Category: The Citizen

Town Planners (TP) in the Country are holding their 10th Annual General Meeting (AGM) between 27 and 28 November, 2025, at the Gold Crest Hotel in the City of Mwanza. Town Planners, who should appropriately be called Land Use Planners (LUP) to reflect their role to in both rural and urban areas, are an important crop of professionals, given that Tanzania, like other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), is urbanizing fast.

They have to be in control of this process, yet it is possibly an understatement, when one observes that all our urban areas, large, medium-sized or small, are growing chaotically, right under the noses of these professionals. Our training institutions have been churning out Town Planners, and other land-based professionals by the hundreds.

You have these professionals at central government level as well as at the level of both rural and urban local government authorities (town councils, municipal councils and city councils), as well as at the level of regional secretariats. Some are in the private sector.

One of the achievements that Town Planners usually put forward in their reports, is the number of land use plans of various levels that they have prepared, yet hardly are any of these implemented. Many planners are still using the old methods of preparing colorful masterplans, which are good to look at and displaying but, given that they take a lot of time (and resources) to prepare, by the time they are completed, the situation to which they are supposed to apply will usually have changed drastically.

Our urban areas are growing by leaps and bounds while the land use plans to guide this development are being prepared at a snail-slow speed. It is possible that town planning methods have not evolved fast enough to be ahead of the rapidly growing and evolving urban areas.

The land use mosaic in many of our towns and cities, shows pockets of planned areas on a huge landscape of unplanned development. Clearly, the Town Planners, as they meet in their AGM, have to do some soul searching about their continued relevance to what is happening in SSA.

Way back in 2008, Professor T.J.

Nnkya published a book titled: “Why Planning does not Work: Land-use Planning and Residents’ Rights in Tanzania”. The book is a must-read for both seasoned and newly-recruited town planners, since, based on case studies, it explores various reasons that lead to the failure of town planning, a profession that had been around since 1906. Town planners need to think of new approaches, since by growing in an uncontrolled manner, our urban areas become a cost to the nation and to the residents.

Unplanned urban areas cannot unleash the potential which cities have, to become an engine of development. People who put their investment in expensive properties in areas that are unplanned, do not realise the value of such properties.

Not only are our urban areas growing fast, they are also spreading uncontrollably creating sprawled cities which are difficult to service and to navigate. Clearly, town planners are not utilizing the advances which technology has brought about through the use of satellites and drones, which can very much assist in collecting the necessary land use data, fast and accurately, to map existing land uses as well as project future ones.

Google earth, for example can easily show which part of an urban area is densely developed and which is not, and this can go a long way to assist in making useful land use plans. With the coming of AI, there can no longer be excuses of lack of resources to manage our urban areas, at least in the sense of land use planning.

Town planners have to think of new approaches, best based on involving communities and land owners to work together in a collaborative manner. A good example, which I usually quote, is how the Upanga Area was planned without acquiring land.

The idea of wanting to get a tabula rasa, a clean table on which to design land use plans is outmoded. People are always ahead.

Town planning must reverse this and be ahead of development. Approaches like land pooling and readjustment may come to the rescue, whereby both land owners and authorities agreed to share lan; owners getting planned and serviced land and authorities getting land for public uses.

I am aware that one seasoned town planner, who was one of the presidential candidates for the just-ended General Election (under CUF), has been pioneering such land sharing arrangements, much as the entrenched town planners especially in government have not been happy about this move. The private sector is also handy.

Its resources should be harnessed to rescue our urban areas from the chaos that they are growing into. .

Dar es Salaam. A total of Sh91 million has so far been paid to various basketball players whose teams are competing in the National Basketball League (NBL), through the Locker Room Bonus (LRB) initiative by sports betting brand betPawa.

The NBL has now reached the semifinal stage, where four men’s teams and four women’s teams are battling for a spot in the finals scheduled for Saturday at Chinangali Court in Dodoma. The men’s semifinalists are defending champions Dar City, Dodoma Spurs, Kisasa Heroes, and UDSM Outsiders, while in the women’s category the teams are Fox Divas, Vijana Queens, Don Bosco Lioness, and Orkeeswa.

All these teams have already secured qualification for the 2026 National Basketball League season. East Africa Marketing Coordinator for betPawa, Nassoro Mungaya, said the money has been paid to players whose teams won their group-stage matches.

Mungaya said betPawa is proud to be a major partner in developing basketball in the country and in directly empowering players, coaches, and officials through the Locker Room Bonus. He explained that this year’s tournament has been highly competitive due to the presence of the LRB incentive.

