|
Mwanza |
Mbeya |
Iringa |
Kagera |
Bukoba |
Dar - es - Salaam |
Mtwara |
Kilimanjaro |
Kigoma |
kigoma ujiji |
lake Tanganyika
| Tabora |
Shinyanga |
Mara
Sunset over Lake Victoria as seen coming into
Mwanza via train
Mwanza
is a city in northwest
Tanzania and a southern
port of
Lake Victoria. It is the capital of
Mwanza Region. According to a
2002
census, the population was 378,327, and
Mwanza is the second largest city in Tanzania,
after
Dar es Salaam. It is located at an altitude
of 1,140 meters above
sea level.
The city deals with much of the lake trade with
neighboring
Uganda and
Kenya. Industries include
fishing,
meatpacking, and manufacturing
textiles and
soap. Mwanza is connected by rail with Dar
es Salaam and
Dodoma. To the South, a dirt road connects
Mwanza to
Shinyanga and
Singida and progress has been made to pave
it. To the East, Mwanza is connected to the
Western Gate of the
Serengeti and
Musoma via tarmac road.
Mwanza is the cultural centre of the
Sukuma, the largest ethnic group in
Tanzania. A famous landmark is the Bismarck
Rock, a large outcrop of
granite rocks.
In 1996, a national tragedy occurred off
Mwanza's shores as the
MV Bukoba sank in
Lake Victoria, drowning hundreds of
passengers.
Mwanza is the site of the controversial
documentary film
Darwin's Nightmare, which links the
city's commercial fishing industry to the arms
smuggling business that has destabilized the
neighboring
Great Lakes Region. The documentary was seen
as a slap in the face by the Tanzanian
government as well as many Tanzanians, whose
country's political stability and history of
peace has made it a haven for millions of
refugees from neighboring
Rwanda,
Burundi, and the
Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Mwanza Medical Institute of Medical Research
is an institution researching tropical diseases.
Many non-profit NGOs also exist in Mwanza
including
Kivulini Women's
Rights Organization.
Mwanza |
Mbeya |
Iringa |
Kagera |
Bukoba |
Dar - es - Salaam |
Mtwara |
Kilimanjaro |
Kigoma |
kigoma ujiji |
lake Tanganyika
| Tabora |
Shinyanga |
Mara
Mbeya
is a city located in southwest
Tanzania, Africa. Mbeya's urban population
was 280,000 in 2005. Mbeya is the capital of the
surrounding rural
Mbeya region (population, with Mbeya, totals
approx. 2 million).
Mbeya is the first large urban settlement
encountered when travelling overland from the
neighbouring nation of
Zambia. Mbeya is situated at an altitude of
1,700m/5500ft,
and sprawls through a narrow highland valley
surrounded by a bowl of high mountains. The main
language is colloquial
Swahili, and the
English language is extensively taught in
schools.
History
Following the 1905
gold rush, Mbeya was founded as a
gold mining town in the 1920s. The
TAZARA railway later attracting farming
migrants and small entrepreneurs to the area.
Mbeya and its district was administered by the
British until 1961. Mbeya Region was created
in 1961.
Economy
and infrastructure
Local government is admistered via the
Mbeya Urban District
authority and a Regional Commissioner.
Services and
corrugated iron roofing are seemingly the
main business activities, after smallholder
agriculture. Local crops include
maize,
rice,
bananas and
potatoes. Tanzania has a
free market in agricultural produce, and
Mbeya transports vast amounts of its maize to
other areas of Tanzania. There is also extensive
animal husbandry, with dairy cattle
predominating. Smallholder agriculture is not
standardised; methods vary greatly and are often
innovative. High-value export crops are also
grown, such as tea and coffee. There is some
smallholder cultivation of
tobacco. Firewood is collected by women and
girls, from the wooded valleys and
mountainsides.
Bamboo is naturally abundant in the forests,
and there are plans to teach local people about
this versatile plant and its many uses. Some
gold is still mined in the rural Chunya
District, by artisan miners.
