His Excellency,
Hon. Jakaya Kikwete
President of the United Republic of Tanzania
State House,
Dar Es Salaam
Tanzania.
RE:COUNT DOWN TO 2010
Your Excellency,
Salutations Sir. Kindly allow me, Mr. President, to ask for your indulgence to write to you this open letter. This is my second letter following the one I penned almost two years ago in ThisDay Newspaper on 6 November 2007. Mr. President, in my first letter I raised a number of issues which I would like to revisit this time around and raise a few more, time and space permitting.
Your Excellency, in 2007 your critics especially the opposition were up in arms because of what they considered to be your out of proportion official trips abroad. Although I personally did not entirely concur with this line of argument, I however, was very uncomfortable with your official entourage especially to the United States of America (USA).
At that time Tanzania Private Sector Foundation (TPSF) used to organize a group of some business people to accompany your Excellency (albeit at their own cost) on your official trips to USA ostensibly to promote business between Tanzania and USA. I had a chance to see one of the lists of TPSFs so called business promoters during one of your trips to USA and I am afraid what I saw raised my eyebrows and left me somehow apprehensive. My subsequent interaction with one of the business promoters who had accompanied you earlier during one of your official trips to USA indeed confirmed my fears that most of the business promoters were from the Jua Kali business sector (small scale) so had nothing of substance to promote in the USA but rather saw this as an opportunity to visit friends and relatives (VFRs). Wanaenda majuu na Rais. This was photo opportunity with Mzee as well as a privileged jolly ride if you like.
Mr. President in that letter I called on the powers that be especially the officials dealing with your Protocol at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to review the participation of TPSF in your official trips with a view of making it more relevant and effective lest we portray a negative image for our beloved country. I cautioned that former President Mobutu of Zaire (now DRC) used to travel with an entourage of more than 200 hangers-on abroad and for the sake of your own reputation and Tanzania as a highly regarded country cannot afford to be seen is such a negative light. I am comforted by the fact that at the moment your entourage has been toned down to entertain only bona fide business promoters and my prayer is that it should stay this way infinitely.
Your Excellency, my November 2007 letter came hot on the heels of the dust raised by Dr. Slaa and company at Mwembeyanga, Temeke with their so called List of Shame and it was still very much in the air. What they said about the EPA prowling indeed came to pass and some legal action is currently underway. However, Mr. President, I am quite perturbed by what seems to be your Administrations discriminative and selective approach in dealing with the EPA culprits.
Yes Sir, you guessed right. Of course I am talking about the nagging tale of M/s Malegesy & Co and the obstinate Kagoda Agricultural Company. These two seem to have completely disappeared from the radar screen of the ongoing criminal proceedings and your Administration is nonchalant, so to speak, while subtly hiding behind the It is- the- DPPs- sole-discretion mantra to pursue the EPA culprits! Well, de jure, yes, but de facto, no, Sir. Because I know for a fact that on criminal matters that are serious and political in nature the buck rightly stops at the Presidency. If the current DPP does not measure up the task please show him the exit door sooner than later.
Mr. President, truth to be told. Word has it that these two have in fact been set scot free because of their in-depth and far reaching involvement in the EPA pillaging and to touch them now is like opening a Pandoras box! Your Excellency, my take on this hot potato is this: As the English say you can run but you cannot hide or to put it in Mr. Butiku-speak Corruption remain a live issue because it is unfinished business. Sir, as long as Malegesy & Co and Kagoda Ltd remain shielded and therefore not reachable and perhaps even untouchable in the short run, they will remain to be an abomination on your Administrations record and I am afraid this will come back to haunt you sometime in the near future. My humble submission to you, Mr. President is that came what may, this is the right time to take the bull by its horns and sort out the Malegesy and Kagoda nuisance once and for all so that you may be able to write your memoirs in piece and tranquility because 2015 is not that far.
Your Excellency, last but not least, today I would like to talk a little bit about the impending national elections. This year (2009) will usher in the local elections and 2010 is around the corner. You will agree with me, Sir that the excitement about these elections is not only slowly and steadily edging to a crescendo but it is also taking a rather different direction this time round. Mr. President the current topical issue regarding the involvement of faith based originations in the impending election is giving me (and other compatriots) some goose pimples. On one hand you have Christians conducting a covertly discordant campaign but cleverly couched as voters civic education while on the other the Muslims are not taking it lying down. The rumor mill has it that the Muslims are also organizing themselves clandestinely and are itching for a mother of all political battles against the Christian community during the coming local and national elections!
