotion Services (TPS) that is registered at the Nairobi Stock Exchange.
For years there have been public claims that changes of business names were done dubiously for the purpose of evading relevant taxes especially when there was a popular government practice of five – year tax holiday, aimed at investment attraction for major foreign companies.
But since the law governing investment was amended and made it harder to obtain tax holidays, activists now focus on whether such transactions follow the right procedure, without which no taxation and resulting revenue dues can be attracted, that is deemed evasion of capital gains tax.
The capital gains tax (CGT) is a tax on capital gains meant to be the profit realised on the sale of a non-inventory asset that was purchased at a lower price. The most common capital gains are realized from the sale of stocks, bonds, precious metals and property. Not all countries implement a capital gains tax and most have different rates of taxation for individuals and corporations.
Sources privy to the Dar es Salaam Serena Hotel management told this paper exclusively this week that what took place last year was a sale of the property and not management contracting as in previous times.
“I clearly understand how managements were changed from the time of Sheraton to Royal Palm and later on to Movenpick. Arrangements for such changes were totally different from the recent one,” a Serena Hotel employee intoned.
He affirmed: “During previous changes of management employees used to be informed one day before the changes came into effect that the hotel symbol on name tags were going to be altered and the new ones were simply provided. The last changes went further to matters such as finances and it took months before finalization.”
This paper has gathered that whereas Serena took full charge of the hotel management and ownership effective December 2011, there was a one month transitional period before total takeover.
“It was a hectic period that most of the employees had not experienced before. The Serena guys were very serious and keen on financial matters. They told the Movenpick people for instance that they would not inherit any debt dated prior to the one month-transitional period,” intoned the well placed official.
The Guardian on Sunday has further learnt that during an induction course for employees under the new Serena boss that was held late last year, workers were briefed that the hotel majority shareholder was TPS but Tanruss were still around as minor shareholders.
Tanruss, uniting capital from ex-Russian debt and local investment partner Emmanuel Mantheakis, an orthodox Christian with Greek origins in like manner as most Russians, erected a building along Ohio Street in the early 1990s, with the Sheraton Hotel chain picked to run the hotel in 1995. A few years later Royal Palm Hotel chain took over, with subsequent changes that saw Movenpick take over the management in 2005.
Then (2005) it was reported that the Kingdom Hotel Investment (KHI) of Saudi Arabia led by Prince Walid bin Talal had became majority shareholder as Tanruss remained a minor shareholder with less than two percent.
On July 27th 2011 KHI senior vice President for Africa, Roger Kacou issued an internal announcement that read in part:
“KHI, the owning company of the hotel, has decided to sell the property to the Serena Hotel Group that not only owns hotels but also operates them.
The hotel staff are currently employed by a subsidiary of KHI and will be employed by the new owner after the sale of the property. We have been assured that there will be no changes to the employment agreements. We are also working with all parties involved to find an adequate solution for those employees who are flexible and who want to stay with us.
“We have been managing the hotel since 2005 and we regret to see this property leaving our Africa portfolio. We would like to thank all the hotel employees for their hard work and dedication over the past years.
They have achieved great results and were a key contributor to our region and Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts”, said Roger Kacou.
Serena Hotels Group owns and operated several hotels and Lodges and tourist camps in Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Mozambique, Uganda and in South Asian countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan, as well as the central Asian state of Tajikistan.
Some popular hotels in Tanzania owned by Serena are located in Ngorongoro, Manyara, Serengeti, Mivumo River Lodge, Selous Wildlife Lodge and Zanzibar.
SOURCE: GUARDIAN ON SUNDAY
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terça-feira, 14 de fevereiro de 2012

Africa challenged to ensure minerals benefit its people

By Michael Haonga
14th February 2012
 
Finance Minister Mustafa Mkulo
African countries have been challenged to ensure that their mineral richness played a more prominent role in the global economy.
Finance Minister Mustafa Mkulo gave the challenge in Dar es Salaam yesterday in his opening speech at the 16th meeting of the intergovernmental committee of experts.
He said: “Many African countries are endowed with abundant mineral resources, but despite their richness the continent plays insignificant role in the global economy".
“This is a challenge which needs to be addressed by our African countries and the Eastern Africa sub region in particular,” Mkulo added.
