Without them we are nothing....

My Tribute to Women on World's Women's Day

When did you begin your life? At conception. And, at that point, for you to be brought to life, you changed her life – physically and mostly emotionally. She got sick carrying you in her body. Her hormones changed, her weight changed, her moods swung, she vomited, she fell sick for months, her skin stretched, creating marks. And some of these have remained permanent on her as a testament to your existence. And in many instances she stopped doing what she loves so can be safe in her body, so you can come out without deformities. Yes, she worried about you coming out perfectly.

Then she went on what they call labour. The word is not accidental. It is LABOUR. Hard labour, in which many in her situation, particularly in countries such as ours, don’t come out alive. I do not know how it feels to be in labour but what is clear is that the pain went away once you came out. You were called a bundle of joy. And you left many marks, visible and non-visible, on her. When you came out, she inspected every inch your body not so that she can discard you, but so that she can love you more.

Her body was made as it is so that you can come to life. Nine months in her body, you were protected, you were warm, you were fed – your body connected to hers through a cord, a cord of life, a cord that has left a mark on your body to remind you that your existence would not have been possible without her selflessness.

When you came out, the cord was cut off. But it didn’t mean that the connection ended. Your food – very first food, the essence of your nourishment – came from her body. You kept her up at night, you pooped and peed on her. But you were still a bundle of joy.

As you grew up, you made mistakes, you disappointed her. Why did she put up with all your mischief? Because she does not want to see the marks you left on her as a mistake. Because you were and you ARE a bundle of joy.

Then, after all this, she is still a second-class member of society, deemed incapable of what other species can do and achieve, unbefitting of the privileges that males enjoy. You and I need to change this. And what should be the motivation? The mark on stomachs.  

Kraftwerk, Orijino Komedi, and Copying and Pasting!

I first visited New York City in 1997. In the hip hop scene, what was hot back then in the city was Peter Gunz (wonder where he is now) and others, but also Foxy Brown (she never ages), particularly in this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POOnTfxd3GA with Jay-Z and Ken Edmonds. The beat is wicked! Listen to it carefully (you don't have to finish the whole song)....and then go listen to the Machine Man from these techno-punk guys I like called Kraftwerk from Germany http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3T65NpyfPk - then listen to these old-school guys called Fearless Four in Rockin' it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOHvOhADAic Then listen to Alexander O'Neal, particularly the chorus at min 1:24 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97sfjcZ6mCQ And listed to Cha Cha Cha, a hit that Mc Lyte made when she was only 17 in 1980s, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpSeJP2HfaY (from 0:47). Then connect it all. 

So, who stole from who? Sampling does not mean "copying and pasting". Kraftwerk rocks!

The book I read, the book I dropped.

A friend of mine, Zitto Kabwe, listed the books he read in 2012 – a whopping 31. Another friend, Dr. Faustine Ndugulile, listed his and  publicly asked me to list mine. More friends, including Aidan Eyakuze and Dr. Mwele Malecela, came forth and listed theirs. All this was done to advance the culture of reading and sharing books – a very good cause indeed.

I love reading, and did a bit of that in 2012.  I will take time to recall and list the books I read in 2012 but certainly they do not number 31 (that is superhuman, particularly when you have to read policy and cabinet papers, sign-off files at the office and tend to the Constituency). In due course, as they come to mind, I will describe some few books I read in 2012 – and what they meant to me. There are also books I started reading but then, as with many of us, lacked the discipline to finish them as they became less interesting or as I was caught up in other interesting stuff, including other interesting readings.

Number one: “Totality and Infinity: An Essay on Exteriority” by Emmanuel Levinas. This was an assigned book in a college philosophy course taught by a friend and mentor, Father Rene McGraw, a Benedictine Catholic Monk at St. John’s University in the USA.

I decided to reread it because I saw myself, almost daily, getting caught up in the contemplation of the obvious and, as I indulge in the “smallness of our politics”, I thought I was losing sharpness in abstract thinking and extrapolation which is necessary in grounding decisions on basis of logic and objectivity. Another reason is the sheer humanity in Levinas’ notions of the Self and the Other, his insistence on transcendental subjectivity and his refreshing [re]definition of ethics.

