Category: The Citizen

Kenya’s Parliament made a decision that should be studied across East Africa. By a vote of 122 to 40, the National Assembly rejected a proposal in the Finance Bill 2026 to introduce a 16 per cent VAT on peer-to-peer mobile money transfers, explicitly citing the risk to financial inclusion.

The bill, which would have subjected M-Pesa and Airtel Money fees to VAT for the first time, drew opposition from the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA), the Kenya Bankers Association (KBA), professional bodies like the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya (ICPAK), and payment service providers including Safaricom, and Airtel Kenya, who warned it would drive users back to cash, what the KBA’s CEO called”mattress banking.” Kenya reviewed the evidence and chose not to run the experiment. Tanzania is still running it.

What is important here is not simply that Kenya protected a popular service from an unpopular tax. The lesson for Tanzania is that Kenya made a calculated economic judgement: that mobile money is more valuable to the government as infrastructure for formalisation and inclusion, than as a direct revenue line with diminishing fiscal returns.

That distinction is enormously significant for Tanzania, and with the Finance Bill 2026 being passed, the conversation turns to what reforms can be built into the 2027/28 budget cycle.

Kenya’s decision was grounded in two decades of evidence. Mobile money penetration has reached 157.7 per cent, with over 84.1 million active subscriptions. Formal financial access, which stood at just26.7 per cent of adults in 2006 before M-Pesa launched, now sits at84.8 per cent.

According to research from MIT and Georgetown University, M-Pesa alone lifted an estimated 194,000 Kenyan households out of extreme poverty. That trajectory was built on a tax framework that treated mobile money as infrastructure to be protected.

The Kenyan parliament reaffirmed that approach, and the expected outcome follows a pattern seen every time a comparable market has made the same choice.

One of the most documented of those is Ghana. In 2022, Ghana introduced a 1.5 per cent e-levy on electronic transactions. The results were immediate, as transaction values and revenues fell by up to 38 per cent year-on-year, whilst cash withdrawals surged by 61 per cent as users routed around the levy.

Ghana abolished it entirely in early 2025 and the response was equally as swift. In the first two months of 2025 alone, Ghana recorded GHC 649.2 billion in mobile money transactions; a64.68 per cent year-on-year increase, according to Bank of Ghana data.

By March 2026, GSMA named Ghana the highest-improving country in Africa on its Digital Africa Index, directly attributing the gains to the levy’s removal.

Tanzania has already run a version of this experiment, and the results were equally clear. When the government introduced a mobile money levy in July 2021, layered on top of an existing 18 per cent VAT and 10 per cent excise duty on mobile money transaction fees, peer-to-peer transactions fell 38 per cent within three months.

The levy was eventually abolished, but the underlying VAT and excise duty structure was never reformed. According to PwC Tanzania, the effective tax rate on telecom services, accounting for all levies, stands at 46.61 per cent per unit of consumer spend.

This is the central tension in Tanzania’s 2026/27 fiscal strategy. The Finance Minister’s June budget speech mandated digital payments across mass transport, retail, education fees, land transfers, and strategic crops, using Tanzania’s Instant Payment System, which processed 651 million transactions worth TZS 54.95 trillion in 2025, to pull the informal economy into the tax net. It is the right strategy.

Tanzania’s informal sector accounts for an estimated 44.9 per cent of GDP, and only 5 to 7 per cent of those transactions are currently captured in the tax system. The formalisation prize is enormous, but it can only be viable if participation in the digital economy is deemed affordable enough to be universal, which is precisely what Kenya has just chosen to protect.

The fiscal pressures driving Tanzania’s current approach indeed deserve acknowledgement. However, the evidence from every comparable market shows the same thing: the tax collected directly from introducing friction around mobile money is smaller than the tax forfeited when those transactions shift back to cash. Uganda learned this in July 2018, when the government introduced a 1 per cent tax on mobile money transaction values.

A UNCDF survey conducted just two weeks later found that 47 per cent of users had stopped using mobile money completely, whilst some merchant payment segments saw transaction volumes fall by up to 60 per cent.

The government was forced to reduce the tax to 0.5 per cent within months. A Tanzanian market trader paying through mobile money generates a VAT trail, income visibility, and a credit history. The same trader paying cash generates little to nothing.