He said the proposal that APRM serve as an instrument to improve governance of the natural resource was timely and relevant for African countries and should be taken up.
“We have to find African solutions to African problems …I think APRM might provide a powerful way of improving natural resource governance in the region,” Minister Mkulo said.
He cited Tanzania as one of the countries which were endowed with natural resources such as minerals, gas, forestry and fisheries and that the mining sector for instance contributed about 3.3 percent to the economy in 2010, and was projected to account for 10 percent in the year 2025 as per the country's Development Vision 2025.
“Mining is one of the leading sectors in generating foreign exchange earnings …it also has great potentials for employment opportunities and spearheading of both the forward and backward linkages of Tanzania’s economy,’ he said.
He said that accountability and transparency on the part of mining operations were matters of essence adding that the government has undertaken a comprehensive review of the mineral sector where the factors were underpinned in the new mineral policy and the new mining Law.
International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM), Director Kathryn Mc Phail said lack of collaboration between the government, civil societies and the community is a result of failure in the sector since it takes time to strengthen them for the benefit of the society.
“We need to know the shared goods and the roles and responsibilities of all the respective bodies so as to help contribute to the society…all institutions should be involved and not just the government and companies,” Phail said.
She added that defining the country’s objective such as creating more employment opportunities will enable a particular country to have a focus based on development.
For his part, Soteri Gatera, Senior economic affairs officer and head of infrastructure & natural resources development, sub-region office for eastern Africa (SRO-EA) said the meeting will also address modern principles that can be used to benefit the communities with minerals.
He said: “There have been underground perceptions that the mining sector is poorly handled and so performing below expectations…and for the sector to have positive results in the community we are organising this workshop to address the challenges.”
“But we want to learn how to benefit from the resources by taking a close look at the procedures of extraction and processing of these minerals so that we can help the ordinary people benefit from them,” Gatera added.
The five -day meeting is attended by participants from Uganda, Burundi, Comoros, DR Congo, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Kenya.
Others include Madagascar, Rwanda, Seychelles, Tanzania and South Sudan.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN
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domingo, 12 de fevereiro de 2012

Students to benefit from Rwandan scholarships

By East african News agency
12th February 2012
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Rwanda will give scholarships to students from the East African Community (EAC) to study at Carnegie Mellon University in the capital, Kigali, according to an announcement by the Ministry of Education.
"The scholarships will be offered to students who fulfill the academic requirements and acceptance to the CMU Rwanda programmes upon completion of an evaluation form for the assessment of the student's financial needs by the Ministry of Education," the ministry said in a statement.
The scholarships will be for Professional Development short courses and for Masters in Science in Information Technology.
CMU is affiliated to a US research institution that offers graduate degrees in Africa. Scholarships will amount to 50 percent of the global tuition fee for the Masters programme and up to 50 percent of the enrolment fee for the Professional Development courses.
Carnegie Mellon University globally charges an estimate of $38,900 for its 2012/2013 academic year. However, this rate will be confirmed in March 2012. Under the scholarship, qualifying students would therefore pay $19,450 per annum, based on this estimation.
Education Minister Vincent Biruta said the scholarships will help students to advance their formal knowledge and give students from the region the opportunity to enrol in Masters programmes from one of the best universities in the world right.
Bruce Krogh, the director of CMU-Rwanda, commended the Rwandan government for offering the scholarships.
Meanwhile With a five percent growth rate, the EAC is one of the fastest growing regional blocs in the world and the most advanced in Africa despite being the youngest, Christian Friis Bach the Danish Minister for Development and Cooperation, has said.
"Regional economic integration, apart from spurring economic growth, brings with it political stability like has happened in Burundi and will also come about in South Sudan," Bach said in Nairobi, when addressing recently the second stakeholder forum to review progress made on resolution of issues that hinder regional trade.
EAC secretary-genereal Richard Sezibera also addressed the forum and urged EAC member states to relax barriers to unlock trade potential within the region.
"International companies see East Africa as a single investment destination and they are increasing their investments here," Sezibera said, adding that the region's top officials had committed themselves to fast-tracking infrastructure projects across the bloc.