Levinas writes fluidly. He can be hard to “get” but once you do, it is pure joy. Just as Derrida asked us to challenge language and grammar, one has to fall in love with Levinas, a contrarian philosopher who asked us to challenge practically the entire Western Philosophy (especially Heidegger) with its obsession with the Being. 

I first read this book almost 13 years ago. In rereading, I found that I had underlined a lot of sentences and made a lot of notes on the margins. I do not remember why underlined those particular passages. But will copy a few:  

- Is relationship with Being produced only in representation, the natural locus of evidence?
- The idea of infinity is the mode of being, the infinition of infinity.
- The absolutely other is the Other. He and I do not form a number.
- What does Levinas mean by optics? (side note)
-  The moral consciousness can sustain a mocking gaze of the political man only if the certitude of peace dominates the evidence of war.

One more memorable passage:

“Violence does not consist so much in injuring and annihilating persons as in interrupting their continuity, making them play roles in which they no longer recognize themselves, making them betray not only commitments but their own substance, making them carry out actions that will destroy every possibility for action.”

One learns from Levinas that memory is vulnerable to obliteration and historical time can be “re-inaugurated”, and death is not the final triumph.

The book I dropped:

When I was travelling to South Africa last year, I picked a book with a bold title:  “Why Africa is Poor and What Africans Can Do About It” by Greg Mills.  I started reading it in the plane. In the acknowledgement page, almost the very first page, he started by writing something going like “for fear of sounding like Kate Winslet on Oscar night, I will….”. After that sentence, I put the book away, never touched it. Someone borrowed it (I don’t remember who) and I haven’t bothered to ask for it back.

That sentence was extremely contextual that you lock out 99.9 percent of people. First, to get it, you have to have watched Titanic (a movie in which Kate Winslet co-starred with Leonardo DiCaprio), you have to know that she won an Oscar for it, you have to also know that she almost melted when she was presented with an Oscar – going through a list of many many people she thought she needed to thank. Why would you put this in a book about African poverty, a book aimed at Africans (“what Africans can do about it”). I thought it was arrogant. The book may have been good, but I was turned off at page one. And that is how I read books sometimes.  Not that I do not read books with stuff I don’t agree with. I could have proceeded with it if was some intellectual or policy argument or prescription that I do not agree with.

Last year, I also discovered a new love: essays and longreads. I posted most of these on Twitter. 

The Case Against Voting for Chadema

The case against voting for Chadema

Source: Vijana.FM

Written on October 18, 2010 but it is as relevant as ever

I will try to make it short and concise, in an attempt not to bore you with rather commonsense reasons against voting for Chadema in this coming presidential election. For starters, we vote for the best person and the best party (infrastructure) to govern our country. A vote is to be casted to the person and party that have the best chance to do what the government ought to do. We do not cast a vote to replace a party that has not delivered only to be replaced by the gang of other mediocre. The notion that the incumbents since 1961 have to be replaced because they have failed to deliver for Tanzanians, and also they are the perpetrators of corruption is very true. CCM governments have become complacent, lacked sense of urgency to reform the nation, and have been on business as usual mode for few decades. We the people have every right to use our democratic rights to show them that we ain’t gonna take it no more. We will go to the polls and demonstrate the people’s power. And essentially replace them with somebody else.

Here comes the money question. Who are we going to replace CCM with? Which other party we can trust with our economy, security, and well being? Whether you like it or not — CCM has been able to build a nation with identity and maintained that cohesiveness throughout the history of our young country. That is no small task by any means. They have been able to essentially eliminate illiteracy, maintain the rule of law, improving infrastructures, and now scaling up higher learning institutions. The consensus is they could have done more in social service deliverance and curbing the culture of corruption that undermines the very institutions they are presiding over. But if we are going to replace them, who can we trust for the job? And do they have all the necessary tools to match the work CCM has done?

Chadema, which by all accounts is the main opposition party in mainland Tanzania, has put forth an able man, Dr. Slaa. Only to be complimented by unknown politician Said Mzee Said. This is the very first weakness by Chadema. God forbid, something happen to Dr. Slaa, we are going to stuck with unknown and unable gentleman as our President. Chadema seemed to never take the VEEP slot seriously, and to them it was just the matter of fulfilling NEC requirements. This act speaks volume to us voters, into what style of governing they will employ and what will be the future of Muungano.

