Government gets tougher on dynamite fishing

Omari Shemahonge, is a frequent buyer of fish at the Sahare fish collection centre in Tanga City. He normally buys the commodity from fishmongers who arrive at the centre as early as six o’clock in the morning.

The traders make sure that they are there when the first dhow arrives from fish expedition which normally set off for the sea the previous night.

Equipped with a lantern and a spare container for kerosene, fishermen spend the whole night ashore, trying their luck in places where they think fish may be available.

Shemahonge, an 80 year old retired blacksmith, previously employed by former Cargo Handling Services – now Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA), almost always complains of the spiraling prices of fish at the market.

“I usually go there with a 2,000/- note. But what is given to me is just two or three small fish” says Shemahonge, who hails from Makorora location.

Back home, the relish is cooked and used for lunch with nothing left for evening meal.

The scenario constantly creates squabbles with his wife, Mama Mwantumu, who always tells his husband that the consignment he buys at the market does not, in any way, suffice for both lunch and supper.

In view of the high prices of fish at Sahare, Shemahonge has now decided to buy fish only once a week.

“I can’t manage buying fish as often as I used to”, says the old man, adding” In the past few years, I used to visit Sahare market almost every day, but not now.”

Unfortunately, Shemahonge does not seem to know why fish prices have, for some time now, been on the rise.

“What I know is that fish catches depend on the weather. If there is too much wind and the sea is stormy, fish prices will be affected,” asserts the old man.

It is to be expected that whenever fish buyers go for purchases, even in town markets, they are always given the same reason. This is because when fishmongers buy the commodity from fishermen, they clearly know that some of the products they buy were killed by dynamites.

“They are well aware that if they reveal that some fish were dynamited, the buyers would refrain from purchasing such lot ,” reveals Hussein Magongo, another regular buyer of fish at Sahare.

The Sahare fish receiving station, like the Deep Sea centre, a stone throw from the Tanga City Council, is an area full of filth.

In most cases, one would notice a large consignment of small fish known as “uduvi”, a yellowish specie, bought mostly by low income wananchi, spread on the sandy beach to dry.

A fishmonger who was also complaining of the spiraling prices of fish, Hamdan Bakari said: “prices of fish are now out of reach of most of us.

In fact I doing this business only out of routine, but it is no longer profitable”.

He said the real cause of the scarcity is dynamic fishing practices which, according to him, the government had failed to control.

“It is simply impossible to wipe out the vice, for how do you expect it to stop when the same people in government machinery are partners in the illegal undertaking?” he asked.

He said over-fishing using illegal gear, including fishing net with small holes was rampant.

‘The problem with this type of nets is that they destroy the entire fish population in a particular area, irrespective of their age, from eggs to juvenile fish and other living organisms’.

Bakari (70) said he started business as fishmonger at the age of 22, saying some few decades ago fish was available in large quantities and affordable in large to ordinary consumers.

“The real culprits are people with financial muscle who conduct the illegal business with impunity on grounds that they tame not only patrol teams but also some unscrupulous government officials,” he revealed.

“Tips are given beforehand that on such day, patrol would be carried out on the sea. With such information, how do you expect that one day the illegal practice will be controlled?”

Experts say that dynamite fishing is harmful to humans because some toxic remnants of chemicals used to manufacture the bombs are a health hazard.

Dynamite fishing is also dangerous to marine life, including coral reefs which are breeding grounds for fish.

Coral reefs are among the most critical marine resources in Tanzania as they support livelihoods for over eight million people living on the coastal line.

Although illegal and highly dangerous, dynamite fishing continues to be in practice along most of the Tanzania coast- from Tanga to Kilwa and Pemba.

Human rights activists seek end to capital punishment

He knew that he was innocent and had nothing to worry about. He went to court confidently thinking that he would be found innocent.

Little did he know what lay ahead of him as it had taken years for the court to deliver the sentence; the day he had been waiting for.   A Judge of the High Court of Tanzania issued the judgment that he was found guilty of murder and would thus be sentenced to death.

“I can’t explain how it felt as all of a sudden my body became numb and I could not even walk past the few steps at the High Court.  It is better to hear someone else sentenced to death and not you trust me,” said Tete Kafunja, while giving his testimony to mark the World Day Against the Death Penalty on October 10, 2011 at a gathering convened by the Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC) in Dar es Salaam.

Kafunja‘s story was part of the testimonies issued to depict on the evil of the death sentence.

Presenting a paper on the event, an anti-death penalty campaigner from the University of Dar es Salaam, Dr. Khoti Khamanga, said religious teachings say the punishment is not as easy as people wanted to believe. He gave the example of God ordering Adam and Eve to eat any fruit and failure of which was supposed to be death.

“We are all aware that Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit but they were never punished by death but rather God told them that the man will eat through hard labour while Eve will have to undergo painful delivery,” Dr. Khamanga alluded to the Bible.

