President Kikwete waited many years to attain the highest office in the land. But when he finally attained it, he wasted no time. In the first few days after his installation he attended both a Muslim celebration and the consecration of a protestant bishop while his newly appointed Prime Minister was opening a Catholic school. He told his new cabinet that they could remain in their positions for five years but only if they delivered.

People seemed delighted by the energy and drive with which he launched his presidency. His election had been accompanied by much bad news – more than 16 armed robberies had been reported; there was widespread drought and food shortages which seriously affected electricity supplies in Dar es Salaam and other centres.

This is a summary of his first hyper-active 100 days:

He began by visiting all the ministries in Dar es Salaam and lecturing the ministers and their staff on what he expected from them. Examples:
He told his Minister of Lands to take legal steps to enforce the Dar City Plan and unlawful construction in Masaki – Mwananchi.
He warned corrupt public servants that his government would offer zero tolerance. His government would not be curtailed by the law in disposing of public servants implicated in graft.
At the Ministry of Agriculture he said that it was a shame for Tanzania to lag behind countries like Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand that had started economic reforms in 1986. “While they made an agrarian revolution we stick to the hand hoe that is mentioned in the Old Testament.” He said that now that Songosongo gas had reached Dar es Salaam and there was plenty of phosphate at Minjingu and Manyara there was no reason why the country couldn’t manufacture fertilizer itself instead of importing it from Jordan and elsewhere. Kikwete said that the Maasai were traditional cattle herders but were now flocking to urban areas to work as security guards. At the Kongwa cattle ranch, the number of stock had fallen from 10,000 to only 3,000 “How can this country, with 18 million cattle, be a net importer of milk and butter?” he asked. He told the civil servants to stop sitting in their offices enjoying fat salaries and allowances and to go to the countryside and rescue the country from backward farming – Nipashe.

At the Ministry of Natural Resources Kikwete gave the staff three months to resolve the problems that have been dogging the Tanzania Fishing Corporation (TAFICO). “If it collapses so will you,” he snapped. Minister Anthony Diallo lost no time in sacking or moving five officers to other posts after he revealed that hunting blocks had been ‘dubiously sold’. The Acting Director of Forestry who was said to have licensed illegal logging was moved to another post.
At the Ministry of Trade and Industry, President Kikwete gave the officials six months to make sure that Tanzania had an industrial and trading plan in place. “When I return to you in six months I want to see something concrete and not just reports,” he warned.
The President directed the Minister for Lands and Human Settlements to put his house in order within six months and sack immediately all those who were found responsible for double allocation of plots. The Prevention of Corruption Bureau (PCB) was reported in Mwananchi to have been grilling two Mwanza city officials over allocation of 16 plots to one businessman. The President said that, where title deeds had been issued to more than one person, their signatories should be fired and they should be reported to the PCB immediately. He went on: “This ministry has been completely disregarding the laws of the land as if there were no government in place.” Minister John Magufuli said that, since entering the ministry, he had been receiving about 100 complaints from the public every day. In most cases the complaints were against dishonest officials in his ministry.
The President ordered the Ministry of Education to reinstate the subjects it had scrapped from the secondary school curriculum pending a new consensus – Guardian

At the Ministry of Higher Education the President ruled out the possibility of the government granting scholarships for students pursuing education in private and foreign universities, because of financial constraints. “We can not use the meagre funds from the Higher Learning Education Scholarship Board to sponsor someone who opts for Oxford” he said. The president said some universities, especially overseas, charged exorbitant fees.
He ordered the new Minister for Water Stephen Wassira to tell Dar es Salaam residents the truth about perennial water woes the city was experiencing. – Guardian.

At the Ministry of Health, the President criticised existing health policies as unworkable and directed the ministry to review them immediately. They provided for the construction of dispensaries and health centres in areas or villages with a population of between 10,000 and 50,000 people, an approach the President said was unrealistic. “This forces people in remote areas of the country to travel long distances in search of health services” he said.
The President issued instructions to the Minister of Natural Resources that the Ihefu Wetland area of the Usangu Game Reserve, which had been accommodating 400,000 cattle – with resultant destruction of the environment and hence a reduction in the amount of water flowing to the Great Ruaha River, (which serves the vital Mtera dam) must be cleared of livestock. Livestock keepers were issued with a seven-day ultimatum for them to move away. The local DC later reported that livestock were being moved and slowly the wetlands would be restored to their natural state – Guardian.

