Utashi Unahitajika Ili Tuushinde Ufisadi

Mkurugenzi Mkuu wa Taasisi ya Kuzuia Rushwa TAKUKURU Dr. Edward Hosea akimkaribisha Rais Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete kufungua mkutano mkuu wa Mwaka wa taasisi hiyo.Picha kwa hisani ya MJENGWA

Hivi karibuni,uongozi wa kampuni ya magari ya Toyota ya Japan ulifanya jambo moja la kiungwana kwa kuwaomba radhi wateja wake kutokana na hitilafu za kiufundi katika modeli moja ya magari yake.Japo sakata hilo bado ni bichi hasa kwa vile inaelekea hitilafu hiyo bado haijapatiwa ufumbuzi,na tayari kuna habari za kushuka kwa hisa za kampuni hiyo katika masoko mbalimbali ya mitaji duniani,ni dhahiri hatua ya kuomba radhi imeonyesha kwamba kwa namna flani kampuni hiyo inatambua wajibu wake na inawajali wateja wake.

Majuzi,Rais Jakaya Kikwete alimwaga sifa kwa Taasisi ya Kuzuia na Kupambana na Rushwa (TAKUKURU) huku akijigamba kwamba serikali ya awamu ya nne imekuwa mstari wa mbele katika mapambano dhidi ya rushwa.Binafsi sidhani kama kauli hiyo ya JK inaendana na hali halisi ya utendaji na ufanisi wa TAKUKURU.

Kimsingi,tatizo haliko kwenye taasisi hiyo pekee bali kwenye medani nzima ya utawala bora.Angalia,kwa mfano,kauli za Waziri mwenye dhamana ya Utawala Bora,Mheshimiwa Sophia Simba,wakati wa sakata lililowahusisha wafanyabiashara wawili mashuhuri Bwana Reginald Mengi na Bwana Rostam Aziz.Badala ya kuhamasisha wananchi wanaojitokeza kuwaumbua hadharani mafisadi,Waziri Simba aliamua kuelemea upande mmoja ambapo bila aibu alimkemea Bwana Mengi huku akimlinda Bwana Rostam.

TAKUKURU hiyohiyo inayopongezwa na JK haijafanikiwa kujisafisha na tuhuma za namna ilivyouhadaa umma kuhusu suala la utapeli wa kampuni ya Richmond.Kamati ya Bunge iliyoundwa kuchunguza sakata hilo ilipendekeza Mkurugenzi Mkuu wa TAKUKURU Dr Edward Hosea,uamuzi ambao uko mikononi wa aliyemteua Hosea,yaani JK mwenyewe.Kwa hali ilivyo,na ukitilia maanani pongezi alozotoa JK kuhusu ufanisi katika mapambano dhidi ya ufisadi,ni dhahiri kuwa Rais hana mpango wa kumwajibisha Dr Hosea.

Nimesema tatizo liko kwenye utawala bora kwa vile hata chama tulichokipa dhamana ya kutuongoza-CCM-kimeendelea kufanya dhihaka linapokuja suala la utawala bora.Hivi inaingia akilini kweli kusikia kuwa Mbunge wa Bariadi,Bwana Andrea Chenge,bado ni mwenyekiti wa kamati ya maadili ya chama hicho tawala licha ya kuhusishwa kwake na tuhuma za ufisadi wa ununuzi wa rada!?Tusisahau kuwa pamoja na mageuzi ya kisiasa ya miaka ya tisini,bado chama tawala kimeendelea kuwa na nguvu pengine zaidi ya serikali,hoja kubwa ikiwa serikali hiyo imeundwa kutokana na ushindi wa chama husika.Kinachopuuzwa ni ukweli kuwa chama hicho hakikuomba ridhaa ya wanachama wake pekee bali Watanzania kwa ujumla.

Ni dhahiri kwamba kunakosekana utashi na udhati wa kupambana na ufisadi.Na kikwazo kikubwa kimeendelea kuwa kuweka mbele maslahi binafsi na ya chama badala ya maslahi ya umma/taifa.Pengine,na kwa hakika,badala ya kutetea mapungufu,ni muhimu kwa CCM na serikali yake kuiga mfano wa kampuni ya Toyota.Imetuangusha sana sio tu kwa kulegea katika mapambano dhidi ya ufisadi bali pia kwa ushiriki wake kwa kuwalinda watuhumiwa wa ufisadi.Laiti chama hicho kingekuwa na dhamira na utashi wa kukabiliana na ufisadi basi ni dhahiri Kamati ya Mwinyi inayoshughulikia mpasuko ndani ya chama hicho (wengine wanadai hakuna mpasuko) ingekuwa na kazi nyepesi tu ya kupendekeza wahusika wafikishwe kwenye vyombo vya sheria ili wasafishwe au waadhibiwe huko.Ikumbukwe kuwa tuhuma zinazowakabili watuhumiwa hao hazijaiathiri CCM pekee bali Watanzania wote kwa ujumla.

