Speech
by the President of the United Republic of Tanzania, His excellency
Benjamin William Mkapa, on Inaugurating the New Parliament
of the United Republic of Tanzania, Dodoma, November 20, 2000
Honourable Speaker,
I should like
to start by congratulating you on being elected once again
to lead the Parliament of the United Republic of Tanzania
as its Speaker. Congratulations!!
In my farewell
address to the last Parliament I thanked you for your excellent
leadership, and I made reference to your outstanding qualities
of competence, experience, and diligence that earned you and
this House great respect within the country and beyond. I
would have truly been surprised if the Honourable Members
of this House would have decided to look for another Speaker.
Again, I congratulate you.
I should also
like to congratulate all of you, Honourable Members of this
House, who have been dispatched here by your constituencies,
through a free and fair election, to represent them in this
House, and to work with the Government in pursuit of their
interests. That is a great honour; and I wish you well as
you prepare yourselves to prove that you deserved it.
Those of you who
were returned unopposed to this House deserve special congratulations,
for it shows that you represented your people so well in the
last Parliament that no one dared to challenge you. In other
words, this is a befitting tribute from your voters, which
you must continue to live up to.
I congratulate
opposition Members of Parliament. Chama Cha Mapinduzi is obviously
a very strong party; the oldest and most experienced in the
country. It is not easy to win against it. So, I believe you
deserve special congratulations.
I do realise there
will be fewer of you this time than in the last Parliament.
But you should not feel dejected or lonely. For, in the final
analysis, we are all driven by the desire to build our nation,
and as such there should be no reason why we cannot all work
together. As I promised in my inaugural speech, as long as
your contributions help to improve our performance we shall
take them into account. We will not ignore them simply because
they came from the Opposition benches. Only the strength of
your arguments will determine whether they are embraced or
not.
Honourable Speaker,
I want to say
a few words of gratitude to those previous Members of Parliament
who will not be in the present House. Some of them have passed
away. We pray to Almighty God that their souls may rest in
external peace. There are those that, out of their own free
will, decided not to stand again so as to give room to others.
These have shown us a good example of rotational leadership,
and I thank and commend them. Then there are those that entered
the race, but failed to make it to the shore. They also deserve
our gratitude for what they did in the House, and we wish
them well in their new endeavours.
Honourable Speaker,
Let me, once again,
thank the people for returning Chama Cha Mapinduzi and myself
to power. We have returned with an even larger majority than
in 1995, There can only be two explanations for this. First,
it shows that our people are satisfied with what we did during
the last five years. And secondly, it shows that they are
confident with our electoral platform and the plans we have
for the future of our country according to our Election
Manifesto and the Outlook of the CCM Policies 2000-2010.
It shows, therefore,
that we have a solid mandate to implement that Election Manifesto;
and that is the duty of this House to work with us as we do
so. I am pleased we have begun well, first by the Honourable
Members of this House electing CCM candidates for the positions
of Speaker and Deputy Speaker, and subsequently endorsing
my appointment of Prime Minister, Honourable Frederick Tluway
Sumaye. It is my hope that the Honourable Members of the House
will co-operate with him in his capacity as Leader of Government
Business in the House. I also ask for similar co-operation
to the Cabinet Ministers that I shall soon appoint. Assist
me by keeping them on their toes, but be generous with praise
also if they perform well.
Honourable Members,
It is also important
that everyone accepts the fact that the General Elections
are over; it is now time to live up to the expectations of
our people by getting to work in pursuit of their interests.
For over two months the people attended campaign rallies of
all parties, attentively listening to the election manifestos
and development programmes of each party. On 29 October and
5 November, the people used their right to choose which party
to entrust with the leadership of our country for the next
five years.
The people have
spoken, and incontestably given a huge mandate to CCM to govern,
and its Election Manifesto to be implemented. It is now the
duty of all politicians, within and outside this House to
respect the people's verdict. It is also their duty to set
aside all political bickering, which are clearly not supported
by the majority of the people, and get to work as expected
by the people. Out country is poor. After such a lengthy campaign
the people are tired of endless politicking and suspended
development animation. They now want us to put shoulder to
wheel and get the war on poverty going.
We succeeded,
in the previous Administration, to complete preparations for
that war on poverty, and to a large extent we are in agreement
with the donor community on Development Vision 2025, Poverty
Reduction Plan of Action 2000-2010, and the Poverty Reduction
Strategy Paper. We are now entering the implementation phase,
and the people expect you, Honourable Members of Parliament,
to take an active part in the war on poverty in implementation
of what is outlined in those three documents. To prepare you
for that role, I have instructed that each one of you be given
a set of those documents before you leave Dodoma. I ask you
to read them carefully, and to be guided by them in your representational
duties, and in mobilising people for development.
Good Governance
Honourable Speaker,
The term "Good
Governance" can have different connotations to different
people, institutions, or countries. For me, and the Government
I shall lead, the concept of good governance has the following
connotations and pillars on which it stands:
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First, it
connotes political leadership that derives from popular
mandate, obtained through periodic free and fair elections
as provided for in a Constitution. And, when that mandate
is granted, it is the duty of all those who aspired for
leadership to dutifully respect the people's verdict.
That is also part of good governance.
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Secondly,
good governance entails a public service staffed
by men and women with the requisite education, skills,
ability, experience, initiative and drive; public servants
of integrity willing to serve the people diligently and
efficiently; public servants who believe that what can
be done today should not wait for tomorrow; public servants
who love people, justice and equality, and abhor oppression,
discrimination, or favouritism; public servants who believe
in their inner-most souls that corruption is the enemy
of justice, as is delayed justice or procrastination in
decision-making; and public servants that repsect all
people, serving them with politeness, humility and dignity.