Dr. Khamanga often referred to the Biblical Abel and Cain as the first homicide case. He said Cain killed his brother, an act which disappointed God so much, yet the Almighty cursed Cain saying he would lead a life of wandering!

Contributing to the discussion, a participant, James Julius, wondered on what happens to the hangman once he kills a person.

“If a mortuary attendant is affected by staying with dead bodies what do you think happens to the person who pulls the knob or who kills, beheads or shoots a person convicted to die?  The government, too, kills people. Must we too kill it?” he querried queried, raising concern over the psychological torture that the hang man has to endure.

Francis Kiwanga, executive director of the LHRC is of the view that Tanzanians should sit as a nation to find an alternative to the death penalty.

“There is evidence that a person found guilty today can as well be innocent the next morning.  You may sentence someone to death today only to find out tomorrow that he was innocent.

There’s never a way to reverse the decision.  The trend could see a lot of innocent persons lose their lives,” he said.

He proposed a long-term prison term which will see murder convicts to support families of slain victims.

Presenting a paper recently on the evils of capital punishment at a meeting in Kigali, Rwanda, LHRC Advocate Harold Sungusia said laws that impose death penalty are strictly based on vengeance.

 He cautioned that it was dangerous for governments to adhere to unguided public opinion on account that if  it  were to be adhered to with its quest for vengeance, then it would require governments to provide a mechanism where in a case of rape, the rapist would be sentenced to rape or castrated.

In the case of robbery, the sentence would be to rob the robber.  Similarly, in a case of corruption it would be more difficulty. All this would lead to an irrational reverse of rule of law and recycling of injustice and mischief.

“The duty of state is to preserve life not to take it away. The state should make every effort to provide policy guidance and decisions that would end the death penalty,” Sangusia told the Kigali summit

Today one may be a decision-maker and tomorrow the same person may be a death row inmate,” Sangusia concluded.

Kibaha grandparents all out to help vulnerable children

Kibaha district in Coast Region has hatched a scheme that empowers poverty stricken parents or guardians to give better care to children living with HIV/Aids, orphans and vulnerable children through paltry contributions. Our Staff Writer gives an account of the system mooted by a non-governmental organization-Kifaru Community Development in Tanzania (KIFARU)…

Around 50 old men and women recently thronged Kwala Primary School in Kibaha District, Coast Region desperately wanting to be tested their HIV/Aids status. It was part of celebrations to mark the International Day of the Aged which took place at regional level in Coast region at Kwala- one of the most impoverished villages in the region.

Mohamed Mitanga (70) of Kwala village in Kibaha, Coast Region was particularly enthusiastic for the HIV/Aids testing. He even wrangled with his fellow age-mate over the honour to be in the first position of the line-up, so that he could be tested first before anyone.

Mitanga was among around 100 elderly people given first priority to be tested their HIV and Aids status during this year’s 'Year of the Aged’ celebrations in Coast region

“This is the fourth time I have come for the testing. I have tested negative in all three tests. I always do that when there is an opportunity because myself and my wife live a distance apart. One of us might be unfaithful and therefore we have to taste periodically,” he says adding that his wife was also testing.

He says he has influenced people of his age in the village and members of his family to do the same.

At the celebrations, groups of old men and women were selling various locally made items. In one group Habiba Amli (67) is surrounded by customers eagerly waiting for their turn to buy. Habiba along with other members of the group sell home-made soap for 1,200/- a piece.

Another woman in the group is Tausi Rashidi Malipula who says she is glad that now she is able buy clothes and meat which she could not be able acquire before the introduction of their small business group.

Mwarabu Tengeni (70) is also undertaking a small business of selling locally made mats from wild grass. She makes a joke with officials of the meeting by telling them,

'Look how healthy our old women in this village are. You can propose for marriage with of them."

Another group of the elderly women was that which was selling improved charcoal stoves. A man who has just retired from civil service has taught them, according to members of the group.

The vibrant nature of the elderly people in the village is a result of efforts by the Kifaru Community Development in Tanzania (KICODET) in supporting them. The Kibaha based non-governmental organization (NGO)'s vision is to have well-organized society with community based stable community which cares and supports people living with HIV/Aids (PLHAs) orphans and vulnerable children.

Most of older people in Tanzania are characterized as poverty stricken with low incomes, poor health, limited access to health care facilities. They are often marginalized with lack of voice and representation. Besides they have to provide support for orphaned and vulnerable grandchildren.

KICODET is supported by Fit for Future Programme (DSW)- a German Foundation for World Population which is an international NGO aimed at contributing for efforts to alleviate poverty and spread of HIV/Aids.

KICODEC has introduced Savings and Internal Lending Communities (SILC) system. These are community based groups of around thirty people who keep their shares in the form of money into a small fund container from which affiliates can borrow. It is a non-registered business entity however.

According to the KICODET Executive Director Dr Rose Mkonyi, there are altogether 146 Savings and Internal Lending Communities (SILC) groups in Kibaha District Council and Kibaha Town Council out of which 26 are groups formed specifically for children. There are 732 children in the groups. Parents are contributing a weekly compulsory token of 500/- as shares voluntary contribution of any amount a week.

