EALA’s Transboundary Ecosystems Bill to be opposed by Tanzania

TANZANIA OPPOSES EAST AFRICAN LAW ON TRANSBOUNDARY ECO SYSTEMS
Another showdown with fellow EAC countries appears to be on the horizon, as it became known over the weekend that Tanzania intends to block the EALA passed law on transboundary eco systems, fearing that it would lead to being compelled to drop some of the most controversial projects ever designed under which a massive assault on bio diversity hotspots is foreseen. Passed in January this year by a large majority vote at the East African Legislative Assembly the bill now needs to be sanctioned by the next Head of State Summit to become law, but usually well informed sources from Dar es Salaam and Arusha have clearly indicated that Tanzania will object to it, claiming it touches on issues of land and which is not provided for under the EAC treaty. This bill does not directly impact on land issues but indirectly would compel Tanzania to have controversial projects like the Serengeti highway or the Lake Natron soda ash plant, or mining and logging in forest systems along borders with EAC member subject to a peer review about sustainability, and they do not like that one bit. They already blame Kenyans for the woes over the highway which is now in the East African court after ANEW, a Nairobi based NGO Africa Network for Endangered Wildlife has sued them. And our minister for EAC has all but conceded that it is the regional environmental controls and possible enforcement which scares them, saying it could impact on the way Tanzania intends to use their land. But that is the issue here, environmental issues affect many more portfolios and the claiming an impact on their right to land usage is really a weak attempt to escape reviews and promote best practice and sustainability. Here in Tanzania this has been brushed aside by this government in favour of what they call progress and development said an Arusha based regular contributor to this correspondents articles. Conservation sources are now reportedly using their lobbying mechanism to prevail upon the other EAC partners, in particular Rwanda which has an outstanding record on environmental protection, to lean on President Kikwete to drop the objections and agree to the bill becoming law, though knowing Tanzanias past stubborn refusal to remove non tariff barriers like inequitable treatment of airlines registered in the region or the imposition a few months ago of an unsanctioned fee on Kenyan vehicles entering Tanzania on business, would suggest that this will be just one more contentious issue, raising the overall questions few dare to ask in public just how deep Tanzania is truly part of the East African Community or if their archaic issues with neighbour Kenya will continue to dominate their agenda. Watch this space to learn what decisions the next Head of State Summit will take on this position, or if the decision as usual would be deferred to allow for continued consultations.

MTPA does ‘Copy and Paste’ job on Seychelles’ Carnival success

STEALING SEYCHELLES CARNIVAL CONCEPT THE BEGINNING OF THE END OF KARL?

Mauritius Tourism is bracing for stormy times following the formal announcement by MTPAs desperate man Karl Mootoosamy, that he will copy the Seychelles carnival concept as a last ditch effort to show some action, already termed sneaky by sections of the ever more critical private sector on the island which is getting increasingly frustrated with their own official tourism marketing office. The copy cat event is due to feature between June 29th and July 01st,, totally out of tune with the global carnival calendar, and information comes from both Seychelles and La Reunion, which both successfully staged the Carnival International de Victoria in March, that they have to this moment not received an invitation, which if true would reflect fully on the mindset and lager mentality at MTPA at this moment in time, exposing what Mr. Mootoosamys organization truly thinks of fellow Vanilla Island members.
As reported a few days ago here, a tip off from a regular and usually well informed source from Port Louis had predicted this would happen as MTPA had run out of vision and ideas of how to cope with the Seychelles and La Reunion marketing and PR juggernaut which left Mauritius trailing in their wake and has senior staff at MTPA reportedly worried for their jobs. The media in Mauritius who in large numbers accepted the invite to Victoria smelled a rat already when in early March MTPA turned a cold shoulder to an invitation by Seychelles Tourism to attend the 2nd Carnival International de Victoria, but the intended snub turned counterproductive as La Reunion as co-host and Seychelles stole the show in all subsequent tourism events and in an ongoing media blitz. Copycatting such a concept after the way Karl and his merry men behaved when they were AWOL from the Seychelles in March will give Mauritius media coverage but of the worst sort the source added when communicating the decision to this correspondent. Others raised the issue of cost comparison pointing at the two Creole Festivals in Seychelles and Mauritius, where the latter is reportedly using large amounts of tax payer money to equally try rival Seychelles, where this festival has been hosted for nearly a quarter of a century already, with growing global acceptance and as a result of the unique partnerships STB forged with little expense to the tax payers.
Others are equally pointing at the ethnic separations on Mauritius, an issue which time and again appears to be coming up in mails and messages from the island, which have been suggested to be at the roots of socio economic divides on the island unlike the rainbow islands of Seychelles and La Reunion. Another source swiftly pointed to other issues like the Mauritius governments stubborn insistence to reform and reorganize Air Mauritius, which too has been burdening the tax payers with bearing the significant losses the airline has piled up in the recent past. There are many tourism stakeholders who feel that the time if up for Karl and there has to be major reform at MTPA if tourism growth is to return. Mauritius has a big potential for tourism but it takes a vision and equitable participation of all groups on the island to achieve that. And we need genuine partnership with our neighbours in the Indian Ocean and not giving the impression that we cannot be trusted and are back stabbers
The question is now being asked across the Vanilla Island cooperation how to respond to this unilateral departure from a jointly mapped out path and way forward from which all island could have benefitted. To await changes in the tourism marketing direction of Mauritius first before re-engaging with them, attempt the impossible and talk to what appears to be a hostile MTPA administration or accept their self declared departure from commonly agreed positions and move ahead without Mauritius. Fodder for thought and without a shred of a doubt good for La Reunion and the Seychelles which are treading the moral high ground while Mr. Karl has moved his organizations path into the domain of copy / paste jobs, elsewhere known as plagiarism. Watch this space.