There is a large 450-bed hospital in Mbeya. It
serves the whole of the Southern Highlands
region, although there is a severe shortage of
trained medical staff. Eight miles from Mbeya is
a large agricultural training college, MATI
Uyole, which has a large specialist library.
There are also number of schools, churches, a
regional police headquarters, and a petrol
station in Mbeya. As well as the usual shops,
there is a fixed vegetable and fresh produce
marketplace. Mbeya provides a variety of
services, including the 'Baba Kubwa' Indian
restaurant and
internet cafes.
Mbeya has extensive outskirts, with the worst
poverty concentrated at the fringes.
Geography and climate
The general range of temperature is between -6°C
in the highlands and 29°C on the
lowlands. Mbeya's cooler climate can be
deceptive in terms of sun exposure - sun screen
lotion is recommended when hiking, even in what
seems to be overcast weather. The best weather
is from June until October, when it is dry and
warm.
The area enjoys abundant and reliable rainfall
which stimulates abundant agriculture on the
rich volcanic soils. Average rainfall per year
is around 900mm.
The rainy season is from November to May. It is
cool and misty in Mbeya much of the time.
Sometimes visitors will need warm clothing, such
as a sweater or hat, to keep warm.
Mountain reserves and wildlife
The area around Mbeya has been called the "Scotland
of Africa", and with good reason. The hills are
clad in
heather and
bracken, but
botanically they are more closely related to
the
Fynbos (fine bush) of
South Africa’s
Western Cape Province than the
Highlands of Scotland. The nearest mountain
to Mbeya is
Loleza Mountain,
which rises over the town.
Mount Rungwe is the highest mountain in the
wider Mbeya region and it dominates the skyline
for several kilometers around. It is composed of
ten or more dormant
volcanic craters and domes. Rising above the
small town of
Tukuyu, at 2,960m, Rungwe is southern
Tanzania's highest peak, and is third in
Tanzania after
Mount Kilimanjaro and
Mount Meru in the north. Mount Rungwe is
surrounded by the catchments forest reserve that
was gazetted in 1949. This forest reserve
incorporates
montane
forest, upper montane forest and montane
grassland, with lesser amounts of
bushland and
heath at the upper elevations, found in low
bushes along streams and at the edges of montane
forest. The forest is home to a variety of
significant forest flora and fauna, including
the threatened
Abbott's Duiker. The forest is regarded as
important bird area, with two species listed as
vulnerable. The most notable creatures are
Rungwe Bush Viper
and
Colobus
monkeys.
Also ecologically important are the
Poroto Mountains,
south-east of Mbeya. In 2005, a completely
new species of large monkey was discovered
living in the
southern highlands to the south-west of
Mbeya. The Mbeya region has not yet been closely
studied by scientists, and doubtless there are
also many new species of plants to be discovered
there, and perhaps even new animals.
Forests in the area, even in the reserves,
continue to be enroached upon and degraded.
However, there has also been extensive tree and
forest planting, which ensures the local
firewood supply. There is a small illicit trade
in
orchid bulbs, which is thought to be
endangering the survival of some species.
Rivers
Catchments from the reserve feeds numerous
villages and towns from
Kiwira to
Katumba
to
Tukuyu and
Kandete,
and all settlements in between. All streams from
the north, west and southwest flow into the
Kiwira River.
These streams include the
Marogala,
Sinini,
Kipoke,
Kilasi
and
Mulagala.
In the southeast is the source of the
Mbaka River,
with the
Suma River
feeding into it. In the east the
Mrambo
and the
Mwatisi
flow out of the reserve. All of the above rivers
flow into
Lake Nyasa. The region's rivers are
generally clear and fresh, and the area is
outside the
mosquito zone. Freshwater fish abound in the
rivers. Other rivers flow from various sources
in a catchment divide at the area called Igoma
in Mbeya rural district. Also, Igoma is a
dividing watershed for the two river systems,
those flowing southward to lake Nyasa and those
flowing northward towards the Usangu plains. The
rivers flowing norhtwards are Ipatagwa, Mlowo
Mwambalizi and other minor ones and are among
tributaries of the great Ruaha River which flows
into Indian Ocean.
