Seacom connects the eastern African coastline to Europe and Asia

Johannesburg, Nairobi and Kampala received their connections on Thursday, and Addis Ababa and Kigali are expected to follow. The cable's arrival was originally scheduled for early July, but pirate attacks off the coast of Somalia delayed operations.

The undersea link is expected to lower the cost of bandwidth by up to 90 percent and to increase access to video conferencing, high definition television and high speed Internet along the eastern African coastline.

“Mmmh…Can't wait for the downloads to start,” writes IT Blog Kenya.

In Uganda, Josh from In an African Minute is already noticing the difference:

The widely known technique for watching YouTube videos in Africa is to immediately pause the video when it starts, wait 20 minutes (or much more) until the video fully loads, and then watch. Today I’m at the ceremony launching SEACOM…. In the corner of a conference room, Peter Moreton, a procurement manager for SEACOM, beckoned me over to a display computer with YouTube queued up. We launched Kung Fu baby and for the first time in Africa, I saw a YouTube video load completely and play in 6 seconds.

Munashe at TechMasai is equally thrilled:

Seacom the undersea cable we wrote about a while back is complete and has been commissioned, today. The initiative is revolutionary for the fact that the countries which will make use of it for now, which include Kenya, Uganda, Mozambique, South Africa and Uganda.

…It is a beautiful moment for Africa, I can vouch for Kenya who until now depended on satellites for their internet needs.

Jeremy, a Nigerian blogger writing at NaijaBlog, compares Seacom to West Africa's various cable links. West Africa comes up short:

East Africa goes broadband…while West Africa is still in the starting blocks (actually, still in the changing room wondering what to wear) with useless always-cut SAT3, a phantom Glo1 (are Alcatel's contractors stuck under a sand dune?) and the two new entrants, WACS and Main1 still way off beyond the horizon (next year if we're lucky). East Africa has embraced broadband and sprinted off with it while West Africa dithers and looks around.

Twitter is also abuzz with Seacom news. Some users are excited, while others are more skeptical:

“Still absolutely amazed that you can practically download the whole of the Interwebz through one small yellow cable #seacom“
— ncallegari

“Seacom did launch _for real_ today. Lets see how long it takes for the ISPs to increase speeds and lower costs…”
— dnyaga

“is it just me or is the net in Nairobi slower today since #seacom launched? Maybe the bandwidth is enjoying the ocean view before coming up?”
— mentalacrobatic

Much of the Seacom skepticism surrounds the issue of pricing: though some analysts claim bandwidth costs will drop by 90 percent, others believe the actual cost cuts may be much smaller. Kachwanya writes:

In the ideal world the cost should go down by more than 90%, currently it cost ISPs US$6500 (around KShs.487500) per MB of bandwidth. According to Seacom they will be charging US$400 (around Kshs.30,000) per MB of bandwidth, but hold your breath, don’t expect miracles on this front. Recently UUnet CEO Tom Omariba claimed that cables will only bring down costs by 20-30 percent.

True Kenyan is concerned about transparency:

Seacom has blatantly refused to disclose to us, the consumers of the internet, which ISP’s have bought the bandwidth from them. Hence we are still on the dark and we do not know where we can buy the cheap and reliable internet from…. So the only alternative i am left with is to continue with my ISP staring at the machine as it loads pages at its own pace wishing that one day our dream will come true.

Commenting on a post by Tanzanian blogger Issa Michuzi [SW], Mdau is also worried about costs, though he has high hopes for the future:

Asanteni sana kwa huo mkonga. Sasa kutandaza fibre-optic cables kwenye miji mbalimbali tunaanza lini? Manake kuwa na inter-country connection wakati within the country hatuna connection nzuri bado gharama zitakuwa juu na kwa maoni yangu tutakuwa tuna-under utilise capacity ya hiyo under sea cable. For the moment, well done! For the future, we have to work had!

For Jellyfish, who dismisses pricing concerns by noting that such an increase in speed and quality of service would normally be accompanied by a price hike, the arrival of Seacom is a beautiful event:

In a highly publicized and coordinated event SEACOM turned on the switch which instantenously beamed Terabytes of bandwidth at the speed of light through highly polished and engineered strands of glass.

And for South African Aki Anastasiou, “This is one small MB for my laptop, one giant TB for Africa.”

In that number of growing blogs, a lot of African artists have also joined in with a huge increase noted in poetry blogs as well as emerging photography and visual arts blogs.

