WHY DR. ASHA ROSE MIGIRO'S CONTRACT WAS NOT RENEWED

Barely a week after the immediate former Deputy Secretary-General, Dr. Asha Rose Migiro returned to Tanzania after serving a five-year term at the helm of the world body, sources within the UN have hinted that poor performance and failure to fit “in the diverse and complicated body” were some of the reasons she was refused a contract renewal.  “The position of the Deputy Secretary-General is complicated and demanding; it requires somebody who is experienced to efficiently run the Secretariat. Her biggest challenge was not understanding the politics at the world body and creating alliances,” the source told Vox Media in a telephone conversation. Dr. Migiro is understood to have approached the African Group, the largest regional group comprising of 28 percent of all UN members, to ask for help in lobbying for her re-appointment, but her quest was rejected. “She wasn’t popular amongst diplomats; so nobody listened to her. You should also recall that her appointment was widely criticized.” In Dar es Salaam, a former senior ruling party secretariat member who worked closely with her in the same team before she assumed the UN post said her appointment was influenced by her personal relationship with President Jakaya Kikwete. It is understood that President Kikwete and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon cultivated a close relationship when serving as foreign ministers for their respective governments. When it came for Ban Ki-moon to canvass for votes toward his UN bid, Tanzania’s vote was predominant; Dr. Migiro was apparently battered with Kikwete’s vote. But when Ban Ki-Moon recently decided to review his entire team in a bid to control growing criticism of his team, Dr. Migiro had to go for “poor performance and lack of experience required of staff with the top UN mandate.” Mr Ban appointed Dr Migiro in 2007 upon his election to succeed Dr Kofi Annan.  The exit of the former law lecturer at the University of Dar es Salaam has been put down to the fact that Mr Ban is lining up a new team to carry forward his agenda after he was re-appointed in 2011 for a second and final five-year term. The US-based Inner City Press has named Ms Susan Malcorra as Dr Migiro’s possible successor. Ms Malcorra is currently head of the UN Department of Field Support.  Dr Migiro was the third holder of the prestigious post that was established by the General Assembly at the end of 1997 as part of reforms in the United Nations to help manage secretariat operations and ensure coherence of activities and programmes. The position was also meant to elevate the organisation’s profile and leadership in the economic and social spheres. Her return home has sparked fresh speculation on who will emerge victorious in the hotly-contested slot of CCM candidate in the 2015 presidential election. Dr Migiro’s name has cropped up in the list of prospective presidential candidates in 2015, when President Jakaya Kikwete’s second and constitutionally last five-year term comes to an end. The race is likely to be tough, with party primaries expected to be heated following political divisions in the ruling party and candidates who attack each other openly.  Dr Migiro appears to have an edge, however, with some analysts speculating that CCM’s top brass may decide to go with a high profile member of her calibre to become the next president and the first woman to hold the seat.  Though she has not openly indicated an interest in the presidency, there is still time for the diplomat to weigh her chances and possibly tip the balance in the dominant party.

AMERICAN ACTOR ARRIVES IN TANZANIA FOR MOVIE PREMIER

Mario and son Mandela at Dar es salaam airport

American actor Mario Van Peebles arrived in Dar es Salaam yesterday to launch his latest movie 'We are the Party' and to be guest at the ongoing Zanzibar Film Festival. He is to premier his movie on July 13 at Century Cinema in Mlimani City in Dar es salaam. Mario Van Peebles got his first break acting opposite Clint Eastwood in the 1986 war film "Heartbreak Ridge" and parlayed that success into a prolific career both acting and directing. Van Peebles' latest acting and directing project, "We The Party," is a raucous, multi-cultural comedy about a group of teenagers coming of age during America's first black presidency. In the U.S., it is rated "R," restricting kids under 17-years-old from seeing it without a parent or guardian. In theaters this Friday, April 6, the film is a real family affair and co-stars Van Peebles, several of his children, his famous father, director Melvin Van Peebles (the subject of Mario's 2003 movie "Baadasssss!"). Rapper Snoop Dogg also puts in an appearance

OMOTOLLA LEAVING TZ

The actress being dressed in a swahili khanga by her hostess Wema Sepetu at Dar es salaam airport

Omotola receiving gifts from Wema Sepetu

UGANDA'S JOSE CHAMELEONE TO PERFORM IN TANZANIA

Yes, you heard it here. Uganda's most popular artiste Jose Chameleone will headline a concert in Dar es salaam end of this month. The Concert to be staged at Taifa stadium in Dar es salaam will also feature Tanzania's highest paid act Diamond. And the Uganda star is said to be rehearsing daily to steal the concert.