Nimalizie kwa kukumbushia usemi wa Kiingereza kwamba To err is human but to rectify is greatness,yaani (kwa tafsiri isiyo rasmi) kukosea ni ubinadamu lakini kujirekebisha ni uungwana.

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SPIKA SITTA,ACHA KUROPOKA

Angalia "mchemsho" huu  wa Spika wa Bunge la Jamhuri ya Muungano Samuel SITTA.Anarusha tuhuma nzito dhidi ya wanaharakati wanaokusudia kuandamana kupinga "mahitimisho ya mjadala wa Richmond bungeni" ilhali katika habari husika ameshindwa kuthibitisha tuhuma hizo.Kibaya zaidi,yeye mwenyewe aliporushiwa tuhuma kama hizo aligeuka mbongo.Hebu soma kwanza habari husika (hasa maneno ya rangi nyekundu)

Salim Said

SPIKA wa Bunge Samuel Sitta amewashukia wana-mtandao wa asasi za kiraia zinazotetea usawa wa jinsia, haki za binadamu na maendeleo ya ukombozi wa Wanawake, akisema wanatia mashaka na kwamba wanaendeshwa na utashi binafsi wa wajanja wachache, huku wenyewe wakisema maandamano yapo palepale.

Wanaharakati hao, walitangaza maandamano makubwa ya amani yatakayoendeshwa nchi nzima kupinga kuvungwavungwa kwa hoja za mikataba ya Richmond, TICTS, TRL, taarifa ya uchafuzi wa mazingira kwa kemikali za sumu katika mgodi wa North Mara na ukiukwaji wa haki za binadamu, Loliondo.

Akizungumza na Mwananchi jana Spika Samuel Sitta alipingana vikali na madai ya wanaharakati hao, kuhusu Bunge na kueleza kwamba mtu yeyote akitaka kupima uwezo na uzuri wa bunge katika maamuzi na kusimamia serikali aangalie rekodi ya kazi za bunge kuanzi mwaka 2005 hadi sasa.

'Mimi sikubaliani na wanaharakati hawa hata kidogo. Maandamano ni haki yao na waandamane, lakini hawawezi kupima kazi za bunge kwa kuangalia kipindi cha mitafaruku ," alisema Spika Sitta.

Spika Sitta alisema kuimarisha Bunge si kazi ya lele mama, bali ni mapambano yanayohitaji ujasiri wa hali ya juu.

"Mimi naamini kwamba bunge letu limeimarika katika kuisimamia serikali ukilinganisha na lilikotoka, wanaharakati wanapaswa kujua pia kuimarisha bunge ni mapambano," alisema Spika.

Kuhusu suala la bunge la mfumo shirikishi wa demokrasia, Spika Sitta alisema hilo ni kinyume na katiba, lakini aliwataka wanaharakati hao wajaribu kujenga hoja.

"Mimi naona mfumo wa demokrasia ya uwakilishi bungeni ni mzuri tu, kwa sababu unapatikana kupitia uchaguzi ambayo ni ridhaa ya wananchi, lakini mfumo shirikishi utapatikana wapi.

"Huwezi kushirikisha mashirika au taasisi hizo katika bunge, kwanza zinamwakilisha nani, kwanza haziwawakilishi wanawake ni utashi tu wa baadhi ya wajanja," alihoji Spika Sitta.

Alisema mitandao hiyo inatia mashaka kwa wahisani kwani baadhi ya taasisi zinakula fedha bila ya kupeleka mrejesho kwa wahusika.

"Mambo yote ya bunge yanajadiliwa hadharani na kila mtanzania anayetaka anasikia, lakini je mambo ya hawa wanaharakati na mitandao yao yanajadiliwa na nani," alihoji Spika Sitta.

Mkurugenzi Mtendaji wa Mtandao wa Concern for Development Initiatives in Africa (ForDIA), Bubelwa Kaiza alisema ujumbe wao mkubwa katika maandamano hayo, ni kwamba hoja hizo zimevungwavungwa na bunge halitambui nguvu na mamlaka liliyopewa kikatiba, badala yake linafanya kazi kwa maslahi ya vyama vya siaasa na sio wananchi.

