The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a $228 million loan to Kenya to rehabilitate a strategic road linking Western Kenya and Tanzania.

AfDB said in a statement on Friday that the renovation of the 172-kilometre road, linking the towns of Isebania and Ahero, an axis located southeast of Lake Victoria, will facilitate trade between Kenya and Tanzania.

“Lower transport costs will ensure that a greater share of the price of exported goods accrues to producers thereby increasing incomes and reducing poverty,” said Amadou Oumarou, AfDB’s Director of the Transport and ICT Department.

Oumarou said the strengthening of public transport is also part of the project, with the financing for construction of three bus stations, further facilitating the movement of people in the region.

The improvement works, which are to be undertaken from 2016-2019, are expected to reduce to half the travel time and transport costs between Isebania and Ahero.

The Isebania-Kisii-Ahero Road forms part of the Sirari Corridor, a major trade and transit route linking Tanzania, Kenya and South Sudan.

It serves as the main trade route between Mwanza port (Tanzania), Kisumu port (Kenya), and onward to Juba (South Sudan).

AfDB said the project will accelerate the socio-economic development of the regions along the road, benefiting nearly two million people. “The project implementation area is at the crossroads of several road corridors.

Once completed, the road will facilitate local and international trade, strengthening regional integration,” the statement said.

It said the road will open up new markets for agri-businesses and the fishing industry.

The project also includes funding for several markets along the road.

Divorce is a dissolution of a marriage by the Court on the ground of its irreparable breakdown . Proceedings shall commence with the filing of a petition in the Court of law after obtaining a Certificate from the Marriage Conciliation Board.

A spouse in a Marriage on the following grounds may file a Divorce petition:

• Adultery committed by the Respondent;
• Sexual perversion on the part of the Respondent;
• Cruelty, whether mental or physical, inflicted by the Respondent on the Petitioner or the children, if any in the marriage;
• Willful neglect on the part of the Respondent; and
• Desertion of the Petitioner by the Respondent.

In order for a Court of Law to Grant a Divorce Decree the Court shall have regard on the above-mentioned factors amongst many other factors that may arise.

Dictionary of Law 6th Ed, L.B Curzon, pg 140..

A Foreign National domiciled in Tanzania may petition for divorce, the Law of Marriage Act Cap 29 allows and provides for foreigners to petition for divorce in the Courts of Law of Tanzania under Section 77(3)(a). However, the Law goes further under Section 77(3)(b) and gives an exemption to 77(3)(a) that a person petitioning for divorce must have been a resident in Tanzania for at least one (1) year immediately preceding the presentation of the petition.

PROCEDURE FOR PETITIONING FOR DIVORCE

Section 101 of the Law of Marriage Act, Cap. 29 provides the procedure for petition for divorce, whereby, it prohibits any person to petition for divorce unless he or she has first referred the matrimonial dispute or matter to a Board (Marriage Conciliation Board) and the Board has certified that it has failed to reconcile the parties.

However, the law provides a waiver under Section 101(a) that where a petitioner alleges that he or she has been deserted by, and does not know the whereabouts of, his or her spouse, the application of the provision under Section 101 above shall not apply.

To meet the abovementioned legal requirements, the petitioner is required to first secure an introduction letter from the Local Government Authority at the area he or she resides and submit the introduction letter to the Ward Offices. Upon submission of the Introduction Letter to the Ward Offices for setting a date for the Marriage Conciliation Board to hear the matrimonial matter, the petitioner will also be required to submit the following documents:

1. Certified copies of the parties’ Residence Permits that is the Petitioner’s Residence permit and Spouse’s Residence Permit;
2. Certified copies of the parties’ valid Passports; and
3. Certified copies of the parties Marriage Certificate.

Where the Petitioner has proof of being deserted by, and does not know the whereabouts of his spouse, he or she can petition to the court for divorce without having to go through the Marriage Conciliation Board.

Otherwise, it is mandatory to refer the matter to the Marriage Conciliation Boards.

