Our eternal ambassadors

[BAK]

EYE SPY: Our eternal ambassadors

Adam Lusekelo
THIS DAY

I THINK I know what happened, at one time everyone used to want to be a diplomat. When I was at the 'Chuo Kikuu' the entire university wanted to join the ministry of foreign affairs.

You asked a chick or a guy and they would say that after 'shule' they wanted to join 'folen' - meaning that they wanted to join the ministry of foreign affairs, which was cool, since there was no toilet paper then. No soap and tooth paste. And people stank.

But not any more now. You get all the consumer junk in any semi-decent super market now. There is no need for guys to own our foreign missions. It is almost scandalous now. Our diplomatists have made foreign missions their homes.

How do you stay at a place for 16 years? 'Eti ambassadors'? It is next to impossible. But it happens in Bongo.

Okay. I know diplomatic missions have been used as a way to dump embarrassing relatives, friends and chicks; but it should be for four years only. Why should they be there for decades?

Because once there, the 'diplomats' also start building empires. The husband will employ his wife. Then he will also employ his children and 'shemejis'. I have seen it happen.

It becomes so nauseating that you tend to avoid Tanzanian embassies once you get there. First, most embassy employees think you want to ask for money. Outrageous! Then the relatives of the 'ambassador' look at you with an uncalled for hauteur. You decide that this is bullshit and leave.

As I said embassies are places for friends, embarrassing buddies, girlfriends and other unqualified guys.

I think we should be told if the guys are the permanent rulers of these areas. I think that the government is ruled by a king anyway. Too much power on the presidency and we will have to deliberate about it.

So who are the guys who are said to be our 'ambassadors'? Are they sub-chiefs? If so, then so be it!

mbwene2@yahoo.com

 

[Pundit]

Did Lusekelo actually write this?

Tembo ukilisifia sana, mgema hutia maji!

I had to google the article's title.I always held Lusekelo in high regard, I believe I built my vocabulary by reading his articles while in Primary school.I am not sure if the frustration of the current state of affairs is blunting his usually sharp delivery and sense of professionalism or is it just that "This Day" is delving further into yellow journalism and non-objective namecalling.

I refuse to always side with anti-establishment views, just for the sake of doing that.I will enumerate a number of reasons why the article is a great shame to journalism in Tanzania.If Lusekelo can write such a sorry piece, the new breed of journalists have a tough act to deliver, given the role models.

Maybe I am not versed with the type of columnist he is supposed to be at This Day (as in maybe he is supposed to be doing more clowning than serious journalism) But I thought This Day was an investigative journalism paper, how does one joke with people's careers?As a seasoned columnist, what infuriated me the most was not the fact that what he said is incorrect, but the nonchalantly light commentary fashion of his delivery.He squanders a good subject matter by not giving specifics (is he afraid of treading on people's toes? then why raise the subject at all?).OK, ambassadors stay at these stations longer than necessary, to build your case, what are the examples? Can he give a delivery that is nurtured in rich foreign policy anecdotes to deserve a serious consideration? What does he say about his professionalism when he uses such a colloquial delivery, complete with supposedly unprintable diction (I am surpised the word bullshit is printable) or is that only on the online column? speaking of that, is the piece some kind of an online only column?

The article is plagued by gross overgeneralization as if the entire foreign corps is worthless.Mr. Lusekelo, however seasoned and influential , should not attempt to insult the intelligence of his readers and condescendingly misshape opinions by blanketing an entire section of the Tanzanian foreign service as worthless due to a few personal experiences which to make his case even worse, he does not even care to narrate in detail.

I tend to be dissapointed by some of our embassies' staff, the passport changing experience was a determent to seek further involvement in even the yearly general assembly meetings, but if I was to write an article I would not write such a plainly bitter and exceedingly uninspired cacophony that comes across as if the seasoned Mr. Lusekelo, after a couple of "Moja baridi, moja moto" and a deadline to meet, decided to trust his "autopilot" journalism, with no regard to journalistic integrity, research and sources.

To see such an article in the Tanzanian media would have been unpalatable.To see it from "This Day" and Adam Lusekelo is especially disappointing.

 

[Mzee Mwanakijiji]

this lusekelo guy need to watch his language. next time he gonna write fu.k "somebody" and people will think its just a word. There are words that even in English we don't use in our media because they are "curse words". May be I'm an old fashioned guy.. I didn't like him using "bullshit" in a Daily Newspaper read by our teens.

