MADEREVA WENDA WAZIMU WAKO WENGI !

Bus thief went on 30-mile rampage
10 hours 39 mins ago (December 19, 2009) - AP


Shane Oldroyd, 27, of Ossett, West Yorkshire, stole the single-decker Arriva bus from Wakefield bus station in August and took it on a rampage through the city's streets, ploughing into other vehicles and street signs on the way.

At Leeds Crown Court, Judge Kerry Macgill jailed Oldroyd indefinitely to serve at least three-and-a-half years.

CCTV footage, shot from a West Yorkshire police helicopter which tracked the bus through Wakefield city centre and surrounding towns, captured Oldroyd driving on the wrong side of the road, sideswiping other cars and destroying traffic lights as the bus smashed into them.

Oldroyd's friend Sarah Smith, 20, was travelling with him on the bus.

Detective Inspector Paul O'Dowd, of Wakefield District CID, said: "Clearly this was a very dangerous act. They caused damage to a large number of vehicles and it is extremely lucky that no-one was seriously injured.

"Police acted to stop the bus as soon as it was safe to do so with minimal risk to members of the public. It was brought to a satisfactory conclusion by the two being apprehended and put before the courts."

At an earlier hearing Oldroyd pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicle taking and damaging a Mercedes car, and being reckless as to whether life was endangered. He also admitted driving without insurance, driving over the alcohol limit and failing to stop after an accident.

MFUNGWA WA MIAKA 35 AACHIWA BAADA YA VINASABA KUDHIHIRISHA UKWELI

DNA clears Fla. man after 35 years behind bars
He is longest-serving prisoner exonerated by genetic tests, attorneys say

Steve Nesius / AP - Imetoka MSNBC
James Bain outside the Polk County Courthouse in Bartow, Fla., after his release from prison on Thursday.
Innocent man freed after 35 years in prison
Dec. 18, 2009: An innocent Florida man walks free today after serving 35 years for a rape he didn't commit. NBC's Jennifer Leigh reports.
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updated 2:40 p.m. ET Dec. 17, 2009
BARTOW, Fla. - James Bain used a cell phone for the first time Thursday, calling his elderly mother to tell her he had been freed after 35 years behind bars for a crime he did not commit.

Mobile devices didn't exist in 1974, the year he was sentenced to life in prison for kidnapping a 9-year-old boy and raping him in a nearby field.

Neither did the sophisticated DNA testing that officials more recently used to determine he could not have been the rapist.


"Nothing can replace the years Jamie has lost," said Seth Miller, a lawyer for the Florida Innocence Project, which helped Bain win freedom. "Today is a day of renewal."

Bain spent more time in prison than any of the 246 inmates previously exonerated by DNA evidence nationwide, according to the project. The longest-serving before him was James Lee Woodard of Dallas, who was released last year after spending more than 27 years in prison for a murder he did not commit.

As Bain walked out of the Polk County courthouse Thursday, wearing a black T-shirt that said "not guilty," he spoke of his deep faith and said he does not harbor any anger.

'I'm not angry'
"No, I'm not angry," he said. "Because I've got God."

The 54-year-old said he looks forward to eating fried turkey and drinking Dr Pepper. He said he also hopes to go back to school.

Friends and family surrounded him as he left the courthouse after Judge James Yancey ordered him freed. His 77-year-old mother, who is in poor health, preferred to wait for him at home. With a broad smile, he said he looks forward to spending time with her and the rest of his family.

"That's the most important thing in my life right now, besides God," he said.

Earlier, the courtroom erupted in applause after Yancey ruled.

"Mr. Bain, I'm now signing the order," Yancey said. "You're a free man. Congratulations."

Thursday's hearing was delayed 40 minutes because prosecutors were on the phone with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. DNA tests were expedited at the department's lab and ultimately proved Bain innocent. Prosecutors filed a motion to vacate the conviction and the sentence.

"He's just not connected to this particular incident," State Attorney Jerry Hill told the judge.

Innocence Project's cause
Attorneys from the Innocence Project of Florida got involved in Bain's case earlier this year after he had filed several previous petitions asking for DNA testing, all of which were thrown out.

A judge finally ordered the tests and the results from a respected private lab in Cincinnati came in last week, setting the wheels in motion for Thursday's hearing. The Innocence Project had called for Bain's release by Christmas.

He was convicted largely on the strength of the victim's eyewitness identification, though testing available at the time did not definitively link him to the crime. The boy said his attacker had bushy sideburns and a mustache. The boy's uncle, a former assistant principal at a high school, said it sounded like Bain, a former student.

The boy picked Bain out of a photo lineup, although there are lingering questions about whether detectives steered him.


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The jury rejected Bain's story that he was home watching TV with his twin sister when the crime was committed, an alibi she repeated at a news conference last week. He was 19 when he was sentenced.

Florida last year passed a law that automatically grants former inmates found innocent $50,000 for each year they spent in prison. No legislative approval is needed. That means Bain is entitled to $1.75 million.

MLIMA KILIMANJARO UNAPOTEZA THELUJI ASILIA

Deforestation threatens Kilimanjaro ice cap

3 hours 33 mins ago
Reuters Katrina Manson

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Buzz Up!
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At the foot of Africa's snow-capped Mount Kilimanjaro, images of the mountain adorn the sides of rusting zinc shacks and beer bottle labels, but the fate of the real version hangs in the balance. Skip related content
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A fresh dusting of snow sits atop mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania Enlarge photo

As politicians and lobbyists try to thrash out a new climate deal in Copenhagen, experts in Tanzania say local land practices must increasingly take their share of the blame for the rapid shrinkage of the ice on Kilimanjaro's peak.

According to one recent U.S. scientific study, the cap on Africa's highest mountain may disappear by 2033.

"The forest itself is the key element in this. It completely affects the amount of rain running off the mountain," said Jo Anderson, director of Ecological Initiatives, an environmental consultancy based in northern Tanzania.

"Less vegetation; less rain. We're seeing local human impacts directly." With less rainfall on the lower slopes, there is also less snow on the summit.

Anderson said forests that have disappeared in the past 30 to 40 years on Kilimanjaro's lower slopes -- cut down by villagers for charcoal and open farmland -- were just as much to blame as rising temperatures worldwide.

Batilda Burian, Tanzania's environment minister, told Reuters that the east African country was losing 91,500 hectares (226,100 acres) a year, of its 33 million hectare total.

"It is a huge problem and most of it is happening because people don't have energy supplies so they are cutting down the trees to make charcoal," she said.

CARBON OFFSET PILOT

Burian said Tanzania, which has sent a delegation of 25 people to the Copenhagen summit, has been widely affected by climate change, from rising sea water levels, destruction of coral reefs and increased incidences of malaria in places previously too cold for mosquitoes.

"Because of a four-year drought 345,000 of our 1 million livestock here in Tanzania have been killed, most of them in one area, challenging the livelihoods of the people," she said.

Zakaria Kessy, a 45-year-old mountain guide standing at Kilimanjaro's base camp as a group of German tourists arrived to down to a congratulatory bottle of champagne, said he had seen big changes during his 18 years on the job.

"The snow used to start at 3,600 metres when I started, but now it's only at the very top," he said of the mountain, which rises 5,896 metres high.

Anderson, who has climbed the peak with tourists 58 times in the past 14 years, hopes a new focus on the importance of forest carbon schemes, touted at Copenhagen, will bring respite.

He is piloting a scheme under which tourists who fly in on carbon-spewing planes and take safaris in gas-guzzling 4x4 cars can offset the impact by contributing to the preservation of a local 50-hectare community forest. It is due to receive its first payment of $3,000-$4,000 (1,800-2,400 pounds) soon.

"I have never really considered the carbon cost of coming here," said German trekker Beatrice Macias, 37.

"It is in everyone's psyche that there's snow almost at the Equator," Anderson said of Kilimanjaro, which rakes in $50 million a year for the tourism-dependent country.

"It is pretty much the defining feature of the mountain for people coming to climb it."

Burian said she hopes plans for a widespread scheme that rewards developing countries for preserving or replanting their forests, called reduced emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD), will make headway in Copenhagen.

"I have much hope that the REDD programme will really assist us stop the destruction of the forests," she said.

(Editing by Helen Nyambura-Mwaura and Dominic Evans.

KIINI CHA KUANZISHWA KWA UMOJA WA VIJANA WA TANU TANGANYIKA!

Nilitaka nikumegee kipande cha kitabu cha SIMBA WA VITA KATIKA HISTORIA YA TANZANIA - RASHIDI MFAUME KAWAWA kilichotungwa na John M J Magotti. Kuna sehemu mwandishi anatueleza undani wa TYL.

Lo and behold, Banisraeli nikawakuta tena lakini kwa nini tuandikie mate? (page 43):

Kuanzishwa kwa Umoja wa Vijana wa TANU



Muasisi wa Umoja wa Vijana wa TANU alikuwa ni Kawawa. Mwaka 1958, Kawawa pamoja na Mwalimu Nyerere walihudhuria sherehe za Ghana kutimiza mwaka mmoja wa Uhuru (1958). Katika kuhudhuria sherehe hiyo wote wawili walipata fursa ya kukutana na Bi. Golda Meir ambaye wakati huo alikuwa Waziri wa Mambo ya Nje wa Israel . Bi. Golda Meir aliwaeleza jinsi Israel ilivyokuwa ikiwaandaa vijana wake. Utaratibu wa Israel wa kuwaandaa vijana ulimvutia sana Mwalimu Nyerere na Kawawa. Waliporejea nyumbani, Mwalimu alimpa jukumu Kawawa la kuwaandaa vijana kama vile Isrel ilivyokuwa ikiwaandaa vijana wake.



Kawawa alianzisha rasmi Umoja wa Vijana wa TANU mwaka 1958. Mkutano Mkuu wa Kwanza wa Umoja Vijana ulimchagua Kawawa kuwa Mwenyekiti wao wa kwanza. Kabla ya kuanzisha Umoja wa Vijana wa TANU, Vijana walikuwa wamejiunga katika vikundi mbali mbali, kama vile, Watoto wa TANU, Bantu Group na Vijana wa TANU na "Station Group" ya Tanga ambacho baadaye kilibadili jina na kuwa TANU Volunteer Corps. Baada ya kuundwa kwa Umoja wa Vijana wa TANU, vikundi vyote hivi vikatoweka kwa maana kwamba nafasi ya vikundi hivyo ilichukuliwa sasa na Umoja wa Vijana wa TANU.