What Kenya’s decision teaches Tanzania is this: protecting mobile money from punitive taxation is a revenue strategy, and should not be seen as a concession to the private sector. Three practical steps remain available before Tanzania’s Finance Bill is enacted. Removing VAT from mobile money transaction fees would align with Tanzania’s long-term digital economy ambitions.

A published, multi-year schedule for reducing excise duty would give operators the certainty needed to invest in rural network expansion. Finally, the budget introduces a new requirement that compels some operators in extractive and agricultural industries to maintain a formal financial account as a condition of doing business.

The problem is that the provision specifies only a bank account; it says nothing about mobile money. In rural Tanzania, where bank branch penetration remains low and mobile money is the primary financial tool for millions of smallholder farmers, livestock traders, and fishing communities, this is a significant barrier.

Kenya chose the longer revenue arc over the shorter one. With the Finance Bill 2026 about to become law, the 2027/28 budget cycle is Tanzania’s next opportunity to make a choice that supports it digital economy agenda.

The British Council is set to close its office in Tanzania as part of a major global restructuring driven by financial pressures, marking a significant reduction in the United Kingdom’s cultural and educational presence overseas.

Three African countries Botswana, Mozambique and Tanzania are among the seven nations confirmed to lose British Council offices.

Your manager asks you to pull together a report, sit in on a client call or cover something that technically falls outside your role. You agree. Maybe the team is short-staffed. Maybe it genuinely feels like a one-off. Maybe you simply want to be helpful.

Then it happens again.

A few months later, the extra task has quietly become part of your job. Then another responsibility is added. Then another. Your workload has grown, but your title and salary have stayed exactly where they were.

When we asked our community at what point ‘helping out’ becomes unpaid labour, the responses revealed just how complicated this conversation is. Because while it is easy to say employees should simply set boundaries, the reality of the workplace, especially in a difficult job market, makes that much harder.

Reading Between The Lines

One of the biggest frustrations raised in the comments was the infamous phrase found in so many employment contracts: ‘any other duties assigned by management.’

One reader wrote:

‘They keep adding responsibilities while your title and salary stay exactly the same. Then, when you finally speak up, they conveniently point to the ‘any other duties assigned by management’ clause. That clause has become a loophole to normalize unpaid labor.’

Most people understand that a job will occasionally require flexibility. There will be busy periods, unexpected problems and moments when everyone has to do a little more than usual.

The frustration begins when ‘occasionally’ becomes every day.

If responsibilities continue to increase without any conversation about your role, workload or compensation, employees naturally begin to question where flexibility ends and exploitation begins. A single line in a contract can become an easy answer to almost any concern about workload.

The Reality of a Difficult Job Market

Of course, setting boundaries at work is much easier to discuss than it is to actually do.

One commenter put it plainly:

‘When you are an employee you just have to say yes… Just work, earn your salary. Kuna wengi wako jobless [there are many who are jobless] that’ll do your job for less.’

That fear is real.

When jobs are difficult to find, saying no to your manager can feel like job suicide. You know there may be someone else willing to accept the same position, for less money. For interns and people at the beginning of their careers, the pressure can be even greater. Many already accept poorly paid or unpaid opportunities simply because they need experience.

So people keep saying yes.

They take on the extra assignment. They stay late. They cover work that belongs to another role. Sometimes this continues for months because having an unfair job still feels safer than having no job at all.

That is the part of the conversation that cannot be ignored. People do not always stay silent because they lack boundaries. Sometimes they are making decisions based on the reality of what they can afford to risk.

When Extra Work Can Work in Your Favour

Another perspective from the comments was more strategic.

One reader wrote:

‘If it benefits you in terms of adding new skills and challenges, exposes you for the better, take it and keep addressing it to your supervisor while you plan your next move with your value-added set of skills…’

And there’s some truth to this.

Not every responsibility outside your job description is automatically a bad thing. Sometimes an extra project gives you experience you would otherwise have had to wait years to get. It can expose you to new people, new skills and better opportunities.

The important question is whether the extra work is actually taking you somewhere.

If you are learning, gaining useful experience and building skills that can strengthen your next salary negotiation or your next job application, there may be value in taking it on for a period of time.

But if you have been doing the work of two positions for a year, your workload keeps increasing and every conversation about recognition is pushed aside, then you may need to ask who is really benefiting from your flexibility.

What Can You Actually Do?

If you are already dealing with responsibilities that have slowly expanded beyond your original role, you do not necessarily have to begin with a confrontation.

