The Mystery of Salva The State House Aide
Written by ET
The Mystery of Salva The State House Aide
Tanzanian journalism knows of three Salvatory Rweyemamus. But it is still not clear just which was appointed. WIll the real Salva please stand up?
In September 2007, we received information alleging that Salvatory Rweyemamu would be appointed as the new director of communications at State House. The information was relayed through a press release by Tanzania Information Services and was quoted by almost all Tanzanian news outlets the following day. It was stated in the press release that Rweyemamu was one of the directors of an obscure Dar es Salaam consulting firm called G & S Media Consultancy. At the time, most observers did not know the company or its clientele.
Immediately after the news had been broadcast and published in the newspapers throughout the country, some great names in the field of journalism came out to support and praise the newcomer.
The former editor in chief of Tanzania Daima, Deudatus Balile, who was then studying in the UK, wrote in one of his articles that Rweyemamu "is a seasoned journalist, very good at arguing his case, and an eloquent English speaker."
Balile also said that the new director had once worked at Radio Tanzania Dar es Salaam (RTD), Uhuru and Mzalendo newspapers. He had also worked at Habari Corporation, the publisher of Rai, Mtanzania, and Dimba newspapers. He added that he had heard that Rweyemamu had been working as a consultant for a company called G & S Media Consultancy.
Balile advised Rweyemamu to work diligently and not follow what his predecessors had been doing, like carrying the president's bags and folders.
He further called on Rweyemamu to leave his office doors wide open for journalists so that they could walk in any time and obtain information which would in turn make his own job easier. Bailie also warned the new communications director not to run away when journalists confronted him for elaborations of stories. Such actions would make his new position very difficult indeed.
Alloyce Komba, another Rweyemamu enthusiast and a long serving journalist and lawyer, described him as "an experienced journalist, articulate and very good at presenting his views, which he does soberly."
Komba even suggested that anyone in Rweyemamu's position should be the Chief State House Spokesman instead of Mohammed Seif Khatib, the Minister for Information and Sports, or even Kingunge Ngombale-Mwiru, the ruling party CCM propagandist and one of the longest serving cabinet ministers in East and Central Africa.
Komba then called for the newly-appointed Rweyemamu to be given the freedom "to select his team of competent journalists to help him man the communications department."
Komba was particularly hopeful, saying that Tanzanian journalists are "waiting to see good communication between wananchi and State House occupants now that there is a competent person manning the communications department."
He said communication between State House and the wider public should be channelled through Rweyemamu and not the ministers, including Kingunge, Philip Sarnka Marmo, and Khatib.
Who Is Salvatory Rweyemamu?
From the foregoing, it should be strange, indeed unfortunate that I, a Tanzanian journalist, should be in the dark as to who this Rweyemamu from G & S Company is. Yes, I am indeed aware of the existence of several Salvatory Rweyemamus in Dar es Salaam, often referred to as Salva in short.
One well-known Salva once worked for Uhuru and Mzalendo publications. A different Salva worked for Habari Corporation, while yet another Salva was recently working as a public relations officer. What I would love to hear, from those who appear to be more informed, is an exact description of the newly-appointed Salva, his looks, his capabilities, his habits, and his patriotism.
The First Salva
The first of these three Salvas, the one who worked for Uhuru and Mzalendo, is a very strong journalist indeed. He was the best news editor in the country in his time. Those who had the honour of working under him praised him on different occasions saying "even if he is called Rweyemamu, he is not a Mhaya with regards to his behaviour."
This Salva was never divisive and had aided many up and coming journalists who had happened to work under him at Uhuru. Because of his professional demeanour, he is a very well-known figure in Dar es Salaam and is welcomed enthusiastically wherever he goes.
The Second SalvaThe Mystery of Salva The State House Aide
There is the Salva Rweyemamu from Habari Corporation who is a very different sort of person. He is a fighter and a defender of the journalism profession. He loves his country and is a very dependable patriot. He was more than willing to directly engage his best friend, the then-third phase president, Benjamin William Mkapa, when the two differed on matters of principle.
The Salva from Habari Corporation is among those people commonly referred to in Tanzania as "maskini jeuri," literally translated as ‘bold and proud poor people.' These kinds of people never give in under pressure or turn back even under very difficult times.
He is the one who joined his friends including Johnson Mbwambo, Gideon Shoo, Jenerali Ulimwengu, and other close confidants like John Bwire to set up a third publishing house in Tanzania in the early eighties. Salva and his group of friends refused to bow to the government, which was facing many accusations of impropriety at the time.
It reached a point when the Salva from Habari Corporation and their publishing house were blacklisted from receiving advertising subsidies from the government, the biggest advertiser in the country.
Without revenue from advertising, they couldn't pay their employees including journalists, who were consequently unable to travel upcountry to cover major events. All together, Salva and his colleagues stood firm, worked overtime to enforce journalism ethics, and as a result, respect for their integrity soared.
By standing up to a government that we now know was very corrupt, they were a good example of local journalists, entrepreneurs, and patriots.
The Third Salva
The final Salva is Salva the public relations officer (PRO). This final Salva's integrity is a bit more problematic than the other two. He is often found where there are allegations of embezzlement of public funds and private companies doing business in Tanzania. Or he can often be found lecturing anyone who will care to listen about the positive sides of ill-conceived government contracts, even when many others are strongly opposed to such campaigns.
I am not much interested in further discussing the third Salva, because his job was, and is, to sweeten government dealings with companies, many of whom are stealing money from the public coffers. His job is clearly to talk well of his masters. To him, Richmond Development Corporation (RDC), Independent Power Tanzania Limited (IPTL), the National Bank of Commerce (NBC) contracts, and the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) scandals are positive things that happened to this nation.
I wouldn't be surprised if he saw nothing wrong wit the controversial multimillion shilling Buzwagi mining contract which was negotiated and signed abroad by the Energy and Minerals Minister, Nizar Karamagi. After all, his primary concern is his paycheck. In this Salva's thinking, those who pay have earned the right to be respected.
So Which Salva?
That said, I would now like to ask my colleagues-those who are hopeful that our State House Directorate of Communications is now being manned by a skilful, clever and objective person-just one question. Which Salva or Rweyemamu are they referring to? Is it the Salva who worked for Uhuru and Mzalendo, the Salva who worked for Habari Corporation, or the Salva who has sacrificed his integrity in his position as a public relations official?
If I had the opportunity to decide, I would direct that the Salva who worked at Uhuru and Mzalendo take the director's seat in the communications department at State House. I would choose him over the Salva from Habari Corporation because of the latter's initial support for Mkapa only to turn on him later.
So, if the Salva Rweyemamu from Uhuru and Mzalendo is indeed the one appointed to be the director of communications at State House, expectations should remain high because then discrimination against journalists, even those from Kulikoni and Thisday, will end.
The Salva from Uhuru and Mzalendo is knowledgeable and knows that it is best to treat others with respect on your way to the top, because you never know when you might need them on your way down. He also knows that Tanzania is not only for those with power, but rather it is for all and that no individual, not even the president, is more Tanzanian than another.
But if, God forbid, Salva the PRO is the one who has clinched the directorship of Communications Department at State House, then we have everything to fear.
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