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Thirdly, good
governance must be characterised by transparency and
truthfulness in decision-making by political leaders
and public servants alike, including in matters relating
to public revenue and expenditure, thereby being fully
accountable to the people.
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Fourthly,
all political leaders from all political parties, and
all public servants, must in their decisions and actions
always be guided by the Constitution, Laws, Regulations,
Procedures, Mores, and Traditions of our country.
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Fifthly, it
is necessary to promote and defend Basic Human Rights,
and empower people to seek redress when those rights are
infringed upon. That is why one of the first things we
will attend to in the new Administration is the formal
launch of the Commission on Human Rights and Good Governance.
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Sixth, good
governance requires enhanced Government capacity to perform
the traditional roles of State, including maintaining
law and order, defence and security, the administration
of justice through the Judiciary, revenue collection and
prudent public expenditure, putting in place a good macro-economic
framework, and generally creating a favourable environment
for the growth of a modern economy and better social services.
Honourable Speaker,
In the next five
years we will pay even greater attention to, and strengthen,
all these components and aspects of good governance. The war
on corruption will be prosecuted with renewed vigour.
It is to this war that I once again call to arms all citizens
and institutions, including individuals, mass media, civil
society, Non-Governmental Organisations, professional associations,
and the private sector. In the last Administration, we prepared
the Anti-Corruption Strategy and Action Plan, each Ministry
and independent department having its own Action Plan. The
new Administration will now get to work to implement the Action
Plans, while all reported cases of corruption will be fully
investigated and proper action taken in accordance with the
law.
In order to improve
the administration of justice, we shall implement the FILMUP
Project intended to improve performance in the entire legal
sector. Justice Bomani's Report prepared for this purpose
is ready, as well as a staggered plan of action. We will implement
the first phase, 2000-2005, in order to imrove the administration
of justice as an important aspect of good governance.
Honourable Speaker,
We will also implement
the Public Sector Reform Programme 2000-2011 intended to transform
the public service into the kind of service the components
of which I have just outlined. Likewise, the Local Government
Reform Programme will continue to be implemented according
to the phases already determined.
Honourable Speaker,
I want to emphasise
the great responsibility that Councillors in Local Governments
have towards their people. Councillors must consult the people
on development programmes, in planning and determiningdevelopment
priorities, and they must report to them in truthfulness and
openness about successes and failures, including in revenue
collection and expenditure for each Council.
It is also the
responsibility of each Council, including the Executive Directors,
to supervise and enforce discipline and performance among
Village Executive Officers and Ward Executive Officers against
whom numerous complaints have been levelled. It must be borne
in mind that these officers, along with the local Primary
Court Magistrate, and the local Police, are the face of Government
the people see at that level. In the last five years, I have
heard reports of abuse of office, misuse of powers, corruption,
oppression, harassment and acting beyond one's powers. I now
want those complaints that tarnish the image of Government
to end, under the supervision of each Council.
Democracy and
Human Rights
Honourable Speaker,
In the next five
years the Government will seek to strengthen Democracy, Human
Rights and People's Power. There are times, however, when
obviously there is misunderstanding between African countries
and some Governments in the West on what exactly is the correct
definition of democracy and human rights. We face two types
of problems. The first is the tendency in the West to lump
all African Governments together. Often people fail to distinguish
and to take into account differences between one country and
another, one Government and another, one leader and another.
We are all lumped together. I suppose if Mobutu were alive
today, others might have failed to distinguish me from him!
The second problem
is the tendency to preach democracy and human rights as a
kind of new religion, in a manner reminiscent of the proselytisation
of Africa over a hundred years ago. It is not true that by
their very nature, or according to their culture, outlook,
values, and history, Africans do not understand or respect
democracy and human rights. To a large extent, African Dictators
of the second half of the last century were a product of colonialism,
neo-colonialism and the pervasive consequences of the cold
war of those years. These people were not dictators or looters
just because they were Africans.
I argue, therefore,
that violations of human rights are not something inherent
in our Africanness, in African culture and traditions; not
at all. That is why today we are in agreement on most of the
basic issues about democracy and human rights. But there is
still a problem relating to the different perspectives each
side brings into the debate on democracy and human rights.
The African perspective,
unlike the Western one, puts community rights above individual
rights. Human rights are anchored in a community, not in an
individual. Community and family interests have precedence
over individual interests. In the African tradition, duty
to family and to community comes first, rights come second.
When I see the gospel of human rights coming, which fails
to recognise that pursuit of individual rights may be injurious
to community rights. I say we Africans must not accept it.
It is not my intention
to launch a debate on the matter in this House. The point
I am trying to make is that there are clearly certain universally
acknowledged tenets of democracy and human rights. But our
paths towards such ideals need not be identical; they can't
be. For, we have a different culture, a different outlook
on duties and rights, a different history and experience.
To Africans, and people from Asia, duty and loyalty to family,
to friends, and to the community, have precedence over individual
rights in that family, or in that community.
Honourable Speaker,
It is due to colonialism
that today there are in Africa countries that are not quite
nations. They are rather a group of tribes that find themselves
in one country simply because Europenas arbitrarily decided
so in Berlin. Some of these countries tried hard to unite
everybody and build a sense of nationhood after independence.
