Q&A – 13 September 2021

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Selling alcohol to under 18 years child

I am small entrepreneur who runs a small pub in the street where I live. I am told that the law does not allow selling beers and other intoxicating liquors to persons under the age of 18 years. Is my understanding correct?
AK, Moshi

Your understanding is not correct. Legal age to drink is actually 16 not 18.

Section 69 of the Intoxicating Liquors Act [Cap.77 R.E 2002] prohibits selling or even offering for free any kind of intoxicating liquor to a person under the age of 16 years. A bar operator can legally sell beers and other intoxicating liquors to persons who have attained the age of 16 years or above.

Further, section 70 of the Intoxicating Liquors Act prohibits engaging persons under the age of 16 years in selling, controlling or supervising the sale of intoxicating liquor or permitting them to remain at a place where intoxicating liquor is being sold. In short a child under 16 years is not even allowed to be present at a place where intoxicating liquor including beer is being sold for example a bar. These statutory prohibitions are meant to preserve our morals.

Having said the above, we have noted that the alcohol manufacturers in Tanzania state that the alcohol should not be sold to anyone below the age of 18. This is the manufacturers self regulation and not what the law provides.

Number of paid maternity leaves entitled

We are negotiating a Collective Bargaining Agreement with a Trade Union and would like to get your opinion on the following issues of labour law. Does the law limit the terms of paid maternity leave the employer is bound to give the employee during subsistence of the employment relationship? Within what span of time is an employee entitled to a paid maternity leave after the date of engagement or after completing the last maternity leave? Is an employee entitled to a paid maternity leave within a year after she took the last leave or after the engagement? Can the employee who is still on maternity leave take annual leave?
JD, Dar 

Section 33(8) of the Employment and Labour Relations Act [Cap. 366 R.E 2019] limits the terms of paid maternity leaves which the employee is entitled to take. An employee is entitled to only four terms of paid maternity leave irrespective of how many years she has consecutively worked for the same employer and the number of children she has given birth to. However, this limitation of four terms is only for paid maternity leave. After the employee has exhausted the fourth term of paid maternity leave, the employer is still obliged to grant the female employee maternity leave though the fifth term and the subsequent terms shall be unpaid.

By virtue of section 30(1)(b)(ii) of the Employment and Labour Relations Act, maternity leave cycle is a period of 36 months from the date of engagement or 36 months from the date the last leave was taken. An employee is entitled to a paid maternity leave after expiration of 36 months from the date of engagement by the employer or from the date the employee completed her last maternity leave. Where the employee’s child dies within a year after birth and she conceives, she will be entitled to another paid maternity leave though 36 months have not expired. The period of 3 years is a leave cycle for paid maternity leave. An employee can take maternity leave before the expiration of 3 years from the date of engagement with the employer or from the date she completed her last maternity leave provided that maternity leave taken before the expiration of 36 months from the date of employment or after the last leave shall be unpaid.

An employee who is on maternity leave is entitled to annual leave if it is due to her. It is contrary to section 31(5) of the Employment and Labour Relations Act for the employer to treat maternity leave as covering the annual leave and deny the employee her right to annual leave on grounds that the employee has been on a long maternity leave. Maternity leave and annual are two distinct leave rights with distinct leave cycles.

Compensation for death caused by wildlife

My brother was killed by a hyena in my home village at night when he was on his way home from a neighbouring village. Can you guide me how to claim compensation from the government?
MC, Musoma

The government does not pay compensation for loss of life or injury caused by dangerous wild animals. It only pays consolation to the victim for the loss of life or injury. The rate and procedure for payment of consolation for death caused by wildlife is stipulated under section 69 to 71 of the Wildlife Conservation Act, 2009 and the Wildlife Conservation (Dangerous Animals Damage Consolation) Regulations, 2011.

The claimant should first report the incident to the nearest village executive officer within three days from the date of incident. After reporting to the village executive officer, he/she can, within 7 days from the date of incident, apply for payment of consolation by filling and submitting the claim to the director of wildlife in the prescribed form provided in the First Schedule to the Consolation Regulations. The claim has to be verified by the village executive officer, ward executive officer, livestock officer, agricultural officer or wildlife officer and two independent witnesses. A claim founded on death has to be further verified by a medical practitioner of the rank of clinical officer or above.

A claimant who is aggrieved by the amount of consolation paid by the director of wildlife can request the director to review the amount. The request for review of the amount must be lodged with the director within 30 days from the date of decision to pay the disputed consolation was made. Appeal from the decision of the director lies to the minister responsible for wildlife.

The maximum amount of consolation prescribed in the Fourth Schedule to the Regulation for death is TZS 1,000,000.