Has Kikwete lost his "Legitimacy" to Lead?

[William J. Malecela]

=> Rostam Aziz now said to be 'damaging' CCM reputation

CORRUPTION allegations surrounding business tycoon Rostam Abdulrasul Aziz, who holds senior leadership positions in Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), are ''damaging the reputation of the ruling party ahead of the 2010 general elections,'' according to ruling party insiders.

The businessman-cum-politician currently serves as member of parliament for Igunga Constituency and member of the powerful CCM central committee, and was the party's national treasurer for a lengthy period in the not-so-distant past.

It has however, now come to light that Rostam's status is steadily dropping in the eyes of an increasing number of senior CCM leaders, who believe he is becoming more of an ''electoral liability'' for the ruling party.

''He mainly gained influence in the ruling party because of his various fund-raising abilities during election time. But he has now actually become an electoral liability for us, especially since he still occupies top leadership positions,'' an official close to the CCM top leadership hierarchy told THISDAY.

''It is no secret that Rostam has been thoroughly tarnished by allegations of corruption mounting up against him. In fact, he is now damaging the reputation of the ruling party ahead of the 2010 general elections,'' the official said.

Another ruling party insider remarked: ''CCM can never dare ask him (Rostam) to address public rallies during election campaigns outside his Igunga Constituency. We know it would be a disaster because he is widely seen as lacking the moral authority to do so.''

A growing number of established CCM cadres seem to agree that the Igunga legislator has managed to maintain his leadership positions within the ruling party largely thanks to his strong influence among key members of the party's secretariat and other crucial party departments.

They point to the fact that while at least three 'heavyweight' political heads tumbled as a result of the Richmond energy generation scandal, Rostam was left largely unscathed despite also being heavily implicated.

The scathing Richmond report led to the resignations of former prime minister Edward Lowassa, and cabinet ministers Nazir Karamagi and Dr Ibrahim Msabaha.

But despite being linked alongside them in the report, Rostam has continued to hold on to his ruling party posts regardless of National Assembly-approved recommendations that all individuals implicated in the scandal should be dropped by both party and government.

''He became an MP in 1994 at the age of just 25. Some people now even describe him as a 'king maker' due to the influence he apparently wields in the ruling party,'' said another political observer.

However, his available public records are scant. According to the National Assembly website, he was born on December 31, 1969, and holds a BA degree in economics. The name of the university he attended is missing.

On Rostam's employment history, the Bunge website says he worked at unspecified periods in the following companies:

Research on Business (managing director), Africa Trade Development (director), Africa Tanneries Limited (director), Tanzania Leather Industries Limited (director), and Caspian Construction Limited (director).

Although his official CV links him to the above-mentioned companies only, Rostam has also been associated with more than a dozen other companies with little-specified business dealings.

Allegations of his involvement in some especially shadowy companies started to emerge after he was associated with proven fraudulent companies such as Richmond Development Company and Kagoda Agriculture Limited.

Though the infamous Kagoda company was used to loot more than 40bn/- from the Bank of Tanzania's external payment arrears (EPA) account, its owners have so far escaped indictment and prosecution by government organs.

Karatu member of parliament Dr Wilbrod Slaa, from the opposition CHADEMA party, first linked Rostam to Kagoda in 2007 when publicly unveiling the infamous ''List of Shame.''

And although the businessman-cum-politician denied any links with the EPA fraud, it has since been established that the contact numbers of two other companies linked to Rostam were identical to that used by Kagoda.

Afritainer Limited and Africa Trade Development, both of which are associated with Rostam, used the same Dar es Salaam-listed telephone number (2861371) and fax number (2861372) as those used by Kagoda.

Similarly, Dowans Holdings company - which inherited the dubious Richmond company - used an email address similar to Caspian Construction, yet another Rostam stronghold.

According to official government records, African Trade Development (T) Limited lists its directors as Rostom A. Sakarri, Rostam Sakarri, Rustom Aziz Sakarri, Rustam Sakarri and Rustam Sakaari.

Another name associated with Rostam, Gulam Chaka alias Gulam Chakar, also appears as one of the shareholders in the controversial Tanzania International Container Terminal Services (TICTS).

It has also emerged that while Rostam has publicly acknowledged that he is proprietor of media house New Habari Corporation which publishes Rai, Mtanzania, The African and other newspapers, his name does not appear in the company's official shareholders' records.

''It is quite clear that this fellow likes to operate in a shadowy manner. Everything about him is a mystery - his birthplace, his true nationality, his education background, the number of legitimate businesses he owns, etcetera,'' said the CCM insider.

 

[William J. Malecela]

Encyclopedia


Benjamin William Mkapa (born November 12, 1938) is a former President of the United Republic of Tanzania Tanzania

In 1995, Mkapa was elected president based on a popular anti-corruption campaign and the strong support of former president Julius Nyerere. Mkapa's anti-corruption efforts included creation of an open forum called the Presidential Commission on Corruption (Warioba Commission) and increased support for the Prevention of Corruption BureauJulius Nyerere

Julius Kambarage Nyerere served as the first President of Tanzania and previously Tanganyika, from the country's founding in 1961 until his retirement in 1985....

.

He has been criticized for some ineffectiveness of his anti-corruption effortsref name="AJPS"/> as well as for his lavish spending. He spent £15 million on a private presidential jet, as well as almost £30 million on military aviation equipment which experts deemed beyond the limited needs of the country's armed forces. It was over the latter purchase that then BritishUnited Kingdom


International Development SecretarySecretary of State for International Development

In the United Kingdom, the Secretary of State for International Development is a Cabinet minister responsible for promoting development overseas and for the Department for International Development, particularly in the third world...