A recent study on EAC trade barrier suggests that in order to enhance gains from the elimination of non-tariff barriers (NTBs) within the region, designing effective mechanisms for policy monitoring would be crucial for regional growth.
Sezibera announced that EAC Secretariat would hold quarterly meetings with chief executive officers of major companies across East Africa and other technocrats to review the progress made so far.
The EAC, he said, has an environment-friendly industrial policy and strategy. He encouraged the private sector to work with the EAC on policy implementation.
During the EAC formulation process of the Common Market Protocol, the elimination of NTBs was a key focus, considered a major driver in the improvement of regional trade EAC member states of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda.
Dr Sezibera said the issuance of a single tourist visa, the internationalisation of the East Africanpassport, the use of national identity cards for movement within East Africa and the liberalisation and domestication of EAC airspace were some of the EAC priorities in 2012.
Construction of one-stop border posts and other integrative infrastructure, including implementation of the agreement on harmonised axle load and other transport regulations, Sezibera said, were expected to significantly bring down the cost of doing business in the region.
According to EAC preliminary figures, intra-EAC trade is estimated to have grown five fold in 2011. Currently, this trade stands at $3. 5 billion or 11.9 percent of total trade within the region.
Kenyan Trade Minister Chirau Ali Mwakwere said more than 47 percent of Kenya's total exports go to Africa, most of it to the regional blocs of COMESA and EAC.
"The EAC is a critical market for Kenya and trade has increased tremendously since the establishment of the Customs Union in 2005 and Common Market in 2010, with exports to the EAC accounting for over 26 percent of Kenya's total exports," Mwakwere said.
SOURCE: GUARDIAN ON SUNDAY
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quinta-feira, 9 de fevereiro de 2012

Nchi yatikisika

Nchi yatikisika

9th February 2012
Hospitali Kuu zote huduma hakuna
Wanaharakati wafunga barabara Dar
Hoja yazimwa mara sita Bungeni
Wanaharakati wakianadamana na mabango kwenye makutano ya barabara za Ocean na Ali Hassan Mwinyi jijini Dar es Salaam jana kwa lengo la kushinikiza Serikali isikilize madai ya madaktari ili kumaliza mgomo wao unaoendelea nchini.(Picha: Khalfan Said)
Mgomo wa madaktari katika hospitali mbalimbali sasa umeitikisa nchi huku madaktari zaidi wakiungana na wenzao kuishinikiza serikali kusikiliza madai yao.
Kutokana na hali hiyo, Waziri Mkuu, Mizengo Pinda, ameamua kuacha vikao vya Bunge kwa ajili ya kusaka suluhu na madaktari.
Hayo yakiendelea, jana wanaharakati waliandamana na kufunga barabara jijini Dar es Salaam kwa saa moja kushinikiza serikali itatue mzozo wa madaktari ambao sasa unakaribia mwezi mmoja.
Mjini Dodoma nako, wabunge walicharuka ikiwa ni mara ya sita hoja ya kutaka kujadili mgomo wa madaktari inaibuka lakini ikizimwa, huku wanasiasa nje ya Bunge wakitoa matamko ya kuitaka serikali kuchukua hatua.
Pinda jana, alilazimika kuondoka bungeni na kurejea jijini Dar es Salaam kutafuta ufumbuzi wa mgomo huo ambao umesababisha vifo vya wagonjwa kuongezeka na wengine kuondolewa na ndugu zao katika hospitali za serikali.
Akizungumza na madaktari wa Hospitali ya Temeke jana, Mkuu wa Mkoa wa Dar es Salaam, Saidi Meck Sadiki, alisema Waziri Mkuu ameamua kuacha vikao vya Bunge ili kutafuta suluhu na madaktari waliogoma.
Alisema wakati Pinda anatafuta ufumbuzi wa mgomo huo, ni vema madaktari wa Hospitali hiyo waakarudi kazini kwa ajili ya kuokoa maisha ya wananachi.
“Kabla ya kuja hapa, nilikuwa uwanja wa ndege kumpokea Waziri Mkuu ambaye amekuja aghfla kwa ajili ya kutafuta suluhu ya jamabo hili, nawaomba madaktari rudini kazini wakati mnasubiri hatua zitakazochukuliwa,” alisema.
