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War, not partying, for post-poll CCM
2007-11-06 08:40:01
By Editor
AT last, the ruling CCM has decided on those to lead it through the coming five years. The gruelling elections are safely over, naturally leaving behind both victors and casualties.
But all that is now history. Those who have filtered through must be celebrating, as the vanquished lick their wounds and probably make plans on how to fare better come the next such war – in 2012.
Through the epic address in Dodoma on Saturday by its national chairman, President Jakaya Kikwete, the party has set for itself a formidable agenda that translates into a mission.
The mission`s salient features include fighting corruption within and outside CCM and the Government, helping the national economy grow more partly by putting to more patriotic and judicious use the country`s natural resources, making Tanzania more secure and peaceful, combating poverty, ignorance and disease, improving governance, and consolidating Tanzania`s links with the outside world.
An outline of the development challenges our country must meet comes as list running thus: education, healthcare, water and power supply, environmental pollution, poverty alleviation, unemployment, social and economic justice, and empowering persons with disabilities.
The focus would also be on sports, gender issues, drug abuse and other forms of crime, political, racial, tribal and religious tolerance, science and technology, and regional and international relations.
The CCM Chairman touched on all these although he appeared especially keen on the country’s sovereignty, ways to tame corruption, and making sure that Tanzania reaps maximum benefits from its natural and other resources but without needlessly frightening away investors.
Seeing the way the CCM electoral congress has conducted its affairs, it would be hard even for inveterate pessimists to find the party wanting on any major score.
This is therefore justified cause for pride on the part of the party itself and a huge sigh of relief for the nation because having the ruling party run aground or go off the mark on major issues of national interest is doubtless catastrophic.
CCM Chairman Kikwete`s three-hour speech to the Dodoma congress on Saturday will be remembered for many reasons, one being that he used it to admit that neither the party nor the nation was having it very smooth but also to stress that the dark cloud on the horizon had a silver lining.
His message echoed this one in the last address Mwalimu Julius Nyerere delivered in the National Assembly in Dar es Salaam on July 29, 1985: `My successor and the successors of some of you in this House will have immense problems to deal with…Despite the encouraging signs which are beginning to be seen, our economic situation remains very bad, and it will continue to be bad for a long time to come.`
Given the many problems facing our country and our people, there is no time for partying even for those CCM members for whom the just-ended party elections have been an occasion to remember with joy, pride and satisfaction. We congratulate them, for sure, but the war has just begun.
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