Category: The Citizen

Stanbic Bank Tanzania has committed Sh200 million to support Fahari ya Zanzibar 2026, as the financial institution seeks to strengthen its support for entrepreneurs and businesses in the Isles.

The third edition of the festival will run from September 4 to 14 at Maisara Grounds in Zanzibar under the theme ‘Bidhaa Zetu Ndio Fahari Yetu’ (Our Products Are Our Pride).

Organised by the Zanzibar Economic Empowerment Agency (ZEEA), the festival is expected to attract more than 15,000 visitors and 300 exhibitors, bringing together entrepreneurs, small and medium-sized enterprises, investors, financial institutions, government agencies and the public. The festival will provide a platform for businesses to showcase locally produced goods and services, establish commercial connections and access financial and business development services.

The official launch on September 5 is expected to be officiated by Zanzibar President and Chairman of the Revolutionary Council, Dr Hussein Ali Mwinyi.

Stanbic Bank, which is a Platinum Sponsor, said it will use the festival to connect entrepreneurs with financial and business support services, including trade finance, guarantees, supply chain solutions, agribusiness financing, vehicle and asset finance and digital banking services.

The bank’s Stanbic Biashara Incubator will also provide entrepreneurs and SMEs with support in financial management, access to finance, business growth and market opportunities.

Stanbic Head of Enterprise Banking Fatma Ahmed said the partnership reflects the bank’s commitment to contributing to Zanzibar’s economic development.

‘Fahari ya Zanzibar celebrates the entrepreneurs, businesses and locally produced goods that are contributing to Zanzibar’s growth. Our role goes beyond providing financial solutions. We want to help businesses build the knowledge, connections and capabilities they need to grow, compete and access new opportunities,’ she said.

The festival will also feature programmes focusing on youth, innovation, tourism and arts, Made in Zanzibar products, business formalisation, community wellness and economic inclusion.

The sponsorship comes as Stanbic marks one year of operations in Zanzibar, where it says it has been working with individuals, entrepreneurs and businesses to support their participation in the wider Tanzanian, regional and international economy.

More than 3,000 girls from underserved communities in Arusha are expected to benefit from a campaign providing menstrual health education and sanitary pads to help reduce barriers to school attendance during menstruation.

The campaign will be implemented through the fourth Arusha Moyo Marathon, organised by Moyo Medicare Hospital and scheduled for September 20, 2026, at Sheikh Amri Abeid Stadium.

Speaking to journalists yesterday, the marathon’s organising secretary, Hosiana Michael, said the event, themed ‘Safe menstruation, education without barriers’, would attract more than 1,500 participants competing in 2.5km, 5km, 10km and 21km races. She said the campaign would focus on girls in Karatu and Monduli districts and selected schools in Arusha City.

‘More than 3,000 girls will benefit from menstrual health education. We will also provide sanitary pads to help reduce challenges that prevent girls from attending school during their periods,’ she said.

High Quality Tanzania director Selina Letara urged Arusha residents and other stakeholders to support the initiative, saying some girls in rural areas miss classes due to inadequate menstrual hygiene products.

Moyo Medicare Hospital’s Dr Eline Hagai said the marathon was also part of the hospital’s efforts to promote physical activity and prevent non-communicable diseases.

The marathon began in 2023 with 600 participants and has since combined fundraising for health causes with public awareness campaigns.

Tabora. A total of 1,356 households among the poorest in Ulyankulu settlement, Tabora, have improved their economic circumstances after receiving business training, capital, market linkages and access to formal financial services.

According to the final evaluation of the second cohort of the Delivering Resilient Enterprises and Market Systems (DREAMS) Tanzania programme, the number of households living on more than $3 (about Sh7,970) a day rose from 14 percent to 82.75 percent within 12 months.

The assessment also found that the average value of household assets increased from $260 (about Sh691,214) to $955 (about Sh2.54 million), while the proportion of households making regular savings rose from 3.5 percent to 99.7 percent.

The DREAMS programme is implemented by Mercy Corps in partnership with Village Enterprise, Caritas Tabora and Dignity Kwanza, targeting people living in extreme poverty in Ulyankulu, Mishamo and Katumba settlements.

In the second cohort, 1,670 households were identified as meeting the programme’s eligibility criteria, but 1,356 joined the initiative.