Clare ShortClare Short
Clare Short is a British politician, and a member of the Labour Party. She is currently the Independent Member of Parliament for Birmingham Ladywood, having been elected as a Labour Party MP in 1983 but resigning the whip in 2004. She was Secretary of State for International Development in the...

expressed public outrage, resulting in her becoming known as 'Mama Radar' in the Tanzanian press.

Having left office due to a two term limit, Mkapa is dogged by many accusations of corruption among them improperly appropriating himself and his former finance Minister Daniel Yona the lucrative "Kiwira Coal Mine" in the southern highlands of Tanzania without following procedures. By privatizing the kiwira coal mine to himself, he broke the Tanzanian constitution which does not allow a president to do a business at state house.

He was appointed to Aga Khan University Board of Trustees in November 2007.

 

[Jasusi]

FMES,
Tulishataja awali kuwa huenda huyu ni sleeper agent wa Iran. Inawezekanaje rekodi yake iwe na utata hivyo? Hata haijulikani bayana kazaliwa wapi.

 

[William J. Malecela]

Watanzania sasa hamna adabu falesy

Today, 06:56 PM
1. kwanza napenda niwashukru japo si kwa furaha wanablog hii kwani mnaonekana wenye mtazamo wa kutaka kuleta mapinduzi lakini shabaha ndiyo mbovu.

2. pili nimpe pole rais wa jamhuri ya muungano wa tanzania mh. Jakay M. Kikwete kwa juhudi zake z akila siku katika kulipeleka taifa hili kule tunatakiwa japo ni wale tu wenye lensi kamili katika macho yao na ambao kichwani kuna ubongo wanaweza kulion hili.

3. tatu nimpe pole mzee wangu rafiki Yusufu makamba kwa kuwa sasa amekuwa kama jalala la hata watoto wadogo kumsema watakavyo. nadhani tungetumia uhuru huu kuelez aumma athari za sera kam agenda 50-50 na uzazi wa mpngo ingekuwa bora.

4. tatu nawapa pole wana blog hii walioigeuza kambi ya kupigia soga za siasa za chadema na kuwa msumari wa moto kwa ccm kwa hapo tumepoteza mwelekeo.

5. leo nakuja na hoja amabyo nitaitambulisha tu kisha nitaiacha hewani. hivi ni wapi na ni nchi gani ambayo watu wake wana uhuru wa kumsemea lolote mtawala wa nchi. najua ni uhuru lakini uhuru usio na mipaka ni vurugu. leo hii kila mmoja anaamua tu kusema mara hosea, mara mwanyika, mara oooooh fisadi fulani kama tunaishi nchi ya KICHAA iliyo katika tamthilya ya MFALME JUHA. hakuna cha wasomi wala wakulima wote tu tumepoteza maana ya blog hii.

6. wana blog hii wengi hawana uhakika wa yale wanayoyasema na ndiyo maana wameficha majina yao. nadhani ingekuwa ni vema kama tungejuana kwa majina kamili na kule tunaishi au kufanya kazi badala ya haya mwanakijiji, mpenda nchi na mengine kama hayo. hakuna haja ya kuwa na watoa maoni ambao wameficha nyuso zao, ni watu wasio na ujasiri, ni sawa na shule ya msingi ambako darasani kuna kijana mkorofi lakini pia ni mbabe na msumbufu darasani, ikifika mwalimu wa zamu anauliza ni nani mkorofi kila mmoja huinama na kutaja jina la yule mkorofi ilimradi tu jina litajike, si una ujasiri wa kutaja? simama watu wakuone sema ni JUMA mkorofi naye akuone ajue hhakika huyu ni shujaa kanitaja.

7. huu sasa ni ujinga hatuwezi kuendelea kusema Rais hajafanya lolote kwa vile Lipumba kasema, ikiwa kikwete hafai kugombea 2010 basi akigombea msimpe kura msiwe vibaraka wa wale wanaowatumikisha pasipo kujua.
blog hii iliaanza nyakati za uchaguzi na miongoni mwa memebrs wa humu 90% walitoka kule na ni wengi waliompigania kikwete achagulike kutoka kura za maoni, mimi falesy nilkuwa kinyume na kikwete lakini leo hii ni rais wa jamhuri ya muungano, biblia inasema usiwasemee vibaya wakuu wa watu wako.

8. Kikwete ni mkuu wa watu wangu watanzania hata siku moja siwezi kumsemea vibaya. MNA LAANA NYIE MNAOMSEMA VIBAYA RAIS KILA KUKICHA NA LAANA YENU HAITAPONA HATA VIZAZI VYENU VITATU NA VINNE. tafadhali sana najua mna jazba na RAIS lakini isiwe kila kukicha mnatafuta kumgombanisha na wananchi kama hawafai basi subirini 2010 msimchague.

9. na hao kina lipumba na slaa wanona hafai basi wasubiri 2010 wagombee washinde hapa jamani ni jukwaa la mawazo huru ya kujenga taifa hili si jukwaa la kujadili maamuzi ya Rais yapi afanye, yapi alitakiwa afanye na nani na nani wawajibishwe kama mnataka kasomeeni sheria na mfungue mahakama zenu na muanzishe majeshi yenu ya polisi muwakamate hao mnaotaka wakamatwe. pumbafuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu

 

[William J. Malecela]

Jakaya Kikwete: Unanswered question plagues the president

It is easy to understand how Jakaya Kikwete got where he is. Tanzania's president of two years is a consummate politician, witty, pragmatic and with an easygoing charm that has wooed donors and voters alike.

It is harder to tell where he is heading.

Donors who provide nearly half the government's budget warn that a "cult of personality" around the president is beginning to impede the workings of an already strained bureaucracy, while Mr Kikwete's tendency to micro-manage encourages an ad hoc approach to policymaking.