TEMEKE HALI MBAYA
Hali katika Hospsitali ya Temeke imezidi kuwa mbaya. Imeelezwa idadi ya watu wanaokufa imengezeka na kufikia watu 39 kwa siku kutoka 15 katika siku za kawaida.
Sadiki alisema baada ya Hospitali ya Muhimbili kusitisha huduma, tegemeo kubwa lilikuwa kwa Hospitali za Temeke, Amana na Mwananyamala, hivyo hatua ya kugoma hawatawatendea haki wananchi wasio na uwezo wa kwenda katika hospitali binafsi.
“Chonde chonde ndugu zangu, tuamue sasa kurudi kuwahudumia wananchi hawa, wengi ni maskini, nipo tayari kutatua baadhi ya kero kama mlivyoniambia,” alisema Sadiki.
Awali madaktari hao walimwambia Sadiki kuwa wameamua kugoma baada ya kuzidiwa na wagonjwa wanaotoka Muhimbili.
Dk. Ronald Mkonye alieleza kwamba udaktari upo ndani ya mioyo, lakini sio kitu kizuri Serikali kuwalazimisha, badala yake iangalie madai yao.
“Mkuu wa Mkoa hawa watu wanakabiliwa na matatizo mengi, hapa hakuna vifaa na pia tumezidiwa na wagonjwa wanaotoka Muhimbili, tulichoamua hapa si kugoma ila tumeshindwa kutokana na wingi wa watu,” alisema Dk. Mkonye.
Akizungumza na NIPASHE, mfanyakazi wa chumba cha kuhifadhia maiti cha Hospitali hiyo, Mohamed Bakari, alisema kuanzia juzi vifo vya wagonjwa viliongezeka na kufikia 39 wanaokufa kwa siku wakati chumba hicho kina uwezo wa kuhifadhi maiti 15 kwa siku.
“Tumezidiwa mno baada ya kutokea mgomo, hatuna sehemu ya kuhifadhi maiti imetubidi tuziweke tatu tatu kwenye jokofu na zingine tumezilaza chini,” alisema Bakari.
Katika wodi namba mbili maalum kwa watoto, vitanda vilionekana kuwa tupu baada ya wagonjwa kuondolewa na ndugu na kuwapeleka kwenye hospitali binafsi na zahanati za jirani.
Mwanamke mmoja ambaye alionekana akiwa na mtoto wake mgongoni akijiandaa kuondoka, alisema ameamua kumnusuru mtoto wake kwa kumpeleka kwenye hospitali zingine angalau akapatiwe huduma. “Toka jana (juzi) hatukupatiwa matibabu, hali ya mtoto wangu ni mbaya, nimeamua kumchukua niende hospitali zingine,” alisema.
Mganga Mkuu wa Hospitali hiyo, Amani Malila, alisema huduma iliyosimamishwa ni kwa wagonjwa wa nje, lakini wagonjwa wa dharura na watoto wataendelea kupatiwa matibabu.
OCEAN ROAD NAO WAGOMA
Madaktari wa Taasisi ya Saratani (Ocean Road), jana walijuunga na mgomo huo. Mgomo wa madaktari wanaotoa huduma ya mionzi na x-ray ulisababisha usumbufu kwa wagonjwa waliofika kupata huduma hiyo.
NIPASHE lilishuhudia msongamano mkubwa wa wagonjwa waliokuwa wanasubiri huduma hizo wakati uongozi wa hospitali hiyo ukiwasihi madaktari hao kuendelea na kazi.
Mwanahamisi Juma, mgonjwa aliyevunjika miguu kwa ajali ya gari aliyefika kupata huduma ya x-ray alisema: “Nimekuja hapa tangu asubuhi, lakini sijapata huduma yoyote, nimeambiwa madaktari wamegoma na sasa hivi wapo kwenye kikao.”
Jackson Richard, aliyefika Hospitalini hapo kupata huduma ya mionzi, alisema: “Nilipangiwa tarehe ya leo nije kupata huduma ya mionzi, lakini tangu nifike sijapata huduma, tumeambiwa madaktari wamegoma na wapo kwenye kikao.”