One of these is Tanzania, and we owe it to our Father of the
Nation who worked hard to create a Tanzanian Nation. But even
in such countries, nationhood remains weak relative to older
Western democracies. The threads used to sew it up and unite
different tribes into one nation remain weak. You need perhaps
two or three centuries to really have strong nations, as it
did take those in the Western democracies. But if we start
today in Africa to give priority to individual or parochial
rights and interests, at the expense of the community and
national interests, the whole construct of African Nations
will unravel!!
That is the truth.
Unfortunately, those that "teach" us democracy and
human rights overlook this dimension. They do not attach great
importance to it, even as they seek to integrate and unite
their own nations and economies even more. How about us with
our weak national institutions and characteristics? At times
we witness pressure that is clearly geared towards some individual
rights at the expense of community rights; individual interests,
not national interests.
Ultimately we
might witness cases where an individual in pursuit of personal
interests could pick up a quarrel with the Government or the
Ruling Party, that if allowed to prevail could even undermine
national unity, or in our case undermine the Union. And under
the guise of human rights, if someone like that is restrained
it will be taken up as a case of human rights abuse!
In other words,
we are put under pressure to grant people the right to undermine
our Nations, in order to preserve their self-centred rights.
Yet, even those who put pressure on us would not countenance
secessionist tendencies in their own countries. We learn from
history what befell people who sought to secede in the older
democracies. Until this day, we still witness firm action
being taken against secessionists.
But in Africa,
dealing with secessionists ends up as a human rights case;
we are expected to give people the right to tear down our
common home, the right of the character Abunuwas to ask the
person on the upper floor to hold on to it, as he wanted to
move away the ground floor to another place; the right to
say an election is not free and fair because I lost! Africans
have to be on the alert, and be able to distinguish between
the the basic issues in democracy, good governance and human
rights, and those that are not basic from the point of view
of our culture, values, and traditions; always giving priority
to the community and nation, rather than to an individual.
Individual rights are by all means very important, but not
at the expense of the rights of an entire community or nation.
If we indulge the pursuit of rights that are anchored in individuals,
that would be the beginning of the end of our African nations.
Honourable Speaker
and Members,
In view of the
importance I attach to this matter, I want to repeat what
I said on my inauguration on 9th November, and ask you to
always bear those words in mind in your deliberations inthis
House. I said:
"Mwalimu
(Nyerere) brought us up as one people, brothers and sisters
in a family called Tanzania. We will not allow the introduction
of a mulit-party political system to be used by anyone, within
or from outside our country, as the thin end of a wedge intended
to weaken our unity and dilute the values that make us Tanzanians.
I ask all our citiznes to be vigilant, as the Government will
be vigilant, against such tendencies."
The Mass Media
Honourable Speaker,
A free press that
is vibrant, diligent and thorough; one which has drive, initiative
and integrity, has a major role to play in nurturing and strengthening
good governance, and in keeping society informed. I once was
a media person myself, and habitually I read newspapers a
lot; I listen to the radio and watch television. In the last
five years, I have seen some sections of the media that have
tried to be of integrity, serious and conscientious. But it
is not every media and not every journalist either.
The Government
I shall constitute will try as much as possible to maintain
good relations with the mass media. I consider that to be
important and necessary. But I once again call upon the owners
of the various mass media and the editors to work harder in
building up the capacity and integrity of journalists, as
well as to be sensitive to our cultural values and professional
ethics. To you media people I say: criticise where criticism
is warranted; commend where commendations are deserved. Expose
misdeeds, but do not invent them. Build the capacity to analyse
and give a grounded interpretation of events, trends and decisions.
You must also never forget that this is your country, and
being a journalist does not mean you should not be nationalistic,
or that you should not care. If you insist on undermining
Tanzania, you are not different from the knife that thinks
it is only destryong an old sheath, not knowing it is destroying
its own home!!
A Modern Economy
for a Self-Reliant Nation
Honourable Speaker,
At the dawn of
the new century, politicians across the world concede that
politics is about the economy, and the economy is about politics.
In the last five years, we took important steps to reform
our economic, monetary and fiscal policies. We embarked on
structural and administrative reforms. We will continue to
do so. For, what we have done has won approbation not only
within Tanzania, but abroad as well. We are on the correct
path. We have earned our country renewed respect and honour
for these reforms, including the fact that we have now assumed
greater ownership and responsibility for our development programmes,
projects and strategies. We have also proved capable of recovering
from our slippages, without having to be prodded by outsiders.
That is the hallmark of a free people, determined to develop
themselves in dignity and honour. I thank our people for supporting
us and for their perseverance during the difficult times.
Now, we have to
ensure that the fruits of what we have done so far reach as
many people as possible. That entails a lot of work to build
the foundation of a modern economy, for a self-reliant nation.
We have done much, but our economy remains underdeveloped
and too dependent on others. We do not create the surplus
needed to finance our development, let alone meet the day
to day cost of the modern life we all aspire for, including
having access to better social services and a modern infrastructure
necessary to facilitate the growth of a modern economy. The
new Government and Parliament face the challenge to move our
country from this positon of underdeveloped and economic dependence
as soon as possible.
Agriculture,
Livestock, and Fishery
Honourable Speaker,
Our economy remains
too dependent on agriculture, livestock and fishery, which
together account for almost half of Gross Domestic Product
(GDP), and provides livelihood to almost 80% of our people.
It goes without saying, there-fore, that modernisation of
our economy has to begin with these sectors. But our agriculture
is primitive, relying too much on the hand-hoe, and on rains
which increasingly become erratic and unreliable. We live
under the constant shadow of food shortages. Our animal husbandry
is equally primitive, as is most of our fishing.