At the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) he complained about ineptitude at the Dar es Salaam Port. “At Durban port” he said “it takes less than three days to clear cargo, but here in Dar it can take up to 12 days.” He added that Malawian and Zambian users would rather pay for the long distances to Durban than be subjected to the lethargy at Dar port and that Burundian and Rwandan business persons preferred Mombasa because of the poor infrastructure in Tanzania – East African.
President Kikwete warned local councils to stop protecting dishonest officials and be ready to throw them out. Kikwete said that from now onwards councillors should see to it that money was spent as budgeted.

In a major reshuffle of Regional Commissioners eleven were dropped and nine were retained and moved to other regions. The President also appointed three new women RCs while dropping one. The new team included seven ex military officers and three doctors –Nipashe.

He also announced that, in future, government leaders would be referred to as ‘honourable’ rather than as ‘excellencies’. Kikwete promised to maintain the use of the portraits of the founding father of the nation on currency notes and coins. The President also stopped the use of school children to hand out bouquets and scarves to government leaders when they disembark from planes or vehicles or attend public functions.
Majira reported that the President, after stopping to greet a disabled person in a Dar street, had given him Shs 10,000/-.

PERFORMANCE CONTRACTS AND INCENTIVES

As civil servants reeled under the constant attacks on the probity of some amongst them, it was announced that government officers would be required to sign ‘Performance Contracts’ with effect from July this year. The aim was to increase efficiency and control expenditure at all administrative levels. This would enable the government to evaluate civil servants’ responsibilities and develop a strategy to attain targeted development goals. After announcing this to parliament, the new Prime Minster received a standing ovation from MP’s. He said it was time to change the way the government had traditionally transacted its business to a more pragmatic style that would guarantee quality service delivery to the public. Government duties would have to be carried out decisively, promptly and successfully; there was a need for trustworthy and accountable public servants,’ he said. Explaining the ‘Performance Contract’ the PM said that the objective was to set standards on time taken and money spent on development plans. This would help the government to decide who to reward after meeting the objectives and who to punish for being irresponsible. In Arusha some officials had misused the relief food supplies provided by the government and sold the grain at the prices they wished. They had been fired and charged in court – Guardian.

Public officials accused of financial mismanagement by the Controller and Auditor General (CAG) will henceforth be liable to disciplinary action before the report is tabled before parliament. The Deputy Minister for Finance, Mustafa Mkullo, said the power is vested in his minister by virtue of the government Directive number 15 of July last year. Mkullo said the government decided to issue the directive so as to give the CAG teeth to perform better the task of auditing public expenditures. He said this was just the first step and that more directives would be given as and when the need arose.

REVEALING FURTHER MISDEMEANOURS

Encouraged by the President’s clearly stated intention to curb corruption the press began to reveal all sorts of other misdemeanours. Examples:
Shs 21.6/- million paid to 251 ghost workers in Zanzibar’s Health Ministry – Mtanzania.
The payment by the Works Ministry of Shs 375 million for work not done in Dodoma – Mwananchi.
The payment by the Health Ministry of Shs 85/- million for medicines not delivered – Nipashe.
Shs 16.8/- billion stolen in bank raids since January 2005 – Majira.
The Tanganyika Investment and Oil Transport (TIOT) found to be involved in massive tax evasion: it was instructed to deposit a bond equal to the amount demanded by the Tanzania Revenue Authority. (Majira)*

CRIME AND THE POLICE

President Kikwete has created a whole new ministry – the Ministry of Public Safety and Security – for dealing with crime and other security matters. He said that the police had made such a poor show of their job that there was talk to the effect that the force was colluding with criminals.