Dr Mkonyi says the compulsory contribution are shares of the children in the group and one has to contribute not more than five shares (2,500/-) a child.

She says parents are able to loan from the children’s compulsory contributions and not from the shares.

“The fund is beefed-up when parents or care givers return the loans. The interest for any loan which is usually ten percent is invested in the account of the child he or she takes care of,” she says.

The compulsory contribution and its interests is only used for medical treatment and educational purposes like paying school fees for the children. Children’s contribution has accumulated to 5m/-.

SILC groups are popular among People Living with HIV and Aids (PLHIV) and Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC).

Altogether the Kibaha District which comprises of District Council and Kibaha Urban District has accumulated 31m/- SILC fund. Some SILC 30 groups have opened up bank accounts. She says that now families under SILC are able to send their children to school and buy school uniforms are other requirements.

In what Dr Mkonyi sees as a great stride in development, the non-governmental organization has acquired a tractor which is being used by members of SILC. She said for example that this years a total of 136 acres will be cultivated by the tractor.

The elderly have all reasons to thank KICODET. They said a total of 80 groups of old men and women were formed in six wards in Kibaha district council. The groups have been mobilized to undertake small projects like making laundry soaps, weaving, decorations, making local mats.

Through their groups they were trained on best agricultural practices and that they had managed to put 67.5 acres of land under cultivation using a tractor owned by KICODET. They were required to contribute 10,000/- for the tractor to till one acre compared to around 40,000 which is being charged for one acre cultivation by private people.

“KICODET is our saviour. It has made us old people to have bumper crop and we are sure of our lives. Before, we even did not know where the next meal would come from, said Tausi Rashidi Malipula, a 65-year old woman at Kwala village.

The Coast Regional Community Welfare Officer, Lydia Mafole says the elderly in Kibaha owes much to the work by KICODET in helping the aged and the community at large.

“Because of KICODET, food in many households of the aged has increased. Our grandchildren many of whom are orphaned have been able to go to school because the old men and women have money to pay for them. The income of these households has increased by doing some small businesses with entrepreneurship ideas from KICODET. These old people have also beneficiated from the KICODET’s tractor in their agricultural activities,” the regional community welfare officer lauded.

She has asked district authorities in the region to include in their district annual budgets funds to cater for services for the elderly so as to make the 2003 national policy of the older people meaningful.

“ I also advice them to conduct a census of the old people in their jurisdictions and provide them with identity cards so that they could help them whenever they go for social services including medical help,” she notes.

A Kibaha senior citizen and known opinion leader, Ramadhani Sultani Chanzi has asked the government to see to it that prices of essential goods did not skyrocket.

“ When prices are up, it is the old people who suffer most because elderly people are the ones taking care of children whose parents have long died of HIV/Aids,” he said adding, “ sugar- which is fancied by the elderly people is now unaffordable to old people because of its high price. When we old people buy sugar we do it for ourselves and for our grand children who most of their parents have died of AIDS.”

KICODET has every reason to be proud in contributing to the better live of the elderly in the region for its concerted work in making their lives even more enjoyable and sustainable.Kifaru Community Development in Tanzania (KICODET) was established in 2002 as a community based organization to stimulate community response to HIV and AIDS and address the needs of orphans and most vulnerable groups.

Kibaha is one of the six districts in the Coast region has one of the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence rate of 7.3 percent in the region according to Tanzania Household Index Survey. Grand parents, especially grand mothers are taking care of grand children who have lost their beloved parents due to HIV and Aids.

Factors that contribute to high susceptibility include interactions to the busy Dar es Salaam-upcountry highway, high poverty and low education of food production, food preservation and income generating activity.

Surely the programme has afforded grandparents in Kibaha community to be contributors towards government in supporting vulnerable children, children living with HIV and Aids and orphans.

On its part the government has offered land to grandmothers to display their goods and a plotfor starting a child Day care centre in Mafafu Mtaa in the district and plots have been offered by Forest department for beekeeping at Visiga, Kongowe, Mtakuja and Soga. According to Dr Mkonyi some 100 beehives have been installed and bee colonies have started building up.

Commonwealth Parliamentarian Association shapes legislators

THE main objectives of Commonwealth include ensuring that democracy, freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and basic human rights are adhered to by member states. Most Club members are on the correct track in this aspect but others face monumental tasks.

Our Staff Writer, ICHIKAELI MARO, talked to the Secretary General of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), Dr Shija, in Perth, Australia, recently on the political and economic climates that prevail in member countries and what the CPA is doing about it. Exerpts...

QUESTION: Briefly, tell us your experiences as being the Secretary General of the Commonwealth whose major objective is to maintain democracy, freedom of expression, assembly and observation of the basic human rights.