We review some of them.

Poéfrika is a weblog of creative, Africa-inspired writing. The blog features poetry by various African poets, interviews with poets, writers as well news and information on world renowned poets and writers alike.

The blog also has a lot of resource material for would be poet as it lists links to various poetry publishing magazines, writers who have been featured in the blog and other links of interest to writers including their potrait photos.

Poéfrika is run by Rethabile Masilo a Lesotho citizen but currently based in France. He also runs Canopic Jar and Basotho which also feature written and visual art.

Fikira Zangu (Swahili for My Thoughts) is a Kenyan blog ran by Bonyo Buogha Anthony who is based in Nairobi, Kenya. The slogan for his blog is

“Intense thoughts like active beings, come and go Haunt us then flee, leaving ajar the door.”

This is what he says about himself

….I my words forgot, and thoughts my wrote; I'm weeping laughter, Humming thoughts and writing beats, Walking thoughts and thinking walks….

I would say that is a poetic piece right there.

Hi poetry is short and precise with most not exceeding 10 lines. The themes range from love to politics to his challenges as a poet.
An excerpt from his poem – Will you still be mine

Will you still be mine in the morning
After the evening passion fades
After all the pleasures of last night
have all been swept away

Will you still be mine
After the bitter arguments and fighting
After harsh words have been exchanged
will you open your arms and let me back in

Marten’s Blog is a purely photography blog run by Marten Schoonman who is based in Nairobi Kenya but one who travels a lot through the East African region and beyond.
The blog is an online diary captured in image form featuring a lot of breathtaking sceneries and immaculately taken photos of different people and items.
He also features some photos and photo sites that have fascinated him.

Africa Rock - Photo courtesy of Marten Schoonman

Merlin is a Campus student born in 87. He describes himself on his blog, iceboxmerlin.

got a swag to walk the talk, talk the walk sometimes, but always a down to earth and sensational individual to be around!’

You can tell from the image header that he is a great fan of animations. He labels his blog, ‘The Phanton Thought……..'
His disclaimer,

“Here are my thoughts on the world, life and the unraveling of the universe. The symptom of an involved mind with the features of life, is the intelligence and later a harnessed genius. It is the achieved Phantom thought of thick air!

His blog features a lot of poetry and prose in which he explores different issues and themes.

An excerpt of his poem, ‘The air is thick!…

Where the air is thick!
I have gone to a place,
like what a journey would be…
and had sweet thick mango juice,
A Kayamba playing in the back ground,
like that group of men call themselves Kayamba Africa
there was a man though,
a Rasta Man chewing at Muguka
green gobbler and something he's mumbling
between stuffing his mouth.
and puffing a cigarette,
the air here is unmistakably thick
so he says with a thick baritone voice,
“young man!”,
“write us some of that scribble you call poetry…”
“am in a mood for anything”
and a thick air came about me,
to put some sense into him!

Boyd Oyier is a 4th year student at a university in Kenya. He is also a self taught artist who loves to experiment and is currently working with charcoal and pastels.

A potrait of Malcom X as drawn by Boyd Oyier

His depictions of influential world faces on are superbly done with emotions that one can almost touch.

His blog is not more than a month old, something he started after attending a workshop on blogging and social networks in Nairobi.

He is currently putting together his first ever official collection that is titled “Politics in Black and White”

This is what he states as the purpose of art:

“The main function of art should be to connect to people. Each of us appreciates art in one form or another, but we are turned off by the ‘elite' who decided to complicate art by using labels such as 'surreal', ‘new age' and ‘contemporary'. The best art is the art that you love!”

We look forward to seeing the collection online.

Tafsiri Hii is a Kenyan poet blogger who runs afropoem, a blog about a Black Woman’s Poem.

This is how she describes herself:

”Black; from the curl of my hair to the toe on my foot…. African; it's in the blood flowing in my veins, the music in my voice, the dance in my walk…. Lover of words; written, drawn, sketched, scratched… Appreciative of the power of said words; be they written, spoken, hidden or displayed”.

Her blog which is barely one year old confronts issues of trafficking of African Women for prostitution, love, culture and celebration of African Men among other themes,

These blogs are proof that there is more to Africa than politics as has been depicted by many African bloggers. We can be sure of seeing more such blogs.

More than half of the dead were children, many of whom drowned in a river in the panic following the blast.

