KIGAMBONI SATTELITE CITY PLANS SHELVED BY LUKUVI

By Bernard Lugongo,The Citizen Reporter,  Tanzania.

Posted  Monday, March 30  2015 at  12:10

IN SUMMARY

·         Newly appointed minister for Lands, Housing and Human Settlements Development, Mr William Lukuvi, yesterday announced the residents would not be forced out of their land.

Dar es Salaam. 

 Residents of six wards in Kigamboni area who have been in a dispute with the government over a plan to repossess their land to pave the way for a modern city were relieved after they were told that the plan has been shelved.

Newly appointed minister for Lands, Housing and Human Settlements Development, Mr William Lukuvi, yesterday announced the residents would not be forced out of their land.

The residents of Kigamboni, Tungi. Mji-Mwema, Vijibweni, Kibada and part of Somangila were sitting on borrowed time as the government wanted them out to construct Kigamboni New City Project under an arm called Kigamboni Development Agency.

They had fallen out with Mr Lukuvi’s sacked predecessor Prof Anna Tibaijuka whose several efforts to solve the dispute failed to yield any fruits and delayed any plans for investment in the area by reported multinational companies and institutions. The people had also spanned attempts to buy shares in the agency.

Yesterday, however, there was a sigh of relief when Mr Lukuvi said the government had no intention of evicting them and announced that a special desk will be set there to issue them with title deeds for their pieces of land.

He boldly vowed to change a circular by his predecessor Prof Tibaijuka prohibiting the residents from  building permanent structures on their respective pieces of land.

The circular had led to the stoppage of the issuance of title deeds, pending disputed compensation. The residents feared the agency would acquire their land cheaply and sell it exorbitantly to the would be investors.

But now, Mr Lukuvi says the people themselves will decide in a free buyer-seller arrangement if they wished to sell their land or not or enter another agreement with the interested investors.

The minister, who was meeting the complainants as part of his familiarisation of land disputes, said the government would only provide market prices for land. 

YOUR GUIDE TO LONGEVITY - SWITCH OFF THAT TELEVISION !!!

POSTED HERE ON 31st MARCH, 2015.

From Mark Stibich, Ph.D., Your Guide to Longevity.


Turning off your television will gain you, on average, about 4 hours per day. Imagine if you took that time to exercise, give your brain a workout and develop strong relationships. Not only would you be adding years to your life, you would become more interesting, energetic, and fun. So take the plunge and try not watching TV for a week. At first it will be strange and awkward, but stick with it and soon you will love all the extra time.


1. Television Eats Your Time
The average U.S. adult watches more than 4 hours of television a day. That's 25 percent of waking time spent every day. Imagine if you suddenly had 25 percent more time -- that's three extra months per year! You could get in all your exercise, cook your meals from scratch and still have time left over to write a novel.


Over a lifetime, an 80-year-old person would have watched 116,800 hours of television, compared to only 98,000 hours of work. As a nation, adults watch 880 million hours of television every day or 321 billion hours per year. Whew! Imagine what could get done if we all just stopped watching TV.


2. Television makes you stressed
With the average of four hours a day gone, it's no wonder everyone is feeling stressed out and overwhelmed. We put aside paying bills, finishing projects, making phone calls and cleaning our homes to watch TV. We feel overwhelmed because of all the things we should be doing (exercising, spending time with family, eating right) go undone.


And when we feel overwhelmed, tired, and exhausted we don't have energy to anything but -- you guessed it -- watch TV. It is a dreadful cycle. So take a break from TV for a week and see what happens to your life.


3. Television Makes You Overweight
Eating while distracted limits your ability to assess how much you have consumed. According to Eliot Blass at the University of Massachusetts, people eat between 31 and 74 percent more calories while watching TV.


This could add, on average, about 300 calories extra per TV meal. Now consider that at least 40 percent of families watch TV while eating dinner. It becomes clear that TV is a big part of the obesity epidemic in the U.S. and that TV, in fact, makes you gain weight.


4. Television Makes You Uninteresting
Many people have whole conversations that are recaps of TV programs, sporting events and sitcoms. When asked about their real lives, there is little or nothing to report and no stories to tell (except the TV shows they have watched).


Life is too interesting and wonderful to spend your time either watching TV or recapping television to your friends. Find something interesting to do: volunteer, read, paint -- anything but watch more TV.


5. Television Ruins Your Relationships
A television is turned on an average of 7 hours and 40 minutes per day in many U.S. households. With the TV on that much, there is little time for you and your significant other or children to spend time together, share experiences, and develop deeper relationships.


Sitting together and watching TV does not grow a relationship. Turn that TV off and find something to do together --cooking, exercising, taking a walk, anything.


6. Television is Not Relaxation
TV is the opposite of exercise. If you are watching TV you are usually sitting, reclining or lying down. You are burning as few calories as possible. All that extra food you eat while watching TV does not get burned off. Your brain goes into a lull.


But you are not relaxing -- your mind is still receiving stimuli from the TV, you are processing information and reacting emotionally. Have you ever found yourself thinking about TV characters? Do you ever dream about TV shows? These are signs that the brain is working hard to process all the TV you have been watching.


7. Television Loses Opportunities
If you are sitting and watching TV, nothing new or exciting is going to happen to you. New opportunities and ideas come from being out in the world, talking to people, and reading interesting things.


Watching TV isolates you. Nothing is going to change in your world if you are watching TV. Turn off the TV, go out into the world, talk to people, and see what happens.


8. Television is Addictive
Television can become addictive. Signs of TV addiction include:


using the TV to calm down
not being able to control your viewing
feeling angry or disappointed in how much TV you watched
feeling on edge if kept from watching
feeling a loss of control while watching
If the idea of giving up TV for a week is horrifying, you may be addicted to television. Luckily, TV addiction is a habit and not a physical addiction like smoking. You should be able to control it once you are aware of the problem and make a decision to change.


9. Television Makes You Buy Things

By age 65, the average American has seen 2 million commercials. Your knowledge of products and brands comes from these TV commercials. Your perception of what you need also comes from these commercials.


If you didn't know that your iPod could talk to your running shoes, you wouldn't feel like your current shoes are too low-tech. If you didn't know about vacuums that never lose suction, your current vacuum would seem fine. Our perception of need is determined by what we see. Need less by watching less TV.