"Wapo wanaotaka tusiandamane, lakini huo ni woga wao tu, maandamano yapo palepale nchi nzima, tuna sababu za msingi za kuandamana kwani bunge halikuwajibika katika kushughulikia hoja mbalimbali katika kikao cha 18, badala yake limezivungavunga hoja hizo kwa maslahi ya vyama vyao vya siasa.

"Sisi pamoja na wananchi hatukuridhika kuhusu hoja zile zilivyohitimishwa, hakuna pia aliyewajibishwa, kwa hiyo tunaitaka serikali iachane na mfumo wa demokrasia wakilishi na ianzishe mfumo wa demokrasia shirikishi wa bunge ili wabunge waweze kuwajibika moja kwa moja kwa wananchi," alisema Kaiza.

CHANZO: Mwananchi

Tatizo kubwa linalomkabili Spika wetu Samuel Sitta ni uropokaji,yaani kuongea bila ktafakari athari zinazoweza kusababishwa na matamshi yake.Kama kiongozi mkuu wa chombo chenye dhima ya kutunga sheria za nchi,Sitta alipaswa kutambua kuwa baadhi ya kauli na tuhuma alizotoa dhidi ya wanaharakati ni za kihuni.Na bahati yake ni kwamba wanaharakati hao hawana muda wa kumburuza mahakamani kuthibitisha kashfa alizotoa dhidi yao.

Hivi Spika Sitta anaweza kuuthibitishia umma kuwa mitandao inatia mashaka kwa vile baadhi ya taasisi zinakula pesa bila kurejesha fedha kwa wahusika?Ameyajuaje hayo?Hivi hao wanaotoa fedha zao (wanaofadhili mashirika hayo) wamekuwa wajinga kiasi gani cha kutohitaji taarifa za matumizi ya fedha wanazotoa?

Sitta ni mropokaji kwa vile yeye alipotuhumiwa kukumbatia ufisadi katika ofisi ya Bunge aliwaka kama nini akidai ni njama za mafisadi dhidi yake.Iweje leo akurupuke kuwatuhumu wanamtandao kwa vile tu wameonyesha nia ya kuandamana kupingana na ubabaishaji wa Bunge linaloongozwa na Sitta?

Sitta asijione Mungu-mtu.Kila Mtanzania ana haki kama yeye Sitta kutoa mawazo yake hadharani alimradi havunji sheria za nchi.Kama Sitta anaona Bunge analoongoza limefanya vizuri katika utendaji kazi wake,si lazima kwa kila Mtanzania kuona hivyo au kukubaliana na mtizamo wa aina hiyo.Na ni vigezo vipi anavyoweza kutuonyesha Mheshimiwa Sitta kuwa Bunge lake limewajibika ipasavyo?Huko kutuzuga kwa zaidi ya miaka miwili kuwa yeye na wenzake ni wapambanaji dhidi ya mafisadi kisha kusalimu amri kama kondoo walionyeshewa mvua?

Na hata kama Bunge analoongoza Sitta linawajibika akama anavyotaka tuamini,si ndio kazi yake?Na si kazi ya kawaida kwani kwa mshahara wa mamilioni na kiinua mgongo cha mamilioni mengine kwanini waheshimiwa hawa wasiwajibikie kwa kiwango cha juu?

Sitta anakasirika kwa vile alitangaza kuwa "mjadala umefungwa",na kwa jinsi anavyojihisi ni Mungu-mtu anaona kitendo cha wanaharakati "kuendeleza mjadala" ni kama "wanavunja amri ya Mungu".Katika habari husika hapo juu,Sitta anathibitisha ubinafsi wake kwa kurudiarudia kutumia neno "MIMI".Anaweza kuwa sahihi katika mtazamo wake binafsi,lakini jamii hailazimiki kuafikiana nae wala kushurutishwa kutenda atakayo yeye.

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Pinda Ambeba Rostam

WAZIRI Mkuu Mizengo Pinda amewashauri wananchi wa Jimbo la Igunga mkoani Tabora wasimkatae Mbunge wao Rostam Aziz wakati wa uchaguzi mkuu ujao kwa kusikia maneno yanayosemwa bungeni, badala yake wazingatie kile alichowafanyia.

Wakati Pinda anampigia debe Mbunge huyo jana kwenye mkutano wa hadhara katika uwanja wa Kumbukumbu ya Sokoine, baadhi ya wananchi wa jimbo hilo walimwomba Waziri Mkuu amshinikize Mbunge wao abaki jimboni humo, kwa madai kuwa haonekani.

Wananchi hao walitoa ombi hilo ili waweze kupata fursa ya kumweleza kero zao na awaeleze yanayosemwa bungeni kuhusu yeye (Rostam)...ENDELEA

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Aids: is the end in sight?

