Category: The Citizen

France, the Netherlands and Belgium have recorded 3,700 excess ?deaths during the June heatwave that sent temperatures soaring Europe, with authorities warning that the numbers are preliminary and could rise.

Experts have said the heatwave, which lasted from about June ?20-28, was the worst recorded in Europe, causing disruption to ?power generation, damaging infrastructure and overwhelming healthcare systems. The ?extreme heat was almost certainly driven by climate change, scientists ?said.

There were 2,025 excess deaths recorded in France during the ?heatwave, with a particular increase in deaths among people aged over 45, French Health Minister Stephanie Rist told local television on Friday.

Deaths at home ?rose 91% between June 22-28 compared to the previous ?week, while deaths in nursing homes and healthcare facilities also increased, the ‘s ?public health authority said in a bulletin.

“Mortality will … be higher than these initial figures suggest,” the authority warned.

‘Unprecedented’ Mortality Data’

In Belgium, the Health Ministry said on Thursday it had registered ?excess mortality of ?about 1,200 ?deaths between June 18 and June 29, adding that 530 of the deaths were among people ?aged 85 or older. People aged under ?65 accounted ?for 180 of the excess deaths.

“Such excess mortality during a heatwave is unprecedented in our country,” the ministry said in ?a statement.

Authorities ?in the Netherlands said the heatwave led ?to about 480 excess deaths, mainly among the over 80s.

Because we’ve been looking for you.

People miss you. I definitely miss you. Some people will swear they don’t… right before they rush to buy a “2 for 5,000” miracle deal from a man selling it out of a cardboard box in broad daylight.

Things around here have become… impressively creative.

Take honey, for example.

Honey is no longer just honey. It’s now a collaboration between sugar syrup, laboratory confidence, and one exhausted bee that probably didn’t even consent to being on the label. They bottle it beautifully, slap on a picture of mountains, flowers, and happy bees, and suddenly we’re expected to believe those bees have been working overtime without ever filing for annual leave.

Then there’s alcohol. Not the fun kind.

The kind that makes you wake up feeling like your brain spent the whole night mixing cement at a construction site. Some bottles don’t even bother hiding anymore. They just borrow a famous brand’s outfit and hope nobody notices before the first sip.

Bananas have entered politics.

Some mysteriously disappear before the whole bunch reaches the market. By the time the shipment arrives, it looks like the bananas resigned halfway through the journey. Everybody pretends that’s completely normal.

Rice?

Rice has become an influencer.

It’s glowing.

Shining.

Moisturised.

Looking like it follows a 12-step skincare routine and drinks three litres of water a day. Some even get a little apple polish treatment so they can sparkle under supermarket lights. Unfortunately, beauty filters don’t improve taste.

Black jeans, black shoes, and black clothes deserve acting awards. Someone introduces them to a mysterious “colour booster”, and suddenly they’re shining brighter than your future.

Until…

…the first wash.

Or sometimes the first walk home. Then they remember who they really are.

Milk has become a trust exercise. You no longer drink milk. You negotiate with it.

“Please… let today be cow’s milk and not cow’s opinion mixed with half the village water supply.”

Tea time has become an act of faith.

Eggs…

Ah, eggs.

Even unborn chickens have entered the corruption economy. You take your eggs for hatching, and later you’re told,

“Half were bad.”

Really?

Can I see them?

“No.”

Can I at least count them?

“Just trust us.”

The same people asking for trust don’t even trust each other enough to leave a calculator unattended.

Cooking oil has become a chemistry experiment.

Spices have become works of fiction.

And don’t even get me started on those “Imported Products.”

Imported…

Yes.

From the room behind the shop. With international packaging and local confidence. Integrity, this marketplace has become Netflix.

Everybody deserves an Oscar.

The packaging is acting.

The labels are acting.

The salespeople are acting.

Even the smile at the counter sometimes feels sponsored.

And us?

We’re the audience.

Buying Premium DisappointmentS in premium-looking packaging.

Nowadays shopping isn’t shopping.

It’s CSI.

We inspect.

We shake.

We sniff.

We google.

We read reviews.

We compare.

We pray.

Sometimes all at the same time. And somehow… we still get played.

The funny part?

People have become experts at spotting fake products.

The sad part?