 

[Game Theory]

Just like Muhidini Issa Michuzi, Lusekelo is another mediocre journalist from "DAILY NEWS" . His opinions are crap, absive rude, nasty sick and twisted of the first order.

But then again this idiot is just exercising his freedom of speech

 

[Masanja]

But then again this idiot is just exercising his freedom of speech

Haya bwana! wengine wakitoa mawazo wewe unawaona ni idiots! This was very mean of you GT!

 

[Dua]

this lusekelo guy need to watch his language. next time he gonna write fu.k "somebody" and people will think its just a word. There are words that even in English we don't use in our media because they are "curse words". May be I'm an old fashioned guy.. I didn't like him using "bullshit" in a Daily Newspaper read by our teens.

Just like Muhidini Issa Michuzi, Lusekelo is another mediocre journalist from "DAILY NEWS" . His opinions are crap, absive rude, nasty sick and twisted of the first order.

But then again this idiot is just exercising his freedom of speech

Adam is doing very fine taking the beast by its horns. GT and Mzee Mwanakijiji you do not know what Adam knows. BRAVO Adam keep it up.

GT you better leave Adam alone, you will burn your fingers.

 

[Bongolander]

Man, this is a piece of crap. How many missions do we have around the world, ina maana hao jamaa wa "chuo Kikuu" wote wanaweza kuwa mabalozi? au kazi huko foreign ni kuwa balozi tu? What the Heck is this Adam thinking, labda alikuwa amechoka hakuna na story ya kuandika, alngekaa kidogo na kuzungusha ubongo wake angeandika makala nzuri sana. This is why Mkapa aliwadharau waandishi wa Tanzania!

 

[Pundit]

Adam is doing very fine taking the beast by its horns. GT and Mzee Mwanakijiji you do not know what Adam knows. BRAVO Adam keep it up.

GT you better leave Adam alone, you will burn your fingers.

Dua,

Taking the beast by its horn with a totally toothless tired article?

As stated above, my beef is not with the subject matter but the way he squanders the subject by a cooloquially nonchalant delivery coupled with data free overgeneralizations.It is worse than hadithi za babu, clearly you cannot excuse that too.

Tunaposema kumkoma Nyani giladi inabidi kumkoma kuwe kumkoma kweli na sio a self defeating weak attempt which put anybody who is anti-establishment to shame.

 

[Choveki]

Man, this is a piece of crap. How many missions do we have around the world, ina maana hao jamaa wa "chuo Kikuu" wote wanaweza kuwa mabalozi? .....!

Adam anasema kweli wasomi wengi miaka hiyo ndoto zao zilikuwa kufanya kazi "folein", kwani ndo wengi wakiita hivyo. Pamoja na kuwa aloandika wengi wanakataa au katumia lugha ambayo wengine hatuipendi mimi binafsi nadhani mengi aloandika yana ukweli ndani, inabidi tu kutafakari na kuchunguza kwa makini ndo utaelewa anachozungumzia!

 

[Kitia]

I think Adam has touched a raw nerve here. Guys, I evidence so much rage here!!

 

[Kithuku]

There is more than a tone of frustration in what Adam has written in the article. Some people in those embassies must have really disappointed him to the extent that he had no choice but to unleash this barrage of curses! Was he also one of the ambassador hopefuls?

 

[Game Theory]

MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS is a taboo topic and one of those UNTOUCHABLE ministries...for obvious reasons. Then again commend this idiot for trying even though i just didn't feel the manner he delivered it and thats where the problem is with his rather dull and narrow minded essay.

A journalist with his calibre was expected to come up with some proper research on the subject matter lakini wapi!

Again he is still entitled to have an opinion and i will defend him to put it across

 

[Game Theory]

Is the ministry of foreign affairs fit for anything at all?


Decades of ineptitude, incompetence, and weak ministers have resulted in a ministry "totally unfit for purpose" - and totally unwilling to do anything about it!