Tourism
The best weather is from June until October,
when it is dry and warm. Mbeya can be reached by
bus services along tarmac roads, or via the
TAZARA railway line from the capital
(approx. 300-miles,
two overnight passenger trains per week). An
airport is marked on maps, but this now seems to
be defunct.
There are game watching safaris, and also
trout fishing
in the mountains to the south. There are efforts
to widen
tourism beyond animal and wild game viewing,
which can best be done in
Madibila
and
Rujewa.
Mbeya is the best place in Tanzania for
hiking and forest walking; which is aided by
the cooler climate, friendly villages and pure
clear water in the river catchments.
Well-defined hiking trails have been established
to enable hikers to reach the elevated areas and
bio-diverse highlands, although the trails need
to be properly
mapped. For self-sufficient
hikers, some of the best, and least known
trekking in Africa is in the
Poroto Mountains
around the small town of
Tukuyu.
Botanical excursions are also promoted, due to
the presence of the natural flower garden at
Kitulo.
Recommended lodgings include: the Karabuni
Center in Mbeya, the Mbeya Hotel, the Holiday
Lodge, the Highlands and the Moravian Youth
Hostel for budget travellers. South of Mbeya,
signposted off the main road into Zambia, the
Utengele Country Resort is a charming country
hotel with excellent food and a vibrant
pub.
Mwanza |
Mbeya |
Iringa |
Kagera |
Bukoba |
Dar - es - Salaam |
Mtwara |
Kilimanjaro |
Kigoma |
kigoma ujiji |
lake Tanganyika
| Tabora |
Shinyanga |
Mara
Iringa
is one of
Tanzania's 26 administrative
regions. The regional capital is
Iringa. The total area is 58,936 square
kilometers (22,755 square miles), of which land
area is 56,864 km sq (21,955 mi sq) and water
area is 2,070 km˛ (800 mi sq).
The Iringa region has a population of 1,495,333,
according to a
2002
census[1].
Iringa Region is home to
Ruaha National Park, Tanzania's second
largest park, which has an abundance of wildlife
and approximately 7,500 visitors per year.
The Regional Commissioner of the Iringa Region
is Halima Y. Kasungu.[2]
District
The region is divided into seven districts:
Iringa Rural and
Iringa Urban,
Kilolo
Ludewa (8,397 square kilometers),
Makete (4,128 square kilometers),
Mufindi (7,123 square kilometers), and
Njombe (10,242 square kilometers).
Mwanza |
Mbeya |
Iringa |
Kagera |
Bukoba |
Dar - es - Salaam |
Mtwara |
Kilimanjaro |
Kigoma |
kigoma ujiji |
lake Tanganyika
| Tabora |
Shinyanga |
Mara
Dodoma [translation: "It has sunk"],
population 324,347 (2002
census), is the national
capital of
Tanzania, third biggest city in the country,
and also the capital of the
Dodoma region. In 1973, plans were made to
move the capital to Dodoma. Tanzania's
National Assembly moved there in February
1996, but many government offices remain in
the original national capital,
Dar es Salaam.
Geography
Located at
6°10′23″S
35°44′31″E
/ -6.17306,
35.74194Coordinates:
6°10′23″S
35°44′31″E
/ -6.17306,
35.74194,
in the centre of the country, the town is 486
kilometres west of the former capital at
Dar es Salaam and 441 kilometres south of
Arusha, the headquarters of the
East African Community. It covers an area of
2,669 square kilometres of which 625 square
kilometres is urbanised.
