PRESS SUMMARIES-14-16 September No registered refugee repatriated, confirms UNHCR Dar refutes UN reports on refugees – 264,000 still in Tanzania The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, (UNHCR) office in Dar es Salaam has confirmed with their counterparts in Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) that no registered refugee had been forced out of Tanzania whatsoever. The allegations that registered refugees had been forced out of Tanzania are unfounded, incorrect and malicious because those repatriated are not refugees but illegal immigrants, reads the statement. Initially, the refugees were given two options. They were required to observe immigration procedures to acquire the refugee status or leave the country voluntarily. According to the statement, the media outlets allegedly quoted a spec8ial report by a UN organization. The reports were aimed at tarnishing the good name of Tanzania which has for so long been safe-haven for refugees from the Great Lakes Region. It was revealed that the last time the refugees from Burundi were repatriated was in 2012 whereby 34,000 of them went back home willingly. In total, there are 264,000 refugees in the country. (The Daily News, Uhuru, on Saturday 14 September). Students’ enrolment rate in Tanzania schools is high, says UN recent report. A recent report on the New Global Partnership by the United Nations affirms that Tanzania has succeeded in students’ enrolment rate for both primary and secondary schools by 90 percent. Summarizing the report in Dar es Salaam, last week an economic advisor with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Amarakoon Bandara said that Tanzania has succeeded in students’ enrolment despite that the quality of education in the country is extremely poor. Among the seven areas of the MDGs that Tanzania signed, it has done so well in universal primary education whereby enrolment rate is much higher. However, the poverty is still a big issue in the country which continues to haunt people especially rural dwellers, not changing since the database of 2001 was laid. Speaking to Secondary School students, Amarakoon said that the new global partnership is a report compiled by the UN Secretary General’s high level panel of eminent persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda that charts out ways on how to eradicate poverty and transform economies through sustainable development. He noted the transformation aims at ending extreme poverty in all its forms in human history and ensure that every person achieves a basic standard of well being. (The Guardian on Saturday 13 September) 10,000 foreign teachers face deportation About 10,000 teachers face expulsion in the crackdown on illegal immigrants, private school owners said. The Tanzania Association of Managers and Owners of Non-Government Schools and Colleges (Tamongsco) told The Citizen that the crackdown would have serious repercussions on private English medium schools. The teacher to student ratio in Tanzania is 1:40, with a demand of 23,546 teachers. There are 13,657 teachers, which is only 58 per cent of requirements. This has prompted private schools to employ 9,889 teachers from neighboring Kenya, Uganda, Malawi and Zambia. Mr Nkonya also accused police and immigration officers of mistreating and humiliating foreign teachers, saying some had been handcuffed in front of their pupils and bundled into police vehicles. However, the ministry of Education and Vocational Training said it was not in a position to help private school owners who have employed illegal immigrants. In another development, criminals have been cashing in since the operation began in Dar es Salaam early this month. Gangs masquerading as immigration officers have been extorting bribes from illegal immigrants by threatening them with arrest and prosecution. Some have hounded foreigners out of their homes and proceeded to loot the houses. The harassment is particularly prevalent in the city’s Kinondoni and Mwananyamala areas. (Jambo Leo, Uhuru, Habari Leo, The Citizen, et al on 14 & 15 September) Priest in acid attack reported threats to police A Catholic priest who was badly injured in an acid attack in Zanzibar had apparently reported being threatened by some youths. Father Anselm Mwang’amba was burnt in the face and shoulders in the Friday incident and had to be flown to Dar es Salaam for specialized treatment. He is admitted to Muhimbili National Hospital. Father Thomas Assenga, who accompanied him on the flight, said that his colleague had been receiving threats for two months and had reported the matter to authorities in Zanzibar. The new details emerged as Zanzibar’s President, Dr Mohamed Shein, ordered police to expedite investigations into the rise in acid attacks in the Isles. The attack on Father Mwang’amba is the latest in a series of assaults on religious figures and the fifth acid attack since November, when Muslim cleric Sheikh Fadhil Suleiman Soraga was hospitalized with burns. Father Mwang’amba suffered 30 per cent burns (All media on 14-16 September)
Posted on: Mon, 16 Sep 2013 08:43:13 +0000
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