Government should rethink on the new Kiswahili policy
The Deputy Minister for Education and Vocational Training Philipo Mulugo was quoted by the media as saying that the government is in the process of drafting a new policy to make Kiswahili the language of instruction in both primary and secondary schools in the country.
He said the document was ready and would be presented to the respective parliamentary committee for discussion before its endorsement by the National Assembly. What surprised me, however, is when he said that the policy was not going to apply to universities.
While it remains true that Kiswahili is a very important language in this country and has gone a long way in uniting the people, while at the same time promoting peace, I believe it is retrogressive to use it as a language of instruction. Yes, the language is being used in some schools, but due to globalization and the need to integrate with other countries from the region and abroad, there is need for our people to know English.
Learning English as a subject and failing to use it as a language of instruction will mean that no one will take it seriously and most of our products will find it difficult for them to communicate using the language. It is an open secret that many people in this country cannot confidently communicate using English because of a similar policy.
The bulk of the population in this country cannot speak English and find it difficult to communicate with the outside world. It is a fact that we are living in a global village where interaction, trade and other treaties are important for our survival. It will be disastrous for our people to fail to communicate using the language as they lose a lot of opportunities, be they business or political.
First of all, I don’t see the logic of using Kiswahili as a medium of instruction in primary and secondary schools and only to introduce English in colleges and universities. This means that the performance of the students will be greatly affected and just as the case right now, our universities will continue producing half-baked products.
So, I feel that if the government wants to declare Kiswahili as the medium of instruction, then they should go up to university level, so that students will not be disadvantaged but we will be rest assured that by doing so, we will be isolating our country from the whole world as our graduates will not be in a position to work elsewhere except in Tanzania.
As we speak, we are a member of the East African Community and once the integration is complete and with free movement of labour and trade, this means that our people will be outclassed by those from other nations because of language. On the job market, as we speak right now, most of our graduates cannot compete for the same job with a Kenyan or Ugandan and get the job simply because their English language is poor. I think it is high time we call a spade a spade and not a big spoon. We would have nailed the last nails to our own coffin as a country if we reduce the gains that have been achieved so far. We will never make it internationally, if our people cannot speak English.
What surprises me is that the same politicians who are bringing up these policies send their children to learn abroad where they will be taught in English. This gives these children an advantage over those of the poor who would have been taught in Kiswahili from primary to secondary level.
The time to kill our education sector is long gone and I would like to urge the government to rethink on this proposed policy as it will never benefit our country. Instead, it will be retrogressive as we stand to lose a lot. Technology from other countries is mainly in English, technical books are in English and one needs to know the language to be able to settle in foreign land.
This is free advice to the minister and his team that they rethink the policy unless if they want to turn this country into a closed state.
Arraignment of nine top officials over Tanzania’s sunken ship commendable
The arraigning of nine people over the ill fated MV Spice Islander’s sinking is a step towards the right direction in as far as dealing with negligence and human error is concerned. This comes after the report for the accident was made public last week.
The long awaited report blames negligence, unprofessionalism, lack of accountability and corruption as the main causes of the disaster. It also recommends that a number of top marine officials be arrested and charged.
On the list of executives arraigned were the Director General of Zanzibar Transport (ZMA), Haji Vuai Ussi, Zanzibar Vessels Registra Abdallah Mohammed Abdallah, ZMA Vessel Inspector, Juma Seif Juma, head of safety unit at the Zanzibar Port, Simai Nyange Simai, Zanzibar Port Corporation (ZPC) Transport Officer, Hassan Mussa Mwinyi.
The other accused persons include Salim Said Mohamed, Makame Husnuu Makame and Yusuph Suleiman Issa the shareholders of the company which owned the ship and Hashim Ayub and Said Mohammed, shareholders of Al Ghubra Marine Services Ltd.
This will go a long way in solving the problem of laxity and in fact, this should be extended to all the accidents that claim lives. Innocent lives continue to be lost on our roads and waters in circumstances that are avoidable. The MV Spice Islander disaster could have been mitigated had all precautionary measures had been taken. Some people did not do their job correctly and greed and the zeal to maximize profits is also another factor to consider as it led to overloading of people and luggage.
The government, therefore, should not leave any stone unturned and make sure that all those involved are brought to book. They should pay for the sins against humanity and deterrent measures should be taken against those found guilty of causing an accident.
