ZNZist Weekly — 01 November 2026

Alia: Hello and welcome to ZNZist Weekly, your Zanzibar News Digest. I am Alia. Badru: And I am Badru. Let us get straight into the numbers shaping Zanzibar's finances this quarter. Alia: The Respondent reports that the Tanzania Revenue Authority in Zanzibar collected eighty eight percent of its target in the first quarter of the twenty twenty six, twenty seven financial year. That leaves a shortfall of twenty nine point three billion shillings. Badru: To put that in context, TRA collected two hundred sixteen point three billion shillings against a quarterly target of two hundred forty five point six billion. That is roughly a twelve percent gap, and it raises real questions about how collections will improve over the remaining nine months. Alia: Finance Minister Ambassador Khamis Mussa Omar visited TRA offices and said the authority needs stronger strategies, more accurate trade statistics, and closer work with business stakeholders. He pointed specifically to customs administration, including inspection, valuation of imported goods, and verification of documentation. Badru: He also called for tighter cooperation between TRA and the Zanzibar Ports Corporation, so cargo statistics can be reconciled with tax records. If trade volumes and revenue figures do not match, that could point to gaps worth investigating. Alia: The minister additionally wants clearer accountability for tax consultants and clearing agents, and faster resolution of long standing tax disputes, which he said could otherwise delay payments and disrupt service to taxpayers. Badru: This matters because Zanzibar's full year target is one point one four four trillion shillings, which represents thirty four percent of the government's projected tax and non tax revenue for the budget. That is a significant share resting on TRA's performance. Alia: TRA Deputy Commissioner General Mcha Hassan Mcha said the authority will act on the government's directives and push to meet the target, noting that revenue collection underpins development spending. Badru: Ambassador Omar framed it plainly, saying government relies on this revenue to fund healthcare, salaries, and other essential services, without leaning entirely on borrowing. Alia: So the challenge now is whether tighter customs controls, better data, and faster dispute resolution can close that gap over the next three quarters. Badru: Worth watching closely as the financial year progresses. Alia: This week on ZNZist Weekly, we're looking at Zanzibar's seaweed farmers and a trade event in Shanghai that some hope could change their fortunes. Badru: Xinhua reports on Bahati Issa Suleiman, a fifty one year old mother of eight who has farmed seaweed off Zanzibar for more than two decades. She's hoping the ninth China International Import Expo, opening in Shanghai on November fifth, will help Zanzibar's seaweed reach more Chinese buyers. Alia: For her, seaweed farming has been central to supporting her family, covering daily expenses and school fees. Xinhua notes some fellow farmers have used their earnings to buy land and build homes. Badru: The bigger picture here comes from Zahor Kassim El-Kharousy, deputy principal secretary in Zanzibar's Ministry of Blue Economy and Fisheries. He told Xinhua that ninety nine percent of seaweed exported from Zanzibar currently leaves the country as a raw, unprocessed material. Alia: That's a striking figure. It means Zanzibar is largely missing out on the value added further down the supply chain, whether that's processing, packaging or branding. Badru: Right, and El-Kharousy framed moving toward value-added products as a key government priority. He suggested that stronger links between producers, processors and buyers at events like the Shanghai expo could encourage investment in local processing facilities. Alia: If that happens, it could mean more reliable markets and better prices for farmers, and new jobs in processing, packaging and logistics, particularly benefiting women, who Xinhua notes dominate seaweed cultivation on the islands. Badru: China is already a significant market for Zanzibar's marine products, including seaweed and sea cucumber, according to the ministry official. He also mentioned efforts to develop value-added sea cucumber products. Alia: Xinhua also points out that China has removed tariffs on eligible imports from Tanzania, which could create further opportunities, though the actual benefit would depend on which products are covered and whether exporters meet Chinese import requirements. Badru: On the ground, Suleiman says farmers still need support with basic production and post-harvest handling. In her village, some seaweed is dried directly on the ground, and cultivation in shallow coastal waters can damage the crop. Alia: She's hopeful that growing international interest could encourage better farming and handling methods, and even draw back farmers who've abandoned the practice altogether. Badru: As she put it to Xinhua, once Zanzibar's seaweed arrives in China and gets promoted, she believes prices will rise. Whether