Zanzibar is the name of anarchipelago in theIndian Ocean 25–50 km off the coast ofEast Africa. There are many smallislands and two large ones:Unguja (the main island, sometimes informally referred to as 'Zanzibar') andPemba Island.
The archipelago was once the separate state ofZanzibar, which united withTanganyika to formTanzania (derived from the two names). Zanzibar is a semi-autonomous within the union, with its owngovernment.
Zanzibar has its own government, known as the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar. It is made up of the Revolutionary Council and House of Representatives.
The main Parties are the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) and the Civic United Front (CUF). Since the early 1990s, the politics of the archipelago have been marked by repeated violent clashes between these two political parties.
In October 2009, Zanzibar President Amani Karume met with CUF Secretary Seif Shariff Hamad at the State House to discus how to save Zanzibar from future political turmoil and to end the backlash between them,[6] a move which was welcomed by many people including the USA[7] and political parties. It was the first time CUF agreed to recognize Karume as the legitimate president of Zanzibar.
The relationship between Zanzibar government and Tanzanian Mainland has not been good in recent years since Tanzania Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda's remark about the Isles'sovereignty. He said that Zanzibar is not an independent country outside the Union Government, within which it can only exercise its sovereignty.[8]
Members from both the ruling party, Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), and the opposition Civic United Front (CUF) disagreed with Mr Pinda's interpretation and stand firmly in recognizing Zanzibar as a fully autonomous and full state.[9] The move was not recognized by the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania.
In 2008, Tanzanian presidentJakaya Kikwete tried to silence the debate when he addressed the nation in a live conference by saying thatZanzibar is a state internal but semi-state international. There the matter rests for the time being.
A proposal to amend Zanzibar’s laws to allow rival parties to form governments of national unity was adopted by 66.4 per cent of voters, after official results of a referendum which was held on July 31, 2010.[10]
Zanzibar is 95%Islamic in religion, and has been so for hundreds of years. It was once part of thePersian Empire, then under theCaliphate ofOman. It was ruled by aSultan. Zanzibar was conquered by theBritish in the late 19th century. The islands were involved in theArab slave trade, and the British conquest was an attempt to stop this. They appointedpuppet rulers, and Zanzibar became a 'protectorate', not acolony.
Zanzibar gained independence on 10th December 1963 from the British.
The islands are poor, and the economy is in trouble. Zanzibaris are living a hard life compare to the mainland. In 2000, the annual income per capita was US$220.[11]
During May and June 2008, Zanzibar suffered a major failure of itselectricity system, which left the island without electricity for nearly a month. Another blackout happened from December 2009 to March 2010, due to a problem with thesubmarinecables and the local plant. This led to a serious and ongoing shock to the island's fragile economy, which is heavily dependent on foreign tourism.
Zanzibar's economy is based primarily on the production of cloves (90% grown on the island of Pemba), the principal foreign exchange earner. Exports have suffered with the downturn in the clove market.
Theclove, originally from the Moluccan Islands (Indonesia), was introduced to Zanzibar by the Omani sultans in the first half of the XIX century.[12] Zanzibar, mainlyPemba Island, was once the world's leading clove producer,[13] but annual clove sales have plummeted by 80% since the 1970s. Zanzibar's clove industry has been crippled by a fast-movingglobal market, and internationalcompetition.
Tanzania's failed experiment withsocialism in the 1960s and 1970s, when the governmentcontrolled clove prices and exports, is also a factor. Zanzibar now ranks a distant third with Indonesia supplying 75% of the world's cloves compared to Zanzibar's 7%.[13]
Zanzibar exports spices,seaweed and fineraffia. It also has a large fishing anddugout canoe production.
Tourism is a major foreign currency earner. A number of new hotels and resorts having been built in recent years. Zanzibar has beautiful places to rest and be happy. Zanzibar has beautiful beaches. where people can swim and be happy all day,and it's beautiful for having white sand beaches and blue like clear water. Also people can take beautiful pictures on the beaches.Also zanzibar has old arts and old special house designs from old years where our father’s fathers lived and they have the only special designs for the houses and it is an attraction for the people also it make us able to keep special things like the house designs and stories from the old times so other people can remember them forever.
Spices
Zanzibar is a special place where many yummy and colorful spices grow. Spices like cinnamon, chilies, nutmeg, black pepper, and ginger grow on trees and plants. People from all over the world come to see them and smell their nice scents.When you visit the spice farms, you can see the spices growing, pick them from trees, and learn how people prepare them for cooking. Some spices are also used to help people feel better when they are sick. The people in the village use spices to make medicine, color clothes, and even make special soaps and creams.You can watch cinnamon being taken from tree bark and see fresh fruits picked from trees. You can even taste them! They are fresh and delicious, just like nature made them. When you see these spices and fruits, you might remember the ones from your kitchen at home!
The Government of Zanzibar legalized foreign exchange bureaux on the islands. The effect was to increase the availability of consumer commodities. The government has also established a free port area. This stimulates trade and support services. There is a management system for re-exportation of goods.[14]
There is also a possibility ofoil exploration in Zanzibar on the island of Pemba. Oil would help boost the economy of Zanzibar, but there have been disagreements about dividends between the Tanzanian mainland and Zanzibar, the latter claiming the oil should be excluded in Union matters. A Norwegian consultant has been sent to Zanzibar to investigate its oil potential.[source?]
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