Our involvement
in agriculture, livestock and fisheries is largely of a subsistence
nature, characterised by low productivity. We create hardly
any surplus to invest as individuals, or as a nation. We must
now increase the application of new knowledge, including science
and technology, in our activities. Only then can we make the
transition from a subsistence economy to a modern market economy.
Increased production and productivity, and the creation of
surplus, is the only way to fight poverty in rural areas,
and to stem rural-urban migration, as well as increase our
exports. We shall endeavour to empower our people, as individuals
or as groups, to have a profitable stake in a modern market
economy.
We will help small-scale
farmers, livestock keepers, and fishermen. But we will also
seek to attract large-scale farmers, ranchers and fishing
companies, according to laid down regulations, which will
ensure the needs and interests of small-scale farmers, pastoralists
and fishermen are fully protected.
Industry and
Trade
Honourable Speaker,
While it is true
that agriculture remains the backbone of our economy, and
that modernisation of agriculture, livestock keeping and fishery
is the only way to reduce poverty in rural areas in the short
to medium term, it is also true that a modern economy has
to be anchored in industrialisation. One of the yard-sticks
of development is the extent to which manufacturing contributes
to GDP, and the extent to which the share of agriculture declines.
In the 70s of
the last century, we invested substantially in industrialisation.
It was a correct strategy that enabled us to build the capacity
to be self-reliant in a number of consumer goods such as textiles,
footwear, soap and detergents, cooking oil and so on. But
the factories we built were public enterprises and we all
know the fate that befell them. Some of them ground to a halt,
others worked way below their installed capacity, and even
those that were still struggling to stay afloat could not
survive competition for they could not invest in new machinery
and production processes to produce better quality products
at competitive prices.
We have now privatised
most of those industries, some of which have already been
rehabilitated and are profitably up and running. Some of them
are still in different stages of rehabilitation, and new ones
are under construction. We will continue to invite and create
a conducive environment for more Foreign Direct Investment.
We need them to bring into the country new technologies and
skills, as well as new management and marketing expertise,
so as to build a national capacity for import substitution
in respect of consumer goods as well as increase our competitiveness
in external trade and a border-less world market.
Because our economy
remains heavily dependent on agriculture, we will attach great
importance to industries that will add value to our agricultural
products, our livestock products and our fish products. We
must process them and pack them competitively in terms of
price and quality according to acceptable international standards.
We have managed to do so in relation to fish fillets from
Lake Victoria. We can if we are so determined, do likewise
for meat, cashew-nuts, cooking oil, cotton, coffee, sisal
and so on.
This is an area
where, if we organise ourselves well and put in place special
incentives as we did for the mining sector, we can attract
into Tanzania the requisite investment and modern technology
that can enable us to penetrate the world market. The purpose
is also to link efforts at modernisation of agriculture, livestock
and fisheries with efforts to build a modern industrial base
focussing on processing our primary products. In so doing,
we shall not only succeed to add value to our exports, but
also ensure our domestic producers of primary products get
a ready and reliable market.
On the question
of building the capacity for processing primary products,
I shall be very firm. Those I will put in charge of this task
must understand that from the beginning. We cannot continue
to encourage increased production in agriculture only to export
raw products for processing abroad, benefiting those processors
while our farmers are neither sure of the market of their
produce, nor the prices at which they will have to sell. In
addition, all jobs associated with processing our products
are created abroad rather than in Tanzania.
As far as trade
is concerned, we must now put more emphasis on regional trade,
especially with our fellow members of the East African Community
and the Southern African Development Community (SADC). We
shall also encourage the setting up of Export Processing Zones.
Mining
Honourable Speaker
It is now clear
that Tanzania is richly endowed with all kinds of minerals.
This sector also illustrates what can be achieved through
foreign direct investment, as long as good policies and an
attractive investment climate are in place, including a conducive
legal, administrative and fiscal policy regime and framework.
The diamond mine at Mwadui, which was on the verge of being
shut down, has now been rehabilitated and revived using modern
technology such that production has risen strongly from 25,
540 carats in 1994 to 234,800 carats last year. Two modern
large-scale gold mines are already in production at Nzega
and Geita. Another one will come on stream at Bulyankulu next
year, while others are still under construction. The application
of the latest technology has ensured that Tanzanian gold remains
profitable even at this time when gold prices are depressed
on the world market.
The task ahead
is to encourage investment in exploration and construction
of new modern large-scale mines, and in hydrocarbons; and
train more of our young people in the relevant skills so that
they can get jobs. We also have to continue bringing artisanal
mining into the formal economy. We shall encourage Meremeta
company to continue assisting small scale gold miners with
training and skills development, as well as lending them modern
equipment, and giving them a ready, reliable, and fair market
for their gold.
We will help small-scale
miners dealing in gemstones. We will co-operate with other
stakeholders to evolve a transparent and official market for
gemstones, as well as attract investors in the lapidary industry.
It is my desire that Tanzania should eventually earn its rightful
place among gemstone producing nations of the world instead
of letting other countries benefit and derive fame from minerals
and gemstones originating from Tanzania.
Tourism
Honourable Speaker,
Tanzania is increasingly
becoming famous in the world as a very worthwhile tourist
destination. I congratulate those in Government and in the
private sector that are promoting our tourism abroad, and
those providing different services to tourists coming to Tanzania.
Tourism has many linkages to the rest of the economy, including
transport and travelling, hotels, restaurants, cultural products
and objets d'art, as well as wildlife. Tourism is also labour
intensive and creates employment opportunities, especially
for women. For all these reasons, we will continue to improve
our tourism product and promote it. The Government will also
continue to improve the infrastructure, including roads, being
used by tourists.