We’re becoming less interested in spotting fake characters. Somewhere along the way, fear changed jobs.

People aren’t as afraid of doing the wrong thing anymore. They’re afraid of being the only honest person in the room.

Afraid of missing out.

Afraid of staying poor.

Afraid that integrity doesn’t pay bills. So shortcuts started looking like career advice.

That’s why I’m writing to you again.

Please…

Come back.

But don’t travel alone.

Bring your cousin Fear of God.

Right now, Fear of Poverty has rented an apartment in this country and is behaving like it owns the entire neighbourhood. It has convinced people that survival excuses everything. That cheating is “being smart”.

That lying is “business”.

That fake is “innovation”.

That getting caught is the only real mistake.

While you’re packing, please don’t forget your siblings.

Honesty.

Accountability.

Contentment.

And if possible, bring plenty of “Be a Good Person” gift hampers.

Make them family-sized.

We clearly need bulk supplies.

Because at this rate, even if they started selling fake Integrity, some people would still ask,

“How much for two?”

I’m tired, Integrity.

Not because people make mistakes.

But because mistakes are now marketed as business models.

Still…

I’m hopeful you’re only delayed.

Not discontinued.

Yours sincerely

Tanzania has launched a National Information System for Science, Technology and Innovation (NISSTI), a strategic digital platform designed to transform how research data is collected, shared and used to guide national development decisions.

The launch, held on July 2, 2026, during the takeoff of 40th anniversary celebrations of the Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH)), marks a major policy shift aimed at addressing long-standing fragmentation in the country’s science, technology and innovation (STI) ecosystem.

Presenting the system, Minister for Education, Science and Technology, Prof Adolf Mkenda, said NISSTI is intended to become a central pillar in strengthening coordination and evidence-based planning in the STI sector.

‘Today we are launching a strategic national platform that will strengthen coordination, review and practice of science, technology, and innovation information in Tanzania,’ he said.

For decades, Tanzania’s research landscape has been characterised by multiple unconnected databases across universities, ministries, research institutes and innovation hubs.

While these institutions continue to generate valuable scientific knowledge, the absence of a unified national system has made it difficult to translate research into policy, commercial products and scalable innovations.

Therefore, the NISSTI platform is designed to serve as a single national gateway for research outputs, innovation data and scientific information. It is expected to connect researchers, policymakers, universities, innovators and private sector actors in one integrated system.

‘The platform will support evidence-based planning, research development, innovation management, institutional coordination, and strategic decision-making,’ the minister added, calling on all stakeholders to actively participate in updating and using the system.

From fragmented systems to integrated knowledge

The introduction of NISSTI responds to a structural weakness that has affected Tanzania’s research ecosystem for years

According to Prof Mkenda, the success of the platform will depend on collective responsibility. ‘The success of this platform depends on collective participation, institutional commitment, and shared vision for the future of Tanzania’s innovation ecosystem,’ he said.

He further underscored the government’s commitment to strengthening research and innovation environments, stating: ‘We will continue supporting initiatives to promote digital transformation, research excellence, youth-led innovation, and strategic partnerships for national development.’

Supporting the policy direction, Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Prof Carolyne Nombo, said the initiative marks a national effort to mainstream science, technology and innovation into Tanzania’s long-term development agenda.

She described the 40th anniversary of COSTECH not only as a commemorative milestone but also as a national campaign.

‘The 40th anniversary celebrations of COSTECH are a national campaign aimed at making science, technology and innovation a public agenda and a key instrument in achieving Vision 2050,’ she said.

Prof Nombo stressed that the priority is ensuring knowledge generated in universities, research institutions and innovation hubs directly contributes to key economic sectors.

COSTECH’s role in a new STI architecture

At the institutional level, COSTECH has been positioned as the coordinating hub for the new system. Its leadership emphasised that NISSTI is not just a database, but a national infrastructure for managing research and innovation outcomes.

COSTECH Commission Chairman, Prof John Kondoro said the system must directly inform national priorities and investment decisions.

‘Information obtained through NISSTI should form the basis for setting national priorities, guiding investment, and increasing the productivity of research and innovation,’ he said.

He added that the system must become a trusted and functional national asset: ‘We want NISSTI to be a living system, one that is credible and that supports Tanzania in building a knowledge-based economy towards Vision 2050.’