The East African reported that, before President Kikwete declared his war on banditry, robbers had begun to mock his election campaign slogan – ‘new vigour, new enthusiasm, new speed’ by repeating it during their armed raids on premises. Taking his cue from the President, Minister of Public Safety and Security Brian Mwapachu vowed that the government would adopt a ‘shoot-to-kill’ strategy if need be. On January 14, gunmen ignored these warnings and robbed two premises selling gems in Dar es Salaam in broad daylight. The police sprang into action. But then it turned out that these policemen were themselves using the crackdown on crime to mount their own robbery. The three gem dealers from Mahenge were dead. This led the President to appoint an inquiry commission on January 24, chaired by Justice Mussa Kipenka. On February 17, the commission handed its findings to the President who immediately ordered the arrest of the 15 police officers involved.

Next, it was reported that a document had been handed to the Minister of Public Safety, as he entered the parliament building, by two junior police officers in plain clothes It alleged that a prominent private businessman was involved in violent crime and that they had tried to arrest him several times but he had been released by their boss.

In late January armed gangsters staged a daring robbery at the West Bureau de Change near the clock tower in Dar. The Guardian reported that the suspected robbers posed as customers and accomplished their mission without being noticed by passersby. One of them brandished a pistol and threatened to shoot the Security Guard while the other two briefly took hostage the cashier and customers inside the shop, as the third smashed the glass window in front of the cashier’s desk and got inside. The robbers left the scene without being suspected by those outside the shop. Customers inside the bureau had been ordered to surrender their cash and valuables.
Four armed robbers got away with more than TShs 300 million from the Standard Chartered Bank in Dar es Salaam on March 8 at 9 am. The money belonged to agents for the Vodacom cellular phone company and had been brought in to be deposited.
Media reports on alleged dishonesty among Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) executives sparked off a full investigation. The Minister for Finance, instructed the Commissioner General of the TRA to take stern measures. Some of the officials were said to have resigned before the axe fell on them. They were said to own fleets of vehicles, houses and other properties. Their bank accounts were also frozen – Tanzania Daima.

NEW INSPECTOR GENERAL

Meanwhile the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Omar Mahita got himself into very hot water. He stated publicly that the Civic United Front (CUF) opposition party was behind some of the violent crime wave. He made things worse by saying that CUF would never come to power while he remained as IGP.

The opposition in parliament immediately protested to the government and on February 20 thousands of supporters of the CUF, CHADEMA and TLP parties staged a huge demonstration in Dar es Salaam urging President Kikwete to sack the IGP. As the clamour grew Mahita decided to retire. He did so on March 4 when he reached the age of 60. The Guardian reported him as saying that he wouldn’t become a politician in retirement but rather hoped to venture into farming and livestock keeping in his home region Morogoro.

On March 7 President Kikwete appointed Said Ally Mwema, 53, as the new IGP and Sungura Manumba, 53, as the new Director of Criminal Investigations. Mwema had been Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) in charge of the Interpol Sub-Regional Bureau in Nairobi and was, before that, a Regional Crime Officer. His appointment was praised by all parties and the general public. The President also made a major reshuffle in the police force, promoting some senior officials and appointing new ones. He designated Dar es Salaam as a Special Police Zone with three regional police districts.

DIRECT CONTACT, MOTIVATION AND TRANSPARENCY

The new IGP lost no time in springing into action. On April 6 he published in the press the office, residential and cellphone telephone numbers of Regional Police Commanders (RPC’s) all over the country (plus his own!) so that the public would be able to contact senior officers directly about crime. The objective was also to ‘create a sense of transparency.’
A few days later, according to the Swahili press, some people began making hoax calls, some at ‘ungodly’ hours, ranging from life threats to intimate advances. However, several RPC’s reported that they had been provided with useful information. Morogoro RPC, Steven Ngowi, said he got information leading to the arrest of eight suspected criminals with firearms. Also, one village officer was arrested on charges of stealing bags of cement.

The government has also set aside Shs 3bn/- to motivate the police force. The money would also be used to settle arrears in police allowances that had been outstanding for many years.