Demographics
Out of the total population, 157,469 people
(48.5 percent) are male while 166,878 people
(51.5 percent) are female. The estimated total
number of households is 74,914 with an average
household size of 4.3 people. The
Roman Catholic Church reports that 19.2% of
the population are
Roman Catholics
[1].
History
During
German colonial rule in East Africa, the
town of Dodoma was founded at the same time as
the construction of the
Tanzanian central railway. After the British
took over the city following the
First World War, Dodoma became a regional
administrative centre until the independence of
Tanzania in
1964. Primarily owing to the more central
location, it was decided by
plebiscite in
1973 to move the capital to Dodoma from
Dar es Salaam. The National Assembly moved
the next year, although to this day, a good deal
of government offices remain in the former
capital.
Infrastructure
A trunk road connects Dodoma with the former
capital of
Dar es Salaam via the
Morogoro region in the east. To the west,
there are roads to
Mwanza and
Kigoma going through
Tabora. The Great North Road links the city
with
Arusha to the north. The city is also served
by the Central railway line which connects it
over a distance of 465 kilometres (288 miles)
with
Dar es Salaam in the east. The city has an
airport managed by
Mission Aviation Fellowship, although the
size of planes is limited to small private
aircraft. There are plans to build a new airport
outside the city.
Education
Although there is no university currently in
Dodoma, there is a proposal for building one
which has attracted sponsorship from both
Microsoft and Prince
Al-Waleed bin Talal of
Saudi Arabia
[2]. The university is called the
University of Dodoma and is expected to open
in September 2007 with an initial intake of 1000
students. The University Vice Chancellor is
Professor Idrisa Kikula.
Also the Anglican Church of Tanzania is
establishing St John's University of Tanzania in
Dodoma. It is intended that courses will
commence in September 2007.[3]
Notes
In Tunisian folklore, the term 'Dodoma' refers
to a mythical beast of African origin
Mwanza |
Mbeya |
Iringa |
Kagera |
Bukoba |
Dar - es - Salaam |
Mtwara |
Kilimanjaro |
Kigoma |
kigoma ujiji |
lake Tanganyika
| Tabora |
Shinyanga |
Mara
KAGERA REGION – UNIQUE FEATURES
Kagera region is identified in the minds of most
Tanzanians as banana and plantain country; the
land of coffee and equally the land of plenty.
It is also identified as one of the regions
which were favoured by early contacts with
European missionaries along with Kilimanjaro and
Mbeya regions. Consequently, Kagera has had an
early start ahead of most Mainland regions in
terms of education. In 1967 it has an average
adult literacy rate of 40% with only Dar es
Salaam, Kilimanjaro and Ruvuma doing better.
During the 1978 Census, Tanga, Morogoro, Mara
and Iringa had caught up and surpassed Kagera
whose ranking deteriorated from number 4 to
number 8 which position it also held in 1988.
Geographically, Kagera had the record of being
the remotest region from the administrative
centre of Dar es Salaam along with Kigoma. It
has maintained this unfortunate position even
after the move of the country’s capital to
Dodoma. The regional headquarters of Bukoba for
Kagera is 616 kms from Dodoma as the crow flies.
Kigoma, the regional capital for Kigoma is 683
kms away. But unlike Kigoma, Kagera’s isolation
in further compounded by poor roads into the
region and by being sandwiched between the
neighbouring countries of Uganda, Rwanda,
Burundi in the north, west and by the Lake
Victoria waters on the east. The region’s only
land route to the rest of the Mainland is to the
south. No other region in the country is
bordered by so many foreign countries. The
region’s geographical isolation and the close
proximity to the three foreign countries has
made Kagera very vulnerable to foreign
influences and problems. The influx of refugees
from Rwanda and Burundi in the past two decades
is a case in point. No other region has suffered
from refugee damage as has Kagera. The damage by
deforestation as some 600,000 refugees sought to
make camp and to meet their demands for fuelwood
has been colossal. Game reserves were heavily
poached, morals polluted and drug resistant STDs
were introduced. As if this was not enough,
roads were damaged through overuse, health and
water facilities were overloaded.