Keep track of what you are doing. Write down the responsibilities you have taken on, the projects you have contributed to and any results that came from that work. When the time comes to discuss your role or salary, you have something concrete to point to.

Ask about priorities. When another task is added to an already full workload, you can say: ‘I’m currently working on A and B. Which one would you like me to deprioritise so I can make room for this?’

It is a simple question, but it makes your workload visible. You are still being cooperative while making it clear that your time has limits.

Put a timeline on temporary responsibilities. If you are covering for someone or taking on additional work because the team is short-staffed, ask when the arrangement will be reviewed. A temporary responsibility can very easily become permanent when nobody returns to the conversation.

You could say: ‘I’m happy to cover this for now. Can we review the arrangement in two months and discuss what it means for my role if these responsibilities continue?’

That conversation may feel uncomfortable, but it gives both sides clarity.

The Bottom Line

Workplaces need flexibility. There will always be moments when people have to step outside the exact wording of their job description and help where they can.

The problem comes when your willingness to help becomes the reason you are continuously given more work without any recognition of how much your role has changed.

Extra responsibilities can help you grow. They can also become a very convenient way for an organisation to get more work without hiring another person or paying you more.

The difference often becomes clearer when you ask a simple question: Where is this extra work taking me?

If it is giving you useful skills, greater responsibility and a genuine path forward, it may be worth doing strategically. If the work keeps growing while every conversation about your own growth goes nowhere, that tells you something too.

At some point, ‘helping out’ stops being a favour and simply becomes part of your job.

And if it has become part of your job, it is reasonable to ask whether your title and salary should reflect that.

Disclaimer: This column is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute clinical advice. While exploring these psychological concepts can provide helpful insight, it is not a replacement for professional therapy.

If you are struggling with deep family conflict, burnout, or mental health challenges and want to dive deeper, please consider reaching out to a licensed therapist or mental health professional for personalized guidance.

Haika Gerson is a mental health advocate with a background in psychology and a focus on modern relational wellness.

Imported dairy products are gradually losing their dominance on supermarket shelves in Tanzania as local processors expand production, supported by government policy reforms and investment in modern processing technology.

The shift has created new opportunities for dairy farmers and processors. Official figures show milk production has increased by 40 percent over the past six years, although the industry continues to face low productivity, unreliable markets and inadequate milk collection systems.

Tanzania has presented its Third Voluntary National Review (VNR) on the implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), highlighting progress made across key development sectors and reaffirming its commitment to achieving the 2030 Agenda.

The Minister of State in the President’s Office for Planning and Investment, Professor Kitila Mkumbo, presented the report during the ongoing United Nations High-level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development at the UN Headquarters in New York.

Professor Mkumbo outlined achievements recorded through government-led initiatives, including an increase in access to clean water in rural areas from 72.3 percent in 2020 to 85.3 percent in 2025. He said electricity access has also expanded significantly, with 86.2 percent of Tanzanians now connected to the national grid, while the country’s power generation capacity has more than doubled.

The report also highlights progress under SDG 9 on industry, innovation and infrastructure, with the number of rail passengers rising from 1.2 million to 4.1 million as transport infrastructure continues to improve.

Speaking on SDG 17, which focuses on partnerships for sustainable development, Professor Mkumbo said implementation of the goals has been driven by strong collaboration between the government, the private sector, civil society organisations and development partners.

More than 824 civil society organisations and 1,000 private sector institutions participated in the preparation of the report, he said.

Professor Mkumbo also outlined seven priority areas that will accelerate the implementation of the SDGs through Tanzania’s National Development Vision 2050 and the Fourth Five-Year Development Plan (FYDP IV).

He said the report demonstrates Tanzania’s development progress while reaffirming the country’s commitment to accelerating implementation of the 2030 Agenda during the four years remaining before the global deadline.

Tanzania’s healthcare system risks being overwhelmed by future challenges unless the country invests in a new generation of health professionals equipped with digital skills, artificial intelligence (AI) expertise and strong leadership capabilities, experts have warned.

Speaking at the opening of the 4th Human Resources for Health Conference yesterday, health leaders said Tanzania must shift from a treatment-focused approach to one that prioritises disease prevention while preparing young professionals to lead a rapidly changing health sector.

