Well done Belgium on Zanzibar; others should add up

IT was reported recently that Belgium Ambassador to Tanzania, Mr Peter Maddens, taxed President Jakaya Kikwete to see to it that Zanzibar’s acme is being ironed out quickly.

He said this after witnessing feet dragging by the authorities who have watered down almost everything by politicizing it. He smelled the rat in our negligent regime so as to lambaste it. Drat it! It’s a shame. Why should we wait for visitors to tell us to put our house in order? Why aren’t we dragging feet when it comes to begging or receiving aid from them?

Now that the mightier ones have stepped in to save the boat from sinking, I’m sure biggies will take note. I know them. They pooh-pooh us. But they can’t do so to donors who enable their all-time inept government to survive. Who can cut the hand that feeds him? Who can burn his own fingers?

Had this been said by an opposition leader or the media it would have been given a wrong meaning and interpretation. Now that the ’Angels’ have chipped in, what else will Kikwete wait for? Will he listen to Karume or donors?

Look at the observations from the ambassador. "The political situation in Zanzibar worries us. There is every sign that things would go wrong if concrete measures are not taken to end the existing political misunderstandings. And in this we believe president Kikwete is directly answerable, thanks to the power he commands politically." said Maddens.

"As per my evaluation, after X-mas, Tanzania was ahead of others in political stability in East and Southern Africa region and even Africa in general looking at what happened in Kenya and Zimbabwe. But presently I can’t say so. The reason is clear, political impasse in Zanzibar has dogged it and has caused big worries." added Maddens.

Turning to CUF, if the truth be told, though there has been lack of insightful and reasonable administration national wide, they too are to blame. They were warned from day one not to trust CCM that has continually given them a raw deal. But due to myopia and personal interests, they did not heed any call. This has cost them heavily.

Needless to say, it’s almost ten years down the line and nothing substantial has ever been imbibed! And the problem has lugged on. Blast it! CCM wanted to destabilize CUF by not reaching any deal. This would provoke disobedience within the party. Thank Lord it has not happened. Through bureaucratic minutiae the process dragged on and on. This shall not be repeated again.

CUF this time should embark on civil disobedience otherwise this tortoise-pace sort of gimmick will never yield anything. This way it will win. For power emanates from the people not their rulers.

Why did CUF agree to negotiate with all-time arrogant CCM without an international broker as it was in Kenya? Their rush was nothing but to do legal things in illegal ways. When it comes to negotiating deals like these nobody should trust another unless everything is guided by the law.

Another thing that dogged the whole process is for CUF leadership to sideline the members. I don’t know if the failed negotiations had any participation and closer eye from party members. If they did, were they briefed about the goings-on for them to give their inputs thereof?

Now that CUF has learned the hard way, they would d not repeat the same mistake of taking the matter individually and personally. Another player is the head of the Zanzibar Revolutionary Government, Amani Abeid Karume, who is known for his parochial stance opposing the formation of the government of national unity (GNU). Zanzibar does not belong to rulers but citizenry. Karume is there to pass but not Zanzibaris.

We’ve been hearing many ballyhoos and demagogueries from CCM secretary general Yusuf Makamba who has never been serious about anything. How many should die for Kikwete to act? Why did we manage Kenya and the Comoros but failed at home???Had Nyerere been alive he would not fall short of calling imbeciles those that don’t find and get a solution for the existence of imbroglio in Zanzibar.

Kikwete needs to be chary of the embarrassment his predecessor suffered when Nyerere weighed in. And if anything, this is the last support Nyerere offered to us. I still remember how Mkapa was denying even the existence of the same. He teamed up with another hard headed person, Salmin Amour. Their marriage of convenience sired a bastard known as mtafaruku, thanks to vote rigging.

Mkapa lacked wisdom, suavity and temerity to act rightly and timely. Will Kikwete consent to suffer the same indignation Mkapa suffered? Mkapa is still being hugely blamed for making the situation in Zanzibar worse. Though when one examines the whole kafuffle microscopically, there were two protagonists namely Mkapa and Salmin. The fact is, President is one. Salmin is not mentioned and blamed hugely as it is for Mkapa. So Kikwete needs to know that Karume is like a tool in somebody’s hands as it was the case with Salmin. There is tomorrow when the blame mill will start taking on him whilst his friend, by then, will be smiling heartedly.

Source:Thisday May 20, 2008.