When BERNARD MEMBE took over from his boss JK he promised a fresh start but what we have witnessed is a shambolic ministry which other blunders has granted visa entry to convicted IRA Terrorist and countless known peadophiles through its embassy in London.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is not just in total meltdown - it has given up even attempting to do the job it should be doing - PROTECTING THE PUBLIC! With a posibility of civil war in Kenya our ministry had totally ambandoned our compatriots who are stuck in Kenya and we dont even know how they issue travel advice since its been two years MEMBE'S boys have been designing Ministry's website! Every day that he has been in the job brings fresh news of his ministry's dysfunctionality. Now foreign has more leaks than a French cheese and it is not clear whether the stories are being leaked by civil servants disgruntled by MrMembe's talk big do nothing approach, or are just the tip of an iceberg of his ministry's incompetence. Behind the bravado of Mr MEMBE, the reality is that the MOFA has failed to protect Tanzanians abroad.

MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS (mofa) suffers from:

• 
  
  
  -Leadership, management and information systems were all "inadequate"
  
  
  
  -Out of touch ministry (The ministry has no WEBSITE)
  
  
  
  -Full of sexist senior dept heads
  
  
  
  -"WATOTO WA WAKUBWA" syndrome
  
  
  -Demoralized staff (Chances of promotion are slim)
  
  
  
  -Full of an army of civil servants with no purpose
  
  
  -Dubious auditing reports from its embassies abroad
  
  
  
  Can the MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS be made fit for purpose? Mr Membe needs to succeed for the country's sake. His record, even after three weeks, suggests that it will be an uphill struggle all the way. But this is a ministry that looks difficult to salvage in its present form. Like Julius Caesar, Membe now finds himself surrounded by a bloodthirsty mob. As he sways under their blows, "schadenfreude" is too sombre a term to describe the glee that is gripping his kivukoni front offices, media and of course unguided bloggers in the cyberworld.

 

[Bwana Mdogo]

Do we have a Foreign Ministry or a bunch of holiday makers?

 

[Rwabugiri]

Binafsi siyo mwandishi, kwahiyo siwezi elewa ethics na mambo kama hayo, lakini hapa tuangalie facts alizo sema je ni kweli??

mfano kwamba wanakaa over 16 yrs? ni kweli??
-wana ajili ndugu zao?
-Wafanyakazi hujifanya miungu watu na kuona kila aendaye pale kafata misaada
na mengine aliyo orodhesha..


Hebu tuangalie hoja yake ya msingi, ni kweli haya yapo? kama yapo ni sahihi? make tusikimbilie kwa vile uandishi wake si mzuri basi tukaacha angalia hoja yake ya msingi!

Hapa tumelalama sana na kumlaani Mama Mongela kwa kutuangusha kuajiri ndugu zake vipi hawa nao??

 

[Kafara]

Binafsi siyo mwandishi, kwahiyo siwezi elewa ethics na mambo kama hayo, lakini hapa tuangalie facts alizo sema je ni kweli??

mfano kwamba wanakaa over 16 yrs? ni kweli??
-wana ajili ndugu zao?
-Wafanyakazi hujifanya miungu watu na kuona kila aendaye pale kafata misaada
na mengine aliyo orodhesha..


Hebu tuangalie hoja yake ya msingi, ni kweli haya yapo? kama yapo ni sahihi? make tusikimbilie kwa vile uandishi wake si mzuri basi tukaacha angalia hoja yake ya msingi!

Hapa tumelalama sana na kumlaani Mama Mongela kwa kutuangusha kuajiri ndugu zake vipi hawa nao??

- balozi huteuliwa na rais na wala si lazima atoke wizara ya nje
- kweli awali walikuwepo mabalozi waliokaa nje kwa muda mrefu (waliahamishwa toka kituo kimoja kwenda kingine. sina hakika kama hali hiyo inaendelea sasa (yaani yupo balozi aliyekaa miaka 16 nje)
- kweli hata maafisa wapo ambao waliwahi kaa nje muda mrefu. hii ilisababisha kukata tamaa kwa maafisa waliobaki makao makuu. nadhani hali sasa ina nafuu. kukaa muda mrefu kwa maafisa hili ni tatizo la wizara
- ni kweli kuna kipindi ambacho kufanya kazi mambo ya nje ilikuwa dili na wahitimu wengi (wa wakati huo) wa chuo kikuu (mchepuo wa mahusiano ya kimataifa) waliwania kufanya mambo ya nje. ukiniuliza wangapi walifanikiwa sifahamu
- kujidai kwa wafanyakazi hii inategemea hulka ya mtu. kama ambavyo baadhi ya jamaa wengine sehemu nyingine za serikali wanavyojisikia wakiwa kwenye ofisi zao, vivyohivyo wapo baadhi ya jamaa wa ubalozini wanadengua ile mbaya. mbaya zaidi unapokutana na jamaa kama hao inakuwa nje ya nchi na nadhani uchungu unakuwa mkubwa sana. lakini pia wapo jamaa wa ubalozini ambao ni waungwana sana tu. ukikutana nao unajua umefika nyumbani.
- nadhani tuna balozi kama 30 hivi. sasa sijui ni ngapi mabalozi wameajiri ndugu au jamaa zao bila (kama wamewaajiri kama "local staff" huu ni udhaifu wa balozi na kama wameajiriwa kama "home based staff" ni udhaifu wa wizara).

