ZANTEL’s chief executive officer, Mohammed Salim, said Dar es salaam would be covered under the second phase of the project, which would cost between USD 2.3 million and 3 million (Tsh 1.6 billion to Tsh 2.1 billions ). It will as well cover Nungwi, the northern part of Zanzibar.

He was speaking after a ceremony to launch a USD 14 million (Tsh 9.8 billion) Telecommunication project at which the Zanzibar President, Dr Salmin Amour, officiated at Amaan Industry Park.

ZANTEL will get into phase three of its expansion in the first quarter of next years. Expected to cost between USD 1 million and 1.5 million (Tsh 700 million to Tsh 1.05 billion), it will cover Pemba and Tanga.

The fourth phase will cover ‘strategic region's of mainland Tanzania

"Through ZANTEL’s Satellite Earth Station-with an 18-metre antenna supplied by Scientific Atlanta, and designed specifically for the INTELSAT A station market - ZANTEL Provides a low risk, cost-effective, high efficiency communication to the rest of the of the world." Salim said.

The ZANTEL project will start to operate commercially on August 2,1999. It is run jointly by the Emirates Telecommunication Corporation (Etisalat) with 34 per cent; Kintbury Investment of the Channel Islands, with 24 per cent; Meeco International of Tanzania, with 24 per cent, and Zanzibar government (18 per cent)

As tourism is growing fast in Zanzibar, ZANTEL is expected to speed up tourism growth. Previously, tourist were to travel back to town for telephone services

Poor communication also frustrated investors.

In 1994, a French project worth USD 1.5 million (Tsh 1.05 billion) was pulled out of Zanzibar and shifted to Mauritius where communication was good.

The Zanzibar minister for communication and transport, Aman Karume, told the House of Representatives that ZANTEL would provide 7000 telephone lines in phase one.

He was tabling his ministry’s estimates recently.

He said: "This will complement 15,000 lines of TTCL (Tanzania Telecommunication Company Limit); Mobitel’s 2000 customers and Tri Telecomunication with 1,000 customers". Zanzibar has about 1 million people.

Ali Shamhuna, the minister for planning and investment, says this is the most valued project in Zanzibar’s Export Processing Zones which so Far, has only nine projects.

He decried bureaucracy which led to delay in launching a telecom firm in Zanzibar, saying it was a tactic to defend TTCL and Mobitel.

AFRICANS will usher in the new millennium with its feet firmly on the ground: thousand of people will be enjoying their festivities on the top of Africa’s highest mountain.

Tanzania could end the second millennium and usher in the third one with a tourism boom if the authorities grab the opportunity. Imagine 3,000 people on the peak of Mount Kilimanjaro feasting and celebrating from December 15 this year, to next January 15!

You may wonder why people should be crazy about celebrating on snow and under freezing temperature of the Kibo peak instead of lying on sunny warm beaches

"Being on the roof of Africa during the special period could certainly be memorable, and a cherished occasion to many people," said Nyamakumbati Mafuru, the Kilimanjaro National Park (KINAPA) warden -in- charge of tourism.

It is an opportunity for Tanzania to improve its earnings from the growing tourist industry and raise the raise the industry’s performance in Africa. Michael Mombo, KINAPA Park Warden, said they expected to receive over 7,000 tourists during the one-month period the millennium celebration.

There would be more than just Mount Kilimanjaro for tourism to see in Tanzania. There are Wildlife historical sites like the Olduvai George and the Ngorongoro Crater, scenery, the Spice Island of Zanzibar, the three Great Lakes of Victoria Tanganyika Nyasa as well as friendly people.

Tanzania’s performance in the tourism industry has not been very remarkable compared to neighboring Kenya -though the former has much more tourism attractions However records indicate that tourist arrivals have been rising by over 10 per cent per year" and revenue by almost 25 per cent

Last year, the country ranked fifth (behind South Africa, Morocco, Tunisia and Mauritius) in tourism revenue, according to the word Tourism Organisation (WTO) Kenya was sixth. Tanzania earned USD400millions!

This is a step forward compared to 1990 and 1995 when it ranked eleventh and seventh respectively in tourism revenue collection. And the minister for natural resources and tourism, Zakhia Meghji, had reasons to smile at the achievement. For it was the country’s best ever; and that, for the first time, Tanzania’s earnings surpassed those of Kenya.