Rather than receiving cash directly, participating households first underwent household-level assessments of their economic circumstances using the Poverty Probability Index (PPI), a tool used to estimate the likelihood of a household living below a given poverty line.

Those selected subsequently underwent nine training sessions covering financial literacy, group management and business development.

They then formed savings groups of between 30 and 45 members, with every three households forming a business group.

Each business group received Sh533,820 in an initial grant and a further Sh228,720 after six months.

In total, Sh344.4 million was provided to support 452 businesses.

The final assessment found that 91.8 percent of the businesses were considered financially healthy when participants graduated from the programme.

For some beneficiaries, the programme has resulted in tangible growth in household assets.

A resident of Itagwa, Mr John Mwangolela, said he started with four goats but had increased his herd to 16 within a year.

‘We started with four goats. By the end of the year, we had 16. We sold 13 and bought a pregnant cow. It has given birth and we now drink its milk,’ he said.

In Taba, the Muungano group has focused on buying paddy, milling it and selling rice.

The group’s chairperson, Antonet Yohana, said the savings system had helped members reduce their dependence on informal lenders when meeting household expenses, including school fees.

The programme has also linked beneficiaries with financial institutions and companies providing services and equipment needed for production.

The CRDB Bank Foundation has helped some beneficiaries open bank accounts, with about 708 accounts registered in Sasu alone.

Other partners have provided equipment and inputs to support businesses.

KickStart International supplied irrigation pumps, while SimuSolar provided milling machines through interest-free financing. AKM Glitters supplied day-old chicks.

The programme has also gone beyond financial assistance by addressing some of the social and legal barriers affecting beneficiaries.

Dignity Kwanza provided education on legal matters, family rights and land use, while some beneficiaries received assistance in obtaining birth certificates and identification numbers.

The project’s legal officer, Masala Johnson, said the training had also helped address gender-based violence, which had prevented some women from participating fully in economic activities.

Meanwhile, the programme’s deputy manager, Martin Mgallah, said beneficiaries from the first cohort, who completed the programme a year ago, were still running their businesses.

One of them is Abraham Mgaywa of Makingi, who has since ventured into farming and has already transported two lorry-loads of watermelons to Dodoma.

The way audiences consume information has changed dramatically over the past decade. For generations, newspapers, radio and television were the primary sources of news and analysis. Today, however, a new format has emerged as one of the most influential channels of communication: podcasts. Through long-form conversations, interviews and video discussions, podcasts are attracting millions of listeners and viewers who are seeking deeper understanding beyond traditional headlines.

This shift raises an important question: are conversations replacing traditional news formats, or are podcasts simply becoming another powerful tool within the evolving media ecosystem?

The growth of podcasts reflects a fundamental change in audience behaviour. People are no longer only looking for information; they are searching for connection, explanation and perspective. A traditional news report may tell audiences what happened, but a podcast conversation can explore why it happened, what it means and how different people experience it.

The strength of podcasts lies in their ability to create intimacy. Unlike traditional news formats that often follow strict time limits and structured reporting styles, podcasts allow hosts and guests to have extended discussions. Audiences can listen to experts, leaders, entrepreneurs, analysts and community voices explain complex issues in a more relaxed and human way.

This format has become particularly attractive in a world where many people feel overwhelmed by the constant flow of information. Social media platforms deliver thousands of updates every day, but many audiences are searching for fewer, more meaningful conversations. Podcasts provide an opportunity to slow down, reflect and understand issues beyond short headlines and viral clips.

However, the growth of podcasts does not mean traditional journalism is becoming irrelevant. Professional news organisations continue to play a critical role in investigating stories, verifying facts and providing reliable information. A conversation between two people can generate ideas and perspectives, but journalism provides the evidence, research and accountability needed to understand important issues.

The relationship between podcasts and traditional journalism should therefore be viewed as complementary rather than competitive. Many successful media organisations are now combining investigative reporting with podcast formats to reach audiences in new ways. A detailed investigation can become a podcast series, while a major interview can extend beyond a written article into a deeper conversation.

One reason podcasts have become influential is their ability to build personal brands. Audiences often follow hosts because of their expertise, personality and credibility. Over time, a trusted podcast host can develop a strong relationship with listeners, creating loyalty that traditional media sometimes struggles to achieve in a fragmented digital environment.