that materializes will depend on how these trade connections actually translate into contracts and investment. Alia: This week, China Daily reported on a health initiative unfolding right here in Zanzibar, through the work of a visiting Chinese medical team. Badru: According to the report, the thirty sixth Chinese medical team to Zanzibar held a free outreach event on a Saturday at Chaani Health Center, and nearly one hundred patients were treated during that single day. Alia: That is a striking number for one outreach session, and it shows how much demand there is for accessible medical care in the community. Badru: China Daily says the team set up dedicated service areas covering surgery, internal medicine, ophthalmology, ear nose and throat care, and dentistry. Team leader Wang Wei described how portable medical equipment allowed them to deliver what he called integrated, one stop care for residents. Alia: One detail that stood out to me was the use of traditional Chinese medicine. The report mentions acupuncture being applied to treat common musculoskeletal complaints, things like neck, shoulder, lower back, and joint pain, which Wang noted are prevalent among local patients. Badru: Beyond the clinical consultations, the team also ran health education sessions. These focused on prevention of Ebola, schistosomiasis, and malaria, aiming to raise awareness and strengthen residents' own ability to manage their health. Alia: Annia Ibrahim Ndossa, an official with Zanzibar's Ministry of Health, was quoted in the report saying that grassroots initiatives like this one help bring healthcare closer to communities and improve access to professional medical advice. Badru: That framing matters, because outreach events like this one are not meant to replace the health system, but to supplement it, reaching people in a single location who might otherwise face barriers to specialist care. Alia: According to the report, Wang said the team intends to keep collaborating with local health institutions to address community medical needs going forward. Badru: He also pointed to broader goals, boosting medical exchanges, supporting improvements to local health services, and advancing what he called China Tanzania health cooperation. Alia: It is worth noting this was described as the thirty sixth such team, suggesting this kind of medical cooperation has a long running history here, even if this particular report only covers one outreach day. Badru: For now, the concrete outcome reported is clear, nearly one hundred residents received free treatment and health guidance at Chaani Health Center on that Saturday. Alia: This is ZNZist Weekly. Let's turn to one of Zanzibar's most persistent challenges, electricity supply, and a trip President Dr. Hussein Ali Mwinyi made to South Korea to look for answers. Badru: Right, according to Jamhuri Media, President Mwinyi said on October twenty eighth that his government is prioritizing a permanent solution to Zanzibar's power problems. He outlined three areas, increasing local electricity production, expanding renewable energy use, and strengthening transmission and distribution infrastructure. Alia: And the goal behind all that is to make Zanzibar's power supply more reliable while cutting its reliance on outside sources. Badru: Exactly, because as the president acknowledged, Zanzibar still depends heavily on electricity from mainland Tanzania, and that dependence has coincided with ongoing power shortages. These remarks came during a meeting at the Sono Hotel in Yeosu, South Korea, with leadership from WongWang Electric Power Corporation, a South Korean company specializing in power systems and renewable energy. Alia: What did the two sides actually discuss? Badru: Jamhuri Media reports they explored possible cooperation on renewable energy generation, along with power generation and storage systems designed for small islands and areas that sit far from the main grid, which fits Zanzibar's geography quite well. Alia: Did the company commit to anything concrete? Badru: They described their track record in renewable energy projects, mini grid systems, energy storage, and transmission and distribution infrastructure, including work on island projects elsewhere. They also said they're prepared to send a team of experts to Zanzibar to carry out a technical needs assessment and identify areas for implementation, though that would only happen once legal procedures are completed. Alia: So this is still at an early, exploratory stage rather than a signed deal. Badru: That's the fair reading of it. No agreement or timeline has been announced, just a meeting and an expressed willingness to assess the ground situation. If it does move forward, it could matter a great deal for Zanzibar's energy security, given how often power shortages have disrupted daily life and business on the islands. Alia: The report also notes President Mwinyi was due to leave Yeosu the same day, continuing on to another engagement in the region. Badru: For now though, the headline is intent, a stated priority to find a lasting fix for