ANSWER: Firstly I would like to send heartfelt greetings to my fellow Tanzanians, especially my President, Mr Jakaya Kikwete, whom I had opportunity to greet here (at Perth in Australia), when he came to participate in the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).

Secondly, I would also like to thank God who enabled me to be given the opportunity to be the Secretary General of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), since January 2007.

It is true that we have about 180 Parliaments throughout Commonwealth member nations; we have 17,000 parliamentarians from big and small countries that are members of the Commonwealth.

Our members from the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) come from national parliaments, constitutional parliaments -- House of Lord and House of Commons, in other words they are known as Senates and House of Representatives.

When I was appointed CPA Secretary General it is true that I had to continue implementing three principles: It is important to keep regulations that are applicable in the member countries of the Commonwealth whose major objective is to maintain democracy, freedom of expression, assembly and observation of the basic human rights.

The principles are guided by the Rule of Law - known as Latino House Principles -- that separate Central Government, Parliament and the Judiciary. In the Commonwealth, what we uphold as Secretary General of the CPA when I present progress report of the Association, I start with the announcement of Regulations and Principles of the CPA --Rule of Law which are generally embedded in the Commonwealth member nations.

Since I took over the position of the CPA Secretary General, also I ensured I keep the principles of our parliaments -- on what they are supposed to do and our major task is to assist parliamentarians within the Commonwealth member states to have the capacity, information and cooperation and to know their duties and responsibilities as parliamentarians.

Briefly we ensure capacity building of the Commonwealth parliamentarians. Capacity building means parliamentarians must know their duties once they are elected. He/she has to participate in enactment of laws that concern his/her citizens.

This is a very critical duty for the parliamentarian because laws are not just enacted with formation of policies that are acceptable by the citizens. Secondly, parliamentarians must make sure they supervise governments' budgets.

Government budgets allow for mandate to collect taxes from individuals and various production corporations. It is from taxes that governments are able to execute their duties of providing various services to their citizens.

Parliamentarians are also tasked with duties to supervise their electorates' developments in their respective constituents. And to assist the electorate in the constituents is a big responsibility on the part of parliamentarians because the electorate has many challenges that impact of their rights directly and others are a result of services that are supposed to be provided by their governments.

All these three areas are the ones that CPA deals with. CPA is doing several activities geared towards assisting parliamentarians in member states of the Commonwealth to execute their duties effectively.

Q: You seem to put emphasis on observation of democracy and rule of law within the Commonwealth. But we have witnessed growing unrest in several countries, especially in the Arab world that are within Commonwealth member states. Can you please comment on this?

A: It is true that poverty is a big issue. It is a big problem and we are saying if a country has resources both human and others which is properly preserved, it can assist to reduce or eliminate poverty.

Now this situation is achieved through establishment of proper policies that guide on how to tap the resources in a particular country and distribute them equitably. It is true there are conflicts in several countries within the Commonwealth, emanating from corruption, embezzlement of public funds, and destruction of property in general which creates shortage or minimal availability of services to the people.

Now if you can curb embezzlement and corruption, definitely you can do a lot in providing social services to the people. This is a big challenge in our countries because even in our general meeting to celebrate 100 years of CPA, this year, in London, UK, in my speech I said now the world is guided not only by regulation/guidelines on economy that you cannot have the economy that is guided on the principles of capitalism and feudalism.

Now we are faced with the challenges on how to run the economy on the basis of providing services to the people. This means, if you produce property in a country and if you do not distribute the accrued profit equitably, you will definitely face uprisings such as what has taken place in the Arab world and North of Africa.

Q: That has never happened in other parts of the world other than what you have just mentioned? We also witnessed this happening in the UK that people are now standing against capitalism. What does this mean?

A: The meaning is that, in this world, we have reached a stage where we need to look back and prepare a new world economic order. I think, the world is telling us, especially the young generation that one cannot run the economy solely on the basis of capitalism and succeed.

This must change so that other citizens can get the opportunity to benefit from the resources that are available within their proximity. This is exactly what happened in London. We have also witnessed same uprisings in the US even in South America (Mexico), Asia (India) --almost all over the world things are not okay.

For example, in Malaysia, there was a kind of demonstration from the citizens that they were not happy with the way the economy of their country was run. It is now a challenge of world leaders to rethink that the production system and distribution of the wealth must benefit all the people if peace is to prevail. You must give more opportunity on equitable distribution of wealth.

Let me give another example of how world leaders are faced with challenges. There are countries that produce oil. After my trip in Perth I am going straight to Ghana, West Africa, for a meeting where parliamentarians will look in how best they can ensure equitable distribution of wealth from the sale of oil, gas and production of various types of minerals in several countries.

What we are looking for is that we must have policies which show that citizens benefit from the natural resources available in respective countries. If we do not have that we should expect challenges as witnessed in several countries in the world. Therefore, policies and laws in member countries of the Commonwealth must address these issues.