The powerful blasts caused the collapse of several nearby buildings and ignited rockets and other weapons that showered shrapnel on bewildered residents. A total of 755 houses have been destroyed and 4,000 people rendered homeless.

Immediately after the explosions, Red Cross officials set up two camps to support the victims, including more than 1,192 children who were admitted by Wednesday night after getting lost while running for safety.

While Investigations are under way into the cause of the blast, the government has set up an inquiry to asses the damage caused by the blast and has pledged compensation to all those affected.

On the day the explosions occured several Tanzanian bloggers posted updates immediately after the blasts. Basil Msongo described the situation [sw]:

HALI ya usalama Mbagala bado si shwari, watu wengi wameumia na wengine wamezimia kwa hofu.
Taarifa kutoka kwenye kambi yalipolipuka mabomu hayo zimedai kuwa huenda itatokea milipuko mikubwa kuliko iliyotokea hadi sasa kwa kuwa kuna mabomu makubwa hayajalipuka.
… Baadhi ya mabomu yamelipuka kwenye makazi ya watu, moshi umetanda Mbagala na kwa ujumla shughuli za kijamii zimeathirika sana.

And Charahani wrote:

Mamia ya wakazi wa jiji hilo hasa Mbagala na vitongoji vyake walionekana kuchanganyikiwa walikuwa wakihangaika kukimbia nyumba zao kwa lengo la kujiokoa. Katika harakati za kujiokoa baadhi ya wananchi ho walitumbukia mtoni huku baadhi yao wakiwasahau watoto wao na vikongwe nyumba bila msaada wowote

The day after the blast the initial shock turned into sessions of anger and questions about those responsible for the ‘accident'. There were angry reactions in a post with photographs of Tanzania’s president Jakaya Kikwete, Vice President Dr. Shein and other leaders visiting the site of the blast and temporary camps in Michuzi's blog:

We need to see some one anakuwa fired kwa uzembe uliotokea roho ya mtu ina thamani kubwa sana sasa uzembe wenu mmesababisha watu kupoteza maisha wengine viungo alafu hao majeruhi mtawaangalia kwa miezi mitatu tu mtaendelea na shughuli zenu na hivi 2010 inakaribia dah…. Hapa tunataka kuona watu WANAKWISHNEY waziri wa wizara usika, Naibu wake, mkuu wa kikosi cha maafa yalipotokea Mwamunyange ooooops huyu jamaa smart kidogo aendelee kutumikia nchi yake lakini hao wengine niliowamention tunataka kuona uwajibikaji wenu sio pole sizizokuwa na manufaa kwa wahanga wa tukio husika.

In another post with an aerial photograph showing bewildered residents confused along a freeway and another with some residents inspecting missile remains in a residential area prompted readers to blame not only the army and the government but citizens as well:

Hii inaonesha hatari kubwa ya kuhifadhi makombora (missiles) karibu na makazi ya watu wengi.
Haya siyo mabomu, bali nia surface-to- air missiles za kutungulia ndege, pia sitashangaa kama kuan surface-to-surface missiles ambazo zaweza kufyatuliwa na mzinga wenye midomo 20, hiyo kuruka kwa mpigo ktk uwanja wa vita.

Another reader said:

… muhimu ni kufuata sheria za usalama na utunzaji wa silaha mbalimbali,ila ajali huweza kutokea.
Mazingira ama makambi ya jeshi ni mazuri sana, salama, kuna utaratibu safi na utunzaji wa mazingira ni namba moja! ndiyo sababu popote kambi ilipo,raia watasogea na watajenga tuu, ukiangalia maeneo yote hayo yalikuwa misitu minene wakati jeshi lilipo establish makambi lakini with time wananchi wamesogea na wengine wamevamia kabisa! Wakiambiwa waondoke hawataki na wanaenda hadi mahakamani!
makambi kuwepo mjini siyo tatizo, maana hata nchi za wenzetu hilo hilo lipo tena wana mambo ya hatari zaidi ya maghala ya silaha!,
Ila nadhani kuna umuhimu wa kuwafundisha watanzania “raia” mbinu za awali za medani na jinsi ya kusaidia na kujisaidia panapotokea balaa lolote.kwa sasa watz wengi bado “bongo lala” -penye hatari sisi tunakimbilia,utayari na kutambua hatari ni karibu na sifuri -JKT irudishwe upya kuondoa uzembe unaojionyesha na kuweka watu fiti kwa mujibu(kupiga msasa).
Tusipojali haya,it will cost us more than we can imagine!

