Finn’s Facts: Kikwete’s radical thinking is far from his conservative lieutenants

BAK

JF-Expert Member
Feb 11, 2007
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Waungwana, Ni lini JK aliwashinikiza hawa Xtrata Nickel? What about Barrick na yule 'swahiba' wake Sinclair?

Finn's Facts: Kikwete's radical thinking is far from his conservative lieutenants

FINNIGAN WA SIMBEYE
THIS DAY
DAR ES SALAAM

ONCE again President Jakaya Kikwete has indicated clearly his strong commitment to abandon business-as-usual way of doing things by some public officials in his government.

President Kikwete who since last year has been reversing some controversial decisions made by his lieutenants, and sometimes the ruling party packed Parliament, last week challenged Canadian mining company, Xtrata Nickel which owns Kabanga Nickel Company Limited, to put on public display a contract signed with his government recently.

Despite criticism by some members of the public on his handling of the Mark Bomani mining committee report, the president has once again indicated that he doesn't prefer the status quo in keeping contracts signed between his government and foreign mining firms.

While the head of state was thus advising the Canadians whose senior management paid a courtesy call on him at State House in Dar es Salaam, some of his cabinet ministers who are still basking in the old bad days of signing poor contracts and keeping them as a top secret, were busy chorusing unpalatable verses of such contracts continuing being secrets.

It was Phillip Marmo, the Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office who is also the chief whip and Mathias Chikawe, the Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister who were threatening people possessing what is termed as government secrets to risk police arrest.

Faulty and largely fraudulent contracts signed between the government and mainly foreign companies have all marks of secret and corrupt influence.

Chikawe was emphasizing that contracts signed between the government and private companies in whatever sector will remain to be top secrets and classified.

Marmo and Chikawe are among key lieutenants of the president who don't seem to understand the thinking of their boss. Several others in the ruling party such as Secretary General Yusuf Makamba who is threatening a courageous and forthright speaking Nape Nnauye, questioning a deal with a private developer to build a highrise block at UVCCM headquarters, are also sailing in the same boat which classifies documents relating to shoddy deals.

These types of public officials must start reading signs of the times and urgently change their mindset because these secretive documents which are often categorised as classified have been found to conceal nothing much but questionable deals signed by the executive private companies in suspicious circumstances.

THISDAY has routinely published some of these secretive contracts which came out clearly as nothing but thieving agreements between some unfaithful ruling elite and private companies.

Kikwete's latest challenge to Xtrata Nickel should not only end at the Canadian mining company's boardroom, but that Energy and Minerals Minister, William Ngeleja, will be the first person to publish the latest contract in the media and offer copies to members of parliament who are the real custodians of our resources.

This latest gesture by the head of state should clearly be a watershed in the way that the government has for years been working with the private sector, especially foreign mining companies which have made a fortune grandeur from our mineral resources. The future should be a relationship that promotes transparency and good governance.
 
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