Hawa Vijana wa TANU ndiyo walikuwa wa kwanza kujiunga na Jeshi la Kujenga Taifa (JKT) ilipoanzisliwa mwaka 1964. Tanzania iliendelea kujifunza kwa Waisrael masuala yahusuyo vijana JKT ilipoanzishwa baadhi ya vijana wa Umoja wa Vijana wa TANU walipelekwa mafunzoni Israel kwa lengo kwamba ya kuhitimu mafunzo yao ndiyo wangekuwa wakufunzi katika Jeshi In Taifa na hivyo ndivyo ilivyokuwa

HAYA NDIO MATOKEO YA KUTOTUMIA WENYEJI WAZALENDO KATIKA KAZI NYETI KAMA HII TANZANIA

IMETOKA BBC 30 OKTOBA, 2009.

Charging elephant kills BBC guide
Map of Tanzania
Mr Turner was an ex-army officer who had worked with the BBC before

A man who worked as an expedition guide for a BBC children's programme has died after being charged by an elephant in Tanzania, it has been revealed.

Anton Turner, a 38-year-old Briton, was assisting with the filming of an episode of the CBBC series Serious Explorers, a spokeswoman said.

The show was tracing the footsteps of explorer David Livingstone in Africa.

"We understand at this stage that he was charged by an elephant and was mortally injured," she added.

A doctor who was travelling with the expedition treated Mr Turner at the scene, but it was understood he died shortly after the incident, the spokeswoman said.

"Three children were with the filming party at the time of the accident and are all safe. Their safety remains a priority, and all the children have been airlifted from the area.

She added: "We would like to extend our deepest sympathy to Anton's family and friends. Anton was an extremely experienced expedition safari and wildlife ranger and former Army officer who had worked with the BBC in the past.

"As is usual with a serious accident an immediate and thorough BBC investigation into the circumstances of this incident has already begun."

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "We can confirm the death of a British national in Tanzania on Friday.

"Next of kin are aware, and we are providing consular assistance."

UCHAGUZI TANZANIA UNAVYOJENGEWA MAZINGIRA YA KUFINYANGA DEMOKRASIA TANZANIA

Na Abdallah Bawazir

1st November 2009

http://www.ippmedia.com/images/frontend/headline_bullet.jpg Yahusu Mabalozi wanaoingilia mambo ya nchi

http://www.ippmedia.com/media/picture/large/Memb.jpg

Waziri wa Mambo ya Nchi za Nje na Ushirikiano wa Kimataifa, Bernard Membe.

Vyama vya upinzani vimelaani kauli iliyotolewa na Waziri wa Mambo ya Nchi za Nje na Ushirikiano wa Kimataifa, Bernard Membe, kuwaonya mabalozi wanaowakilisha nchi zao nchini kuwa wanaweza kutimuliwa endapo wataingilia mambo ya ndani ya nchi.

Wakizungumza na gazeti hili kwa nyakati tofauti jana, baadhi ya viongozi wa vyama hivyo, wametahadharisha kuwa endapo onyo hilo la serikali litatekelezwa, Tanzania inaweza kuingia katika orodha ya nchi zenye mgogoro kidiplomasia na nchi fadhili na pia inaweza kuwekewa vikwazo vya kiuchumi na watakaoathirika ni wananchi wa kawaida kama vile ilivyo Zimbabwe.

Viongozi hao wa vyama vya upinzani wametoa tahadhari hiyo, ikiwa ni siku chache tu, baada ya Membe kuonya kuwa balozi yeyote anayeiwakilisha nchi yake nchini akibainika kushirikiana na vyama vya upinzani kutaka kuking'oa madarakani chama tawala atafukuzwa nchini.

Akizungumzia onyo hilo la serikali kwa mabalozi, Mwenyekiti wa Chama cha NCCR-Mageuzi, James Mbatia, jana alisema kuwa kauli hiyo ya Membe si ya kiungwana kwa mabalozi na inafaa kulaaniwa na wana-demokrasia wote.

Alisema kuwa mabalozi wapo nchini si tu kwa ajili ya ushirikiano wa kiserikali kati ya nchi zao na Tanzania, bali pia kuangalia masuala mbalimbali kama vile demokrasia, haki za binadamu na utawala bora, na kwamba mambo hayo yanapokiukwa wanaweza kukemea na kwamba jambo hilo si kuingilia mambo ya ndani ya nchi.

Alisema kuwa nchi wafadhili zinachangia zaidi ya asilimia 40 ya bajeti ya serikali, hivyo hawawezi kukaa kimya kuona baadhi ya mambo kama vile ukiukwaji wa demokrasia na haki za binadamu yakitokea.

"Mabalozi wanajua mipaka ya kazi zao hawaingilii mambo hivyo ni mpaka pale wanapoona kuna tatizo, nchi zao zinachangia zaidi ya asilimia 40 ya bajeti ya serikali, hivyo hawawezi kukaa kimya wanapoona kuna ukiukwaji wa demokrasia na uvunjaji wa haki za binadamu", alisema.

Mwenyekiti huyo wa NCCR-Mageuzi, alidai kuwa uzoefu umeonyesha kuwa vyama tawala barani Afrika mara nyingi ndiyo vimekuwa chanzo cha vurugu na machafuko pale vinapominya demokrsia, kukiuka haki za binadamu na kuvuruga chaguzi na kwamba vinapobanwa na wafadhili hapo ndipo vinapowaona wabaya. Aliitahadharisha serikali kutowabana mabalozi pale wanapoingilia kati mambo ambayo yanaonekana wazi kukiuka misingi ya demokrasia na haki za binadamu, kwani kwa kufanya hivyo kunaweza kuisababishia nchi matatizo makubwa kama vile kuwekewa vikwazo na watakaoathirika ni wananchi wa kawaida.

Alisema anashangaa kuona serikali ikianza kuvibana vyama vya upinzani wakati huu wa kuelekea uchaguzi mkuu mwakani, kwa kuweka masharti mbalimbali kama vile kuzuia vyama visipate ufadhili wa nje wakati wa uchaguzi. "Mambo yote haya yanafanyika kwa ajili ya uchaguzi mkuu mwakani, hili si jambo zuri" alisema.

Kwa upande wake, Katibu Mkuu wa Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (Chadema), Dk. Wilbroad Slaa, alisema serikali haina mamlaka ya kuvizuia vyama vya upinzani kupata misaada kutoka nje ya nchi wala kuwazuia mabalozi kuingilia mambo yanayoweza kuivuruga nchi na kuleta machafuko.

"Kwa mujibu wa mkataba wa Vienna ambao Membe ndiyo ameutumia kuwaonya mabalozi kutoingilia mambo ya ndani ya nchi, serikali haiwezi kuwazuia mabalozi kuingilia mambo ya nchi kama kuna unyanyasaji, ukandamizaji wa demokrasia, ukiukwaji wa haki za binadamu na kuvururuga chaguzi" alisema. Kuhusu dhamira ya serikali kutaka kutunga sheria ya kuvizuia vyama vya siasa kupata misaada ya kifedha kutoka nje ya nchi wakati wa uchaguzi, Dk. Slaa, alisema kuwa sheria hiyo ina lengo la kuvikandamiza vyama vya upinzani.

"Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) ndiyo kinachoongoza kwa kupata misaada mingi ya kifedha wakati wa uchaguzi kutoka kwa vyama marafiki nje ya nchi na ushahidi tunao hivyo sheria hii itakuwa ni ya kibaguzi" alisema.

Mkurugenzi wa Uenezi na Mahusiano na Umma wa Chama cha Wananchi (CUF), Salim Bimani, alisema kuwa, hatua ya serikali kutaka kuwabana mabalozi ni ya kidikteta na isiyofaa kutekelezwa katika nchi ya kidemorasia na kuendeshwa katika misingi ya haki.

"Kwanini wanataka kuwabana mabalozi, hawa jamaa hawaingilii mambo ovyo, wanajua wajibu wao, utakorofishana nao pale tu utakapokiuka haki za binadamu, kwenda kinyume cha misingi ya kidemokrasia na kuharibu uchaguzi, sasa serikali inaogopa nini? labda kama inajiandaa kufanyika kitu kibaya ambacho wanajua mabalozi wataingilia, kwa hiyo wanajihami kabisa", alisema.

Bimani, alisema anatafsiri onyo hilo la serikali kwa mabalozi kama njia ya kuvibana vyama vya upinzani visidai haki pale itakapokiukwa.

"CCM imeishiwa sasa inatumia nguvu kuvibana vyama vya upinzani ikihofu kuwa uchaguzi mkuu ujao unaweza kuwa mbaya kwa upande wake", alidai kiongozi huyo wa CUF.

Kama ilivyo kwa Mbatia, naye alitahadharisha kuwa endapo serikali itamtimua balozi yoyote kwa sababu tu amekemea uvunjaji wa haki za binadamu, uvurugaji wa uchaguzi, basi Tanzania inaweza kuingia katika mgogoro mkubwa wa kidiplomasia nchi fadhili ambalo zinaweza kusitisha misaada na watakaoathirika ni wananchi wa kawaida.

"Umeona Zimbabwe imewekewa vikwazo, wanaoteseka ni wananchi, kila kitu kimevurugika, hii yote ni kutokana na kiburi cha watawala wasiiongitia demokaria, haki za binadamu na kuvuruga uchaguzi, wametimua mabalozi wanaotaka kuona haki inatendeka sasa wanakiona" alisema.

Alitoa wito kwa wananchi, asasi zisizo za kiserikali na wapenda mageuzi wote, kukemea na kulaani onyo hilo la serikali kwa mabalozi, akisema kuwa endapo litatekelezwa linaweza kuleta madhara makubwa kwa nchi na wananchi wake.

Kauli hizo za wanasiasa wa vyama vya upinzani, zimekuja siku tatu tu, baada ya Waziri wa Mambo ya Nchi za Nje na Ushirikiano wa Kimataifa, Bernard Membe, kuonya kuwa serikali ya Tanzania itamfukuza nchini Balozi au ofisa yeyote wa kibalozi atakayebainika kushirikiana na vyama vya upinzani kuking’oa chama tawala madarakani.