The incumbent party (that we are so dissatisfied with) put together a truly democratic primary season to elect her MP candidates. There were some reported corruption cases in their elections, and some of the primaries were not perfect. But it was truly a commendable act, which led to the downfall of many CCM heavyweights. And to those alleged of corruption, the party was matured enough to initiate corruption case against theirowns.  On the other side, the party that is expected to usher new dawn of competent governance; waited on sidelines quietly collecting CCM’s sore losers. The same party has failed to field opposition in 10 constituencies, essentially giving CCM free seats. This is the party that has embraced Mabere Marando, the most opportunistic politician in our country. Recently, Chadema held a meeting to choose candidates for MP slots for viti maalumu. They spent an entire day without reaching consensus on TWO candidates. How hard is it to nominate two names? That it takes the party two days to decide. CCM has surprisingly acted more organized, and matured through this whole process and up to now during the campaign.

Now my fellow country men and women; we have to decide. CCM has noticeably been complacent in governing and we need to use democracy as a tool to remind them that. But Chadema and other opposition parties are not doing us any favor. If anything Chadema is more incompetent than CCM. The lineup of Dr. Slaa, Said Mzee Said, and Freeman Mbowe is not to be trusted with the well being of our country. Edmund Burke, an Irish political theorist warned about abstract reasoning by individuals will end up sweeping arrangements that stood the test of time. Political amateurs who promise rapid reforms will create fresh difficulties in attempt to re-engineer the society for their political gains. Chadema is disappointingly falling in this category. They have merely demonstrated formidable internal organization and have repeatedly showcased their lack of any strategic thinking. As much as we are inclined to punish the incumbents, voting Chadema for president would be a futile mistake. The best way to punish CCM is to give opposition enough (deserved) MP seats, and hoping that Upinzani will be more serious in the future before we can trust them with our country.

In mean time, I will be voting for CCM presidential candidate in this coming election. And I urge everybody else to do so.

That African Song..Tshala Muana's Kokola

This is one of those rare songs that was crafted to perfection.

On The Contemporary Truth

On The Contemporary Truth

We live in the era unlike any other in human history. The period of abundance of information and constant communication between beings across the time zones.  To the extent where daily newspapers and news telecast are rendered opinion mouthpieces because they can no longer deliver the latest piece of information to the masses.  Only 20 years ago, Tanzania had no TV station, and handful of state controlled media.

This way of communicating is entirely new to human beings; we are social animals in physical sense, in the presence of physical things.  Technology is challenging the paradigms of physical-ness. How do you explain an introvert person with 3000 friends on Twitter? With this abundance of raw and refined information in our disposal, increased human-to-human interactions, there is need to redefine The Truth in todays context.  Is The Truth even important anymore?

Elsewhere, in during different eras—The Truth is defined differently. Let us revisit those definitions.  “There is no difference between The Truth and reality”.  Others put it “The belief is true, if an only if it corresponds to a fact” But more pragmatists thinkers simply put it “The Truth is the end of inquiry” or “The Truth is satisfactory to believe”. The definitions presented above present the dynamism of The Truth and how it can be viewed differently, I am from the school of thought that The Truth is one, it can neither be destroyed nor fabricated.  However, I realize that this is very idealistic and naïve definition of The Truth, albeit the correct one. The presence of evidence is The Truth’s bailout. Provided that the evidences are true. The Truth can be obtained or proved in the court of law, but lack or presence of The Truth is exclusive with the legal victory.

The Truth has always been elusive, because of many reasons. For starters, humans tend to generalize partial evidenced statements as The Truth.  For example, “smoking cigarettes can cause lung cancer”. This is not entirely true, and in a real world where The truth is the end of inquiry, we can safely conclude that smoking cigarettes does not cause lung cancer.  I am not suggesting for the path of living free of uncertainties, I am merely pointing out the challenges facing the contemporary humans with sensory overload in dealing with The Truth.  

