National ID cards project: Humility might help you Masha!
WE all know politicians are humans and all humans are bound to make mistakes -- it is in our nature as mere mortals. The opposite side to this view is that we humans also have the capacity to forgive fellow humans if a genuine apology is made.
We make this statement in connection with current allegations made against Home Affairs Minister, Lawrence Masha.
If those making accusations against the minister have substance in what they say -- that the minister met executives of the Swiss company, Sagem Securite, in a hotel in that country -- then Masha needs to consider humility as a possible escape route.
We do not have concrete evidence to pin down the minister in this comment but have reasonable trust in those making these accusations. It is from this standpoint that we urge Masha to consider meekness in handling this affair.
There is a common ground where lawyers and journalists meet, and that is the respect for truth and honesty. We know Masha to be a learned brother in Law, and wish to remind him to safeguard any remaining integrity he may have by distancing himself from shame if he knows he met this company in a hotel.
The respect for truth and honesty forces a gentleman to admit mistakes. While this humbling admission may look on the surface to be a weakness, the wise know that admission to do wrong builds a person to very, very high heights in the world of morality.
The opposition political party Chama Cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (CHADEMA) has accused Masha of interfering in the tender process for provision of Tanzania national ID cards. The party claims to have ''enough credible evidence about him having indeed interfered with (the) tendering process.'' They want him to resign forthwith, or else the political party will take up the matter with the citizens of this country.
Records in Parliament, where this issue erupted, in a recent session, show that most allegations made by this party are usually substantial. Minister Masha knows the truth in as far as this issue is concerned.
If there is any grain of truth at all in these allegations, covering up won't help. A possible escape route for the sake of protecting his own integrity, that of the Government and the respectability of the Ministry of Home Affairs, is to tell the truth.
Minister, there is not much you can lose by admitting to error and even to step down. Humility is a virtue minister Masha!
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