However, this growing influence also comes with responsibility. Unlike traditional newsrooms, not every podcast operates under professional editorial standards. Some discussions may spread opinions, speculation or misinformation without proper verification. The popularity of a host does not always guarantee the accuracy of the information shared.

This challenge highlights the continued importance of media ethics. Whether information is delivered through a newspaper article, television report or podcast conversation, audiences deserve accuracy, fairness and transparency. The future of media will depend on maintaining trust across all platforms.

For media companies, podcasts represent a major opportunity for innovation and audience engagement. They offer new possibilities for revenue through sponsorships, partnerships, subscriptions and branded content. More importantly, they allow media organisations to reach audiences who may no longer consume news through traditional channels.

The question is no longer whether podcasts will replace newspapers, radio or television. The more important question is how media organisations can adapt and integrate conversations into their storytelling strategies. The strongest platforms will likely be those that combine the credibility of journalism with the accessibility and connection of podcasts.

The future of news will not be defined by one format replacing another. Instead, it will be shaped by how effectively media organisations understand changing audience expectations.

Podcasts have proven that conversations matter. They have restored the value of listening, questioning and exploring ideas in depth.

The future belongs not only to those who report the news, but also to those who create spaces where people can understand it.

Every World Cup pulls money into sportsbooks, but 2026 pulled ahead of every past edition by a wide margin. Bettors in New Jersey, Manila, and Nairobi wagered on the same matches within seconds of each other, and totals piled up faster than operators could update their boards. A mix of format changes, fresh legal markets, and smarter betting products did the heavy lifting, and anyone hunting for sports betting tips and predictions had more matches to study than ever. Three shifts, stacked together, explain it.

More Teams, More Matches

FIFA expanded the field to 48 nations, pushing the schedule from 64 matches to 104. That single change reshaped the calendar: five extra weeks of fixtures instead of four, plus an extended knockout stage. Each new match carried its own moneyline, goal total, and prop menu, multiplying betting slips, not just games. Sportsbooks offered upward of 200 markets per fixture, double the Qatar count. Group play alone ran three extra weeks compared with the old 32-team format, giving bettors far more time to build a bankroll before knockout stakes rose.

Legal Betting Finally Caught Up

Hosting duties split across the United States, Mexico, and Canada mattered because legal wagering now covers 39 states, up from roughly 40% population coverage in 2022. Researchers tracked US handle between $2.8 billion and $4.3 billion, a ninefold rise from the estimated $490 million wagered during Qatar. New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Illinois posted single-day figures beating previous NFL playoff records. Operators had also spent four years building World Cup-specific marketing and onboarding flows, so the infrastructure was ready the moment kickoff arrived.

Kickoff Times Did Quiet Work

Matches across North American time zones meant marquee games kicked off in the evening for US audiences, not the early-morning slots that suppressed past viewership. That kept bettors awake and engaged instead of checking scores over breakfast. Combine that with same-game parlays, bundling a result with player props and goal totals into one ticket:

Expressed a full match story in one ticket

Carried higher margins than straight bets

Kept mobile users engaged all match

Pushed operator hold past 12%

Numbers That Made It Unmistakable

Global wagering estimates range from $50 billion to well over $200 billion once prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket enter the count; Kalshi alone processed north of $14 billion in trading. Every version dwarfs the $35 billion wagered on Qatar 2022. The comparison that stuck with operators pointed at a different sport entirely:

Caesars called Spain-Argentina its most-bet match

BetMGM said the final outdrew NBA Finals games

An executive called it “10 Super Bowls”

Knockout handle topped US domestic championships

US handle alone beat recent Super Bowl totals

Final Whistle

Expand the field, legalize the market, schedule kickoffs sensibly, and hand bettors a parlay product built for mobile screens, and the outcome looks close to inevitable. The 2026 World Cup broke records because format, regulation, timing, and product design pointed in the same direction at once.

Tarime. Minerals Minister Anthony Mavunde has urged Tanzanians to abandon superstitions surrounding the mining sector, attributing financial ruin among miners to speculative extraction rather than witchcraft.

Speaking in Tarime District, Mara Region, on Monday, August 31, 2026, during the launch of the Building Better Tomorrow-Mining (BBT-M) Programme, Mr Mavunde said the government is deploying scientific exploration to eliminate guesswork.

