Where is the rule of law?

A FEW days ago there was shocking news that a certain businessman implicated in many scams was appointed to give a keynote speech in the forum for the development of Tanzania.

This drew ire from the general public. Though, our people, for long, have been regarded as inept and stupid, this time around they stood up and registered their anger.

Going back to the folklore, there is a tale of a baboon that stole much corn so as to be regarded richer than the farmers whose corn it stole. To add injuries to insults, the baboon used to help farmers who were hit by drought!

Needless to say, Tanzania is an underdeveloped country. She badly needs development. But who’ll bring this needed development and how? Pretexts and chest beatings, aside, are we really determined to bring this development? How, if the speakers, dominoes and advocates we intended to send to discuss with stakeholders are totally rotten and suspicious?

This weakness reminds me of former President Benjamin Mkapa who used to make us believe that privatization was the magic bullet for our attainment of development, something that proved to be a lie. It too reminds me of upbeat and grandiose dreams of our rulers that they would meet Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) something that has proved to be another setback for the nation.

True, we’re off the cliff hanging to penury. Reason? Stinking corruption and poor planning are the causes almost in everything. Shockingly, we steal dote and tope as if everything is normal! We still day dream that the future of our country is in the dirty hands of thieves!

You cannot attain any development without stamping out corruption. You cannot attain development without walking on a tight rope as far as the rules of the game are concerned. What a grandstanding, so to speak!

How can development emanate from begging in lieu of planning and working diligently and hard? What has never been underscored is the truth that talking tough is one thing, and acting smart is quite another. What fallacy for the country with all organs of the state in place to appoint and consent to a wrong person in realizing her dreams and advocacy of development?

Methinks even those that are ready to chip in to see to it that we revamp our sick economy will never take us seriously. For we have never been serious in anything.

Going back to the folklore, when one looks at how mineral-opulent Tanzania is languishing in begging, he will surely be shocked and disgusted. What is wrong with these people? He would ask.

Let us go to Europe or America. But without taking corruption seriously head on nothing will come forth. Ask me. What have we done reminiscent to Richmond, EPA, TICTS (I like calling it ticks), IPTL, Radar-and-presidential-jet, purchase scams?


Does it mean we don’t know the parasites behind these anathemas? Ask our authorities of tangible efforts to arrest the same; much will be said. Some will languish in nonexistent human rights, others in legal technicalities.

But when all this hanky panky is going on, our economy is at its pearl harbour. Let us face it point blank. Our red herring in this dilemma is nothing but greed and myopia.

We’ve been hearing songs and mantras about the rule of law and good governance. Where are these creatures? Like in the tale of the lampoon of the baboon, those singing these slogans are the same chaps behind all the malpractices and mega corruption.

Who’s taxing another to come clean? We’ve people, respectable as they are; and would like to remain so whilst they don?t deserve it. They’re openly implicated in wrong doings for the detriment of the same country. Yet still, they aver.

They want to develop our country. Some of them have never even bothered to mount their defences. Lies and pretexts are the only things we know. We’re told some days ago. Some of these jet set smoothies we see on the streets have already been ’dealt with’ with regards to EPA. How many? Who knows if these saying so do not want to divulge any information as if this whole business of the state is their private matter?

What has never been clear for such mandrills and mongrels is the fact that the tree the baboon is priding to be his is not his. The other day I read an article in which one analyst was blaming corrupt business swindlers, especially Indians and their conspirators - our unfaithful rulers. This is when the president of ANC, Jacob Zuma was implicated in corruption thanks to Schabir Shaik whose lull left Zuma tarnished.


Our rulers are innocent and trustworthy when it comes to telling us whose this country is. They always say this jiggery-pokery. ’’We’re hither (in power) to serve you.’’ Do they really serve us? Do they live up to this? If not, then, why don’t we tax them even recall them or jib from being driven to the purgatory?

There have been a lot of noises urging for example the president to act on the above enumerated mega corruption scams. Suppose the president for reasons known to him stays put to see to it that these scams are dying a natural death. What will the general public do to address this and make sure they get what they need and deserve?

To prove that our people are to blame, let me get out of this topic for a while. There have been so many noises regarding the killings of people with albinism. To this effect, our noble government has never come up with any serious strategy to curb this. Tell me; what have our people whose sisters and brothers are butchered have ever done to see to it this comes to an end?

Of late I am told?the killings are still going on indiscreetly as if there is no government! The EU some days ago chipped in. With its coca like force, slowly everything relegated to normalcy and everybody is doing business as usual!


Let me surmise. Our development will never be realized if we do not stop acting like the baboon in the lampooning pun in the folklores. Never should it happen to appoint controversial people to advocate our development. The right thing to do for us is to make sure that these villains and freebooters are brought to books.
Source: Thisday September 30, 2008.