There is talk of a green revolution to bring the fruits of higher growth to the majority peasant population. But there is little evidence this has begun.

Mr Kikwete - a career politician who rose through the ranks of the ruling CCM party to become foreign minister before he won elections to be head of state - hints that improving the lot of rural communities is indeed where his focus will be. He adds that his constant journeys to the interior, and chivvying of officials, helps to get things done. His job is not in the office, he insists.

"I visit the country to inspect development programmes, to inspect activities, to see how things are going, how the government agenda is being implemented, what are the teething issues. And some of these problems simply need my simple word. My simple word of 'Do it,' then it is done," he says.

Mr Kikwete does have achievements to his name. He has, according to foreign diplomats, put the fear of God into mismanaged and often corrupt regional administrations. He has emerged as a regional peace-broker, bringing together factions from Africa's conflict zones in the north-eastern resort of Arusha. A keen sportsman, he personally persuaded a Brazilian coach to take the reins of the national football team.

If some ruling party cadres have been brought to book for corruption and skullduggery at the polls it is because he ordered it, Mr Kikwete insists. If Tanzania paid too high a price for a radar system from Britain's BAE Systems, he will seek compensation for the country, he adds.

But if the president is sensitive to symptoms of underlying malaise, he seems less willing to tackle possible causes head on. The political system, dominated for so long by the CCM and still built largely from patronage networks, is in no need of a major shake up, he says.

"We're still strong enough, we're still popular, I think we are doing the right things," he says of the party.

Mr Kikwete rebuts suggestions that Tanzania's dependency on foreign aid has made the government answerable to donors more than to its own people. But he suggests that it can be very frustrating and time-consuming accommodating the whims of some western donors.

He leaves little doubt as to his preference for China's no strings-attached approach to development assistance.

Nor does he miss the opportunity to note that improved tax collection is raising the share of the state's coffers generated domestically.

BAE in new corruption probe as Tanzanian minister resigns over £500,000 bribery claim

By DANIEL MARTIN
21 April 2008

Andrew Chenge

A minister in Tanzania accused of taking bribes from Britain's largest arms manufacturer has resigned. Andrew Chenge quit after being accused of pocketing a backhander when his country bought a £20million military radar system from BAE Systems.More than £500,000 was found in an offshore account belonging to the infrastructure minister, which is believed to be linked to the 2002 deal.

The company is already under scrutiny over claims it paid illegal "commissions" to win lucrative defence contracts.The Serious Fraud Office is investigating the Tanzanian deal, which went ahead even though the east African state is one of the world's poorest countries.

Mr Chenge, a Harvard-educated lawyer, was attorney general at the time.

An earlier SFO inquiry into a record £43billion BAE arms deal with Saudi Arabia was stopped by the UK Government. Two weeks ago, the High Court ruled that this had been unlawful. In Tanzania, President Jakaya Kikwete accepted Mr Chenge's resignation on Sunday. A spokesman for the president said: "Mr Chenge said that in addition to the allegations, the love for his country and party had forced him to step aside." Local media said the resignation was sparked by reports that Mr Chenge had $1million in the offshore account.

He caused outrage last week when he referred to it as "a small amount of money".

Critics said the radar system was costly, obsolete and unnecessary for such a poor country.

A spokesman for BAE Systems said: "We continues to fully cooperate with the SFO investigation, which includes Tanzania."

 

[Zakumi]

Zakumi mkuu wangu,

Unachosema ni kweli kabisa, narudia tena, kweli kabisa.

Ndiyo maana nasisitiza, narudia, nasisitiza, tuna short term strategy na long term strategy.

Short term strategy ni kumtoa Kikwete na mafisadi wenzake, whether kwa kutumia msaada wa Butiku au shetani mwenyewe I don't care (figure of speech to express my position, y'all know I don't believe in neither god nor the devil, man is god and man is the devil as far as I am concerned, but that is another thread altogether)

The long term strategy, ni kuhakikisha haturudii makosa, na haturudishi hawa wazee kama Butiku waliofanya sex parties za "Northerners" na kina Mkono wakiwa Ikulu. Tunawajua kuliko unavyoona hapa JF.Wote hawa kina Butiku na Timothy Apiyo kama kungekuwa na rule of law Tanzania wangetakiwa kushtakiwa kwa sexual abuse towards ma secretary na wapishi wa Ikulu, of all people, sio kwamba hatujui, tunajua sana tu mkuu.Hawa wazee wengine wana mapungufu makubwa ambayo yana wa disqualify uongozi hata wa kijiji achana na taifa.

Lakini the immediate concern ni kumtoa Kikwete, then tukishamtoa Kikwete, tuta discuss jinsi gani tunaziba nyufa zote ili tusiruhusu kina Butiku na Qaresi wasirudi. Lakini kabla hatuhjamtoa Kikwete hatuwezi kukataa msaada wa kina Butiku na Qaresi.

Sir:

Do you think you are the only ones with short and long strategies? Butiku and Qaresi have their own too and the will do anything to successed.

Sio kuwa nawavunja moyo, lakini mapigano bila kuwa na principles ni kuendeleza our national favourite sport: kubishana.

 

[William J. Malecela]

BAE corruption investigation switches to Tanzania

· Focus on £28m radar deal with East African state
· SFO's new director due to take over this month

David Leigh and Rob Evans
The Guardian,
Saturday 12 April 2008

Following the uproar over its halted Saudi investigation, the Serious Fraud Office is expected to decide whether to bring fresh corruption charges against arms manufacturer BAE within six weeks, over a second arms deal, this time with Tanzania. A minister from the east African state has denied that more than $1m (£507,500) in his offshore accounts came from BAE.