Muhimbili Orthopedic Institute (MOI) Executive Director Dr Mpoki Ulisubisya said the country’s health strategy must place greater emphasis on prevention.

‘I don’t know of any country in the world where curative health services alone have solved the majority of a population’s health challenges,’ he said.

‘If we invest effectively in preventive healthcare, fewer people will fall sick, especially from preventable diseases. Prevention is one solution we cannot afford to ignore.’

Dr Ulisubisya urged policymakers to adopt long-term health planning rather than focusing only on immediate challenges.

‘We need to stop looking only at what is available today. We must project ourselves into the future and prepare for the healthcare needs that are coming,’ he said.

He identified artificial intelligence as one of the biggest opportunities for transforming healthcare, saying the technology could improve diagnosis, medical research and clinical decision-making.

‘In the past, a doctor would spend hours searching medical libraries to understand a disease they had never encountered before. Today, artificial intelligence allows health professionals to access that knowledge almost instantly,’ he said.

However, he cautioned that AI should support rather than replace healthcare workers.

‘Artificial intelligence cannot replace the human mind because it has no compassion. It cannot understand inequalities or appreciate the social realities affecting patients. Technology should strengthen healthcare workers, not replace them,’ he said.

Dr Ulisubisya also stressed the need for equal healthcare standards across the country, saying people in rural areas deserve the same quality of services as those in Dar es Salaam.

‘The benchmarks for healthcare services in rural areas should be the same as those in Dar es Salaam because we are treating the same human beings,’ he said.

He also highlighted the growing gap between the number of health graduates and available employment opportunities.

‘The belief that every graduate should be employed by the government is no longer realistic,’ he said.

‘With a population approaching 70 million, no government can employ everyone. Young professionals must also be prepared to create opportunities through innovation and entrepreneurship.’

He said some professionals pursue higher qualifications mainly to secure administrative positions rather than improve patient care.

‘We need to reward excellence in service delivery just as much as we reward academic advancement,’ he said.

Dr Ulisubisya called for stronger mentorship programmes, urging senior professionals to prepare young workers for leadership.

‘Senior leaders must be willing to mentor young professionals and prepare them to take over leadership positions. They should not see them as threats,’ he said.

Benjamin Mkapa Foundation Chief Executive Officer Dr Ellen Mkondya-Senkoro said the conference was focused on preparing the health workforce Tanzania will need in the coming decades.

‘We are asking ourselves a simple question: what kind of health workforce will Tanzania need by 2050?’ she said.

She said demographic changes, technological advances and shifting disease patterns require new skills beyond traditional medical training.

‘We may not necessarily need more specialists in the traditional sense alone. We will also need professionals with expertise in artificial intelligence, digital health, data science, telemedicine and elderly care,’ she said.

Dr Senkoro said Tanzania produces more than 25,000 health professionals annually across more than 20 health fields, but government employment opportunities remain limited.

‘The government cannot employ every graduate. We must therefore create alternative career pathways through innovation, entrepreneurship and the private sector,’ she said.

She encouraged young professionals to develop digital health solutions that address practical challenges, including appointment systems and telemedicine services.

She said financial support is needed to help young innovators turn ideas into sustainable businesses.

‘Our young people are developing remarkable innovations, but many struggle to secure financing and business support. We need to create an environment where those ideas can grow and benefit the entire country,’ she said.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) Representative in Tanzania, Dr Alex Gasasira, said Africa has made progress in strengthening its health workforce but still requires solutions based on local realities.

‘Our health systems depend on a strong health workforce. We have made good progress, but there are still areas where innovation is needed,’ he said.

He urged governments and institutions to ensure young professionals participate in shaping future health policies.

The Executive Director of the East, Central and Southern Africa Health Community, Dr Mtuli Kaforogwe, said countries in the region continue to face major shortages of health workers.

He said member states have an average workforce shortage of about 46 percent and are sharing approaches to improve recruitment, deployment and retention.

‘We are here to learn from Tanzania’s experience, particularly the work done by the Benjamin William Mkapa Foundation in supporting healthcare workers in underserved communities,’ he said.

Tanzania has a significant opportunity to expand exports to China under Beijing’s zero-tariff policy, but inadequate production volumes, weak packaging and failure to meet international standards continue to limit the country’s ability to tap the world’s second-largest economy, Tanzania’s Ambassador to China, Dr Suleiman Haji Suleiman, has said.