The government, the military and the police are responding to the situation. Lukwangule has posted a press release from the Prime Minister’s Office promising compensation to all those affected by the blast:

Serikali imeshaanza kugharimia gharama za mazishi kwa watu waliokufa katika ajali hii, na itaangalia jinsi ya kuwapa pole wale waliofiwa ili kupunguza makali ya maisha na kuwasaidia waliopata ulemavu kwa matibabu na vifaa…

And regarding the issue of having military arms depots close to residential areas, Basil Msongo has short post where the Tanzania’s president explains why ammunitions depot is located near residential areas:

Rais Jakaya Kikwete amesema, ghala hilo halikujengwa katika makazi ya watu, kwa kuwa lilijengwa mwaka 1976 nje ya makazi hayo.

The appearance at the Kisutu court of Mra Mgonja, of the former Minister for Finance Basil Pesambili Mramba and of the former Minister for Energy and Minerals, Daniel Ndhira Yona late last month has increased the stakes in the fight against corruption in Tanzania. The former ministers were brought to court last month over the same scandal.

(Photo of one of the court appearances from Mpoki Bukuku's blog Mzee wa Sumo)

In November in another case 20 suspects including business tycoons and Central Bank senior officials were brought to court on charges of conspiracy, forgery, theft and obtaining credit under false pretence through the Bank of Tanzania (BoT)'s External Payment Arrears (EPA) account. The EPA case involves the theft of billions of shillings from the Bank of Tanzania's External Payments Arrears account.

For the best part of 2008 Tanzanians have been waiting to see how President Jakaya Kikwete handles corruption scandals dogging his government. Since the recent arrests, President Kikwete has received praises, even though some are sceptical and are calling for more heads to roll over numerous high profile corruption allegations.

On December 15th, Dr. Faustine of the blog Faustine's Baraza [Sw] gave a tip that the retired Treasury permanent secretary Gray Mgonja was about to be taken to court that morning on allegations of abuse of office. And Bongo Celebrity [Sw] confirmed later on that indeed Mr. Mgonja had appeared in court. Praising the president one reader wrote:

JK BRAVOOOOO!! Umeshaanza kuandikia historia ambayo haijawahi kuandikwa na kiongozi yeyote, si wa Tanzania, Afrika na pengine pia Ulimwengu. Tunaamini kwamba hii ni hatua muhimu sana ya kwanza ili nchi iweze kupiga maendeleo. Bila kuondoa ufisadi nchi haitaweza kupiga hatua zozote za maendeleo.
HONGERA kwa kazi kubwa. TUNAOMBA mwenyezi Mungu azidi kukupa BUSARA na UJASIRI, kwa kuwa hii vita si rahisi na lele-mama kama ambavyo watu wengine wanadhani.
NAOMBA watanzania wote wapenda maendeleo, bila kujali itikadi, tukumbuke ule umoja wetu tuliofundishwa na Mwalimu tumuunge mkono Rais katika vita hii.
MUNGU IBARIKI Tanzania

More hopeful comments were also left in other Tanzanians blogs. In Issa Michuzzi's [Sw] post titled “Breaking neeewwwwwzzzzzz” one comment reads:

Naona mambo yanazidi kuwa mambo. Hawa akina Mgonja waliifanya wizara ya fedha na kodi zetu kuwa shamba la bibi. Ngoja vianze kuwatokea puani. Ngoja sheria ichukue mkondo wake ili liwe fundisho kwa walio kwenye madaraka na wanatumia nafasi zao kuhujumu mali ya umma. Inaweza kusaidia angalau hata kidogo maana hali ilikuwa imefikia pabaya. Mtu anaamua tu kufanya jambo lolote analojisikia ili mradi tu ni mali ya umma. Inasikitisha sana…

While congratulatory comments pour in, others still have doubts about the government's preparedness to go after all high profile figures. In the same post by Issa Michuzi a reader wrote:

hiki ni kiini macho kingine unafikiri kuna cha maana kitakachofanyika zaidi ya kupewa dhamana? halafu kesi kupigwa dana dana hadi watanzania watakaposahau. Kumetokea nini kwa mafisadi wa EPA? wote wako nje kwa dhamana wanakula kuku. vitu kama hivi vinafaidisha vyombo husika vya mahakama kupata posho na hongo kutokana na marekebisho ya masharti ya dhamana. tumeshaushutukia mchezo huu we need to do more and seen to be doing something.