In this era of information overload, The Truth is not craved in stones anymore. The Truth changes between socioeconomic classes, The Truth depends on your Tweeter TimeLine or your Facebook Wall. The Truth depends if you read Uhuru or Tanzania Daima or if you watch MSNBC or FOX NEWS. The Truth is predetermined by your level of education, background, environment, genotypic make up, political, and religious beliefs. Just presenting the facts alone, is not enough to sustain the support or opposition of The Truth. The persistence and the manner of the presentation of the fact to the subjects is the sole predictor if the fact is The Truth or not.  I am convinced that human brains were not initially wired to view The Truth in this way, but the forces of evolution are steering us in that direction.

This phenomenon was initially a challenge and now a gold mine for folks looking to win any popularity support. Including elections. There is no need to be truthful anymore.  The only reward for being truthful in classical sense is to feel good about oneself or for religious and moral gains which have neither materialistic nor recognition values in our contemporary society.  The challenge for humanity on this context is momentous; opinions have became the new entertainment and each one claim to carry The Truth. We are obviously not evolving fast enough compared to the technology that we are inventing. Only the quickest to adapt will prosper.

 Thuwein. 

PRESS RELEASE

BUMBULI DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION ANNOUNCES NEW BOARD OF DIRECTORS

I am pleased to announce the formation of the new Board of Directors for Bumbuli Development Corporation (BDC). The BDC Board will provide the leadership and support in ensuring successful implementation of the vision and mission of BDC for the next three years.

The ten-member Board will be the topmost governing body of BDC. The primary responsibility of a board member is to participate in the development of strategies and major decision-making at board meetings and being active on an ongoing basis in a committee of the board.

I am proud to announce that this Board of Directors is made of a group of extraordinary individuals, drawn from different sectors and nationalities to provide BDC with the cutting edge leadership and foresight it needs to fulfill its mission.

The new Directors are:

1.      Dr. Paul Armington



Dr. Armington is the President of World Institute for Leadership and Management in Africa (WILMA). He began his career as an economist working in International Monetary Fund (IMF) Research Department, where he produced influential articles on international trade and helped to found the IMF’s now-famous "World Economic Outlook" methodology and publication. Later, he worked at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) where he was instrumental in bringing about the international agreement known as the Smithsonian Realignment of Exchange Rates (1971). From 1975-86, Dr. Armington worked as an economist in the private sector, collaborating with the London School of Business, Ford Foundation, Forex Research Ltd., Wharton Econometric Forecasting Associates, and the World Bank.

Dr. Armington is an accomplished academic and taught at the University of Pennsylvania. He is famous for the "Armington Elasticities", now referred to and taught in graduate courses in international trade and economics.  

In 1986, Dr. Armington joined the World Bank as Senior Economist. He also served as Division Chief and advisor in the International Economics Department of the World Bank, and then for three years as Principal Economist in the Africa Region’s Capacity Building Unit. In 1999, he took early retirement to devote his energies to the creation of the World Institute for Leadership and Management in Africa (WILMA), which he now serves as president
.

Dr. Armington received his Bachelor’s degree at Swarthmore College, USA and his Ph.D in economics from the University of California, Berkeley.




2. Ambassador Juma V. Mwapachu




Ambassador Juma V. Mwapachu is former Secretary General of the East Africa Community (EAC) and a well-known and respected Tanzanian businessman, diplomat and thought-leader. Ambassador Mwapachu has held a number of senior positions in both the public and private sector of Tanzania. He served as Tanzania’s Ambassador to France from 2002 to 2006. He was the founding Secretary General of the Tanzania Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture in 1988, served as Chairman of the Confederation of Tanzania Industries between 1996 and 2000 and Chairman of the East African Business Council from 1999 to 2000. Throughout his working career, he has been a leading advocate of the creation of a strong and dynamic private sector in Tanzania.

Ambassador Mwapachu served as a Managing Consultant at Coopers & Lybrand Associates which is now PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC) in the early 1980s. He has also served on a number of Presidential Commissions that consolidated Tanzania's market economy and which ushered in a multi-party political system. He was a member of the Team of Experts that crafted Tanzania's Development Vision 2025. He played a leading role in the regional integration of East Africa as Secretary General of the East African Community for five years between 2006 and 2011.