WAGONJWA WAHAMISHWA MUHIMBILI
Katika Hospitali ya Taifa Muhimbili, hali ya utoaji huduma ilikuwa duni, hali iliyowalazimisha ndugu na jamaa kuwahamisha wagonjwa wao na kuwapeleka hospitali binafsi.
Sauda Kasimu, ambaye ndugu yake Aidali Mussa aliyelazwa Wodi ya Sewahaji alisema: “Nimeamua kumhamisha mgonjwa wangu kumpeleka TMJ kwa kuhofia hali yake kuwa mbaya zaidi.”
WAGONJWA BUGANDO WATESEKA
Mgomo wa madaktari katika Hospitali ya Rufaa ya Bugando mkoani Mwanza umesababisha mateso kwa wagonjwa.
NIPASHE ilipofika hospitalini hapo, lilishuhudia huduma zote za kitabibu zikiwa zimesimama, zikiwemo za upasuaji.
“Mimi ninaishangaa kwa kuthamini fedha, badala ya kusikiliza madai ya madaktari kiasi cha kusababisha usumbufu pamoja na vifo kwa wagonjwa kutokana na mgomo huu,” alilalamika mgonjwa mmoja ambaye aliomba jina lake lihifadhiwe.
Kaimu Mkurugenzi wa Hospitali hiyo, Dk. Joseph Gilyoma, hakuwa tayari kuzungumza lolote kuhusiana na mgomo huo.


RUFANI MBEYA WABADILI MBINU
Madaktari katika Hospitali ya Rufani ya Mbeya, wamebadili mbinu ya mgomo na kutii amri ya Serikali ya kuwataka kurejea kazini, lakini hawatoi huduma kwa wagonjwa.
Kaimu Mkurugenzi wa Hospitali hiyo, Dk. Humphrey Kiwelu, alisema jana kuwa madaktari waliokubali kurejea kazini wanafika na kusaini kitabu cha mahudhurio, lakini hawatoi huduma kwa wagonjwa.
Alisema kati ya madaktari 75 wa hospitali hiyo waliogoma, 10 kati yao ni waajiriwa wa Serikali na wengine 65 walikuwa ni madaktari walioko katika mafunzo kwa vitendo hospitalini hapo.
Alisema madaktari hao 10 waajiriwa wa Serikali, saba kati yao wamerejea kazini, lakini wanashirikiana na madaktari 65 walio katika mafunzoni ambao wanafika na kusaini kitabu cha mahudurio kisha kuondoka bila kutoa huduma kwa wagonjwa, hali ambayo inasababisha utoaji wa huduma kwa wagonjwa kuendelea kuwa ngumu.
Kufuatia hali hiyo, Dk. Kiwelu alitoa wito kwa wananchi wanaohitaji huduma za afya waanzie katika vituo vya afya, hospitali za wilaya na ikishindikana hapo waende hospitali ya Mkoa na kwamba ikionekana mgonjwa anazidi kuwa na hali mbaya ndipo apelekwe katika Hospitali hiyo baada ya maagizo ya daktari wa Hospitali ya Mkoa.
KCMC SIO SHWARI
Utoaji huduma katika Hospitali ya Rufaa ya KCMC mkoani Kilimanjaro bado si wa kuridhisha huku wauguzi wakitoa huduma kwa kushirikiana na madaktari wanafunzi kutoka katika chuo cha KCMC na vyuo vingine.
Madaktari waliogoma hadi jana walikuwa wakiripoti asubuhi kama kawaida na kuondoka na kuwaachia madaktari waliopo katika mafunzo kwa vitendo.
Gazeti hili lilishuhudia baadhi ya vitanda katika wodi ya wagonjwa wa mifupa na wale waliopata ajali pamoja na wodi ya wazazi na ya watoto vikiwa wazi kutokana na wagonjwa kuhamishwa na kupelekwa katika hospitali binafsi.
WABUNGE WAMTEMBELEA MUHIMBILI
Kamati ya Bunge za Huduma ya Jamii ikiongozwa na Mwenyekiti wake, Margaret Sitta, ilitembelea Hospitali ya Muhimbili na kupita katika wodi kujionea hali halisi.
Baada ya ziara hiyo, Sitta alikataa kuzungumza lolote zaidi ya kusema: “Siruhusiwi kuongea chochote mpaka nikakapokabidhi ripoti bungeni.”
