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Painful decisions coming - President
2006-02-13 08:12:33
By Guardian Reporter, Dodoma
President Jakaya Kikwete has said that he might be forced to make ’painful’ decisions that would be beneficial to a majority of Tanzanians.
’There are a lot of problems in the country’s leadership. Sometimes, we can make decisions that are painful to some people, but useful to the majority,’ said Kikwete, during a meeting with Dodoma elders.
’That is the difficulty with leadership. Some people may not be happy with the decisions, but as a leader I have to stick to such decisions so long as I know that the majority of Tanzanians would benefit from them,’ said Kikwete.
During the meeting, the President also expressed his readiness and willingness to utilise the wisdom and advice of elders for the development of the country.
’The father of the nation, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere once told me in 1987 that, if you are close to wazee, the country becomes peaceful. At that time, I did not understand the meaning of the statement until I was nominated to vie for the presidency,’ he said.
He said that he was ready to receive advice from the ’senior citizens’ regarding issues of national importance, even if it is a rebuke on his leadership.
Said the President:’Don’t leave me alone. I once said in Dar es Salaam that the New Vision, New Vigour and New Zeal slogan would not amount to much if I depended on the youth and ignored the elders. That way, the country would plunge into serious problems.’
He said there was no special training for one to become president and added that there are some things that might go wrong and others would be implemented with success during his reign.
His government, he said, had got off to an ominous note and cited the prevailing drought, shortage of food, and unreliable power supply as some of the factors that could slow down his efforts to steer the country to higher levels of development.
On their side, the elders said they were satisfied with how the fourth-phase government had started.
They hailed the President’s visits to ministries and his drive to curb corruption and inefficiency.
They appealed to the government to look after the elderly members of society, especially in terms of healthcare.
Speaking on behalf of others, Omar Suleiman, aged over 100 years, said that, despite the fact that elders were treasure of knowledge to the country, the contribution of the youths should not be overlooked.
’We need the youth to develop the country,’Omar said.
First Lady, Salma Kikwete, Dodoma Regional Commissioner William Lukuvi, CCM secretary-general Philip Mangula were among the VIPs who attended the meeting.
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