Investigators involved in a three-year inquiry after the controversial deal to sell Tanzania a £28m radar system identified the money in Jersey accounts controlled by the poverty-striken country's infrastructure minister, Andrew Chenge. Tanzania's anti-corruption bureau, which has been working with authorities in the UK, Switzerland and Jersey, wants to establish if the money is linked to multi-million pound secret commission payments made by BAE.

Chenge does not dispute the money in his Jersey accounts. But he told the Guardian: "The obvious inference [of the investigations] is that I have received for my benefit 'corrupt payments' from BAE. This is untrue."

He said he was only involved in minor aspects of the radar deal, which was promoted by other ministries and approved by the Tanzanian cabinet. His bank records, he said, would show investigators that "there is no connection to the BAE Tanzanian radar deal".

The arms company made the commission payments to a local agent in Tanzania to promote the £28m radar sale, through an elaborate chain of offshore companies and a Swiss bank. The agent has now left the country and is wanted by Interpol. These developments come at a key moment in the BAE saga. A landmark high court ruling on Thursday said that the decision to drop the SFO's Saudi inquiry was wrong.

The Tanzania deal, although smaller in cash terms than the Saudi deals, is equally controversial: Tanzania is one of the world's poorest countries, and the UK government is paying more than £100m this year to help the heavily-indebted country's budget. It was Blair again who forced the radar deal through the British cabinet, despite protests from the then international development secretary, Clare Short. She said the sale, for which Tanzania had to borrow yet more from a commercial bank, was corrupt and "stank".

A lengthy SFO investigation in the UK subsequently discovered that 31% of the deal's contract price had been diverted via Switzerland.

BAE transferred the money to a subsidiary, Red Diamond Trading, registered anonymously in the British Virgin Islands. Red Diamond then moved the cash to a Swiss account in the name of a Panama company, Envers Trading Corporation. This entity had two Panamanian nominee directors. But it was secretly controlled by a Tanzanian middleman, Shailesh Vithlani, according to Dar es Salaam court papers.

Investigators are now checking whether Vithlani arranged to pass any money in turn to Tanzanian politicians and officials. Sources said the bank in Jersey had promptly frozen transactions and filed a suspicious activity report when the Tanzanian inquiries began. Vithlani, who is of Indian extraction but holds a British passport, is listed as wanted by Interpol.

He has been charged by the Tanzanian anti-corruption bureau with lying to investigators, but has left the country. His whereabouts are unknown. According to the charges, Vithlani falsely denied he was the owner of the Panama company, and falsely claimed he had only handled a separate commission of 1% on the deal.

 

[William J. Malecela]

Tanzania: Five Banks Involved in BoT Scandal to Be Sued

Daniel Said
11 February 2008
Dar es Salaam

While the Tanzania government is investigating and tracing the US$131 million External Payment Arrears (EPA) funds which were stolen from the Bank of Tanzania (BoT), it's now clear that five major banks colluded and participated in money laundering. The banks, both local and international, are hiding behind the letters of BoT confirming the transfers to be legitimate, but they violated their own internal code of conduct and international financing regulations.

Banking experts have it that the government should charge major banks with money laundering, capital flight by opening offshore accounts for EPA companies, shareholders and for causing great economic harm with the transactions, increasing inflation and causing the shilling to devalue 30% in four months due to illegal buying of the US dollar from the markets.

They urge the Tanzanian government to report such banks to the International Monetary Fund as well as central banks in their own countries.
Following this discovery, Mr. Juma Reli, the BoT deputy governor, told East African Business Week last week, "The banks are being investigated in order to establish how they dealt with money transfers."

At the centre of controversy was the fact that since most companies were not even open for a few months and some were not even companies but simple business names, it should have raised suspicions from the bank's managing directors and their Internal Credit managers. Such volumes of transactions can only be done with an approval of the banks' managing directors.

East African Business Week can reveal that some banks confirmed with BoT when recipients came to collect funds in cash from those banks.
BoT confirmed such letters but nevertheless, banks remained in violation of national financial regulations by changing Tanzania shillings into US dollars and opening more accounts at branches for the same recipients to deposit the same cash.

A source from one of the banks told East African Business Week last week that since the amount of US dollars available in the market is limited, and EPA culprits were looking for US dollars, banks requested and received millions of dollars from BoT for the same EPA funds to change into dollars. Large funds were transferred to many accounts off shore.

It's estimated that about 70% of the $131million swindled from the EPA account is starched in foreign banks. The remaining 30% was used to buy plots of land in prime areas in Dar es Salaam city, houses, cars and other fixed assets.

He said in order to ease the deal, banks coordinated with forex bureaus by giving out cash to do transfer because bureaus do not have funds of this type.

In some instances, an international banks opened off-shore accounts for EPA culprits and sent funds through such forex bureaus.

"About four foreign banks in Dar Salaam managed to transfer over $25 million. One of them was a direct recipient of EPA funds through shareholding in one company," he said adding that one international bank set up an office for the private banking arm in the bank premises and later at an international hotel to serve such clients thus causing capital flights.

In Tanzania, US dollars are only accessible to people and companies involved in the import trade against invoices, but major banks continued to give US dollars to EPA culprits against these regulations.

Most surprising, the source said, is the fact that even when the government ordered that accounts of these companies be attached, the banks continued operating and holding accounts for the same shareholders in different names and transferring funds into their associate companies.

"In some instances, the banks informed the shareholders to draw cash quickly or assisted in transfers while knowing President Jakaya Kikwete had ordered the investigation and possible prosecution of the same people," he said.

Recently, a special audit by Messrs Ernst & Young discovered that more than $131 million was improperly paid to 22 local firms through the BoT's External Payment Arrears (EPA) Account.

It discovered that payments to firms were made without observing rules and procedure and in some cases fake documents and forged records were used.

