Opinion
Analysis
Training and
skills necessary in election coverage
The third multi-party general elections are drawing closer. The system of
allowing many political parties in the elections is a reflection of democracy.
People must be given their right to make their own decisions.
With over a decade of experience of multi-party democracy, more people
countrywide have increasingly become aware and indeed have accepted the change
in the political system.
Yet, it is a proven fact that the one-party system had permeated deep into the
mind of many people. This can be seen in many opinion polls conducted by the
University of Dar es Salaam recently.
However, seemingly many people have also acknowledged the merits of many
political parties in the system thanks to continued civic education through the
media. In essence, the media has been playing an important role in educating and
informing people on major developments in country’s politics.
The registration exercise of people in the Permanent Voters Register in Tanzania
has seen a massive turnout. In Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar for instance, the
turnout outnumbered the projections made by National and Zanzibar electoral
commissions.
We believe that the media still have a major role to play, informing and
educating people during times of elections.
Training journalists covering the elections is crucial. They must be reminded of
the basic principles of journalism; telling the truth and a fair and balanced
reporting are some of the things that reporters should always remember when
covering general elections.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in collaboration with other
stakeholders in the country has embarked on an important training programme for
journalist. It is confirmed that over 100 journalists in the country will be
trained for election coverage. This training is important, timely and valuable
for local journalists.
Covering elections might not be as easy as journalists might think. They must be
equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge of matters pertinent to
elections. It is through such training that they can emerge proficient and come
up with excellent news.
We sincerely hope that many international organizations will come forward and
train local reporters so that they become knowledgeable and skilful.
The confident man wins
CCM’s candidature
What a week! Surprises, power struggles, tears, joy and tensions. CCM’s congress
in Dodoma this week had everything that a Hollywood producer is looking for.
From the beginning they were 11. 11 men reported their intention to run for the
presidency on CCM ticket, they collected their forms, campaigned in the regions,
got the so much sought after endorsement signatures and returned the forms.
Some grunts were heard over the absence of women, but as the campaigns hotted up
with accusations, counter-accusations, resignations and the magic date of May 4
drawing ever so close, what was that to complain about? Forget about a
patriarchal society and inequality in political parties. The 11 men were doing
quite a good job to keep us entertained.
Then they were five. Kikwete, Salim, Mwandosya, Sumaye and Kigoda emerged on
Monday evening as the lucky five, having past the party’s inner circle’s
scrutiny and above all the approval of the President.
Tuesday morning was all about speculations and protest. Who had the President
favoured? Where did Kigoda come from? And is not Kikwete looking a bit too
confident?
Protests came from staunch party member John Malecela, who found it difficult to
accept a defeat.
From daladala conductors, drivers and bar maids to political pundits,
self-proclaimed experts and the man on the street, everyone ‘knew’ what had
happened and what was about to happen.
Then they were three. Kikwete, Salim and Mwandosya were the names the General
Congress were to choose from, after CCM’s National Executive Committee had cast
their votes. Sumaye must have felt unlucky. Only three votes separated him from
Mwandosya.
When the news were out, yet again people were surprised. How come Sumaye lost
out, and is not Kikwete looking a bit too confident? Everyone’s sudden favourite
Kigoda was out just as quick as he got in.
Rejected candidates were good at not showing their disappointment, although
coming so close to the finishing line must hurt. One of the papers carried a
picture of Salim relaxingly talking to Sumaye before NEC’s meeting. Were the two
on equally good terms after, one wonders.
And then they were one.
And now we know why Kikwete was looking so confident.
back
to headline
Critics of John Paul II have
got it wrong
By Evarist Kagaruki
Some sections of the international media have carried interesting
views by individual critics of the papacy of Pope John Paul II who passed away
recently. Some were saying that the Pope was too conservative and rigid in the
observance of the orthodoxies of Catholicism to allow the Church to “reform” in
order to move with the times.
This category of critics includes the so-called liberal Catholics who support
abortion, the use of contraceptives (including condoms), human cloning, and
ordination of women priests, as well as opponents of celibacy. One argument by
the proponents of condoms, for example, was that the Vatican’s refusal to
sanction the use of condoms saw the church’s faithful decimated by HIV/AIDS and
many turning to sorcery and traditional healing – things that are anathema to
the church’s teachings. The stress in this argument was that AIDS, one of
humanity’s greatest tragedies, ought not to deplete populations when there are
“reliable” ways to role back the impact of the scourge, one being the use of
condoms.
But those who have a clear understanding of the foundations of Roman Catholic
Church, and have the teachings of the Holy Bible deep in their hearts, strongly
oppose, and will continue to uncompromisingly oppose, the “liberal” viewpoints
as mentioned herein above. And that was the unwavering stand of John Paul II who
stood for the promotion and safeguarding of the true teachings of Christ – a
legacy all true believers in Catholicism must learn from.
The other category of critics of the late Pontiff include those who point out
that he died without apologizing for the “wrongs committed by the church” during
the Rwanda genocide of 1994 in which more than 800,000 Rwandans fell victim to
madness and machetes. The church in Rwanda was particularly accused of
complicity to the genocide. Stories have been told by genocide survivors, of
multitudes of terrified Tutsis and moderate Hutus who, in a bid to escape the
killings, took refuge in various churches, but were betrayed by some priests and
slaughtered!
Therefore, as far as the church is concerned, the critics contend, apologizing
for the shame of a tragedy that was preventable was absolutely necessary and the
Pope’s business. In this regard they cite the apology by the UN Secretary
General, Kofi Annan, who asked for pardon on behalf of the international
community.
But I think that those who assert that Pope John Paul II did not apologize for
what happened in Rwanda in 1994 are mistaken, either out of ignorance or sheer
dishonesty. The truth is that the Pope did apologize. He may not have done so
specifically and directly to Rwanda, because the apology happened to be general
albeit quite appropriate for the Rwanda case.
This apology was made sometime in early 2000 (if my memory serves me well)
during a Mass of Pardon at St. Peter’s Basilica. The Pope apologized for all the
millennial wrongs committed by the Catholic Church. At the time he was preparing
for his holy visit to Israel, which he made in March 2000. In the narrow sense,
some pundits reasoned that the Pope’s apology was impliedly addressed to the
Jews who suffered in the holocaust.
But those who understood the apology in the broader context knew it was directed
at the entire world; and that, naturally, could not have excluded Rwanda. With
that apology, Pope John Paul II, as head of the Catholic Church and leader on
one billion-plus Catholics, owned up to the fallibilities of the individual
Catholic men and women (like the Rwanda genocide priests) whose reprehensible
actions must have shamed the church and threatened to destroy its integrity.
However, by so doing the Pontiff was not implicitly attributing such
fallibilities to the church as an institution. For, the holiness and
infallibility of the church as divine embodiment of Christ are beyond reproach.
If the Rwandans – Catholics and non-Catholics alike – understood the essence of
the message behind John Paul II’s Mass of Pardon generalised apology, then they
should appreciate that the Vatican had indeed sincerely sought pardon of the
genocide victims or, in their absence, the divine.