10. Television Costs Money
A basic cable package costs $43 per month and many packages cost much more than that. That comes to at least $500 a year spent on TV. For that much money you could: buy a membership to every museum or zoo in your town, get a gym membership, buy a nice bicycle, invest it every year for 10 years at 10 percent interest* and have more than $10,000.


 TURN  OFF  YOUR  TV   FOR  A  LONGER,  INTERESTING  LIFE.
Sources: TvTurnOff.org; US Census Bureau

Jamiat Comment: There isn't much left to say except that for a Muslim home the most dangerous part about the TV is that it corrodes Islamic values. All the sex, violence, bad language and rotten attitudes of characters on TV have turned generations of innocent young children into monsters which even their parents cannot recognize. And then we ask ourselves: where did we go wrong as parents?


Added to that, the TV is without doubt the most powerful propaganda machine ever created by man. Want to make the masses believe in something? Show it on TV. In this way our children accept the worked ideologies of the atheists and liberals without even being concsciously aware of it!.


There is only one solution – Break the TV and then throw it into the garbage bin. This may seem harsh, but there is no time left for subtleties. Get rid of that Shaytaan box immediately, and feel the goodness return to your home.


* remember that this article is not written by a Muslim, hence the mention of consuming interest. This is obviously incorrect for a Muslim, as interest is Haraam. But the principle behind what the author is saying applies to Muslims as well: save your money and invest in some Halaal way.

STOP DEMONISING MUSLIMS; STOP ISLAMOPHOBIA IN UGANDA !!!

POSTED HERE ON  30/3/2015

 

PRESS STATEMENT

 

STOP DEMONISING MUSLIMS; STOP ISLAMOPHOBIA

 

Kampala 29^th March 2015

 

This Sunday evening (29^th March 2015) we have watched with dismay, a similar report on at least two Television Stations namely NTV and Bukedde-1, about a man who was arrested at Rubaga Cathedral this morning during Palm Sunday mass, on suspicion of being a terrorist. The reason given was that he was suspected to be a Muslim as he had a beard. He was, however not Muslim. The OC Rubaga Police Station confirmed the basis of the suspicion – Islam.

 

We take exception this attitude of the police towards Muslims. The impression being created is that Muslims are murderers. It also could mean that a Muslim cannot go to a church unless s/he intends to kill people.  

 

Muslims in Uganda are already living in fear after the spate of prominent killings of Muslim leaders that was accompanied by arrests of other Muslim leaders and followers on charges related to murder, terror and endangering national security.Several Foundation Muslim schools known as Madrasa (plural Madaris) have also been closed down under all sorts of pretexts ranging from poor living standards to indoctrination of minors and terrorist recruitment. 

 

This Sunday’s incident points to a greater danger- that of possible mob justice against Muslims and /or persons suspected to be Muslims and therefore terrorists. Mob justice in Uganda is widespread. While it has so far targeted suspected thieves and those suspected of practicing witchcraft, there is the looming danger that Muslims will be next target. 

 

Uganda’ religious communities have lived in harmony since time immemorial. Often living in the same family or neighborhood or at places of work, Christians and Muslims  share the joys of the two Eids, Christmas, and Easter. Christians have built and contributed to building of Mosques. Muslims have built and contributed to building of churches.  Christians attend functions at mosques just as Muslims attend church functions. This trend of regarding Muslims as dangerous people and unwelcome, is worrying and should be condemned in the strongest terms and reversed, if Uganda is to remain the example of a truly multi-faith nation in the East African region it has been.

 

We call upon the Inspector General of Police to order that the Police officer at Rubaga Police Station who made the statement which in effect equated Muslim to terrorist - withdraws his statement and apologizes to the Muslim community and all well-meaning Ugandans.  

 

Islamophobia is steadily creeping into our society. Islamophobia, which is defined as “closed-minded prejudice against or hatred of Islam and Muslim” is wrong and should be condemned. Its close relative is Xenophobia –“an unreasonable fear or hatred of foreigners or strangers or of that which is foreign or strange”.

 

We call upon all well-meaning Ugandans to condemn this trend in the strongest terms. We appeal to Media houses and outlets to check the increasing imagery in the reporting that places Muslims in sensationally negative light that threatens to turn the larger population against them.

 

For MUSLIM CENTRE FOR JUSTICE AND LAW

 

 

Jaffer Senganda

PRESIDENT

 

 

Jaffer Senganda
President, Muslim Centre for Justice and Law

+256772616221

skype Name: jaffer.senganda1

www.mcjl.ug

P.O.BOX 6929 Kampala,Uganda

THE STATISTICS BILL 2013 IS A DRACONIAN LAW TO TANZANIANS

Reported by Katare Mbashiru and Bernard Lugongo

 
Posted  Friday, March 27   2015 at  08:56

IN SUMMARY

·         Parliament approves the bill despite spirited resistance from some opposition legislators, led by Ubungo MP John Mnyika of Chadema

 

Dodoma/Dar es Salaam. 

 

 Tanzania could become one of the most hostile territories for publishing firms, researchers and academicians after Parliament passed a new law yesterday limiting the publication of data to only those from the government’s own Bureau of Statistics.

 

By acclamation, Parliament passed the Statistics Bill 2013, which slaps a stiff penalty on anyone who publishes data or statistics outside the publications of the Tanzania National Bureau of Statistics.

The bill was approved despite spirited resistance from some opposition MPs, led by Ubungo MP John Mnyika (Chadema).

Ironically, the bill that was moved by Finance Minister Saada Mkuya Salum was withdrawn in February after a cross-section of MPs and parties outside the national assembly questioned the same provision that grants the National Bureau of Statistics exclusive rights to publish data and statistics.

Attorney General George Masaju led the government’s defence as the front bench joined forces to defeat objections by the opposition, which accused the ruling party’s MPs of passing the “offensive” bill without considering the consequences.

Yesterday’s move was immediately criticised by media activists and governance and human rights organisations that view the bill as a major setback in the government’s own push for the Open Government Initiative championed by President Jakaya Kikwete. They appealed to Mr Kikwete not to sign the bill into law if he was serious and committed to the Open Government Initiative, which has won him international acclaim.

The Media Council of Tanzania Executive Secretary, Mr Kajubi Mukajanga, pointed out that stakeholders had in February criticised the Bill heavily, particularly the section that touches on publication of unauthorised statistics. “It is amazing that they would retain such a provision now,” he said. Mr Mukajanga has vowed to comment more after he reviews the bill.