He began his career in the public sector in Tanzania as a State Attorney and later served  in the National bank of Commerce, rural development and the Foreign Office. He has been Chairman of Board of Directors of Tanzania Railways and the Tanzania Investment Bank. He has been a Non Executive Director of Exim Bank (Tanzania) Limited since December 5, 2008. Ambassador Mwapachu serves as a Director of The Heritage Insurance Company (T) Limited, Non Executive Director of African Barrick Gold Plc. He currently chairs the Governing Council of the University of Dodoma, a public University. Since January, 2012, he serves as President of the Society for International Development (SID).

 Ambassador Mwapachu holds a Bachelor of Laws Degree from the University of East Africa, Dar es Salaam, a Post graduate Degree in International Law from the Indian Academy of International Law, New Delhi, Doctorate degrees (Honoris Causa) in literature from the University of Dar es Salaam and political sciences from the National University of Rwanda. Kenya has decorated him with the third highest award, the Order of Moran of the Golden Heart (MGH).



3. Ms. Jill Bishop


Ms. Bishop is the Executive Director of Tanzania Education Trust Foundation and President of Tanzania based BSI Ltd., a consultancy that provides strategic advisory services to government, philanthropic and private sector entities, with an emphasis on strategic planning and visioning; partnership formation; program management; and creative problem solving in developing economies. She has over 20 years of expertise in global business development and macroeconomic policy and has worked extensively with governments and private sector firms throughout Africa on a myriad of development initiatives. With a niche expertise in developing and implementing innovative strategies in challenging environments, BSI combines practical global business development experience with inventive future-oriented solutions to enable continued growth and development of its clients. BSI is based in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.



Ms. Bishop has assisted numerous philanthropic organizations and foreign direct investors with their engagement with Africa, as well as African governments with facilitating international market access. Most recently she served as the Program Manager for the Tanzania Beyond Tomorrow Project of behalf of the Government of Tanzania, overseeing project development and managing multiple multinational business relationships in an effort to create global partnerships for ICT use in education delivery.  She previously served as the President of GlobalXccess  where she became a patented inventor of financial services products for underserved markets. She has also held several management consulting positions with Deloitte & Touche Consulting where she led a variety of methodology-based consulting projects in Business Process Reengineering, Strategy, and System Integration. Ms. Bishop holds an Executive MBA from the London School of Economics and Political Science; the HEC School of Management, Paris; and the New York University Stern School of Business (TRIUM). She has an undergraduate degree in Economics and Finance from Rutgers University.

4. Mr. Betram Eyakuze

Mr. Eyakuze is a Partner and Co-founder of Serengeti Advisers Limited, a Tanzanian-based consultancy. Previously he was a private equity investment professional with CDC Capital Partners, a British company with significant investments across Africa and other developing countries. Prior to returning to Tanzania with CDC, he was a management consultant with Mitchell Madison Group in New York, where he was a member of a number of engagement teams that assisted in strategy formulation and improving the operational efficiency of large multinational companies. Clients included the largest U.S telecommunications provider, a global insurance group, and a leading technology-products manufacturer. His responsibilities with CDC Capital Partners in Tanzania included the detailed review and improvement of dozens of business plans across all economic sectors with a view to identifying, structuring, negotiating, and completing equity investment opportunities, typically in already-existing enterprises. Mr. Eyakuze has extensive expertise in business development, strategy formulation, and corporate finance.

He is currently involved in the development of a large-scale agro-industrial project as well as a mineral processing venture in Tanzania, and serves on the boards of a number of national businesses, including a microfinance company and a leading pharmaceutical distribution company.


Mr. Eyakuze received his B.A.S in Civil Engineering and Economics from Stanford University and his M.B.A from Yale University School of Management.


5. Mr. Edward V.K. Jaycox



Mr. Jaycox is a retired Managing Director of Emerging Markets Partnership (EMP) and the CEO of the US$ 400 million AIG African Infrastructure Fund which he, and others, founded in 1999. Prior to joining EMP, Mr. Jaycox served as Vice President of the World Bank in charge of the Bank's operations in Sub-Saharan Africa from 1984 to 1996. During this period, he managed the design and negotiation of structural adjustment programs in over thirty African countries and approved over US$30 billion in loans and credits to support economic policy reform and projects in all of the major sectors.



