Shinyanga. Tanzania Revenue Authority
(TRA) has shut down a diamond mine
belonging to El-Hillal Minerials Limited
in Kishapu District, Shinyanga Region,
for allegedly failing to pay taxes
amounting to over Sh374.9 million.

Addressing the media yesterday, the
Shinyanga regional TRA manager, Mr
Ernest Dundee, said the authority
reached the decision following the

mining company’s refusal to adhere to
directives by Suka Security Co Ltd and
Auction Mart & Court Brockers, who
were the authority’s debt collectors.
“This is not the end, but just the
beginning. TRA will shut down all
businesses of all chronic debtors,” the
regional TRA boss warned.

The mine acting manager, Mr Badul Seif,
was tightlipped on grounds that higher
authorities were supposed to comment
on the TRA move.

The acting manager also refused to sign
a letter from the debt collectors ordering
the closure of the mine’s machines for
separating diamonds and asked the
Suka Security Co Ltd and Auction Mart &
Court Brockers to seek assistance of
police officers in impounding four trucks
of the mining firm.

Arusha. Zanzibar tomato growers areZ’bar tomato prices up as pest destroys crop
facing huge losses due to a major pest
invasion, which is reaching epidemic
proportions.

Scientifically known as Tuta absoluta,
the pest has originated from South
America.

In September 2015, the pest struck
Kombeni Village in Urban West Region
in Unguja Island, before spreading fast
in the entire Zanzibar archipelago. The
head of Field Services Section in the
Ministry of Agriculture and Natural
Resources in Zanzibar, Mr Suleiman
Juma Machano, said the pest has cut
harvests of Zanzibar‘s “red gold” by
nearly 70 per cent, creating a serious
commodity shortage.

This implies that farmers realised only
30 per cent of the harvest last season,
pushing up the prices of tomatoes
beyond reach of majority poor folks.

Whereas consumers create high demand,
brokers are cashing in as prices soared
from Sh1,000 to Sh4,000 per kilograme
in just a month as shortage bites.

“The situation is bad. We are now forced
to import tomatoes from Mainland
Tanzania , where the shortages also
exists due to similar reasons,” Mr
Khalfan Nassoro told The Citizen.

The permanent secretary in the Ministry
of Agriculture and Natural Resources
here, Mr Affan Othman Maalim, told The
Citizen that the government was
consulting scientists from Mainland
Tanzania to advise the best way to
control the pest.

“This pest is new in Zanzibar… we
haven’t seen it before so we are
consulting experts from the Mainland to
see if they can help us,” Mr Maalim said.
The Tuta absoluta outbreak first
occurred at Ngarenanyuki in Arumeru
District, Arusha Region, mid 2014, from
where it spread to other places in
Tanzania.

Morogoro-based Magole farm, probably
the country’s biggest commercial
producer of tomatoes has seen its 35
acres completely destroyed by the pest,
leaving the management weeping.


Magole farm assistant manager Jones
Murege told The Citizen that they lost
nearly 1,000 tonnes of tomato worth
Sh700 million.

The Tanzania Horticultural Association
says the pest threat is real and if nothing
is done immediately, the entire tomato
production will be destroyed, denying
the economy Sh300 billion annually.

Technology

Description : Ukrainian designer Herman Haidin
investigates the possibility of a fully waterproof iPhone

Concept sketches for upcoming iPhones tend to come in
two distinct flavours: those that try to imagine what the
next generation will actually be and those that simply
investigate what it could potentially be.

Designer Herman Haidin's drawings definitely fall into the
latter category.

In a series of sketches published on Behance.ne t, the
Ukrainian imagines an iPhone constructed from "liquidmetal"
– for which Apple acquired the patent in 2010 and could
potentially make the handset completely waterproof.


So what is liquidmetal? Many of us already own a piece of
it - every iPhone box sold today comes with a small piece of
the material in it: the small prong SIM ejector.

Liquidmetal is an alloy with "an amorphous atomic structure
and a multi-component chemical composition", tech site BGR
says. "The special metal has high tensile strength, corrosion
resistance, water resistance and better elasticity."

In his concept sketch, Haidin imagines the iPhone 7 with a
layer of liquidmetal incorporated just beneath the screen to
act as the cooling system for the new handset and help its
internal components stay dry.

Singida regional commissioner, Dr Parseko Kone, has ordered
all public buildings in the region
Workers building a rain water harvesting tank

Iramba. Singida regional commissioner,
Dr Parseko Kone, has ordered all public
buildings in the region to set
infrastructure that will enable them to
harvest water. He said the ongoing rain
water must be harvested and preserved
for future uses.

The RC was speaking on Monday after
inspecting the ongoing renovation at
Iramba District hospital’s buildings. The
renovation is being funded by a non-
governmental organisation called
Sustainable Environment management
Action (SEMA).

He said leaders in various public offices
in the region must ensure residents
understood the importance of harvesting
and preserving water.

“We all understand that Singida has a
big problem of water, therefore we must
set infrastructures so that when it rains,
we can harvest water for future use,” he
said.

He added that public leaders must also
mobilise residents to apply the
technology so that there could be a relief
on water scarcity during dry season.
“We must mobilise ordinary residents
and various institutions to use their
buildings for water harvesting, this will
help us to keep enough water,” said Dr
Kone.

Moreover, the RC asked WaterAid
Tanzania to collaborate with SEMA in
setting infrastructure that could help to
solve water scarcity problems in the
region.