Bukoba
is a town in northwest
Tanzania on the western shore of
Lake Victoria. It is the capital of the
Kagera region. Population estimate: 100,000.
Bukoba has a small airport and regular ferry
connections to
Mwanza, as well as ground transport to
Uganda's
Rakai District.
About
Bukoba
Situated on the shore of
Lake Victoria, Bukoba lies only 1 degree
south of the Equator and is Tanzania's second
largest port on the lake.
Bukoba town is situated at the Western shore of
Lake Victoria in the northwest of
Tanzania. The regional capital and Kagera's
biggest town is the gateway to the region. The
climate is sunny and mild most of the year. It
can sometimes get cool especially in the
evenings during the two rainy seasons, but never
as cold as the winter season in
Europe.
The town is flat and compact, forming a bowl as
it is surrounded by hills. The town has one
small bus stand, a small airport and a port with
a ferry that travels from Bukoba via Kemondo bay
port to Mwanza. It boasts a white sandy beach, a
large market, a port, tennis courts and a
swimming pool. There are many small streets,
along with 3 main streets: Jamhuri Road, which
goes from Kashozi Road to the Lake Hotel,
Government Road from the main bus stand to the
port and Kashozi Road from the Church Bookshop
(Ujirani Mwema) via Nshambya to Kashozi (Hekima
Secondary School) and Kashozi parish, the first
Catholic parish in the region.
Bukoba Town itself has the status of a Town
Council. It has a Town Director and other local
government officials like other district
councils in the region. It is expected that it
will gain the status of Municipal Town in the
near future.
Mwanza |
Mbeya |
Iringa |
Kagera |
Bukoba |
Dar - es - Salaam |
Mtwara |
Kilimanjaro |
Kigoma |
kigoma ujiji |
lake Tanganyika
| Tabora |
Shinyanga |
Mara
Dar es Salaam
(Arabic:
دار السلام [translation: "Abode of Peace"]
Dār as-Salām, cf. "Yer
u-salem"), formerly Mzizima, is the
largest city in
Tanzania. With a population estimated around
2,500,000, it is also the country's richest city
and a regionally important economic centre.
Though Dar es Salaam lost its official status as
capital city to
Dodoma in 1996, it remains the centre of the
permanent central government bureaucracy and
continues to serve as the capital for the
surrounding
Dar es Salaam Region.
Geography
Dar es Salaam is located at 6°48' South,
39°17' East (−6.8000, 39.2833).
[1] The city is situated on a massive
natural harbour on the Eastern Indian Ocean
coast of Africa.
Being situated so close to the equator and the
warm Indian ocean, the city experiences
generally tropical climatic conditions, typified
by hot and humid weather throughout much of the
year. Annual rainfall is approximately 1100mm
per annum and in a normal year there are two
distinct rainy seasons, 'the long rains' which
fall during April and May, and 'the short rains'
- during October and November.
Administratively, Dar es Salaam is broken into 3
districts:
Ilala,
Kinondoni, and
Temeke.
History
Kaiserstrasse, Dar es Salaam,
German East Africa, c. 1905
In 1859,
Albert Roscher
of
Hamburg became the first European to land in
Mzizima ("healthy town"). In 1866 Sultan Seyyid
Majid of
Zanzibar gave it its present name, an
Arabic phrase meaning Haven of Peace.
Dar es Salaam fell into decline after Majid's
death in 1870, but was revived in 1887, when the
German East Africa Company established a
station there. The town's growth was facilitated
by its role as the administrative and commercial
centre of
German East Africa and industrial expansion
resulting from the construction of the Central
Railway Line in the early 1900s.
German East Africa was captured by the British
during
World War I and from then on was referred to
as
Tanganyika. Dar es Salaam was retained as
the territory's administrative and commercial
centre. Under British
indirect rule, separate European (e.g.
Oyster Bay) and African (e.g.