Economic Infrastructure
Honourable Speaker,
A modern economy
cannot be built without a modern infrastructure. Roads, railway
lines, airports, ports, telecommunications, postal services,
information technology, energy, water and so on are all very
important for the development of a modern economy.
We shall attach
greater importance to this sector in the next five years.
As it is stated in the CCM Election Manifesto some of the
tarmac roads that will be constructed during this period include
completion ofthe Dar es Salaam-Kibiti-Mingoyo road, along
with the Rufiji bridge; Dodoma-Singida-Shinyanga-Mwanza road;
Mtwara-Masai-Tunduru-Songea-Mbamba Bay road; as well as Makuyuni-Ngorongoro
Gate road.
We have established
a better structure and mechanism for road construction and
maintenance through the Road Fund and TANROADS. It is our
expectation that from now on regular maintenance will ensure
roads are not left to deteriorate to such an extent that it
is necessary to ask donors to help us build anew the same
roads. Instead, we shall seek to use grants or loans to build
new roads where there are none.
During this period
we shall also launch a regulatory framework for public utility
providers, including for water, electricity, ports, railway
lines and so on. Such a regulatory framework is necessary
as we move on towards the privatisation of these important
public utilities. We expect that through privatisation we
shall be able to expand and modernise them, so that they can
contribute more to the development of a modern economy.
Social Services
Honourable Speaker,
Good progress
has been achieved over the years, in co-operation with donors
and the people, in putting in place a countrywide basic social
service delivery infrastructure that can provide basic social
services to our people especially in rural areas. But as a
result of financial constraints in the 80s and 90s, we had
to rely more on our people to expand those services. The quality
of the services also suffered.
It is now incumbent
upon every citizen to contribute towards development of the
economic capacity to sustain the cost of better social services.
I am very hopeful that the debt relief that we seek to secure
next year will go a long way in augmenting Government's capacity
to support the self-development initiatives of our people,
including in dealing with problems related to education, health,
water, rural roads, and the HIV/AIDS scourge.
Education
Honourable Speaker,
Quality education
is an important catalyst in building a modern economy, and
in the economic empowerment of the people. We shall, therefore,
reorient our education towards encouraging initiative and
problem-solving skills, as well as the application of cience
and tech-nology at all levels of the economy. Likewise, we
shall add a new impetus on the philosophy of Education for
Self-Reliance. On its part, the Government will increase its
budgetary allocation to the education sector, as well as improve
relations with the donor community, the private sector, civil
society, Non-Governmental Organisations and religious institutions.
We will also put
emphasis on technical and adult education as in the past.
Priority will be given to improving the productivity of our
people through the transmission of new knowledge and skills.
The goal is to help them modernise their agriculture, animal
husbandry and fisheries, thereby augmenting their own incomes,
as well as contributing more to the national wealth.
Health
Honourable Speaker,
The Government
will continue to improve access to basic health services for
all the people without discrimination. Special attention will
be directed towards preventive services, and in building the
capacity to deal with epidemics, mother-and-child services,
and public health education. The people will also continue
to be sensitised on cost sharing, especially through the expansion
of Community Health Funds that shave shown great success in
the districts that have already established them
HIV/AIDS remains
a great threat for the survival and well being of our nation.
We shall, therefore, direct much greater attention towards
efforts to contain the spread of HIV/AIDS, as well as other
major and life-threatening diseases such as malaria, TB, and
dysentary.
Water
Honourable Speaker,
The National Water
Policy will be implemented with the urgency it deserves. Among
other things we shall promote the empowerment of the people
to get safe and adequate water near their homesteads. The
needs of livestock, farmers, industries and power generation
will also be borne in mind.
We shall encourage
the wider application of simple technology in rain harvesting
in both urban and rural areas, as well as the construction
or rehabilitation of dams and dikes. Water authorities at
different levels will be required to involve the participation
of the people in ensuring the successful implementation of
all these activities. There are parts of our country where
these strategies to increase water supply have succeeded very
much. We shall sensitise others to learn from the successful
ones. In addition, special efforts will be made to protect
the environment near water sources. Water Committees and Funds
will be strengthened and extended to all parts of the country
to develop the capacity to sustain and maintain completed
water supply projects.
Habitation
Honourable Speaker,
An important development
yardstick is the quality of one's housing. It is unacceptable
that in the 21st Century our people should live in houses
that are no better than those inhabited by our ancestors at
the beginning of the 20th Century. The people will be encouraged
to build better houses, including by learning from those areas
where progress in this matter has been attained, such as Mbinga
and Kibondo districts.
In urban areas
the Government will enhance its capacity to survey plots,
and encourage the production of building materials. As a way
to facilitate the construction of better houses in both urban
and rural areas, we will consult with financial institutions
on the best way to finance homeownership and housing construction
through loans, and the establishment of a primary and secondary
mortgage market. It is time that we began to use houses as
a source of capital.
Frankly, I wonder
in how many countries in the world people still build houses
straight from their own pockets as we are wont to do in Tanzania!!
Anyhow, this is a veritable illustration of a backward economy.
In addition, it is a great incentive to corruption; increasing
the wealth gap between people who normally should have been
of similar means. I shall ask those I will put in charge of
this sector to quickly come up with proposals on how to deal
with this urgent problem. It is the aspiration of Chama Cha
Mapinduzi and my Government that as many people as possible
should be homeowners.
Self-Development
and Self-Reliance
Honourable Speaker,
Sustainable development
can only derive from the people themselves, a product of an
earnest desire to live a better life. Development that is
forced on people who are not ready-ready in in terms of outlook,
of determination, and of capacity-cannot take root in a community,
and ultimately will wither away and be blown away by the slightest
wind of problems.