Although president Kikwete has directed that further investigations be conducted in order to get more evidence for possible prosecution and that all culprits accounts be frozen, a lot of funds are said to have been transferred abroad mainly to Dubai and Swiss banks.

 

[William J. Malecela]

Tanzania: Hail, Chief Kikwete, Not George Bush

Abdu Simba
15 February 2008
opinion

For a country set to play host to a three-day visit by a US President George Bush, Tanzania does not seem to be in the least bit excited about the arrival of "the leader of the Free World". There is only one President that the wananchi are talking about in animated tones - their own President Jakaya Kikwete.

Barely three months ago, a Tanzanian opinion poll revealed that Kikwete's approval rating had plummeted to an all time low of 44 per cent. Furthermore, a significant proportion of citizens expressed general disillusionment with the 4th phase Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) government, complaining that the poor implementation of government policies by shoddy leaders had failed to improve living standards, as promised following the party's landslide electoral victory of 2005.

For a head of state who greatly values his Man of the People image and was voted into office by over 80 per cent of the electorate, the poll findings must have come as a shock to Kikwete, a blunt confirmation that his battle cry of Kazi Mpya, Ari Mpya, Nguvu Mpya'(New Sense of industry, New Motivation, Renewed Energies) had the echo of insincere rhetoric.

Corruption, often at the highest levels of government, lay at the root of these problems and until a few days ago, few believed Kikwete had either the guts or strategy to tackle a malady that has confounded and ravaged many a fledging democracy on the continent.

In one fell swoop, no less than nine tried, tested and tainted ministers were purged by the President; over half of them leaving a trail of the putrid whiff of graft in their wake. In their place, Kikwete has assembled a team comprised of political allies, grey beards and protégés who will not only hesitate to disobey their master's voice, but are widely viewed being as capable and competent enough to get his vision back on track.

But it is still too early to herald the dawning of a new era. The Parliamentary Select Committee investigation into the Richmond Electricity Contract which brought down Lowassa was merely the first of three scandals that have shocked and stunned Tanzanians in the past eighteen months. In a few weeks, the Presidential Commission on Mining Contracts will present a final report that will highlight many shortcomings.

Also imminent is the Parliamentary debate on the Eternal Payments Arrears (EPA) financial scandal at the Bank of Tanzania that will make the sums involved in the Richmond saga look like loose change. At the centre of all these allegations is a cabal of high ranking party members, including many of those recently axed by the President.

As George Bush might say, "Those fellas must be as nervous as a long tailed cat in a room full of rockin' chairs right now". Whether banishment into the political wilderness will be enough to satiate the braying anger and indignation of the public, the Opposition and, to their credit, the less cynical and hypocritical segments of CCM, remains to be seen.

 

[Kitila Mkumbo]

Interesting!​

 

[William J. Malecela]

Tanzania: Come Clean On Mkapa, Mzindakaya Tells Government

Rodgers Luhwago
27 June 2008

Kwela MP Chrisant Mzindakaya yesterday challenged the Government to come clean on the abuse of office allegations against former President Benjamin Mkapa. Mr Mzindikaya, a member of the ruling Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM), said it was inconceivable that the former Head of State, who held the top position for two decades, could come under so much scrutiny and accusations, with no official reaction from the Government.

Contributing to the 2008/2009 Budget Speech debate, Mr Mzindakaya, an outspoken MP during President Mkapa's tenure, said that allegations of impropriety touching on the former Head of State had recently dominated newspaper headlines.

"We would like the Government to comment on the allegations against Mr Mkapa, who served the country for so long in the top most post," Mr Mzindakaya said.

The MP, who served as the regional commissioner in the first and second phase governments before going into politics, was contributing to debate on the budget of the Prime Minister's office, which Mr Mizengo Pinda presented early this week.

"We want the Government to respond to these allegations because Mr Mkapa built a reputation of respect for himself and for the entire nation during his time.

Why do we use the august House to tarnish the names of our retired national leaders who served this nation well?" Mr Mzindakaya asked.

He said that Tanzanian leaders had given good accounts of themselves at home and abroad and it was, therefore, "unfair to mudsling Mr Mkapa for no apparent reason".

The former President was said to have an interest in Tan Power Resources together with his close associate, Mr Daniel Yona, who was the minister for Energy and Minerals during his reign.

Vunjo MP Aloyce Kimaro, also of CCM, said the heavy burden of capacity charges imposed on Tanesco was partly due to the Sh146 million daily payments it makes to Tan Power Resources.

He alleged that in 2005, Mr Mkapa and Mr Yona bought the Sh4 billion Kiwira coal mine through their Tan Power Resources Company at Sh700 million, but they eventually paid only Sh70 million. Mr Mkapa, who retired in 2005, has come under criticism from the media and politicians, some of whom have suggested that he should be charged in court with abuse of office.

Yesterday in Parliament, touching on the Richmond scandal, Mr Mzindakaya said he had been saddened by Kyela MP Harisson Mwakyembe's call on Wednesday for fresh deliberations on the report he tabled on February 6, if the lawmakers were not satisfied that justice had been done to those implicated. Dr Mwakyembe accused fellow MPs of trying to discredit on the floor of the House recommendations they had been a part of.

Yesterda, Mr Mzindakaya said: "No one has a right to attack the committee as it was formed by Parliament and not by Dr Mwakyembe. "The committee was not Dr Mwakyembe's; it belonged to Parliament. Therefore, I would like my fellow MPs to stop discrediting the report and the committee.

Let's wait for the implementation of the recommendations by the Government," he said. He called on the Government to explain to Parliament how far the recommendations had been implemented. Mr Mzindakaya also accused the Government of lacking "concrete plans to improve the agricultural sector, which is said to be the backbone of the country's economy".

