DO WE REALLY NEED SLOGANS IN TANZANIA TO ACHIEVE ECONOMIC GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT??

How would you feel when you live in a mud walled and coconut branch roofed house with your family and relatives and your next door neighbor lives in a bungalow with his family and you only see them may be once in a month because most of the time they are in their other two storey houses in another city??  After reading this article, I hope you will agree with me now that we don’t really need any more slogans to achieve green revolutions.

Reflecting on President Kikwete’s promise "maisha bora kwa kila Mtanzania" in other words a better life for every Tanzanian also presented to the voters as the icon of “ari mpya, nguvu mpya na kasi mpya” meaning a new drive, new strength and new speed in 2005. Similarly, in 2010 it was “nguvu zaidi, ari zaidi and Kasi zaidi”.  it’s now five years down the road, questions abound whether majority Tanzanians are living better lives than they used to? Is, the new drive, strength and speed being felt in East Africa's largest country?

Same to Uganda, in 2006 president Museven in his campaign came up with a slogan “Bonna Bagagawale” meaning Prosperity for All. Unfortunately the campaign was perceived by many Ugandans to mean that everyone would become rich courtesy of hand outs from government. Till now, Museveni's regime has not addressed poverty and has not delivered on the Prosperity for All. His promise was a lie and if you think am lying visit the BBC Swahili Facebook page you will find the real images of different locations to illustrate what am saying.

In neighboring Kenya, the year was 2007 when the whole country was to choose on which slogan to invest their hopes. Mzee Mwai Kibaki stood for “kazi iendelee”, meaning continuity of work. His closest rival Raila Odinga chose to portray himself as the people's president while Kalonzo Musyoka went for the People's Servant as his motto. Fortunately all the three main players in the 2007 elections are all in government with ideally enough mandates to help them achieve what they had promised. To be honest, despite the many challenges of the coalition government. At least Kenya can boast of having a new constitution that clearly gives Kenya a new begging. Though the constitution could have its own loopholes and anomalies, but what stands out clearly is that it's better than Moi’s constitution.

The reality is that politics is a game where it is easier said than done. Leaders come up with very good ideas that easily build a bridge where there are no rivers and valleys …only for the good ideas to vanish after elections. Poor infrastructure, corruption, unemployment to mention but few, CCM under Kikwete has either not done or done little & still not doing anything for Tanzanians.

Although my arguments are more on CCM than other parties but let me assure you that am neither politician, member of any political party nor in favor of any political party, what am saying here is what we all see on the ground. The problems we are having in Tanzania are mainly due to poor management and the party held responsible is CCM because it’s a ruling party right now, there I’ll not be fair if I start talking about CUF or CHADEMA. If it’s to talk about them it will be another topic not this. Again we cannot blame CCM as a party itself because it has no problem & CCM is just a name of that organization in politics. What to blame is the people in it, the leaders leading in the party. It’s the leaders bringing all the chaos we see otherwise any party can still fail to bring a desired change or development in case it is put into power. Therefore let it be CCM, CHADEMA, CUF, and TLP whatever the case or your choice is, I think we citizens we should be responsible in bringing our own development through choosing the best leader. If we vote someone for 5 years & doesn’t do what is expected out of him/her, why should we give him/her another term? But the problem that most of us have especially in villages is that we get too attached to the political party rather than the individual’s ability to lead. It’s not how strong the political part is, it how the individuals in that particular political party can lead the country/region.

You find one saying “Mimi nimezaliwa enzi za CCM kwahiyo kura yangu daima itakuwa ya CCM” you can hardly get the answer if your to ask them “What has the MP under CCM done for them in the last five/ten years?” They are just happy with that small bribe TSH 1,000 spent on buying  alcohol not knowing it may cost them rest of their lives together with their families. May be for them its “Maisha bora” but with no shoes in their legs, children not schooling anywhere because of poverty, very poor infrastructures etc. I guess it’s not.

Go to areas like Mpwapwa village few kilometers away from Dodoma town where the parliament is and where major of the countries decisions are made. Villagers in Mpwapwa walk for more than 12kms in search for water at the same time you will see those mud made houses (TEMBE) with flags of CCM flying high. It becomes worse if you go to areas like Tabora and Shinyanga. Mmmhh!! Are they not paying tax?? If yes, for what purpose??  Some people think that life Africa is. No! It’s the leaders making the lives of Africans hard.

The problem with us Tanzanians we are deceived like a little child given Sweets such he/she can swallow the medicine (Danganya mtoto na pipi ili ameze dawa). We have continued to tolerating leaders who have been in power for so long yet we have seen that they are just nothing and they couldn’t fulfill their promises. But see how ignorant we are, we vote for them again and again (tunadanganywa tena na tunadanganyika kama watoto na tunarudi palepale kwenyewe tulipotoka). After like a month of election we find ourselves back again to our normal life, we start making noise, blaming and cursing like mad people. True because that’s what is happening now everyone is saying his own words cursing the government. Are we really blind? Why can’t we open our brains???

I don’t think only citizens can contribute to their development, they need someone to lead them that is (leaders).thats why we need to choose the leaders who seems so committed to people and not (blaa blaa). The “maisha bora kwa kila mtanzania” slogan needs true political commitments not just words. You cannot tell a sick person that “Utapona” when there is no hospital, no doctor or medicine to cure the disease otherwise he/she will die and that’s what is happening in much rural areas. Hundreds of pregnant women die every day, young children die due to poor health services. That is not “Maisha bora kwa kila Mtanzania” it’s just a political “blaa blaa”. They don’t care because for them they are protected & can be taken to Europe for hospitalization at cost deducted from our income as tax. 

In summary, the word “kila mtanzania” is so subjective but it doesn’t limit any critical thinking on the slogan I believe we can eradicate poverty only if our politicians would stop being selfish and become responsible for their actions and decisions. And the only time for politicians to account for their actions is within our hands especially when the time for elections comes we need to open our eyes so wide.

MUNGU IBARIKI TANZANIA, MUNGU IBARIKI AFRICA

Written by Rodrick