THE ARUSHA SENIOR JOURNALISTS HAVE BEEN AWARDED TANZANIA HORTICULTURE ASSOCIATION AWARDS FOR INSIGHTFUL REPORTAGE

 From right;  Zephania Ubwania (The Citizen),  Charles Ole Ngereza (The Guardian ), Adam Ihucha (The East African) and Patty Magubira (The Citizen ) pose for a lifetime photo after having recognized for covering consistently the horticulture industry. 

Adam Ihucha (The East African ) receives TAHA media award at Mount Meru Hotel in Tanzania's northern safari capital, Arusha.

Ten journalists, nine of them based in Arusha, have been awarded by the Tanzania Horticultural  Association (Taha) as part of the organization's 10th anniversary celebrations which were marked last week. 

Six of them are senior newspaper reporters based in the town and the seventh is operating from Dar es Salaam. Those from the electronic media are three famous announcers/presenters. 

The Nation Media Group (NMG),which includes Mwananchi Communications Limited (MCL), took three of the 10 prizes  presented by the first Taha board chairperson and a prominent advocate based in Arusha, Colman Ngalo. 

They are Zephania Ubwani and Patty Magubira who are the staff writers of The Citizen in Arusha and Adam Ihucha of The East African, a weekly publication of the Nairobi-based NMG, the mother company of MCL. The latter also contributes to The Citizen. 

The journalists were prized for consistent reporting on horticulture, one of the fastest growing economic sectors in the country. The ceremony was held on Thursday evening last week (November 27th) at the Mt. Meru Hotel.

The event coincided with a conference in which stakeholders in the industry took stock of the achievements made and challenges ahead. 

Other journalists who won the prizes dedicated to Taha's 10th anniversary included Marc Nkwame of Daily News, Eliya Mbonea of New Habari Corporation, Charles Ole Ngereza of the Guardian Limited and Erick Toroka of Business Times.

Before joining Daily News, Mr. Nkwame worked for Arusha Times, a weekly tabloid published in town since the mid-1990s. 

From the electronic media the winners were Jamillah Omar of Channel Ten, Mwanaidi Mkwizu from ITV/ Radio One and Ramadhani Mvungi of Star TV/Radio Free Africa.

During a similar contest held in 2008, only two journalists - Mr. Ubwani and Ihucha- were awarded by Taha for their concise reporting of the then nascent horticultural industry, now generating millions of dollars each year to the economy.

Speaking during a well attended function, Taha CEO Ms Jacquiline Mkindi said the organization would continue to support the media in its quest to reach out the public and hence promote the industry.

The association was formally established in 2004 and has its headquarters in Arusha. In recent years, it has extended its operations across the country with the opening of branches in Morogoro, Zanzibar and the lake and southern highlands zones