Of all the challenges facing the new president the problem of corruption must be at the top of the list. The media has reminded him that some of the 30 leaders accused of engaging in corrupt practices and who were named by the Warioba Corruption Commission in 1996 are still in his administration. He himself has declared several times his intention to fight corruption and even asked the public to give him names of dishonest leaders. Later he said he knows such leaders but has decided to ‘give them time to reform’. Continue reading →

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has commended Tanzania for its immense contribution to hosting refugees from the Great Lakes region.

President Kikwete and UN Secretary General Koffi Annan

During talks with President Kikwete at the seventh ordinary meeting of the African Union in the Gambia in August, Dr Annan said Tanzania should be considered ‘a donor country’. He said it was unfair for the UN to recognise countries that give material and moral support to refugees as the donors and forget the host countries. President Kikwete said that, although Tanzania had been hosting a number of refugees, its contribution had not been recognised by the UN as was the case with countries that give material support. “Hosting refugees is very risky because a country’s security is put in jeopardy and the adverse impact on the environment is likely to last long” he said.

The Zimbabwean Herald (July 3) reported that the UN would support efforts by former Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa to mediate and mend relations between Zimbabwe and Britain. The paper went on: ‘Relations between Zimbabwe and Britain have been on ice since 2000 after Harare embarked on the land reform programme to correct historical imbalances caused by the colonial system in the ownership of land. Mr Annan told journalists at a Press conference that Comrade Mugabe had, during their meeting on the sidelines of the recent African Union Summit in the Gambia, told him that Mr Mkapa would mediate. Mr Annan said the UN would support his efforts and “we both agreed that he should be given the space and time he needs”. The British Government, despite a close relationship between Mkapa and Tony Blair, was said to have opposed the proposal. British Minister responsible for Africa Lord Triesman said it was unfortunate that the UN Secretary General did not take up the job himself. A diplomatic officer with the British High Commission in Zimbabwe said that there was no conflict between Britain and Zimbabwe and so there was nothing to mediate.’

President Mkapa has been nominated as the Patron of the UN Committee for the 2008 ‘International Year of Planet Earth’. The other co-patron is another retired president, Sam Nujoma of Namibia. Tanzania is also among 17 nations appointed by the UN to form the Secretariat.

The Guardian reported on April 29 on the new government of Tanzania’s relations with Zimbabwe. It wrote: ‘President Kikwete has supported President Robert Mugabe’s land reform policy…. Addressing a dinner hosted by President Mugabe at the Bulawayo State House, President Kikwete said Tanzania supported African countries that were struggling to rebuild their economies. “We will continue to propagate the philosophy that political freedom becomes meaningful only if we can make decisions freely without being pushed or interfered with by foreign countries.” He also praised President Mugabe for his firm anti-neo-colonialism stand, saying the freedom that Zimbabweans fought for would otherwise be meaningless. “As we speak today, Mr President, we can say those who sacrificed their lives for the sake of the betterment of other people during Chimurenga and the independence struggle did not do so for nothing.” He said the relationship between the two countries should not be confined to the independence struggle but should also cover the economy, commerce and security.” Continue reading →

A whirlwind! A phenomenon! A sensation! Unparalleled! Many words and phrases have been used to describe President Jakaya Kikwete’s first 100 days in office. He has made a great impression and has added to the popularity he had already gained as indicated by his 80% success in the 2005 elections. Former Prime Minister and CCM stalwart, Mzee Rashid Kawawa showered the president with praise saying he was “offering the kind of leadership Tanzanians had wanted for a long time.’’

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: Continue reading →

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 Continue reading →

Some opposition leaders criticised the performance of the new government saying it had failed to lived up to its slogan of “New zeal, new vigor and new pace”. Radical TLP leader Augustine Mrema asked “How about the big shots? The crackdown on economic crimes does not make sense if well known and corrupt officials are left untouched ….it was unfair to arrest 30 businessmen suspected to be involved in organised crime without taking action against the key players who had been assisting them” he said.
Dr Sengondo Mvungi, who contested the presidency on the NCCR-Mageuzi ticket in the election, said that the new government had lost direction in the implementation of development programmes. “How can you wake up in the morning and start issuing directives, suspending officials and stopping businesses just like that. Certain procedures must be followed….At the Kunduchi Quarry some of the licensed mining firms and individuals had signed contracts with clients to supply stones. How do you stop the activities and revoke licences just like that? Before making such sensitive decisions which affect the lives of many people, the government had to find an alternative site for the miners and mining firms,” Dr Mvungi said.

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 has appointed his long standing friend Edward Lowassa (52) MP for Monduli as Prime Minister. The East African described Lowassa as a fearless, hardworking man. His name was endorsed in parliament on December 29 by 312 votes against two. The opposition leader in the House, Hamad Rashid Mohamed (CUF) said the opposition welcomed Mr Lowassa’s appointment and that “We expect him to continue performing to the best possible standards….. Mr Lowassa has a good record. His performance speaks for itself.” Continue reading →

ELECTION CERTIFICATES

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.’ Continue reading →