Tanzania has taken ‘the bold and commendable decision to offer citizenship to 162,000 Burundian refugees who fled their country in 1972’, writes Lucy Hovil. But, warns Hovil, it seems premature to refer to the refugees as ‘citizens’, as recent telephone interviews with them suggest that they are ‘neither allowed freedom of movement, nor the security of having the necessary and vital documentation to prove their new status’.

Tanzania is deporting 57 Somali migrants who illegally entered that country last month, officials said. The migrants who were fleeing from the war in Somalia are mostly youth and included six children, officials said.

Tanzania's business community has rejected the government's suggestion to raise minimum wages in the private sector by 100 percent, saying it is unpayable. Employment, Labour and Youth Development Minister Juma Kapuya early this week an nounced that the government and stakeholders in the labour sector had agreed to the hike, but the business community's reaction has not been in favour of the move because it would hurt private enterp rises.

The Tanzania Police Force has put 68 Ethiopian migrants in custody pending their arraignment in court for illegal entry into the country, it was officially reported Wednesday. According to Tanga Regional Police Commander Liberatus Sabas, the Ethiopians claimed during interrogation they had no intention of either staying or committing offence in Tanzania but we retransiting to South Africa.

The Zanzibar International Film Festival is the largest multi disciplinary art and cultural festival in Africa. Dedicated to the exhibition of films, music and Panorama, each year over 150 films made in Africa, Middle East, Europe, Latin America, USA and Asia are exhibited. Currently ZIFF is accepting applications for all African films and films from the Dhow Countries region - South East Asia, the Arabian Peninsula, The Persian Gulf, Iran, Pakistan, and the Indian Ocean Islands.

On April 14, 2010 during the ongoing Parliament meeting in Dodoma, Hon. Damas P. Nakei, MP for Babati Rural asked a question in the House wanting to know the limitations on an MP to access public information held by Government and what type of information an MP might be denied. A Coalition comprising eleven Civil Society organisations (two from outside Tanzania) organized and held meetings and public hearings countrywide to collect people’s views. All along, it emerged that the public was not only interested in the freedom to access information but wanted this to be pronounced as a basic right – hence the notion of Right to Information in the discourse of the Coalition’s work.

The UN has praised Tanzania for granting citizenship to some 162,000 refugees who fled Burundi 38 years ago. "It's the most generous naturalisation of refugees anywhere," said UN refugee agency spokeswoman Melissa Fleming.

HIV/AIDS could pose a security concern in Africa due to high infection rates among military forces, Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete has cautioned, saying the loss of personnel not only af fected military preparedness but also increased costs of recruitment and training of replacements.

A resident magistrate in the southern Tanzania region of Ruvuma has sentenced a group of 74 Ethiopian nationals to six months imprisonment or a fine of 10,000 shillings (approximately US$10) for illegal entry into the country.

International agency Oxfam is deeply concerned with the recent detention of one of its staff and two colleagues from the Ngorongoro NGO Network (NGONET) by authorities in Loliondo, following protests by local women about alleged violations of land rights in the area. The three were detained on 12 April and released the next day on bail. Oxfam calls on the authorities to hold an immediate investigation into the detentions, and take steps to address the concerns of local communities amid growing tension in the area.

The public outcry of alleged entrenched corruption in Tanzania’s National Housing Corporation (NHC) appears to have reached catastrophic proportions with helpless victims alleging that the vice is so extensive and deeply rooted to the marrow of this giant state corporation

The corruption money would have constructed over 5,400 classrooms, paid 315,000 teachers, provided over 7.4million families with treated anti malaria mosquito nets’. The Tanzania corrupt Radar scandal appears to be taking a new twist as the notorious British Serious Fraud Office (SFO) now faces a potential legal suit over the manner in which it handled the corruption case involving the British Aero Space (BAE)

With Zanzibar in the throes of political instability as its 2010 elections approach, Chambi Chachage calls for a 'win–win situation' and draws upon Mahmood Mamdani's emphasis on 'survivors' justice'.

Experts have called on the government to establish an agency that will coordinate and manage ICT activities so as to enhance the sector's growth. The call was made during at an ICT summit, which was held in Dar es Salaam to take stock of digital development in Tanzania and explore ways to catapult the sector to a new level. The experts and other stakeholders said the proposed body will also assume regulatory functions in order to create a level playing field in the fast growing industry.

Tanzania-based Consultant
Wellspring Advisors

Wellspring Advisors seeks a Tanzania?Based Consultant to provide critical support and oversight to its Tanzania grantmaking, which focuses on pro?poor economic development, children’s rights and development, women’s rights, and human rights. These wide?ranging portfolios cover such issues as women’s land and property rights, prevention of violence against women, reproductive rights, countering impunity, freedom of speech, disability rights, education, child protection, smallholder agriculture, and small and medium enterprise development.