Serikali pia imesema, nchi zinazotoa misaada kwa Tanzania hazina mamlaka ya kuingilia mambo ya ndani ya Tanzania.

Membe, alitoa msimamo bungeni ambapo alisema kwamba, mabalozi au ofisi za mabalozi wanaruhusiwa kushirikiana au kuvisaidia vyama vya siasa lakini si kwa lengo la kuking’oa chama tawala madarakani.

Alisema, Balozi au ofisa wa kibalozi atayeshirikiana na vyama vya siasa kuking’oa chama tawala madarakani watakuwa wanaingilia mambo ya ndani ya nchi mwenyeji, kuvunja itifaki na sheria za kimataifa.

Kwa mujibu wa Waziri Membe, kifungu cha tisa cha Mkataba wa Vienna kinairuhusu Serikali kuwafukuza nchini bila hata kutoa sababu yoyote ya kufanya hivyo.

CHANZO: NIPASHE JUMAPILI

TANZANIA SI NCHI MASIKINI TENA? ha! ha! ha!

Subject: [tanzanet] Tanzania' si masikini' tena

Imeandikwa na Na Joseph Lugendo; Tarehe: 31st October 2009 Habari Leo


TANZANIA imeingia katika kundi la nchi zenye maendeleo ya watu ya kati kutoka katika kundi la nchi zenye maendeleo ya watu ya chini duniani, imebainishwa katika Ripoti ya Umoja wa Mataifa ya Maendeleo ya Binadamu.

Lakini wakati Tanzania ikiingia katika kundi hilo la nchi zenye maendeleo ya watu ya chini duniani ugumu wa maisha unaotokana na kuongezeka kwa mfumuko wa bei na njaa inayotokana na ukame uliolikumba taifa vikiendelea kuwa changamoto kwa jamii ya sasa.

Kwa mujibu wa ripoti hiyo iliyotolewa Octoba 13 mwaka huu, Tanzania ambayo ilikuwa nchi ya 159 katika kundi la nchi zenye maendeleo ya chini kati ya nchi 177 zilizoorodheshwa na ripoti hiyo ya mwaka 2007/2008, mwaka huu imepanda na kuwa nchi ya 151 na kuondoka katika kundi hilo la nchi zenye maendeleo ya chini ambalo nchi ya Niger imeshika mkia.

Ripoti hiyo imeonesha nchi kumi kwa kuwa na maendeleo ya juu zaidi duniani kwa mwaka huu zimeongozwa na Norway na kufuatiwa na Australia, Iceland, Canada, Ireland, Uholanzi, Sweden, Ufaransa, Uswisi na Japan.

Mwaka 2008 nchi kumi kwa kuwa na maendeleo ya juu zaidi duniani ziliongozwa na Iceland na kufuatiwa na Australia, Norway, Canada, Ireland, Uholanzi, Sweden, Japan, Luxembourg na Uswisi.
Hata hivyo imefafanuliwa katika ripoti hiyo kuwa katika nchi hizo zenye maendeleo ya binadamu ya juu, kuna tofauti ndogo sana kati ya nchi moja na nyingine.

Vigezo vilivyotumika kupandisha nchi kutoka nafasi moja kwenda nyingine kwa mujibu wa ripoti hiyo ni kuongezeka kwa umri wa kuishi mwanadamu kwa afya njema, fursa ya kupata elimu na kupata maisha bora.

Vipimo vya vigezo hivyo ni umri wa wastani wa kuishi wa mwanadamu katika nchi husika, wastani wa watu wazima wanaojua kuandika na kusoma pamoja na kiwango cha uandikishaji wa wanafunzi wanaojiunga na darasa la kwanza na wastani wa kipato cha mtu mmoja mmoja kwa mwaka.

Katika nchi za Jumuiya ya Afrika Mashariki (EAC), Kenya imeongoza kwa kushika nafasi ya 147 duniani kwa mwaka huu kutoka nafasi ya 148 katika ripoti ya mwaka 2007/2008 na Tanzania kwa kushika nafasi hiyo ya 151 duniani, imekuwa ya pili katika nchi za EAC kutoka nafasi ya tatu mwaka 2007/2008.

Uganda imeshika nafasi ya tatu katika nchi wanachama wa EAC mwaka huu kwa kushika nafasi ya 157 duniani, hata hivyo imeporomoka nafasi tatu kwani mwaka 2007/2008 ilikuwa nafasi ya 154.

Rwanda na Burundi bado ziko katika kundi la nchi zenye maendeleo ya chini ambapo Rwanda ipo katika nafasi ya 167 mwaka huu na imeporomoka kutoka nafasi ya 161 mwaka 2007/2008 na Burundi imeshika nafasi ya 174 mwaka huu wakati katika ripoti ya 2007/2008, ilikuwa ya 167.

Tanzania imepiga hatua hiyo baada ya ripoti ya sasa kutumia takwimu za 2007 ambazo zimeonesha mafanikio katika sekta ya elimu na kuna uwezekano katika ripoti zijazo ikaendelea kupiga hatua kutokana na matarajio ya kuongezeka kwa umri wa wastani wa kuishi mwanadamu. Kwa sasa umri wa wastani wa kuishi mwanadamu Tanzania ni miaka 55.

Kwa mujibu wa Tarifa ya Takwimu za Tanzania (Tanzania in Figures) iliyotolewa mwaka huu na Ofisi ya Takwimu ya Taifa, umri wa wastani wa kuishi mwanadamu unatarajiwa kuongezeka kutokana matarajio ya kupungua vifo vya watoto walio chini ya miaka mitano na wajawazito vinavyosababishwa na malaria baada ya kufanikiwa kwa usambazaji wa vyandarua vyenye dawa kwa bei nafuu.

Hata hivyo kupiga hatua kwa Tanzania katika ripoti zijazo kutategemea upatikanaji wa takwimu halisi za nchi nyingine kwani ripoti hizo za UN zimebainisha kuwa orodha ya maendeleo ya watu katika nchi husika hutokana na takwimu walizopata kutoka katika nchi hizo kwa wakati huo na kwamba zinaweza zisitoe picha ya hali halisi ilivyo.

Kutokana na hali hiyo, upatikanaji wa takwimu kwa wakati katika nchi husika, unaweza kubadilisha matokeo ya nafasi ya nchi husika katika orodha hiyo ya maendeleo ya watu kwa mujibu wa nchi wanazoishi, lakini mabadiliko hayo yataonekana katika ripoti zijazo.

Wakati ripoti ya UN ikiwa na matokeo hayo, Ripoti ya Bajeti ya Kaya iliyotolewa Januari mwaka huu imeonesha kuwa Watanzania walio wengi bado wanaishi maisha ya chini ambapo wengi nyumba zao zina sakafu ya udongo, kuta za udongo na miti na kupauliwa kwa miti nyasi na udongo.

Ripoti hiyo ya Bajeti ya Kila Kaya pia imeweka bayana kuwa katika mali ambazo Watanzania wanazimiliki kwa wingi ni vifaa vya jikoni, vitanda, viti na meza huku kompyuta ikiwa mali inayomilikiwa na Watanzania wachache zaidi ikifuatiwa na redio za kisasa (Complete music system), magari, simu za mezani (land line) na pikipiki.

Kwa mujibu wa ripoti hiyo ya kaya, asilimia 67 ya nyumba za Watanzania zina sakafu za udongo. Hata hivyo nyumba za aina hiyo zimeelezewa kupungua kutoka mwaka 2001 ambapo asilimia 74 ya nyumba za Watanzania zilikuwa na sakafu za udongo.

Pia nyumba nyingi kwa kiwango cha asilimia 68.1 kuta zake zimejengwa kwa fito, udongo na mawe ingawa zimepungua kutoka zilizokuwepo mwaka 2001 ambapo asilimia 74 za nyumba za Watanzania zilikuwa na kuta hizo.

WAINGEREZA WENYE HADHI ZA MAJINA NA UTAJIRI WAINGIA UISLAM

In The Name Of Allah, Most Gracious and Most Merciful....
السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركات
As'salamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh.
Britain's High Class Are Flocking to Islam.
Authentic research has shown that over 14,000 Brits have converted to Islam after having lost hope in the style of life the West is offering.

‘Amongst the converts there exists many famous personalities which is a great booster for the Muslims who have become a prey to accusations of terrorism and are living in fear’ in the words of Muslim leaders.

The Muslim Council has appointed the former Health Minister’s son Ahmed Dobson as chairman of their new committee which is striving to explain the reality of Islam to the whites living in the United Kingdom .

Yahya Britt (Jonathan Britt) the former BBC director has researched thoroughly the data of Christians converting to Islam and concluded that the total number of new Muslims in Britain was 14,200.

In his statement of conversion to Islam last week, Britt stressed the point that Britain also needed a leader to bring whites more easily into Islam, just as Malcom X had done for the blacks of America and to make Islam a more national religion rather than the strange one it is at present.

Furthermore, he explained how Islam’s balanced system, strong beliefs and spirituality gave him that hearts contentment.

Herbet Scott’s great grand daughter, Emma Clark has also accepted Islam as a way of life, a former designer for the gardens of the Prince of Wales is now involved in designing a mosque’s garden.

She stated to the press a few days ago that ‘I accepted Islam after detesting the doubt standards of Western values and to leave from the filth that surrounds it.'
Her great grandfather who was the prime minister of Britain in 1908-1916 led his people to the lines of victory in the First World War.

Most new converts have been greatly influenced by Charles Easton’s book, ‘Islam and the Destiny of Man’.
He states that, I’ve receive thousands of letters informing me that we have lost hope in today’s Christianity which is following the whims and desires of people and are searching for such a religion which does not have this.

The Earl of Yarbrough who is the owner of over 28,000 acres of land in Lincolnshire told the press, ‘I have changed my name to Abdul Mateen and would only like to say that ‘Study Islam and you shall see its beauty’.

Her Majesty has given full permission for Muslim staff working in Buckingham Palace to take time off to perform their Friday prayers.

The above were examples of people who were directly connected to the kingdom, whose grandparents were the bearers of knighthoods and lordships, who used to sit in the houses of Parliament, wealthy people, from a nation who has never been ruled.
But what happened to these people’s progeny?