Testing everyone at risk of HIV and treating them with anti-retroviral drugs could eradicate the global epidemic within 40 years, according to the scientist at the centre of a radical new approach to fighting Aids.

An aggressive programme of prescribing anti-retroviral treatment (ART) to every person infected with HIV could stop all new infections in five years and eventually wipe out the epidemic, said Brian Williams of the South African Centre for Epidemiological Modelling and Analysis.

Dr Williams is part of a growing body of experts who believe that anti-HIV drugs are probably the best hope of preventing and even eliminating the spread of Aids, rather than waiting for the development of an effective vaccine or relying solely on people changing their sexual lifestyle...READ MORE

SOURCE: The Independent

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THE POWERFUL, SHADOWY MOSSAD CHIEF MEIR DAGAN

The brazen assassination of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh has thrown the spotlight on one of Israel’s most powerful but shadowy figures, Meir Dagan, the current Mossad chief, who yesterday faced calls for his resignation.

There is a piece of folklore often repeated about him: when he was appointed in 2002, Ariel Sharon, then the Prime Minister, ordered him to run the Israeli spy agency “with a knife between its teeth”. Eight years on, Mr Dagan appears to have followed his orders to the letter. The killing in Dubai of one of the top men in Hamas is only the most recent in a string of assassinations that have been traced to Mr Dagan.

His popular support in Israel has never been higher, as most Israelis approach the allegations that Mossad is behind the Dubai death with a wink and a smile. While senior officials in the Israeli Foreign Ministry fume over the diplomatic mess, caused by the implications of the Dubai assassinations, those who know Mr Dagan say that he is nonplussed by the row. “He is a determined street fighter,” said Amir Oren, a military correspondent for the Israeli daily Haaretz.

The thickset, soft-spoken Mr Dagan was twice wounded in more than 30 years of service in the Israel Defence Forces, but he avoids walking with a cane. He has served as head of Israel’s Counter-Terrorism Bureau, and became a close confident of Mr Sharon during their years together in the IDF.

Mr Dagan’s predecessor, British-born Ephraim Halevy, was known for a more conservative approach to the Mossad, Mr Oren said. Mr Halevy focused instead on strengthening Mossad’s relationship with similar agencies in other countries.

“When Dagan took over he said the Mossad had become too risk-averse, and took its sweet time organising itself for operations,” said Mr Oren. “Dagan, meanwhile, is not trying to come across as diplomatically elegant.”

Maintaining good relations with other nations was dropped to the bottom of the list, said “B” a former Mossad agent who worked under Mr Dagan. “Mossad is facing a lot of anger right now over the use of British and European passports. I don’t know if Mossad was actually involved or how they got those passports though I can say that Dagan isn’t the kind of man to care about angering a few people to get the job done.”

“B” said that Mr Dagan had a no-nonsense approach and did not like to be questioned or second-guessed. “He is what you would call a one-man show,” he said.

Talk of Dagan’s unwillingness to share power with others surfaced early in his tenure, when the Jerusalem Post reported that more than 200 Mossad agents had quit their posts over Mr Dagan’s style. In June 2009, when his term as Mossad chief was extended by one year by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, one of his seconds in command promptly quit.

While some Israelis, including Mr Oren, have argued that Mr Dagan should resign his position over the loud public furore surrounding the Dubai assassinations - though Israel has not admitted its involvement in this, or any other mission - most are pleased with Mr Dagan’s tenure.

“Mossad have renewed the aura that the name Mossad used to generate in the region,” Alon Ben David , an Israeli intelligence analyst, told Israeli radio, a statement that was promptly echoed by the presenter.

Mr Dagan’s popularity was first strengthened by the Mossad’s rumoured involvement in the assassination of Hezbollah security chief Imad Mughniyah in February 2008. Talk of other killings of senior Hezbollah and Hamas officials began to spread. An alleged strike by Israeli planes on Syrian targets in September 2007 was also credited to him, part of his focus on nuclear weapons programmes in the Middle East.

SOURCE: The Times

Mr Netanyahu’s insistence that Mr Dagan stay on for an additional year was said to stem from his unparalleled knowledge of Iran’s nuclear facilities. While Israel’s military leaders traditionally serve for four years, with a one-year extension, Mr Dagan’s tenure has been extended twice. His budgetary allowance is also one of the largest, said a member of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee - leading to a near doubling of the Mossad’s Tel Aviv offices since 2002.

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KENYANS MARCH AGAINST CORRUPTION.WHAT ABOUT US?