“Our brand has invested Sh317 million to sponsor this year’s tournament. Players have so far been paid Sh91 million.

Payments are made directly to the players’ mobile phone numbers immediately after each match through the Locker Room Bonus, where each player earns Sh140,000,” said Mungaya. He added that the initiative has boosted players’ morale, competitiveness, and overall professionalism in the tournament.

“We believe the competition will intensify even more in the semifinals and the final. It is clear that every player wants to get the LRB winning bonus,” Mungaya said.

For his part, the Secretary General of the Basketball Federation of Tanzania (TBF), Mwenze Kabinda, commended betPawa for improving players’ welfare and elevating the status of the NBL in the country. Kabinda said the National League has now become highly attractive, drawing many young Tanzanians to the sport of basketball .

Cairo/Jerusalem. Hamas said it will hand over a body of a hostage on Wednesday, as Israel said it would allow Gaza’s gateway to Egypt to open in the next few days so that Palestinians who need medical care could leave the war-ravaged territory.

The handover of the last two hostages’ bodies in Gaza would complete a key condition of the initial part of U.S.

President Donald Trump’s plan to end the two-year Gaza war, which also entails the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt opening in both directions. Israel has kept the crossing shut since the ceasefire came into effect in October, saying that Hamas must abide by the agreement to return all hostages still in Gaza, living and deceased.

Since the fragile truce started, Hamas has returned all 20 living hostages and 26 bodies in exchange for around 2,000 Palestinian detainees and convicted prisoners, but two more deceased captives – an Israeli police officer and a Thai agricultural worker – are still in Gaza. Israel says previous ‘findings’ not linked to hostages The armed wing of the Hamas-allied Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement, the Al Quds Brigades, said it had found a hostage body after conducting a search in northern Gaza, along with a team from the Red Cross.

Hamas said it would hand over the remains at 5 p.m.

local time (1300 GMT) on Wednesday. The group did not say which of the two remaining deceased hostages it believed it to be.

The two are Israeli police officer Ran Gvili and Thai national Sudthisak Rinthalak, both kidnapped during Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that triggered two years of devastating war in Gaza. Hamas had handed over remains on Tuesday to the Geneva-based Red Cross, which has acted as an intermediary between Gaza militant groups and Israel throughout the war.

Israeli forces said they sent the remains, which they described as “findings” for forensic testing. “The findings brought yesterday for examination from the Gaza Strip are not linked to any of the deceased hostages,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement on Wednesday.

Opening of crossing could allow out those needing treatment COGAT, the Israeli military arm that oversees humanitarian matters, said the opening of the Rafah crossing would be coordinated with Egypt, under the supervision of a European Union mission – a similar mechanism to that employed during a previous Gaza ceasefire agreed in January 2025. There was currently no coordination between Egypt and Israel to reopen the Rafah crossing in the coming days, state-affiliated Al Qahera News TV cited Egypt’s State Information Service as saying. Before the war, the Rafah crossing was the only direct exit point for most Palestinians in Gaza to reach the outside world and was a key entry point for aid into the territory.

It has been mostly closed throughout the conflict. At least 16,500 patients in Gaza require medical care outside of the enclave, according to the United Nations.

Some Gazans have managed to leave for medical treatment abroad through Israel. Bloodshed continues Violence has tailed off since the October 10 ceasefire but Israel has continued to strike Gaza and conduct demolitions against what it says is Hamas infrastructure.

Hamas and Israel have traded blame for violating the U.S.

-backed agreement. Health officials at Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza said on Wednesday that two Palestinians were killed by Israeli gunfire in the Zeitoun suburb of Gaza City.

The Israeli military said it was looking into the report. More than 350 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas went into effect, Gaza health authorities say.

Palestinian militants killed three Israeli soldiers during this time, Israeli authorities said. .

Washington. U.

S. immigration officials kicked off an operation in New Orleans to arrest immigrants in the U.

S. illegally, federal officials said on Wednesday, making it the latest city to be targeted by President Donald Trump’s crackdown.

The U.S.

Department of Homeland Security said the operation would target criminal offenders who had been released from local custody due to city policies that limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. Trump, a Republican, has ordered such operations in Democratic-led cities across the U.

S., including Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington, D.

C., in a bid to drive deportations to record levels.

Residents and local officials in cities targeted by the immigration crackdown have pushed back, saying it has swept in many people with no criminal record and has used heavy-handed tactics that endangered residents. The operation in New Orleans was expected to run through the end of the year but its scope remains unclear.

