In Summary
There was wide consensus that most politicians
were self-centred and solely interested in enriching themselves instead
of serving the people
Dar es Salaam. Participants in a
debate on “Peace and Security in Tanzania for the Next 50 Years”
yesterday blamed politicians for the disharmony and chaos that the country is gradually sinking into.
Speaking during the debate organised by University
of Dar es Salaam Academic Staff Assembly (Udasa) in collaboration with
Independent Television (ITV) and Radio One, they said most of the
politicians were selfish.
Mr Muganga Godfrey, one of the participants, said
most of the politicians were self-centred and consequently, they were
not serving people since, he argued, they join politics to enrich
themselves.
“That is why we have professors who are eager to quit teaching and go into politics where they know that there is a juicy cake to eat,” he said.
Mr Godfrey said when people feel they are
neglected by their leaders, particularly politicians, they decide to
riot in the streets, breaching peace.
Another participant who identified himself as
Jeremiah Jabir, said peace and tranquillity were on the brink of
vanishing because people, especially the youth, are angry with
politicians who were not fulfilling promises they made during election
campaigns.
He said: “When citizens realise they have been
cheated they start rioting on the streets, thus breaching the peace that
we have been singing about all these years.”
Mr Gayo David, a student at the UDSM trashed the
old notion that defined Tanzania as “an island of peace” saying there
was no peace in Tanzania anymore.
“How can there be peace while the gap between the
few haves and the majority have-nots is widening by the day?” queried
the student.
David said while a few lived in paradise, the
majority of Tanzanians were wallowing in the abyss of abject poverty,
asking: “How can there be peace in such situation?”
Mr Yasin Manoro said Tanzanians were now becoming
frustrated after learning that most of their compatriots who are rich
acquired their wealth through dubious means, including graft.
Prof Bernadetta Kilian of the University of Dar es
Salaam accused Parliament of failing to address issues that were likely
to result in the breach of peace.
She said: “Our MPs, instead of addressing pertinent issues like
how best to nurture the prevailing peace, they are busy tarnishing names
of rival political parties.”
Prof Kilian observed that the country’s
institutions under the founding President Julius Nyerere that nurtured
and cherished peace were either weak or no longer there.
She noted that what authorities were doing was to
deal with conflicts instead of addressing the source of the conflicts,
citing the recent bombing of a church and a political rally in Arusha.
Prof Kilian said instead of addressing people’s problems, Tanzania’s politicians were busy looking for the next president.
“Reports by the Controller and Auditor General reveal the extent of corruption in the country, but nobody is taken to account,” she said.
Prof Gaudence Mpangala, a senior political science
lecturer at the UDSM said what signified that Tanzania is no longer a
haven of peace was the existence of a system whereby the ruling party
was ‘state party’ (chama-dola) and thus enjoying favours from the
security organs.
“This creates an unfair political climate that could trigger chaos in the country,” Prof Mpangala warned.
He was worried that though the Draft Constitution
has clauses meant to remove the notion of ‘state party’, there were
efforts by CCM stalwarts to remove such clauses from the Draft.
A law expert at the UDSM, Mr Onesmo Kyeuke, expressed concern over what he described as authorities’ and security organs’ misconduct.
Source: The Citizen 