Zanzibar's electricity troubles, built around local generation, renewables, and stronger grid infrastructure. Alia: The Chanzo has published a personal essay about Pemba, written by lawyer and writer Husnah Mad-hy, and it offers a different kind of window into the isles than our usual headlines. Badru: Right, this is explicitly framed by the author as a reflection on her visit, not an investigation, so we should treat it as one person's observations and conversations rather than hard data. Alia: She describes Pemba as feeling like Zanzibar did fifteen or twenty years ago, with bustling small towns, food stalls, and far less visible tourism than Unguja, alongside a more visibly Swahili Muslim way of life. Badru: She also writes about how closely Pemba is tied across the water to the Kenyan coast, noting families from Lamu, the Bajuni islands and Mombasa who have crossed, settled and intermarried with Pemba communities for generations. Alia: But the heart of the piece is about land. Mad-hy reports that some Wapemba are being relocated from homes and farms they have held for generations, which residents told her is making way for new roads, government developments and investments. Badru: According to her conversations, compensation has been uneven. Some residents said they had been paid and used that money to move into Chake Chake town, while others said they were still waiting, and one resident noted that payment had come through for one farm but not another. Alia: One older man told her there was little recourse beyond going to court if someone felt the payment was too low, suggesting the decision to relocate itself is not really being contested, only the amount offered. Badru: She also describes a sense of social disruption, saying neighbours who once knew everyone's family history now sometimes cannot place longtime residents, which she links to people moving away from ancestral land. Alia: Mad-hy writes that some landholders are simply waiting to see what the government plans for their land before deciding anything themselves, which points to real uncertainty about how these changes will unfold. Badru: It is worth being clear that this comes from one writer's firsthand impressions and the people she spoke with, not an official account of any specific project or policy, so the scale and timeline of these relocations are not detailed. Alia: Still, as a snapshot of how infrastructure and investment pressures are being felt on the ground in Pemba, The Chanzo's piece gives a rare, intimate perspective on change that is already reshaping daily life there. Alia: Our next story comes from Xinhua, and it takes us inside a Zanzibar workshop where discarded glass bottles are being turned into new livelihoods. Badru: The report profiles Chako Zanzibar, a social enterprise founded in 2012 by Dutch entrepreneur Anneloes Roelandschap and her partner, after they opened a hotel in Stone Town in 2008 and saw how tourism generated both jobs and waste that the island struggled to manage. Alia: Chako collects glass and plastic from hotels and resorts, then artisans clean and process the materials into drinking glasses, vases, lamps and decorative pieces, many of which are sold to tourists as souvenirs. Badru: According to Roelandschap, the enterprise has kept more than five million bottles out of Zanzibar's landfills since it began, and has trained more than four hundred local people. Alia: Xinhua highlights two women whose lives changed through the program. Mwanamkuu Mussa, fifty two, joined in 2021 after working as a nursery school teacher. She told Xinhua the work helped her become an independent woman, and the income has let her open a DVD library and cover her children's school fees and medical costs. Badru: Ada Juma, thirty six, joined in 2023 after running a small cashew business. She now leads Chako's plastic department, training other artisans, and says her focus is paying her children's school fees. Alia: Both women told Xinhua they hope to eventually build homes for their families. Operations manager Helena Benedict said the model combines income generation with skills development, which matters especially for women and young people trying to enter the workforce. Badru: It is worth noting the scale here is modest. Chako currently works with around twenty five artisans, a number that shifts with orders, and Roelandschap acknowledged that convincing consumers to choose locally made upcycled goods over imported products remains a challenge. Alia: Still, the report frames this as one small answer to a real tension on the island, since tourism brings economic opportunity but also waste that Zanzibar has struggled to manage. Badru: If sustained, this kind of enterprise suggests a possible model for linking environmental cleanup with economic independence for women, though Xinhua's reporting focuses on individual stories rather than islandwide waste figures. Alia: Either way, for women like Mussa and Juma, a bottle that might have ended up in a landfill has instead become a path toward supporting their children and shaping their own