Anti-corruption activists demonstrate outside President Mwai Kibaki's office in Nairobi

By Francois Ausseill (AFP)

NAIROBI — Kenyans on Wednesday marched to vent their anger at a coalition government slowly falling apart over graft allegations and its inability to further key reforms pledged two years ago.

Thousands of people displaced by the violence that broke out following the disputed December 2007 elections began marching from the Rift Valley to Nairobi on Tuesday but their 200-kilometre (120 miles) procession was aborted.

Anti-corruption activists also demonstrated outside President Mwai Kibaki's office in Nairobi."We want political accountability," shouted scores of demonstrators gathered in front of the president's office, standing next to a sign describing the institution as a "corruption-free zone".

"We welcome the recent suspension of senior civil servants and two ministers," Okiya Omtatah, who led the protesters, read out in a petition. He said the demonstrators backed neither side in the country's coalition government.

"We now call upon your excellency to use state machinery to ensure the two suspended ministers do not continue to occupy their ministerial offices," he said, referring to Prime Minister Raila Odinga's decision to sack them at the weekend, subsequently overruled by President Mwai Kibaki.

In the Rift Valley, displaced people had launched their march on Tuesday, saying they feared the death of the coalition government could spell further misery for hundreds of families still in limbo two years after the violence.

"We have a message for the president. We want him to listen to our grievances because we fear this coalition may collapse before we are resettled as promised," Peter Kariuki, who led the march, told AFP.

Armed police on Wednesday blocked the protestors on the highway however and government lorries eventually drove them back to their tents after local officials promised to relay their concerns to the government.

Up to 15,000 of the 250,000 people displaced by post-election violence still remain in camps since the 2008 unrest, which killed some 1,500 people.Kenya's unwieldy unity government has been repeatedly criticised at home and abroad for failing to tackle the root causes of the post-poll violence, bring the perpetrators to justice and eradicate corruption and impunity.

Simmering tensions between the premier and the president boiled over at the weekend when Odinga sacked the education and agriculture ministers accused of graft before Kibaki vetoed the move.

Kibaki argued Odinga did not consult him and had no authority to fire ministers, prompting the premier's Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) to threaten a boycott of cabinet meetings.

"ODM may not feel comfortable attending any cabinet meetings until that matter is resolved," Lands Minister James Orengo told reporters late Tuesday.

A cabinet meeting scheduled for Thursday was subsequently cancelled.

Odinga's critics charged he was seeking to undermine Agriculture Minister William Ruto, who is likely to be one of Odinga's main rivals in presidential elections scheduled for 2012.

Odinga's supporters accused Kibaki and his entourage of protecting scandal-ridden officials -- including Attorney General Amos Wako -- providing further evidence that the regime was corrupt.

Odinga's adviser Miguna Miguna lashed out at Wako for censuring Odinga's move in what he said was a deliberate misinterpretation of the constitution.

"Mr Wako?s latest statement is the most embarrassing and scandalous utterance ever made by an attorney general in the Commonwealth," Miguna said.Wako has been repeatedly singled out by top UN and US officials as one of the main obstacles to reform in the country.

When the dispute over the 2007 polls flared, an international mediation led by former UN chief Kofi Annan rushed to Kenya and eventually brokered a power-sharing deal whereby Odinga became premier and Kibaki kept his job.But distrust and gamesmanship has characterised the unity government since, causing political stalwarts to splinter one after the other ahead of the 2012 polls and public opinion to become increasingly disenchanted.

On Monday, Vice Prime Minster Musalia Mudavadi called for Annan to return to Kenya to salvage the coalition government.

SOURCE: AFP

This should serve as a lesson to Tanzanians as well.One would have expected a similar protest when CCM MPs recently concluded the 2-year plus investigation over the Richmond scandal in such a disgusting way.By keeping mum it's as if our country has legalised the on-going plunder of our economy.Without expressing our anger by protests and such actions,the mafisadis (economic saboteurs) are made to believe that they could go on stealing our natural resources and taxpayers' money and get away without facing any consequence.Apart from impoverishing our country,giving mafisadis a free pass pose a danger of encouraging some innocent law-abiding citizens into such criminal activities.

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THE LONG ARM OF THE MOSSAD

Israel's Mossad secret service, more formally known as the Institute for Espionage and Special Tasks, has a long history of carrying out clandestine operations, including several spectacular assassinations. Much remains secret but cases that are documented have involved large teams of agents using false or stolen passports to disguise their Israeli origins.

The Mossad's assassination unit has been known at different times as Caesarea and Kidon (Bayonet). Women agents have often been involved – there was reportedly one in the Dubai killing.