Speaking after the Tanzania Embassy in China concluded a three-week exhibition at the 50th Dar es Salaam International Trade Fair (DITF), popularly known as Sabasaba, Dr Suleiman said the embassy used the event to educate Tanzanians on trade, investment, education and tourism opportunities available in China.

Senior women leaders from Tanzania’s media industry are undergoing a three-day leadership and management training programme aimed at strengthening newsroom management and improving the sustainability of media organisations.

The training, organised by the Media Council of Tanzania (MCT) in partnership with the Finnish Foundation for Media and Development (VIKES) through the Media and Rights Empowerment Initiative (MREI), began on July 13 and concludes on July 15, 2026.

MREI Programme Coordinator, Ms Ziada Kilobo, addresses participants during the Media Management Training in Morogoro.

The programme has brought together 12 participants from print, broadcast and online media organisations.

Opening the training, Media Council of Tanzania Executive Secretary and Secretary General of the World Association of Press Councils, Mr Ernest Sungura, said the initiative seeks to equip women leaders with practical leadership and management skills to address the evolving challenges facing the media industry, particularly in the digital era.

He said women play a vital role in shaping Tanzania’s media landscape, adding that strengthening their leadership capacity would contribute to sustainable journalism and resilient media institutions that serve the public interest.

Mr Sungura said MCT, through the MREI programme, is investing in women leaders because independent, ethical and financially sustainable media remain essential to democratic development. He encouraged participants to apply the knowledge gained and deliver measurable improvements within 90 days.

MREI Programme Coordinator, Ms Ziada Kilobo, said the training covers strategic leadership, financial management, human resources, audience engagement, digital transformation and editorial governance.

She said the programme aims to strengthen both editorial performance and institutional sustainability while maintaining professional journalism standards.

Ms Kilobo said the initiative has already trained more than 120 women journalists, including editors, station managers, programme managers and senior executives, many of whom have advanced into leadership positions or established successful media organisations.

One of the participants, Ms Mariam Nassoro, said the training would enhance her leadership capabilities and support her professional development.

The programme forms part of MCT’s wider efforts under the MREI initiative to promote sustainable journalism and build stronger media institutions across Tanzania.

Tension is mounting between CCM and ACT Wazalendo after the ruling party warned that the opposition’s decision to publicise details of their joint declaration breaches confidentiality and could derail the historic reconciliation talks.

The friction comes just days after the two sides signed a historic document on July 9, 2026, at the Zanzibar State House

On July 18, MMA fans’ attention will be focused on one of the most anticipated fights of the year. The main event of UFC Fight Night 281 in Oklahoma City will feature former dominant UFC champion Kamaru Usman taking on former middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis. For both fighters, this bout could play an important role in their future championship ambitions.

Kamaru Usman’s return

Kamaru Usman’s name has long been etched into UFC history. The former welterweight champion put together one of the most impressive runs of the modern era, winning 19 consecutive professional fights, including 15 straight in the UFC, while successfully defending his title five times.

After a challenging stretch in his career, The Nigerian Nightmare has another opportunity to remind the world why he was considered one of the best fighters regardless of weight class for years. A victory over a formidable opponent from a higher weight class could once again put Usman in contention for a championship title, this time in a new division.

Dricus du Plessis is ready for a new challenge

For Dricus du Plessis, this bout is no less significant. The South African intends to make a massive comeback after losing his championship belt and aims to prove that his past successes truly reflected his caliber and were not just a one-time fluke.

An aggressive fighting style, a fast pace, constant pressure, and powerful stamina – this is how Stillknocks plans to impress everyone in his upcoming fight against Usman.

Why you can’t miss it

The clash between these two former champions promises to be a true showdown.

Usman traditionally relies on outstanding grappling, opponent control, excellent distance management, and unconventional strategies. Du Plessis, on the other hand, prefers constant pressure, powerful combinations of unconventional strikes, and a high pace, forcing his opponents to push themselves to their limits throughout the entire fight.

For MelBet’s global ambassador, Usman, victory would be an important milestone in his return to competition in a heavier weight class. For du Plessis, success would confirm that he is ready to fight for the middleweight belt once again.

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For millions of MMA fans, this evening will be an opportunity to witness one of the most dominant champions of the modern era return to action. And for MelBet customers, it’s a chance to add even more excitement. Every big fight presents a new challenge, and every lost round can set the stage for a spectacular comeback.