TANZANIA: JK deplores attacks over land

Although President Kikwete did not name names, Kenya's Minister for
East African Affairs, Mr Amason Kingi, has been repeatedly quoted as
criticizing Tanzania's dissent over land and employment being included
into the EAC brief – preferring instead that these two issues remain
the prerogative of the authorities of respective member states. He said
he was unhappy hearing a minister insulting another country and that
the two matters alone could not kill the Community.

He also told the Tanzanians that the country could face serious food
shortages due to insufficient rains, citing seven regions — Tanga, Dar
es Salaam, Arusha, Kilimanjaro, Manyara, Morogoro and Coast — as the
most seriously affected trouble spots but added that the government was
fully prepared to address the situation. President Kikwete appealed to
the Tanzanians to exercise financial prudence in order to help their
poor relatives and save for their future and that they should observe
laws of their countries of residence.

On dual citizenship, the president said the issue ranked high among
worries of Tanzanians in the Diaspora and that the government was
working on it. On her part, First Lady Mama Salma told the Tanzanians
to teach their children Tanzania's culture and the Kiswahili language.
She likened people without culture with slaves and that they should
also help their relatives living in Tanzania.

Meanwhile, President Jakaya Kikwete has said that Tanzania would soon
start receiving soft loans from international financial institutions
following the country's impressive economic performance. He said due to
such performance, more windows would be open for loans – which means
more development.

He made the remarks while winding up his four-day state visit
yesterday. He also urged Tanzanians to prepare themselves as
businessmen from Saudi Arabia had shown interest in investing in
Tanzania especially in agriculture, adding that they had over 1
trillion US Dollars for investment in tourism. President Kikwete
described his state visit as a great success.

Daily News