Geo Lodges Uganda’s Jacana Safari Lodge bags TripAdvisor regognition

GEO LODGES JACANA SAFARI LODGE BAGS TRIPADVISOR RECOGNITION

clip image0025

clip image004

Geo Lodges Emily Wissanji wasted no time yesterday to spread the good news, that TripAdvisor had awarded their Jacana Safari Lodge, embedded in the rainforest surrounding Lake Nyamusingire in Queen Elizabeth National Park, with a Certificate of Excellence.
Jacana, an intimate small and very personalized lodge at the edge of Ugandas largest crater lake, has persistently scored a 4.5 point average out of a possible 5, making it possible for the worlds leading hospitality review site to recognize Geo Lodges for their outstanding work.
The founder of what was initially known as Inns of Uganda, Zahid Alam, now a Director of Geo Lodges, had this to say when being told of the accomplishment: We are pleased to receive a TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence. We strive to offer our customers a memorable experience and this accolade is evidence that our hard work is translating into positive travelers reviews on TripAdvisor.

clip image006

clip image008

clip image010

(Pictures all courtesy of Geo Lodges Uganda)
Christine Petersen, TripAdvisors President for Business, added when announcing the recognition of Jacana Safari Lodge: TripAdvisor is pleased to honor exceptional businesses for consistent excellence, as reviewed by travellers on the site. The Certificate of Excellence award gives highly rated establishments around the world the recognition they deserve. From exceptional accommodations in Beijing to remarkable restaurants in Boston, we want to applaud these businesses for offering TripAdvisor travellers a great customer experience.
Geo Lodges also operate the award winning RainForest Lodge in Mabira Forest, located between Jinja and Ugandas capital Kampala, the Nile Safari Lodge about which this correspondent once wrote: if it had to be located any nearer the Nile it would have to be in it and soon to open a new mountain lodge experience when a new property will open at the Rwenzori Mountains National Park, bringing the Mountains of the Moon closer to the adventure travelers of this world in search of some place special.
Congratulations to Zahid, Emily and the entire team at Geo Lodges and the Jacana Safari Lodge.

Dar es Salaam records increase in attacks on visitors walking from and to their hotels