Wellspring Advisors, LLC coordinates grantmaking programs that advance the realization of human rights and social and economic justice for all people. Wellspring is a private philanthropic consulting firm with offices in New York and Washington, DC. Our services include donor education and helping to shape a strategic vision; identification and presentation of appropriate funding opportunities; grants administration; and reporting.

Wellspring Advisors is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Wellspring Advisors seeks a Tanzania?Based Consultant to provide critical support and oversight to its Tanzania grantmaking, which focuses on pro?poor economic development, children’s rights and development, women’s rights, and human rights. These wide?ranging portfolios cover such issues as women’s land and property rights, prevention of violence against women, reproductive rights, countering impunity, freedom of speech, disability rights, education, child protection, smallholder agriculture, and small and medium enterprise development.

The consultant will report to Wellspring’s international program team. The initial time commitment associated with this consultancy will be part?time, approximately 4 to 8 days per month, for an initial period of three months. Wellspring Advisors will not sponsor any candidates to relocate to Tanzania and/or obtain any necessary legal documentation in Tanzania, such as visas or work permits. Similarly, Wellspring will not sponsor candidates to move to or work in the United States.

Responsibilities

As requested by the international program team, the consultant will:

• Conduct due diligence and site visits for current and prospective grantee organizations; monitor activities and use of funds by current grantees; evaluate grantee performance;
• Identify and suggest prospective grantees that might align with Wellspring’s clients’ programmatic priorities;
• Research and make recommendations about new issue areas of interest to Wellspring’s programs;
• Report findings and recommendations to Wellspring’s international program staff through regular written updates and conference call meetings;
• Provide Wellspring with updates on unfolding current events that may have an impact on its partners or program focus;
• Support grantees and applicants to ensure completion and submission of applications and reports;
• Engage and network with donors and NGOs working in relevant fields in Tanzania; attend relevant forums, meetings and conferences;
• Provide support in the planning and coordination of grant-related activities, including technical assistance provision, trainings and convenings;
• Support Wellspring staff in planning and executing site visits to local partners in Tanzania; and
• Perform related duties as requested and as needs evolve.

Qualifications

• 5+ years professional experience working in the fields of international development and/or human rights in Tanzania;
• University degree required; graduate degree preferred;
• Expertise in the areas of human rights, economic development, women’s rights, and/or children’s rights, ability to work across a range of programmatic issue areas highly desired;
• Excellent English oral and written communications skills required, knowledge of local languages a plus;
• Prior experience with grantmaking or grants management a plus;
• Strategic planning and other organizational development skills a plus;
• Excellent analytic abilities and impartiality;
• Initiative, resourcefulness, and flexibility—ability to work independently with minimal supervision;
• Demonstrated commitment to Wellspring’s grantmaking priorities;
• Ability to handle confidential client information with complete discretion; and
• Ability to work and travel within Tanzania.

How to apply

Send an email to [email][email protected] with “Tanzania Consultancy” in the subject line, to which you have attached the following three documents:

1. Cover letter highlighting relevant qualifications and salary history;
2. Current resume with three professional references; and
3. English writing sample (5-page maximum).

Héctor Cariño, Recruiter
Wellspring Advisors, LLC
1410 Broadway, 23rd Floor
New York, NY 10018-5007
Facsimile 212/ 609.2633

Applications must be received by May 1, 2010

Due to the high volume of applications received, Wellspring Advisors regrets that it is only able to respond to finalist candidates.

HIV prevalence among Tanzanians who attended secondary school fell sharply between 2004 and 2008, while remaining stable among the country's least educated people, a new study has revealed. "National HIV prevalence has fallen recently in Tanzania. However, the improvements have not been spread evenly throughout the population," James Hargreaves, senior lecturer in epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and lead author of the study, said.

Burundian refugees in Mtabila refugee camp in Tanzania are being deprived of their basic human rights by the Tanzanian government. Some 37,000 men, women, and children are being denied access to needed medical care, primary education, and attending worship services in the camp. Please to help these refugees and remind Tanzanian officials that caring people like you around the world are watching.

Pregnancy is the leading cause of dropouts for school girls in Tanzania. And a national law forbidding young mothers to return to school after giving birth did not make it any easier for them to continue their education. But thanks to pressure from the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), the Tanzania government has now adopted a new law that allows young mothers to continue their education at their former schools.

About 155,000 Burundian refugees, seeking Tanzanian citizenship, have had their requests granted, according to a communiqué from the United Nations High Commissioner for refugees (UNHCR), published on Thursday in Bujumbura, the Burundi capital.

Speaking to Turkish journalists ahead of a four-day official visit to Turkey, Tanzanian President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete has highlighted hopes that his trip will result in increased commercial and cultural ties.