Israel's official silence does not mean that it cannot be heard trumpeting its success. "The intelligence [about Dubai] was reliable and accurate," ­commented the respected national security specialist Yossi Melman in the newspaper Haaretz earlier this month. "Even though Mabhouh knew Israeli intelligence had him in its sights and took stringent precautions they still managed to get him."

Information released by Dubai shows the professionalism of the suspected assassins and their methods, Melman commented today, citing a novel written by a former Mossad officer, Mishka Ben-David, the plot of which bears a close similarity to the abortive poison attack on the Hamas leader Khaled Misha'al in Jordan in 1997. That case caused huge political embarrassment when two agents using false Canadian passports fled to the Israeli embassy in Amman.

Israel's isolation in the Middle East meant an early reliance on secret operations. The Mossad's victims over the years – some avowed, others not – have included German scientists working on Egypt's rocket programme in the 1960s, Iraqis working on nuclear projects in the 1980s, and, it is assumed, Iranians who are thought to be doing the same today. Mossad agents also carried out the kidnapping of Adolf Eichmann, the fugitive SS officer and architect of Hitler's "final solution," in Argentina in 1960. Eichmann was abducted and smuggled back to Israel, where he was tried and hanged.

Other key killings include that of the PLO military chief Abu Jihad in Tunisia in 1988 and an Islamic Jihad leader in Malta in the mid-1990s. The Mossad was also held responsible for the assassination of the military chief of Lebanon's Hezbollah, Imad Mughniyeh, in Syria two years ago, but Israel has never formally avowed it. Most Mossad operations, like those of most intelligence agencies, have taken place in the shadows only to emerge in a blaze of publicity and political embarassment after the event.

So it was when Golda Meir ordered the agency to hunt down and kill the Palestinians who massacred 11 Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics in 1972 in the name of the Black September group. Eleven Palestinians were eliminated in a Mossad operation known as Wrath of God in killings in Rome, Cyprus, Paris, Beirut, Athens, Rome and a small town in Norway where an innocent Moroccan waiter was mistaken for Ali Hassan Salameh, the alleged planner of Munich. Salameh was killed by a car bomb in Beirut in 1979.

Motives of revenge and deterrence appear to go hand in hand. "We tried not to do things just by shooting a guy in the streets, that's easy – fairly," said Dave Kimche, a former deputy head of the agency, talking of one assassination carried out by a bomb planted in a telephone. "By putting a bomb in his phone, this was a message that they can be got anywhere, at any time and therefore they have to look out for themselves 24 hours a day."

Mabhouh was apparently targeted because of his role in the kidnapping and killing of two Israeli soldiers in 1989 at the end of the first Palestinian intifada. But some question the sense, if not the morality, of such assassinations. "Every terrorist, no matter how senior, is soon replaced, sometimes by someone even better or more professional," Melman wrote in Haaretz.

SOURCE: The Guardian

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BUNGE LENYE MENO (YA PLASTIKI)

Pamoja na kuwa moja ya nchi maskini kabisa duniani, Tanzania yetu bado inaendelea kusifika kwa mambo kadhaa. Ukiachia mbali vivutio vya asili kama Mlima Kilimanjaro, utitiri wa wanyama huko Selous, Mikumi na kwingineko, na “utajiri” wa madini kama Tanzanite,dhahabu, almasi na madini mengineyo,nchi yetu pia inasifika kwa watu wenye uwezo wa kuongea.

Ndio maana jirani zetu wanapenda kututania kuwa “nyie Watanzania iko maneno mingi” wakimaanisha tunaongea sana. Na pengine mahala mwafaka pa kuthibitisha uwezo wetu wa kuongea ni katika vikao vya bunge letu tukufu. Laiti yote yanayoongewa katika vikao hivyo yangekuwa yanatafsiriwa kwa vitendo, basi kwa hakika tungekuwa mbali sana.

Lakini licha ya sifa hiyo ya kuongea sana, Watanzania tuna sifa nyingine ya usikivu na kuamini kirahisi kila tusikiacho hata kama ni “wizi mtupu”. Ndio maana basi watu wenye akili na busara zao walidanganyika kwamba miongoni mwa wabunge wa CCM kuna kundi la WAPIGANAJI DHIDI YA UFISADI.Kundi hilo lililojipatia umaarufu usiostahili linadaiwa kuwa chini ya Spika wa Bunge, Samuel Sitta.

Na kwa katika kile kinachoweza kutafsiriwa kwamba ni jitihada za kujiongezea sifa za “upambanaji” , Spika Sitta na wabunge wawili kutoka vyama vya upinzani,Dr Wilbroad Slaa (Chadema) na John Cheyo (UDP) walichapisha kitabu walichokipa jina “BUNGE LENYE MENO”. Si lengo la makala haya kurejea yaliyomo katika kitabu hicho, lakini kwa kifupi ni mwendelezo wa sifa tulizonazo Watanzania: maneno meeeengi lakini vitendo SIFURI.