South Africa earned USD 2,366 million; Morocco USD 600m; Tunisia; USD 1,550m, and Mauritius; USD 502m. The figures corresponding to receipts from national parks, hotel accommodation and tourism licensing fees.

With that number of international tourists, Tanzania ranked 11th in the WTO list of top 20 tourism destinations in Africa. This again was an improvement; the 1990 and 1995 rankings were at 15 in both years.

In spite of faster growth of both tourist arrivals and revenue, Africa’s share of word travel remains small, with arrivals varying from 3.6 per cent in of the total in 1996 to 3.8 per cent of the total in 1997 The share of tourist revenues stood at only 1.9 per cent of the world total in both years.

One of factors that hold back tourism development in Africa, and particularly in Tanzania, is transport. Like President Benjamin Mkapa told the Africa Trade Association (ATA) annual congress last years; Tourism can only thrive rather than merely survive, where communication and transport infrastructure is developed"

The concept of tourism itself denotes movement of people from place to another. And that requires reliable communication link like telephones; and transport facilities like airlines.

However, concern has been raised by ATA that many African come generated from the tourism industry but channel back only a merger portion of it towards tourism development As a result these funds are spent with minimal achievement, if any.

Perhaps the more developed communications and transport infrastructure in Kenya place that country ahead of Tanzania in the number of tourist visiting the East African States Annually.

The millennium mountains climbing though, poses a challenge to the Tanzania tourism authorities. Tourism authorities. Tourists expected to visit Tanzania during the millennium mountains climbing in December would need to communicate, as well as move from one place to another.

With the preliminary number of booked tourist put at 3,000, it is a headache already for the organisers The KINAPA official said the millennium mountains climbing event would be used to positively promote Tanzania abroad, as well as to boost the country income from tourism.

However the event poses gigantic challenge to the national parks authorities, tour operators and key actors in the tourist industry to improve their capacity for providing good and adequate services to tourists.

There is also the problem of an influx and concentration of people in one area. To control the influx of tourist into the park, and the impact on the protected area, KINAPA has drawn a number of activities and actions that include hiking tariffs by 100 per cent

Tour operators have reacted negatively to this move. They oppose it, calling it a restricts out for a good time at the end of second millennium and the beginning of the third

KINAPA has set a maximum daily limit of between 200 and 470 hikers per day ascending and descending the mountain taking into consideration logistic and environmental precautions. Other measures include increasing the number of park rangers and rescue monitoring and improving security.

The mountains climbing in December 1999-2000 as part of the new millennium celebration could effectively be used to sell Tanzania’s tourist attractions to the sell Tanzania’s tourists attraction to the outside would, which is not certain about where exactly Mount Kilimanjaro is.

After the celebrations on the top of the mountains on the top of the mountain for one month tourism will have come into contact with Tanzanians in Tanzania. They would also have had romantic days and nights on the Spices Islands of Zanzibar.

That should not be the end, but rather the beginning, of good tidings for Tanzania’s tourism industry development. It would only serve as a springboard for long-term strategy for the country’s tourist revolution, which should elevate it from the fifth or 11^th position upwards.

One way Tanzania can attract even more tourists is to waive the need for visas. Kenya has just done that; and the tourist industry there is confident that the number of visitors will increase.

Tanzania currently charges some USD 60 for tourist visas to Western tourists. This is seen as an unnecessary burden on the wallet of these visitors who already have a tight budget.

Many Britons in London told Newslink Africa: "Tanzania imposed visa charges to visitors in response to measures taken by the British Government".

But then, Britain does not need Tanzania tourists; while Tanzania needs British tourists! Every country has the right to screen visitors to it, if not for any thing else then, at least, to ensure national security. If Tanzania has to impose a visa regime, then they should be issued at the port of entry at no charge- and with minimum bureaucracy. Visitors can be asked to produce a return air ticket and enough funds to spend in the country.

A London-based tour operator told Newslink Africa: "If Tanzania stops charging for visas, the number of tourists will increase".

Tanzania‘s export earning remain stagnant

Tanzanian‘s export earning last May were like those of the previous month, the June 1999 economic report of the Bank of Tanzania says.

Earning from traditional exports decreased by 34.9 per cent, to USD 9.1million in May this year down from USD 13.9 million in the previous month. This was due to a decline in both prices and unit volumes.

