Shilling slide reduces TCC profit by 4pc

>Increased excise tax on tobacco products is hitting hard on the profitability of Tanzania Cigarette Company which recorded 20 per cent drop in the first half of 2014. TCC which is listed on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange recorded Sh35.3 billion as profit after tax for the six months ending June 30, 2014 compared to Sh44.3 billion it recorded in the same period last year, according to the firm’s financial statement.

The DSE-listed lender registered a post-tax profit of Sh77 billion during the period between January and June 2015

 East Africa has the lowest university enrolment in the world, a situation which, a leading lecturer warned, can retard development of the education sector in the region.

Tanzania government plans to cut donor dependency in the coming Budget from the current 14.8 per cent to 8.4 per cent of the total estimates as part of its effort to facilitate smooth implementation of development projects.

Gold mining companies will now pay four per cent of their profit to the government as service levy compared to the 3 per cent they were previously paying following an amendment of the Mining Development Agreements (MDAs) it signed with mining firms in 1999.

Drug shop in Uganda.

*Introducing rapid diagnostic tests in Ugandan drug shops improves treatment of malaria patients

Using malaria rapid diagnostic tests (RDT) in registered drug shops in a highly endemic region in Uganda substantially reduced over diagnosis of malaria, improving the use of valuable malaria drugs, according to a new study published in PLOS ONE.

Most of the 15,000 patients that visited drug shops with a fever chose to buy an RDT when offered one by the trained vendors...

>anzania’s economy grew by 7.4 per cent in the first quarter of this year, driven mainly by communication, transport, industry, construction, energy and water sectors, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said yesterday.

Africa's largest mobile operator, MTN has succeeded in its bid to reduce a $5.2bn fine imposed by Nigerian authorities for failing to cut off unregistered users.

Tanzania registered a total of 1.166 million new subscriber identification module (Sim) cards between January and March this year as mobile phone firms grapple to win new clients in an ever expanding market of six players.