Prof Kondoro further noted that the Commission will closely oversee implementation to ensure government directives are executed effectively and with measurable results.

Analysts say the significance of NISSTI lies in its attempt to resolve one of the most persistent barriers to innovation in Tanzania: fragmented knowledge systems.

Education and innovation policy analyst, Dr Rehema Mallya, said the country has long struggled with scattered research data.

‘Tanzania has produced a large volume of research over the years, but much of it remains invisible or inaccessible. This leads to duplication and weak policy uptake,’ she said.

By integrating fragmented systems into a single national platform, the government aims to strengthen evidence-based policymaking, reduce duplication of research and improve the commercialisation of innovations.

However, its success will depend on institutional discipline, sustained investment and the willingness of stakeholders to treat research data as a shared national resource rather than isolated institutional property.

Mainland Premier league champions, Young Africans (Yanga) have been fined Sh100 million by the Tanzania Premier League Board (TPLB) after the club’s players and technical bench were found to have used a house outside the stadium instead of the designated dressing room during their NBC Premier League match against JKT Tanzania.

In a statement issued on Friday, July 3, 2026, the TPLB said the club breached Article 17:20 of the Premier League Regulations, which sets out match-day procedures, including the use of official dressing room facilities.

The incident occurred during Match No. 233 at Major General Isamuhyo Stadium in Dar es Salaam, where Yanga defeated JKT Tanzania 3-0. Despite the victory, the league board ruled that the club had failed to comply with the competition’s operational requirements.

The TPLB said the sanction was imposed under Article 27:7 of the Premier League Regulations, which empowers the league’s judicial bodies to discipline clubs found guilty of breaching competition rules.

Beyond the financial penalty, the League Management and Administration Committee has referred Yanga president Hersi Said and the club’s chief executive officer, Andre Mtine, to the Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) Ethics Committee.

The board said the two officials are accused of making statements based on what it described as “unacceptable grounds” and of repeatedly committing offences related to the use of official dressing room facilities. The Ethics Committee will determine whether further disciplinary measures are necessary.

The latest punishment is the second imposed on Yanga for the same offence within a matter of months.

In May 2026, the club was fined Sh30 million after its players and technical staff also used a house outside the stadium instead of the official dressing room during the second-round Mainland Premier League derby against Simba SC, which ended in a 2-2 draw.

Following that sanction, Yanga members and supporters organised a fundraising campaign to settle the fine.

The recurrence of the offence appears to have influenced the severity of the latest punishment, with the fine rising from Sh30 million to Sh100 million.

The decision underscores the TPLB’s determination to enforce compliance with league regulations governing match-day operations and the use of official facilities. By imposing a substantially heavier sanction for a repeat violation, the board has signalled that clubs are expected to observe competition rules regardless of the circumstances surrounding a match.

It remains unclear whether Yanga will challenge the decision through the available appeal process or comply with the sanctions while awaiting the outcome of the Ethics Committee’s proceedings involving the club’s senior officials.

Tanzania and the United States have signed a five-year bilateral global health Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) worth $3.1 billion (about Sh8 trillion), marking a major shift towards a long-term partnership aimed at strengthening the country’s health system and improving preparedness for future public health challenges.

The agreement seeks to improve healthcare delivery, strengthen disease surveillance and response systems. It also seeks to enhance Tanzania’s ability to tackle infectious diseases and emerging health threats.

The deal forms part of the United States’ America First Global Health Strategy, which promotes sustainable and country-led health partnerships.

Building on decades of cooperation in the health sector, the agreement positions Tanzania and the US as co-investors rather than following a traditional donor-recipient model.

It aims to establish a resilient national network of hospitals, laboratories and healthcare workers capable of meeting current healthcare needs while improving the country’s readiness for future disease outbreaks and health emergencies.

The partnership is expected to have broader implications for Tanzania beyond healthcare delivery. Stronger health systems are considered critical for economic productivity, human capital development and national resilience, as healthier populations contribute to improved workforce participation and reduced healthcare burdens.

The agreement also comes as Tanzania seeks to reduce dependence on external financing while increasing domestic investment in critical sectors. Access to American expertise in pharmaceuticals, health innovation and medical technology is expected to support improvements in healthcare quality and efficiency while helping to build local capacity.