Sijui Sitta wa “wapiganaji” wenzie walikuwa na mawazo gani kurefusha mjadala wa ujambazi wa Richmond kwa takriban miaka miwili lakini tukashuhudia wakilamba matapishi yao walipounga mkono kile kinachoitwa “utekelezaji wa serikali wa maazimio ya bunge kuhusu suala la Richmond”.Kwanini hawakuiunga mono serikali tangu siku ya kwanza badala ya kuwazuga Watanzania kwa muda wote huu?

Binafsi siamini kabisa kuwa Spika Sitta ni mpambanaji dhidi ya ufisadi.Ni usanii tu ambao unaelekea kuwa moja ya sifa muhimu za wanasiasa wetu.Sitta atakuwaje kamanda wa vita dhidi ya ufisadi ilhali ndiye aliyemfungia Zitto Kabwe alipohoji ufisadi wa Buzwagi?Je sio Sitta huyohuyo aliyetishia kumpeleka Dr Slaa kwenye vyombo vya sheria pale (Slaa) alipoibua ufisadi wa EPA?

Spika Sitta,akisaidiwa na vyombo vyetu vya habari vinavyosifika kwa umahiri wa kukariri kikasuku kila kinachosemwa na wanasiasa (badala ya kwenda mbali zaidi na kuchambua kauli hizo), alitambua vema kuwa Watanzania wengi wanahitaji wanasiasa watakaoungana nao kupambana na ufisadi.Kwa lugha nyingine,alifahamu fika kuwa mapambano dhidi ya ufisadi ni mtaji maridhawa kisiasa na ungeweza kuimarisha nafasi yake.

Na kwa vile anafahamu kuwa Watanzania ni wasikivu sana hata kama wanadanganywa,akawa anapita huku na kule akijigamba kwamba “kamwe hatatishwa na wanaomwandama kisiasa kutokana na msimamo wake thabiti wa kupiga vita ufisadi”. Sitta, na wasanii wenzake waliotuhadaa kuwa ni “wapiganaji dhidi ya ufisadi” walibinafsisha ajenda ya vita dhidi ya ufisadi kiasi kwamba “kila aliyeonyesha dalili ya kutamani MAJIMBO YAO alionekana anasukumwa na umahiri ya akina Sitta katika kupambana na ufisadi”.Yaani hawakubinafisha tu hoja ya ufisadi bali wamegeuza majimbo yao kuwa mali zao za urithi ambazo hazipaswi kuguswa na Mtanzani mwengine yeyote yule.

Na Sitta anadai atawania tena kiti cha Uspika katika bunge lijalo.Kuna dalili kuwa anaweza kurejea bungeni kwa vile ametumia vema nafasi yake ya uspika kujiimariusha jimboni kwake Urambo.Lakini kama bunge lijalo litakuwa na wabunge wanaowajali wapiga kura wao basi ni dhahiri Sitta atabaki kuwa historia tu.Hatastahili hata unaibu Spika,pamoja na naibu wake wa sasa Anne Makinda,viumbe wawili waliotumia vibaya sana madaraka yao na kuendesha taasisi hiyo kwa utashi wao huku wakitumia kanuni zilizopitwa na wakati kuwaokoa mawaziri wazembe walioshindwa kutoa majibu sahihi kwenye mijadala bungeni.

“Wapiganaji feki wa ufisadi” wametuchezea shere.Upande mmoja wao ni sehemu ya mfumo wa kifisadi unaoshamiri kwa kulindana,na hawana jeuri ya kujitenga nao kwa vile ni wabinafsi.Lakini kwa upande mwingine wanataka tuwaone wao ni wenzetu,wanaguswa na matatizo yetu na wana uchungu wa dhati na nchi yetu.Wasanii hawa wanatuona sie wajinga tusiojua kuwa mishahara yao minono ni ushahidi tosha kuwa wanaishi dunia nyingine kulinganisha na walimu,madaktari,manesi,wakulima na walalahoi wengine.Wanarefusha vikao vya bunge ili posho zao nonoi ziendelee kutunisha akaunti zao.