Coffee, sisal, tea and cashew nuts recorded decreases (in export volumes) of 49.5 per cent, 100 per cent 31.3 per cent and 94.8 per cent respectively during the month

The export prices of coffee, cotton and tea also decline by 4.8 per cent and 22.3 per respectively hence contributing to the lower export earning from the traditional sector.

During the period under review, earning from non-traditional- exports increased by 39 3 per cent: to USD 17 million, up from USD 12.2 million recorded in the previous month.

The increase in non-traditional export earnings mainly came from manufactured goods, cotton yarn and processed coffee. These went up by 79.9 per cent, 999.2 per cent and 21.6 per cent respectively!

Increase in export earnings were also recorded in fish and fish products (up by 26.7 per cent) and other export, which went up by 84.4 per cent.

Export earning from petroleum product, minerals, processed tobacco, sisal products and horticultural produce declined by 100 per cent, 48.7 per cent, 100 per cent, 11.4 per cent and 28.4 per cent respectively.

The report said export earning realised in May this year also fell by 40.9 per cent-to USD 26.1 million, down from USD 44.1Million recorded during the corresponding period last year.

Earnings from both traditional and non-traditional export declined by 42.8 per cent and 39.9 per cent respectively.

On an annual basis, export earning for the year ended May 1999 decreased by 11.6 per cent (to USD 573.9 million) compare with USD 649.2 million for the corresponding period a year earlier.

Earnings from both traditional and traditional export declined by 9.2 per cent and 14.1 per cent respectively.

This decline is largely attributed to a fall in export volume of coffee, cotton and tea, as well as declines in unit price of coffee cotton, tea and cashew nuts.

The decrease in export volumes of the major traditional exports was partly due to the heavy EI Nino rains that caused crop destruction during the 1997/98 crop season.

Earnings from non-traditional exports declined to USD 275.1 millions during the year ended last May down from USD 320.2 million recorded in the previous year.

The decline was mainly due to decrease in earning from petroleum product, minerals, manufactured goods and tobacco which went down by 42 per cent, 51.1 per cent, 36.6 per cent and 91.9 per cent respectively.

Sisal products and other exports also recorded decline of 52.5 per cent and 17.2 per cent respectively.

THE Tanzania Telecommunication Company Limited (TTCL) has introduced a new numbering scheme effective from 30^th June to December 31,2001.

Following the change which has been introduced by the Tanzania Communication commission (TCC)-National Destination coded (NDCs) that were in use and the subscriber numbers changed.

According to recent TTCL press release, the changes affect existing Geographic area codes, serves codes, mobiles and pagers. Furthermore a new international access rates services has been put in place to cater for the free market concept in the telecommunications business.

For East Africa as a whole, each of the three countries in the region has been allocated ‘00’ as an ante-to access the other countries Beginning from July 31 this year, the new codes to access the region will be ‘005’for Kenya; ‘006’ for Uganda, and ‘007’for Tanzania.

With regard to the international access code, code ‘00’ has been replaced by Code ‘000’

TTCL has also proposed new area codes to be introduce from July 1, 2000. The new codes (with the replaced ones in brackets) area as follows: 022 (051)for Dar es salaam; 023 (052) for the Coast region; 023(0525) for Lindi; 027 (053) for Tanga; 024 (054) for Zanzibar; 027 (055) for Kilimanjaro; 023 (056) for Morogoro, and 027 (057)for Arusha.

Other are 023 (059) for Mtwara; 026(0606) for Singida; 026 (061) for Iringa and Dodoma; 026 (062) for Tabora; 025(065)for Mbeya, Rukwa and Ruvuma; 028(066)for Kagera; 028(068)for Mwanza ,Shinyanga and Mara and 028 (0695)for Kigoma regions.

The changes to the area codes will be done simultaneously with changes of subscribers’ numbers by having the digit ‘2’ in front of the existing numbers, to indicate that the holders are TTCL customers.

Customers connected to most of the digital switches will have their numbers changed from four, five and six digits to seven digits.

Customers connected to some of the old digital switches and analogue exchange will keep their ‘old’ numbers until such a time when those switches are replaced on their respective cut-over dates.

The Dates will be determined later. This is due to the fact that analogue switches can accommodate a maximum of only five digits for a customer’s number.