TANZANIA TOURISM INDUSTRY SHOCKED BY UPSURGE OF VIOLENCE AGAINST VISITORS
Information has come to light from the commercial capital Dar es Salaam, that of late a wave of attacks was carried out on foreign visitors staying in some of the poshest hotels in the city, when walking in the evening what were previously thought to be safe roads and environments.
A regular source from Dar es Salaam has expressed concern to this correspondent over this sudden upsurge in what used to be very few and isolated incidents, suddenly escalating to a level which could suggest a gang like and well organized activity. The following detailed comments were copied in a mail yesterday and make stark reading: Since a couple of weeks, the crime is intensifying in Dar es Salaam, culminating in physical attacks on hotel guests every night of this week in different locations of the city centre and Masaki. For your reference: last night in front of the Serena a guest got attacked, the night before in front of the Southern Sun, the night before that in front of the Spur’s next to the Sea Cliff and 2 guests walking back from the Epi d’or to the Sea Cliff Hotel…. the list goes on and on. Both Knight Support and the American Embassy are giving out alerts since last week.
It was also learned that the hotel association of Tanzania was the first to officially write to the governments permanent secretary in the ministry of natural resources and tourism, drawing his attention to the growing problem, which in part reads: On behalf of our members in Dar es Salaam, we wish to bring to your attention a rise in numbers as well as severity in physical assaults on tourists and the general public around hotels and restaurants in the City Centre as well as in Masaki. There were incidents taking place each night of this week, culminating in an incident last night in front of the Serena Dar es Salaam Hotel.
As the attacks on tourists will bring a bad image to the country as a whole and the Tourism Sector in specific, we turn to your office to help us address the issue urgently and ensure effective and prompt follow up by the respective authorities.
Police reports have been filed, but we are seeking your assistance to intervene at your level at the same time to prevent further damage to Tanzania’s reputation and individuals being hurt.
Other stakeholder groups, such as the Tanzania Association of Tour Operators and the Tourism Confederation of Tanzania have not officially gone on record as yet but members of TATA in Dar es Salaam have equally expressed their concern if not outrage to this correspondent when making enquiries.
At least one Embassy source from Dar es Salaam has given, on condition of strictest anonymity, the information that this wave of attacks is taken seriously amongst embassy personnel and that internal use or word of mouth information is circulating amongst diplomatic staff to be extra vigilant. Added travel advisories too are being considered to make visitors from various countries fully aware of the risk now in place of walking between venues, which will undoubtedly contain recommendations to use cabs when visiting restaurants, even within short walking distance from ones hotel instead of being exposed to violent attacks and possible worse while on foot.
At least one more source has indicated that the police in Dar es Salaam has belatedly also sent out more patrols into the neighbourhood of the citys leading hotels but only time will tell how effective that will be. Watch this space.

Kenya Airways adds 6th B767-300 to fleet

35 AND COUNTING AS KENYA AIRWAYS ADDS A LEASED B767 TO THE FLEET

It was learned overnight that Kenya Airways, the Pride of Africa, has added a sixth B767-300 aircraft to their fleet, arranged through a lease contract with ILFC. The airline has been struggling to keep up the pace of expansion it set itself in the face of simply not getting newly ordered aircraft on line fast enough and the lease arrangement will now permit KQ to fly new routes like to India without overstretching their already highly utilized fleet.
The aircraft can be operated by existing crews without any type conversion but will require additional personnel to effectively exploit its availability. Configured with 24 full flat bed seats in business class the aircraft also offers 211 economy class seats, making it 235 seats overall besides the added cargo capacity which will support KQs growth in that particular sector which has been nothing short of spectacular since the arrival of a dedicated B747-400 freighter a few months ago.
There is now speculation in aviation circles that Kenya Airways may in fact lease more aircraft to roll out their new destinations planned for 2012 and 2013 on time, raising fears amongst local airlines of a yet again intensified recruitment of pilots, cabin crew and technicians as East Africas predominant airline offers attractive working conditions and the chance to eventually fly wide bodied aircraft such as the B787 Dreamliner, when it is finally being delivered in 2014.
Watch this space for the latest news from the aviation industry in Kenya, Eastern Africa and from the Indian Ocean islands.

Fibre optic cable will arrive at Beau Vallon Bay on Sunday

FIBRE OPTIC LINK TO THE WORLD SET TO LAND ON SUNDAY
The Seychelles will be a step closer to joining the global super information highway at the speed of light, when on Sunday the fibre optic cable presently being laid between the coast of Tanzania and the archipelago is expected to make landfall. Presently connected only via satellite links, the government of Seychelles partnered with Cable and Wireless and Airtel to shoulder the investment cost and bring the country into the 21st century of telecommunications. Tariffs for calls and internet usage are expected to drop as faster speeds and multiplied capacity will need to be exploited by the telecom and ISP companies. The cable will land at Beau Vallon Bay where it will be connected to a switch station before reaching via underground cable ducts the telecoms companies, which will then distribute the signals via wireless high speed broadband or else to offices and residences via cable.
The satellite connections will be kept operational as back up, should the fibre optic cable on the seafloor be damaged, as has happened a few times in recent months off the East African coast, leading to serious service disruptions for Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda.
Full connectivity is expected to commence with the benefit of higher speeds and greater capacity when the connections and infrastructure on land are complete and the test phase, expected to take up to 2 months, has been successfully wrapped up.
With the cable landing on a Sunday, substantial crowds are expected at the Beau Vallon Bay beaches of curious onlookers, wanting to see the world come to the Seychelles. The new connection is thought to create an immediate impact of about the user spread and penetration of the internet across the islands at affordable rates, aiding research and studies as well as making e-commerce a greater reality for all sectors of the economy, but especially tourism where visitors often ask first for internet connectivity before even checking where their room is when they arrive at a resort.