Kamati hiyo ilirejea Dodoma jana na kuwasili viwanja vya Bunge majira ya saa 10:45 jioni, baada ya kumaliza kazi ya kukutana na madaktari na serikali.
Awali kabla ya kamati hiyo kurejea, Spika wa Bunge, Anne Makinda, aliwaambia wabunge waliokuwa wakihudhuria semina juu ya hali ya uchumi, kuwa wajumbe wa kamati hiyo walikuwa wamekodishiwa ndege kutoka Dar es Salaam ili watoe taarifa juu kwa Kamati ya Uongozi wa Bunge.
Alisema kamati hiyo itatoa taarifa hiyo kwenye kamati ya Bunge ya Uongozi wa Bunge pamoja na Waziri Mkuu, na kisha kujadiliana kabla ya kuwasilishwa bungeni.
WANAHARAKATI WAFUNGA BARABARA DAR
Wanaharakati jana waliamua kuingilia kati na kufunga barabara kwa lengo la kuishinikiza serikali ikutane na madaktari ili kuepusha vifo vinavyoendelea kutokea kutokana na wananchi kukosa huduma za matibabu.
Wanaharakati hao walifunga barabara jijini Dar es Salaam katika makutano ya barabara ya Ali Hassan Mwinyi na Ocean Road na kusababisha magari kushindwa kupita huku wakiwa wamebeba mabango yenye ujumbe mbalimbali.
Maandamano hayo ambayo yaliongozwa na Mkurugenzi Mtendaji wa Kituo cha Sheria na Haki za Binadamu (LHRC), Hellen-Kijo Bisimba na Mkurugenzi Mtendaji wa Chama Cha Waandishi wa Habari Wanawake (Tamwa), Ananilea Nkya.
Baadhi ya mabango hayo yalisomeka “Rais Kikwete na Pinda tunataka afya bora, Rais Kikwete fukuza Waziri wa Afya, Naibu wake, Katibu Mkuu wake pamoja na Mganga Mkuu wa Serikali kwa kuwa wameshindwa kufanya kazi.”
Mengine yalisema “Rais Kikwete hatibiwi Muhimbili, wabunge mmetusaliti sisi wananchi.” Wanaharakati hao waliondoka hapo baada ya saa 1:30 kwa amri ya Jeshi la Polisi.
Askari Polisi wenye sare na waliovalia kiraia wakiwa katika magari yenye namba za usajili T.313 AEN, PT 1848 na 778 AFG walizingira eneo hilo na kuwatangazia wanaharakati hao watawanyike na kufungua barabara ili kuruhusu magari kupita.
Waandamanaji hao walifika katika eneo hilo wakiwa kwenye magari yao na kuwakuta wenzao waliokuwa wametangulia na kuungana nao.
Bisimba alisema lengo lao lilikuwa ni kutaka kufikisha ujumbe kwa serikali kwamba wananchi wanakufa kwa kukosa huduma katika hospitali mbalimbali.
Alisema leo pia wanajipanga ili kufanya maandamano makubwa ambayo yatawashirikisha watu wengi zaidi.
Aidha, alisema wanaharakati wanalaani hatua ya Spika Makinda kuendelea kukataa suala la mgogoro wa madaktari kujadiwa kwa dharura bungeni huku akijua watu wanakufa.
Bisimba alisema wanajipanga ili kukusanya ushahidi wa watu waliokufa na kupata mateso kutokana na mgomo unaoendelea ili kuifikisha serikali mahakamani
BUNGE LAKWAMA KUJADILI
Sakata la mgomo wa madaktari jana limeibuka tena bungeni kwa mara ya sita, baada Mbunge wa Kigoma Mjini (CCM), Peter Serukamba, kutoa hoja ya kutaka lijadiliwe kutokana na athari zake kuwa kubwa kwa jamii.
Alitoa hiyo hiyo siku moja baada ya Spika wa Bunge, Makinda kuzuia suala hilo kujadiliwa na wabunge akiwataka wavute subira hadi Kamati ya Bunge ya Ustawi wa Jamii itakapomaliza kazi yake na kutoa taarifa.