TYCOON ACQUIRES A CRUISE SHIP

Said Salim Awadh Bakhresa is what Aliko Dangote is to Nigeria . The tycoon has acquired a cruise ship and named it 'AZAM' . It will be part of his AZAM marine services. Bakhressa,born 1941 near Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania is an extremely reclusive Tanzanian business tycoon who is estimated to be worth $3 billion. He is the founding father and the Chairman of the Bakhresa Group Of Companies. He is a well-known industrialist in the mainland of Tanzania and island of Zanzibar. With a humble beginning as a small restaurateur in seventies, he created the business empire within a span of three decades. He is the mastermind behind the success of all the businesses within the group. His vision and excellent managerial skills contributed to the growth of this group to great heights. At the age of 14, he dropped out of school to become a potato mix salesperson and would later go on to become a successful African businessman. Bakhresa Group; is a conglomerate of various companies and is the largest milling company in East Africa with operations in Tanzania and five other countries. His group employs more than 2000 people and is Tanzania's largest conglomerate. Other specialties produced through Bakhresa's conglomerate includes:confectioneries, frozen foods, various kinds of drinks, and packaging.The Azam brand is Bakhresa's most successful chocolate and ice cream manufacturer in Tanzania. While the company is managed by his sons, Bakhresa owns the company itself. Its daily capacity for manufacturing is 2100 metric tons and made sales of $800 million in 2011. Bakhresa's Azam Marine division is providing international tourists with quick ferry services as more people discover Tanzania. In addition to Zanzibar, riders can also experience Lake Victoria and Mount Kilimanjaro.

RAY C'S DRAMA.....SEX ADVANCES ALLEGATIONS AND MUCH MORE

Sadat the promoter

Ray C and hubby Lord Eyez

Bongo songbird Ray C has now revealed that the promoter of her Kenyan tour, Sadat, wanted to sleep with her. Apparently, before she came to Kenya, Sadat of Maliza Umaskini flew to Dar on a 'business trip'. "Sadat told me that he was on a business trip but kept on sending me sex-related messages, which I still have on my phone. I was shocked because I didn't expect that from him," she said. Apparently, drama started when Ray C went to meet Sadat accompanied by her boyfriend Lord Eye, something that didn't go down well with the promoter, an aspiring politician from Kitale.
"It became worse when I showed up at the airport with Lord Eye, and Sadat became completely pissed off. Because I refused to sleep with him in Dar, then I come to Kenya with my boyfriend, he started creating excuses to cancel my show," she said. Ray C is yet to be paid $9,000, even after her shows were canceled. Promoter-cum-politician Sadat has defended his move to cancel Ray C's Kenyan tour. According to Sadat, he was not happy with the way Ray C conducted herself from the airport to Club Summit in Nakuru. "She was under influence and I actually saved her from embarrassing herself on stage. She was almost taking all her clothes off on stage," said Sadat. He has also denied rumors that he wanted to sleep with Ray C.
"I didn't send her any suggestive messages as she claims. If I had any problem, why did I pay for her boyfriend's air ticket to Nairobi?" he asks. Meanwhile, Sadat has canceled Ray C's and her boyfie's tickets back to Dar, that means they have to pay their own air tickets. Ray C, was meant to do a series of shows in Kenya this month and finally wind up the tour in Southern Sudan's capital, Juba. According to close sources, the Kenyan tour alone was supposed to earn the musician $10,000 (about KSh800,000), and the agreement was that she gets her downpayment upon arrival at Jomo Kenyatta international airport. She was to get the rest before she goes on stage in her first show, which was in Nakuru last Saturday. The promoters, with musician Refigah as their spokesman, did not honor the agreement at the airport but still proceeded for the Nakuru show. Ray C did not complain as she went on stage and wowed the crowd. Real trouble started when fans asked for more songs and Refigah had to snatch the microphone from Ray C and cut the show. The promoters started accusing her of going against the agreement, and she was forced to take a cab to her hotel. On Sunday morning, the promoters phones were all off and when Ray C managed to raise one of them, she was threatened and told to go back to Dar es Salaam..