During the event, the minister launched a Barrick North Mara Gold Mine exploration aircraft and directed it to survey the Majimoto small-scale mining site in Butiama District.

He noted that miners frequently default on loans after investing in small gold reefs that run out unexpectedly.

‘A miner speculates on a gold-bearing reef and takes out a loan, but the reef is small. Once the loan is invested, the reef suddenly dries up. As creditors pursue repayment, houses and cars are auctioned, leading the miner to break down and blame superstition,’ he said.

To solve this, Mr Mavunde said comprehensive exploration is needed to quantify deposits before mining begins.

He said over the past century, the Geological Survey of Tanzania (GST) has mapped only 16 percent of the country’s minerals.

‘The government has recognised this obstacle and allocated 10 percent of mining sector revenues to exploration,’ said Mr Mavunde.

He instructed Regional Mines Officers to reserve mining blocks for youth, women, and persons with disabilities, adding that officers will be evaluated on their allocation of licences to these special groups.

Mara Regional Commissioner, Brigadier General Evans Mtambi, welcomed the shift away from consulting diviners, predicting the emergence of young and female billionaires in Mara as mining, agriculture, livestock, and fishing are integrated scientifically.

Program Coordinator, Mr Amini Msuya, stated that the five-year initiative (2025-2030) aims to solve capital and technology deficits, ensuring marginalized groups become direct owners and beneficiaries of mineral wealth.

Barrick Tanzania Country Manager, Dr Melkior Ngindo, affirmed that the mine would surrender any explored areas unfit for large-scale operations back to the government for small-scale miners.

Local youth representative, Mr Joachim Mnyaro, noted that target groups require capital, modern equipment, and training rather than sympathy to drive economic growth.

Dar es Salaam. Tanzania’s rising swimming star Lorita Borega has quickly moved from making history at the Anoca Zone Five Youth Games to breaking new ground on the global stage.

Borega is now in Santa Fe, Argentina, where she is preparing to compete at the World Aquatics Junior Open Water Swimming Championships alongside her coach, Radhia Ngereza, in what will be another historic chapter in her young career.

The championships run from September 3 to 6 and bring together some of the world’s leading young open water swimmers. World Aquatics has confirmed Santa Fe as the host city for the 2026 edition.

For Tanzania, Borega’s participation is significant because she is set to become the country’s first swimmer to compete at the World Aquatics Junior Open Water Swimming Championships.

Her journey to Argentina comes just days after she made history in Nairobi by winning Tanzania’s first swimming medal at the Anoca Zone Five Youth Games.

Competing in the women’s 14-17 100 metres freestyle, Borega clocked 1:11.92 to win bronze, delivering Tanzania’s only medal at the Games.

The achievement was more than just a medal. It demonstrated that Tanzania can produce young swimmers capable of competing successfully beyond the domestic level when given the right training and exposure.

Borega’s progress has been particularly impressive in open water swimming, a discipline where Tanzania is still developing its international presence.

Last year, she became the first Tanzanian female swimmer to officially compete at the African Aquatic Junior and Senior Open Water Swimming Championships in Mombasa, Kenya. She also helped Tanzania finish seventh among nine countries at the event.

Earlier this year, she added another milestone by becoming the first Tanzanian female swimmer to reach the semi-finals of the Africa Aquatics Zone IV Open Water Swimming Championships in Mauritius, advancing in both the 5km and 3km freestyle events.

Her rapid progression now faces its biggest test

The Santa Fe championships feature the 10km, 5km and 7.5km individual races, as well as the 3km knockout sprint and mixed relays.

The Tanzania Swimming Association has described Borega’s participation as an opportunity to gain valuable international exposure and inspire more young athletes.

That exposure could prove crucial. Borega’s recent achievements suggest that Tanzania has promising swimming talent, but her journey also highlights the need for sustained investment, regular international competition and stronger development programs.

Dar es Salaam. Tanzania must shift its focus from celebrating innovative ideas to ensuring they reach the market, create businesses and jobs, and solve problems facing citizens, speakers at the opening of Innovation Week Tanzania 2026 have said.

The call puts commercialisation and practical impact at the centre of this year’s Innovation Week, as government, the private sector, researchers and innovators seek to address what remains a key weakness in the country’s innovation ecosystem.

Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology (Costech ) Director General Dr Amos Nungu said Tanzania had no shortage of innovative ideas or young people with the ability to develop solutions, but needed a stronger system for taking those ideas from conception and prototypes into commercial production.