Another sceptic reader at Issa Michuzi's thinks that these corruption charges are part of a political game that started during the last elections:

Nakubaliana na wewe kiasi kidogo kuwa sasa tunaelekea Mahali, Lakini kumbuka kuwa hawa wote wanaopandishwa kizimbani ni kundi la pili ambalo halikuwa upande wa muheshimiwa wakati wa uchaguzi. Hawa walikuwa upande wa Mkapa wakiwa na dhumuni la kumuweka Sumai kwenye kiti hicho. Ambao ndio inasemekana walianzisha fyoko fyoko za Richmond Ili kumuharibia Mkuu asipate tena 2010. Na yeye sasa anawarudia na mbio hizi zinamuelekea Mkapa kama ukichunguza vizuri. Kwahiyo mimi naona huu bado ni mchezo mchafu wa siasa tu.

In all the posts discussing the high profile corruption cases in Tanzania there are calls for more powerful individuals to appear in court. In another post by Issa Michuzi on the EPA case a reader wrote:

Kwa kweli wakamatwe samaki wa aina zote! Nyangumi hadi dagaa! Msituchezee picha halafu mkawaacha nyangumi wakiendelea kututimulia vumbi na ma-epa yao barabarani, na majumba ya mabilioni!…

For more photographs of the accused in court check out the blogs Dr Faustine's Baraza, Issa Michuzi and Mzee wa Sumo here and here.

Seneta Obama hatimaye ameshinda urais wa Marekani na anakuwa rais wa Kwanza Mweusi kwa historia. John Mc Cain amekuwa wa kwanza kukiri kuwa ameshindwa kiungwana na kumpongeza mwenzake Obama. Hili limekuwa funzo lingine kwa wagombea wetu wa kiafrika na kitanzania wanaposhindwa si kukimbilia mahakamani bali ni kukubali.

Chemi Che Mponda at Swahili Time settled for Barack Obama Wins Election 2008 as the headline. She adds:

Barack Obama ni Rais Mteule wa Marekani!!!! Senator wa Delaware Joe Biden, atakuwa makamu wa rais. Mungu yu mwema! Waafrika na hasa sisi kutoka Afrika Mashariki Tujivunie!
OBAMA UBARIKIWE!

Issa Michuzi just posted a collage of front pages of newspapers all decorated with Obama's victory headlines while Charahani posted photographs of president elect Obama and his family waving to the crowds and of people in tears after the historic win.

In a post titled Obama katoka mbali ati (Obama has come a long way), Issa Michuzi posted a number of Obama's photos. And, as if in a photo essay, Mwaipopo also posted Obama's photos from childhood to the great day. He also observed:

Obama! Obama!
Kila mtaa hapa bongo watu wote ni Obama, Obama kufuatia ushindi wake wa kishindo huko Marekani. Kila baada ya sentensi mbili inayofuatia ina neno ‘Obama'. Pegine wakati wafuasi wake wali0tapakaa ulimwenguni wakishangilia, yeye anatafakari ni kwa namna gani ataitoa Marekani (na sehemu zingene za dunia) hapo zilipo na kuzipeleka pengine palipo bora zaidi. Blogu hii inamtakia kila la heri katika kazi yake hiyo aliyoiomba kwa juhudi zote.

Nkwazi Nkuzi Muhango in Mpayukaji blog, Dira Yangu in Fungua Jicho, and Nukta77 all had the Obama's acceptance speech.

Nukta77 also posts an email from one of her reader's on what Obama should do in relation to Africa:

Obama angehutubia AU na awatake viongozi wa Afrika walifanye bara hili kuwa business patner na sio dampo la majaribio ya sera za mataifa makubwa na misaada”.

Kwa wale wanaotegemea misaada kutoka kwa Obama, ninamshauri Obama asitoe misaada kwani katika kusoma kwangu sijawahi kusikia taifa lolote lile ulimwenguni ambalo limetajirika kwa misaada. Maendeleo hayaletwi kwa wingi wa pesa bali kwa ubunifu, maarifa na kazi. Fedha na misaada ni nyenzo na sio mhimili wa kuleta maendeleo.

Nasikitika kuona kuwa vijana wasomi wetu hawaonyeshi kujifunza kutokana na ushindi wa Obama. Wale vijana wa Vyuoni wamebaki kucheza ‘twist' wakati muziki unaopigwa ni ‘bongo flava'!