 It is no longer the time to embrace capitalist economy. Though people participate in production, they use machines but how many are benefiting from the wealth accrued from these productions? We have to look at these issues very seriously.

There must be equitable distribution of wealth. If we fail to distribute wealth in this formula, as it is the case in the world economy now, we will definitely get into problems.

Q: How is the CPA prepared to deal with the challenges currently experienced in several parts of the world, including the Commonwealth?

A: Firstly, we facilitate parliaments in the Commonwealth to be able to share information on the way in which policies have been developed in respective countries and if they can be replicated in other countries.

By sharing such information, we help parliamentarians to learn from best practices in policies formulation and enactment of laws.

We conduct several workshops on policies formulation and enactment of laws in order to assist parliamentarians to have knowledge, as well as learn from best practices by having examples of countries that have formed best policies and enacted laws that can be emulated by other countries on how best to equitably distribute wealth.

Let me take the example of Trinidad and Tobago, in the Caribbean. Trinidad and Tobago have demonstrated that they can get lots of resources out of oil and gas and how to distribute it equitably to its citizens.

 I have also been told that several African countries have borrowed the example of Trinidad and Tobago on the best way to exploit the oil and natural gas resources and distribute it equitably to its citizens.

One of these countries is Ghana which recently discovered oil. They want to prepare a formula that ensures every citizen in Ghana benefits from the natural resource.

I think if such example can be developed on how policies and laws can be formulated to ensure the natural resources benefit the people, so our Parliaments can learn from this best example, and enact good laws that can help their citizens.

Q: In you experience as the Secretary General of the CPA, please tell us things that you can proudly say you have done and added value to the Association.

A: Firstly, what I remember is the emphasis that the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) have more challenges and needs than other countries such as Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. In these countries, their parliamentary systems have been there for a long time, thus, more experienced.

The former (ACP) have experience ranging between 40 and 50 years at most. Their systems are still young; therefore they need to strengthen their parliamentary and democratic systems.

Therefore, I have worked hard to make sure young countries, especially African countries, which have just established and built their democratic systems through workshops and communication between countries can share experiences on democracy building.

Secondly, we have standardization system on how parliaments in the Commonwealth should operate in building democracy. We call this 'Benchmarks for Democratic Legislatures'.

Under this benchmarks we have stated that young and upcoming parliaments must learn from more experienced parliaments (from the countries I mentioned above) to take what they think fits them and replicate them in their respective countries.

For example, there are systems on the best method to utilize Parliamentary Committees. These committees are very important in that they monitor the functions of governments in office, especially after endorsement of national budgets and their utilization in various development projects.

If there are well prepared and competent parliamentary committees in place, they can monitor and hold governments accountable on utilization of approved national budgets and collection of revenue. We have done well in this aspect. In African countries, this exercise was well successful in member countries of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) in the implementation of these procedures.

We also collaborate with our colleagues in the SADC Parliamentary Forum so that we can incorporate more countries such as Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) because Mozambique is already a member of CPA after being accepted to join the Commonwealth Club. But in Asia, Pacific and the Caribbean, procedures to uplift profiles of the parliaments we have already endorsed them and are now applicable as best practices.

I am very proud that I was instrumental in ensuring that these benchmarks are applicable in the operations of the Commonwealth parliaments during the four years that I have been the Secretary General of the CPA.

Thirdly, another thing that I am proud of within CPA under my leadership is strict control in the utilization of funds and other resources we get from our members. It is true there are recommendations on what must be done in the national chapters of the CPA, for example in Tanzania; they have to come from the chapters themselves. They have to tell us what their needs are and together to put up strategies to implement them.

We have so many demands and for the funds that we receive annually we have been using them carefully. I must emphasize here that the parliaments in the CPA have more needs because they are young, and we have been doing all what is possible to assist them.

Again, I want to proudly declare here that the utilization of funds have been excellent, we have no losses.

Q: In your four-year experience in the CPA, you mentioned only the success part of it, is there anything that you think did not work out to your expectations, any disappointments?

A: I can say there are several areas that we could do better. Firstly, in our endeavour to

support individual parliaments within the Commonwealth, we have not been very successful as we anticipated.

The main reason for this is decimal budget. If our budget was enough, we could serve some of these parliaments better. These include Mozambique, Malawi, Rwanda (which is the newest member of the Commonwealth).

 There have been weaknesses in this area. It is my plan we will direct our efforts towards assisting these parliaments in the near future. Another area that we could have done better are relationships between parliaments within the Commonwealth.

For example, the Canadian parliament could have relations with several parliaments in Africa, Asia or in the Caribbean, so that the latter could benefit from these expertises. We have started this process in what we call 'Twinning process' but which could have been done better.

As an example, we have twinning process between the Parliament of Scotland and the Parliament of Malawi. The focus in this twinning is on support in capacity building and more cooperation on the parliamentary committees.

A third area which I think is weak is on the amount of money collected from members. If we could get more money from the members, we could have made strides in various areas in the Association particularly in the strengthening of the parliaments.