There was no slavery or force on them to make them accept Islam; ‘it was solely the unexplainable hearts contentment we found which compelled us.’

After all this I see not the reasons of my shyness, my regret, my inferiority complex that is stopping me from even performing my Jumu’ah Salaat amidst my colleagues at work only because of the fear of what will people say and that my business may lose important profits, yet the kingdom headquarters, Buckingham Palace, has such facilities…

As Muslims, we are duty bound to express the beauty of Islam through our actions and deeds. Let not a single opportunity slip to represent ourselves in the best tradition of a True Believer.

KUZAMA KWA SEHEMU YA ARDHI ILIYO PWANI

On Tue, Oct 20, 2009 at 3:52 PM, Mwita wrote:


Ocean 'swallowing islands' By Ray Naluyaga

The Indian Ocean level is fast rising causing some low lying islands to be submerged under the sea or even disappear, according to Zanzibar President Amani Abeid Karume.

Addressing the 35th session of the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Science and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in Paris yesterday, Mr Karume said Ras Nungwi on the northern tip of Unguja island in Zanzibar, has lost about 100 meters of beach.

"We are also witnessing severe weather patterns causing loss of biological species and changing of seasonal rains. The bi-modal pattern of rainfall distribution in some parts, is gradually switching to un-modal pattern, as short rains slowly fade away with severe consequences to agricultural yields thereby affecting agricultural exports and local economies," he said.

He said due to unsustainable pattern of production and consumption, human beings have contributed to environment pollution and global warming. As a result of global warming, we are now experiencing the melting of mountain glaciers such as that on Mt. Kilimanjaro, which has affected water sources and tourism potential.

He told the conference that there is also the melting of polar ice, the drying up of rivers and lakes. Some African lakes, he said, are shrinking in size with fish harvests decreasing thereby threatening the livelihood of millions of people who directly or indirectly depend on fish and aquatic products.

The Zanzibar leader said climate change affect energy production as well because of depleted water resources and vegetation covers. Plant species that are vulnerable to drought give way to drought resistant species, hence a loss to biodiversity.

"Temperature rise is linked to activation of vector borne diseases, with malaria becoming increasingly challenging.Climate change also impact on tourism due to possible decrease in wildlife population," said Mr Karume.

He said global warming and climate change continue to affect poor nations, most of which are in Africa. These countries are less industrialized and thus have contributed little to greenhouse gas emissions, and yet they bear the heavy burden of climate change.

"Tanzania supports the UNESCO strategy of action on climate change and the organisaton�s Director General�s proposal to look for innovative methods of addressing this problem including the desirability of a standard setting instrument for ethical principles on climate change," he said.

JANGA LINGINE LA KUIBIWA WAWEKEZAJI WALALAHOI TANZANIA?

AUSTIN BEYADI, 24th October 2009 Daily News

PANDEMONIUM broke out in the packed hall that housed shareholders of the National Investment Company Limited (NICOL) after the Annual General Meeting was postponed this noon.

"Before we open the meeting we should get consultation from our legal consultant who should show us the way on how to proceed with the meeting," said the NICOL Chairman, Mr Felix Mosha.

The legal consultant advocate, Hubert Nyange informed the gathering that ven though the hall was packed, the attending shareholders only represented a minority 17.5 per cent of the shares.

According to its memorandum and article of association, for NICOL's annual general meeting to take place, the quorum must consists of shareholding members with at least 33 per cent of the shares, .

Thus, Mr Mosha had no choice but to suspend the AGM and advised members to return next weekend for the meeting while at the same time the legal consultant warned that if the quorum wasn't reached in the next meeting, the AGM will be dissolved.

The announcement caused a lot of disorder in the meeting when the shareholders had questioned the chairman to inform them what was going on in the company especially on the fact that NICOL shares had been suspended from the Dar es Salaam stock exchange.

Patrick Mvile, a shareholder who travelled from upcountry to attend the meeting dared to compare the company with now very popular pyramid scheme, DECI and that now the operations and activities of the company were running with outmost secrecy.

"The fact that we did not meet the quorum is not good enough to postpone the meeting. I think there are a lot of things going on that we are not being told and the postponement is just a ruse for preventing us away from questioning the board," he lamented.

Another shareholder said that people were warned about DECI and they continued to invest their money in DECI and now the same authorities that cautioned people against DECI have now come into inconclusive dispute.

"This has caused us to live in suspicion that we may lose our invested money just like the DECI people did after failing to see what was coming," he said.

Mr Mosha pleaded with the shareholders not to compare the company with DECI saying that the company has made major achievements which include investing more than 30bn/- in the National Microfinance Bank.

He said that the meeting did not meet the quorum because recently NICOL has sold shares to Pension funds that have outsmarted individual shareholders and become major shareholders.

According to NICOL's 2008 financial report provided during the meeting, the company has two issues to resolve with Capital Markets and Securities Agency and the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange and this has led to NICOL's suspension on the DSE.

The members had demanded to know why the NICOL shares have been suspended on the stock exchange but the board has promised to answer the questions in the upcoming meeting next week.

KUHARIBIKIWA KWA MJI WA MOROGORO, TANZANIA

SUNDAY NEWS Reporter recently in Morogoro, 24th October 2009.
HIVI SIVYO ALIVYOUONA MJI WA MOROGORO KASORO BAHARI MWIMBAJI MBARAKA MWINSHEHE MWARUKA MIAKA YA SABINI (1970s)

VISITORS to Morogoro might have seen or heard about an area that would have made Sodom and Gomorrah envious. The place is infamous for indecency, hooliganism, drugs and commercial sex and it is right in the heart of the sprawling and fast growing municipality.

Located adjacent to the CCM District headquarters, off Makongoro Road, the vicinity of Kahumba Park Night Club, is a hot spot for commercial sex, drug peddlers and pickpockets. In a recent survey, the ‘Sunday News’ witnessed some episodes from the ‘underworld’, totally unimaginable for an otherwise serene atmosphere that Morogoro is known for.

‘Business’ at the ‘Sodom and Gomorrah’ lookalike opens at around 10 pm, when nearby shops are already closed and there is a limited movement of people. The loud sound from full blast disco music played at the night club and the Moro by Night Club nearby is a sure sign that time is ripe for the show.

Small groups, (in twos or threes) of girls wearing revealing clothes (you can correctly use the word half naked,) smoking cigarettes (could be illicit drugs), slowly emerge from footpaths and alleys, parading their bodies in a catwalk manner, the way beauty contestants do. It is quite some spectacle that would have made Noah’s condemned city yellow with envy.

"You haven’t seen the worst of it yet. The adjacent valley and all the shop corridors around here are makeshift lodges for those who have no money to pay for a room. Just wait and see when the lights at the disco go off. It’s awful,’’ said a reporter with a daily paper who preferred anonymity.

"That place is hell on earth especially on weekends and public holidays. .We can’t sleep at night because of the loud music. Who doesn’t know it? The police know it, very well,’’ said a neighbour in the vicinity.

In a telephone interview, Morogoro Regional Police Commander Thobias Andengenye said a police raid to nab loiterers and those extending business hours beyond midnight has been conducted around the area several times but with very little success. The deadline for discos and bars is 11:30 pm on weekdays and 12 midnight on weekends.

"The culprits pay a fine, yet the next day it is business as usual. It is not easy to conduct arbitrary arrests. If someone has a permanent address, they will tell you that they are just hanging out to have fun,” says the RPC.

He laments that the law does not clearly provide for what is decent and indecent dressing.

“It is the burden of proof that a crime has been committed that puts us in a very difficult situation. The law should be clear on what is right and wrong,’’ he argues.

Around this area, about four guest houses form a kind of line-up that caters for customers preferring what a local resident said is known as fasta fasta service while those who are not in a hurry can either hire a taxi or a motorcycle to some other destination.

The guest houses include High Classic Lodge, Kahumba Anex, Moro Night and Butist. A room costs between 4,000/- and 20,000/-. This does not mean the guests are exclusive for sex. The rooms are available to anybody. They are not only for the pleasure seekers.

One of the managers of the lodges admitted that indecent acts of all sorts abound around the area at night. He was however, at a loss as to what had happened to attract the attention of the media.

"Give us your advice on how to stop this business,’’ he told the ‘Sunday News.’

While the ‘Sunday News’ was conducting interviews undercover, all hell broke loose when two men clashed over a girl they both had paid for a fasta fasta service. The girl, who was drunk, shouted obscenities, saying she would go with anyone who was ready to pay her more. As she traded insults, motorcyclists had a field day, clapping and cheering, incensing the girl more.

The commotion ended when the girl refunded the first client and left with another man who must have probably raised the jackpot. Not everyone is amused by the indecent acts in the area. Many people interviewed expressed their disgust.

"It is really shameful, especially to parents, guardians, government authorities and the upright youths. What lessons are we teaching our children? Tanzanian culture has been dealt a very heavy blow,’’ lamented the owner of a nearby shop.

As the ladies of the twilight were busy looking for hookers outside, more was happening inside the night club. Stage dancers were giving the best of their performance. They are striptease show of sorts. The audience cheered wildly as a stage show dancer almost stripped off all her clothes.

"The show goes on up to 3 am every night. We get monthly salaries. Our shows have got nothing to do with commercial sex,’’ one young male dancer told the ‘Sunday News,’ during an interlude which allowed him an opportunity to sip a free soda.

The night revellers in the area represented a race rainbow. There were Tanzanians of Asian origin and the Maasai. As the night wore on, two Indians who had been pacing up and down the street spotted their prey and after some minutes of negotiations, probably over price, walked away with a fairly beautiful girl who had managed to fetch a colleague and link her up with the customers.

In a relaxed mood, one of the ‘sister-dos’, Rose (not her real name) said she had no problem with men as they were so generous that she could pocket up to 250,000/- per night on a good day.

"I’m very happy. I hire a room in a lodging house. When I bring a customer, he pays for it and the receptionist refunds me later. On top of the room charge, the man pays for my service. In good business days, I can handle four or five men," she quipped.

Rose said further that the taxi drivers and ‘boda boda’ cyclists have got her handset number. They too bring customers to her, under a special arrangement that they overcharge them.