Mr Onesmo Olengurumwa, one of the co-ordinators of the Tanzania Human Rights Defender Coalition, said the passing of the bill will have a significant effect on private institutions in academia because making NBS the only institution allowed to approve statistics would curtail research and freedom to challenge NBS data. “It is retrogressive in the current world for the government to pass such a law,” he said. “What we see is a move to force on the people what the government wants them to believe.”

Dr Hellen-Kijo Bisimba, the executive director of the Legal and Human Rights Centre, said she was shocked that the parliamentarians should be so lacking in wisdom and grace.

Said Dr Bisimba: “This is a desperate and calculated move by a draconian government keen on stamping out dissent and alternative views. They are doing it with an ulterior motive as the country heads to a General Election. We will not stop making noise until the bad law is removed if the President assents to it. It defeats logic that while we are struggling to remove numerous bad laws from our statutes, this government is adding more.”

Mr Alex Ruchyahinduru, Communication and Advocacy Manager at Policy Forum, expressed the same sentiments and added that the law would affect the way research and academic institutions do their work. “These institutions will lack the space and freedom to exercise their duties, some of them critical to national development,” he said.

In Dodoma, some MPs saw yesterday’s move as a sign that the government intends to approve two other controversial bills on Media Services and Access to Information that are to be tabled as a matter of urgency.

The government has held on to the two bills in what some players say is an orchestrated scheme to use CCM’s majority in Parliament to hurriedly approve the bills along with other provisions that will stifle press freedom and curtail the right to information.   

If Mr Kikwete endorses the Statistics Bill, media practitioners and publishing houses--even research institutions--would be required to only report official figures from NBS. It also lists offences and punishment, including imprisonment for those who do not comply.

 

DARE CCM NOMINATE LOWASSA FOR PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS IN 2015 IN TANZANIA ???

Posted  Sunday, March 22   2015 at  11:40

 the  citizen, tanzania

IN SUMMARY

CCM has a dilemma—whether to let Lowassa and his allies go ahead and win the presidency or eliminate him on technical grounds the same way it did with another former premier, Mr John Malecela, in 2005.

As the battle for the Kikwete Succession heats up within the ruling party, Chama Cha Mapinduzi, former Prime Minister Edward Lowassa is shaping up as the man to watch, so much so that the new development is threatening to tear apart one of Africa’s oldest political parties.

CCM has a dilemma—whether to let Lowassa and his allies go ahead and win the presidency or eliminate him on technical grounds the same way it did with another former premier, Mr John Malecela, in 2005.

To his political foes, Lowassa is a risky choice for president for one simple reason—he may take advantage of that position to take revenge on his rivals, considering what transpired in the infamous Richmond scandal.

Mr Lowassa himself has strongly denied claims that he harbours such intentions and insists that his resignation in February 2008 was designed to save the government and was all about taking political responsibility for events under his watch.

Given the extent to which Mr Lowassa’s candidacy divides the ruling party, the big question is whether his name can get past the Central Committee.

Mr Lowassa, once a political ally of President Kikwete, set up a ruthless campaign in 2005 that only earned him more political enemies. He was then forced to resign in February 2008 after a committee led by Dr Harrison Mwakyembe tabled the report on the Richmond scandal in Parliament.

After his dramatic resignation, political pundits thought his political career was dead in the water. But seven years later, Mr Lowassa has rejuvenated politically and commands support within the CCM’s National Executive Committee and General Congress.

The greatest fear within the ruling party is whether the Central Committee will eliminate the former premier for alleged violation of the party’s rules. Mr Lowassa is among the CCM cadres who were banned for a year in February, 2014 after he was accused of starting his campaign for the presidency ahead of the authorised time.

The ban, which Lowassa allies dismiss as a smear campaign to stop him winning the race, expired in February only to be extended by the Central Committee on the grounds that the final report was still not ready.

Speculation is rife within and outside the ruling party that Mr Lowassa will be eliminated by the Central Committee in much the same way Mr Malecela was pushed out in 2005.

Those who fear that the Central Committee will get rid of Mr Lowassa cite recent events within CCM—including the ban imposed on him, the attempt in 2011 to expel him from the party allegedly because of corruption and the rift reportedly growing between him and his former boss, ally and friend—President Kikwete.

In 2005, when Mr Lowassa strongly backed his friend President Kikwete, the two were dubbed Boys Two Men because of their strong political union that eventually enabled the current President to defeat all his key rivals within the ruling party.

Besides Mr Lowassa, there was Rostam Abdul Rasul Aziz—Tanzania’s second richest man, a media mogul and above all a politician—who was one of the brains behind the Kikwete victory within and outside the ruling party.

Mr Aziz was, among other things, responsible for planning and co-ordinating the strong media campaign against those viewed as possible threats to Mr Kikwete’s candidacy in 2005—including Dr Salim Ahmed Salim and former Premier Frederick Sumaye.

According to reliable sources, Mr Aziz was also responsible for seeking funds for Mr Kikwete’s campaign. African Analysis, which is published in London, claimed that Mr Aziz raised funds from Oman in March 2005 for Mr Kikwete’s campaign—allegedly in anticipation of lucrative tenders once the election was over.

Angered by these allegations, President filed a civil case in London on the grounds that his image has been highly tarnished by the article published by the magazine that was closely linked to Dr Salim. It is not clear what became of that case.

The political union between President Kikwete, Mr Lowassa and Mr Aziz came under fire by the Dr Mwakyembe-led committee which, besides implicating Mr Aziz as one of the forces behind the Richmond scandal, asked Mr Lowassa to assess the allegations levelled against him—and take appropriate action.

Mr Lowassa maintains that he did nothing wrong but chose to resign for the good of his party and the government.

Mr Lowassa says he is ready to tell his side of the story publicly should his rivals bring up the Richmond scandal as one of the key issues to block his candidacy. If he did decide to tell his version of the story, it would be the first time Tanzanians would find out exactly what happened.

Mr Lowassa’s camp worries about whether their candidate would pass the Central Committee’s test but it is willing to stage a fierce political battle within the National Executive Committee should the Central Committee drop him from the list of preferred candidates.

The National Executive Committee is superior to the Central Committee and that is why some of Mr Lowassa’s supporters believe attempts to eliminate their candidate would set off a titanic battle.

Some analysts within the party also warn that any unjustifiable elimination would lead to a political rift that would eventually cost CCM dearly ahead of the October 2015 election.

