Katibu Tarafa
JF-Expert Member
- Feb 16, 2007
- 989
- 54
kwani hunafikiri jeetu ni mtu wawapi ? huyo ni musoma ndio chimbuko lake.
kwani hunafikiri jeetu ni mtu wawapi ? huyo ni musoma ndio chimbuko lake.
THISDAY REPORTER
Dar es Salaam
PROMINENT Dar es Salaam lawyer Nimrod Mkono yesterday for the first time revealed details about the process of establishing the forthcoming Bank M (Tanzania) Limited, including the fact that the mysterious 'M' stands for 'Mkombozi' (liberator) in the context of indigenous economic empowerment.
Addressing a speedily-called news conference at his offices in the city, the managing partner of the renowned Mkono & Company Advocates firm also displayed remarkable eloquence in arguing how members of the indigenous business community were hampered by what could loosely be called institutionalized discrimination favouring minority community businessmen.
Mkono, who is also Member of Parliament for the Musoma Rural Constituency, acknowledged that he had entered into a partnership with wealthy and well-connected businessmen of Asian extraction for the ambitious Bank M project. He said this was a result of his own past experiences which suggested that without entering into a joint venture with prominent businessmen of Asian origin, indigenous businessmen had little hope of getting a licence for setting up a commercial bank - let alone attract sufficient deposits necessary for operation.
''Believe me; if you are black, it is very difficult to succeed in this country. Sometimes you have to partner with light-skinned people just to get things done,'' said Mkono, who convened the media conference in reaction to a front-page news article regarding the upcoming bank published by THISDAY on Monday.
By February this year, Mkono was the only indigenous Tanzanian shareholder of Bank M (Tanzania) Limited, with the rest of the shareholders and co-owners being businessmen of Asian extraction.
He narrated his own personal struggle to launch a private commercial bank, starting back in 1991 when he said he joined forces with another prominent indigenous businessman, Iddi Simba, with a shared dream to establish what would have been called 'Shilingi House Bank'.
Said Mkono: ''However, until today, the bank that I envisioned with Mr Simba has been a non-starter simply because I am an indigenous Tanzanian (Mswahili).''
Simba later ventured into politics and became minister responsible for industry and trade during the early years of the third phase government under former president Benjamin Mkapa. He is well-remembered as a vocal supporter of economic 'Uzawa' (indigenousness), and has since retired from politics.
Mkono yesterday also narrated how he was denied a plot to build the 'Shilingi House Bank in Dar es Salaam's central business district. He noted that another indigenous Tanzanian businessman, IPP executive chairman Reginald Mengi, also once faced unexpected obstacles when he tried to develop real estate in the city centre.
''Even my friend (Reginald) Mengi was also looking for a plot here within the city centre. Where is that plot? They eventually chased him away the plot was near the British High Commission offices,'' said Mkono.
According to the Musoma Rural legislator, foreigners have always been against indigenous businessmen owning banks in Tanzania or developing real estate within the Dar es Salaam CBD.
He alleged that there were people, whom he did not name, conspiring against the establishment of Bank M and subsequently out to wage a smear campaign against the soon-to-be launched institution.
Stating his vision for the new bank, he explained that the 'M' stands for 'Mkombozi', and the bank was planning to penetrate ''deep into the rural areas where most of the other commercial banks are shying away from.''
''No foreign bank will come to uplift the poorest of the poor in Tanzania,'' he asserted.
He declined to comment on the backgrounds of some of the other shareholders of the bank, saying such checks on criminal records or otherwise was the job of the police and the Bank of Tanzania (BoT).
''If there are people with criminal records, that is not for me to tell there are state organs responsible for that,'' Mkono said.
Other listed shareholders of Bank M are Jayant Kumar Patel, better known as Jeetu Patel, of Noble Azania Investments Limited; Vimal Mehta of Negus Holdings Limited; and Fidha Rashid, a real estate developer and car dealer representing Africarriers.
Mkono is listed as a shareholder through another of his companies, Equity and Allied Limited. Other listed shareholders
of the bank are Sanjeev Kumar, local banker, and Bhaskaran Nair, business executive.
The amount of listed share capital invested by each shareholder in the business venture is as follows: Negus Holdings Ltd (1.3bn/-), Noble Azania Investments Ltd (1.3bn/-), Africarriers Ltd (1.3bn/-), Equity and Allied Limited (1.3bn/-), Mr Kumar (650m/-) and Mr Nair (650m/-).
Stating that he had in his capacity as a lawyer played a big role in the establishment of several banks operating in Tanzania today including Barclays Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, NBC and National Microfinance Bank, Mkono offered the rhetorical argument: ''If I taught the world how to bank, why shouldn't I have a bank of my own?''
He said Bank M would be run according to highest professional and financial standards.
Asked about the bank's registered office at Number 8 Ocean Road in the city - a building owned by former president Mkapa and his wife Anna - Mkono denied doing any business with the former State House couple apart from the fact that ''I am simply a tenant and that was the only available building at the time.''
who makes it difficult for Blacks to get anything in this country if not fellow Blacks? 'Light-skinned' are businessmen; how come they are the ones who makes it possible for Blacks to go through the govt channels?''Believe me; if you are black, it is very difficult to succeed in this country. Sometimes you have to partner with light-skinned people just to get things done,'' said Mkono,
who makes it difficult for Blacks to get anything in this country if not fellow Blacks? 'Light-skinned' are businessmen; how come they are the ones who makes it possible for Blacks to go through the govt channes?
The right sentence should be "Believe me, it is very difficult to raise sufficient money to establish a bank in this country through lawful means; such that you have to hide behind the names of some well-known light-skinned people to get away with it.."
Nakumbuka this day walitoa vielelezo vilivyooonyesha ushiriki wa BM katika bank hiyo; This Day watakuwa walidanganya au ni Mkono anadanganya; na kama ni Mkono anadanganya ili kumlinda BM basi huyu ni wa kuchukuliwa hatua kwa kudanganya umma wa wa wadanganyika
Mwendapole,
Mimi najiuliza- was it absolutely necessary and inevitable to join hands with hao Wahindi? Je Hakuna Waafrika wenye mtaji mkubwa? Hao akina Mengi walikataa kuungana nae? Kuja jambo limejificha!
We wait and see- things will evolve and come into light!
Jibu ni rahisi; wahindi huwa hawaulizwi wamepata wapi pesa... M-bantu mwenzio naye ni suspect!
Mtanganyika,
mimi namkubali Mzee Mkono kwa juhudi zake za kusaidia elimu jimboni kwake. Kama kuna sehemu ana kula at least anakumbuka kusaidia jimbo lake.
Kila mwanasiasa/kiongozi Tanzania ni mlarushwa. Hakuna msafi. Tatizo ni kwamba wengi wapo hapo kula tuuu hawakumbuki kusaidia constituencies zao.
Siye huyu mbunge ambaye anatumia kampuni yake kujitajirisha yeye mwenyewe binafsi na kuwatajirisha wageni kutoka nje kwa mikataba mibovu? Siye yeye aliyetumia kampuni yake kuihujumu Tanzania kwa mikataba mibovu? Huyu mzee ni sawa na ukoma ukikuingia hautoki.