nadhani lawama na kashfa za jumla jumla haziwatendei haki wafanyakazi wa wizara hiyo ambao wanafanya kazi kwa uadilifu wa hali ya juu.

wizara ya mambo ya ndani ndio wanawajibu wa kutoa orodha ya watu wasiotakiwa nchini na kuisambaza balozi zote. sasa kabla ya kulaumu balozi ni vizuri kufanya utafiti kama orodha kama hiyo ipo na kama inakuwa up-dated mara kwa mara.

 

[Rwabugiri]

Kafara,
Asante sana kwa maelezo, lakini ndugu ukiona pana fuka moshi..
nadhani hiyo wizara husika inapaswa kuyafanyia kazi malalamiko hayo, kwani pia sidhani kama huyu mwandishi ameamka tu from no where akaandika kitu cha namna hii..

Badala ya kubeza na kupuuza malalamiko yake ni vyema wahusika wakayafanyia kazi! Japo kweli nakubaliana na wewe kwamba si balozi zote ziko hivo, lakini pengine lazima kuna shida sehemu.

 

[Kafara]

ndio maana sijamlani wala kumsifu mwandishi wa makala.
nyodo ya baadhi ya maafisa wa ubalozi kweli ipo hata
mimi ishawahi nikuta. lakini kwa upande mwingine nimekumbana
na maafisa wa ubalozi ambao ni watendaji haswa na wana
ubinadamu.

 

[Mwakilishi]

You asked a chick or a guy and they would say that after ’shule’ they wanted to join ’folen’ - meaning that they wanted to join the ministry of foreign affairs, which was cool, since there was no toilet paper then. No soap and tooth paste. And people stank.

Not humor, not satire, hii kejeli na kashfa sasa!

How do you stay at a place for 16 years? ’Eti ambassadors’? It is next to impossible. But it happens in Bongo.

If this was backed with some specifics it would have made his case somewhat plausible, I mean if he's too chicken to name names then even naming the country to which the "eternal" ambassador is posted would have sufficed. Or perhaps that's for him to know and for the readers to find out?

Okay. I know diplomatic missions have been used as a way to dump embarrassing relatives, friends and chicks; but it should be for four years only. Why should they be there for decades?

I didn't know that our diplomatic missions are places where embarrasing relatives, friends and chicks of whoever(he didn't care to mention a name or a title here) are dumped! All along I thought duly qualified individuals were posted to our missions abroads, now I know better! His only worry seems to be the amount of time they spend at these "dumping" sites.

This article is loaded with unnecessary overgeneralizations which water it's supposed essence to low-level udaku, very un-Lusekelo like indeed! But like someone's else said he's entitled to his own opinion and I add, however low it may be!

 

[Rwabugiri]

Not humor, not satire, hii kejeli na kashfa sasa!



If this was backed with some specifics it would have made his case somewhat plausible, I mean if he's too chicken to name names then even naming the country to which the "eternal" ambassador is posted would have sufficed. Or perhaps that's for him to know and for the readers to find out?



I didn't know that our diplomatic missions are places where embarrasing relatives, friends and chicks of whoever(he didn't care to mention a name or a title here) are dumped! All along I thought duly qualified individuals were posted to our missions abroads, now I know better! His only worry seems to be the amount of time they spend at these "dumping" sites.

This article is loaded with unnecessary overgeneralizations which water it's supposed essence to low-level udaku, very un-Lusekelo like indeed! But like someone's else said he's entitled to his own opinion and I add, however low it may be!

Atleast for dumping I know one,

Yule alikuwa waziri wa mambo ya ndani aliye shabikia kwamba magereza walifanya vyema kupiga waandishi wa habari kule ukonga (if am not mistaken) Badala ya kuwajibishwa si alikimbizwa kuwa balozi somewhere?? to me that was a kind of dumping anyway!