Free Thinking

WHILST others are taking to the sky, Air Tanzania is taking a deep dip! Though President Jakaya Kikwete reprimanded the board of the late Air Tanzania for irresponsibility, much remains to be seen as far as taxing and bringing those responsible to book.

Saying that those who caused the death of Air Tanzania and being stripped off the legality to fly in and out of the country were irresponsible is not enough. If I were the president, I would arraign those guys. For it has become a norm now.

People are messing hither and be dispatched to thither. This is corruption itself, so to speak. Now that it is an open secret that our planes were not airworthy, not to mention the company that died many years ago, I think we need to know what is next as far as bringing the culprits to book is concerned.

Why should tiny countries in terms of natural resources and land mass fly their flag carriers with success as we fail and be grounded Tanzania must feel the hit that this is injurious to our reputation. All the time flying out of Tanzania has depended on Nairobi. Soon Kigali will add up. There is yet another shame for those living in Lake regions.

You can not go there without going through Nairobi and those going to Kagera through Nairobi and Kampala. What a shame in the 21st century! Something must be terribly wrong in the upper echelons of power that have become like a sitting duck. Methinks, our security is likely to be compromised thanks to not having our own flag carrier.

I am told; the presidential jet (we purchased at a super-inflated price) does not fit for presidential entourage. Others are saying it is oft-broken on top of being expensive to run. This means most of the time our president has to use commercial flights whenever he embarks on foreign trips. Again, this means, just like others, he depends on Nairobi.

What a shame! In this Nairobi dependence, suppose Kenya denies entry or maltreat our president Suppose we, at one time, find ourselves at loggerhead as it was with Idd Amin in the late seventies.

I recently read a report Tanzania accusing Kenya of arrogance. This was after Kenyan media accused Tanzania of sabotaging East African integration. The minister for East African Community, Diodorus Kamala, was quoted as saying that arrogance (by some members of the East African unity) will wreck the ship so as to be abandoned. He cited an example whereby beef from Shinyanga was refused entry in Kenya. He went further as reprimanding Kenya for buying more rice from Pakistan instead of Tanzania, a partner state in the EAC.

This, in essence, is what the minister referred to as arrogance and egoism. And of course the minister is right. Many countries are taking Tanzania for a ride, thanks to having heartless and thoughtless officials like those that felled Air Tanzania. Thanks to the minister for openly addressing this problem that has caused many members to force Tanzania into ratifying whatever nonsense put forth before her.

Going back to Air Tanzania cadaverous saga, it is an open secret that it died the day it was stupidly privatized to South Africa. Air Tanzania, just like the late NBC, and TANESCO, were among firms that were doing fine before being sold out at a throw away price by former President Benjamin Mkapa. People opposed this crime.

But under Mkapa’s irony fist who would heed any call Now that we know Air Tanzania was sabotaged thanks to greed and myopia by our rulers, it’s high time all perpetrators, ushers and usherettes of this shame were brought to book. To me saying that those behind this demise are irresponsible is not enough. Yeah. They were irresponsible, so what

We're told: Air Tanzania has already posted a loss of $ 30m. This is not peanuts as Andrew Chenge would put it. Who swindled this money? These, among others, are things that the president has to address and arrest. One thing is obviously eminent in this sell out. Whilst the company is going under, one will find that the members of the board and other biggies are becoming richer and richer. And this has always been the case with almost all government firms in Tanzania. Instead of reprimanding culprits we must bring them to book. Instead of shedding crocodile tears we must act.


Reprimanding thieves does not bring back Air Tanzania. Why don’t such people be brought to book instead of letting them flex their muscles on our property as if it is theirs? When it comes to where Air Tanzania currently is, I fail to declare mayday or pan-pan!

Importantly, we must get out of the cocoon of blaming and reprimanding. While we’re doing this, our neighbours are flying as we head for economic purgatory.
O tempora, O mores! - Oh, the times! Oh, the morals! (Cicero).
Source: Thisday December22, 2008.

mail:nkwazigatsha@yahoo.com