While all this is happening, in my view, your Administration seems to be aloof if not adopting a proverbial Ostrich tactic by hiding its head in the sand hoping this inherent explosive issue can simply be wished away! Mr. President, at first the ongoing antagonistic posturing between these two big religious faiths in the country seemed to be a non-issue or rather like a mustard seed very small indeed. But like a mustard seed (in a negative sense) it is gradually growing into a monster and if not contained could become insurmountable. In a nutshell it is potentially a political Tsunami just waiting to happen.
Mr. President for the fist time in our nations unblemished history we have a situation in this country where the political landscape is slowly but surely sliding from being national in character and is now turning into an increasingly sectarian outlook like what happened in Lebanon during 1980s. In my considered view the leadership does not show signs of getting to grips with this situation and I believe this could create a loophole to the faith based organizations who are hell bent to determine the political dynamics of this country. Your Excellency this is not only a very dangerous development but also a precursor to a bigger and fundamental problem. As a matter of fact people are wondering whether the Captain and his co-pilot are in full control of the flight predestined to Maisha-Bora-Kwa-Kila-Mtanzania wherein peace and harmony are part and parcel of this vision.
But Mr. President how did we get into this uncharted territory in the first place? The leadership and the nation as a whole (passengers?) need to do some soul searching and sober up to the fact we are currently flying off course and our journey to the Promised Land may turn into a fairy tale if not in tragedy. In any case your Administration will need to burn midnight candles and enlist all hands on deck (especially religious leaders) to get to the bottom of this menace and come up with workable solutions. Mr. President, I have a self-effacing request to make. Sir, kindly pray hard to Allah to bless and guide you so that the country (Tanzania) you lead (touch wood) does not go up in smoke under your watch lest history will judge you very harshly.
Your Excellency, I am not oblivious to the fact that this letter may somehow sound over the top but let me assure you that for good measure I am privy to what is on the ground. As a law abiding citizen it is my solemn duty to raise a red flag so that the leadership in this country can come around in good time and close the stable before the horses bolt out in order to avert a situation which could lead this nation to a garden path.
Mr. President, I thank you for your indulgence. God bless Tanzania.
Yours truly,
Byase Luteke
Dar Es Salaam
9th July 2009
Hon. Jakaya Kikwete
President of the United Republic of Tanzania
State House,
Dar Es Salaam
Tanzania.
RE:COUNT DOWN TO 2010
Your Excellency,
Salutations Sir. Kindly allow me, Mr. President, to ask for your indulgence to write to you this open letter. This is my second letter following the one I penned almost two years ago in ThisDay Newspaper on 6 November 2007. Mr. President, in my first letter I raised a number of issues which I would like to revisit this time around and raise a few more, time and space permitting.
Your Excellency, in 2007 your critics especially the opposition were up in arms because of what they considered to be your out of proportion official trips abroad. Although I personally did not entirely concur with this line of argument, I however, was very uncomfortable with your official entourage especially to the United States of America (USA).
At that time Tanzania Private Sector Foundation (TPSF) used to organize a group of some business people to accompany your Excellency (albeit at their own cost) on your official trips to USA ostensibly to promote business between Tanzania and USA. I had a chance to see one of the lists of TPSFs so called business promoters during one of your trips to USA and I am afraid what I saw raised my eyebrows and left me somehow apprehensive. My subsequent interaction with one of the business promoters who had accompanied you earlier during one of your official trips to USA indeed confirmed my fears that most of the business promoters were from the Jua Kali business sector (small scale) so had nothing of substance to promote in the USA but rather saw this as an opportunity to visit friends and relatives (VFRs). Wanaenda majuu na Rais. This was photo opportunity with Mzee as well as a privileged jolly ride if you like.
Mr. President in that letter I called on the powers that be especially the officials dealing with your Protocol at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to review the participation of TPSF in your official trips with a view of making it more relevant and effective lest we portray a negative image for our beloved country. I cautioned that former President Mobutu of Zaire (now DRC) used to travel with an entourage of more than 200 hangers-on abroad and for the sake of your own reputation and Tanzania as a highly regarded country cannot afford to be seen is such a negative light. I am comforted by the fact that at the moment your entourage has been toned down to entertain only bona fide business promoters and my prayer is that it should stay this way infinitely.
