Dr Azaveli Feza Lwatama
By Azaveli Lwaitama,The citizen
Posted Thursday, October 31 2013 at 00:00
Posted Thursday, October 31 2013 at 00:00
In Summary
Tanzanians of goodwill must be relishing the idea
that allegations of corruption within the leadership ranks of the ruling
party is coming from none other than President Kikwete who is also the
CCM national chairman.
In a PhD study, titled ‘Challenges for
Democratisation Process in Tanzania: Moving Towards Consolidation 50
years After Independence?’ submitted to the School of Global Studies of
the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, in 2011, a Swedish scholar,
Jonas Ewaild, makes the following telling observations:
“The rate of positive change towards (liberal)
democracy has declined in recent years, and even back-lashed in a number
of states in sub-Sahara Africa (SSA). Authoritarian forms of rule
continue, or even increase, but within a framework of formal democracy
with regular elections.”
The above observations can to be read in the
context of the current debate in the Tanzania media regarding criticism
attributed to President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, to the effect that the
party that has been in political power in Tanzania since independence,
CCM, is being warned to mend its ways with respect to how it handles
allegations of corruption within its ranks as a means for gaining
political office or else it risks losing power come at the next general
election in 2015.
Critical thinking suggests that it is possible
that Mr Kikwete, who completes his second and last five year
presidential term in office in October 2015, may be wishing to leave
behind a legacy of having been a president of a ruling party in Africa
who, nevertheless, refused to assist his party, to continue to be in
power after he left office, whatever means it used, including corrupt
ones, in ensuring that it remained in power.
Perhaps the President has sensed from his frequent
travels abroad that respect for African heads of states is dented by
observations such as the one by the Swedish scholar quoted at the
beginning of this think piece to the effect that African presidents,
elected or unelected, often come to power through elections that do not
reflect the will of their people.
As Jonas Ewaild observed, the African people are
put through the motions of appearing to be electing their leaders,
while, in a way, the leaders actually elect themselves either through
the use of election bribery or intimidation of opposition parties
through the use of state instruments of coercion.
This will seem to explain the claim by that
Swedish scholar to the effect that, as quoted earlier, “Authoritarian
forms of rule continue, or even increase, but within a framework of
formal democracy with regular elections.”
Tanzanians of goodwill must be relishing the idea
that allegations of corruption within the leadership ranks of the ruling
party is coming from none other than President Kikwete who is also the
CCM national chairman.
These Tanzanians of goodwill must be wishing that
this is yet another sign that President Kikwete is seeking to do what is
good for his country and therefore perfect for leaving behind a good
legacy of being a champion of greater democratic change in African than
is the case with many of his fellow African leaders.
Furthermore, perhaps, the move he took of meeting
leaders of opposition political parties who had earlier boycotted the
passing of an amendment to Constitutional Review Amendment Act of 2012
last September, after which he directed that the Constitutional Review
Amendment Act of 2013 that he had just signed into law be subjected to
further amendment in the
Parliamentary session that commenced on Tuesday is
the other sign that he is prepared to antagonise himself with his party
colleagues if this would improve prospects of his leaving behind a good
legacy of having been a facilitator of rather than a hindrance to
democratic change.
Who know he may even earn himself the coveted Mo
Ibrahim Prize for Presidential Leadership in Africa, which has had no
winners for some years now. Tanzanians of goodwill must furthermore now
be praying to providence to guide their leader to be able to act on his
criticism of those in his party who seem to be bent on rocking his good
legacy boat. He could for example, declare publically, from the outset,
that if the CCM Parliamentarians, in the Parliamentary session that
commences this week, refuse to pass the required amendments to the
Constitutional Review Amendment Act of 2013 he will dissolve Parliament
and call snap parliamentary poll! These are the amendments that have
been put forward by a meeting last week of the top national leaders of
all the political parties, including CCM, under the auspices of Tanzania
Centre for Democracy.
SOURCE: the citizen
SOURCE: the citizen