“Hii ni wiki ya pili sasa Wanzania wenzetu wanakufa mahospitalini kwa kukosa matibabu, kuna watu wanasema kujadili suala hili ni kuingilia mihimili mingine hii si sawa, hatuwezi kuendelea na kikao wakati Watanzania tunaowawakilisha hapa wanaendelea kufa…naomba kutoa hoja Bunge tujadili jambo hili kwa dharura,” alisema na hoja yake kuungwa mkono na wabunge wengine.
Naibu Spika wa Bunge, Job Ndugai, alikubaliana na Serukamba kuwa jambo hilo ni la dharura, hivyo linastahili kujadiliwa.
Baada ya kutoa maelezo hayo, Ndugai, aliielekeza Kamati ya Uongozi ya Bunge kukutana jana baada ya kipindi cha maswali na majibu ili kujadiliana na serikali namna ya kufanya kuhusiana na suala hilo.
MBATIA: VIGOGO WA WIZARA WAWAJIBISHWE
Mwenyeki wa Chama cha NCCR-Mageuzi, James Mbatia, amemtaka Rais Jakaya Kikwete kuwawajibisha watendaji wakuu wa Wizara ya Afya na Ustawi wa Jamii kwa kushindwa kutatua mgomo wa madaktari na kulifikisha taifa katika hali ya hatari.
Akizungumza na waandishi habari jana jijini Dar es Salaam, Mbatia alisema kuna umuhimu wa watendaji hao kuwajibishwa au kujiwajibisha wenye kwa kuwa wamelifikisha taifa katika hali mbaya na matokeo yake kusababisha vifo.
“Chenji ya rada imerudi, basi hizo fedha zote zipelekwe kwa madaktari na sio kutoa kipaumbele katika mambo ambayo si ya muhimu,” alisema.
Mbatia alisema nchi haiwezi kuendelea kuongozwa huku watu wakiendelea kufa wakati serikali ina fedha.
Mbatia alisema ameshindwa kuelewa Kamati ya Kudumu ya Bunge ya Juduma za Jamii inafanya utafiti gani wakati jambo hilo linafahamika tangu awali na matokeo yake kupoteza muda huku wananchi wakiendelea kufa.
APPT MAENDELEO KWENDA KWA JK
Mwenyekiti wa Chama cha APPT Maendeleo, Peter Mziray, amesema chama chake kitakwenda kuonana na Rais Jakaya Kikwete kumweleza athari zinazoendelea kujitokeza na hatua anazopaswa kuzichukua kumaliza mgomo wa madktari unaoendeelea kuwaathili wananchi.
Alisema chama chake kimeamua kuchukua hatua hiyo baada ya ya kubaini kuwa wasaidizi wake (Rais) wameshindwa kulipatia ufumbuzi tatizo hilo kutokana na kulichukulia suala hilo kama la kisiasa.

Imeandikwa na Moshi Lusonzo, Richard Makore, Gwamaka Alipipi, Beatrice Shayo, Thobias Mwanakatwe, Dar; Abdallah Bawaziri, Sharon Sauwa, Dodoma; Emmanuel Lengwa, Mbeya; Charles Lyimo, Moshi na Juma Ng’oko, Mwanza.
CHANZO: NIPASHE
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segunda-feira, 6 de fevereiro de 2012


Did minister lie to the House?

19th February 2012
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Controversy is clouding the ownership of the newly named Serena Hotel Dar es Salaam (formerly Movenpick) as the government maintains that there are only changes on the hotel management.
The Guardian on Sunday has learnt that the five-star hotel was sold last year to Serena Hotels Group, one of 96 companies that make up the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED) trading under the name Tourist Promotion Services (TPS Serena).
Whereas all transactions for the sale of the 230 room posh hotel were engaged and finalised late 2011, Deputy Minister for Finance Pereira Silima told Parliament during the just ended meeting in Dodoma that what has been changing was just management and not the owner.
Silima was then responding to question number 67, posed by Chiku Abwao (Special Seats-Chadema), who wanted to know how much in terms of revenue share the country had benefitted through various change of business names and sale of companies including hotels and mobile telephone firms.