Your Excellency, my November 2007 letter came hot on the heels of the dust raised by Dr. Slaa and company at Mwembeyanga, Temeke with their so called List of Shame and it was still very much in the air. What they said about the EPA prowling indeed came to pass and some legal action is currently underway. However, Mr. President, I am quite perturbed by what seems to be your Administrations discriminative and selective approach in dealing with the EPA culprits.
Yes Sir, you guessed right. Of course I am talking about the nagging tale of M/s Malegesy & Co and the obstinate Kagoda Agricultural Company. These two seem to have completely disappeared from the radar screen of the ongoing criminal proceedings and your Administration is nonchalant, so to speak, while subtly hiding behind the It is- the- DPPs- sole-discretion mantra to pursue the EPA culprits! Well, de jure, yes, but de facto, no, Sir. Because I know for a fact that on criminal matters that are serious and political in nature the buck rightly stops at the Presidency. If the current DPP does not measure up the task please show him the exit door sooner than later.
Mr. President, truth to be told. Word has it that these two have in fact been set scot free because of their in-depth and far reaching involvement in the EPA pillaging and to touch them now is like opening a Pandoras box! Your Excellency, my take on this hot potato is this: As the English say you can run but you cannot hide or to put it in Mr. Butiku-speak Corruption remain a live issue because it is unfinished business. Sir, as long as Malegesy & Co and Kagoda Ltd remain shielded and therefore not reachable and perhaps even untouchable in the short run, they will remain to be an abomination on your Administrations record and I am afraid this will come back to haunt you sometime in the near future. My humble submission to you, Mr. President is that came what may, this is the right time to take the bull by its horns and sort out the Malegesy and Kagoda nuisance once and for all so that you may be able to write your memoirs in piece and tranquility because 2015 is not that far.
Your Excellency, last but not least, today I would like to talk a little bit about the impending national elections. This year (2009) will usher in the local elections and 2010 is around the corner. You will agree with me, Sir that the excitement about these elections is not only slowly and steadily edging to a crescendo but it is also taking a rather different direction this time round. Mr. President the current topical issue regarding the involvement of faith based originations in the impending election is giving me (and other compatriots) some goose pimples. On one hand you have Christians conducting a covertly discordant campaign but cleverly couched as voters civic education while on the other the Muslims are not taking it lying down. The rumor mill has it that the Muslims are also organizing themselves clandestinely and are itching for a mother of all political battles against the Christian community during the coming local and national elections!
While all this is happening, in my view, your Administration seems to be aloof if not adopting a proverbial Ostrich tactic by hiding its head in the sand hoping this inherent explosive issue can simply be wished away! Mr. President, at first the ongoing antagonistic posturing between these two big religious faiths in the country seemed to be a non-issue or rather like a mustard seed very small indeed. But like a mustard seed (in a negative sense) it is gradually growing into a monster and if not contained could become insurmountable. In a nutshell it is potentially a political Tsunami just waiting to happen.
Mr. President for the fist time in our nations unblemished history we have a situation in this country where the political landscape is slowly but surely sliding from being national in character and is now turning into an increasingly sectarian outlook like what happened in Lebanon during 1980s. In my considered view the leadership does not show signs of getting to grips with this situation and I believe this could create a loophole to the faith based organizations who are hell bent to determine the political dynamics of this country. Your Excellency this is not only a very dangerous development but also a precursor to a bigger and fundamental problem. As a matter of fact people are wondering whether the Captain and his co-pilot are in full control of the flight predestined to Maisha-Bora-Kwa-Kila-Mtanzania wherein peace and harmony are part and parcel of this vision.
But Mr. President how did we get into this uncharted territory in the first place? The leadership and the nation as a whole (passengers?) need to do some soul searching and sober up to the fact we are currently flying off course and our journey to the Promised Land may turn into a fairy tale if not in tragedy. In any case your Administration will need to burn midnight candles and enlist all hands on deck (especially religious leaders) to get to the bottom of this menace and come up with workable solutions. Mr. President, I have a self-effacing request to make. Sir, kindly pray hard to Allah to bless and guide you so that the country (Tanzania) you lead (touch wood) does not go up in smoke under your watch lest history will judge you very harshly.
Your Excellency, I am not oblivious to the fact that this letter may somehow sound over the top but let me assure you that for good measure I am privy to what is on the ground. As a law abiding citizen it is my solemn duty to raise a red flag so that the leadership in this country can come around in good time and close the stable before the horses bolt out in order to avert a situation which could lead this nation to a garden path.
Mr. President, I thank you for your indulgence. God bless Tanzania.
Yours truly,
Byase Luteke
Dar Es Salaam
9th July 2009
