Dar es Salaam. Good morning! The Chanzo is here with a rundown of major news stories reported in Tanzania over the weekend.
Mwinyi says parties in Z’bar have ‘abandoned’ their differences to focus on nation-building
Zanzibar President Hussein Mwinyi has said that political parties in the semi-autonomous archipelago have decided to abandon their differences to focus more on the economy which he says is in a bad situation.
In an interview with the Asharq Al-Awsat, an Arabic international newspaper headquartered in London, Dr Mwinyi said that “the political stability” in the isles is key to maximizing economic and food security and accelerating the infusion of foreign and domestic investments.
“Zanzibar has become politically stable, which created an environment for development, investment, social and economic prosperity, and transformed political momentum into economic momentum,” Mr Mwinyi is quoted as saying.
President Mwinyi is credited for convincing the opposition ACT-Wazalendo to partner with the ruling Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM) to form a Government of National Unity (GNU) in Zanzibar.
Although the GNU is a constitutional requirement, ACT-Wazalendo declined to take part in it as it rejected the election results that gave Mr Mwinyi of CCM the victory.
After consulting its members across the Zanzibar archipelago, and Mwinyi’s invitation, ACT-Wazalendo decided to enter into GNU, with demands to President Mwinyi – including the demand that the government pay compensation to all Zanzibaries who were hurt during the 2020 election – demands that as of writing have not been worked on.
President Mwinyi, however, initiated a process to seek political reconciliation, forming a task force to put together stakeholders’ opinions on multiparty democracy, a task that has already been completed and recommendations are currently waiting for his implementation.
But the process was tainted recently following Mr Mwinyi’s appointment of Mr Thabit Idarous Faina as the director of the Zanzibar Electoral Commission (ZEC), an appointment that was rejected by ACT-Wazalendo which claims that it doesn’t reflect well on Mwinyi’s commitments to reconciliation, putting the issue of survival of the GNU in question.
At the capacity of ZEC director, Mr Faina oversaw the 2020 general election that human rights organisations said was marred by “massive irregularities,” setting off a wave of violence that affected several people in Zanzibar, some died while others have remained with permanent disabilities.
Following the appointment, ACT-Wazalendo said it will be consulting its members in Zanzibar on the question of whether it should remain in the GNU or it should leave. As of writing, the party had not announced the final decision regarding the matter.
The sixth Kiswahili international conference kicks off in Zanzibar
Zanzibar President Hussein Ali Mwinyi on Sunday opened the sixth Kiswahili International Conference, urging delegates to make the language global.
Dr Mwinyi urged the delegates from across the world to support efforts to demonstrate the importance of Kiswahili for Zanzibar, Tanzania, and the world at large.
“Let us join forces in promoting the use of Kiswahili with a view of making it one of the global languages,” he told the delegates to the conference organised by the Zanzibar Kiswahili Council on Pemba Island.
Mwinyi said Kiswahili stood a chance of playing a major part towards national economic development as well as individual economic empowerment as teachers will get employment to teach the language in various countries, including South Africa and in the seven member states of the East African Community (EAC).
He said many countries were shifting to using Kiswahili in their radio and television broadcasts and teaching the language in their higher learning institutions, which was another opportunity for Tanzanians to get employment.
The 41st session of the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) proclaimed July 7 of each year as World Kiswahili Language Day.
UNHCR praises Tanzania for support to refugees
The United Nations refugee agency has commended Tanzania for its “unwavering support” in hosting refugees, a statement has said.
The statement released on Friday by the Ministry of Finance and Planning said the praise was given by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Country Representative for Tanzania Mahoua Parums when she held talks with the Minister of Finance and Planning Mwigulu Nchemba in Dar es Salaam.
Parums said Tanzania is currently hosting about 162,000 refugees who have fled political conflicts in their countries.
She also commended Tanzania for continuing to nurture peace and harmony, the factors that she said attract investors to invest in the east African nation.
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