The IGP also announced that the police, in collaboration with the CRDB Bank and Bank of Tanzania (BoT), had set up a special fund amounting to TShs 43m to reward people who furnished it with information leading to the arrest of criminals.

POLICE ACTION AGAINST CRIME

Among many other actions the IGP suspended the Tarime District Police Commander – Mtanzania.
Some 30 persons, most of them businessmen, were picked up in Dar es Salaam and Kilimanjaro in March. One was a Tanzanian of Asian descent suspected of being involved in a network of criminal activities including car thefts and armed robbery. Two of them were taken to court where they were accused of being ‘dangerous’ to society as they had sponsored criminal gangs – Mwananchi.
Police arrested 18 businessmen in Manyara on organised crime charges – Tanzania Daima.
Seven businessmen were arrested in Mererani – Nipashe.
Eight businessmen were arrested in Morogoro on robbery charges – Majira.
Police arrested a number of businessmen and officials in Babati over the possession of stolen cars – Tanzania Daima.
A businessman, a contractor and an engineer were charged with defrauding TANROADS – Nipashe.

Prime Minister Edward Lowassa with President Kikwete

Prime Minister Edward Lowassa soon entered into the spirit of the new regime by taking some pretty tough action himself. Examples:
He suspended the Executive Director of Same District Council for ‘failing’ to distribute in time relief food to starving people. Other officials failing to distribute relief food were warned that they would be dismissed – Nipashe
He directed the Ministry of Energy and Minerals to revoke mining licences issued to quarrying firms in the Kunduchi/Mtongano area of Dar es Salaam to save the environment from imminent destruction.
He suspended the Temeke Municipal Engineer for turning a blind eye to the construction of a four-storey building that had collapsed. The developer didn’t have the proper documentation for the construction which was undertaken shoddily. Some bodies were recovered from the rubble.

But then the PM appeared to take took one step too far. In action slightly reminiscent of the slum clearance operation by Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe, young street vendors, who try to scratch a living from sales of goods in the street, were driven away. However, reported Mwananchi, so violent was the reaction from the vendors in Mwanza that two people died and many were injured before anti-riot police quelled the violence with tear gas. Kiosks were also demolished and vendors removed in Dar es Salaam on March 9 when, according to the Swahili press, some 25 residents were injured and one was feared dead following street battles between National Service (JKT) youngsters employed by the ‘S-Group’ security firm, on behalf of the City Council, and touts at commuter bus stands. The JKT youths called for reinforcements from their camp and started hitting out at all and sundry, including drivers, passengers and passers-by. The matter was brought under control after the anti-riot police (FFU) took over the streets. The PM then said he was halting the operation to allow local authorities and vendors alike more time to prepare for the change. Later, 36 JKT servicemen appeared in court on charges of conspiracy, causing grievous bodily harm and criminal damage to property.

But CHADEMA National Chairman Freeman Mbowe lauded President Kikwete for the “positive and commendable” achievements recorded in the few days he had been in office. Mbowe said the new government had demonstrated its readiness to address major problems such as those dogging the Union; the political crisis in Zanzibar; controversy surrounding mining contracts; rampant corruption and gender imbalance in the government. Chairman of CHADEMA Freeman Mbowe denied that he was planning to rejoin CCM though he would continue attending state functions if invited. He was talking to Tanzanians living in Britain at a meeting held at the Holiday Inn in London. Mbowe was in the country to attend a Conservative Party conference in Manchester. “Politics to me is not a profession. I am a businessman and will remain one. I am in politics to serve my people. It is a call.” Explaining the reason why he accepted the election results last year he said that if there was rigging it was due to the opposition’s weakness and should be taken as a lesson for the next elections in 2010. On the likelihood of opposition parties fielding a single presidential candidate, Mbowe said that his party had formed an alliance with NCCR in 1995 and with CUF in 2000, but in both cases it was fruitless.