Furthermore, where the Petitioner intends to use Desertion as one of the grounds to petition for divorce he/she will have to have vivid proof the desertion of the petitioner by the Respondent for a period of not less than three (3) years, and the court has to be satisfied that the desertion is willful as provided under Section 107(2)(e) of the Law of Marriage Act, Cap. 29.

It is also important to note that Section 103 (2)(a) of the Law Of Marriage Act Cap.29, further requires the matter to be taken to the Board having Jurisdiction to handle the matter, whereas in this case the Board or any of the Board established for the ward within which the petitioner or intended petitioner resides, or, where the petitioner or intended petitioner is not a resident in Tanzania, the Board established for the Ward within which the spouse or the intended spouse resides.

It is worth noting however that, the Law under Section 104(8) of the same Act states that “when the matter is referred to the Board no Advocate/Attorney shall appear or act for any party in any proceeding before the Board and not any party shall be represented by any person other than a member of his or her family, without first obtaining leave of the Board”.

Nevertheless, Section 105(2) of the Law of Marriage Act, Cap. 29 gives room where a petition for a decree of divorce includes an allegation of adultery on the part of the respondent, the petitioner, may and if so directed by the court, shall make the person with whom the adultery is alleged to have been committed a co-respondent.

In view of the foregoing, having given the position of the law on the legal rights and procedures under which Foreigners domiciled in Tanzania may Petition for Divorce, a Petition shall have to be supported by relevant evidence and proof in all stages of the proceedings.

FURTHER INFORMATION:

This editorial is intended to give you a general over view of the Law. If you would like further information on any issue raised in this column, please contact.Haika-Belinda Macha
Partner
E: hb.macha@vemmaattorneys.co.tz
M: +255 688 305 999

The Non-Governmental Organization Act, 2002 as amended by Act 11/2005 defines NGO’s as a voluntary grouping of individuals or organizations which is autonomous, non partisan, non profit sharing organized at a local, national or international level for purposes of enhancing or promoting economic, environmental, social or cultural development or protecting the environment, lobbying or advocating on such issue; or established under the auspices of any religious or faith propagating organization, trade union, sports club or community based organization but does not include a trade union, social club, sports club, political party, religious or faith propagating organization or community based organization.

There are two main categories of registration:

• Registration at Local Level and;
• Registration at International Level

The registration at local level is sub-divided into three levels to include:

• District Level
• Regional Level and;
• National Level

This article will primarily focus on the procedures governing the registration of International Non-Governmental Organisations (INGO’s) in accordance to the Non-Governmental Organisations Act, Act No. 24 of 2002 as amended by Act No. 11 of 2005.

The NGO Act recognizes International NGO’s as charitable organisations that have originally been registered outside the jurisdiction of Tanzania.

The procedures for registering INGO’s is provided under Section 12 (3) of the amendment Act No. 11 of 2005 which provides that:

The application for registration shall be submitted in a duly filled prescribed Form No.1 and shall be submitted by three or more members being the founder members and two members out of the founder members should be residents of Tanzania.

The Application shall be accompanied by:

• Certificate of incorporation from the Country of Origin as a proof of its existence as a charity, or the same has been registered in the Country of origin for charitable purposes;
• The governing constitution/by laws of the organization as per Section 30 of the NGO Act, which requires all NGO’s to adhere to the terms stipulated under the constitution which is the governing document;
• Minutes containing full names and particulars of founder members;
• Personal Particulars of office bearers;
• Address and Physical location of the head office of the NGO in Tanzania;
• Application Fees and;
• Any other information required by the Registrar.

International Non-Governmental Organisations (INGO’s) are required to have a minimum number of three or more persons at the time of registration, however the NGO’s in Tanzania are member based and the number of members can increase based on the need of each organization.
Once all of the above requisite requirements are met under the Act, the Registrar will register the INGO and issue a certificate of registration.

Post Registration and Compliance Requirements:

Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO’s) in Tanzania including International Non-Governmental Organisations (INGO’s) are supposed to comply with the followings:

• To pay fees annually;
• To prepare report of its activities during the calendar year and;
• To prepare audited financial reports that shall be made available to their respective Boards, Public and all stakeholders.