No sitting president in the past two decades has managed to influence the party during the process to pick the CCM’s presidential candidate, but there are those who believe that President Kikwete holds the veto in this year’s election.

In 2010, President Kikwete outsmarted his political rivals by planning and influencing the nomination of Dr Ali Mohamed Shein as the presidential candidate for CCM in Zanzibar

The preferred candidate then was the current Vice President of the Union, Dr Mohammed Gharib Bilal.

Will the Zuma-Mbeki drama come to Tanzania?

Mr Lowassa’s dramatic resignation, though celebrated by his political rivals and foes, marked the beginning of politics of hate, divisions and smear campaigns within the ruling party.

Mr Lowassa, who suffered humiliation the day the Richmond report was tabled in Parliament in February, 2008, is today a newly reborn force that is giving his political rivals a headache. A few days after his dramatic resignation, which set off a political storm, President Kikwete summed up what had happened as a political accident—and insisted that Mr Lowassa simply took political responsibility for the problem but that did not mean he was guilty.

It is not clear whether President Kikwete still believes that what happened to Mr Lowassa was just a political accident but, judging by what transpired within the ruling party under his watch after the 2010 general election, it is pretty obvious that President Kikwete’s political views on Mr Lowassa may have changed drastically.

What puzzles political pundits is how Mr Lowassa, a man written off by many after his dramatic resignation in 2008, bounced back with very strong political support within and outside the ruling party. Between 2008 and 2010, inviting Mr Lowassa as your guest of honour at any official function, especially involving fund raising, would have attracted the wrath of the general public—thanks to the Richmond scandal.

After his resignation, the biggest debate of the day was whether this was the end of Mr Lowassa’s political career or the beginning of it. Some analysts thought that it was too soon to dismiss the man who played a crucial role in sending President Kikwete to State House in 2005, while others said it was impossible for Mr Lowassa to bounce back because the so-called Richmond scandal had severely damaged his reputation— and presumably ended his political career abruptly.

But one analyst later on wrote in 2009 that those dismissing Mr Lowassa should take a close look at what was happening in South Africa, where Mr Jacob Zuma, a man who was forced to resign in 2004 after he was implicated in an arms scandal and rape accusations, bounced back three years later, defeating President Thabo Mbeki and conquering the soul of the ruling party—Africa National Congress (ANC).

Today, should Mr Lowassa succeed in his race to State House, it would be a replica of what happened in South Africa between Mr Zuma and Mr Mbeki. Mr Zuma, who was earlier dismissed and ruled out of active politics, fought hard to clear his name in the rape accusations. He then struggled with corruption allegations in relation to the arms scandal after his financial adviser, Shabir Sheikh, was jailed.

Reporting on the 2007 Polokwane victory, The Guardian (UK), summed it this way: “Jacob Zuma, the populist politician, humiliated President Thabo Mbeki with a sweeping victory in the election for leader of the governing African National Congress yesterday…Zuma, who survived a rape trial and his dismissal as the country’s deputy president by Mbeki over corruption allegations, took 60 per cent of the nearly 4,000 votes at the party’s national conference in a dramatic political comeback.

“His victory potentially opens the way for him to become South Africa’s next president at the 2009 general election if he is not blocked by a long-standing graft investigation. The vote amounted to a repudiation of Mbeki, a man who has dedicated his life to the ANC but who was seen as increasingly authoritarian, power hungry and out of touch with ordinary South Africans.”

How Mr Zuma rose from dust to become South Africa’s third post-apartheid president is story that has been retold in many narratives but could well be what is happening within the ruling party in Tanzania—especially where Mr Lowassa is concerned.

HOTUBA YA ZITTO ZUBERI KABWE YA KUAGA BUNGENI KUJIUNGA NA CHAMA CHA ACT-WAZALENDO, TANZANIA

Maelezo ya Ndugu Zitto Kabwe aliyoyatoa katika Mkutano na Waandishi wa Habari kufuatia Kung’atuka Ubunge na Kujiunga na Chama cha ACT-Wazalendo
Jumapili, 22 Machi 2015, Serena Hoteli, Dar es Salaam

Ndugu Waandishi wa habari, wanachama na wapenzi wa ACT-Wazalendo na wote mliohudhuria mkutano huu,

Kama mnavyojua siku ya Ijumaa tarehe 19 Machi 2015 ilikuwa siku yangu ya mwisho kuhudhuria bunge la kumi linaloendelea Mjini Dodoma. Baada ya kung’atuka ubunge kufuatia kukoma uanachama wangu wa chama nilichotumia kuingia Bungeni, wengi mliniuliza ‘what is next?’

Sasa ninapenda kuwataarifu, kama ambavyo baadhi yenu tayari mnajua, kwamba jana siku ya Jumamosi tarehe 20 Machi 2015 nilijiunga rasmi na Chama cha ACT - Wazalendo na kukabidhiwa kadi na Mwenyekiti wa Tawi la Tegeta. Hii ilikuwa ni moja kati ya siku muhimu kabisa katika maisha yangu ya kisiasa. Na kwa leo kwa kweli nisingependa nizungumzie mgogoro uliokuwepo kati yangu na viongozi wangu wa chama cha zamani wala kile kilichotokea Bungeni. Hayo yote mnayajua, yameandikwa sana na yameshapita. Sasa ni wakati wa kusonga mbele. Rais Kwame Nkrumah wa Ghana  alipata kusema "forward ever, backward never". Na kama nilivyosema Bungeni, yaliyopita si ndwele, tugange yajayo. Kwa hiyo leo nitazungumzia uanachama wangu katika chama changu kipya cha ACT - Wazalendo.

Tuna vyama 22 kwa sasa. Na kwa kweli wengi watakuwa wanajiuliza kwa nini nijiunge na chama kipya ambacho kimeanzishwa juzi tu na ambacho pengine wanachama wake bado wanajaa katika kiganja cha mkono?

Nimejiunga na ACT kwa sababu ninaona kwamba huku ndiko kunakoendana na kile ambacho mimi nimekipigania kwa miaka yote tangu nianze siasa, ambacho ni kuweka mbele maslahi ya Taifa dhidi ya kitu kingine chochote. Kwa kifupi nimepigania uzalendo kwa nchi yangu na huu ndiyo msingi mama wa Chama cha ACT - Wazalendo.

