Tanzania: Sevilla Tour Served Tanzania Football, Tourism, Says Minister

SPORTPesa Tanzania Director of Administration and Compliance Tarimba Abbas said the tour of Sevilla FC in the country has opened up more opportunities in sports and tourism sectors.

The Spanish LaLiga giants were in the country for a three-day productive tour which climaxed on Friday after running various clinics meant to accelerate the growth of football in Tanzania and the entire world. However, the whole nation was on a standstill when the five-time UEFA Europa League winners exchanged tackles with the country's 20- time champions Simba at the National Stadium in Dar es Salaam.

Despite the match ending in favor of the visitors who won 5-4, the level of football display shown by Simba was remarkable no wonder Sevilla coach and some players heaped praises on the home side immediately after the exciting game. However, briefing reporters recently, Abbas said despite Sevilla contingent staying in the country for a short time, they managed to impart many skills which will highly uplift the development of football in the nation. "Both players and team leaders have benefited a lot from the tour made by Sevilla. For example, through the brief football clinic they ran at Uhuru Stadium with Bom Bom academy, the young players snatched some crucial skills from the Sevilla players," Abbas noted. He also said the agreement signed by the Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) together with LaLiga is another essential area which is going to propel the development of football between the two sides. 

In terms of tourism expansion, the SportPesa boss said whatever Sevilla does from any corner of the world, it attracts massive media coverage basing on their popularity as such, Tanzania has reached around the globe for the few days they stayed. "They did not come to play football only but also to look at the numerous attractions that we have. We wanted to take them across the country but time was very limited to do so," Abbas said. In his remarks, Minister for Information, Culture, Arts and Sports Harrison Mwakwembe lauded SportPesa Tanzania for its tremendous effort to back up the government in uplifting football standards. "We are thrilled by Sevilla tour and this will simplify the landing of other big clubs in the country," Mwakyembe said. However, Sevilla president José Castro Carmona said they regretted to have planned a short stay after seeing many things they never thought are present in the country. "For sure, we will be good ambassadors of Tanzania in Spain," Carmona said.

Tanzania Bans the use of Plastic Bags

In his speech during a budget session in the National Parliament of Tanzania the Prime Minister His Excellency Kassim Majaliwa announced that the last day to use plastic bags in Tanzania will be 31st May 2019 and from the 1st June no one will be allowed to produce, import, sell or use plastic bags. He called on the plastic producing industries in the country to diverse some other technology for carrying bags instead of plastics. He said he has directed the minister for environment and union from the Vice President’s office to include the ban in the existing environment law and make it a legal ban.

NCA Director has congratulated the government for stepping up the fight against plastic pollution in the country. He said NCA is impressed with the Tanzania government’s decision to ban the use of plastic bags and carriers which will be a big bust in the bid to protect the environment and natural resources.

“Plastic is a number one polluter of environment and a silent killer of our natural environment and resources than most people understand. This is because it takes more than a hundred years for a single plastic bag to decay. We are happy that Tanzania is among the very few African countries to ban the use of plastic bags and we will work hard toward supporting the government in the fight against plastic pollution”.

“We understand that the control of plastic pollution calls for all stakeholders’ participation in raising awareness and making sure that the ban is being effectively observed, we are therefore ready to work with the government to give expert advice whenever needed. Our initiatives will also be directed towards raising awareness to the Tanzania community as we believe an educated man is a wealthy man”. He said. 

 Tanzania joins about 13 countries in Africa that have either banned or introduced a levy on plastic bags to control and eventually stop its use.  In East Africa  Kenya introduced a complete ban on plastic last August  while in Uganda In 2007, a ban of lightweight plastic bags was introduced and came into effect that year. However, the ban was never implemented. Plastics even the countries with bans are still using them illegally.

Plastic which was introduced in Africa a generation ago has been reported to pollute both the seas and land at an alarming rate. According to EcoWatch Plastics affect all biological spectrum, including posing risks to human health and wildlife, the accumulation of these products has led to increasing amounts of environmental pollution around the world including Africa. About 90 percent of all trash floating on the ocean's surface is believed to be emanating from plastics.

According to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), half of all plastic produced is designed to be used just once and then discarded, resulting in mass amounts of chemically-laden debris landing in oceans and littering landscapes.

Please take note of the introduction of plastics ban in Tanzania as of 01 June 2019. #notoplastics #environment #environmentfriendly #savetheplanet #visittanzania #serengeti #tanzaniaunforgettable #utaliitanzania #supportthecause #saveenvironment #noplasticstanzania #keepgreen #savetheenvironment 

Tanzania: Make Tanzania Your Second Home, PM Tells Israeli Tourists

Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa has called upon Israeli tourists to become Tanzania's ambassadors in and outside their home country by marketing the country's tourism sector.

Mr Majaliwa said this on the occasion bidding farewell to 274 Israeli tourists, part of the 1,000 tourists, who spent seven days in the country's national parks and Zanzibar.

The event took place at Kilimanjaro International Airport (KIA) yesterday before the tourists boarded their Israel Airlines planes back home.

The PM conveyed to the Israelis greetings from President John Magufuli and Vice-President Samia Suluhu Hassan, thanking them for making Tanzania their first tourism destination by visiting Serengeti National Park, Lake Manyara National Park, Arusha National Park, Ngorongoro Conservation Area and Zanzibar, among other tourist attractions.