To acknowledge this historic event Chemi wants Obama's sculpture to be added at Mt. Rushmore. A reader though, calls for caution:

Pamoja na kuwa shabiki wa Obama lakini ni bado mapema sana kwake kuwa mmoja wa marais mashuhuri Marekani.Dada Chemi inabidi athibitishe katika mandate period na ikiisha ndio tuzungumzie hilo.Hao waliopo kwenye Mt Rushmore waliwekwa pale baada ya kumaliza uatwala wao.

In Dar Es Salaam, Issa Michuzi took some photos of people wearing Obama's T-shirts. But the extent of Obamamania started even before he was elected when Tshirts designed by a local artist Mayunga and a Swahili book on Obama written by a Swahili blogger, Mjengwa were often sold out as recorded by CNN in this video found at Nukta77 blog:

Newspapers have described the tragedy as “the biggest in Tanzania's history” and “the worst-ever disaster during Eid al-Fitr”.

Organisers of the young people's disco popularly known in Tanzania as ‘Toto disco' have been arrested for investigation.

Blogger Faustine's Baraza posts photos of the disco hall and bodies in a mortuary and so does Issa Michuzi.

Some of the readers have called for better safety practices:

TUWEKE MBELE HEALTH AND SAFETY PRACTICES. TOTALLY UNNECESSARY AND AVOIDABLE DEATHS. SIJUI LINI TUTAJIFUNZA!!

And in the same post another reader says:

Tukio kama hili linahitaji Rais Jakaya kwenda kutoa pole, hasa inapozingatiwa kwamba huwa anahudhuria ajali za watu ambao huwa wanamajina pale Muhimbili. Hili ni swala kubwa na sio kumtuma Mh. Kapuya.
Anatakiwa kuwasili katika eneo la tukio na kukagua , kutoa pole na pia kuhutubia wananchi.
Pia ni wakati wa TZ, hasa Fire marshal kuanza kuangalia uwezo wa sehemu za disco kuchukua kiasi fulani cha watu na njia za tahadhari (Exit)kama hali kama hii ikitikoea.Ikiwa ni pamoja na kuwa na Genereta, na wasaidiza wa haraka.

Msimbe of Lukwangule Entertainment writes that two people have been arrested for questioning including the manager of One Ten Disco and the manager of Bubbles Night Club in addition to the two directors of the two discos who were arrested earlier.

Issa Michuzi, in one of the series of posts about the incident has a post by a special correspondent stating that the Tanzanian President has ordered a full investigation about the causes of deaths.

Local government in Tabora has already set up an investigating commission. Some readers think that the local government is one of the culprits that caused to the tragedy and place the blame on the local governments in the first place:

Maeneo ya Wazi ya wapi mjini Tabora?Je,kuna uwanja wa mabembea na michezo ya watoto japo mmoja tu katika mji mzima wa Tabora?Kosa la nani?Asitafutwe mchawi hapa au kurushiana lawama.Poor Leadership in Government Institutions is the cause of all this. Mpaka watoto zetu wafe ndipo viongozi wakurupuke na kujifanya wanahusika kwelikweli kumbe usanii tu!What a Pity?Viwanja vyao vya michezo vingekuwepo mtoto gani angefikiria aende disco aache mabembea?too much politicking!Nothing Doing,eti tuna Doctorate Degrees!Za kubandika ukutani?

While sympathising with the families of the victims many of the comments have been directed at the local government and the need for better risk management:

Nawapa pole wafiwa na wanatabora wote kwa janga hili la kitaifa. Tunajifunza nini kwa hili?
1. Maafa na ajali zinazomaliza maelfu ya watanzania ni vitu vya mpito tu na serikali haitilii maanani kuyapunguza. Ripoti za chang'ombe, Kisutu, muhimbili zimefanya nini kupunguza majanga haya?
2. Tutaunda tume 100 lakini hazisaidii kumaliza majanga kwa sababu ya kutokuwa makini na kujali maisha ya watu wa kawaida.
3. Kama watoto hawatakiwi kwenda disco, je serikali mkoani tabora hawakuona hilo?
4. Kama wanaruhusiwa kwa masharti, basi NSSF (mmiliki), Mpiga Disco (mkaribishaji)na Manispaa (dhamana ya ukaguzi) wawajibishwe kikamilifu.
Watanzania mliopo nyumbani wakumbusheni viongozi majukumu yao kwa kupinga haya mambo. Wanasheria wasaidieni waathirika na hakikisheni wanapata “fair and adequate compensation” na iwe fundisho kwa wengine.