Trump said during a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday that the National Guard would be deployed to the southern city in several weeks. Some residents in New Orleans were already bracing for the possibility they could be subjected to profiling tactics and detained as part of the crackdown.

In one family-owned restaurant, a woman assembled makeshift beds on Tuesday, so family members could sleep there to avoid potentially being profiled by federal agents while traveling between home and work. Last month a federal judge terminated a 2013 consent decree that had limited the ability of the New Orleans Police Department to assist federal immigration enforcement.

Still, New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said in late November that the city would not enforce federal immigration law. The U.

S. Department of Justice labeled New Orleans a “sanctuary city” in a list published in August.

The action in New Orleans, with a population of around 384,000, follows a Border Patrol-led operation in Charlotte, North Carolina. in Midtown Manhattan, Mangione has pleaded not guilty to murder and other charges and is expected to face trial next year.

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Dar es Salaam. Prime Minister Dr Mwigulu Nchemba has called on the public and state institutions to respect, support, and collaborate with the private sector, describing it as an indispensable engine of Tanzania’s economic progress.

Addressing delegates at Tanzania Start-up Week 2025 on Tuesday, December 3, Dr Nchemba applauded the individuals and companies creating employment opportunities across the country. He noted that such entrepreneurial courage is vital to dismantling barriers and accelerating sustainable economic growth.

“Young people taking this step are the future of Tanzania,” he said. “You have chosen to be an example that it is possible.

” He emphasised that society must recognise, encourage, and uplift such efforts rather than diminish them. Dr Nchemba underscored the urgent need for stronger cooperation between the public and private sectors.

A negative attitude towards private enterprise, he argued, only undermines national progress. “If our perspective toward the private sector is negative, then the only way to ensure young people are respected is to build a strong private sector,” he said, noting that no nation has ever achieved a robust economy through public institutions alone.

The Prime Minister highlighted ongoing government reforms aimed at easing business operations and cutting bureaucratic delays. He assured entrepreneurs that the government stands ready to listen and respond swiftly to their needs.

“In government, we will be ready–and I will instruct everyone–that when you need facilitation, suspend all other matters. Listen to them, meet officers at any level.

I will personally ensure that the doors remain open,” he said. Dr Nchemba urged society to embrace entrepreneurship as a legitimate pathway to prosperity, noting that successful business leaders–including billionaires–play an integral role in job creation and overall economic growth.

“This mindset must change. We must move towards facilitation and enabling business.

These have been the President’s directives: reducing unnecessary control in matters concerning business. Business requires facilitation, not the idea that spending long hours proves your importance,” he said.

He further stressed that innovation will be central to delivering Tanzania Development Vision 2050, calling for products and technologies capable of scaling globally. “It requires Tanzanian innovation that captures global attention and generates demand,” he said, adding that start-ups and emerging enterprises will remain at the heart of this transformation.

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Dar es Salaam. Bus operators in Tanzania are preparing for a major shift in the country’s public transport sector, with plans to introduce electric buses as early as next year.

The initiative marks a significant step towards greener and more efficient travel for thousands of commuters who depend on long-distance and intercity services. For Shabiby Company Limited, one of the country’s largest fleet operators, the transition is already underway.

The firm’s manager, Mr Edward Magawa, told The Citizen that preparations are progressing well as the operator moves towards adopting electric mobility. Mr Magawa said the company has long maintained a strong partnership with Yutong, a leading bus manufacturer, positioning Shabiby among the brand’s largest clients in the region.

This relationship, he noted, has laid the foundation for Shabiby’s entry into the electric bus era. “We are among Yutong’s biggest clients, and starting next year, we expect to begin procuring electric buses.

We have already placed an order for about 30 units, which are scheduled to start arriving by January,” he said. He added that the arrival of the first batch will signal the start of a trial phase aimed at assessing how the buses perform under Tanzania’s diverse road conditions.

The company plans to launch test routes linking Dar es Salaam, Dodoma and Arusha–selected for their moderate distances and high passenger traffic. “We will also test a longer route from Dodoma to Sumbawanga so we can evaluate how the buses perform on rough terrain and in hilly areas,” he said.

Mr Magawa added that the trials will help the company adjust operations and ensure passengers continue to enjoy reliable and comfortable services. According to Mr Magawa, Shabiby has invested heavily in preparing for the transition, including staff training and facility upgrades to support the new fleet.