The President made many changes when he formed his government in January but was widely criciticised for increasing the number of ministries from 19 to 22. He established seven new full ministries and two new state ministries while dropping three from the previous government. He said that critical issues like water had to be put under one ministry and he had also formed a new ministry to cater for East African co-operation affairs. The Home Affairs Ministry had been relieved of responsibility for the police (taken over by a new Ministry of Public Security) and would now concentrate on immigration, prisons and fire fighting. The new Ministry for Infrastructure Development took on all the activities of the former Works Ministry and those of the Communications and Transport Ministry. Activities of the former Co-operatives and Marketing Ministry were transferred to two new ministries, Agriculture and Food Security (for Co-operatives issues) and Industry, Trade and Marketing (for marketing). The former Ministry of Water and Livestock Development had been split into two – a Ministry of Water and a Ministry of Livestock Development. The Planning Department, formerly in the president’s, became the Ministry of Planning, Economy and Empowerment. The ministry would also be in charge of poverty reduction – previously under the Vice-President’s office. Another ministry was for Information, Culture and Sports which took over the activities previously under the Prime Minister’s office and the Labour, Youth Development and Sports Ministry. The Ministry of Labour now remained with two principle activities – overseeing labour matters and creating more jobs for the youths under a special Department of Youth Development. Vocational Training has been added to the Ministry of Education, while the cultural aspect had been shifted to the new ministry of Information, Culture and Sports – Guardian.

MINISTERIAL CHANGES

Fourteen of the 26 ministers in former President Mkapa’s government were excluded from the new Cabinet including Charles Keenja, (Agriculture), George Kahama (Co-operatives), Philemon Sarungi (Defence), Daniel Yona (Energy), Anna Abdallah (Health), Omar Mapuri (Home Affairs), Gideon Cheyo (Lands), Pius Ng’wandu (Higher Education), Hassan Ngwilizi. (State, President’s Office, Regional Administration and Local Government), Dr Abdallah Kigoda (State, President’s Office, Planning and Privatisation) and Wilson Masilingi (State, President’s Office, Good Governance).

Andrew Chenge, Attorney General in the previous government, is the new Minister of East African Co-operation Affairs while Zakia Meghji became Finance Minister after previously holding the Natural Resources and Tourism portfolio.
The new Cabinet has a total of 6 full and 10 Deputy Women Ministers. This is a big increase from the 2000 cabinet in which, out of the 27 Ministers and 17 Deputies, there were only 4 full and 4 deputy women Ministers.

IRIN published the names of the 29 ministers and 31 deputy ministers with the highest number of women the country has had since independence – seven ministers and 10 deputy ministers.

CABINET MEMBERS

Vice-President: Ali Mohamed Shein
Prime Minister: Edward Lowassa
Zanzibar President: Amani Abeid Karume
Foreign Affairs: Asha-Rose Migiro
East African Affairs: Andrew Chenge
Education and Vocational Training: Margareth Sitta
Finance: Zakia Meghji
Planning, Economy: Juma Ngasongwa
Industry, Trade and Marketing: Nazir Karamagi
Agriculture and Co-operatives: Joseph Mungai
Natural Resources and Tourism: Anthony Diallo
Water: Stephen Wassira
Energy and Minerals: Ibrahim Msabaha
Infrastructure Development: Basil Mramba
Health and Social Welfare: David Mwakyusa
Higher Education, Science and Technology: Peter Msolla
Labour, Employment and Youth Development: Jumanne Maghembe
Lands, Human Settlement: John Magufuli
Information, Sports and Culture: Mohamed Seif Khatibu
Home Affairs: John Chiligati
Public Safety and Security: Bakari Mwapachu
Justice and Constitutional Affairs: Mary Nagu
Community Development, Gender and Children: Sophia Simba
Livestock Development: Shukuru Kawambwa
Defence and National Service: Juma Kapuya
Attorney General: Johnson Mwanyika