futures. Alia: Zanzibar has picked up a new role on the world tourism stage. Jamhuri Media reports that President Hussein Ali Mwinyi attended the twenty seventh Inter Islands Tourism Policy Forum, known as ITOP, held at Jeju Stone Park in South Korea from October twenty eighth to thirtieth. Badru: The headline moment came on October twenty ninth, when Jeju's governor, Wi Seong gon, handed President Mwinyi the ITOP flag, formally confirming that Zanzibar will host the twenty eighth forum in twenty twenty seven. Alia: ITOP brings together twelve island destinations, including Bali, Hawaii, Phuket, the Galápagos and Okinawa, so hosting it would put Zanzibar directly in front of tourism leaders from across those regions. Badru: During the Leaders Meeting on October twenty eighth, Daily News reports Mwinyi argued that tourism success should not be judged only by rising visitor numbers, but by whether the sector creates jobs, grows local businesses and lets communities benefit from their own natural resources. Alia: He also stressed protecting the environment and cultural heritage alongside economic gains, framing sustainable tourism as something that should support island livelihoods without depleting the resources they depend on. Badru: Separately, in a meeting with Governor Wi Seong gon, Mwinyi proposed a sister relationship between Zanzibar and Jeju, according to Jamhuri Media, covering sustainable tourism, the blue economy, renewable energy, trade, investment, and education. Alia: On the blue economy side, he pointed to possible cooperation in sustainable fishing, aquaculture, marine conservation and adding value to seafood products, areas where Jeju has established experience. Badru: On energy, Mwinyi noted that Jeju draws around thirty percent of its electricity from solar and wind, and said Zanzibar could learn from that experience as it looks at clean energy, waste management and climate resilience. Alia: He also invited Jeju investors to explore opportunities in Zanzibar, including tourism infrastructure, fisheries, aquaculture, seaweed processing and renewable energy. Badru: For his part, the Jeju governor said he was ready to deepen cooperation and agreed to start technical level talks, though no formal agreement or timeline has been announced yet. Alia: So for now, what Zanzibar has secured is a hosting slot for twenty twenty seven and an openly stated interest in partnership, with the real substance still to be worked out in those upcoming technical discussions. Alia: Let's finish today with some encouraging numbers for Zanzibar's tourism sector. According to the Kenya Association of Travel Agents, citing data from the African Travel and Tourism Association's Essence of Africa forum held in Zanzibar between October twentieth and twenty second, airline seat capacity to the island is forecast to rise by thirty three percent over the next six months. Badru: That forecast comes from analysis using the Mabrian Travel Intelligence platform. The report says inbound air capacity already grew eleven percent between October last year and this October, with long haul seats up twenty six percent. Looking ahead, domestic capacity is projected to climb thirty six percent and international capacity thirty one percent year on year, alongside a ten percent rise in forward flight bookings through March twenty twenty seven. Alia: The source markets are shifting too. The data shows the United Arab Emirates forecast for a fifty seven percent jump in capacity, Qatar seventeen percent, and Oman more than doubling, up one hundred eight percent. In Europe, bookings from the United Kingdom rose fifty one percent, Germany fourteen percent, and France eight percent. Badru: Russia stands out as well. Since direct Moscow to Zanzibar flights began in July this year, bookings from Russia for travel through March twenty twenty seven have nearly doubled, up ninety eight percent. Alia: But more flights have not meant higher hotel prices. The same analysis found average advertised room rates fell about eighteen percent year on year, which suggests growing competition as international brands expand on the island. Badru: The report also points to shifting visitor interests. While beach experiences still lead at twenty three percent of tourism related social media mentions, active lifestyle activities account for nineteen percent and arts and culture sixteen percent, with couples remaining the largest traveller segment at forty six percent of reviewers. Alia: Zanzibar's overall reputation score sits at eighty six out of one hundred, with strong marks for security and climate. ATTA's chief executive, Virginia Messina, said growth in seats and bookings must translate into real investment in hospitality standards and benefits for local communities. Badru: If these trends hold, Zanzibar's challenge will be turning rising arrivals into lasting value on the ground, not just fuller planes. Alia: That's all for this edition of ZNZist Weekly. Thanks for listening, and we'll be back with more news from Zanzibar and Tanzania next time. Badru: Until then, take care.