He charged that instead of coming up with plans to revamp the agricultural sector, "a good chunk of the money has been used to cover administration costs, workshops and seminars".

Mr Mzindikaya added: "There is a myth that Tanzanians are lazy people.

This concept is absolutely wrong. Instead, government leaders are the ones who are lazy."

 

[Yombayomba]

Mkulu Field Marshall Es! na Jasusi,

Kuhusu RA, panapo waacha wengi hoi ni pale hasa RA alipoamua kununua nyumba ambayo ni jirani au ubavuni na nyumba aliyokuwa anakaa DG wa UWT. Sasa ilikuwaje vyombo vyetu vya ulinzi na usalama vikashindwa kuona mbali? Na baada ya hapo RA akawa karibu saana na jamaa wa Mbozi. Mpo hapo? kazi kweli kweli jamaa tukubali tukatae ni kichwa kweli kweli maana sasa anaiyumbisha nchi.

 

[Jasusi]

Mkulu Field Marshall Es! na Jasusi,

Kuhusu RA, panapo waacha wengi hoi ni pale hasa RA alipoamua kununua nyumba ambayo ni jirani au ubavuni na nyumba aliyokuwa anakaa DG wa UWT. Sasa ilikuwaje vyombo vyetu vya ulinzi na usalama vikashindwa kuona mbali? Na baada ya hapo RA akawa karibu saana na jamaa wa Mbozi. Mpo hapo? kazi kweli kweli jamaa tukubali tukatae ni kichwa kweli kweli maana sasa anaiyumbisha nchi.

Yomba Yomba,
Za siku nyingi? Nasikia nyumba yake pia inapewa ulinzi na UWT.

 

[Yombayomba]

Jasusi,

Njema ndugu yangu, hilo sitashangaa sasa kama wewe ni jirani na DG unategemea nini? Mpaka sasa sielewi hivi mkapa alikuwa hakuyaona haya kweli? na ni kwa nini mpaka leo wameshindwa hata kutueleza shule aliyosoma.

 

[Jasusi]

Jasusi,

Njema ndugu yangu, hilo sitashangaa sasa kama wewe ni jirani na DG unategemea nini? Mpaka sasa sielewi hivi mkapa alikuwa hakuyaona haya kweli? na ni kwa nini mpaka leo wameshindwa hata kutueleza shule aliyosoma.

Yomba Yomba,
Mkapa aliyaona. Aliingizwa mkenge na Ferdinand. By the time anatambua alikuwa ameshatumbukia hawezi kurudi nyuma. It is very sad.

 

[William J. Malecela]

'Darwin's Nightmare': One fish sparks a chain of social ills.

By Kenneth Turan
Times Staff Writer
February 10, 2006

"Darwin's Nightmare" starts slowly, hypnotically, like a cobra with all the time in the world to strike. It immerses you in its reality one toe at a time, until suddenly you are in over your head, gasping for air as the horror of the situation reveals itself in all its savage devastation.

The most impressive of the five documentaries nominated for the Academy Award, "Darwin's Nightmare" details the specific kind of horror that seems to happen only in Africa, the perennial ground zero of the West's zeal for undeveloped natural resources. Written and directed by Hubert Sauper, the film offers an unblinking picture of societal collapse caused by the insidious effects of state-sanctioned predatory capitalism as it plays out in the African nation of Tanzania.

Filmmaker Sauper, who also did his own photography, takes the time to talk to what at first seems like a random collection of marginal people, showing us life as it's lived around Tanzania's Lake Victoria from a multitude of interwoven points of view.

Yet the first time we hear about this invasive presence we are told, by owners of factories on the lake's shore, how good the fish's presence is for the country's economy. Hundreds of millions of tons of the perch, reduced by those factories to plastic-wrapped filets, feed millions of diners in Europe and Japan and account for 25% of Tanzania's exports overseas.

The reality on the ground, however, tells a different story. The lake turns out to be ringed by settlements characterized by poverty and disease; everything that the fish touches impoverishes and destroys the culture that it lives off.

It's not just that salaries are negligible, which would be sad enough, but that a famine is ravaging Tanzania while all this fish is being exported. Nile perch is simply too expensive for the local people to afford; they have to make do, as vivid footage makes unforgettable, with picking among something like a million maggoty fish skeletons for whatever sustenance they can provide.

Everywhere "Darwin's Nightmare" turns, it sees aspects of societal disintegration, aspects that connect to each other in a chilling chain of causality.

Because the perch is so enormous, fishing on the lake is quite dangerous. This is especially true for divers employed to herd the fish into nets, who are at risk from crocodile attacks. When the men die from these and other causes, their wives often turn to prostitution, where they both contract and pass on AIDS, an even more major cause of local death. The insistence of pastors that condoms are forbidden for moral reasons simply makes the deaths more prevalent.

All this mortality means that local cities are overrun by brawling, begging gangs of orphaned street kids. These urchins are often incapacitated and made vulnerable to sexual assault because of their habit of inhaling glue fumes. Fumes, it turns out, that come from the melting down of discarded fish factory material.

Everywhere "Darwin's Nightmare" turns, this kind of fatal interconnection, these links in a process of exploitation and fatality, are observed. The Russian pilots who fly in enormous but empty Ilyushin planes help create a thriving market for local prostitution, one of the many occupations that spoil dreams, waste lives and lead to the high likelihood of early death. And exactly why those planes fly in empty, a revelation that the film leaves until the end, is yet another link in the chain.

The title of "Darwin's Nightmare," we finally come to understand, has more than one meaning. It refers not just to the destruction of the lake but to what happens when the notion of survival of the fittest is applied to human society. Unregulated capitalism's appeal to human greed, its willingness to put profit above everything else, may be strong enough to defeat all comers, but can be a poisonous system to live under and a difficult one to escape.