The United Kingdom Prime Minister, David Cameroon, last week, opened a cane of worms when, during the sidelines of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Perth Australia, hinted that his government would withhold aid to Commonwealth governments that will not reform legislation banning homosexuality.
This has seen many African countries retaliating by making it crystal clear that they better remain poor than to compromise their morals and laws for aid. Tanzania, through the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Bernard Membe and the Zanzibar President, Dr Ali Mohammed Shein, pointed out that the conditions given by the British Government were unacceptable.
Tanzanians and Africans at large are cultured people and homosexuality is one of the taboos and unheard of social anomaly that are believed to bring a bad omen. Another factor that makes it unacceptable is that Africans are religious people who respect norms and values not only of their cultures but also of their different religions.
Homosexuality remains banned in all religions in Africa be it Christianity, Muslim, Hindu and African traditional region and many others. This then means that Africa cannot be forced into changing their laws to embrace a shameful and degrading practice.
It remains true that most African countries are in need of aid from developed countries because many of their people are wallowing in poverty but, it is sometimes better to remain poor than accepting practices that will bring with them confusion while at the same time threatening peace.
Tanzania is a peaceful country and peace is hinged upon culture, norms and values. The majority in this country doesn’t believe in same sex marriages and introducing the practice will bring with it a lot of tension and retribution on their part. In other words, it is tantamount to disturbing and reversing the gains of our independence and peace.
Even if Britain is to withhold aid because of the homosexuality issue, Africa should remain united, speaking with one voice against this social anomaly. The dilution of Africans’ various cultures has been blamed for the unrest the continent is facing right now. HIV/AIDS is ravaging the continent simply because of cultural imperialism.
Membe revealed that the leadership in this country recently rejected the credentials of a gay envoy. This is commendable and should be used to send a clear message to Mr Cameron and others, who are planning to impose the same demands, that homosexuality has no place in Tanzania.
Tanzanian on the other hand should stand firm and reject homosexuality. Gay relationships and marriages remain criminalized in this country and wananchi should take part in exposing those practicing it and let the law take its own course. Let’s all unite and stand firm against homosexuality.
Move away from hydro-power generation
The recent revelation that hydro-power generation at the country's major dams, Mtera and Kidatu has been drastically reduced as water levels continue to dwindle further, comes as a major blow to Tanzanians who have been nurturing high hopes of having access to major power supply improvements by December this year, as promised by the government.
President Jakaya Kikwete who made a stop over at Kidatu plant expressed concern over the situation and attributed the trend to droughts in parts of the country with rivers feeding the two hydro-power dams. The power generating capacity at Kidatu has dropped from 200MW to a mere 40MW while Mtera with the capacity of producing 80MW is only producing 33MW.
The situation at Mtera has reached disturbing levels as the dam operations manager, Engineer Julius Chimola revealed that the plant was hardly running for eight hours a day in a bid to stretch the remaining water to the next season that was expected to start last month.
And, with climate change continuing to affect weather patterns not only across Africa, but also the world over, then the reliability of hydro-power remains debatable as droughts continue ravaging many parts of this country. The recent trends have shown that as a country, we can no longer continue relying on hydro-power but should opt embracing other reliable sources of power such as nuclear.
Power shortages in this country are threatening to bring the economy to its knees in as much as they have caused untold suffering to wananchi, whose small scale businesses rely on electricity. Power cuts have become part and parcel of our everyday lives and this calls for a permanent solution for the power crisis to end.
Though it remains true that the government had put in place measures to end the power crisis, the recent developments are not only retrogressive but also a draw back as the government might be forced back to the drawing board to restrategise.
The problem comes at a time when Brazil promised Tanzania modern power generation technology by pledging to support the country overcome power shortages. Besides technology, Brazil promised to provide technical know-how under bi-lateral cooperation. Yes, the help will come in handy in as far as dealing with the current power crisis is concerned and the government should utilize this opportunity to come up with a permanent solution to the problem of electricity.
The government should consider investing heavily in other sources of power such as gas and nuclear power. As a country, we are endowed with many minerals and it will not be difficult to embark on nuclear projects. The shortage of electricity has become more of a liability and the economy will remain bleeding as long as there is no solution to it.
There are other measures that can also be put in place such as liberalising the energy sector while at the same time putting in place a regulatory board that governs the pricing system. An urgent solution to this crisis is needed to make this country a better place for everyone.