The decision to fire Ballali comes against the background of claims by the opposition camp in parliament from mid last year that large amounts of public funds were unaccounted for at EPA account in dubious deals. Led by MP Dr Willibrod Slaa, the opposition legislators called for Ballali to resign to pave the way for proper investigation.

The news of Ballali’s termination can be spotted across a number of Swahili blogs. While the president’s decision to fire Ballali has been positively welcomed, some are of the opinion that due credits should go towards the opposition.

Ngurumo gives congratulations to the opposition camp MP, Dr. Slaa:

“Kwamba Rais Jakaya Kikwete amemfukuza kazi Gavana wa Benki, Daudi Balali, ni jambo la kutia moyo. Pongezi anazopata Rais Kikwete sasa anazistahili. Lakini sote tunajua kwamba Rais Kikwete amelazimika kuchukua hatua hizo, ingawa serikali ilikuwa inajua ‘matatizo' ya Benki Kuu. Kama si Dk. Willibord Slaa (pichani) na wenzake kuibua hoja hiyo Bungeni na kushinikiza serikali ichukue hatua, uchunguzi usingefanyika, na hatua hii moja isingechukuliwa. Kwa sababu hiyo, wanaompongeza Rais Kikwete wasimsahau yule aliyemsukuma, Dk. Slaa. Haya yote yameonyesha kuwa serikali na watu wake ilijua ukweli wa tuhuma alizotoa Dk. Slaa, ndiyo maana hata Jaji Mark Bomani akawaonya waliotishia kumshitaki mtoa tuhuma, ambao waliishia kutoa vitisho lakini hadi leo hawajakanyaga mahakamani. Na sasa tayari ametangaza kuwa ana siri nyingine kubwa za wizi wa vigogo. Ndiyo maana nasema, katika hili la JK kuchukua hatua, shujaa ni Dk. Slaa.”

R. S. Miruko also congratulates the opposition:

“Gavana wa Benki Kuu ya Tanzania, Daud Balali ametemeshwa kibarua leo baada ya kubainika ubadhirifu wa Shilingi Bilioni 123 katika akaunti ya madeni ya nje. Bravo Chadema. Bravo Dk Slaa. Bravo JK”

Soliciting readers’s opinions, Muhidin Issa Michuzi posed a question about President’s decision in a post titled ‘panga la JK’ literary meaning ‘president JK’s matchette’. Some readers want the president to clean up every department:

“Naona baada ya benki kuu hilo mashete lielekezwe kwenye mabuzwagi…namaanisha mikataba yoote ambayo haijatulia na kwa kuanzia ni ile ya madini na hasahasa Buzwagi yenyewe”

Another reader is of the opinion that the sacking of the governor is too little too late taking into consideration the news that Ballali tendered his resignation in December 2007 that were denounced by the government : More questions than answers on Ballali”

“Hakuna Kitu, hakuna panga lolote lililotembea. Balali amejiuzulu toka Dec. 2 2007. Barua ipo. Wewe Raisi leo unakuja kutuambia kuwa umemfukuza kazi.Acha usanii sema umekubali kujiuzulu kwake. Mbona naibu Gavana wakati wa Balali hukumfukuza kazi?…”

Scepticism about the president’s steps is not on short supply. On Mjengwa’s blog, one reader congratulates the opposition but remains skeptic:

“wote tunajua ya kuwa:

1: Bila ya kelele za akina Zito na Slaa, huu uchunguzi usingefanyika
2: Watawala wetu walitumia nguvu zote mpaka wakazunguka mikoani kukanusha shutuma za akina Zito na Slaa
3: Pamoja na kelele zilizokuwa zinapigwa na wapinzani, na watawala kujua kuwa ni za kweli bado walikataa kufanya lolote mpaka pale waliposhinikizwa na wafadhili wa nje
4: Wahusika wa kashfa hii bado wapo kwenye nafasi zao na wanaendelea kufaidi matunda ya ufisadi wao
5: Balali katolewa kama sadaka tu. Haingii akilini ati pesa zote hizo zinapotea halafu all you can do ni kumfukuza mtu kazi.
6: MWISHO WA HII SINEMA ITAKUWA KAMA ZINGINE ZOTE. MAFISADI WATAENDELEA KUPETA WAKATI WANANCHI NDIO WANAZIDI KUWA NA MAISHA MABAYA”

Another hot topic across Swahili blogosphere is about an attack on journalists in Dar Es Salaam recently. Two local journalists, Saed Kubenea and Ndimara Tegambwage of the MwanaHalisi weekly Kiswahili tabloid were attacked with machetes and acid by a group of unknown assailants who raided their office.