He said the government would strengthen relations with Israel and called upon potential investors to come and invest in the tourism sector, as the country still had a lot of opportunities as it sought to unlock the tourism potential, especially in the southern circuit.

"Tanzania still has plenty of opportunities in the tourism sector and we call upon you to be our good ambassadors when you are back.

We welcome Israelis and other people in the world to come and invest in the sector of tourism, especially now that we want to unlock the southern circuit," said Mr Majaliwa.

The record number of tourists from one country at ago comes nearly two years since Tanzania opened its embassy in Tel Aviv, Israel, thanks to the Tanzanian Embassy staff and Tanzania Tourist Board (TTB) in collaboration with other stakeholders.

The visit saw planes bring them in the country on April 20, as 150 other Israelis left the country after seven days of the visit. The first group of the 1,000 tourists left on Friday night, the second yesterday afternoon, the third at 4pm and the last one at 8pm

The PM was flanked by Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, Dr Hamisi Kigwangalla, TTB Chairman Judge (retired) Thomas Mihayo, TTB Managing Director Devotha Mdachi, Kilimanjaro Regional Commissioner (RC) Anna Mghwira and Arusha RC Mrisho Gambo, among other leaders.

Mr Majaliwa called upon the tourists to be back in the country so that they could explore more opportunities and enjoy the nature in other national parks such as Gombe, Tarangire, Mkomazi, Saanane Island, Mikumi, Ruaha as well as the roof of Africa - Mount Kilimanjaro.

He hailed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his re-election to the post recently. The PM said the two countries enjoyed warm relations, pledging to further strengthen cooperation with Mr Netanyahu's government.

Speaking on the same occasion, Ms Mdachi said they were planning a visit to Israel and Jordan to further pursue their people to come for tourism purposes.

The director said they would also be seeking to bring journalists from the two countries that would be relaying messages and selling Tanzania in terms of tourist attractions when they were back.

She said attention would also be directed towards Asia and Europe and expectations were to get more tourists from next month, with about 300 Israelis on line.

Minister Kigwangalla pledged that the government and its people would continue protecting natural resources so Tanzania retained its place as one of the world's most attractive countries in terms of tourism.

He said the Israelis came in huge numbers at a time when the government was rebranding its tourism sector so that Tanzania was unforgettable.

Some of the tourists from Israel said they were greatly moved by tourist attractions they had visited and promised to be back in the future.

Ms Naomi Peer Moscovich and her daughters Dana and Lihi said were impressed with a huge number of wildlife as well as hospitality from Tanzanians.

Tanzanian Tour guides Oppose Mt Kilimanjaro Cable Car Project in fear of Losing Jobs

Tanzanian tourism stakeholders come out in opposition of the unveiled plan to build cable cars on Mount Kilimanjaro, saying the project will cut jobs and eliminate the fun of hiking for days to the roof of Africa.

Key industry players namely tour operators, guides and porters strongly protest the proposed facility, saying climbing Kilimanjaro Mountain on foot is a lifetime experience that should never be compromised by cable cars.

The protest came few weeks when Constantine Kanyasu, Tanzania's Deputy Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism said that the Cable Car project is part of the government's latest strategy to woo tourists with over 50 years of age.

Mount Kilimanjaro Porters Society (MKPS) opposes the cable car product outright, saying it will deny employment to nearly 250,000 mountain porters scaling up Mount Kilimanjaro for a wage each year.

"Much as the cable car service doesn't require porters, majority of tourists will climb Mount Kilimanjaro on day trip basis using the new product to cut down costs and length of stay," said Edson Mpemba, MKPS Vice Chairman.

Mpemba wondered that decision makers had overlooked interests of the huge number of the unskilled labour force, which solely depends on the mountain to eke out a living.

"Think of the ripple effect on families of the 250,000 unskilled porters," he stresses, cautioning: "The cable car facility will initially look like a noble and innovative idea, but it will, in the long run, ruin the future of the majority of local people whose livelihood depends on the mountain."

Juma Salewa, a seasoned mountain tour guide also said that the glittering cable car product will contradict the country's conservation policy, as it will encourage mass tourism and become a major threat to the ecology of Mount Kilimanjaro.

He also said that tour operators are also worried over the cable car harshly affecting revenues in the long run, owing to the service significantly reducing the length of stay from eight to one day.

"Assume all 50,000 tourists hiking Mount Kilimanjaro a year opt for the cable car, the national park will get 4.1 million U.S. dollars as a fee, down from the current 55.3 million U.S. dollars," he said.

Betty Looibok, Chief Park Warden with Kilimanjaro National Park (Kinapa) said the cable car is but only one of several additional tourism products embedded into Mount Kilimanjaro's General Management Plan (GMP) in an effort to boost revenue.

"Cable car is for physically challenged persons and aged tourists who want to experience the thrill of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro up to Shira Plateau without wishing to reach the summit," she explained.

She further explained that the construction of the cable car will depend on the outcome of the environmental and social impact assessment study, which is currently underway.

According to her, plans for the cable car service on the Kilimanjaro Mountain are not entirely new; as the discussions date back to 1960s when the issue was raised but never materialized.

The feasibility plan in place will, however, bring the cable car one step closer to reality and make the mountain more accessible to special-needs groups than it has been so far.

Some of the 50,000 tourists conquering Mount Kilimanjaro peaks a year use one of the six separate walking routes to the roof.