MV Victoria is safe say operators as lake travelers get unsettled

REPORTS ON MV VICTORIA UNSETTLE LAKE TRAVELLERS

(MV Victoria at Mwanza port)

Fear and worries have gripped regular lake travelers who were out of the blue confronted with, what has been called irresponsible statements by poorly informed individuals, who set the media on the shipping companys trail.
A company spokesperson immediately denied any wrongdoing or as has been suggested non compliance with maritime regulations, saying the required sea worthiness certificate was up to date and valid until next year, when the vessel will undergo safety inspections for a renewal. Other sources from the lake side city of Mwanza also suspected that competitors on the route between Mwanza and Bukoba on the Western side of Lake Victoria could be behind the smear efforts, trying to revive memories of the MV Bukoba disaster some 16 years ago, using the May 21st anniversary of the tragic accident to gain attention.
Maritime inspections were considerably stepped up since the ferry accident off Zanzibar last year, when hundreds drowned and more were unaccounted for, similar to the MV Bukoba accident in which as many as 1.000 passengers could have drowned, a figure difficult to ascertain as no manifest gave records of those on board similar to the Zanzibar sinking.
The MV Victoria, pictured above courtesy of Mr. Asif Jawad of LakeZoneDesire, was built 52 years ago and is licensed, according to information at hand, to carry up to 1.200 passengers and crew and 200 metric tons of cargo. It is the only major ship regularly sailing between the two ports, with alternative transport available by air and through a lengthy road trip. Records availed show that MV Victoria last had a major overhaul 20 years ago but had regular repair work carried out as well a preventive maintenance. Said a periodic source from Arusha, when contacted to comment: It is a bit irresponsible to make such allegations in public that a ship is not safe. The Zanzibar accident has brought many changes how existing regulations are now enforced. The local media should also not jump on every carrot which is dangled before them without making sure of all facts and established if they are not being used by competitors for their own end. But for sure training in emergency response for land based rescue teams, available rescue assets and better communications is something Lake Victoria should have to promote better use as a tourism resource. There is a lot of potential for lake tourism and it has not been used at all so far. Watch this space.

Heir to British aristocrat dies following alleged police brutality at Diani police station

DEATH IN CUSTODY SET TO ROCK KENYA / UK RELATIONS
Another suspicious death in police custody, and of no less than the heir of a British aristocrat, is bound to cast fresh shadows over Kenya / UK relations. Pathologists, according to reports emerging yesterday at the south coast of Mombasa in Diani, where this correspondent is coincidentally staying at present, speak of blunt force trauma to the head, causing a severe haematoma of the brain. While it appears the police officers at Diani police station rushed the 28 year old victim to hospital, when they realized how serious his condition had become, allegations are now flying wildly about regular police brutality, mostly inflicted on Kenyans themselves, though in this case a tourist visitor they had arrested over alleged use of smoking bhang akamarijuana. A family spokesperson was quoted overnight in the local media as categorically rejecting the hastily manufactured explanation by a police spokesman, that the late Alexander Monson died of heartfailure, other than induced by a brutal beating to the head, as the reported post mortem seems to have established.
The case is also bound to renew interest in the decades long unsolved murder of young Julie Ward, whose father has fought a never ending battle to see suspects brought to trial, bound to make its way back into the UK media which will have a field day with the latest case already, all but claiming that Alexander fell victim to regular police brutality as seen every day across Kenyas police stations. It will also not be good news for Kenyas tourism sector, presently experiencing the fallout of a low season with reduced visitor numbers, putting a strain on the coast resorts some of which have in fact closed for renovations though in clear text mostly for lack of business. Said a regular source from the coast on condition of strict anonymity, not wishing to be quoted for fear of police reprisals: Suggestions the young man died of a drug overdose as the police spokesman insinuated are pure speculation if not a smoke screen they are now throwing up to cover their tracks. When they talk of someone helping with their investigations, we all know that it is under the brutal onslaught of flying fists and kicks that they try to extract confessions. The Kenya Police should make way to have this independently investigated like in the UK, when in such cases the Independent Police Complaints Commission steps in. They have done tourism no favour at this crucial time. Mind you, I am not saying that violations of the law should not be followed just because it was a foreign tourist who might be involved, but what I am saying that suspects are just that, suspects, until proven guilty by a court and the police here has no business to behave like it was the dark ages. The UK mainstream market has softened and such negative publicity is only bound to make the work of our marketers even more difficult.
The British High Commission and consular staff based in Mombasa are reportedly following the case closely now that the proverbial has hit the fan as the mainstream media got hold of the story, after being tipped by relatives and friends of the victims who are now assembling at Diani, as the police tried to keep the case under wraps. Unsuccessfully as it turns out, as the truth is bound to emerge. Question is, as and when the police has no other choice but to arrest the officers involved in this tragic death of a suspect in custody, will they treat their colleagues the same way? Watch this space.