Happy Katabazi has posted photos showing her with the victims of that attack.

With a growing number of English and Swahili blogs covering all sorts of topics such as the environment, food, sports, fashion, politics, interior design, and technology, the Tanzanian blogosphere is becoming one of the most vibrant and dynamic blogospheres in Africa. Following this growth, Tanzanian bloggers decided to establish a formal organization. Jumuiya ya Wanablogu Tanzania (Jumuwata) was born.

The Tanzanian experience in building Jumuwata offers important practical and theoretical lessons to bloggers and citizen media activitsts on how to build a collaborative and democratic blogging community.

When Tanzanian bloggers decided to form their organization, they wanted the process to be as open and collaborative as possible. The process started with planning for a virtual conference, which Doodle and wiki. Because Tanzanian bloggers live in different times zones, Doodle was used to vote for proposed dates and time of the event. Discussions concerning conference agendas and the nomination of the conference moderator took place on the wiki. Selected agendas were announced on the wiki by the conference modetator, Ramadhani Msangi.

Discussions and conference announcements were also taking place on members’ blogs. Majira, a local Swahili paper in Tanzania carried an article about the conference and Mwananchi, another Swahili newspaper, had one feature article before the conference and another one after the conference.

Where will the conference take place?

The main challenge at this stage was the appropriate tool to be used to conduct the conference. Since almost all bloggers living in Tanzania use public Internet access, it became clear that the conference had to take place on a webbased platform. Most Internet cafes in Tanzania do not allow visitors to download any software. Following an advice from Ethan Zuckerman, the webbased IRC@Work became the conference platform. Channel #blogubongo was set up and log in instructions were posted on the conference wiki and on members’ blogs.

During the conference, decisions were reached by voting. It was decided, among other things, that November 18th will be the National Blog Day in Tanzania and that an interim committee had to be formed before the end of the conference. Its responsibility was to collect opinions and ideas from bloggers about how to establish a formal organizational structure. The interim committee was made up of bloggers Da’ Mija (the Netherlands), Jeff Msangi (Canada), Ndesanjo Macha (USA), and Ramadhani Msangi (Tanzania).

It was also decided that the organization will establish its presence online through its own website and an aggregator. While aggregators from other African countries have been set up by a group of committed individuals, Tanzanian bloggers decided that its aggregator has to be owned by the community through Jumuwata.

After the conference, a new blog, BloguTanzania, was set up by the interim committee. Through open discussions on the blog, Tanzanian bloggers dealt with issues such as leadership structure, the name of the organization and its abreviation, the name of the aggregator, constitutional matters and catergories for blog awards (to be given on the National Blog Day).

Graphic designers were asked to submit logos to be voted for on the blog. The winner was Gerald Shuma whose logo became the official logo of Jumuwata.

The interim committee announced three leadership positions (namely Chairperson, General Sectretary, and Treasurer) and called on interested bloggers to submit their profiles and start campaigning. There were eight candidates for the three positions. Their photos were displayed prominently on the right hand side of the blog before the election.

Virtual Election: How will we vote?

The main question at this stage was, “How will we vote?” After intense discussions and a lot of thinking, the interim committee decided that voting was to take place on the comment section of the community blog (as if one is leaving a comment). And in order to prevent rigging, only bloggers were allowed to vote. Anonymous comments were not allowed on the voting day. Comments were moderated on that day to prevent potential voters from being influenced by voting patterns.

The virtual election took place on June 30th, 2007:

It is official, Tanzania bloggers are going to hold a virtual election on June 30, 2007. There are eight candidates for different positions listed on the Jumuiya ya Wanablogu Tanzania (the community of Tanzanian bloggers) blog.

Ramadhani Msangi (Tanzania) became the Chairman, Simon Kitururu (Finland) the General Secretary and Da Mija (the Netherlands) the Treasurer. Two weeks ago, the three of them and two other invited bloggers met online for their first official meeting.

They are currently working on a draft constitution, which will be debated publicly before it is adopted and writing emails to specific bloggers asking them to form various committees (Activism, Media Law and Ethics, Technology, etc).