Another area that we have not been very successful is to encourage member nations of the Commonwealth to elect more women into their parliaments. It is true there are several countries that have made good progress in this area such as Rwanda by involving more women to participate in the leadership of their country through their parliament.

Tanzania and South Africa started well but they seem to be stagnant. They should do more. But there are countries whose women representation in their parliaments is only one to two per cent.

Zanzibar: The sky is the limit

With its romantic aroma of spices, memories of its extraordinary past of Sultans and Slaves,

colourful underwater garden and life, untouched shiny white sand beaches, lush plantations,

an incredible history and fascinating culture, and the magnificence of the Historical Stone Town, Zanzibar is an experience that will certainly be a highlight in your life.

Zanzibar is a unique coral island lying in the Indian Ocean a short distance from mainland Tanzania. With Pemba, Mafia and about 50 other islands, Zanzibar originally was an independent country until 1964 when it was united with Tanganyika to form Tanzania.

Going back many centuries, the country has a rich, fascinating history having been influenced by Arabs, Britons, Indians, Persians, Portuguese as well as Africans from the mainland. Its heyday came in the early 19th century when the Sultan of Muscat moved his court to Zanzibar.

Spice cultivation - particularly the clove tree - was developed, and the slave trade was at its height as Zanzibar became the most important town in East Africa. Today, many of the winding streets and high townhouses of old Stone Town remain unchanged and visitors can talk between the Sultan’s Palace, the House of Wonders, the Portuguese fort and gardens, the merchants’ houses, and the Turkish baths of the old city.

Day-long spice tours to working plantations offer visitors the chance to observe the cultivation of cloves, vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon, and other spices that have made the island famous. Sand and surf vary depending on what side of the island you are on. The east coast offers waves that break over coral reefs and sand bars offshore, and low tide reveals small pools of starfish, small minnows, and anemones.

Up north, ocean swimming is much less susceptible to the tides, and smooth beaches and white sand make for dazzling days in the sun. The port city of Stone Town dominates the west coast, and although the beaches of Mangapwani, where slave caves are visible at low tide, and nearby Bububu are less than half an hour’s drive away.

A night or two spent on the east or north coast is well worth the extra hour it takes to drive there. Chole Island Marine Park just off Stone Town and nearby Prison, Grave, and Snake Islands make refreshing day-trips and a good break from exploring the winding passageways of the old city.

On the south coast of Zanzibar lies the Menai Bay Conservation Area, a sea turtle protection area for the endangered species that come to breed on the island. Roads to the southeast coast take visitors through the Jozani Forest, home to Zanzibar’s rare Red Colobus monkeys and a number of other primate and small antelope species.

From international standard hotels and resorts, to more humble but comfortable lodgings, Warrior Trails works with the best Zanzibar has to offer. Please Contact Us for more details.

At the point where the Pangani River empties into the Indian Ocean, lies Pangani, a village that has grown from its historical development as an Arabic settlement and slave trading centre, and is now known as the “Zanzibar of the Tanzanian coast”.

The Pangani River, flowing from the slopes of Mt Kilimanjaro, passes through the north side of the town, separating the old buildings and the present-day market on the north from the

farms and small houses on the south side. Pangani town elders serve as knowledgeable guides who can impart their vast knowledge of local history and culture going back to the 15th century.

Both Arab and German influences are evident in the colonial and Swahili architecture, giving the town a unique appearance. Many historical sites exist to commemorate various important

events in local history. In the streets, carpet makers, woodcarvers, basket weavers, painters and other artisans sell a wide variety of hand made items.

Pangani is truly a tropical and unspoiled paradise. Nowadays it is mainly a fishing town dotted with coconut trees, providing beautiful beaches for a quiet vacation. Maziwi Island is a newly designated marine reserve, and rests on a coral reef just of the shores of Pangani. It provides

snorkeling and deep sea diving opportunities, which can be arranged with local fishermen.

These Swahili fishermen, who spend 12 hours at sea seven days a week, are also more than willing to offer their services as a shuttle to and from the sandbanks offshore for a picnic in

the sun.

Do we know these facts about Mount Kilimanjaro?

TANZANIANS got shocking news over the weekend, when it was officially declared that Mount Kilimanjaro had failed to make it to the New Seven Wonders of Nature, losing the coveted "Canon of Seven" to its only African rival; Cape Town's Table Mountains.

The first count of the global vote to elect the New 7 Wonders of Nature was announced in the night of Friday, November 11, 2011 in Switzerland.

Kilimanjaro, with its three volcanic cones, Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira, is a dormant volcano in Kilimanjaro National Park, and the highest mountain in Africa at 5,895 metres or 19,341 feet above sea level - the Uhuru Peak.

The mountain is composed of three distinct volcanic cones: Kibo 5,895 m (19,341 ft); Mawenzi 5,149 m (16,893 ft); and Shira 3,962 m (13,000 ft). Uhuru Peak is the highest summit on Kibo's crater rim. Kilimanjaro is a giant stratovolcano that began forming a million years ago, when lava spilled from the Rift Valley zone.

