EAC has appointed a woman to head its Secretariat as Secretary General (SG). It is in this respect that the recent appointment of Kenya’s Veronica Mueni Nduva as EAC-SG can be seen as truly revolutionary and groundbreaking. Her appointment does not just mark a significant milestone in the pursuit of gender equality in the region’s…
The other day I was minding my own business at my retirement home in Njombe when a former co-worker from India called to say he was in town. An hour later we met and reminisced about our days together some ten or so years ago. He was in town on a project involving the avocado…
Gran Melia Arusha now occupies the ground where the former Hotel 77 was established. In 1979, Arusha played host to the world when it welcomed the Conference of the Group of 77. Leaders from Africa, Asia and Latin America gathered at the freshly built Hotel 77 to push for fairer trade, debt relief and a…
At Mama Z’s, the shop is wideWith bread and soap and beans insideThe shelves lean left, the cat looks boredA toddler sleeps beside the cordAnd everyone pays when they can The news is told with heavy breathA goat escaped, they chased it westSomeone saw clouds that looked like riceA boy drank milk not smelling niceIt’s…
Last week we highlighted an upset African travelling companion. Innocently walking and minding his business he was told off by ladies showing parts of their bodies. He declares he finds London annoying; he wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for endless corruption and conflicts back home. As I listened, I wondered if such loss of…
When Tanzania and Burundi initiated a $2.15 billion Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) connecting the two countries, it was more than just another infrastructure project. It was a promise of a future for East Africa, one critical piece in its dream of regional unity. For decades, the EAC has spoken about integration, yet reality has been…
As promised in my Palaver last week, this Saturday I recount my second sojourn to Australia—or “Down Under”, to be more precise, Adelaide—which offered me another unique and very different experience. Here I go. It was in the early 1990s, more than 30 years ago, when I was assigned by my then employer, the Arusha…
To my close friends, I am known as a die-hard supporter of Tanzania’s soccer giants, Dar es Salaam Young Africans—popularly called Yanga. The evidence is plain: I often sport the Yanga jersey, especially during a winning streak and never miss a chance to poke fun at archrivals Simba Sports Club. I have even proposed (and…
Known as the animal that symbolises Tanzania for its grace, as well as its long neck and towering height—which represent vision and the ability to see both past and present—the giraffe moved slowly across the road seemingly oblivious to the tortoise it had accidentally knocked over. The tortoise lay upside down, struggling to right itself…
The ancient Greek philosopher Socrates is credited with the Socratic method of discourse where an idea is put forth and then challenged and analysed, back and forth, between two or more persons with the aim of clarifying, finding contradictions and getting a better understanding of the topic under discussion. Debates may well be seen as…
