KILIMANI HEWA
Member
- Sep 18, 2015
- 32
- 16
It is UN week in New York and all eyes are seemingly focused onRussia, Syria and ISIS. I will leave it to better-informed pundits to decide ifPresident Putin outplayed President Obama. However, I can tell you that in thisdangerous environment the US and the West need to line up as many allies asthey can. Nowhere is that more apparent than in Africa, a continent plaguedwith poverty, corruption and radical Islamists yet blessed with resources, adetermined populace and some of the fastest growing economies on earth.
Unfortunately, in Africa it is a rare instance to see smooth,democratic transitions of administrations, so when they happen it should be bignews. Perhaps world events have forced attention away from one place the worldneeds to focus on right now, Tanzania. I'm here to ask you to pay closeattention as a lot is at stake.
Tanzania will have a presidential election on October 25.Ordinarily, this might not be front-page news in the West but this election isdifferent; it is actually being well contested, the incumbent party - inpower since independence from Great Britain might actually lose and thegeopolitical stakes are at the highest point ever.
Current president J.K. Kikwete attempted to hand pick hissuccessor, this is no surprise as corruption and mishandling of off shore gastenders has cast a suspicious shadow over his two terms in office. His partyCCM had an insurgency that attempted to take over the party and clean house.While the rebellion had many factions, the largest belonged to former PrimeMinister Edward Lowassa.
When it became apparent that Lowassa would get the party'snomination, Kikwete used all of his political muscle to get Lowassa off theintra-party ballot. As a result, rather than secure the nomination for his ownchoice the party selected Minister of Public Works Dr. John Pombe Magafuli. Thebest way to describe this is to imagine President Obama putting all of hismuscle behind Bernie Sanders in order to stop Hillary from getting thenomination but in the end the party chooses Martin O'Malley. Who is MartinO'Malley you ask? Exactly! Well, just so you know, O'Malley is a competent,former governor of Maryland with a mixed record, currently polling at 1% namerecognition that is running as a Democrat for president.
Now, imagine the above scenario, but instead of taking it on thechin, Hillary bolts and runs as the Republican nominee, vowing to breakgridlock in Washington and uniting the country. Suddenly an election that alldata showed was going to be a Democratic landslide proves to be too close tocall. In Tanzania, Lowassa joined a confederation of opposition parties headingthe ticket and has sparked what experts believe will be the closest electionever on the African continent. That is not only headline worthy, it's a politicaltsunami.
Who is Edward Lowassa? For starters he is a reformer who cannotbe bought. He is a patriot who seeks to negotiate better and fairer terms forhis country from foreign investors. He is a successful businessman who looks tothe West (not just China) to assist one of the fastest growing economies in theworld build its infrastructure. He is a free market democrat, an eloquentspokesman for his people and a charismatic and popular leader who is attractingrecord crowds while he travels the country and stumps for office.
Most importantly to us in the West, he is someone who can berelied on to be a bulwark against the spread of ISIS, Boko Haram and Al Quaida.He is a unifier and a known quantity. He is experienced, well known andpopular. He has a proven record of governance and maverick ideology.
Lowassa is so popular and is making such inroads that theincumbent party has taken to payoffs, corruption, collusion and dirty tricks totry and stem the Lowassa tidal wave from landing. Lowassa's strategy to fightback is to win by the biggest margin possible so his opponents cannot steal theelection from him.
I have spent enough time in Tanzania to know no matter theoutcome of the election the country's strong willed, peaceful people will benot allow their homeland to sink into chaos but I do know they will be betterserved with a new face and that new face is the very familiar Edward Lowassa.
Source: http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/who-is-edward-lowassa/
Unfortunately, in Africa it is a rare instance to see smooth,democratic transitions of administrations, so when they happen it should be bignews. Perhaps world events have forced attention away from one place the worldneeds to focus on right now, Tanzania. I'm here to ask you to pay closeattention as a lot is at stake.
Tanzania will have a presidential election on October 25.Ordinarily, this might not be front-page news in the West but this election isdifferent; it is actually being well contested, the incumbent party - inpower since independence from Great Britain might actually lose and thegeopolitical stakes are at the highest point ever.
Current president J.K. Kikwete attempted to hand pick hissuccessor, this is no surprise as corruption and mishandling of off shore gastenders has cast a suspicious shadow over his two terms in office. His partyCCM had an insurgency that attempted to take over the party and clean house.While the rebellion had many factions, the largest belonged to former PrimeMinister Edward Lowassa.
When it became apparent that Lowassa would get the party'snomination, Kikwete used all of his political muscle to get Lowassa off theintra-party ballot. As a result, rather than secure the nomination for his ownchoice the party selected Minister of Public Works Dr. John Pombe Magafuli. Thebest way to describe this is to imagine President Obama putting all of hismuscle behind Bernie Sanders in order to stop Hillary from getting thenomination but in the end the party chooses Martin O'Malley. Who is MartinO'Malley you ask? Exactly! Well, just so you know, O'Malley is a competent,former governor of Maryland with a mixed record, currently polling at 1% namerecognition that is running as a Democrat for president.
Now, imagine the above scenario, but instead of taking it on thechin, Hillary bolts and runs as the Republican nominee, vowing to breakgridlock in Washington and uniting the country. Suddenly an election that alldata showed was going to be a Democratic landslide proves to be too close tocall. In Tanzania, Lowassa joined a confederation of opposition parties headingthe ticket and has sparked what experts believe will be the closest electionever on the African continent. That is not only headline worthy, it's a politicaltsunami.
Who is Edward Lowassa? For starters he is a reformer who cannotbe bought. He is a patriot who seeks to negotiate better and fairer terms forhis country from foreign investors. He is a successful businessman who looks tothe West (not just China) to assist one of the fastest growing economies in theworld build its infrastructure. He is a free market democrat, an eloquentspokesman for his people and a charismatic and popular leader who is attractingrecord crowds while he travels the country and stumps for office.
Most importantly to us in the West, he is someone who can berelied on to be a bulwark against the spread of ISIS, Boko Haram and Al Quaida.He is a unifier and a known quantity. He is experienced, well known andpopular. He has a proven record of governance and maverick ideology.
Lowassa is so popular and is making such inroads that theincumbent party has taken to payoffs, corruption, collusion and dirty tricks totry and stem the Lowassa tidal wave from landing. Lowassa's strategy to fightback is to win by the biggest margin possible so his opponents cannot steal theelection from him.
I have spent enough time in Tanzania to know no matter theoutcome of the election the country's strong willed, peaceful people will benot allow their homeland to sink into chaos but I do know they will be betterserved with a new face and that new face is the very familiar Edward Lowassa.
Source: http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/who-is-edward-lowassa/