Two of its three peaks, Mawenzi and Shira, are extinct while Kibo (the highest peak) is dormant and could erupt again. The last major eruption has been dated to 360,000 years ago, while the most recent activity was recorded just 200 years ago. Although it is dormant, Kibo has fumaroles that emit gas in the crater. Scientists concluded in 2003 that molten magma is just 400 m (1,310 ft) below the summit crater.

Several collapses and landslides have occurred on Kibo in the past, one creating the area known as the Western Breach. It is unknown where the name Kilimanjaro originates, but a number of theories exist.

European explorers had adopted the name by 1860 and reported that it was its Swahili name,with Kilimanjaro breaking into Kilima (Swahili for "hill, little mountain") and Njaro,whose supposed origin varies according to the theories—according to some it is an ancient Swahili word for white or for shining,or for the non-Swahili origin, a word from the Kichagga language, the word jaro meaning "caravan".

The problem with all these is that they cannot explain why the diminutive kilima is used instead of the proper word for mountain, mlima. The name might be a local joke, referring to the "little hill of the Njaro" being the biggest mountain on the African continent, since this is a nearby town, and guides recount that it is the Hill of the Njaro people.

A different approach is to assume that it comes from the Kichagga kilmanare or kileajao meaning "which defeats the bird/leopard/caravan". However this theory cannot explain the fact that Kilimanjaro was never used in Kichagga before in Europe in the mid-19th century.

An alternative theory is as follows: On November 10, 1848, the German missionary Rebmann wrote in his diary:"This morning we discerned the Mountains of Jagga more distinctly than ever." Jagga was the pronunciation of Chagga by Europeans. Kilimanjaro may also be the European pronunciation of the Chagga phrase that "Kile-lema-irho", meaning "we failed to climb it" in Kiuru, Kioldimoshi, Kimarangu, Kivunjo, Kikibosho, Kimachame and Kirombo, Kichagga in general.

If so, name itself, Kile-lema-irho/Kilimanjaro, would have been the Chagga way of explaining to kyasaka (newcomers) when they asked about the shining mountain top of Kibo and Mawenzi Peak. Kibo peak is more visible from the Kibosho Area, and Mawenzi from Marangu.

The Ki- prefix in Swahili has several underlying meanings. The old Ka- diminutive noun prefix (found now only as Kadogo - a small degree), merged with the Ki class. One of its meanings was to also describe something unique of its kind: Kilima, a single peak, as opposed to Mlima, which would better describe a mountain range or undulating country. Several other mountains also bear this prefix, such as Kilima Mbogo (Buffalo Mountain), just north of Nairobi in Kenya.

People with disabilities are also placed in this class, not so much as a diminutive idea; but a unique condition they possess: a blind or a deaf person, Kipofu and Kiziwi. This prefix "Ki-" in no way implies a derogatory sense. The name Kibo in Kichagga means "spotted" and refers to rocks seen on snowfields.

In the 1880s, the mountain, at that time spelled Kilima-Ndscharo in German following the Swahili name components, became a part of German East Africa after Karl Peters had persuaded local chiefs to sign treaties (a common story that Queen Victoria gave the mountain to her grandson Kaiser Wilhelm II is not true). When in 1889 Hans Meyer reached the highest summit on the crater ridge of Kibo, he named it "Kaiser-Wilhelm-Spitze" ("Kaiser Wilhelm peak").

That name was used until 1918, when after World War I the German colonies were handed over to the British empire. When Tanganyika gained its independence in 1961, this summit was named "Uhuru peak", meaning "Freedom peak" in Swahili. In 1861, the German officer Baron Carl Claus von der Decken and the young British geologist Richard Thornton (1838-1863) made a first attempt to climb Kibo, but "got no farther than 8,200 feet"(2,500 meters).

In 1862, Von der Decken tried a second time together with Otto Kersten. They reached a height of 14,000 feet (4,280 meters). In 1887, during his first attempt to climb Kilimanjaro, the German geology professor Hans Meyer reached the base of Kibo, but was forced to turn back, not having the equipment necessary to handle the deep snow and ice on Kibo.

The following year, Meyer planned another attempt with cartographer Oscar Baumann, but the mission was aborted due to consequences of the Abushiri Revolt. Meyer and Baumann were captured and held hostage, and only escaped after a ten thousand rupees ransom had been paid.

In 1889 Meyer returned to Kilimanjaro with the celebrated Austrian mountaineer Ludwig Purtscheller for a third attempt. Their climbing team included two local headmen, nine porters, a cook, and a guide.

The success of this attempt, which started on foot from Mombasa, was based on the establishment of many campsites with food supplies so that multiple attempts at the top could be made without having to descend too far.