Mr. Jaycox is deeply familiar with Africa's economic environment and history and intricacies of market reforms in the continent. Earlier, Mr. Jaycox directed the World Bank's programs in East Asia and led the team that brought China into the World Bank. He also managed the first structural adjustment programs supported by the World Bank in Thailand and South Korea. For over 15 years of his more than 30 years with the World Bank, he appraised projects and managed technical teams, divisions and departments working in the infrastructure sectors including roads, ports, airports, pipelines, railways, waterways, and urban infrastructure, such as water, electricity, expressways, rapid transit and housing.



Mr. Jaycox has an A.B. degree from Yale College and an M.A. degree from Columbia University School of International Affairs and Certificate in African Studies from its African Institute.


6. Mr. January Y. Makamba



Mr. Makamba is the founder-director of Bumbuli Development Corporation and current Member of Parliament for Bumbuli constituency and the Deputy Minister for Communication Science and technology in the government of Tanzania. Before his appointment as a Deputy Minister, he served as a Chairman of a Parliamentary Standing Committee on Energy and Minerals and Deputy Chairman of the Board of Director of the Tea Board of Tanzania. Before being elected as a Bumbuli Constituency representative in the Tanzanian parliament, Mr. Makamba was working at the country’s highest office as a senior Aide to Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete for 5 years from 2005-2010. Mr. Makamba started government service as a civil servant where he worked as Foreign Service Officer at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.



Mr. Makamba attended St. Johns University in Minnesota, USA, where he obtained a degree in Peace and Conflict Studies after which he joined the Jimmy Carter Presidential Center, in Atlanta, Georgia, as Research Assistant where he also spent some time in Sierra Leone. He was later enrolled for a Master of Science degree in Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University in Virginia after the completion of his assignment at the Carter Center. Mr. Makamba has also worked in humanitarian assistance operations as Assistant Camp Manager in the Burundian refugee camps in Kigoma, Tanzania, overseeing the welfare of 120,000 Burundi refugees.



7. Dr. Najim Msenga



Dr.  Najim is a native and resident of Bumbuli and one of the most successful entrepreneurs in Bumbuli township. Born and raised in Bumbuli, he has invested in trading, transport and housing in Bumbuli and gemstones business across Tanzania. He is the Executive Director of Najim and Company Ltd, and Kimmse Investment Ltd. 



In 1993 he was awarded the honorarium title of Doctorate after discovering the Green Sapphires in Tanga, Tanzania.

 

8. Bishop Dr. Stephen Munga



Bishop Munga is a Lushoto-based Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania for the Northern-Eastern Diocese. Bishop Dr. Munga is on a number of committees of the Evangelical Lutheran Council in Tanzania (ELCT) since 2001 when he was elected the Bishop of ELCT North Eastern Diocese. Bishop Dr. Munga .was the first Chairperson of Sebastian Kolowa University College and now is the Chancellor of Sebastian Kolowa Memorial University; is the Chairperson of The Lutheran Mission Corporation; Policy, Finance and Planning Committee of the Christian Council of Tanzania.



Bishop Dr. Munga is a recognised leader in community development in Lushoto. He has been an ardent advocate for environmental protection and sustainable livelihood in the Usambara Mountains. He is also a national leader and activist for the sound management and governance of Tanzania's natural resources, serving in the national committee of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. He also chaired the Interfaith Standing Committee on Economic Justice and the Integrity of Creation.



Bishop Munga obtained his Doctorate of Theology from the University of Lund, Sweden.



9. Ms. Grace C. Rubambey



Ms. Grace Rubambey is a rural and microfinance expert and former director of the Bank of Tanzania.  She holds a BBA (Economics) and a MA (Economics) degrees from Kent State University, Kent, Ohio, USA. Ms. Rubambey has more than 35 years experience in financial issues, policy formulation, program coordination, institution building, and training. She worked at the Bank of Tanzania for more than 28 years, 24 of which were in various management positions, including Manager Economic Research and Statistics, Director of Rural Finance, Director of Financial Markets and Director of Microfinance. While seconded from the Bank of Tanzania, she also served as the first non-FAO Secretary General of the Nairobi-based Africa Rural and Agricultural Credit Association (AFRACA) for five years from 1984 to 1989. In recognition of her work at AFRACA and her personal commitment in the development of rural and microfinance in Africa, in 2006, the Government of Burkina Faso awarded her Knighthood of the National Order (Chevalier de L’ordre National). 