Empowering passengers vital in saving lives
What pains most is the fact that all these accidents were avoidable. As for the Tanzanian accident, had people employed to do their job, of ensuring safety including the ship's crew had done their job properly, no one could have been talking about it. In other words, the accident would have been averted.
The problem is that passengers' pleas fell on deaf ears and the ship left the port while overloaded. It is a shame that after the MV Bukoba accident, the powers that be, have not learnt anything. Something should be done to empower passengers and make sure that their complaints are heard.
It is known in business that the customer is the king, but when it comes to transport business, the passengers are powerless kings. What ever they say usually fall on deaf ears and they end up dying as if they paid their fares for it. In other words, passengers are paying for death as they hardly have control over what will be happening.
The government should do something to empower passengers. Empowering passengers will go a long way in saving lives.
The Kenya and DRC experiences are also avoidable. If wananchi could desist from scrambling for fuel leaking from burst pipes or overturned tankers then lives will be saved. Some of these disasters are avoidable and it is unfortunate that every time tunakumbuka shuka kumeisha kucha.
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Ewura's teeth sized as Tanzania runs dry
The newly gazetted fuel prices cuts have seen the commodity vanishing over night in many fuel stations throughout the country. A survey by Bongo Blast this morning revealed that many service stations were mere white elephants as workers could be seen seated.
In fact, the look of things seemed as if they had been hired to wave to oncoming vehicles as a signal that there is no fuel. Almost all stations were deserted with no activity at all. For the one or two filling stations that had the precious liquid, long and wing queues were the order of the day.
Instead of benefiting wananchi, the price cuts seem to be aggravating their suffering because due to lack of fuel, transport has been problematic. Some daladalas took advantage of the situation to hike prices, not to mention taxis. The situation is hopeless for an ordinary person who is forced to suffer only because of a few people who thrive to profiteer.
The protest by service stations was expected and Ewura should have taken measures to prevent it. What pains most is the fact that the powers that be seem clueless in as far as coming up with a solution to the problem is concerned. Fuel station owners have flexed their muscles and boycotted selling the liquid.
Ewura should use it's teeth and bite. We are tired of toothless bulldogs that continue barking while wananchi are suffering. All fuel stations without the commodity should justify it failure to which their licences should be revoked. I think Ewura should take deterrent measures and show that they mean business and withdraw some operators' licences because there is no justification that fuel becomes scarce simply because prices have been reduced.
What is funny about the whole saga is that, every time Ewura gazettes price hikes, service stations respond by hiking the prices without thinking twice. The government should do something to save the general public from this suffering.
The country is already facing an acute shortage of electricity, not to mention the unavailability of safe drinking water which forces wananchi to fork through the nose for the liquid and the country will not afford another shortage, fuel shortage. For how long shall wananchi continue to suffer?
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Ensure fuel stations adhere to gazetted prices
The Energy and Water Regulatory Authority (Ewura) has finally gazetted fuel prices cuts after two months of speculation and uncertainty as no one seemed to have answers as to whether the tax cuts announced in the 2011/12 national budget could bear fruits.
However, despite the gazetted price cuts, a snap survey carried out by Bongo Blast reveals that many service stations are still to change their prices. Upon inquiry as to why they had not heed the order, some workers feigned ignorance while others referred this reporter to the management. Efforts to get official comments from the management proved fruitless.
Many if not all mainstream newspapers in Tanzania today, had the story on their front pages but the percentage drop is far from forcing a smile on the faces of many motorists who are forking through the nose for the precious liquid. Fuel prices dropped by 9 percent meaning that petrol, diesel and kerosine will drop by between 170/- to 200/-.
Though the price drops may come as a relief to wananchi who are still trying to come to terms with the ever rising prices of food and other basic commodities, the reduction maybe temporary as the instability of the shilling against major currencies and the fluctuation of oil global oil market prices may cut the smiles on many faces short.
Yes, it might not be the percentage price cuts wananchi were expecting, but Ewura should make it a point that all service stations comply with the gazetted prices. The general public has been suffering for a long time and if possible, measures should be taken to ensure further fuel prices cuts.
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End the legislators expulsion drama
The recent events rocking the Parliament should not be tolerated if the sanity of the House is ever to be maintained. Last week alone, four legislators were ordered out of the House in circumstances that have seen many people branding it the house of comedy.
