Naomba tujadili na kuangalia kipengele cha mwisho
As I said to President Kikwete when we met at the White House in 2009, the people of the United States support all Tanzanians in your efforts to institutionalize democratic, transparent governance, to realize the full potential of your Union, and to ensure that the steps you have taken together toward a lasting peace and prosperity cannot be reversed.
Huu ni direct ujumbe kwa Kikwete personally na ningekuwa yeye I would be worried maana hii ni warning ...
Hebu tutafakari...
Indeed, this is the bottom line, or if you like, the key works of President Obamas statement. It confirms why Kikwete was not the subject of the congratulatory message but instead the people of Tanzania, on the one hand, and Shein/Seif on the other. The people of Tanzania played their part very well in the electoral process; as did Shein/Seif in arriving at unity government. But clearly, in a diplomatic tone, the statement blames Kikwete for failing to endeavor in efforts to institutionalize democratic, transparent governance as Obama told him at the White House in 2009.
Tanzania has in place an electoral commission (NEC) which is hand-picked by, and therefore answerable to, the chairman of CCM. Though not explicitly provided for by the law, effectively NEC operates as an agent of the ruling party that ensures that peoples right to alternative choice is frustrated at the ballot box (lack of transparence!!).
Our constitution is framed on the basis of the dictates of a single party environment that, to a great extent, limit civic rights. Typically, for example, a qualified citizen is barred from contesting for an electable political post unless he/she is sponsored by a political party! This week we witnessed a very bizarre situation whereby the incumbent speaker of the National Assembly, Mr Samuel Sitta, could not stand for re-election solely because he was dropped by his party! This is a serious constitutional flaw as Mr Sitta could nonetheless still have proceeded to contest an independent (if the constitution so allowed). So, as a matter of principle, peoples rights should transcend the dictates of political parties.
Besides, the constitution provides for a sort of an imperial president who is above the law!
Unfortunately, Kikwete has always turned a deaf ear to calls for a new constitution from various quarters.
Prior to the re-introduction of multi-party political system in 1992, the Nyalali Commission recommended the abolition of 40-plus draconian laws (including the infamous Newspaper Act of 1996), which were incompatible with the newly adopted democratic environment. To date all the repressive laws are still in force!
So, reading between the lines, President Obamas statement also sounds his frustration over Kikwetes failure to address the flaws detailed above. And if Kikwete does not act now, his second term will be yet another lost opportunity and therefore he will have no legacy to speak of.