“On the example of Sheraton, Royal Palm, Movenpick and now Serena what is changing is the hotel management and not the hotel owner. The hotel owner who is the taxpayer is the company, Tanruss Investment Ltd,” deputy minister Silma told the House.
He affirmed that in case of change of share ownership for the same business the government’s entitlements are tied to various available tax laws, nature of change in share ownership, shareholding structure among local and foreign shareholders and company registration within and outside the country.
But when tasked through supplementary questions as to what the government was doing to ensure all state revenues are rightly collected, Silima pledged that the ministry would keep tabs on all businesses in a bid to curb evasion of rightful governments dues.
However this paper has established that the entire property of now Serena Hotel has been sold to Tourism Promotion Services (TPS) that is registered at the Nairobi Stock Exchange.
For years there have been public claims that changes of business names were done dubiously for the purpose of evading relevant taxes especially when there was a popular government practice of five – year tax holiday, aimed at investment attraction for major foreign companies.
But since the law governing investment was amended and made it harder to obtain tax holidays, activists now focus on whether such transactions follow the right procedure, without which no taxation and resulting revenue dues can be attracted, that is deemed evasion of capital gains tax.
The capital gains tax (CGT) is a tax on capital gains meant to be the profit realised on the sale of a non-inventory asset that was purchased at a lower price. The most common capital gains are realized from the sale of stocks, bonds, precious metals and property. Not all countries implement a capital gains tax and most have different rates of taxation for individuals and corporations.
Sources privy to the Dar es Salaam Serena Hotel management told this paper exclusively this week that what took place last year was a sale of the property and not management contracting as in previous times.
“I clearly understand how managements were changed from the time of Sheraton to Royal Palm and later on to Movenpick. Arrangements for such changes were totally different from the recent one,” a Serena Hotel employee intoned.
He affirmed: “During previous changes of management employees used to be informed one day before the changes came into effect that the hotel symbol on name tags were going to be altered and the new ones were simply provided. The last changes went further to matters such as finances and it took months before finalization.”
This paper has gathered that whereas Serena took full charge of the hotel management and ownership effective December 2011, there was a one month transitional period before total takeover.
“It was a hectic period that most of the employees had not experienced before. The Serena guys were very serious and keen on financial matters. They told the Movenpick people for instance that they would not inherit any debt dated prior to the one month-transitional period,” intoned the well placed official.
The Guardian on Sunday has further learnt that during an induction course for employees under the new Serena boss that was held late last year, workers were briefed that the hotel majority shareholder was TPS but Tanruss were still around as minor shareholders.
Tanruss, uniting capital from ex-Russian debt and local investment partner Emmanuel Mantheakis, an orthodox Christian with Greek origins in like manner as most Russians, erected a building along Ohio Street in the early 1990s, with the Sheraton Hotel chain picked to run the hotel in 1995. A few years later Royal Palm Hotel chain took over, with subsequent changes that saw Movenpick take over the management in 2005.
Then (2005) it was reported that the Kingdom Hotel Investment (KHI) of Saudi Arabia led by Prince Walid bin Talal had became majority shareholder as Tanruss remained a minor shareholder with less than two percent.
On July 27th 2011 KHI senior vice President for Africa, Roger Kacou issued an internal announcement that read in part:
“KHI, the owning company of the hotel, has decided to sell the property to the Serena Hotel Group that not only owns hotels but also operates them.
The hotel staff are currently employed by a subsidiary of KHI and will be employed by the new owner after the sale of the property. We have been assured that there will be no changes to the employment agreements. We are also working with all parties involved to find an adequate solution for those employees who are flexible and who want to stay with us.
“We have been managing the hotel since 2005 and we regret to see this property leaving our Africa portfolio. We would like to thank all the hotel employees for their hard work and dedication over the past years.
They have achieved great results and were a key contributor to our region and Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts”, said Roger Kacou.
Serena Hotels Group owns and operated several hotels and Lodges and tourist camps in Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Mozambique, Uganda and in South Asian countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan, as well as the central Asian state of Tajikistan.
Some popular hotels in Tanzania owned by Serena are located in Ngorongoro, Manyara, Serengeti, Mivumo River Lodge, Selous Wildlife Lodge and Zanzibar.
SOURCE: GUARDIAN ON SUNDAY
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