The only development
that can really thrive in a community, and which will be owned
and sustained by the community, is that which is planned,
implemented, and programmed by the community concerned. Helpful
external intervention can only take two forms. First, it is
assistance in building the local capacity-in terms of skills
and technology-to design, plan co-ordinate and evaluate development
programmes and projects. Secondly, it is assistance with capital
to take up the slack where the contributions of the people
have failed to meet the full cost of a particular project.
What is given
for free is not valued; and development given on a platter
cannot be appreciated as that obtained through hard work.
A government, rich as it possibly could be, cannot put money
in people's pockets. The poverty of an individual, or of a
household, can only be eradicated through hard work and the
application of new knowledge and skills in each family and
each homestead. The poverty of a village can only be eradicated
through the efforts and skills in that village. The Government,
donors and Non-Governmental Organisations can only help to
create a conducive environment for development, to build the
necessary technical capacity, and to augment the capital required.
But ownership of any development programme and project must
remain vested in the group or community that will ultimately
benefit from its success, or suffer from its failure.
We already have
many projects in Tanzania, including in the villages, that
have been established according to this development philosophy.
The Community Health Fund project I referred to earlier is
one such project, which has succeeded beyond our initial expectations.
Igunga district is a good example. There are villages that
have managed to design, plan, implement and develop mechanisms
to evaluate their own development programmes. The Unyhankhanya
village in Singida is one such example. Many schools and health
delivery centres have been built on self-help by people who
are determined to solve their own problems. Ruangwa district
is a good example. Water projects that have been designed,
implemented and owned by women are very successful. Go to
Shinyanga to see for yourselves.
On average, in
the last 5 years, the Government received from the people
60 new Secondary Schools each year built on helf-help. The
people are ready; the question that begs an answer is whether
the leaders, including you Honourable Members of Parliament,
are ready.
These kinds of
programmes and projects, and the people's determination to
self-develop and own their own programmes and projects must
now be supported more actively by the Government, donors,
and non-Governmental Organisations. Our people must now be
sensitised more regularly to own their destiny, and to be
creators, not just receivers, of development.
Honourable Speaker,
This is the correct
path towards the rapid eradication of poverty, and the fire
that has been lit in some parts of our country needs to spread
to all corners of the country. I will continue to count on
you, Honourable Members of Parliament and Councillors, to
spread that fire. What can be done in one district or region,
can also be done in another place, unless the leadership there
is deficient.
I have said that
the Government will increase its capacity to contribute where
the people will be ready to develop themselves on the basis
of this philospohy of development. That capacity, to an extent,
will come from the debt relief we have been promised. And
in view of the the endorsement that donor countries have given
to this strategy, I expect them to increase their support
in its implementation. We have already, for example, The Tanzania
Social Action Fund (TASAF) financed by a World Bank Loan,
and the Small Entrepreneurs Loar Facility (SELF) financed
by a loan from the African Development Bank. And there are
a few more such initiatives. I should like, therefore, to
thank donor countries and multilateral financial institutions
and other organisations that are contributing to the empowerment
of Tanzanians in terms of access to capital.
Honourable Speaker,
In the last two
years, I have been impressed by a simple technology being
used to build inexpensive houses. One Primary School in Chamwino
has been built using the technology by which a whole school
can be completed in a few months. We are presently using the
technology to build a District Police Station and Police houses
at Kiteto district as well as in Dar es Salaam. For those
District Councils that have already mobilised people for self-development,
I urge them to acquire this inexpensive technology that will
help them sort out in a short time their problems with classrooms,
schools, latrines, teacher housing, dispensaries, medical
personal housing, and even private houses at low cost and
high speed.
Economic Empowerment
of the People
Honourable Speaker,
The CCM Policy
Outlook for the Nineties stated:
"The purpose
of the policy of Ujamaa and Self-Reliance in the nineties
will be to ensure that the people themselves own and manage
the national economy, either individually or through their
various free co-operative societies, through joint ventures
in which thousands of our people can own shares, and through
public ownership of those enterprises that will continue to
be state- owned."
This continues
to be part of CCM Policy Outlook for the Years 2000-2010.
In implementing
this policy, we realise that Tanzanians of African descent
were not in the past given the opportunity to take an active
part in modern agriculture, industry and commerce, both domestic
and external. Africans remained confined to traditional forms
of agriculture, animal husbandry and fishing. Until this day,
they continue to be on the periphery of the modern economic
sector in our country. In summary, they have neither the capacity
to own and manage such an economy, nor the capital and experience
to do so. This is not healthy from the political point of
view, as well as the economic and social one.
The strategy to
empower them economically is what we intend to apply in order
to bring many more into the mainstream of a modern economy,
and to give them the chance to own and manage the economy
in their own country. The basic concept here is empowerment,
that is to create a conducive environment that will allow
them to own land, industries and working tools, as well as
capital to invest in economic activities, and an education
and skills to run a business and other economic projects.
Women and the Youth will be given special priority inthe implementation
of this strategy.
Co-operatives
as an Empowerment Tool
Honourable Speaker,
For the weak,
unity is strength. In economic matters, especially in the
sectors of agriculture, animal husbandry and fisheries, co-operative
societies are the main tool for uniting people and giving
them the strength to protect their interests and self-develop.
That also applies to groups involved in other forms of production
and service delivery. We shall disabuse the people of the
notion that co-operatives belong to the Government, and emphasise
instead that they belong to the members themselves, for their
benefit.