"When the driver or cyclist is overpaid, the extra money is mine. I’m the one who chooses where to go. I go back to the driver later and he gives me my share. This is business. And in business you must be creative,’’ she said as she sipped a soda I had offered her.

When asked whether she takes precautions, or whether she had tested for HIV/AIDS, Rose was a little surprised and wanted to know why.

“Why should I care? This is a job like any other. If the worst happens, I will die like all other human beings,” she told the ‘Sunday News.’

A local researcher, Dr Fuko Kitenge of KIHEHEREU, a herbal research unit on HIV/AIDS, warned that AIDS is ravaging Morogoro Municipality and he believes that it is a time bomb, waiting to explode.

“The night clubs contribute to the problem but there are many seminars and workshops being held in this town. These bring in many visitors who spend a number of days here. The HIV/AIDS threat here is real. I receive new patients daily. When you ask them whether they have any idea how they contracted it, they always say it was some guy who came for a seminar or at the clubs.”

A senior CCM official who spoke on condition that his name remain anonymous told the ‘Sunday News’ that the party was concerned over the dirty business. Last June there was a police swoop but the sex trade did not end because the demand for services of the call girls is always there.

“To wipe out this business, we need joint efforts with the police, journalists, HIV/AIDS and gender activists. Warning bill boards could also play a useful role,’’ said the politician.

When approached for comment, the Morogoro Regional CCM Youth Chairperson, Latifa Ganzel, said the person who knows most about the business is the one involved in it. “If you have a bar, do you ask your customers their background?” said Ms Ganzel.

It seems a pity that the politicians have their heads buried in their political dossiers. The Morogoro sex industry is vast and blatant in the way it goes about seeking trade and indulging its customers.

MAONI YANGU
Ulipokuwa Mji kasoro bahari, Morogoro uliheshimika kwa kutoa wacheza soka mahodari na kusifia maji yaliyotiririka kutoka milima ya Uluguru iliyopo katika TAO LA MILIMA YA MASHARIKI (THE EASTERN ARC MOUNTAINS).

MCHANGO KWA WANAMBONGI WA TANZANIA

Imechangiwa na Mwalimu Bashiru Ally wa Chuo Kikuu cha Dar es Salaam, 17/10/2009.

Wanambongi, salaamNaomba nami kuchangia kidogo mjadala kuhusu swala la mpasuko katika Tanzania. Kwa maoni yangu mpasuko katika jamii yetu upo. Mpasuko huu unajibainisha katika sura nyingi kama vile pengo kubwa katika kipato cha chini na wenye kipato cha juu. Katika lugha ya kisasa mpasuko huu unajibainisha zaidi kwa jina la umaskini. Kwa mda mrefu tumekuwa tukipambana na umaskini, ingawa umaskini unaongezeka. Mbinu za kila namna zimetumika ikiwa ni pamoja na kuweka vigenzo na viwango vya umaskini. Hivi sasa wapo maskini wakubwa na wadogo, maskini wa kike na kiume, maskini wa mjini na wa vijijini, maskini mwenye njaa na masikini wa kipato, maskini anayeishi katika mazingira hatarishi na kadhalika.Mifuko ya uwezeshaji imeanzishwa, taasisi za fedha za kukopesha maskini zimeanzishwa, mafunzo ya ujasiriamali yameendeshwa hadi vyuo vikuu. Yote haya hayapunguza kiwango cha umaskini Katika kutafuta majibu ya kwanini umaskini unaongezeka ingawa vita dhidi ya tatizo hili inapamba moto, UFISADI ukaonekana kuwa ndio chanzo kikuu cha kuongezeka kwa umaskini nchini. Wakajitokeza wannchi kutoka katika kada mbalimbali kupambana na ufisadi. Kadri mapambano hayo yanavyozidi kupamba moto ufisadi kama ulivyo umaskini unaongezeka na hivyo kuongeza zaidi umaskini. Tatizo ninalolipata katika vita dhidi ya ufisadi ni kwamba mapambano dhidi yake hayalengi kukabiliana na vyanzo vikuu vya ufisadi pamoja na vikwazo vya mapambano ya ufisadi. Hata mapambano ya umaskini nayo yanakabiliwa na tatizo kama hili.Kama alivyosema Kweka, hakuna mkakati wa kuwaunganisha wananchi ambao ni waathirika na umaskini na ufisadi ili washiriki katika mapambano dhidi ya maadui wa maendeleo yao. Mikakati iliyopo inawagawa zaidi wananchi na kuwakatisha tamaa. Ninaamini kwamba bila ya ushiriki wa wananchi wengi, ushindi dhidi ya umaskini na ufisadi hautapatikana. Umoja unaotakiwa hauwezi kejengwa misikitini wala makanisani kupitia matamko na miongozo au Ilani za kidini. Hata kama nia ya viongozi wa dini ni njema, miongozo yao haiwezi kupata uhalali wa kisiasa kwa kiwango cha kuvuka mipaka ya nchi au kukabiliana na upinzani kutoka katika makundi yanayonufaika na kushamiri kwa ufisadi na umaskini. Ni vyema tukatambua kwamba matatizo ya umaskini na ufisadi ni dalili ya ukosefu wa mfumo mbadala wa kisiasa na kiuchumi. Hili sio Tatizo la Tanzania peke yake bali ni tatizo la nchi zote za dunia ya tatu.Kwa hiyo mapambano dhidi ya mfumo huu yanapaswa kuwa na sura ya kisiasa katikangazi ya kitaifa na kimataifa. Ingefaa sana tukapanua mjadala wetu na kuupa sura ya kisiasa ambayo itayasambaza mapambano haya nchi nzima na pia kuyaunganisha na mapambano yanayoendelea kwingineko.Hivi ndivyo mifumo ya ukoloni na ukaburu ilivyosambaratishwa. Kila mtu bila kujali dini, rangi, jinsia,tabaka au kabila alishiriki kupambana na ukoloni na ukaburu. Ikiwa tutashindwa kufanya hivyo, mda sio mrefu mapambano haya yatakuwa na sura ya ukabila na udini. Swali kuu hapa la kujiuliza ni kwa vipi mshikamano wa kitaifa na kimataifa dhidhi ya mifumo ya kifisadi itajengwaje? Mkakati wa kwanza ni kuendeleza mijadala KUHUSU MBINU MUAFAKA ZA KUJENGA MSHIKAMANO miongoni mwa wanachi kitaifa na kimataifa na kuiieneza mijadala hii zaidi kadri iwezekanavyo. Mkakati wa pili ni kuunda vikundi huru vya kiraia vyenye malengo ya kisiasa ya kupambana na mifumo ya kifisadi popote pale ufisadi ulipo. Vikundi hivi viendeleze mapambano dhidi ya ufisadi wa kiuchumi (wizi wa kimataifa wa raslimali zetu kama ardhi na madini); Ufisadi wa kidini( kuzifanya huduma za kiroho na kijamii kuwa biashara); ufisadi wa kijamii(makuadi wa soko huria, unyanyasaji wa wanawake na watoto): Ufisadi wa kisiasa(Wizi wa kura, uroho wa madaraka,rushwa,udini, ukabila); Ufisadi wa kisomi (Woga na unafiki wawasomi). Ili tuweze kufika huko uongozi wa kisiasa, kisomi, kidini na kijamii utahitajika. Hata hivyo mshikamano wa wananchi ndioutakaotuwezesha kupata uongozi mzuri ambao wengi wanaona haupo. Viongozi wazuri wanazaliwa na kutayarishwa. Pengine tuanze pia kujadili namna ya kuwapata viongozi wazuri. Ila mjadala huo uwe mpana na uwe wazi.Mikakati ya kidini kuhusu hatima ya nchi maskini haiwezi kupata uhalali wa kisiasa na haitekelezeki.

MBUNIFU KIJANA KUTOKA MALAWI, AFRIKA

Malawi windmill boy with big fans

By Jude Sheerin - October 1, 2009.
BBC News

The extraordinary true story of a Malawian teenager who transformed his village by building electric windmills out of junk is the subject of a new book, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind.

Self-taught William Kamkwamba has been feted by climate change campaigners like Al Gore and business leaders the world over.

His against-all-odds achievements are all the more remarkable considering he was forced to quit school aged 14 because his family could no longer afford the $80-a-year (£50) fees.

When he returned to his parents' small plot of farmland in the central Malawian village of Masitala, his future seemed limited.

But this was not another tale of African potential thwarted by poverty.

Defence against hunger

The teenager had a dream of bringing electricity and running water to his village.

“ Many, including my mother, thought I was going crazy - people thought I was smoking marijuana ”
William Kamkwamba

And he was not prepared to wait for politicians or aid groups to do it for him.

The need for action was even greater in 2002 following one of Malawi's worst droughts, which killed thousands of people and left his family on the brink of starvation.

Unable to attend school, he kept up his education by using a local library.

Fascinated by science, his life changed one day when he picked up a tattered textbook and saw a picture of a windmill.

Mr Kamkwamba told the BBC News website: "I was very interested when I saw the windmill could make electricity and pump water.

"I thought: 'That could be a defence against hunger. Maybe I should build one for myself'."

When not helping his family farm maize, he plugged away at his prototype, working by the light of a paraffin lamp in the evenings.

But his ingenious project met blank looks in his community of about 200 people.

"Many, including my mother, thought I was going crazy," he recalls. "They had never seen a windmill before."

Shocks

Neighbours were further perplexed at the youngster spending so much time scouring rubbish tips.

“ William Kamkwamba's achievements with wind energy show what one person, with an inspired idea, can do to tackle the crisis we face ”
Al Gore

"People thought I was smoking marijuana," he said. "So I told them I was only making something for juju [magic].' Then they said: 'Ah, I see.'"

Mr Kamkwamba, who is now 22 years old, knocked together a turbine from spare bicycle parts, a tractor fan blade and an old shock absorber, and fashioned blades from plastic pipes, flattened by being held over a fire.

"I got a few electric shocks climbing that [windmill]," says Mr Kamkwamba, ruefully recalling his months of painstaking work.

The finished product - a 5-m (16-ft) tall blue-gum-tree wood tower, swaying in the breeze over Masitala - seemed little more than a quixotic tinkerer's folly.

But his neighbours' mirth turned to amazement when Mr Kamkwamba scrambled up the windmill and hooked a car light bulb to the turbine.

