General Information

          "The Unparalleled Beauty of Tanzania"

I believe there is not a sickness of the heart too great that it cannot be cured by a dose of Africa.



UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA

Is a republic country with a parliamentarian government.
The head of state is the Executive President.

Tanzania, in particular, has managed to avoid the political upheaval and warfare that has affected so many other African countries. Tribal conflict simply does not occur here, despite the fact that it is the most diverse nation in Africa, with over more than 120 different ethnic groups. On Oct. 29, 1995 Tanzania held it's first democratic elections...peacefully. Named Tanganyika after the World War I when it was acquired by Britain, the country gained its independence in 1961. In 1963, it was joined by nearby Zanzibar, and the two formed the nation of Tanzania.

Capital; DODOMA

Pronounced As: dodm� , city (1994 est. pop. 215,000), capital of Tanzania, central Tanzania. It is the trade center for an agricultural region producing beans, seeds, corn, peanuts, grains, coffee, tea, and tobacco. Cattle are also raised and marketed. Food and beverage processing and furniture making are the main industries. Dodoma is linked by road, rail, and air to Tanzania's largest cities, including Dar-es-Salaam, the nation's largest port and original capital. In the mid-1970s, plans were made to move the capital to Dodoma. Tanzania's national assembly moved there in Feb., 1996, but many government offices remain in Dar-es-Salaam.

Commercial city; DAR-ES-SALAAM

Little more than a century old, Dar Es Salaam is a relatively modern city that has an old world charm. It shows none of the overwhelming bustle that capital cities often possess, and the name that the founding Sultan of Zanzibar gave it in 1857 still applies: "Heaven of Peace." One of the most attractive features of Dar Es Salaam is its harbour. The crescent bay is fringed with palm trees, and gorgeously wrought sailing craft often waft into port. From December to March, Asian bateels and badane set sail from India, Arabia, and the Persian Gulf, their holds bursting with carpets, silver, and brass to trade at the Indian bazaar. Jahazi and Mashua, Dar Es Salaam's traditional small sailboats , come and go all day from Mafia Islands and Lamu. Another fascinating attraction of the city is its National Museum. Some of Dr. Leakey's first finds can be found in the museum, including Nut-cracker Man and Zinjanthropus Bosei, proto-humans who roamed the Rift Valley over a million years ago. There are also detailed displays that track humanity's evolution over the years.

Tanzania has 120 different ethnic groups;

Ngorongoro Crater, the world's largest caldera;
The vast savannah and immense plains of the Serengeti;
Elaborately garbed Maasai people, who have maintained their traditions in the face of increasing exposure to Western ways;
Olduvai Gorge, site of the Leakeys' great discovery, Zinjanthropus Man;
Kilimanjaro, the highest free-standing mountain on earth;
Greatest concentration of wildlife in the world;
Home to 90% of the film series produced on African animal.

ECONOMY

For a long time the Tanzania economy has suffered several shocks with severe destabilizing effects. They include the oil shocks. collapse of commodity prices, drought, breakup of the East African Community and the Uganda war. These shocks coupled with a poor policy regime culminated in severe economic crisis in the early I 930s. Several adjustment measures were implemented since 1981 but by mid 1990 fiscal instability was still severe. The privatisation programme is now concentrating on the large and monopolistic enterprises whose privatisation has to be preceded by formulation of a legal and regulatory framework. In early 1996, the Government committed itself to a shadow programme monitored by the IMF and from September 1996 a three-year Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility (ESAF) underpinned by a Policy Framework Paper (PFP).

To-date, Tanzania has made significant progress in restoring macro economic stability. Overall fiscal balance (including grant) has been a surplus of around 0.8 to I.2 percent of GDP during the past three years. Inflation has been controlled from more than 30 percent in 1995 to 6.6 percent in early 2000. Foreign reserves have increased from 1.5 months of merchandise imports in 1995 to 4.5 months currently. The Government recognises the need for a robust high growth to fight the nation-wide poverty. Higher (6-8 percent) and sustained growth is necessary. While growth is necessary it is important that it is broad-based and centred on improving the livelihoods of the poor. The Government is committed to consolidating and intensifying the macroeconomic progress achieved to-date.

AGRICULTURE

Agriculture is the foundation of the Tanzanian economy. It accounts for about half of the national income, three quarters of merchandise exports and is source of food and provides employment opportunities to about 80 percent of Tanzanians. It has linkages with the non-farm sector through forward linkages to agro-processing, consumption and export; provides raw materials to industries and a market for manufactured goods.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Science and technology are powerful instruments for development. In Tanzania Science and Technology has played major contributions in our economic development. Some of these important contributions are: Improvement of the overall productivity by instituting structural changes in the models and methods of production which lead to greater efficiency and innovativeness in economic activities.Boosting exports by improving the quality of products, reducing the costs of production

WILDLIFE

Tanzania�s national parks and game reserves cover one-seventh of the country, and include Serengeti National Park (famous for its vast migratory herds of plains animals. notably wildebeest, zebra. eland and kudu). Small bands of chimpanzees are found in the Gombe National Park along Lake Tanganyika. The steep mountain walls of Ngorongoro Park�s volcanic crater have provided protection and a natural enclosure for animals in an environment of great natural beauty. Rhino and elephant are still depleted by poaching despite government protective measures. Tanzania is home to one of Africa's most magnificent game reserves, namely the Selous Game Reserve and is also the seemingly endless plains of the Serengeti National Park, where one of the world's greatest natural spectacles, the annual migration of some two million wildebeest followed by their predators can be observed. The Serengeti holds some of the largest concentrations of lion, cheetah and leopard in Africa, and is probably the best national game park on the continent to see these predators.



THE TANZANIA NATIONAL ANTHEM

Kiswahili Version

Mungu Ibariki Afrika
Wabariki viongozi wake
Hekima, umoja na amani
Hizi ni ngao zetu
Afrika na watu wake.
Chorus
Ibariki, Afrika
Ibariki, Afrika
Tubariki, watoto wa Afrika

Mungu Ibariki Tanzania
Dumisha uhuru na umoja
Wake kwa waume na watoto
Mungu, Ibariki
Tanzania, na watu wake.
Chorus
Ibariki, Tanzania
Ibariki, Tanzania
Tubariki, watoto wa Tanzania.

English Translation

God Bless Africa
Bless its leaders
Let Wisdom Unity and
Peace be the shield of
Africa and its people
Chorus
Bless Africa
Bless Africa
Bless the children of Africa.

God Bless Tanzania
Grant eternal Freedom and Unity
To its sons and daughters.
God Bless Tanzania and its People.
Chorus
Bless Tanzania
Bless Tanzania
Bless the children of Tanzania

Play to hear the National Anthem


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