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The bad and the good of CCM at Butiama
2008-04-03 08:41:29
By Chris Joe
Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) has ruled this country for 30 plus years now, without counting the years its predecessors, the Tanganyika African National Union (TANU) for Mainland and the Afro-Shiraz Party (ASP) for Zanzibar had been in power.
Together, the party has been in power for nearly 50 years.
For all these years, CCM has enjoyed unprecedented popular support from the masses, and that is why the people have returned it to power over and over again including during the multiparty democracy era we are in today.
Thanks, I would say, to amateurish leadership of the so-called opposition political parties on the one hand, and the solid foundation policy-wise and leadership-wise laid down by the founder of CCM, the late Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere.
But, for how long will CCM continue to enjoy the people's mandate? The party had been popular not only because its policies appealed to the people`s expectations, but also because of the respect its leadership enjoyed for its steadfastness.
Can the party boast of the same qualities today? Does the leadership seem to still be in touch with its members, not to speak of the general public?
That question might sound like wanting to force a `NO` answer from the reader.
However, I am willing to bet my little fingernail that this question is on the lips of many a Tanzanian, maybe in a different form or wording.
For example, they could be asking questions like: What is CCM up to? Why has it lost the ability to read the times? Has it grown overconfident? Or could it be that it has reached its retirement age?
To some of us, especially those who would like to make hasty judgements and decisions, this may seem to be the case and ironically, they could be right.
No one can be one hundred per cent right in these matters, or even 70 per cent sure, only reasonably certain, taking into consideration other factors at play.
Yes, I am talking about the CCM's National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting at Butiama, Mwalimu Nyerere`s birth place.
I am sure you know what it means when we talk about Mwalimu Julius Nyerere in relation to Chama Cha Mapinduzi.
Suffice it to remind you that as soon as CCM announced that it was going to hold its NEC meeting in Butiama, everyone made his or her own conclusion.
In the wake of the Richmond scandal and the EPA fiasco and other disgraceful actions by some Party and government heavyweights, there were those who thought, and said, CCM was going to Butiama to cleanse itself at Mwalimu`s grave and many such trivialities.
But the big deal about the ruling party`s NEC meeting this time was not actually where it was held, rather, what it would discuss and more importantly, what would come out of the closed door meeting.
And for that matter, there were two issues of interest to many a good citizen.
One was about the soiled image of the Party through the Richmond and the EPA embarrassments involving party cadres holding `respectable` positions in the party and government.
The second issue was the CCM/CUF accord (Muafaka) proposals reached at the joint CCM and CUF committees, or simply, the Muafaka Committee.
As such all ears were tuned to Butiama, itching to hear what the policy making and decision making organ of the party would come up with on the two issues.
Well, NEC came out with some interesting (for lack of a better word) announcements.
We know little about what the NEC decided on concerning ufisadi in its ranks, only that the item barely touched and was put aside to a later date citing lack of time for serious deliberations.
This means that the muafaka issue consumed most of the time and insiders confirm a heated debate on the issue.
So we were grossly disappointed with NEC on the ufisadi issue because we wanted to hear what the all important party organ would say about those we believe grabbed and ate (they are still eating it, I`m told) our money both in the Richmond and EPA scandals.
We also thought NEC would clear matters concerning separating business from politics. Maybe they will tell us later, but it won't be as juicy. I mean, it will be like eating frozen meat or fish.
About Muafaka? Well, that is something else. It was sort of an anti-climax, indeed, especially bearing in mind what the other party, CUF, had already told us.
You see, CUF had sort of laid our some appetising dish and every one was salivating, ready to eat but CCM came and took the food away telling us to wait until the table was properly laid out and we washed our hands in warm water.
They are telling us that the food was half-cooked and in essence, they are right, I think.
I mean, what the Muafaka committee came up with were not resolutions to be implemented by concerned parties, but proposals, or recommendations, if you like, to be confirmed or amended, improved upon, or even rejected outright by the relevant parties.
Fortunately, or unfortunately, CUF accepted and endorsed the recommendations wholesale and went on to tell the world about it.
Again, fortunately or unfortunately, not so with CCM, who said in principle they accepted the proposals but proposed some amendments to the Muafaka proposals.
And they went further, that since the recommendations were far reaching if accepted, requiring amendment of the Zanzibar Constitution, the people of Zanzibar should be involved.
To me, this sounds like a logical and more democratic approach.
But I also think I understand the consternation by CUF and their supporters who think the process might take a long time and they have been in the political cold for far too long.
That is the price of democracy. Maybe it was wrong for CUF to whet our appetite when the food was not ready to be served.
We must take all necessary precautions so that we come out with an everlasting solution to the political impasse. Kawia ufike, Waswahili remind us always (better late than never). People should not allow their emotions blot their logic and we should not let our personal ambitions get the better of us.
But CCM must also remember another Kiswahili saying: Ngoja ngoja yaumiza matumbo, literally meaning too much waiting is harmful.
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