As the blades began to spin in the breeze, the bulb flickered to life and a crowd of astonished onlookers went wild.

Soon the whiz kid's 12-watt wonder was pumping power into his family's mud brick compound.

'Electric wind'

Out went the paraffin lanterns and in came light bulbs and a circuit breaker, made from nails and magnets off an old stereo speaker, and a light switch cobbled together from bicycle spokes and flip-flop rubber.

Before long, locals were queuing up to charge their mobile phones.

WINDS OF CHANGE

2002: Drought strikes; he leaves school; builds 5m windmill

2006: Daily Times writes article on him; he builds a 12m windmill

2007: Brings solar power to his village and installs solar pump

Mid-2008: Builds Green Machine windmill, pumping well water

Sep 2008: Attends inaugural African Leadership Academy class

Mid-2009: Builds replica of original 5m windmill

Mr Kamkwamba's story was sent hurtling through the blogosphere when a reporter from the Daily Times newspaper in Blantyre wrote an article about him in November 2006.

Meanwhile, he installed a solar-powered mechanical pump, donated by well-wishers, above a borehole, adding water storage tanks and bringing the first potable water source to the entire region around his village.

He upgraded his original windmill to 48-volts and anchored it in concrete after its wooden base was chewed away by termites.

Then he built a new windmill, dubbed the Green Machine, which turned a water pump to irrigate his family's field.

Before long, visitors were traipsing from miles around to gawp at the boy prodigy's magetsi a mphepo - "electric wind".

As the fame of his renewable energy projects grew, he was invited in mid-2007 to the prestigious Technology Entertainment Design conference in Arusha, Tanzania.

Cheetah generation

He recalls his excitement using a computer for the first time at the event.

"I had never seen the internet, it was amazing," he says. "I Googled about windmills and found so much information."

Onstage, the native Chichewa speaker recounted his story in halting English, moving hard-bitten venture capitalists and receiving a standing ovation.

A glowing front-page portrait of him followed in the Wall Street Journal.

He is now on a scholarship at the elite African Leadership Academy in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Mr Kamkwamba - who has been flown to conferences around the globe to recount his life-story - has the world at his feet, but is determined to return home after his studies.

The home-grown hero aims to finish bringing power, not just to the rest of his village, but to all Malawians, only 2% of whom have electricity.

"I want to help my country and apply the knowledge I've learned," he says. "I feel there's lots of work to be done."

Former Associated Press news agency reporter Bryan Mealer had been reporting on conflict across Africa for five years when he heard Mr Kamkwamba's story.

The incredible tale was the kind of positive story Mealer, from New York, had long hoped to cover.

The author spent a year with Mr Kamkwamba writing The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, which has just been published in the US.

Mealer says Mr Kamkwamba represents Africa's new "cheetah generation", young people, energetic and technology-hungry, who are taking control of their own destiny.

"Spending a year with William writing this book reminded me why I fell in love with Africa in the first place," says Mr Mealer, 34.

"It's the kind of tale that resonates with every human being and reminds us of our own potential."

Can it be long before the film rights to the triumph-over-adversity story are snapped up, and William Kamkwamba, the boy who dared to dream, finds himself on the big screen?

We asked for your reaction to this story. Please find a selection of your comments below.

Kudos to this lad for his perseverance. The answers to Africa's problems lie within - not from well meaning do-gooders from the West giving continual handouts. He'll go far and probably end up as prime minister of Malawi. Sue, London UK

This remarkable example shows how much of a contribution one could make by taking an initiative with a sound vision. Ziyad, Maldives

My response? I am in (joyful) tears. This is a great example of perseverance and steadfast hope despite "dire" circumstances. It also affirms the need to share education and technology, to empower people to find sustainable solutions to their circumstance. Thank you for your perseverance and positive spirit to help your own people. May people like you multiply. J. Miners, Canada

This story is splendid, it is solid. It is what the whole of Africa should hear and learn about. It will ignite a new spirit in the continent's young minds who badly need such inspiration to get Africa going. Accomplishing something out of obscurity and carving a place for yourself in history like this Malawian shows that the human potential can never be limited, thus Africa could change if this mindset is nurtured and developed. Brima Karl Samura, Freetown, Sierra Leone

Amazing triumph of the human spirit over adversity. What a remarkable and staggeringly honourable young man. I am inspired and humbled by him. I hope this fabulously positive story goes on to change the negative attitudes that have plagued Africa. Made my day! Raj, London

William's achievements portray that anyone can do anything as long as they hope to do it and don't stop at only hoping but aim at making it happen. It shows that there are possibly other intelligent kids out there in Africa but what they lack is perhaps resources or vigour that they can make great things happen. This shows that if we Africans worked together as a team, and solved problems not as individuals, we would not be bothered at all by drought and power problems, most especially in our rural areas. I hope our young generation gets to read your story William, am sure it will change many hopeless minds that have always thought 'they can't'. Tell them William, tell them, that 'YES WE CAN' Daisy, Kampala, Uganda

I love what this boy has done because he has used his own innovative ideas to power a village. I work in rural Kenya and I will definitely use this story as a case study to the youth who feel so desperate to make something of their lives but don't often have anyone to look up to that made it with little education like them. Tess Ochino, Nairobi, Kenya

He is a star for Malawi in this world of technology. This shows the potential of poor Malawi and Africa. There are many potential youths in Africa but poverty is hindering them to rise. It could have been a good idea that funds that got lost through corruption and wars were used to provide an environment for such potential intellectuals to achieve their God given dreams/capabilities. Gerald Mabveka, Lilongwe, Malawi

What a fabulous, heart warming story. Congratulations on all of your hard work. You will be an inspiration to everyone who reads or hears about your triumphs. One of my former students Leo who is from Shandong, will go to the Gobi Desert in Inner Mongolia to install wind turbines in November. David, Xi'an, Shanxi China

While not wanting to detract from this chap's achievements, I'm very surprised that this is not already common across the region. On my travels to South America, and mainly Patagonia - where there is no concept of electricity or running water outside the main towns - people have been using windmills to pump water for livestock and themselves, as well as generate electricity, for decades. One would think that it was an obvious solution for NGOs and charities working in poverty and drought stricken countries. But good luck to William: well done! Joseph, London, UK

It is amazing for a school dropout to do such a thing. It should be a lesson to all Africans that nothing is lost, no matter what the situation. So Africans should all work no matter where they find themselves. God should enlighten him to do great things. Isaac Tuffour, Effiduase-Ghana

Congratulations for publishing for once a positive story! Mr Kamkwamba was able to achieve his dream because he went to school and had the opportunity to have access to a library, but also because he believed that changes can be made. What a lesson to teach to our European youth who complain about everything, and have all the opportunities and but no will to use them positively. Burke, Brussels, Belgium

Such are the stories that Africa needs. Stories that can inspire and galvanise our youths to think big. And maybe shame our leaders to be positive in the interest of their people. Babshow, Lagos, Nigeria

Now that's inspirational and that's how you would change the world. Physically making changes and not all that political talk. Helen Lau, London

Reading this almost brought tears to my eyes. What a great story - human determination in the face of real adversity. I feel humbled. Warm regards to the young man! Brian Cockburn, Tunapuna, Trinidad & Tobago

Definitely a remarkable story. Who says one person cannot make a difference? It is certainly a story worth telling the world about as it inspires us to become the best that we can be, and never give up. My sincere congratulations to William! A young man that puts many adults to shame. Karen O'Connor, Bunbury, Australia

Amazing story, but a shame BBC has not done it justice. For all the implications Mr Kamkwamba's remarkable story raises, the article's conclusions disappoint. The "boy" who "dared to dream"? Will he get a film deal? Is this really what one takes away from Mr Kamkwamba's achievements? A severely disadvantaged young person applied his effort and abilities to address a serious problem, and greatly improved his community's quality of life. His innovation is an inspiration to millions, exemplifying the kind of home-grown sustainable development western governments and NGOs have scrambled after (and spent billions on) for years, with marginal success. Mr Kamkwamba, and others like him, need more attention, support and resources to expand their work. Not speculation on their Hollywood prospects. At the very least, they deserve more mature, respectful coverage of their stories in the future. Jessica Donovan, Kigali, Rwanda

I just wish to say that if I were ever given the opportunity to meet William Kamkwamba I would express an enormous gratitude for allowing his story to circulate the world. He serves as an inspiration to everyone, especially to our generation, the ones who are currently struggling to graduate and become what he has - an individual who has shown strength and endurance to positively influence his community as well as everyone else residing in other more technologically advanced areas of the world. Thank you Mr Kamkwamba! Natasha, Miami, FL

Our governments in Africa need to encourage these people. It is unfortunate that these people are not recognised and assisted accordingly. Imagine, I am in Malawi but I have learnt about this man through the BBC. Patrick Gondwe, Blantyre, Malawi

That is what Africa truly wants. I am very proud by the deeds of Mr Kamkwamba. He has a wonderful mind. We shouldn't expect everything from someone else to teach us. If we look inside and use our potential, it is possible we can make a difference. Wishing you success in your future endeavours! God Bless you! Anteneh Tadesse Asmamaw, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia

This is a really inspirational story. So many young people get sidetracked when they find themselves in difficult life situations but this youngster has the resilience of our ancestors. He is truly a leader and a hero. Congratulations. Nadia, Kingstown, St Vincent and the Grenadines

It's amazing to see how much talent and commitment we have in this world, it seems this world could gain more if we were to concentrate more on the less fortunate and third world countries. I believe it's the only way forward rather dealing with the politicians. Wonder how many of this kind we have out there, together we can change this world just by looking to the next person to you and offering a hand or advice if you can. Richard Mupfumba, Horley, Surrey, UK

It is indeed a great joy to see a talented young African brother having a big dream to modernise his community with water and electrical supply. Africa has a lot of talented youths but there are no resources to work on. The intelligent poor children have no seats in the classroom and our greedy politicians are only looking after their own interests. Job well done my brother, I hope many will take your steps in the love of our own people. Let Africans think positively for our way forward and stop the killing and corruption. Musa Badjie, The Gambia

After all that effort: "Before long, locals were queuing up to charge their mobile phones." Sigh - and what did they use before? Robert Cailliau, Prevessin-Moens France