Kariakoo and
Ilala) areas developed at a distance from
the city centre. The town's population also
included a large number of South Asians.
After
World War II, Dar es Salaam experienced a
period of rapid growth. Political developments,
including the formation and growth of the
Tanganyika African National Union (TANU),
led to Tanganyika attaining independence from
colonial rule in December 1961. Dar es Salaam
continued to serve as its capital, also when in
1964 Tanganyika and
Zanzibar merged to form Tanzania. However,
in 1973 provisions were made to relocate the
capital to
Dodoma, a more centrally located city in
Tanzania's interior. The relocation process has
not yet been completed, and Dar es Salaam
remains Tanzania's primary city.
One of the deadly
1998 U.S. embassy bombings occurred in Dar
es Salaam; the other was in
Nairobi, Kenya.
Economy
and infrastructure
A branch of the international
Subway restaurant chain in Dar es Salaam.
Dar es Salaam is Tanzania's most important city
for both business and government. The city
contains unusually high concentrations of trade
and other services and manufacturing compared to
other parts of Tanzania, which has about 80
percent of its population in rural areas. For
example, about one half of Tanzania's
manufacturing employment is located in the city
despite the fact that Dar holds only ten percent
of Tanzania's population. Located on a natural
harbour on the
Indian Ocean, it is the hub of the Tanzanian
transportation system as all of the country's
main railways and several highways originate in
or near the city. Its status as an
administrative and trade centre has put Dar es
Salaam in position to benefit disproportionately
from Tanzania's high growth rate since the year
2000 so that by now its poverty rates are much
lower than the rest of the country. The
Julius Nyerere International Airport
connects the city with other African countries,
the Middle East,
India, as well as Europe.
Culture
Downtown Dar es Salaam is a busy commercial area
of town. The area includes many small
businesses, many of which are run by traders and
proprietors whose families originated from the
Middle East and Indian sub-continent - areas of
the world with which the settlements of the
Tanzanian coast have had long-standing trading
relations. During the daytime the heavy weight
of traffic, office workers, busy merchants,
street vendors and restaurateurs of the area
lend it a frenetic and slightly claustrophobic
air. However, after nightfall the area is
relatively quiet as much of the city's nightlife
is located in more residential districts away
from the city's mainly commercial centre.
The sprawling suburbs furthest from the city
centre are generally populated by Tanzanians of
African descent, with the exception of
Oyster Bay, where there is a large
population of foreign expatriates. Although
there is little in the way of open racial
hostility, the various ethnic communities of Dar
es Salaam do not tend to mix heavily. The edges
of Dar es Salaam are spreading rapidly, severely
taxing the transportation network (which aside
from ferries, lacks any kind of mass transit
facilities) and raising the prospect of future
urban overcrowding.
Due in part to the growth of the expatriate
community and the increasing importance of
tourism, the number of international restaurants
has risen very rapidly over recent years. The
city now offers a surprisingly rich and
internationalised diversity of cuisine, ranging
from traditional
Tanzanian barbecue
style options such as "Nyama Choma" (roasted
meat) and "Mishkaki" (Shish
Kabob - usually barbecued and served with
salt and various hot peppers on the side) and
the long-established traditional Indian and
Zanzibari cuisine,
to options from all corners of the globe
including, Chinese, Thai, Turkish, Italian, and
Japanese food.
There is also a lively music scene in Dar es
Salaam which is divided among several styles.
The longest standing segment is live dance bands
such as Kilimanjaro, Twanga Pepeta and FM
Academia.
Taarab which was traditionally strong in
Zanzibar has also found a niche but remains
a small compared both to dance music and "Bongo
Flava", a broad category that represents the
Tanzanian take on Hip Hop and R&B, which has
quickly become the most popular locally produced
music. This type of music is especially strong
among the youth and it seems that its pull is
reducing the interest in performing and hearing
dance music. Songs by artists such as Ferooz
name check Dar districts such as Sinza.