Kama mnavyojua mimi ni mjamaa na ninaamini katika misingi ambayo Mwalimu Nyerere aliisimamia. ACT-Wazalendo ni chama pekee nchini kinachokubaliana na Itikadi ya ujamaa na kinaamini katika Falsafa ya Unyerere ikiwa na lengo la kuirudisha nchi katika misingi iliyoasisi taifa. Ninajiunga na ACT-Wazalendo kwa sababu ni chama kinachoamini katika msingi wa uadilifu na kimeweka miiko na maadili ya viongozi katika kuhakikisha kwamba viongozi wote wa ACT-Wazalendo wanakubaliana nayo kwa kusaini. Naamini kuwa na miiko na maadili kwa viongozi ni mwanzo wa kuhakikisha kwamba jamii yetu inaishi katika uadilifu na kwamba viongozi wanakuwa mfano wa uadilifu katika jamii. Uadilifu ni nguzo muhimu katika kujenga mfumo madhubuti wa uwajibikaji nchini kwetu.

Mtakumbuka kwamba katika miaka yangu yote ya ubunge nimepigania uwajibikaji na uwazi. Hii ni misingi ambayo ninaamini kwamba ni moyo wa utumishi wa umma. Nimefurahi kwamba kati ya misingi kumi ya ACT-Wazalendo, uwajibikaji na uwazi ni sehemu muhimu kabisa ya misingi hiyo. Uwazi ni sehemu ya jina la chama hiki. Yote haya yamenifanya nione kwamba sitojiona mgeni katika chama hiki. Huku ndiko nyumbani kwangu kisiasa na katika utumishi wa umma.

Nimejiunga na ACT-Wazalendo kwa sababu ninakubaliana na imani yao kwamba Kujitegemea, bidii, umakini na weledi katika kazi ndiyo msingi wa maendeleo. Hakuna namna nchi yetu na wananchi watapiga hatua ya kimaendeleo bila sisi sote kufanya kazi kwa bidii na kwa kuzingatia umakini na weledi. Ninakubaliana na ACT-Wazalendo kwamba raslimali za Taifa lazima zitumike kuondosha umaskini wa watu wetu. Ninajiunga na ACT-Wazalendo kwa sababu ninakubaliana na imani yao kwamba Umoja ni ngao muhimu katika ujenzi wa taifa letu na Afrika kwa ujumla. Lazima tuirudishe nchi yetu katika misingi iliyoasisi taifa hili. Lazima tuirudishe nchi yetu katika heshima na uongozi wa bara hili la Afrika.

Ninaahidi kufanya kazi na vijana, wanawake, wanaume na watu wote wanaoamini katika siasa safi na siasa za hoja. Tunataka tufungue ukurasa mpya wa siasa hapa nchini. Siasa za masuala ya nchi yetu. Siasa za masuala ya vijana, wanawake, wazee, wakulima, wafanyakazi, wajasirialimali, wafanyabiashara na wote wanahangaika kuijenga nchi yetu na katika kuondoa umaskini. Tunataka tuzungumze namna bora ya kuendesha elimu, afya, hifadhi ya jamii, na ajira. Tunataka tujenga hoja mbadala kuhusu namna endelevu ya kujenga uchumi shirikishi ambapo kila mwananchi anajisikia sehemu yake.

Mwezi Oktoba mwaka 1966 Mwalimu Nyerere alipokea maandamano ya wanafunzi wa Chuo Kikuu cha Dar es Salaam Ikulu. Maandamano yale yalichochewa na kasi kubwa ya rushwa na maisha ya kifahari ya viongozi (wabenzi). Mwalimu alifoka kwa kuuliza “ Tunajenga nchi ya namna gani”? Hatimaye Azimio la Arusha likatangazwa.

Chama hiki kipya kimeanzishwa katika mazingira yale yale ya mwaka 1966. Ni wakati wa kujiuliza na kupata majawabu ya aina ya nchi tunayojenga. Sisi ACT – Wazalendo tumeona jawabu ni kurudi kwenye misingi. Waingereza wanasema ‘back to the future’ Let the new beginning begin.

Ahsante sana kwa kunisikiliza.

Zitto Zubeir Kabwe
Dar es Salaam, 22 Machi 2015.

_____

Dr. Simone Gbagbo’s Imprisonment: Lesson for Africa's First Ladies

Dr. Simone Gbagbo’s Imprisonment: Lesson for First Ladies

By Nkwazi Mhango
nkwazigatsha@yahoo.com

Dr. Simone Gbagbo

Ivorian former first lady, Dr. Simone Gbagbo, is now a prisoner. Mr Gbagbo was recently found guilty of subverting authorities, among others, and was awarded 20 years in jail. Mrs Gbagbo’s conviction has been received with mixed views and reaction. The beneficiaries from her stint in power were perturbed and wounded while the victims of her husband’s resistance that resulted in over 3000 innocent people dying were elated. For them – at least – justice was done and be seen done.

Mrs Gbagbo – during her husband’s stint in power – was much more feared than the president himself. This is no longer an anomaly in Africa where some First Ladies are carrying themselves around as presidents.  Mrs Gbagbo is renowned for having used her husband to become rich as well as secure favours and deals for herself and friends.

Differently from other corrupt first ladies, Mrs Gbagbo didn’t create any NGO to mint and print money. Instead, she applied pressure on her husband to use his office to enhance her networks to make money. 

Africa used to marvel at Philippine’s’ first lady, Imelda Marcos famed for her lavish spends. She now has a lot of Imelda’s. Mrs Gbagbo’s unceremonious fall from grace has a lesson for African first ladies who use their relationship with presidents to become the presidents behind the curtains. Many shrewd first ladies have forced their husbands to appoint their friends and relations. Others have forced presidents to create positions for them in their ruling parties or governments. Recently, in Zimbabwe, the first lady became an influential office bearer in her husband’s ruling party ZANUPF while in Uganda the first lady is a minister in her husband’s cabinet.

The collapse of Gbagbo’s regime is allegedly linked to Mrs Gbagbo who is said to have pressed her husband not recognize the results that showed that his opponent, the current president Allasane Outtara, secured victory in the 2011 general elections. It is sad however to find that the president, a Professor and his wife, a PhD holder, were unable to be objective.

The big lesson one gets from Mrs Gbagbo’s predicament-cum-plight is that abusing powers of the office of the president is dangerous. Our first ladies need to be cagey of power lulls. They need to act as advisors to their husbands instead of acting as money makers using the banner of the state house. The lesson learned is that power is a temporal refugee. So, too, power does intoxicate. Use and spend power gingerly and cagily.