‘The question now is whether our innovation ecosystem has the capacity to take innovation to the market and produce results with the speed required,’ he said.

Dr Nungu said Innovation Week itself demonstrated the growing volume of ideas being generated in the country, but argued that exhibitions should not be the endpoint.

The next challenge, he said, was creating effective mechanisms to ensure innovations showcased during the week could move into government use, industry and the wider market.

He said Costech was working to strengthen systems that connect research, technology, intellectual property, investment and product development.

One of the priorities is improving the pathway from research to market, including helping innovators move from prototypes towards industrial production and connecting promising technologies with investors.

‘After making a prototype, we want to see it going to industries,’ Dr Nungu said.

National Planning Commission Executive Secretary Dr Tausi Kida similarly said innovative ideas should not remain concepts but should be tested, improved and scaled according to their results.

She said innovation should make development planning more evidence-based, adaptable and responsive to the actual needs of citizens.

Programme Manager of the Funguo Programme, Mr Joseph Manirakiza, said Innovation Week had itself evolved from a small event established in 2015 to showcase innovation projects into a national platform connecting young innovators with investors, government, development partners and other actors in the ecosystem.

He said the event received about 2,000 registration applications within the first 24 hours after opening this year, demonstrating the level of interest in innovation among Tanzanians.

But Planning and Investment Minister Prof Kitila Mkumbo said the country must go further by changing how innovation is understood.

A farmer using technology to increase productivity, a company redesigning its production process to reduce costs, or a public institution changing how it delivers services can all constitute innovation.

He also challenged researchers to measure the value of their work by its impact rather than simply the number of papers published.

‘If you publish 100 papers, we will ask: how have they helped us?’ he said.

Research, he argued, should ultimately influence policy, improve productivity, generate businesses, reduce public costs or solve challenges facing society.

Prof Mkumbo also called for government institutions to remove regulations and bureaucratic procedures that prevent young people and businesses from taking innovative ideas forward.

He said leadership must create an environment where people can experiment, challenge established systems and make mistakes without fear.

‘There is no innovation without making mistakes,’ he said.

The private sector also emerged as a key part of the commercialisation process.

Vodacom Tanzania External Affairs Director Ms Zuweina Farah said private capital would be essential in expanding the country’s digital economy, arguing that public policy should create conditions that encourage investment in infrastructure, devices and digital adoption.

She said Tanzania had already made substantial progress in mobile broadband coverage, but that infrastructure alone would not create a digital economy unless more citizens could afford devices and use the available connectivity.

The speakers’ message reflects a broader shift in the purpose of Innovation Week-from providing a platform to showcase ideas to creating connections that can turn those ideas into economically and socially useful solutions.

For Dr Nungu, the desired outcome is an ecosystem in which innovators can clearly identify where to obtain support, investors can identify promising technologies, researchers can connect with industry and successful prototypes can reach consumers.

He said this would require stronger coordination among the different actors supporting innovation.

Mr Manirakiza said the growth of Innovation Week had been driven by partnerships among government, development partners, private companies and organisations supporting young innovators.

The event, he said, should therefore be used not only to exhibit innovations but also to encourage stakeholders to ask difficult questions and engage directly with decision-makers.

Innovation Week Tanzania 2026 is being held under the theme ‘From Aspiration to Transformation: Innovating Tanzania’s Path to Inclusive Prosperity.’

The discussions this week are expected to focus on how innovation can move beyond ideas and demonstrations to become a practical driver of productivity, investment, entrepreneurship, employment and better services.

Dar es Salaam. Tanzania’s push to produce iron locally has moved into a new phase, with the $77.4 million Maganga Matitu iron ore project in Njombe entering construction following the arrival of mining equipment and connection of the project site to the national electricity grid.

The development brings the country closer to producing raw iron locally for use by steel manufacturers, after years of feasibility studies, negotiations and other preparations for the project.

The project is located in Ludewa District, Njombe Region and is being implemented through a joint venture between the National Development Corporation (NDC) and China’s Fujian Hexingwang Industry Tanzania Co Ltd.

NDC Director General Dr Nicolaus Shombe told The Citizen that equipment started arriving at the project site on January 19, 2026, as construction activities got underway.

‘The equipment has started arriving at the site from January 19, 2026.