He emphasised that passengers should expect the same standard of safety, comfort and quality for which the company is known, even as it experiments with new technology. The issue of transport fares is also under consideration.

Mr Magawa said that because the first phase will be a pilot, the company will work closely with the Land Transport Regulatory Authority (Latra) to determine appropriate fare structures. “If the buses prove to be cost-effective, fares are likely to go down, so our customers should be prepared for that possibility,” he said.

Director of Kimbinyiko Bus Company, Mr Ferdnand Mabumo, confirmed that his firm also plans to start importing electric buses next year. Procurement is expected to begin in February, with the first batch due to arrive in May.

“To start with, we will order five buses and gradually expand the fleet as we move forward. Once they arrive, we will then identify the most suitable routes,” he said.

Mr Mabumo added that the introduction of electric buses represents a pivotal moment for Tanzania as it looks towards a cleaner and more modern transport future–one that promises enhanced travel experiences and long-term environmental benefits. .

By Ramadhani Ismail and Joanne Mwita Dar es Salaam. Tanzania’s ambition to build a competitive innovation economy came into sharp focus yesterday, December 2, as experts at the Tanzania Start-up Week 2025 warned that persistent financial barriers from gendered lending gaps to outdated investment regulations are slowing down the country’s progress.

The sessions brought together regulators, financiers, founders, and investors who each pointed to weaknesses within the financial and policy ecosystem that, if addressed, could significantly shift the country’s growth trajectory. According to the Financial Inclusion Manager at the Bank of Tanzania (BoT), Nangi Massawe, said that although women are increasingly entering high-growth sectors, they still face notable limitations in securing credit, venture capital, and equity financing.

“Across Tanzania today, women continue to lead micro and small businesses in trade, agriculture, hospitality, manufacturing, creative industries, and digital commerce,” she said. She added that progress remains uneven because many women lack collateral such as land and assets, while others do not have digital financial identities or formal transaction histories, factors that immediately disqualify them from obtaining loans.

“These obstacles are not a reflection of women’s potential,” she said. “They reveal structural challenges within our financial ecosystem that require coordinated interventions.

” She outlined BoT’s interventions, including promoting women’s leadership in financial institutions, enforcing sex-disaggregated data collection, strengthening consumer protection for women and expanding digital payment systems such as TIPS. She said regulatory sandboxes are enabling fintech solutions designed specifically for women and underserved groups.

Representatives from financial institutions echoed the need for stronger support systems. TADB’s Precious Oganda said credit-guarantee schemes must be strengthened to make women more bankable.

“We work with commercial banks to ensure guarantees are in place, so collateral challenges can be addressed,” she said. “This is how we enable women to access credit and strengthen their financial capacity.

” At the same session, PASS Trust’s Oscar Kimaro underlined the importance of financial literacy, saying women often struggle when they receive capital without adequate training. “That is why we provide financial education so women understand the value chain and the foundation of the businesses they want to build, even for digital agriculture enterprises,” he said.

He added that PASS also encourages women to lend to one another, expanding their financial networks. “We achieve greater results when we invest in women.

” While gaps in women’s financing highlighted issues of equity, a different panel on Venture Capital and Private Equity Syndications underscored the broader investment challenges facing the country. Venture Associate at African Renaissance Venture, Lexi Lei, said Tanzania is losing out on substantial venture capital because investors face legal uncertainty.

“There are a few VCs sitting outside Tanzania investing here, but most of our funds are deployed elsewhere,” she said. “Without specialised legal structures for venture-capital and private-equity funds, we are forced to rely on workarounds like offshore setups.

” She welcomed ongoing efforts by the Capital Markets and Securities Authority (CMSA) to establish a VC/PE framework, saying global investors prefer familiar fund structures such as limited partnerships. Africapita CEO Burak Buyuksaraa said unresolved issues, including capital-gains taxes, double taxation and exit challenges continue to discourage local and international investors.

“As long as these taxation issues persist, funds will not come in. Simple as that,” he said, calling for stronger coordination among government agencies.

Founders were also urged to strengthen their business fundamentals before pursuing investment. Beem CEO Taha Jiwaji said start-ups should secure product-market fit first.

“It’s better to achieve product-market fit before you raise external money,” he said. “VCs are concerned about your next raise, and without product-market fit, you may not fit their cycle.

” He also advised start-ups to maintain independence in partnerships. “Stand on your own feet.

Large partners may try to lock you in, which can limit growth.” On the broader investment landscape, Coprosperity Fund Managing Partner, Antony Adolf, said Tanzania must resolve its regulatory issues to attract third-party capital, noting that Rwanda’s model offers lessons.