Traditional music, which locally is used to
refer to tribal music is still performed but
typically only on family oriented occasions such
as weddings.
A variety of museums, including the National
Museum, the Village Museum and the
Botanic Gardens
are all very close by. Within an hour's drive
north is
Bagamoyo, which is home to the
Kaole
ruins. There are beaches on the Kigamboni
peninsula east of Dar es Salaam and on Kigamboni
Island to the north where residents and tourists
alike frequently visit. Trips to the nearby
islands of the
Dar es Salaam Marine Reserve are a popular
daytrip from the city and a favourite spot for
snorkelling, swimming and sunbathing. The
National Stadium hosts Dar es Salaam's
Young Africans
Football Club, Simba football club,
Other Tanzanian football clubs, and many other
international matches.
The first cineplex in
Tanzania to show first-run Western and
Indian releases was opened in Dar es Salaam in
December 2003.
Education
Dar es Salaam
is also the educational centre of
Tanzania. The city is home to the
University of Dar es Salaam, the
Open University of
Tanzania, the
Hubert Kairuki Memorial University (HKMU) as
well as the
International
Medical and Technological University
(IMTU). Other institutes of higher education
include the Institute of Financial Management
(IFM),
Dar es Salaam
Institute of Technology (DIT) and the
College of Business
Education (CBE).
Dar es Salaam also boasts some of the finest
schools in
Tanzania. The following are schools that
provide secondary education, O Levels and A
Levels in Tanzania, according to the
NECTA (National Examination Council Of
Tanzania) syllabus.
Mwanza |
Mbeya |
Iringa |
Kagera |
Bukoba |
Dar - es - Salaam |
Mtwara |
Kilimanjaro |
Kigoma |
kigoma ujiji |
lake Tanganyika
| Tabora |
Shinyanga |
Mara
Mtwara
is one of the southern regions of
Tanzania which have been underdeveloped for
a long time for various justifiable reasons and
constraints. Among the development constraints
for Mtwara is not the lack of resources but
economic infrastructures of road and energy.
Mtwara is now looking up and waking up to
enormous development possibilities and exciting
times ahead. The
Dar-Kibiti-Lindi-Mtwara
road has been given a boost after the completion
of the
Mkapa bridge
over the mighty
Rufiji River. Energywise, Mnazi Bay gas
promises to provide the badly needed reliable
and adequate electricity for powering industrial
and commercial activities in the region.
The boundary with
Mozambique to the south is formed by the
Ruvuma River. To the west, the Mtwara Region
is bordered by the
Ruvuma Region, to the North, by the
Lindi Region, and to the East the region is
bordered by the
Indian Ocean.
According to the 2002 Tanzania National Census,
the population of the Mtwara Region was
1,128,523.[1]
History
The Groundnut Scheme
In 1948, the British Government formulated the "Tanganyika
groundnut scheme" through the
Overseas Food
Corporation (OFC). The purpose was to
alleviate the worldwide shortage of vegetable
oils. However, inadequate research and adverse
environmental conditions caused by poor planning
resulted in the complete and disastrous failure
of the scheme. The port of Mtwara was to have
been the focus of the exported crop.
Districts
The Mtwara Region is administratively divided
into 5 districts:
Masasi,
Newala,
Tandahimba,
Mtwara Urban and
Mtwara Rural.
Mwanza |
Mbeya |
Iringa |
Kagera |
Bukoba |
Dar - es - Salaam |
Mtwara |
Kilimanjaro |
Kigoma |
kigoma ujiji |
lake Tanganyika
| Tabora |
Shinyanga |
Mara
Kilimanjaro
is one of the 26
regions in
Tanzania. The capital of the region is
Moshi. Kilimanjaro region is home to
Mount Kilimanjaro. Kilimanjaro Region is
bordered to the North and East by
Kenya, to the South by the
Tanga Region, to the Southwest by the
Manyara Region, and to the West by the
Arusha Region.