After Meyer and Purtscheller pushed to near the crater rim on October 3, exhausted from hacking footsteps in the icy slope, they reached the highest summit on the southern rim of the crater on Purtscheller's 40th birthday, October 6, 1889. They were the first to confirm that Kibo has a crater, which was filled with ice at the time.

After descending to the saddle between Kibo and Mawenzi, Meyer and Purtscheller attempted to climb the more technically challenging Mawenzi next, but could only reach a 5096 m high subsidiary peak (later to be named Klute Peak) before retreating due to illness.

On October 18 they reascended Kibo to enter and study the crater, cresting the rim at Hans Meyers Notch. In total, Meyer and Purtscheller spent 16 days above 4,200 m during their expedition. The summit of Kibo wouldn't be climbed again until 20 years later (by the surveyor M. Lange in 1909), and the first ascent of the highest (5149 m) summit of Mawenzi was only on July 29, 1912, by the German climbers Edward Oehler and Fritz Klute, who christened it Hans Meyer Peak in Meyer's honour.

Oehler and Klute went on to make the third ascent of Kibo, via the Western route over the Drygalski Glacier. In 1989, the organizing committee of the 100-year celebration of the first ascent decided to award posthumous certificates to the African porter-guides who had accompanied Meyer and Purtscheller.

One person in pictures or documents of the 1889 expedition was thought to match a living inhabitant of Marangu, Yohani Kinyala Lauwo. Lauwo did not know his own age nor did he remember Meyer or Purtscheller, but he remembered joining a Kilimanjaro expedition involving a Dutch doctor who lived near the mountain and not wearing shoes during the 8-day affair. Lauwo claimed that he had climbed the mountain 3 times before World War I.

 The committee concluded that he had been a member of Meyer's team and therefore must have been born around 1871. Lauwo died on 10 May 1996 at the thus reconstructed world-record age of 124 or 125 and is now even often suggested as co-first-ascendant of Kilimanjaro.

Memorial recognizing Hans Meyer as the first European to "conquer" KilimanjaroThere are six official trekking routes by which to climb Mt Kilimanjaro, namely: Marangu, Rongai, Lemosho,Shira, Umbwe and Machame. Of all the routes, Machame is by far the most scenic albeit steeper route up the mountain, which can be done in six or seven days.

The Rongai is the easiest and least scenic of all camping routes with the most difficult summit night and the Marangu is also relatively easy, but accommodation is in shared huts with all other climbers.

As a result, this route tends to be very busy, and ascent and descent routes are the same. People who wish to trek to the summit of Kilimanjaro are advised to undertake appropriate research and ensure that they are both properly equipped and physically capable.

Though the climb is technically not as challenging as when climbing the high peaks of the Himalayas or Andes, the high elevation, low temperature, and occasional high winds make this a difficult and dangerous trek.

Acclimatisation is essential, and even then most experienced trekkers suffer some degree of altitude sickness. Kilimanjaro summit is well above the altitude at which high altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE), or high altitude cerebral edema (HACE) can occur.

Kilimanjaro has a large variety of forest types over an altitudinal range of 3,000 m (9,843 ft) containing over 1,200 vascular plant species. Montane Ocotea forests occur on the wet southern slope. Cassipourea and Juniperus forests grow on the dry northern slope.

Subalpine Erica forests at 4,100 m (13,451 ft) represent the highest elevation cloud forests in Africa. In contrast to this enormous biodiversity, the degree of endemism is low. However, forest relicts in the deepest valleys of the cultivated lower areas suggest that a rich forest flora inhabited Mt Kilimanjaro in the past, with restricted-range species otherwise only known from the Eastern Arc mountains.

The low degree of endemism on Kilimanjaro may result from destruction of lower elevation forest rather than the relatively young age of the mountain. Another feature of the forests of Kilimanjaro is the absence of a bamboo zone, which occurs on all other tall mountains in East Africa with a similarly high rainfall. Sinarundinaria alpina stands are favoured by elephants and African Buffalos elsewhere.

On Kilimanjaro these megaherbivores occur on the northern slopes, where it is too dry for a large bamboo zone to develop. They are excluded from the wet southern slope forests by topography and humans, who have cultivated the foothills for at least 2000 years.

This interplay of biotic and abiotic factors could explain not only the lack of a bamboo zone on Kilimanjaro but also offers possible explanations for the patterns of diversity and endemism. If true, Kilimanjaro's forests would serve as a striking example of the large and long-lasting influence of both animals and humans on the African landscape.

The period from 1912 to present has witnessed the disappearance of more than 80% of the ice cover on Kilimanjaro. From 1912-1953 there was 1% annual loss, while 1989-2007 saw 2.5% annual loss. Of the ice cover still present in 2000, 26% had disappeared by 2007.

While the current shrinking and thinning of Kilimanjaro's ice fields appears to be unique within its almost twelve millennium history, it is contemporaneous with widespread glacier retreat in mid-to-low latitudes across the globe. Unless trends change, Kilimanjaro is expected to become ice-free some time between 2022 and 2033.