“There are many VCs. Never give up,” he said.

“Be tactful in your approach.” .

Mbeya. The Pact-led Early Childhood Development (ECD) project, funded by the Conrad N.

Hilton Foundation, yesterday convened a regional learning event in Mbeya, marking a major milestone in the region’s three-year journey to strengthen systems that support children aged 0 to 3. The event highlighted significant progress achieved between 2023/24 and 2025/26, as the project transitions from donor-funded implementation to deeper integration within existing government and community structures.

According to project data, the initiative reached 7,017 children against a target of 4,433, an achievement of 158 percent. It also supported 6,327 caregivers, surpassing the target of 4,066 by 155 percent.

Children benefitted from holistic nurturing care services, including health, nutrition, responsive caregiving, early learning opportunities, safety, and protection. Implementation covered seven councils and 167 of the region’s 172 wards, reflecting near-complete regional coverage.

A key component of the project involved building community-based delivery systems. A total of 752 Community Case Workers (CCWs) were trained and equipped with tools and ongoing technical support.

This strengthening of frontline capacity has improved referral pathways, increased caregiver knowledge, and enhanced councils’ ability to align social welfare services with early childhood needs. Speaking at the learning event, Amina Mfaki, Principal Social Welfare Officer from the Prime Minister’s Office, Regional Administration and Local Government, described the results as “meaningful, substantive, and a testament to what coordinated leadership and structured community engagement can accomplish in a short period.

” She cited the development of the National Comprehensive ECD Service Job Aid for Community Health Workers and CCWs, as well as continuous mentorship provided to government officials and frontline workers. Mfaki emphasized that child development “cannot wait for ideal conditions or convenient timelines; it must remain continuous, responsive, and rooted in the everyday realities of families if our communities and nation are to thrive.

” This perspective was echoed by Esther Ndeytabura, the project’s Technical Director, representing Pact Tanzania Country Director Dr Levina Kikoyo. She noted that the tools, trained personnel, and strengthened coordination systems established over the past three years now form “foundational assets” for the region.

Sustaining momentum, she said, will require ongoing investment, consistent follow-up, and long-term system strengthening. At household level, the impact has been visible.

Caregiver Wito Mwangomo shared how her understanding of parenting changed through interactions with CCWs. She said she now knows how to prepare nutritious meals using available foods, when to take children for vaccinations, and how to make simple play and learning materials at home.

“The difference is clear when I look at my children today,” she said. “These changes are real, practical, and visible in everyday life.

” In her closing remarks, Regional Social Welfare Officer Aika Temu affirmed that Mbeya has built a strong platform for future ECD programming. She urged councils to continue using the Comprehensive Council Social Welfare Operational Planning and Reporting Guideline (CCSWOPG) to strengthen planning, budgeting, and prioritization, especially through council and local revenue allocations.

“When councils use their own data to analyse needs and guide priorities, the plans become realistic, actionable, and rooted in the lived realities of children and families,” Temu said. She reaffirmed her office’s commitment to advocating for stronger investment, better coordination, and sustained visibility of ECD within council systems.

The efforts in Mbeya align with Tanzania’s Development Vision 2050, the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the African Union’s Agenda 2063, all of which place early childhood development at the heart of human capital development and long-term socioeconomic growth. Mbeya’s experience demonstrates that prioritizing early childhood development strengthens families, enhances service delivery systems, and lays the groundwork for a more resilient and prosperous future.

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Dar es Salaam. Commercial banks in Tanzania have ramped up lending to record levels this year, with total domestic credit reaching S9.01 trillion in the quarter ending September 2025 — a sign of strong credit appetite and a banking sector operating near its liquidity frontier.

The recent statistical bulletin from the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) shows that total lending grew from S4.45 trillion in March to S9.09 trillion in September 2025. Meanwhile, the loan-to-deposit ratio (LDR) rose to 97.4 percent, as banks deployed almost all available deposits into lending. Total deposits stood at Sh50.32 trillion by September, up from S5.94 trillion six months earlier — signaling continued confidence among depositors but also underscoring how tightly balanced liquidity conditions have become.

In its Monetary Policy Committee statement last month, the central bank affirmed the sector “remained stable and resilient, with adequate liquidity, strong capital and profitability.” Non-performing loans fell to 3.

3 percent in August 2025, comfortably below the 5 percent tolerance threshold, signaling credit quality amid aggressive expansion. The BoT’s Monthly Economic Review for September 2025 noted lending and deposit interest rates “exhibited general stability, albeit with minor fluctuations.