Construction work has also started, including preparation of the project area and installation of electricity infrastructure,’ Dr Shombe said.

He said electricity was connected to the project site on August 12, 2026, while some of the machinery required for mining and crushing iron ore had already been delivered.

The project follows the signing of an investment agreement between NDC and Fujian Hexingwang in August 2024.

The investment was initially put at $77.4 million, with subsequent government documents giving the value as $77.45 million.

The project is expected to operate for 25 years.

The project is designed to produce one million tonnes of raw iron annually.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s 2025 budget statement, the feasibility study identified about 100 million tonnes of inferred iron ore, with an iron content of 44.6 percent.

It also identified titanium oxide at 11.2 percent and vanadium pentoxide at 0.41 percent.

The ministry said annual production is expected to include one million tonnes of raw iron, 100,000 tonnes of titanium concentrate and 483,000 tonnes of tailings.

When the project agreement was signed in 2024, Dr Shombe said the project would produce raw iron that would be used by other steel manufacturers.

The project is therefore expected to provide locally produced raw material for Tanzania’s steel industry, as the government seeks to strengthen domestic industrial production and reduce dependence on imported iron and steel.

Before construction could proceed, residents affected by the project were required to be compensated.

NDC said the Ludewa District Council had completed the valuation of 385 people affected by the project, with compensation valued at Sh4.2156 billion.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade estimates that completion of the project will create 1,000 jobs, including 300 direct and 700 indirect positions.

Beyond employment at the project itself, the investment is expected to create opportunities for businesses providing transport, supplies, construction materials, security and other services around the mining operation.

The project covers about 19.63 square kilometres and was described by NDC as one of the projects intended to help Tanzania develop domestic iron production.

Dar es Salaam. Tanzania’s ambitious plans to restore its forests under the National Development Vision 2050 face a major bottleneck, with a huge shortage of seedlings hampering reforestation efforts.

The gap threatens to undermine efforts to reverse forest loss and meet climate commitments.

A press statement by Tanzania Conservation and Heritage Initiatives (TCHI) shows that the country’s 184 local councils required 276 million tree seedlings during the 2024/25 financial year. However, Tanzania Forest Service (TFS) produced only 35 million seedlings, leaving an 87.3 percent supply shortfall.

The deficit is compounded by inadequate seed collection, with reports showing that between 2021 and 2025, annual collection ranged from 25.3 to 29.4 tonnes, below the national target of 40 tonnes.

TCHI also said planting exotic species such as eucalyptus had yielded limited benefits for farmers because they offered no immediate returns.

In tobacco-growing areas, only 455 hectares had been reforested, a negligible area compared with annual deforestation of 315 hectares in those zones. Further statistics according to TCHI show that Tanzania is losing between 460,400 and 469,000 hectares of forest annually.

Between 2001 and 2025, the country lost 3.7 million hectares of tree cover. In 2025 alone, 250,000 hectares of natural forest were lost, resulting in 88 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions. Speaking during a press briefing on the state of conservation, TCHI chief executive officer, Mr Constantine Akitanda, warned that environmental degradation posed not only an ecological threat but also a direct risk to economic survival.

‘Without urgent intervention, climate change could reduce gross domestic product (GDP) by four percent by 2050, potentially pushing over 2.6 million people into extreme poverty,’ he said, citing Vision 2050 projections. The organisation also highlighted funding gaps, saying the private sector is expected to finance about 70 percent of Vision 2050’s environmental implementation, despite the absence of a specific public budget allocation.

‘TCHI calls upon the government to clearly articulate the financial resources designated for resolving human-wildlife conflicts and restoring degraded ecosystems,’ said Mr Akitanda. TCHI also raised concerns over escalating water conflicts in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, where pastoralists, livestock and tourism facilities compete for water during dry seasons. He commended recent joint planning between the Pastoral Council and Ngorongoro Commissioner, Mr Abdul-Razaq Badru, describing it as a model for effective conservation.

‘We firmly believe that effective conservation requires the full participation of citizens; without it, sustainability remains unattainable,’ he said.

TCHI urged the government to finance water projects outside protected areas, expand seedling production and strengthen enforcement against illegal logging, which it said accounts for 30 to 40 percent of all logging.

‘We remain united in our conviction that impactful conservation is inclusive conservation,’ said Mr Akitanda.