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Revolution
Revolution, by Jakob Ejersbo Raw and real, Revolution is by some distance the best fictional depiction of life in contemporary Tanzania I’ve come across. Unlike Ejersbo’s previous book, Exile, this was...
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“Witchcraft for development”
“We sometimes hear that so and so was caught in somebody’s house bewitching that person. If at all we know that witchcraft exists, why don’t we use it to promote development? Why don’t we employ...
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Africa in primetime: What is the BBC telling the British public?
Two months ago, there was David Attenborough’s wildlife documentary series, Africa. Two weeks ago was a Comic Relief film set largely in South Africa and Mozambique. And last week there was the Top...
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Xi Jinping to Tanzania, but why this honour?
The new Chinese president, Xi Jinping, is expected in Tanzania on Sunday, just ten days after officially taking office. This is the second stop on a four-country tour that will begin in Russia and also...
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A mighty tree has fallen: Chinua Achebe 1930-2013
Chinua Achebe 1930-2013 Chinua Achebe has died, at the age of 82. He leaves a legacy that will live on for generations. He told a different story of Africa, perhaps best summed up by a Igbo proverb he...
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What the Tanzania press is saying about the visit of Chinese president, Xi...
Tanzanian newspaper front pages 26/3/2013, via mjengwablog.com and millardayo.com. The historic visit of the new Chinese President, Xi Jinping, to Tanzania this week was a great honour for the...
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Preparing for spontaneity: Kissinger and Nyerere in the Wikileaks cables
The folks at Wikileaks have just released another huge batch of US diplomatic cables, this time dating from 1972-1976. They’re calling them the Kissinger Cables, after the controversial US Secretary of...
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The centre cannot hold
“Turning and turning in the widening gyre The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and...
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Opening aid, but in the wrong direction
Cartoon adapted from HakiElimu, 2005 Making aid more accountable is a worthy goal. So is building support for public spending on international aid among citizens of donor countries. But a new proposal...
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Missionary, Mercenary, Mystic, Misfit, by J.
J. is on a mission: to prove to the world that there’s a market for “humanitarian aid fiction”. As a highly experienced aid worker and prolific blogger (latterly at AidSpeak, formerly at Tales from the...
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Lost in translation: Swahili keeps the outrageous below the radar?
A language barrier? Tanzania is going through interesting times at the moment, even more so than usual. The political scene is hot, messy and ugly – the rise of Chadema as a meaningful opposition and...
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Kamtafaruku! “Is that what you’re taught?”
I spotted this little anecdote at the end of a lengthy article on President Obama’s visit to Tanzania, in Habari Leo. I’ve abridged it slightly: Earlier, harmony came close to breaking down in the...
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How will Tanzania cope with 275 million people?
Adapted from the Washington Post, using UN data The Washington Post has just published a fascinating analysis as of new UN population projections up to the year 2100. It’s worth reading the whole...
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Changing headlines in HabariLeo, but why?
HabariLeo newspaper seems to have engaged in an intriguing bit of late revisionism today. Take a look at the two images below – from the printed edition of the government-owned paper (on the left), and...
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On the back of an envelope: Tanzania’s #NoSimCardTax mess
It’s a tiny little thing, just 2.5cm long, 1.5cm wide and a millimeter thick. And yet it has found itself at the centre of a political storm in Tanzania. I’m talking, of course, about mobile phone sim...
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Campaign finance in Tanzania: Is anyone following the money?
The money trail (image taken from http://low2highafrica.blogspot.co.uk/2011/03/final-days-of-cycling.html) Peter Nyanje, with a “polite reminder” in The Citizen: There is a need to give 2015 General...
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Let’s make a success of failures – from SciDev.Net
Originally published on SciDev.Net, on August 1st, 2013. Photo: Mikkel Ostergaard / Panos Unsuccessful development initiatives offer vital lessons — but only if we are open about failure, says Ben...
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Zanzibar acid attack: UK media not letting the facts get in the way of a story
Mail online 110813 The UK media is unsurprisingly following up closely on the story of the two teenage British girls who suffered a horrific attack in Stone Town, Zanzibar. But in their haste to get a...
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“A journalism of integrity”: Mwananchi and The Citizen take a stand
Favourable press coverage in return for money? That sounds like corruption to me. According to an announcement published in Mwananchi newspaper last month, it sounds like corruption to them as well:...
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A legal game of chicken: Justice and development, Nyamakobiti-style
An expensive chicken (photo from heybrian.com) In Tanzania’s Majira newspaper, earlier this week, was a remarkable story involving Serengeti District Council, the courts system and, yes, a chicken. The...
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