Under the arrangement, the US will align its assistance with Tanzania’s national health priorities, while Tanzania will progressively increase its own contribution to healthcare financing and management.

The MoU seeks to sustain gains in controlling major diseases, including HIV, malaria, polio and tuberculosis, while strengthening maternal and child healthcare services to meet the needs of the country’s growing population.

It also aims to improve Tanzania’s capacity to detect, prevent and respond to infectious disease outbreaks more effectively and independently.

Speaking during the signing ceremony in Dar es Salaam on July 1, 2026, Minister for Health Mohamed Mchengerwa said the agreement represented a significant shift towards equality, accountability and self-reliance.

‘This agreement is not a continuation of dependency but a roadmap to move us away from it. By 2030, Tanzania will shoulder a significant share of the costs of its health system,’ he said.

Financially, the United States, in collaboration with Congress, intends to provide more than $1.3 billion over the next five years, while Tanzania is expected to increase domestic health spending by approximately $1.8 billion during the same period.

The combined investment signals a transition towards a sustainable partnership model designed to strengthen national ownership of Tanzania’s health sector and reduce long-term dependence on donor funding.

Wednesday (July 1 2026), Mofat Company Limited, the contracted private operator for Phase II of the Dar es Salaam Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system was granted a monopoly on the Mbagala, Gerezani, Kivukoni route, on which the current transport service providers, mainly the minibus daladalas, bodabosas abd bajajis, will be unlicensed, giving the Company monopoly on that route.

Under a 12-year contract with the Dar Rapid Transit Agency (DART), the Company is responsible for managing daily passenger transport, fleet deployment, and station services along the Gerezani-Mbagala corridor via Kilwa Road.

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has alleged that between 120 and 150 fraudulent call centres operating from Ukraine are targeting Russian citizens, using communications infrastructure located in Ukraine and what it described as “certain European Union member states.”

In a statement released on Wednesday, the FSB claimed the operations are coordinated from Ukraine and are responsible for a significant share of cyber-enabled financial fraud affecting Russian citizens.

According to the agency, more than 640,000 fraud cases were recorded in Russia during 2025, with reported losses exceeding 360 billion rubles.

The FSB said it had dismantled what it described as an illegal virtual communications network, seizing more than 1,200 SIM boxes, 1,000 modems and mobile phones, as well as 1.2 million SIM cards. Authorities also detained 208 people allegedly linked to the operation.

The agency added that more than 950 criminal investigations have been launched involving allegations of terrorism, fraud, illegal access to computer systems and violations of telecommunications regulations.

According to the FSB, criminal groups have increasingly adopted sophisticated technologies to avoid detection.

These include phone number spoofing, encrypted messaging platforms such as WhatsApp and Telegram, fake electronic payment systems, artificial intelligence-generated audio, deepfake technology and fraudulent impersonation of government officials, law enforcement agencies and financial institutions.

The agency further alleged that recruiters use Russian-language online platforms to recruit accomplices inside Russia, paying them in cryptocurrency.

Those recruited are allegedly instructed to rent apartments for short periods, install SIM-box equipment connected to large numbers of Russian SIM cards obtained using false identities, and operate the systems through internet providers to facilitate fraudulent calls.

The FSB also claimed that some groups operate across multiple Russian regions using mobile equipment installed in rented vehicles to reduce the risk of detection.

In addition, the security agency alleged that some fraud proceeds are used to finance the Ukrainian Armed Forces, although it did not provide evidence to support the claim.

The FSB further accused Ukrainian intelligence services of targeting relatives of Russian military personnel through extortion and telephone scams, alleging that such activities are intended to undermine morale.

The agency also made a series of allegations linking some call centres to officials and institutions in Ukraine, including claims that operations in the Kyiv and Kharkiv regions receive support from local authorities. It also alleged that citizens of European Union countries are increasingly becoming victims of the fraud networks.

The Ukrainian government has not publicly responded to the latest allegations. Independent verification of the FSB’s claims was not immediately available.

Tanzania could be losing up to Sh15 trillion annually through the exclusion of people with disabilities from education and employment, according to analyses based on international research and economic projections.

Experts say the financial cost goes beyond social inequality, representing a major economic challenge that limits productivity, reduces tax revenue and slows the country’s development potential.