Seychelles and Abu Dhabi sign extensive amendments and additions to Bilateral Air Services Agreements

NEW SEYCHELLES / ABU DHABI BILATERAL AIRSERVICE AGREEMENT SETS PACE FOR FUTURE

(Mr. Terence Mondon, Principal Secretary Ministry of Home Affairs and Transport and H.E. Mohammed Hareb Al Yousef from Abu Dhabi Department of Transport exchange documents after signing the new deal)
Informationhas just been received that the Seychelles Minister responsible for transport, Joel Morgan, has presided over the signing of an added extra-bilateral agreement (BASA) between the Seychelles and Abu Dhabi. It amends the 1992 agreement in force until now and permits both Etihad, Air Seychelles partner airline and the Seychelles national carrier up to 14 frequencies per week plus 7 added cargo flights on any type of equipment without restrictions.
Notably was onward traffic, the famous fifth freedom agreements many carriers are seeking, included in the newly signed document, permitting both Etihad and Air Seychelles to fly to such African mainland destinations like Dar Es Salaam, Kilimanjaro the latter undoubtedly interesting for joint safari and beach packages, but also to the Comoros, Madagascar, Nairobi or as far as Australia. Minister Joel Morgan was quoted to have said upon putting pen to paper: We are happy that the agreement was completed successfully, as it is part and parcel of our continuous efforts to encourage air services development in Seychelles. This move also shows our support to the development of strong air link between Seychelles and Abu Dhabi.
Much of the Seychelles success to bringing ever larger numbers of tourists to the archipelago is by broad agreement within the tourism private sector attributed to the opening up of the countrys air space, which while propelling Air Seychelles into a major restructuring has resulted since the change in policy a few years ago in as many as 28 weekly flights between the Gulf and Mahe. Everyone was very concerned when Air Seychelles management at the time announced they were pulling out of Europe. At least now we have resumed code shared flights with Etihad and can even serve more destinations than before, when we had 6 flights to Paris but not beyond in France for instance. I think this new agreement will help to expand code shared flights and put the HM flight number on joint services and it will benefit us with more visitors. By end April we had a very encouraging upwards trend and we are reasonably confident that Seychelles this year will get over 200.000 visitors, the first time ever a regular source from Mahe contributed when discussing the developments a few minutes ago.
Watch this space for breaking news like these from the Indian Ocean islands and the Eastern African mainland.

Tanzania’s natural resources and tourism minister cracks whip over corrupt and unpatriotic officials

KAGESHEKI READY TO CRACK THE WHIP AND BOOT THE DEAD WOOD OUT
The recently appointed Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism Amb. Khamis Kagesheki, when inaugurating the new Board for the Tanzania Forest Service which falls under his ministry, left no doubt where the axe will be falling soon, the wildlife division in his ministry, before seeking out new dead wood for chopping. In his speech he accused many of the staff of that division that they lacked interest in their work and were both unwilling and unfit to serve the nation. He also accused them that money meant for public coffers ended in individual pockets, as his fight against corruption, incompetence and outright fraud gathers momentum.
When inaugurated a few weeks ago, sections of the tourism industry breathed a combined breath of relief to see finally the back of disgraced former minister Maige, who had become a liability in his very own right over the controversy he generated literally every time he spoke in public, or worse was overheard and grassed up.
He particularly targeted Maiges buddy buddy allocations of hunting blocks which the new minister said got the government mere peanuts. The wildlife division had last year and before for that matter been hit by a series of allegations, connected to illegal wildlife exports and other related scandals, and there is now general consensus amongst the tourism fraternity, that TANAPAs top echelon too is in the cross hairs over their arrogant handling of the dispute with concessionaires last year, when they detained tourists, guides, drives and vehicles at park gates attempting to extort cash from them towards the concession fees owed as it was put at the time. That matter has been taken to court by hotel owners, concessionaires and HAT, the hotel association of Tanzania and from well informed sources it was learned that the new minister has already been given dossiers and information which can lead to the action many hope for, the removal of those responsible in TANAPA for such gross violations of rights.
One thing is sure though, it seems President Kikwete had indeed a lucky hand when selecting Amb. Khamis Kagesheki to the portfolio of tourism as his no nonsense approach is already showing results just a few weeks into him swearing in and assuming office. Well done Mweshimiwa, keep it up.