Kenya 🇰🇪 Teachers Are The Most Well Paid In East Africa

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ANALYSIS By Dorris Otieno Kenyan teachers are not only the best paid in East Africa, but also earn almost 12 times more than the country's average pay, a comparative study by Nation Newsplex and the Institute of Economic Affairs reveals. Even as teachers go on strike for the 12th time since their first industrial action in 1962, the analysis, which compares teachers' salaries in Kenya with those of their peers in select African countries , also finds that the lowest-paid teacher in Kenya earns more than the highest-paid teacher in Uganda. Uganda and South Africa were chosen as countries against which to compare wages of teachers because they have the most up-to-date data against which the comparison could be made. While Tanzania was not included in the comparison because only average pay for the year 2011 was available, even its figures indicated that Kenyan teachers earn more than their Tanzanian counterparts. The highest paid Kenyan teacher earns almost 12 times more than the

Investment Opportunities Available in the Forestry Industry in Tanzania

Forests and   woodlands in   Tanzania are  estimated to   cover about   35.5 million hectares and constitute  about  38%  of the total area  of the country.  Of this,  13.5  ha are  gazetted as  national forests  or local government forests  and the  remaining  25.5 million ha  are in a village or general land.  Tanzania has 600 government forest reserves, covering about  13%  of the  total land  area.  The reserved  area includes  1.6  million ha  that is managed as catchment forests and 80,000 ha of government plantations.

In addition,  there are  80,000  ha of  private forest plantations.  Most of  the forest  is savannah and intermediate woodland  (dominated by branchy-stegia and isoberlinia species).  The principal  species of  wood in Tanzania are  valuable tropical woods,  such as cedar, African rosewood, podocarpus, and mahogany. There are also plantation forests covering an  area of  250,000  -  300,000  ha. consisting of Pinus, Cupressus or Eucalyptus and Wattle.     Investment     opportunities available in forest industry include:

Establishment of plantation forests

The   Government is   actively promoting private sector  and community  involvement in the management of the governmental industrial plantation.  It is   seeking to   encourage companies and  individuals to  invest in  pulp and saw log growing and processing through mutually  Public  Private  Partnership  (PPP)  arrangements.

Currently, there are 16 government-managed forestry plantations in   Tanzania,
classified as forest reserves under  the control  of  Forestry  &  Beekeeping  Division  (FBD)  of the  Ministry of  Natural  Resources and  Tourism  (MNRT)  encompassing a  total of  83,000  ha.  Future plans are for a 50,000 ha. expansion. The major   private industrial   plantations include TANWAT, Green Resources Limited, and Kilombero  Valley  Teak  Company accounting  in aggregate  for  30,000  ha.  There are  also numerous small-scale woodlots and medium- sized plantations  owned by smallholders,  communities, districts,  tea companies, faith-based organizations,  schools etc.  This accounts  for between  120,000  –  150,000  ha in aggregate.



Investment Opportunities

There are multiple commercial opportunities in the forestry sector. New large-scale investors such as New Forests Company and Oji Paper have entered  the sector and  are at  initial phases of  their large  planting programs.  Both are  acquiring large  areas of  lands,  in a magnitude  of  30,000  to  40,000  ha each to  combine their own large plantation program with the  adjacent communities  in form  of out-grower schemes. Industrial establishments are needed to    utilize forests    to produce    timber,  chipboards, plywood, fiberboard, furniture, poles etc. Investment is needed in terms of transportation network as well as in bringing in new and efficient technology.


The state of the   privatized industries is insufficient as they still operate using outdated technology. It is  currently estimated  that only  30  -  40%  of the raw material contributes towards the final product and the rest is wasted.

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