The above post registration compliance are mandatory required to be submitted to the Registrar of NGO’s at the end of each calendar year and failure to do that, the respective NGO shall loose its registration status in Tanzania.

FURTHER INFORMATION:

This editorial is intended to give you a general over view of the Law. If you would like further information on any issue raised in this column, please contact.Patrick Sanga
Partner
E: p.sanga@vemmaattorneys.co.tz
M: +255 686 999 993Haika-Belinda Macha
Partner
E: hb.macha@vemmaattorneys.co.tz
M: +255 688 305 999

United States (US) Legislation called the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), which came into law in the US on March 18, 2010. The Act, which is part of the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act, is aimed at combating tax evasion by US persons holding investments in offshore accounts. Chapter 4 HIRE Act requires a wide-range of non-U.S. financial intermediaries – such as financial institutions, brokers, investment vehicles (hedge funds, private equity funds) that own U.S. investments to obtain and report information pertaining to U.S. accounts to the U.S. Treasury. Where intermediaries do not hold accounts for US persons but hold U.S. investments, they must comply or suffer the withholding tax.

The aim of this Act is to require Foreign Financial Institutions (FFIs) to identify and report to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) U.S. persons who have accounts outside of the U.S to the U.S. Treasury.

There are 2 ways of FFIs fulfilling their FATCA obligation. In view of the extra territorial reach of this Act and the consequences of non-compliance, most countries are dealing with FATCA on a country specific basis using the Intergovernmental Agreement rather than have each of their financial institutions enter into a separate agreement with the IRS.

A. Intergovernmental Agreements(IGA):

This is a bi-lateral agreement between a country and the U.S. government. There are two models of this agreement

• Model 1:Under this agreement, Countries will be able to report information on U.S. account holders directly to their national authorities, who in turn will report to the IRS. The requirements under this model are not as stringent as should financial institutions be rendering the report to the IRS directly. There are two versions to this agreement—the reciprocal and non-reciprocal agreement. The reciprocal version requires an exchange of information between the IRS and the respective country entering into the agreement with respect to information about account holders in each country’s financial institutions that are residents of the other country.
• Model 2:Under this agreement, the FFIs will report information directly to the IRS rather than through their national authorities but local laws will be modified to facilitate information exchange.

B. Registration with the IRS:

Under, this arrangement, FFIs are to register and report directly to the IRS as Participating Foreign Financial Institutions without recourse to their local authorities.

The implementation of FATCA is bound to have a significant impact on the Compliance, Operational and IT processes of Tanzanian financial institutions and will be best driven by the financial institutions to ensure uniformity from a country perspective as well as to alleviate the issues of international financial institutions that are FATCA compliant refusing to do business with Tanzanian financial institutions that are not FATCA compliant.

The new FATCA rules commenced in June 2014 and it is crucial for the financial institutions in Tanzania to have an in-depth understanding of the regulations as well as the implications posed by them to the banking industry as it would necessitate not just reviewing the account opening process but also ensuring that financial institutions are able to identify qualifying existing customers.

The effects of non-compliance with FATCA are punitive: the refusal or non-compliance by an FFI may result in a 30% withholding on U.S. sourced income received by the non-compliant financial institutions. Income subject to withholding tax includes but is not limited to dividends, interests, rent, royalties, sale of assets, salary, wages, premiums, annuities, compensation, emolument and pass-through payments.

To this end, it is highly recommended that the Model 1 IGA is adopted and that Tanzania through the central bank (BOT) should consider applying the reciprocal approach which appears to have been adopted by several countries that are FATCA compliant (U.K. Spain, Mexico, Japan, Spain, Ireland).

FURTHER INFORMATION:

This editorial is intended to give you a general over view of the Law. If you would like further information on any issue raised in this column, please contact.Patrick Sanga
Partner
E: p.sanga@vemmaattorneys.co.tz
M: +255 686 999 993Haika-Belinda Macha
Partner
E: hb.macha@vemmaattorneys.co.tz
M: +255 688 305 999