DAR ES SALAAM, Jan. 6 -- TAKING another move, the Tanzania Social Action Fund (TASAF) is preparing to extend its development footprint beyond the mainland, and this time the winds of change are blowing across the Indian Ocean.

According to TASAF Executive Director Shedrack Mziray, community development projects financed through the OPEC Fund are set to begin in Zanzibar, covering both Unguja and Pemba islands.

For Zanzibar residents, this means that development assistance is no longer something heard about on the evening news from the mainland, but something that will soon be felt at village level, quite possibly closer than the nearest ferry terminal.

The OPEC Fund, supported by some of the worlds major oil-producing countries, exists...