 

[William J. Malecela]

Tanzania: Expert Witness Pins Yona and Mramba

Rosina John
3 November 2009
The Citizen (Dar es Salaam)

A mineral expert yesterday told the court that the government ignored his recommendations regarding to the procedure of hiring Alex Stewart gold Assayers Company that resulted the nation to lose billions of money.

Mr Godwin Nyelo, a geologist and acting head of legal and fiscal affairs at the Mineral ministry yesterday told the Kisutu Resident Magistrate Court in Dar es Salaam when he was testifying in Sh 11.7 billion loss facing two former cabinet ministers Basil Mramba and Daniel Yona.

Mr Nyelo who is the first prosecution witness to testify in the case told a panel of three men hears the case led by resident magistrate John Utamwa that as legal and fiscal affairs of the mineral ministry he was among of the four member team that was involved in procedures of finding a company to audit gold production in the country where by the Alex Stewart win the tender.

The witness told the court that there were weakness and as a member of a committee preparing a hiring recommendation advised then mineral minister by then was Mr Daniel Yona not to hire the company.

Mr Nelo told the court that because the company showed of not be transparent in their statements, he recommended the company not to be given the work instead the government to look another possibility of calling a new tender and changing request for proposal.

Meanwhile, he told the court that the discussion with other stake holders showed that there was no hurry of entering with contract by Alex Stewart before looking with procedures done by other countries.

But, the witness told the court that, Mr Yona refused the advice and prepared a draft agreement between the company and the Bank of Tanzania (BoT). Mr Nelo told that after the signing the contract that was of two years he was assigned to coordinate works done by the company to see if it work as required by the government.

He told the court that in their evaluation they saw that a lot of thing especially in monitoring regulation of mining where there was not any improvement in gold production the country where the situation remained the same as it was before the company starting operates. The witness told the court that before starting its work Alex Stewart assured them that there will be improvement of 50 percent in gold production in the country.

 

[William J. Malecela]

Tanzania: Power Crisis - Tough Times Ahead

By Vicent Mnyanyika and Paul Dotto
13 October 2009
The Citizen (Dar es Salaam)

Electricity consumers appear headed for tough times ahead, with Tanzania Electric Supply Company (Tanesco) indicating that only torrential rains could save the country from a prolonged power crisis. Grappling with rising electricity shortage, Tanesco now subjects consumers to14-hour power cuts throughout the country, and details tabled before the Parliamentary Committee on Energy and Minerals yesterday painted an even gloomier picture.

Tanesco managing director Idris Rashidi presented members of the committee with a power generation status report that, among other things, indicated that long rains, which are not guaranteed, were the only sure way of easing the power rationing.

Tanesco hopes that heavy rains will start falling soon and fill the dams at Kihansi and Hale hydroelectric plants, which have capacities of 60MW and 8MW, respectively, and raise the outputs of other hydro stations to fix the situation in the interim. The situation has not been helped by reports that investors are apparently shying away from taking up an opportunity to invest in a $70 million (Sh98 billion) emergency power-generating contract. Energy and Minerals minister William Ngeleja has been quoted as saying the planned project had not attracted any bids.

The committee's briefing meeting was held in Dar es Salaam and attended by top Tanesco officials led by board chairman Semindu Pawa and Energy and Minerals ministry officials led by deputy minister Adam Malima.

The meeting was held against a backdrop of a growing power supply crisis, with industry watchers fearing a scenario worse that what was experienced in early 2006 when the country went without electricity for up to 24 hours in some places.

Dr Rashidi later rejected questions from reporters who wanted to establish if Tanesco had a hand in the situation. He was also angered when reminded of his remarks early in the year, when he warned that failure to buy the controversial 100MW Dowans power plant would lead to a power supply deficit around this time. But Mr Malima denied the ongoing countrywide power rationing was as a result of sabotage.

The deputy minister said the capacity to generate electricity had been greatly reduced. Mr Malima was forced to intervene and answer questions from reporters after Dr Rashidi failed to explain his prediction that the country would be plunged into darkness if the Government did not buy the Dowans plant.

Mr Malima said: "There is no sabotage in the ongoing power rationing, what Dr Rashidi said was forecasting this period as an expert."

He, however, warned that the country would remain in limbo should the Government and Tanesco fail to act fast.

 

[echonza]

Hii hoja mbele yetu ni nzito na muhimu kwa ustawi wa taifa letu (Tanzania) maana tunaongelea kiongozi mkuu wa nchi. Kwa kweli, nasikitika na nashindwa nianzie wapi aghalabu kuchangia yaliyo muhimu kwetu wana JF kumwandalia mheshimiwa kabla hajajibu hoja za wazee walizozitoa majuma machache yaliyopiata.