” The average lending rate ticked up to 15.18 percent from 15.07 percent the prior month, reflecting cautious pricing amid demand. Loans to other non-financial corporations — covering manufacturing, trade, and services — climbed to Sh20.09 trillion by September, from Sh18.43 trillion in March.

Credit to households and SMEs (classified as other resident sectors) rose to Sh19.34 trillion, up from Sh17.21 trillion. Lending to the central government remained significant at Sh2.33 trillion, while banks’ holdings of securities increased to Sh8.72 trillion, highlighting continued appetite for Treasury instruments.

BoT’s governor, Mr Emmanuel Tutuba, offered a structural explanation of how banks are sustaining such high lending levels. “Commercial banks in Tanzania have three main sources of funds,” he said.

“The first is through the central bank, the second through mobilization of deposits, and the third is borrowing — both domestically and internationally — using various instruments such as corporate bonds.” He cited examples of several Tanzanian banks that have successfully tapped the market through such products.

“We’ve seen institutions like CRDB issuing infrastructure bonds, and others like NMB and TCB doing the same. These have performed very well, allowing banks to diversify their funding sources,” he said.

Mr Tutuba also highlighted the growing practice of loan syndication among local and international banks. “Syndication works like this — when a bank receives a large loan request that exceeds its capacity, it partners with another bank or a group of banks to share the risk and agree on interest rate arrangements,” he explained.

“This collaboration ensures that financing continues to flow even when individual banks face liquidity constraints.” Financial analysts say the high LDR signals both strong market demand and tightening liquidity buffers.

Ernst and Young Tanzania Country Managing Partner, Mr Joseph Sheffu, said: “What this essentially means is that banks are lending very aggressively against the deposits they hold”. “They are clearly in a phase of profit maximisation, as reflected by the record lending levels we’ve seen so far,” he said.

However, Mr Sheffu cautioned that this growth comes with liquidity management challenges. “Yes, there are risks, but they’re somewhat contained because a large portion of lending is directed toward the government through Treasury securities.

When liquidity becomes tight, banks can offload some of these assets — though often at a discount — which may slightly affect profitability,” he said. Banks remain confident CRDB Bank Group chief executive officer, Mr Abdulmajid Nsekela, says the growth is broad-based — fueled by demand across key sectors of the economy.

“CRDB’s lending growth is broad-based, driven by strong market demand across key sectors of the economy. Notable contributions come from agriculture and its value chain, trade, manufacturing, and construction,” he said.

He said the bank experienced growth across major lending segments, including corporate, consumer, and SMEs, reflecting robust credit growth in line with overall economic activity. “The loan book has expanded with a balanced mix of corporate, retail, and SME lending, supported by demand from the private sector and government-related projects where applicable,” he said.

Despite the sector’s high loan-to-deposit ratio, Mr Nsekela insisted that CRDB remains well-positioned, and the lending-to-deposit ratio does not, on its own, indicate an immediate liquidity strain. “Our funding mix remains solid, with deposits financing a substantial portion of balance-sheet growth (roughly 74 percent of growth funded from deposits) and a strong year-over-year increase in deposits, which rose nearly 37 percent year-on-year,” he said.

He added that savings and demand deposits (CASA) continue to provide a stable and low-cost funding base. “Our liquidity ratio stood at 27 percent at the end of the quarter, comfortably above the regulatory minimum of 20 percent,” he said.

“While a high LDR warrants ongoing monitoring and prudent liquidity management, current indicators suggest the bank remains liquidity-adequate. We will continue to monitor deposit trends, diversify funding sources, and adjust asset growth if funding conditions tighten,” he said.

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Dar es Salaam. The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in Tanzania has officially dropped treason charges and ordered the release of cosmetics entrepreneur Jenifer Jovin (26), popularly known as Niffer, alongside Mika Lucas Chavala.

The decision was handed down on December 3, 2025 by Senior Resident Magistrate Aaron Lyamuya, following a submission by State Attorney Titus Aron, who informed the court that the DPP had no intention of pursuing the case further. The withdrawal pertains to investigation case number 26388/2025 under Section 92(1) of the Criminal Procedure Act, Chapter 20, Revised Edition 2023. “The court agrees with the request from the prosecution as submitted; therefore, I hereby release the two accused persons,” declared Magistrate Lyamuya.

This ruling brings an end to the high-profile legal proceedings against the pair, marking a significant development in Tanzania’s judicial landscape. .