The first to be kicked out was the Nyamanga MP, Ezekiel Wenje, who was accused of being “disrespectful” to the chair, following a heated debate with the House Chairperson, Sylvester Mabumba. As if that was not enough, the following day, three more opposition legislators were ordered not only out of the debating chamber but off the Bunge grounds for ignoring the deputy speaker's directive not to switch on microphones without permission from the chair.
The legislators are Tundu Lissu (Singida West), Rev Peter Msigwa (Iringa Urban) and Godbless Lema (Arusha Urban). What boggles the minds of many is the fact that all the legislators that have been shown the door so far belong to the opposition camp and this proves right an old adage that where two elephants fight, the grass suffers. The two camps might be trying to prove a point here but that is hardly needed right now. There are more pressing issues the House should deal with rather than embarking on a fight or a struggle to prove superiority and show who is better between those in the ruling party and the opposition.
The growing and disturbing trend of disruptions in the House where legislators end up being chased has received mixed feelings among the people. But, what is important when it comes to this issue is that the people who are disadvantaged are the ones who voted these legislators into parliament. Firstly, those legislators who end up being chased out will be having important issues to iron out, of which the bureaucracy and procedures of the House seem to stifle; hence they remain defiant, in a bid to fully represent their constituencies.
The powers that be in the House should be tolerant and find other ways of punishing legislators they feel are being respectful. This is so because chasing them out of the house is tantamount to chasing the whole constituency as no one will be there to represent them. This is a disservice not only to wananchi but to the country as a whole as Parliament needs these legislators' contributions for it to come up with sound policies and resolutions.
The chaos cannot be tolerated and legislators should find common ground. As long as there is no threat to human life, the justification of expelling a person out of the House remains questionable and as there could be other means of dealing with these problems. This has to be nipped in the bud and failure to control it at this stage will prove disastrous as chaos will reign supreme in the House, a move that might see more legislators being thrown out of the house.
Constituencies sent legislators to the House, not to sleep as others often do, but to represent their interests and make sure that a lot of things are ironed out. When legislators who are trying to express themselves and having issues clarified are chased out of the House then who will blame them if they go and sleep, without contributing anything. Maturity and tolerance are needed in the House for progress' sake. Legislators have a duty to perform, not to fight personal battles, so discipline should be upheld without disadvantaging wananchi who elected them. (ends)
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Stop bickering, solve power crisis once and for all
The problem of electricity in this country has become a tired story. In fact wananchi are tired of complaining to such an extent that they are left without a choice but to count their losses as the powers that be continue failing to find a lasting solution to the problem.
Reports that a number of firms have closed shop due to the critical shortage of electricity that saw Tanesco engaging in unrealistically long load-shedding timetables is unfortunate though expected. It is no longer news that the power problem is crippling the economy and might be blamed for the current economic meltdown.
The Director of Policies and Research with the Confederation of Tanzania Industries (CTI), Hussein Kamote, addressing a news conference last week, revealed that at least six major firms had shut down due to power shortage. He warned that in the absence of an urgent solution, more industries will close down.
This came at a time when Tanesco received 100mw gas turbine units that will be installed at the Ubungo Power Station in Dar es Salaam to boost power output. Though this seemingly is a step towards the right direction in as far as solving the problem is concerned, more serious measures need to be taken to address the situation. The turbines that were bought are not capable of ending the problem hence more steps are needed.
The problem with the powers that be is that they are good at promising the public that the problem will be solved but nothing, that is being done, shows any indication that their promises will be fulfilled. The problems and losses caused by the shortage of electricity are not only well known but are fast becoming part and parcel of wananchi's lives.
Many people through out this country are small scale businesspeople and in most cases rely on electricity for their businesses. It goes without saying that their families are facing a difficult time as they cannot put something on the table. They are simply running at a loss.
The country is fast approaching a stage where the economy will be on its knees, that is if the current situation is not addressed. The power shortage has in fact become an embarrassment to the nation after last week's blunder that occurred at the National Stadium during the Kagame Cup finals when ambulance lights were used as a source of light to facilitate the presentation of medals and the trophy to players.
It's a shame that the situation has come to such levels and the time of bickering is long gone. The time to act is now and those who can't provide the much needed answers should step aside and let fresh brains run the sector. The minister concerned and his team should make sure urgent measures are taken before the economy collapses.
Dar Es Salaam Time
Tanzanian Shilling Exchange Rate
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