600 STUDENTS EXPELLED FOR CHEATING ON SCHOOL EXAMINATIONS IN INDIA's BIHAR STATE

600 Students Expelled for Cheating on School Exams in India

Associated Press March 20, 2015

Education authorities in eastern India say 600 high school students have been expelled after they were found to have cheated on pressure-packed 10th grade examinations. (AP Photo/Press Trust of India, File)

PATNA, India (AP) — About 600 high school students in eastern India have been expelled for cheating on pressure-packed 10th grade examinations this week, education authorities said Friday.

STORY: Parents Lie More in Front of Sons, Not Daughters

The incident has received widespread attention after Indian television footage showed parents and friends of students scaling the outer walls of school buildings to pass cheat sheets to students inside taking exams.

More than 1.4 million 10th graders are taking the tests at more than 1,200 high schools across the state. They face tremendous pressure because they must pass the exams to continue their education.

STORY: Dad Faces 20 Years for Cheating Harvard Financial Aid

"It’s virtually impossible to conduct fair examinations without the cooperation of parents," said P.K. Shahi, Bihar’s education minister. He said it was not possible to monitor the 6 million parents and others who accompany the students to the examination centers.

State authorities posted police at all schools where examinations were being held, “but we can’t use force to drive away the parents,” he said.

Nearly two dozen parents were detained after they were caught helping their children, but were released after several hours.

On Friday, the high court in the state capital, Patna, ordered the Bihar police chief to ensure that examinations are conducted in a fair manner.

State education authorities have canceled examinations held at four centers after they received reports of large-scale cheating.

Bihar School Examination Board Secretary Sriniwas Tiwari said students caught cheating could be barred from taking the exam for up to three years, ordered to pay a fine or even sent to jail.

Cheating seems to be particularly widespread in Bihar, although there have been no reports of anyone being sent to jail for the offense.

TANZANIA DENIED BIOMETRIC VOTERS REGISTRATION by NIGERIANS AND KENYANS !!!!

Kenya, Nigeria zagoma kuiazima Tanzania BVR

Mwenyekiti wa Tume ya Taifa ya Uchaguzi (NEC), Jaji Damian Lubuva  

Na Ibrahim Yamola, Mwananchi

Posted  Jumanne,Marchi17  2015  saa 9:16 AM

Kwa ufupi

Uamuzi wa NEC wa kutaka kuazima vifaa hivyo ni kutokana na mchakato wa uandikishaji kukwama kwenda kama ulivyopangwa kutokana na BVR 250 zilizopo kutokuwa na uwezo wa kuandikisha wapiga kura wote nchini.

Dar es Salaam.

 Mwenyekiti wa Tume ya Taifa ya Uchaguzi (NEC), Jaji Damian Lubuva amesema ofisi yake ilijaribu kuazima vifaa vya kielektroniki vya Biometric Voters Registration (BVR) katika nchi ya Kenya na Nigeria kwa ajili ya kuandikisha wapiga kura, lakini nchi hizo zilikataa.Uamuzi wa NEC wa kutaka kuazima vifaa hivyo ni kutokana na mchakato wa uandikishaji kukwama kwenda kama ulivyopangwa kutokana na BVR 250 zilizopo kutokuwa na uwezo wa kuandikisha wapiga kura wote nchini.

Kitendo hicho kinaweza kusababisha Kura ya Maoni iliyopangwa kufanyika Aprili 30, 2015 mwaka huu kushindikana kwani mpaka sasa ni mkoa wa Njombe pekee ambako uandikishaji unaendelea kufanyika na unatarajiwa  kumalizika Aprili 12, 2015.

“Tulitaka kuazima Kenya lakini wakasema wanavitumia hata kama wamemaliza uchaguzi lakini mchakato wao wa uandikishaji unaendelea kutokana na kwamba watu wao wanapofikisha umri wa kuandikishwa wanawaingiza katika daftari lao,” alisema Jaji Lubuva na kuongeza:

“Tulikwenda Nigeria nako walitueleza wanazitumia. Kuazimana siyo jambo geni kwetu na huu ndiyo ukweli wake.”

Kuhusu mchakato wa uandikishaji mkoani Njombe alikoweka kambi alisema: “Uandikishaji huku unakwenda vizuri licha ya kauli mbalimbali na mimi nimekuwa nikiwahamasisha kujitokeza na tumefanikiwa kwa kiasi kikubwa.”

Katika uchaguzi wa Ghana uliofanyika mwaka 2013 mfumo wa BVR ulitumika na kuonyesha mafanikio makubwa. Hata hivyo, Malawi iliukataa mfumo huo katika uchaguzi wa mwaka 2014 baada ya kuonyesha udhaifu mkubwa katika uchaguzi wa mwaka 2005.

Katika mahojiano maalumu na viongozi, wahariri na waandishi wa habari wa Kampuni ya Mwananchi Communications Ltd (MCL) inayochapisha magazeti ya Mwananchi, Mwanaspoti na The Citizen makao makuu ya kampuni hiyo Tabata Relini Dar es Salaam jana, Mwenyekiti wa CUF, Profesa Ibrahim Lipumba alisema, NEC ilianza mchakato huo bila vifaa ikitegemea kuazima.

“Tulipokwenda Kenya na TCD (Kituo cha Demokrasia Tanzania) kuangalia walivyofanikisha mchakato huo wakatueleza kuwa NEC walikuja hapa kuazima BVR za kuandikisha... tulikuwa na mawaziri pale yaani ilikuwa aibu na walitueleza kama hadi Novemba hamjanunua hamuwezi kuandikisha. Walisema walikuwa na BVR 15,000 Kenya na waliandikisha wapiga kura milioni 14 kwa zaidi ya siku 45 hadi 60, sisi tuna matatizo.

“Wanatupa wasiwasi mkubwa, ikiwa lengo ni kuandikisha wapiga kura wote haiwezekani tukawa na kura ya maoni Aprili 30, 2015  lakini ukiwa unahitaji lazima uandikishe kwanza halafu ufanyike uhakiki wake, lakini muda huo hautoshi?

 Kauli hiyo ya Profesa Lipumba kuhusu kusimamishwa kwa kura ya maoni pia ilitolewa Februari 12, 2015 na viongozi wa vyama 22 vya siasa walipokutana na NEC kujadili mchakato huo wa uandikishaji kwa kutumia BVR.