It is due to his zeal and vision to help his fellow countrymen that he dared to make his dream come true. We should have more such people and the world will be a better place Lawrence Lim, Singapore

Kamkwamba's story is a story of defying impossibilities, determination and that is what the world needs!! Nkomo Dingilizwe, Zimbabwe, Harare

Truly inspirational!! I'm an engineer with years of experience so I take my hat off!! Its so nice to hear something nice happening for once! Good on him and all those who he wishes to help. Paul, Lincoln, UK

As a Malawi I feel great, and would appreciate very much if African governments can do more to support these many talented young ones. Kondwani Mpahuwa, Kanengo , Lilongwe, Malawi

Kamkwamba is a gift from God. If it wasn't so, his idea could have not materialised, through the BBC. I would like his story to be published in every African country, so that gifted teenagers like Kamkwamba will come up. Congratulations Kamkwamba, I am really proud of you. Well done, and may Lord Bless you. Esther Richard Semkuya, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania

There is so much hope for Africa and this young man shows what is possible with meagre resources. We do not have to wait for corrupt governments, officials or donors to sort out, we just need to go back to basics. So proud and so challenged!! Eva, Munich, Germany

I'm living in Malawi at present. Unless you've lived here you can't possibly understand just what an amazing achievement it is! I live in a city and the electricity cuts out most nights. Katy Berry, Formby Merseyside UK

What an inspirational story! He has shown the world, especially Africa, that the development and progress of Africa lies in the hands of Africans. Africans must dig deep into their skills and talents, using them to build their communities and nations as a whole. Nothing stopped him, despite the obstacles and challenges he encountered. I am very proud of him and if he should set up a development fund I will definitely take part because it will be for a good cause. Eddie Blankson, Toelloese - Denmark

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/8257153.stm

Published: 2009/10/01 17:04:14 GMT

DUNIA INAKWENDA WAPI?

Date: Wednesday, September 23, 2009, 3:26 AM

Source: Mwananchi

Date::9/22/2009 'Gongagonga' afumwa akimlawiti mme wa mtu Na Habel Chidawali, Dodoma, TAnzania. POLISI mkoani Dodoma inamshikilia kijana mmoja wa umri wa miaka 17 kwa tuhuma za kumlawiti mwanamume mwenzake kwa njia za kishirikiana. Kijana huyo mkazi wa Chali, Isanga aliyejulikana kwa jina la Maneno Ngo’nda na ambaye ni maarufu kama ‘gonga gonga”, alikamatwa majira ya saa 6:00 usuiku kwenye kijiji hicho baada ya kufumwa akifanya kitedo hicho. Kamanda wa polisi mkoani hapa, Zelothe Stephen alisema kijana huyo, ambaye aliwahi kukamatwa kwa tuhuma za kuingilia wake za watu kwa njia za kimazingara, anaonekana kuwa na uzoefu wa kazi hiyo. Kamanda Zelothe alisema kuwa mtuhumiwa alikamatwa na wananchi waliomkuta akimlawiti mwanaume mwenye umri wa miaka 30 (jina limehifadhiwa) wa kijijini hapo. Zelothe alisema tukio hilo lilitokea wakati mtu huyo alipokuwa amelala na mkewe na kwamba mtuhumiwa alimtoa kitandani na kumshusha chini na kumfanyia kitendo hicho. Kwa mujibu wa Zelothe baada ya mke wa mtu huyo kuamka na kumkosa mumewe kitandani aliwasha taa na kumkuta mtuhumiwa akiendelea na kitendo hicho ndipo alipopiga kelele kuomba msaada. Akihojiwa kuhusu tukio hilo mtuhumiwa alisema kuwa alifanya hivyo baada ya kuona amewamaliza wanawake wote wa kijiji hicho. Alisema anawaingilia kimazingira ya kishirikina bila kujitambua na kufanya nao tendo la ndoa bila wao kujua kitu ambacho alikiri kuwa amekuwa akikifanya mara kwa mara na hivyo wanawake wa hapo kijijini wote aliokuwa akiwapenda alishafanya nao mapenzi. "Nimewamaliza wanawake wote hapa kijijini, sasa naona kuwa imefika zamu ya wanaume na kwamba huyu niliyekamatwa nae alikuwa ndio mwanaume wa kwanza kufanya tendo hili," alisema Gongagonga. Kamanda huyo alisema katika kesi ya awali mtuhumiwa aliachiwa huru kutokana na kukosekana kwa ushahidi wa kuthibitisha kuwa alimuingilia bila ridhaa mwanamke mmoja kijijini hapo kwa kutumia njia ya kishirikina. Katika tukio jingine, Sipundu Mtuli, 28, aliuawa na wananchi wenye hasira na kuchomwa moto baada ya kutuhumiwa kudaiwa kuiba mbuzi. Zelothe alisema kuwa tukio hilo lilitokea mnamo tarehe 20 mwezi huu majira ya saa moja usiku katika kijiji cha Nholi wilayani Bahi.

ASTAHILI PONGEZI MBUNIFU HUYU TOKA UGANDA

Imechangiwa na Mariam Ali Ana'am toka Atlanta, Georgia. Ilitoka GLOBALATLANTA.com ATlanta, Georgia, USA.
Atlanta, 09.17.2009.

From Atlanta Hotels, Tons of Soap Heading for Africa
By David Beasley

Video Links:

Sending Soap to Africa

Helping the Global Soap Project

Derreck Kayongo arrived in the U.S. from Africa 15 years ago and was staying at a hotel in Philadelphia, when he noticed that the cleaning crew would replace the bathroom soap each day, even if the bars were only slightly used.

“I called my Dad back home and told him, ‘You wouldn’t believe what happens here. They throw away soap that is used only once,’” said Mr. Kayongo.

His father, a former soap maker in Uganda, chalked it up to America’s wealth. People there can afford to waste soap, he said.

“We laughed about it,” said Mr. Kayongo. “But the idea stuck in my head. What if we took some of this soap back home, recycled it, made brand new soap and gave it to people who didn’t have a single bar of soap?”

After years of pondering the question, Mr. Kayongo, a field coordinator for Atlanta-based relief agency CARE International, this year launched an effort to collect used bars of hotel soap and recycle them for use in refugee camps in Uganda. He sees it as a way to fight the spread of disease and allow U.S. hotels to help Africa while also reducing the amount of trash they are paying to have hauled away to landfills.

Mr. Kayongo started by speaking to a meeting of Atlanta hotel managers last April. He was surprised at how many agreed to collect their used soap for him. There are now 40 Atlanta hotels participating. Mr. Kayongo has about two tons of soap in an Alpharetta warehouse and another two tons in a friend’s basement.

He hopes to make his first shipment to Africa in October. The soap will be shipped by freighter to Kenya and trucked to Uganda, where it will be sterilized and reshaped into new bars for distribution at refugee camps where soap is scarce. Reprocessing the soap will create jobs in Africa for local workers, he said.

Mr. Kayongo and his wife, Sarah Kayongo, who is also from Uganda and works for an Atlanta translation firm, have formed a non-profit corporation, the Global Soap Project. A freight forwarding company in Green Bay, Wis., Relief Cargo, that specializes in shipping donated items from humanitarian organizations, has agreed to defray part of the $18,000 cost of the first five-ton load to Africa. The project is also seeking donations to cover expenses.

“If we can make this work, I can see setting it up in every country in Africa,” said Relief Cargo president Andrew Drescher, whose company has shipped donated items ranging from blankets to school supplies, but never raw soap.

Soap Can Save Lives

The need for soap is great in Uganda and elsewhere in Africa where poverty and many other factors often make it difficult for people to get it, said Emmanuel d’Harcourt, a medical doctor and senior health director at International Rescue Committee, which specializes in resettling refugees and improving the conditions of the camps where they live.

“We have compelling evidence that hand washing with soap is very effective in combating diarrhea and other diseases,” Dr. d’Harcourt told GlobalAtlanta. Worldwide, 2 million people annually die of diarrhea, he said. A 2004 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association estimated that the number of deaths from diarrhea in the world’s poorest areas could be cut in half with increased hand washing with soap.

Steve Luby, one of the authors of that study who now heads the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s emerging infections program in Bangladesh, sees promise in the soap project.

“It sounds to me like someone is trying to do something that is good for the world,” he told GlobalAtlanta in an e-mail interview. “I applaud this. It sounds like a better idea than discarding the soap in a landfill or doing nothing at all to address the problems of poverty or ill health.”

Poverty is the major reason there is so little soap in the poorest areas of the world, said Dr. Luby. “In Bangladesh, 70 percent of the population lives on less than $2 per person per day,” he said. “In these settings, it is very difficult for families to secure sufficient income for food, water and shelter. The population that would derive the greatest health benefits from soap is the population for whom it is least affordable.”

Bahadur Subba, an International Rescue Committee case worker in Atlanta, lived in a refugee camp in Nepal from 1992 to 2005. "We were not supplied with soap," he told GlobalAtlanta.

If families had money, they would buy soap from a local market. Those without money would use their food rations to buy soap. "People used to eat less," said Mr. Subba. "They would sell off the extra food in the local market and use the money to buy soap."

Expensive Soap, Diverted from Landfills

On a balmy August morning, Mr. Kayongo pulled his Ford Explorer up to the loading dock of Atlanta’s Ritz-Carlton, Buckhead and began transferring bars of soap from a dumpster into plastic bags to be hauled to the Alpharetta warehouse.

“This would all be in a landfill,” Mr. Kayongo said, lifting the heavy bags into his SUV.

The Ritz-Carlton room attendants collect the used bars of Bvlgari soap in separate bags for Mr. Kayongo instead of tossing them in the trash. It is expensive soap, selling new at retail for about $10 per bar.

The room attendants don’t mind the extra effort it takes to recycle the soap, said Valerie Stephens, room attendant trainer at the Ritz-Carlton. “When you’re thinking about someone else, it’s easier to do,” she said.

When the Ritz-Carlton, Buckhead hotel manager, Olivia Brown, heard Mr. Kayongo speak at the hotel association meeting, she was impressed by his passion and by the chance for Ritz-Carlton to contribute to a community cause while increasing its recycling efforts.

Whether the donated soap will eventually help Africa, Ms. Brown is not sure. “If we don’t try, we won’t know,” she said.