According to the 2002 Tanzania National Census,
the population of the Kilimanjaro Region was
1,381,149.
[1]
The Regional Commissioner of the Kilimanjaro
Region is M.O. Babu.[2]
Districts
The Kilimanjaro Region is administratively
divided into 6 districts:
Rombo,
Hai,
Moshi Rural,
Moshi Urban,
Mwanga, and
Same.
Mwanza |
Mbeya |
Iringa |
Kagera |
Bukoba |
Dar - es - Salaam |
Mtwara |
Kilimanjaro |
Kigoma |
kigoma ujiji |
lake Tanganyika
| Tabora |
Shinyanga |
Mara
Kigoma
is a town and lake port in western
Tanzania, on the eastern shore of
Lake Tanganyika and close to the border with
Burundi. It serves as the capital for the
surrounding
Kigoma Region and has a population of
130,142 (2002
census) and an elevation of 775 m.
The historic trading town of
Ujiji is 6 km south-east of Kigoma.
Kigoma Port
Kigoma is one of the busiest ports on Lake
Tanganyika, as a consequence of being the only
one (as of 2007) with a functioning railway
connection (since the one at
Kalemie in
DR Congo is not operational). Furthermore it
is a direct link to the
seaport at
Dar-es-Salaam. Kigoma Port in Kigoma Bay has
a wharf of two hundred metres and several cranes
and is equipped to handle shipping containers.[1]
However, the bay is suffering from silting up as
a result of soil erosion from surrounding hills,
and the water depth at wharfside has diminished
from 6 m to 1.8 m which threatens the economic
future of the port. In May 2007 the Tanzanian
Government announced a plan to create an
economic zone at the port to stimulate trade.[2]
Lake
ferries including the
MV Liemba sail from Kigoma to
Bujumbura in Burundi,
Kalundu-Uvira in
DR Congo,
Mpulungu in Zambia at the southern tip of
the lake, and a number of other lakeside towns
in Tanzania.
Road connections for Kigoma are poor however. A
gravel road links the town northeast to the
national road network, and earth tracks link
north to Burundi and southeast to
Sumbawanga.[3]
Kigoma-Dar es Salaam Railway
The
Tanzania Railways Corporation line runs from
Kigoma to the port of
Dar-es-Salaam on the
Indian Ocean coast via
Tabora and
Dodoma. It was completed in 1915 when Kigoma
was part of
German East Africa. In
Tabora, there is connection to
Mwanza on Lake Victoria, with ferry
connections to
Uganda. At Tabora you can also travel by
train to Mpanda.
As of 2007 the passenger train do not reach Dar
es salaam due to poor rail road between Dodoma
and Dar es salaam. However there is very good
bus transport from Dodoma to Dar es salaam.
Mwanza |
Mbeya |
Iringa |
Kagera |
Bukoba |
Dar - es - Salaam |
Mtwara |
Kilimanjaro |
Kigoma |
kigoma ujiji |
lake Tanganyika
| Tabora |
Shinyanga |
Mara
Henry Morton Stanley meets David Livingstone in
Ujiji, 1871.
Ujiji
is the oldest town in western
Tanzania almost due west from
Zanzibar. It is about 10 km south of
Kigoma. Current population data are not
available. In 1900, the population was estimated
at 10,000 and in 1967 about 4,100. Part of the
Kigma/Ujiji urban area, the regional population
was about 50,000 in 1978.[1]
Ujiji is the place where
Burton and
Speke first reached the shore of
Lake Tanganyika in
1858. It is also the site of the famous
meeting on
November 10,
1871 when
Stanley found Dr.
David Livingstone, with the words "Dr.
Livingstone, I presume?". Livingstone, whom many
thought dead as no news had been heard of him
for several years and who had only arrived back
in Ujiji the day before, wrote "When my spirits
were at their lowest ebb, the good Samaritan was
close at hand, for one morning [my servant] S | 