The Tanzania Election Monitoring Committee (TEMCO) issued in March two election certificates on the 2005 general election – a ‘clean, free and fair certificate’ for the elections on the mainland and a ‘qualified’ free and fair certificate for the Zanzibar elections. Extracts from the report, quoted in the Guardian:
‘On the mainland the voting, vote counting and declaration of results were carried out in consonance with the electoral law and regulations. The National Electoral Commission and most of its staff demonstrated a high degree of integrity, competency and an acceptable level of impartiality and accountability,”
In Zanzibar, where people ‘really mean politics’, the process was done with a lot of strain not only on the voting day but also during the whole electoral process that included registration, voters’ education, the campaigns, the voting itself, the counting of the votes and the announcement of the results. While on the mainland almost all the electoral processes were done democratically and peacefully, in Zanzibar registration, voting and counting of votes was done under strict security…. The opposition parties argued that the elections were not free and fair because the playing ground was not level.’
Wilfred Lwakatare from the Civic United Front (CUF), who stood for parliament in the Bukoba Urban Constituency, said that elections in Tanzania meant dealing with the police force and intelligence. In past elections there had been some irregularities including stealing of votes, which had been obvious, and the election observers had been used to justify the stealing.
The Director of Elections in the NCCR-Mageuzi, Mgeta Bakoma, said that the elections were not free and fair because people were threatened that if they voted for the opposition there would be problems in the country as had happened in Rwanda and Burundi.

COMPOSITION OF THE PARLIAMENTS

With the addition of special seats for women and other nominated MP’s the final composition of the 323-member National Assembly in Dodoma includes:

CCM: 206 elected plus 58 special seats for women plus up to 10 additional seats filled by presidential nomination of whom four have so far been nominated. Five more MP’s are elected by the Zanzibar House of Representatives. Plus the Attorney General and Speaker makes a total of 281
CUF: 19 elected (all from Zanzibar) plus 11 special seats for women plus 2 of the ten presidential nominees (from Pemba) = 32
CHADEMA: 5 elected plus 6 special seats for women = 11
TLP: 1
UDP: 1

The Assembly now has 97 women – 75 from the special seats group, 17 were elected in constituencies, 3 are Presidential appointees and there are 2 elected by the Zanzibar House of Representatives. Tanzania has therefore passed the SADC target of 30% women MP’s, the third African country to do so (the others being South Africa and Mozambique). In 2000, the percentage of women in the Assembly was only 21.5% or 63 in number.

The composition of the Zanzibar House of Representatives is as follows:
CCM 30 elected plus 4 special seats for women plus 10 nominated seats plus 5 regional commissioners plus the Attorney General.
CUF 19 plus 4 special seats for women
Undeclared 1 (by-election pending).

The local council elections

These were held at the same time as the presidential and parliamentary elections. The results were as follows:

No of wards won %age of total vote
CCM 2,375 93.6
CUF 57 2.23
CHADEMA 58 2.27
TLP 24 0.94
UDP 20 0.78
NCCR- Mageuzi 14 0.54
PPT Maendeleo 1 0.03
Other parties 0 0

Figures from a paper on ‘Gender Analysis of Political Leadership in Tanzania’ by Ms. Aggripina Mosha, Board Member of the ‘Tanzania Gender Networking Programme’ (TGNP) presented at a Workshop on ‘Parliamentarians for Women’s Health’ in Dar es Salaam.

PEMBANS LEAD OPPOSITION IN THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

The Civic United Front (CUF) is entitled, because it has more than 30 seats in the National Assembly, to appoint the leader of the opposition and promptly did so, on January 15. It also announced a 22-member CUF shadow cabinet.
The other opposition parties were not happy with this arrangement. John Cheyo, leader of the UDP, said it was unfair for the opposition in the Union Assembly, which mainly discusses matters concerning people on the mainland (population 32 million), to be officially recognised as ‘the opposition’ when it was largely composed of MP’s from the tiny island of Pemba (population half a million). It meant that there would be virtually no official spokespersons for the opposition from the mainland in parliament. According to Cheyo, efforts to convince CUF to rethink its decision had proved futile.

