It was a wonderful early morning as we set off from Tukuyu, a small hillside town founded in 1900 by the Germans as a colonial town in Rungwe District of the Mbeya Region. We were travelling in a pickup, enjoying a 360-degree view as we drove towards the home of God’s Bridge. A fine, fresh…
After speaking at the recent Munich Security Conference, some analysts accused US Secretary of State Marc Rubio of urging the West to revive colonialism. I found it hard to believe that anyone in their right mind would promote 15th-century imperial ambitions in the 21st century. Surely, I thought, these were exaggerated claims. Yet I soon…
Before signing an employment contract in Tanzania, pause and read carefully, this document will shape your working life. Under the Employment and Labour Relations Act (ELRA) and general contract principles, an employment contract should always be in writing and clearly spell out essential terms. These include your job title, duties, place of work, working hours,…
Last week, I wrote about my maiden experience in Europe when I travelled to what was then East Berlin to study journalism in 1979. I recounted how my colleagues and I spent our first night huddled together at Sheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow, trying to keep warm in the extreme winter cold of the transit…
It was the early 1990s in Arusha. I was a representative of Radio Tanzania (RTD) and the late Benjamin Mkapa-then Minister for Higher Education—was in town representing President Ali Hassan Mwinyi as a mediator in the Burundi peace process. The mission was critical. To navigate the high-stakes tensions between the FDD-led CNDD later CNDD-FDD under…
It has been said time and again that development is not about things. A country cannot be said to experience development simply because it has skyscrapers, bridges and roads. Development is about people, hence the concept of people-centred development. Yet no development can occur without infrastructure such as roads, bridges, railways, power plants, ICT networks…
We checked into what would be our new home for the next nine months the International Institute of Journalism in Berlin, located in Friedrichshagen, a suburb south east of that historic German city. The institute was situated in the middle of a thick and vast pine forest, with the nearest settlement and urban train station…
Few things worry parents more than a child with a high fever and a painful sore throat. One common cause of these symptoms is acute tonsillitis a sudden inflammation of the tonsils, which are two small glands located at the back of the throat. Although tonsillitis is common in children, understanding its causes, symptoms and…
In the down bound lift to the underground train, the 60 plus year old English chap, reminds you of what is slowly vanishing as we stroll towards mid 21st century. Public interaction, humour and casualness. “I just got a new job,” he says in typical London Cockney accent. Operating the buttons he lets the elevator’s…
By now, many of the readers of this column must have noticed that I am fond of returning to the wisdom of our ancestors in order to learn crucial lessons for life. Their wisdom, which comes to us in myriad forms such as stories, proverbs, sayings, riddles and rituals, is as wide as the sea…