Ms. Rubambey, a staunch advocate of rural/microfinance and inclusive financial services in general, has been credited for spearheading the development of rural and microfinance in Tanzania, in particular the Bank of Tanzania’s critical intervention in the sector at a time when the subject was little known in the country and the region as a whole. She established the Directorate of Micro-finance at the Bank of Tanzania and headed it for more than seven, until her retirement. She led the national team that drafted the Tanzania’s National Microfinance Policy, a policy that was internationally acknowledged as one of the best in the industry. She also led the national Task Force that drafted the regulatory, legal and supervisory framework for micro-finance in Tanzania.

Ms. Rubambey has served on a number of boards and policy development committees, including the Financial Sector Deepening Trust (FSDT) Tanzania National Economic Empowerment Council and the Advisory Board to the President’s Empowerment Fund.

10. Prof. Andrew Temu

Prof. Andrew Temu is an Associate Professor at the Department of Agricultural Economics and Agri-business, Sokoine University of Agriculture in Morogoro, Tanzania. Prof. Temu has in the past undertaken Visiting and Research Fellowships at the University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign-USA and the International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington DC, USA. He has also managed the SADC Food Security Training Programme  in the 14 member countries.

Prof. Temu has extensive knowledge of agri-business projects appraisal and agricultural finance, privatisation, divestiture of agricultural parastatals and private sector development, and in designing, analysing and evaluating agricultural policies and strategies.  He has participated actively in the development of the Agriculture Sector Development Strategy and the Agriculture Sector Development Programme for Tanzania.

Prof. Temu has researched, published and offered consultancy services in a wide range of areas related to agricultural production, marketing, trade and rural development. He is also the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Private Agricultural Sector Support (PASS) Trust. He is a board member in a number of organizations, including the African Guarantee Fund Ltd; Tanzania Investment Center; the Southern Agriculture Growth Corridor of Tanzania (SAGCOT); the Economic and Research Foundation. He has in the past also served as a Board member of The CRDB Bank and its subsidiary pursuing Microfinance Services. He is a Founder Chairman of Diligent Consulting Ltd, a private Tanzanian consulting firm.

Prof. Temu has a BSc in Agriculture from the Sokoine University of Agriculture in Morogoro, Tanzania, an MSc. in Agricultural Economics from Reading University in UK, and a PhD in Agricultural Economics from the London University in UK.

I am grateful to all these individuals for agreeing to serve in the Board, and therefore take part in the advancement of the welfare of the people of Bumbuli and Tanzania in general.  The cumulation of members' vast experiences, many accomplishments and diverse backgrounds makes this a formidable team. This is a clear statement on our part at BDC that we intend to create a world-class organisation aiming for excellence and governed by the highest ethical standards. Today, with the appointment of this board, we have taken one more step towards the realisation of the dream and the promise of transformation of Bumbuli.

January Makamba (MP)
Bumbuli Constituency
6 September 2012

About BDC

BDC was established in November 2010 as a development for-profit but not for dividend company with a mission to promote private, social and public investments with positive economic and social transformation of the people of Bumbuli Constituency, Lushoto District and beyond. The core of BDC’s mission is to catalyse private enterprise in Bumbuli, by attracting domestic and foreign investments into the region, facilitating and coordinating technical assistance and technology transfer, and building strong collaborative links with the local, district and central governments.

BDC is envisaged to initiate, attract, promote, coordinate and monitor the activities that would both enhance the existing private, public and donor programs as well as develop specific programs for economic growth and social wellbeing of the people of Bumbuli. Currently, BDC invests in and carry out specific and carefully chosen projects with maximum social impact. More information about Bumbuli and BDC can be found in the book Bumbuli – Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, which is available at www.januarymakamba.com.

……..Ends……

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