At the Alpharetta warehouse, Mr. Kayongo opens the bags of soap, sorted by hotel, and displays them as if they were jewels. They are in different colors; yellow, bright green, white, with an assortment of scents such as lemon and sage. The more expensive the hotel, the larger, more colorful and fragrant, the bar of soap.

“The writing is still on this bar,” said Mr. Kayongo. “It’s still new soap.”

The Kayongos understand why Americans would be puzzled over why something as simple as soap would be hard to find in Africa. Yet they point to World Bank statistics that more than a billion people worldwide live on less than $1 per day.

“Having soap is really a luxury, believe it or not,” said Sarah Kayongo.

In northern Uganda, nearly 400,000 people still live in refugee camps following years of fighting between a rebel group called the Lord’s Resistance Army and government troops

Mr. Kayongo himself was once a refugee from Uganda. His family fled to Kenya following fighting during the reign of military dictator Idi Amin in the early 1970s. His father lost the soap business and a printing press but later returned to Uganda and became a member of parliament there.

With abundant donations from U.S. hotels and the need for soap so great, the Kayongos do not want to limit the project to Atlanta or to Uganda. The need is just too great, they said.

“How many hotels are in this country and how much soap are they throwing away?” Mr. Kayongo asked, preparing to collect another donation from another gleaming Atlanta hotel.

BADO WAFITINI WANAMCHOKONOA OBAMA

Hawaii again declares Obama birth certificate real
AP on Tuesday July 28, 2009



President Barack Obama gestures while speaking on the South Lawn of the White AP – President Barack Obama gestures while speaking on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Monday, …

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* WATCH: President Obama's weekly address Play Video Video:WATCH: President Obama's weekly address 11 News Houston

By JAYMES SONG, Associated Press Writer Jaymes Song, Associated Press Writer – Tue Jul 28, 1:54 am ET

HONOLULU – State officials in Hawaii on Monday said they have once again checked and confirmed that President Barack Obama was born in Hawaii and is a natural-born American citizen, and therefore meets a key constitutional requirement for being president.

They hoped to stem a recent surge in the number of inquiries about Obama's birthplace.

"I ... have seen the original vital records maintained on file by the Hawaii State Department of Health verifying Barack Hussein Obama was born in Hawaii and is a natural-born American citizen," Health Director Dr. Chiyome Fukino said in a brief statement. "I have nothing further to add to this statement or my original statement issued in October 2008 over eight months ago."

So-called "birthers" — who claim Obama is ineligible to be president because, they argue, he was actually born outside the United States — have grown more vocal recently on blogs and television news shows.

Fukino issued a similar press release Oct. 31, but was prompted to speak out again because of the renewed attention on Obama's beginnings. Hawaii's Health Department has been flooded in recent weeks with questions from individuals and several national TV news networks asking for proof that Obama was indeed born in Hawaii.

"They just keep asking over and over and over again," Health Department spokeswoman Janice Okubo said.

The Constitution states that a person must be a "natural-born citizen" to be eligible for the presidency. Birthers contend that Obama's birth certificate is a fake, and many say he was actually born in Kenya, his father's homeland. They've challenged his citizenship in court.

One widely circulated YouTube clip of a town hall meeting showed a Republican congressman getting booed for saying Obama is a citizen. Talk show host Rush Limbaugh and CNN's Lou Dobbs have also raised the issue, and 10 Republican members of Congress co-sponsored a bill that would require future presidential candidates to provide a copy of their original birth certificate.

However, it appears Congress has moved on and has accepted Obama's island birthplace. The U.S. House on Monday unanimously approved a resolution recognizing and celebrating the 50th anniversary of Hawaii becoming the 50th state. A clause was included that reads: "Whereas the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama, was born in Hawaii on August 4, 1961."

State law bars the release of a certified birth certificate to anyone who does not have a tangible interest.

However, Obama's birth certificate along with birth notices from the two Honolulu newspapers were brought forward even before he took office. But that's done nothing to shake the belief by many Obama critics that the president was born abroad.

HATUA ZA KUCHUKUA KULINDA VIINI-ASKARI

Imetoka kwa Dr. Weil.com

Your immune system is your interface with the environment, and a healthy immune system is the cornerstone of good health: it allows you to interact with germs and not get infections, with allergens and avoid allergic reactions, and with carcinogens and avoid getting cancer. Immune deficiency can be avoided with preventive measures: Maintain good oral hygiene (gum infections can use up a lot of the body's immune resources). Use antibiotics only when absolutely necessary and avoid immunosuppressive drugs unless there are no other alternatives left to consider. Cut back on sugar and stop eating polyunsaturated vegetable oils and artificially hardened fats - instead use extra-virgin olive oil and eat fresh fruits when craving something sweet. Don't forget moderate exercise - it helps keep every tissue in the body healthy and can raise levels of natural killer cells, a primary defense against cancer.

MAJADILIANO YA RASILIMALI ZA JAMHURI YA TANZANIA

The Bone of Contention still lies with the ever-expanding list of Union Matters in the First Schedule to The Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania, 1977.

It is now a very open secret tha the added matters after the originally agreed 11 Matters of the Union are ILLEGAL, and thus should be inoperative, as Shivji's book [(Issa G. Shivji, Pan Africanism or Pragmatism? : Lessons of the Tanganyika-Zanzibar Union, Mkuki na Nyota Publishers, 2008)] has amply revealed.

The legal fraternity and the general public who are empowered and take the trouble to follow current events in our country know fully well that the answer to all the UNION questions posed by both sides (Bara na Visiwani) lie on the PARTICIPATORY FORMULATION OF A NEW TANZANIAN CONSTITUTION.

The question is: Would the Chama cha Mapinduzi be courageous enough to emulate the Apartheid Regime of South Africa to legislate itself out of existence? That is, by allowing the participation of the Tanzanian public to contribute to the whole democratic process of writing a new Tanzanian Constitution?

BURIANI TAJUDEEN ABDUL-RAHEEM

BURIANI TAJUDEEN ABDUL-RAHEEM
>
> May 26, 2009 (MAKALA YAKE YA MWISHO)
>
> Govts discourage enterprise and penalise those fighting
> poverty
> Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem
>
>
> The irony of Africa being a very rich continent but
> Africans being some of the poorest peoples in the world is
> no longer lost to anyone. While we can argue about the
> historical, structural, attitudinal, personal and
> institutional causes of this state of affairs, the fact
> remains that majority of our peoples remain in need amidst
> plenty.
>
> Decades of aid, humanitarian intervention, prayers,
> activism, development plans, action plans, government
> declarations and so many other initiatives have not produced
> fundamental change for the poorest and weakest sections of
> our societies. Yet Africans remain one of the most
> optimistic peoples, perpetually believing that tomorrow will
> be better. It is always a miracle how majority of
> the poor, whether in our urban slums or impoverished rural
> areas, survive.
>
> Our cities' overburdened road infrastructures have
> spurned entrepreneurship in the form of shops on roads and
> legs meandering between armies of pedestrians and impatient
> vehicle drivers frustrated at the gridlock traffic.
> Similarly informal settlements have developed, several times
> the size of our capital cities with little or no
> infrastructures. Some of them like Kibera Slum in Nairobi
> are even becoming 'famous' globally for poverty
> tourism. Unfortunately, it is not the impoverished peoples
> in these settlements who are even the beneficiaries of their
> own poverty.
>
> The majority of Africans continue to survive not because of
> government but in spite of governments. They eke out a
> living to keep body and soul together, provide for their
> families, doing all kinds of dirty work with little pay or
> selling anything that is buyable; hawking all kinds of
> household wares,
> fruits, vegetables and myriad of consumer items.
>
> The concept of informal settlements in Africa is not just
> about where people live but extends to informal markets in
> all kinds of goods and services.
>
> As the son of a hardworking woman who was a 'petty
> trader', I confess to a bias in favour of these
> small entrepreneurs who do not depend on any connections
> with government officials, politicians and big business
> influence. You go to many neighbourhoods rich or poor
> and you will find these largely female entrepreneurs,
> selling food to those working on construction sites, cheap
> vegetables to other poor members of the society from their
> baskets, trays or single tables at the corners of roads and
> streets.
>
> So living in Kenya, a settler, apartheid type state in all
> but name, I find myself in solidarity with 'Mama
> Mboga'. These are women who sell vegetables from their
> trays, or traditional load carriers tied to their heads,
> carried
> on their backs.
>
> From Mama Mboga selling daily perishable vegetables, the
> ambition is to own a kiosk where you can have storage for
> more goods , stock more, put a fridge and freezer that
> can preserve perishable items. When Mama Mboga becomes a
> kiosk owner, it is a personal triumph of hope over
> adversity- a long journey from grinding poverty to
> bearable survival and foundations for permanent exit from
> poverty. The bigger the kiosk and the better stocked it is,
> the further away the owner is from poverty. Government
> policy is threatening the survival of the Mama Mbogas across
> this continent. In the name of ridding cities of illegal
> constructions, returning to the original city plans and
> 'beautifying' our cities, city councils and central
> governments are creating more poverty. Of what use is
> a 'beautiful city' inhabited by people who have lost
> their livelihoods? Would they appreciate the beauty?
>
> The Mama Mbogas are on
> the street and in kiosks because they cannot afford the
> malls and most of their clientele cannot afford the price in
> the malls.
>
> Our elite are embarrassed by the mass poverty that
> surrounds us but they are unwilling to provide leadership
> and appropriate policies to take our peoples to prosperity.
> Instead they engage in avoidance and denial mechanisms to
> pretend to visitors that 'everything is okay'.
>
> That's why they rid our capitals of beggars, hawkers,
> and other undesirables before any major
> 'international' conference, but out of sight is not
> out of mind for the Mama/Baba Mbogas in our midst. You can
> pull down their kiosks and destroy their tables but they
> will come back with new tables, under umbrellas and their
> clientele will know where to find them. By no means are
> there clients all wretched of the earth. I still call my
> favourite Mama Mboga, Mama Sarah, or her husband, Martin, to
> send me top up cards from wherever Nairobi City Council
> have forced them to.
>
>
> Dr Tajudeen, a respected Pan Africanist and Daily Monitor
> columnist, died in a car crash in Nairobi, Kenya on May 25, 2009. This column, written last week, was his last for
> Daily Monitor. May his soul rest in peace.