Katibu wa Itikadi na Uenezi wa CCM, Nape Nnauye alisema: “Mchakato huu ni muhimu na kama hautafanyika vizuri tutaichafua nchi yetu. Wadau washirikishwe na waridhike kwani kusipokuwa na uwazi kutaleta shida huko mbele.”

Mwenyekiti wa Chadema, Freeman Mbowe alisema: “Ilitakiwa kutuhusisha katika hili mwanzo hadi mwisho. NEC wanatuonyesha hardware (vifaa vya kompyuta) badala ya software (programu ya kompyuta) zinavyofanya kazi ambayo tuna haja ya kuifahamu. Nani anatuuzia hizo hardware na nani anatuuzia software hizo?”

Profesa Lipumba alisema: “Serikali inatakiwa kujikita zaidi katika uandikishaji wapiga kura lakini Serikali haina fedha, bajeti ya Sh144 bilioni haipo sasa itakuwaje tunaingia katika kura ya maoni?

Mchakato wa Katiba 

Kuhusu mchakato wa Taifa kupata Katiba Mpya chini ya utawala wa Rais Jakaya Kikwete, Profesa Lipumba alisema hakuna matumaini hayo na kinachofanyika ni kutaka kuhalalisha utaratibu ambao haukuwa na uhalali kutoka kwa wananchi.

Alisema Februari mwaka 2013 wakati Rais Kikwete akizindua Vitambulisho vya Taifa, alisema vitambulisho hivyo vingeweza kutumika pia katika kupiga kura lakini hakuna utaratibu wowote uliotumika kuhakikisha Mamlaka ya Vitambulisho vya Taifa (Nida) na NEC wanashirikiana.

Profesa Lipumba alisema baadaye Jaji Lubuva alinukuliwa akisema kazi ya uandikishaji itafanywa na tume yake na si mtu yeyote kwani haiwahusu.

Alisema bajeti ya mchakato huo ni Sh297 bilioni lakini alipotizama katika kasma ya tume kulikuwa na Sh7.01 bilioni, fedha za maendeleo na fedha za tume hazikuonekana.

“Ukienda kuchambua fedha ziko wapi huzioni, mimi nikauliza mbona bajeti ni kubwa lakini haijulikani iko wapi? Hata ukifanya ukaguzi unatakiwa kujua fedha hizo, katika maombi yake Tume iliomba Sh144 bilioni kwa ajili ya Kura ya Maoni lakini nayo haionekani katika vitabu vya Serikali sasa unajiuliza mchakato huo utakwendaje na fedha zimekwenda wapi?” alihoji na kuongeza:

“Suala la muda halitekelezeki, awali tume ilisema uandikishaji ungeanza Septemba, 2014, lakini ilishindwa, Desemba, 2014 ikafanya majaribio ya uandikishaji na katika Jimbo la Kawe wameandikisha wapiga kura kama 15,000 na ushee katika maeneo ya Bunju na Mbweni.

Walisema wamevuka malengo lakini ukienda katika takwimu za Sensa za mwaka 2012 za Ofisi ya Takwimu ya Taifa (NBS) haziendani. Bunju wapo 51,000 lakini hawa wameandikisha 15,000 wanasema wamevuka lengo sasa hapa kuna ukweli wowote?”

“Makambako walisema wataandikisha wapiga kura kama 31,000 lakini kwa Sensa ya mwaka 2012 ina wapiga kura zaidi ya 53,000 sasa utasemaje umevuka lengo na Jaji Lubuva alishatamka kwamba daftari la mwaka 2010 limechakaa hivyo wakisema tutumie daftari hilo haiwezekani.”

TANZANIA'S POACHING SYNDICATE IDENTIFIED

By  Mussa Juma,The Citizen Correspondent

Posted  Tuesday, March 17  2015 at  09:11

 

Arusha. About 40 key masterminds of a poaching syndicate, including their ringleader, have been nabbed, anti-poaching department head with the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA) Robert Mande has said.

Thanks to a task force formed by the government to destroy the network of the poaching masterminds who are currently under thorough scrutiny.  President Jakaya Kikwete hinted to an international anti-poaching gathering in London last year that the ringleader of the vice resided in Arusha.

Mande said an investigation jointly conducted by security organs and the anti-poaching units from NCA, Serengeti, Manyara, and Tarangire national parks had successfully nabbed members of the syndicate.

Mande, who doubles as the Serengeti Ecology coordinator, told a section of visiting members of the Tanzania Journalists for Tourism (TJT) at Ngorongoro that some of the suspects had already been arraigned. 

He said the investigation had also enabled the Task Force to identify five categories of the poaching masterminds. While the first category comprised members of the communities surrounding protected areas who served as informers, the second consisted of poachers armed with weapons or poison for killing jumbos.  The third category involved experts in transporting ivory to middlemen.The fourth category was made of facilitators, he said.

THE WAY TO THE CITIZEN'S HEART IS THROUGH THEIR STOMACHS !!!

 FOOD  SECURITY CANNOT BE OVER EMPHASIZED

By Isaac Mwangi                                                                                                                                                                             14th March 2015
Nobody is talking about it, yet this should be a very busy season as East Africans prepare their land in readiness for the long rains.

The blame can be placed on a host of factors: A misplaced focus that gives priority to rock music instead of agricultural programmes during prime time on our radio and television stations; the cultivation of a mindset among our youth that farming is for the old and not-so-trendy types; the lack of sufficient funding and government support for critical agricultural programmes; and an increasing focus on manufacturing and value addition at the expense of basic agricultural production.

Gone are the years when the head of state would lead a mobilization campaign urging farmers to till the land; state-owned suppliers of subsidized agricultural inputs would be abuzz with activity, with farmers' co-operatives joining in the effort; and public broadcasters would give publicity to every effort to boost agricultural productivity.

If there is one truth that can never be told too many times, it is that a country that cannot feed itself can never be truly free. It is actually shameful for our leaders to be parading themselves every now and then in foreign capitals seeking food aid. Therefore, efforts to boost the productivity of our farms should not be something for anybody to be ashamed of: After every few hours, after all, we expect to sit at a table and eat a decent meal.

The situation is made worse by the history of conflict that many of our countries have had to endure. Conflicts remove resources and attention away from productive areas in order to fuel the war effort. In the multiparty era, this antagonistic strand is still evident and is responsible for the never-ending duels among the power elite that end up sapping all our nations' energies in the political arena.