Buried inside Tanzania’s Finance Act 2026, approved by the Parliament recently, is a provision most readers will skip past entirely.

Mining counsel and serious investors should read it twice. The Bill amends four separate statutes, namely the Value Added Tax Act, the Income Tax Act, the Excise Duty Act, and the Road and Fuel Tolls Act, each time inserting near-identical language recognising ‘the tax exemption provisions stipulated in Framework Agreements signed between the Government and mining investors, as approved by the Cabinet.’

That repetition is the story. A government does not amend four laws to say the same thing unless the thing was not, in fact, being honoured under any one of them.

For years, the gap between what a Framework Agreement promised and what a mining company could actually claim at the border or against the Tanzania Revenue Authority has been a quiet source of friction.

Framework Agreements are negotiated, cabinet-approved instruments, but VAT and excise exemptions have routinely been refused on the basis that an agreement, however solemnly negotiated, is not itself a Government Notice or an express statutory provision.

The investor had a contract. The tax officer wanted a gazette entry. That is not a technicality, but the difference between a right and a request.

The Finance Act, 2026 closes that gap with unusual precision. A new section 146B of the Excise Duty Act, a parallel Income Tax Act amendment, statutory VAT Act recognition, and the Road and Fuel Tolls Act amendment together mean Framework Agreement exemptions no longer depend on a separate administrative act to take effect.

The contract and the statute now point the same way and that is the difference between an exemption that exists on paper and one that exists at customs.

I say this as someone who has sat on the negotiating side of these instruments. At Shikana, our experience negotiating Framework Agreements on behalf of investors shows precisely this pattern: the clause is rarely the weak point, but implementation is.

A well-drafted stabilisation provision is only as strong as the administrative machinery that honours it, and Tanzania has done something genuinely useful by moving that machinery into primary legislation rather than leaving it to discretionary notice.

Candour requires the other half of the picture. These exemptions apply only during the construction phase, end the moment mineral production begins, and exclude petroleum products entirely.

This is calibrated relief, aimed at the period when capital is being deployed and cash flow is negative: precisely when a stabilisation clause matters most and government revenue forgone is lowest. That is sound design, not generosity.

The day a mine reaches production, the ordinary tax regime resumes, and any commercial model built on extended relief will be wrong.

The Act also introduces a new section 94A of the Tax Administration Act, penalising mining companies that misuse exemptions, transfer exempted goods without the Commissioner’s permission, or use fraud to obtain or benefit from them.

Investors should welcome this rather than fear it. A regime that polices abuse of an exemption is a regime that intends the exemption to mean something.

Loosely administered, unpredictably revoked incentives are the pattern that has cost Tanzania credibility with sophisticated capital before.

Enforcement standing, paired with statutory certainty, is what separates a genuine stabilisation clause from a political promise that survives only until the next budget cycle.

What should sovereign funds, DFIs, and mining houses do with this? First, revisit any Framework Agreement in force or under negotiation and confirm which exemptions now rest on statute rather than administrative discretion; the answer is not uniform across instruments signed at different times.

Second, treat the construction-to-production transition as a contractual event requiring its own compliance plan, not an afterthought; the exemption’s expiry is now as legally precise as its existence.

Third, recognise that this reform is Tanzania signalling it wants Framework Agreements to function as genuine instruments of contractual sanctity, not gestures requiring perpetual re-litigation at the revenue authority’s discretion.

Tanzania has not solved every friction in its mining fiscal architecture with four amendments. It has, however, done something rarer than another incentive announcement: aligned the statute book with the contract.

For an asset class where investor confidence hinges on whether a promise survives contact with the bureaucracy that must implement it, that alignment is worth more than the headline incentive itself.

The next test is whether other sectors negotiating Government Notice-dependent arrangements receive the same legislative treatment, or whether mining remains the exception rather than the template.

A big congratulations to Honourable Minister Anthony Mavunde for bringing this home.

For the owners of some of Dar es Salaam’s most recognisable nightlife establishments, the past two weeks have been anything but entertaining. Element.

Big Joe. Otea Bar. Uncle’s. Tips. Babylon. One after another, 13 bars across Kinondoni District were ordered to close following a crackdown led by the Regional Commissioner and the Kinondoni Municipal Council over persistent noise pollution and licensing violations.