Kwanza kabisa mheshimiwa kusema na kweli ni MUONGO. Nasema muongo kwa sababu kuna masuala aliyotuambia wananchi lakini hajayafanya nayo ni kama ifuatavyo:
1. Kulipotokea giza mwaka 2006, alitangaza kwamba kamwe tatizo hilo halitajirudia tena ndani ya uongozi wake, akaenda mbali zaidi hadi kwa wakubwa wake U.S.A. yaani Marekani. Nako akawaalika kwamba waje wawekeze Tanzania maana japokuwa tulikuwa na tatizo la umeme hakika limetatuliwa na halitakuwepo tena. Mwaka huu tumeshuhudia jinsi nchi ilivyoingia gizani tena hata zaidi ya livyokuwa mwaka 2006.
2. Aliahidi maisha Bora kwa Kila Mtanzania: Kimsingi, anayejua maana halisi itokanayo na usemi huo atakubaliana na mimi kwamba hakika huo ulikuwa uongo mchana kweupe kabisa. Ulishaona wapi nchi ikabadilika katika kasi ya ukuaji wa uchumi wake ndani ya miaka mitano tu? na hatimaye maendele ya kiuchumi tuyaone kwa wananchi? Hii ndiyo tafsiri halisi ya Maisha bora kwa kila mtanzania. Matunda ya kukua kwa uchumi yameenea kwa wananchi ndipo hapo mtu anaweza kuona maisha bora kwa wananchi lakini hapa Tanzania wapi bwana. Wakati mheshimiwa anaingia madarakani, mfumko wa bei ulikuwa chini ya asilimia tano (5%), leo hii naongea mfumko umeenda juu hadi 18%. Sasa maisha bora kwa kila mtanzania yatatoka wapi? Maana mtanzania wa chini kiuchumi tatizo kubwa alilo nalo ni umasikini wa kipato, sasa ataweza vipi kuwa na uchaguzi wa kununua mahitaji yake, katika mazingira haya magumu ya bei za bidhaa kupanda zaidi ya mara dufu? Kipindi mfumko ulipokuwa chini ya tano bado mwananchi alikuwa na matatizo, je 18% ya mfumko wa bei iliyofikiwa sasa hivi ni kumpa mtanzania maisha bora. Jina ni hapana.
3. Kipengele kingine kinachoonyesha uongo wa mheshimiwa ni kuhusiana na kusingizia hali mbaya ya uchumi wetu kuwa umetokana na tatito la kifedha la dunia (world financial crisis). Tangu lini uchumi wetu kwa kiwango kikubwa anachomaanisha mheshimiwa unategemea masoko ya fedha ya dunia? Je, Serikali yetu au makampuni gani ya Tanzania yako na mitaji kwenye masoko ya fedha ya dunia? Tutajiwe kama yapo. Uchumi wetu kwa kiwango kikubwa unategemea nguvu yetu wenyewe na fedha za walipa kodi na hao wanaochangia kwenye bajeti yetu. Kimsingi hakuna mhisani wa maendelea anayeshirikiana na Tanzania aliacha kuweka mchango wake kwenye bajeti yetu kwa sababu tatizo la kifedha duniani. Wote wako tayari kuchangia. Sasa mweshimiwa wetu anatumia mwanya wa watanzania walio wengi kutokuwa na uelewa halisi wa maana ya tatizo hili la fedha duniani kwamba lina uhusiano gani na uchumi wetu.

MIRADI ILIYOTEKELEZWA NDANI YA UONGOZI WAKE:
1. Richmond;
2. TRL;
3. Mradi wa mgodi wa Buzwagi;
4. Upanuzi wa barabara ya kupitia kwao na mheshimiwa hadi Tanga;

Kwa kutaja machache hayo hapo juu nafikiri inatosha kwa leo. Naomba wadau wa JF waongezee mengine.

 

[jmushi1]

EL alijiuzulu uwaziri mkuu kwasababu ya RICHMOND...EL ameweka wazi kuwa alijiuzulu kumlinda JK na kwamba RICMHOND ni JK...

Kwasababu alishawahi kukanusha huko nyuma na kusema hamjui RICHMOND,ni wazi alituongopea, hoja kuu hapa ni kama JK anayo "Legitimacy ya kuliongoza taifa given mazingira yalivyo.

Kwasababu EL alijiuzulu kwa kosa ambalo si lakwake(kudhaniwa kuwa ni RICHMOND),je mwenye RICHMOND mwenyewe ni vipi?

Wale wenye uelewa na idea ya constitutionalism and its applications, pia ningependa kusikia mawili matatu kutoka kwenu kuhusiana na hili.

Je ajiuzulu ama asubiri 2015?

Sisemi kwamba kujiuzulu kwa JK basi ndo ticket kwa Lowassa kuwa msafi,hiyo si pointi yangu. Ila kama waziri mkuu alijiuzulu tukidhania yeye ndo RICHOMD,na sasa kumbe RICHMOND ni ya mwenyekiti wa CCM ambaye pia ni rais.

Binafsi ninaamini kabisa kama asipojibu mapigo hii ya EL, basi "Legitimacy" yake ya kutuongoza watanzania ni very questionable, kwanza hata kuapa kwenye katiba na sasa unawageuka wananchi mchana kweupe?

Umeshindwa kusimamia katiba na kulilinda Taifa, umechagua kuact kama adui wa Taifa?

Bila kutafuna maneno hapa Mh Rais tuna haki ya kusema jiuzulu!

The former Prime Minister, Edward Lowassa, resigned after the parliamentary Committee findings had shown that the premier was involved in the irregular bidding process that awarded the contract to the Texas based Richmond Development Company.

According to the findings, the contract costed Tanzania's taxpayers $140,000 a day in terms of payments remitted to RDC, a company that had no valid registration in the US or Tanzania at the signing of the contract in 2006 and had neither expertise nor experience to execute the power generation project

Legitimacy
The principle that indicates the acceptance of the decisions of government leaders and officials by (most of) the public on the grounds that these leaders' acquisition and exercise of power has been in accordance with the society's generally accepted procedures and political or moral values. Legitimacy May be conferred upon power holders in a variety of ways in different societies, usually involving solemn formal rituals of a religious or quasi-religious nature -- royal birth and coronation in monarchies, popular election and "swearing in" in democracies and so on. "Legitimate" rulers typically require less use of physical coercion to enforce their decisions than rulers lacking in legitimacy, because most of the people are apt to feel a moral obligation to obey the former but not the latter. Source:Legitimacy: A Glossary of Political Economy Terms - Dr. Paul M. Johnson