The problem of hunger is not entirely of our own making, though. Prescriptions from international institutions such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund have often frustrated local producers and worsened the situation. The structural adjustment programmes of the 1990s are one such example.

Our leaders must have the courage and muscle to say "No" to bad advice from these international institutions and donor countries. After all, these are countries that have perfected the art of double-speak, subsidizing their own farmers even as they arm-twist developing countries to stop subsidies to their people.

The end result of blindly following Western prescriptions has been catastrophic dependency that moves our countries deeper into the pit of shame and poverty. That is why neo-colonial theorists hold that African leaders are beholden to foreign interests at the expense of those of their own people.

Whatever one may believe about such arguments, one thing is for certain: That our countries will continue to face challenges in feeding our people unless governments become more proactive in taking measures to resuscitate the agricultural sector. That, of course, also means we must have good governance that ensures funds are availed for productive activities and do not end up in the private bank accounts of politicians and government functionaries.

Unfortunately for our leaders, there is hardly any option. From the days of Marie Antoinette, nothing feeds revolutions the world over better than a hungry citizenry. Add to that the power of the Internet, and you begin to understand the kind of stuff that leads to such historic events as the Arab Spring.

The way forward is to re-establish the primacy of agriculture within our policy making, academic, and national discourse and institutions. In this, our political leaders must lead the way through taking timely and proactive measures.

At a time like this, for instance, the least that can be expected of them is to explain to East Africans what each country is doing to make sure the cost of seeds and fertilizers becomes affordable, and that farmers have all the tools and any other facilitation that they need. They must be at the forefront of galvanizing farming activities as we enter the rainy season.

True leadership must be concerned with the welfare of citizens, and that begins by ensuring there is sufficient food in every household. That is the challenge our leaders must confront today.

Source: The Arusha Times

RADICAL BEEHIVE !!! ONE UP FOR STUART & CEDAR ANDERSON !!!

Radical Bee Hive Rakes in $4.8 Million

Jessica Harlan, yahoo.com/makers  -  

 March 10, 2015

(Cedar and Stuart Anderson’s beekeeping idea has gotten lots of buzz. Photo: Flow)

It’s a maker’s dream come true: come up with a great invention, set up a crowd-funding campaign, and surpass your goal in less than 10 minutes. 

For Australian father and son team Stuart and Cedar Anderson, founders of Flow, a simple idea has changed their lives forever: Twelve days into their Indiegogo fundraising campaign, they raised more than $4.8 million and counting for Flow™, a frame system for a beehive that enables honey to be extracted just by turning on a tap.

The idea in question has the potential to change beekeeping, and maybe could even be a key in keeping the world’s bee population from further decline. It’s an invention that seems sweet to the more than 9,000 people who have contributed to the record-breaking Indiegogo campaign.

“The Flow hive is now the largest international campaign ever on Indiegogo,” says Slava Rubin, CEO of Indiegogo. The company also set records for the most funds raised in one day: $2.1 million.

Cedar Anderson says that a few posts to Facebook — his friend convinced him to join the social media network only about a month ago — got the snowball rolling. “We have a lot of friends of family who helped us by spreading the word,” he says. His sister made some videos and a friend built the website. “People think that we had a huge promotional budget behind us, but we just did it all ourselves,” he says. “Local media coverage went viral, and before we knew it, the whole world was taking a much greater interest than we thought possible.”

Related story on Yahoo Makers: Killer Apps for Makers

It’s easy to see why the invention has captured the world’s attention: Flow frames are comprised of partially formed honeycombs. Once installed in the beehive, the bees complete the honeycombs with their own wax and begin filling the cells with honey. When the cells are full and the bees have capped them off, a turn of a lever splits all the cells open, allowing the honey to run out and be channeled to an external tap where the honey is collected in jars.

(With the Flow hive, honey is extracted through a tap. Photo: Flow)

What does this mean for the bees and the beekeeper? Harvesting honey is far easier and less involved than traditional methods, and is less stress on the bees as well since the process doesn’t disturb them as much.

“Harvesting was this long procedure, sweating in the bee suit, pulling apart the hives, heavy lifting, and all day processing just to get your honey,” says Cedar Anderson. “I just thought there had to be a better way, so my dad and I got to work inventing the beekeeper’s dream.”

Cedar is a third-generation beekeeper, and a self-proclaimed born inventor; as a kid he and his siblings built a go-cart from an old generator and bicycles, and he and his dad adapted their farm trucks to run on used vegetable oil. He follows in his father’s footsteps in this respect: Dad Stu designed and built two of the houses in the rural cooperative in which he lives, and also developed a solar and water powered electrical generator that serves a dozen homes in the coop. 

His idea for Flow has been a decade in the making – he says he’s been trying various new methods for years, refining his failures into the final product. “People think of us as an overnight success, but it has taken years to get to this point,” he says.

With the Indiegogo campaign, supporters have the option to make straight donations to the company, or to actually preorder their own Flow kits. The options range from a set of 3 Flow frames to install in an existing beehive, for $280 to a complete hive kit for $600, including the flow frames, a brood box, and everything needed –except the bees—to establish a hive.

(Photo: Flow)

But would-be apiarists shouldn’t assume that the Flow Hive is a no-brainer way to get into beekeeping. “I want to stress that the Flow Hive still requires beekeepers to know what they’re doing, both for getting the results they want and for the wellbeing of the bees,” says Cedar. He says that Flow owners should educate themselves about bee care and try to connect with local experienced beekeepers to share knowledge and ideas.

(Flow hive explainer. Honeyflow.com)

Could the Flow Hive be a key in saving the bees? “We make no claims at all that Flow is going to save the planet and the broadscale agriculture that sustains humanity,” says Cedar. “However, this invention does make [beekeeping] a little easier, which we hope will lead more people to take up beekeeping as a hobby, which means more bees and ultimately more pollination – and honey.”

Cedar says that much of the nearly $5 million that they’ve raised is in exchange for finished product, so the bulk of the funds will be spent manufacturing and delivering stock, as well as to establishing the infrastructure and staff needed for the company to sustain itself. 

That’s right: if you missed out on buying a kit through the Indiegogo campaign, Cedar says that ultimately the company plans to manufacture and distribute kits around the world. Their first priority is to fulfill the orders of their Indiegogo supporters, but Cedar promises, “rest assured, the wheels are in motion to bring Flow to the world.”