Co-operatives
are a way to give members capital from their own contributions
and from various charges they levy, and to ensure their products
reach the market, and inputs and tools are delivered on time
to the farmers. Co-operatives are also a good way to impart
co-operative education, as well as production skills to thier
members.
It was through
the co-operative movement that in the past, in the Lake Zone,
Kilimanjaro and Mbeya regions, it even became possible for
famers to send their children to school, within and outside
the country, and contribute to the development of their regions.
It was the co-operative movement that assured them of a secure
market for their produce, as well as availablity of agricultural
inputs. If we could do it in the past we can do it again today.
Our co-operative
movement was disrupted because of theft, embezzlement and
corruption. But the importance of the co-operative spirit
remains undiminished. We must build the co-operative movement
and spirit afresh. We can, and we must do so. Priority will
be accorded to building new and strong primary co-operative
societies that can empower and educate farmers, livestock
keepers and fishermen to eradicate poverty. They also must
empower them to refuse to be exploited by private middlemen,
and give them the education to enable them elect the leaders
of their own choice. They must also be enabled to take part
in decision-making on the leadership of the society and its
management, and ensure their management committees become
fully accountable to the members.
Saving and Credit
Societies will also be encouraged as a way to economically
liberate those without capital, including farmers, livestock
keepers, fishermen and even employees.
The Central Government
has established loan funds for women, the youth and entrepeneurs.
Local Governments have also been setting aside ten percent
of their revenues for a fund to give loans to women and the
youth. Such funds allocation will continue, and their administration
will be strengthened. We shall endeavour to increase budgetary
allocation from the Central Government to these funds and
ensure they flow smoothly and consistently as revenues permit.
In the next five
years we will increase our co-operation with those Non-Governmental
Organisations that foster the entrepreneurial outlook and
issue capital loans, as well as other institutions established
for that purpose. We will also create a better environment
to attract more people and institutions, within the country
and from outside to establish funds for the economic empowerment
of the people.
Financial Institutions
and Community Banks
Honourable Speaker,
We still have
a serious shortage of financial institutions that can give
loans to small investors in agriculture, livestock, fishing
or industry. We will need such institutions very much at this
time. Rural Development Credit will be a priority environment
objective. We expect the National Micro-Finance Bank to be
a leader in this area, and they have indeed begun to issue
micro-loans.
The establishment
of community banks can also help to create a conducive environment
for development. The City of Dar es Salaam is in the last
stages of forming one. Co-operative societies in Kilimanjaro
Region have already established a Co-operative Bank. Mwanga
and Mufindi Districts have established Community Banks. The
people in other regions will be encouraged to do likewise.
Foreign Affairs
Honourable Speaker
Since our independence,
Tanzania has always had a firm foreign policy that mirrors
our domestic policies and ideals on the international forum.
We remain ever grateful to the Father of the Nation for putting
up the foundation of such a policy. It is a policy that always
aspires to develop and maintain good neighbourly relations,
while defending the freedom, dignity, respect, equality and
the equal rights of all nations, big and small, rich and poor.
It is a policy that propelled Tanzania into the vanguard of
those seeking to unite weak and poor nations in pursuit of
common interests including the inalienable right to political
and economic liberation.
It is this same
policy that will guide us in the next five years. Priority
on the domestic plane will be on building the foundations
of a modern sustainable and fast growing economy. This same
priority has to clearly seen in our diplomacy. First, we will
ensure that our diplomacy promotes Tanzania as an investment
destination through the explication of the investment opportunities
available, and the investment climate created for that purpose.
In so doing, we shall be able to increase the pace of investment
in the country and the introduction of science and technology
in our economy, as well as new management and marketing skills.
Our diplomacy must also promote our tourism, and facilitate
the flow of tourists to our country, for tourism, as I said,
is a very important sector for the growth of our economy.
Within the country
we shall also be focussing on the war on pverty, and the construction
of modern infrastructure to meet the needs of a modern and
growing economy. This needs the active support of donors and
multilateral financial institutions. We need, for instance,
to quickly reach completion point for debt relief, and get
more grant resources. Our diplomats will be asked to contribute
to the facilitation of these initiatives.
In the neighbouring
countries and in Southern Africa, we shall strengthen our
co-operation and integration with these economies through
the East African Development Community and the Southern African
Development Community. After the coming into force of the
SADC Trade Protocol, we have to work harder to expand trade
with ourfellow members. Our diplomacy will bear in mind this
important matter.
But, peace and
security is absolutely necessary if we are to nurture good
neighbourly relations, and increase co-operation and the pace
of economic integration. We shall not tire, therefore, in
doing whatever we can to contribute to collective efforts
to find a peaceful resolution of all the conflicts in the
Great Lakes Region in co-operation with our colleagues in
this region, the Organisation of African Unity, and the United
Nations. It is also our desire that the restoration of peace
in those countries should lead to the repatriation of refugees
as soon as possible.
Defence and
Security
Honourable Speaker,
As it is in foreign
affairs, Mwalimu Nyerere also put a solid foundation for our
policy on defence and security, especially after creating
the Tanzania People's Defence Forces in 1964. All Tanzanians
derive great pride in this army. It is an army that trained
liberation movements that succeeded to liberate their countries
from the clutches of colonialism and discrimination. It successfully
defended the borders of our country against aggression, namely
during the war against Idd Amin. In natural disasters, such
as the sinking of the MV Bukoba, El Nino floods, and recently
when our Electoral Commissions needed their help, the Commanders,
Officers and men did a very good job. It was a job in which
the people also took part, in the conviction that the defence
of the country depends primarily on the people themselves.
We thank them.
