The employment laws of Tanzania do not have specific provisions on surrogacy but there are provisions in the employment laws governing maternity leave. Section 31 of Employment and Labour Relations Act (Cap. 366 R.E 2019) requires a female employee applying for maternity leave to submit to the employer a medical certificate proving her pregnancy and the expected date of confinement which is 6 weeks. Maternity leave is granted to a pregnant and lactating female employee for her to get time off work which may help her improve her physical and mental wellbeing that might have deteriorated due to the pregnancy and birth. Maternity leave also gives the nursing mother enough time to breastfeed her infant which is crucial for the health and general development of the child.

Because maternity leave is granted for health reasons, it is specifically meant for a woman employee who is proven pregnant and is about to deliver in six weeks’ time. That is the reason the employment laws of Tanzania do not recognise implied pregnancy or birth through surrogacy arrangement. Thus it is the surrogate mother who, if employed, can apply for maternity leave subject to other statutory conditions being met. Unfortunately for your employee, there is no provision under our laws for her to be granted with such maternity leave.

The Law of Limitation Act [Cap.89 R.E 2019] in item 24 of Part I of the Schedule prescribes 6 years as the period of limitation for recovery of debts like yours. However, section 27(3) of the Act provides that an acknowledgment to pay the debt, if made in writing, extends the period of limitation prescribed for recovery of the debt. Once a debtor acknowledges the debt, the date of acknowledgment becomes the new date of accrual of the claim. But in order to rely on the acknowledgment to pay as extension of the period of limitation, such acknowledgment must have been made before the expiration of the initial limitation period prescribed for the claim. In that regard, the two acknowledgements made by your former employer to pay you extended the period of limitation to recover the debt from your former employer because the acknowledgments were made before the expiry of 6 years period of limitation prescribed for your claim. Now the new 6 year period of limitation is counted from 2017 when the last acknowledgment of debt was made by your former employer. If you want to keep on extending the period of limitation, make sure you write another reminder letter now before the new 6 years of limitation expire this year.

Further, section 32(1)(c) of the Interpretation of Laws Act [Cap.1 R.E 2019] is very clear that the repeal or revocation of the law does affect the right, interest or privilege created, acquired or established under the repealed or revoked law. Although a circular is a mere administrative guide and not law, it is our opinion that the same principle applies to the circulars that the revocation of a circular does not affect the right, interest or privilege accrued, acquired or established under the revoked circular. That is to say, your claim founded under the revoked circular is not invalidated by revocation of the circular on which the claim is founded.

It is mandatory under section 39(12) of the Road Traffic Act [Cap.168 R.E 2002] for a two-wheeled or three-wheeled motorcycle driver to wear a helmet when he is driving unless he is exempted from wearing a helmet by the Minister for Home Affairs. The traffic police was hence right to stop you and ask the Bajaj driver why he was not wearing a helmet. It is an offence for a Bajaj driver to drive without wearing a helmet. Many people erroneously think that it is only two-wheeled motorcycle drivers who are required to wear helmets.