The Chairman of CHADEMA, Freeman Mbowe, was in Britain in early April at the invitation of the Conservative Party. He attended the Party’s annual conference in Manchester and subsequently made a speech in London and spoke to the press. He said that CHADEMA, following the experience it had gained in the nation wide campaign it had conducted during the 2005 elections (see TA No 83), would be better positioned for a major battle with CCM in the next elections in 2010. This was Mbowe’s second foreign trip since the general elections last year. He made a two-week visit to Norway and Germany in early February.

FORMER PRESIDENT MKAPA

The national CCM chairman, former President Benjamin Mkapa, has announced that he will relinquish this post one year before his term officially ends so that President Kikwete can fully supervise the implementation of the party’s election manifesto – Nipashe.
Attempts are being made to revamp the party’s Central Committee (CC) according to Rai. The Kikwete group was said to be focussing on 2015 when the President would finish two terms. The composition of the CC would be important then to ensure that the baton was passed to the ‘right person.’ For this it would be desirable to have more of Kikwete’s ministers inside the CC which is due for re-election next year. At present only eight ministers and three deputy ministers are CC members. The CC has 36 members, 17 of them from Zanzibar.

INSTRUCTIONS TO MP’S

The MPs have been told that it is a mistake to identify themselves as ‘Honourable’ especially on their ID cards but the title could be used by others when communicating with them.
The Chief of Protocol, Ambassador Cisco Mtiro, said also that if there was any need for them to speak to foreign diplomats then the diplomats should call on the MPs in their offices and not the other way round. “When you meet them, be careful about what you say. Don’t reveal ‘internal’ matters, especially with those diplomats who claim to be from the ‘citadel of democracy.’ ” He said experience had shown that some of these diplomats did not have good intentions towards the country. That was why former President Mkapa had had to put a stop to an official of the British High Commission who used to chase Zanzibar matters and ‘distort’ them. He also said that the US Ambassador had criticised the Zanzibar elections and had been summoned to the Foreign Ministry and had had to apologise. He warned them to take care while attending official functions locally or overseas by being discreet in their talk and behaviour. “Don’t imitate foreign culture by kissing while greeting, and don’t humiliate yourselves in their presence,” Mtiro advised the MPs – Tanzania Daima

Organic cotton producers – photo Assah Mwambene

TANZANIA’S cotton industry contributes about 21% of foreign exchange earnings and employs vast numbers of people. Now, a project initiated by the Tanzanian High Commission in London, has been started in Handeni for the cultivation of organic cotton. Organic cotton cultivation brings many advantages – there is increased productivity on farms and higher income for farmers from the sale of the certified cotton; as fertilisers and insecticides are not used there is no pollution of soil and water. The project has been given 100 acres and some 400 farmers registered in March 2005 in the ‘Handeni Organic Farmers’ Association’. Each member signed a contract governing the correct production of the cotton. The project is also sponsoring training and provision of other forms of assistance to the local people.
In 2003 organic textiles sales in Britain increased by 48% compared with the year before. Most of it is used in baby wear and women’s wear.

The Zanzibar Electoral Commission (ZEC) said that complaints among the losers were common and that, during the election, they said that everything had been OK. But, on election day, when they realised that they had lost the election, everything went wrong.
Among the shortcomings in Zanzibar, which had been widely reported, were the management of the Electoral Register. According to Prof Samwel Mushi of the University of Dar es Salaam, some people had voting cards but could not find their names on the displayed lists of the register. There was a need for ZEC to review the law and ensure that the list was displayed at least a week before the election in order to solve some of the problems. Intimidation of the voters was another problem. The exceptionally high presence of security forces during registration and on the polling day may have made some people decide to remain indoors. The Inspector of Police had declared an operation code-named ‘Operation Dondola’ which was heavily manned by regular police, FFU and paramilitary groups based in Zanzibar. “In some places people going to registration centres met police barriers and were interrogated. Some people may have decided to turn back” he said.

“I call upon the Speaker to form a commission of inquiry to investigate the many acts of human rights violation which occurred in Pemba and Unguja so that those behind the offences are punished in accordance with the law,” Abubakar Khamis Bakar, the Leader of the Official Opposition in the House, said.

