Opinion
Analysis
War against AIDS should
safeguard morality
In recent years Tanzania has witness great changes in its culture and moral
standards
with influence of foreign elements being introduced every now and then.
Globalisation has indeed turned the world into a small village.
There are several telling examples showing how the Tanzanian culture and
morality
have been enormously influenced by foreign elements. Just look at how our
children
behave nowadays.
Take the matter of dressing, which portray our way of life. It is quite evident
that our
children are now imitating how people in foreign countries dress. Some of what
they
wear goes contrary to our country’s tradition and culture.
Parents are asking themselves several questions but certainly they do not get
answers
adequately. Noticeably many parents are losing control over their children. Such
tendencies should ring an alarm bell.
That Tanzania would not undergo these changes looks unrealistic. We are all too
conscious not to be seen as lagging behind or being too close to our past. But
it is
also very dangerous to absorb everything that the modern world requires as it
might
erode fundamental elements of our culture. The changes that we accept as a
society
might have serious repercussions for the morality of our society.
The struggle to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS has also been affected by our
inclination to look at international trends and ideals. The aim now is to fight
new
infections and care for people who have already been trapped by the menace.
Emphasis however is on prevention of new infections; the government through the
Commission for AIDS (TACAIDS) has embarked on unprecedented awareness
campaigns especially aimed at the youths.
Usione soo Sema naye, is a popular Kiswahili advertisement aimed at sensitizing
the
youth to break the silence among themselves and their partners when it comes to
sex
related matters. The phrase, which has been extensively broadcast in local
media,
initially was misunderstood among the youths but later, with clarification from
the
TACAIDS, most young people got to understand it.
In conclusion we sincerely think that the fight against the spread of HIV/AIDS
should
go on. But it should by no means accelerate an erosion of our morals. Our youths
should not take the fight as an excuse to perform immoral activities. That is
intolerable and completely unacceptable.
Repainting with a twist
There seem to be no end to what the corporate world does to help an increasingly
clumsy government. Last week I pointed to the increasing number of adverts that
have been popping up in our public spaces. To my dismay, this trend is
continuing,
but with a new twist.
Last week I could read in a daily paper that a mobile phone operator has decided
to
repaint buildings owned by the National Housing Corporation. Also, I had not
been
able to avoid seeing these buildings while passing by. The selected houses now
have
the significant colours of the mobile phone operator. Without writing the entire
logo,
it should be added.
And this is just the beginning. Soon more and more companies will take this
opportunity, claiming they are doing a good cause, cashing in on goodwill and
doing
their outmost to portray themselves as a responsible, trustworthy and reliable
companies.
And there we have it. They are companies. They are not doing this because they
are
genuinely worried about the facades of the buildings in Dar es Salaam. They are
doing it so that more people will buy their products.
All the adjectives mentioned above should be adjectives for our government to
strive
towards. It is the government that should be responsible, accountable,
trustworthy etc.
Imagine what a future would look like where the government has ceased to do
anything which one would think a government is responsible for. And imagine if
the
international companies find out what is actually possible in Tanzania. I would
think
Coca Cola would love to have a whole building draped in its company colours. A
PR
consultant’s dream.
Perhaps it is because it is election year. All outgoing presidents want to
create a
memorable impression in the minds of the public. At least I did something for
the
masses to remember. And yes, we will remember it for sure, but will we enjoy it?
Govt officials have two agendas
By Evarist Kagaruki
Multiparty democracy in this country was supposed to discard for ever the system
where, during the single-party era, the functions of the ruling party and those
of the
government overlapped, leading to confusion, bad governance and stagnation. It
was
also expected that under pluralism the obstructive, inept and corrupt
bureaucracy
which hindered government’s efficiency and accountability would be removed.
Moreover, there was the expectation that we would realise the benefit of getting
the
cost of running the party off the public purse and thus reducing government
expenditure. Sadly, not all has matched our expectations.
In a situation where the president doubles as chairman of the ruling party, the
Home
Affairs Minister is also CCM Publicity Secretary and the minister responsible
for
Regional Administration and Local Government wears the political cap of Deputy
Secretary General, it becomes very difficult to believe that the government has
completely adopted a democratic frame of mind and conduct.
Sometimes, when these people make public pronouncements on issues which have
political implications or make government tours to the regions and address mass
rallies in digestible CCM sound bites or hold closed-door sessions with CCM
leaders –
all at the expense of the public treasury you see very clearly that CCM is still
the state
party of the yester-years.
And that is precisely the point the Registrar of Political Parties, John Tendwa,
seemed
to be trying to underscore the other day when he told the press that his office
was
“disturbed” by the behaviour of the CCM Publicity Secretary (who is also
Minister for
Home Affairs), Omar Ramadhan Mapuri. He was reacting to reports that Mapuri had
demanded an explanation from the Civic United Front (CUF) chairman, Prof.
Ibrahim
Lipumba, on allegations that the ruling party “killed people”!
Carefully choosing his words – like anyone in his position would normally do –
the
registrar said he understood how difficult it is for one to be impartial when
one holds
two contradicting positions. Said he, “Mapuri is the Minister for Home Affairs,
but at
the same time he is Publicity Secretary of the ruling party. You need to be born
impartial to do those contradictory jobs”. Indeed, you need to be a saint!
Myself I fail to comprehend how and why the president thought it “appropriate,”
in
this era of plural politics, to appoint the Publicity Secretary of his party to
serve on the
government in the powerful and sensitive cabinet portfolio of Minister for Home
Affairs! He could have picked someone else with less burdensome leadership
responsibilities in the ruling party, and I don’t think there is a dearth of
suitable
candidates even within the existing cabinet. The president still got the chance
to save
us from the problems that may arise as we head towards the October elections.
The general perception of the public is that the posting of the CCM Publicity
Secretary
to the Home Office does not do well for democracy in the country. It gives the
impression (and in fact there are accusations in some quarters) that the ruling
party,
not the government, was actually in charge at the Home Affairs ministry! Such
accusations – which are cynically-oriented – sound even more serious whey they
carry the notion that the police “received directives” from the ruling party “to
tame”
the opposition.
Personally, I am generally impressed by the way Mapuri handles the affairs of
the
Home Office, especially where politically-related issues are concerned. The
situation
could perhaps have been different if we had a different CCM cadre (in Mapuri’s
office)
holding both portfolios of Minister for Home Affairs and CCM Publicity
Secretary!
However, because of the sensitivity of his cabinet post, and since he is the
spokesman
of the ruling party (two contradictory positions) Mapuri sometimes finds himself
in very
awkward position when dealing with opposition-related (controversial) issues
like the
Lipumba case cited above. Such a situation could be avoided.
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