Our policy will
continue to be the maintenance of the Tanzania People's Defence
Forces, as a small army in size, but a big one in terms of
its patriotism, its loyalty, its discipline and its preparedness
for war and the defence of our nation. It will be an army
that is close to the people, for the people, spearheading
national defence that involves the people themselves, including
through the people's militia.
We will also re-launch
the National Service for the same purpose for which it was
originally conceived, to build a sense of patriotism, nationhood,
unity, equality and solidarity among our young people; preparing
them for leadership and building the capacity for them to
take part in the defence of the country whenever necessary,
while learning various occupational skills.
We shall also
strengthen public security by improving the capacity of the
Police and the Prison Services, so as to give them new skills
in containing crime in society and the rehabilitation of criminals;
as well as new skills for criminal investigation and prosecution
especially as criminals are also using modern skills. We shall
also seek to improve their integrity so that we end up with
a Police Force that is friendly to the people, but terrifying
to criminals; a force that is at once patriotic and of the
highest integrity.
The Union
Honourable Speaker,
The two Governments
in the Union are both CCM Governments. And it is the policy
of CCM, a policy strongly endorsed by the people through the
Justice Kisanga Committee, that we shall continue to have
a Union with two Governments: The Government of the United
Republic of Tanzania and the Government of the Zanzibar Revolutionary
Government.
In the next five
years, our two Governments will work closely with one another
in strengthening our Union, in its present form, a Union that
remains a singular example of African Unity. We will defend
and promote our legacy of unity, brotherhood and solidarity
bequeathed to us by our Founding Fathers, Father of the Nation,
Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere, and Sheikh Abeid Amani Karume.
We concede that
there cannot be any Union structure without problems, but
the problems differ in their gravity, and the different solutions
being propsed for each of the problems also differ in their
gravity, and the advantages of each in relation to its disadvantages.
We shall, on our part, not accept any solution which, in actual
fact, ultimately leads to the weakening rather than the strengthening
of the Union.
It is true we
have had administrative problems and both sides have identified
them through various commissions. The Justice Kisanga Committee
also divulged such problems. When we rejected the Committee's
suggestion to establish a three Government structure, I stated
that it was not beyond our powers to resolve those administrative
problems under the present structure of the Union, and that
we deal with them after the General Elections.
We will, therefore,
design a mechanism that will involve a broad spectrum of leaders
from both sides and governments to develop a consensus on
key issues about the workings of the Union identified simultaneously
on both sides of the Channel as conducing to inefficient governance
or misconceptions and distortions regarding implications of
the Unity of the Polity. We hope to reach agreement on the
mechanism during the next 60 days and views are welcomed from
within and outside the country. I am sure that we shall be
able to conclude this matter expeditiously, in a brotherly
manner, which will help to further strengthhen the Union.
Conclusion
Honourable Speaker,
I have spoken
a lot, yet a lot remains unspoken. It is not possible to say
everything. What I wanted to do today was to inform this House
on the direction that the Government I shall constitute will
follow. I will try to form a Cabinet steeped in integrity,
ability and experience to implement all I have outlined here,
as well as those issues I have not been able to discuss today.
It will be an action-oriented Government, guided by clear
goals and performance targets. But it can only succeed with
the support of this House. I ask for that support. I said
I will form a government that will hit the ground running.
I pray that this Parliament should also hit the ground running.
I have spoken
here of a lot of groundwork that has been done in preparing
to launch an onslaught on poverty. I want to thank all the
bilateral donor countries and multilateral financial institutions
that have helped us so much to reach the stage we are in.
Many of them have already committed themselves towards the
next phase as we increase the tempo of the war on poverty.
I want to assure them of our openness and co-operation as
we seek to get the maximum impact from available resources.
I will continue to count on their support.
It is also important
that we maintain peace and stability in the country, that
we should continue to be deserving inheritors of the legacy
of the Father of the Nation, Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere,
whom you just remembered last Friday, 17th November, 2000.
Tanzanians have shown by their votes that they deserve to
inherit Mwalimu's legacy. To a very large extent their votes
spoke loudly and clearly against policies of discrimination
on the basis of gender, religion and tribalism, which some
political parties and candidates tried to use. Anyone who
cares to analyse the voting pattern will realise that to a
very large extent the people refused to be divided along the
lines of gender, tribalism and religion. Of all the CCM women
candidates only one did not win the election. It is now incumbent
upon this Parliament to bear this in mind and take the cue
from the people.
There is a Kisukuma
proverb that says, "I pointed out to you the moon and
the stars, and all you saw was the tip of my finger".
And we have among us people who accept to be so overwhelmed
by today's problems that they fail to see the brighter and
better life we can all attain if we have the necessary drive,
if we all work hard, intelligently, with discipline and integrity;
yes, the moon and the stars.
My plea to you
all, and to all my fellow Tanzanians, is that we should all
come together, as brothers and sisters of one Nation, and
decide collectively, and with great determination, to make
Tanzania a better place for everyone, an example to the rest
of Africa. Mwalimu told us: "It can be done, play your
part".
There is a Latin
proverb that says:
"The evil
that men do survives them. They murder after their death by
the sentiments they have promulgated and by the laws they
have made".
As you begin your
important work here, I ask you, Honourable Members of this
House, to remember that proverb. And I wish you all the best
so that this House should be remembered, not for anything
evil, but for all the good things you can do, for your consideration
and debate on the issues before this house, and the laws you
will pass for the benefit of our Nation, and of our fellow
Tanzanians.
God Bless Africa.
God Bless Tanzania.
I thank you for
your kind attention.
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APARC