The Minister for the Constitution and Good Governance said the presence of forces helped to keep peace during the elections and that it was the duty of both President Karume and retired Union president Benjamin Mkapa to make sure the country did not erupt into chaos – Guardian.

CUF saluted President Kikwete’s opening speech to the National Assembly in Dodoma on December 30, during which he spoke on the Zanzibar question. The President said that he was extremely concerned by the situation in the Isles, whereby the constituent parts, Zanzibar and Pemba, were deeply divided. “I will make sure we engage in a dialogue so that we do away with political divisions and rivalry in Zanzibar.’’ He said that he would seek a new truce between the warring supporters of the ruling CCM and CUF…. “In this, I will go beyond the Muafaka” in referring to the deal that the two parties signed in 2001 after the violence following elections in 2000 that claimed some 30 lives.
Although clashes at the 2005 elections had not produced similar fatalities, at least four people, two civilians and two soldiers, were killed and nearly 200 people were wounded in violence surrounding the elections. Some 20 people were injured in poll-related unrest after the elections that sent hundreds of villagers fleeing their homes in Tumbatu Island (29 kms north of Unguja) – Sunday Observer.

On December 30 CUF published its report on the Zanzibar elections. Extracts: ‘The presidential elections were ‘a betrayal of popular hopes’. Zanzibaris were made to believe democracy could not work in Zanzibar’. The report, which is in 11 parts, includes sections on the permanent voters’ register, vote rigging and violation of human rights by army officers.
Responding to concerns raised by CUF members, during a heated debate in the Zanzibar House of Representatives, State Minister, Dr Mwinyihaji Mwadini, said there was no need to form a commission to investigate alleged brutality and voter intimidation during the elections. The aggrieved parties should, instead, go to court for redress. He warned that the opposition had gone too far in alleging that Pemba people were being sidelined, as CCM policy did not allow for any form of favouritism or discrimination – Guardian.

Mwananchi reported on March 13 that Prime Minister Lowassa had directed the Human Right s Commission (HRC) to conduct an investigation into the complaints by people of Pemba and Unguja that police and other state organs violated human rights during the elections. The opposition leader in the Zanzibar House of Representatives had previously written to Lowassa asking him to appoint a parliamentary probe commission. Lowassa replied that the work could instead be done by the HRC which would have ‘constitutional authority’ on both sides of the Union.

The Zanzibar government has said it has no intention of lifting the ban on the Dira newspaper that was imposed last year. The isles Minister for Information, Ali Juma Shamhuna, told the House of Representatives that the decision to ban the private weekly tabloid was correct because it was publishing ‘articles aimed at disrupting national unity and solidarity’ among the people of Zanzibar. The Minister said Dira was ‘portraying negatively’ the 1964 Zanzibar Revolution with pictures of people who suffered under it, thus provoking and instigating hatred. “What is surprising is that they wrote nothing about the suppression of black Africans under the Sultan’s regime” he said – Nipashe.

CUF secretary-general Seif Shariff Hamad called on islanders to prepare for fresh elections when addressing a public rally at Kikwajuni on March 11. He said last year’s elections were rigged and that President Karume’s government had lost credibility among the international community. The party maintains that Karume’s presidency is illegitimate.
Deputy Chief Minister Ali Juma Shamuhuna said, during a public rally at Mkwajuni grounds in Unguja North region, that rumours circulating on the isles about possible fresh elections were baseless. He said President Amani Karume was recognised by the international community.

Mwananchi reported that the Chairman of the Zanzibar Association of Investors in the Tourism Sector had called upon the police to protect foreign tourists from being hassled. He said people had been complaining that young conmen were tarnishing the image of tourism in the isles. Although there were now fewer incidents of tourists being mugged or assaulted, they were now being conned through the use of drugs and cannabis. The trick was to try to sell drugs to tourists and, once they fell into the trap, a policeman appeared and then extorted between $500 and $1,000 which was shared between the police and the conmen. Some of the areas notorious for such extortion were Mahonda Lungalunga on the way to Nungwi and the road leading to the eastern coast as well as Kibanda Ugali Kiwengwa.