Spika Sitta na wasanii wengine waliotudanganya kuwa wao ni wapiganaji dhidi ya ufisadi hawana sababu hata moja ya kuwaacha majambazi wa Richmond wakisafishwa na pasipo kuchukuliwa hatua yoyote.Kuna baadhi yetu tulikuwa tukifahamu tangu mwanzo kuwa hakutakuwa na hatua yoyote dhidi ya Lowassa,Karamagi,Msabaha,Mwanyika ,Hoseah na wengineo waliohishwa na ufisadi huo.Tulifahamu hivyo kwa vile kimsingi,ufisadi huo-kama ilivyo kwenye ishu za EPA,Kiwira,na kwingineko-ni matokeo ya ushirika wa kijambazi uliobuniwa na kufanikishwa kwenye korido za utawala za CCM.Kuwachukulia hatua watuhumiwa hawa kungeweza kabisa kupelekea vigogo wengine kuadhiriwa hadharani.

Hiyo haimaanishi kuwa kuadhirishwa kwa vigogo hao ni kosa,bali ni muhimu kwetu kuelewa kuwa mtandao huu wa kifisadi uliundwa kwa madhumuni ambayo mpaka sasa bado yana umuhimu kwa wahusika.Kwa lugha nyepesi.mfumo wa kifisadi ni matokeo ya moja kwa moja ya kundi la WANAMTANDAO.Na kama walivyoshirikiana kuingizana madarakani,wanaendelea kulindana ili Mtandao huu uendelee kututawala.

Na Watanzania tuna sifa nyingine ya ziada:UPOLE. Ungetarajia kusikia wananchi wakiandamana kupinga majambazi wa Richmond “kuachiwa huru na Bunge” huku wakihakikishiwa kuwa “kuna siku watarejea madarakani”. Yaani tumetapeliwa,tukachezewa akili kwa zaidi ya miaka miwili na sasa tunashuhudia majambazi wakisafishwa bungeni lakini hakuna tumetulia kana kwamba Katiba inatuelekeza tufanye hivyo!Ama kweli hiyo ndio amani na utulivu-sio kwako na kwangu bali AMANI KWA WANAOTAFUNA NCHI YETU NA UTULIVU KWA AKAUNTI ZAO ZILIZESHEHENI MAMILIONI YA FEDHA ZA KIFISADI.

Habari njema kwa mafisadi ni dalili kuwa wengi wao watarejea tena madarakani baada ya uchaguzi mkuu hapo Oktoba.Na habari njema zaidi kwao,ni kuwepo kwa kila ishara kuwa chama kinacholea ufisadi,CCM,kitaunda serikali ya awamu ya tano huku kikilindwa na idadi kubwa ya wabunge.Japo baadhi yetu tungependa kuona mabadiliko lakini ni muhimu kwetu kuwa wakweli kwa nafsi zetu.Hakuna dalili ya CCM kushindwa uchaguzi mkuu ujao kwa vile mazingira yaliyopo yanakwaza mabadiliko ya aina yoyote ile.

Hata hivyo,kama wewe Mtanzania umechoshwa na ufisadi,kulindana,ahadi hewa na ubabaishaji mwingine,una nafasi ya pekee ya kutimiza hasira zako kwa kuinyima kura CCM.Vinginevyo,hali sio tu itaendelea kuwa mbaya bali tunaweza kufika mahala watu wakalazimisha mabadiliko yatakayopelekea kutuathiri sote.Ni muhimu kwako mpiga kura kujisuta kwa makosa uliyofanya 2005 na huko nyuma,lakini kufanya kosa si kosa bali kurejea kosa.Ni mwaka huu au ndio tumeumia milele.Timiza wajibu wako.

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TAMATI YA RICHMOND BUNGENI: CCM MMETUSALITI

Baada ya danadana za muda mrefu ndani na nje ya bunge,hatimaye mjadala wa ujambazi wa Richmond umefungwa rasmi.Kwa mujibu wa taarifa zilizopatikana kutoka Dodoma,bunge limeridhia taarifa ya utekelezaji wa Azimio lake kuhusu suala la Richmond.Kwa lugha nyepesi,wawakilishi wetu wameridhia ujambazi uliofanywa na wahusika wa mradi huo wa kitapeli.

Kama ilivyo ada,CCM imeendelea kutumia wingi wa wabunge wake kuhakikisha kuwa matakwa yake yanatimia hata kama ni kinyume na matarajio ya Watanzania walio wengi.Wingi wa wabunge wa CCM umeendelea kuwa nyenzo muhimu kupunguza/kuondoa umuhimu wa wabunge kutoka vyama vya upinzani

Inasemekana kwamba msimamo wa pamoja wa wabunge wa CCM ulifikiwa katika kikao chake cha "kuwekana sawa",utaratibu uliiota miziz ndani ya chama hicho kila linapojiri jambo linaloashiria upinzani kwa ajili ya maslahi ya wananchi.

Wabunge wote walioamua kuzika mjadala wa Richmond ni sawa na wasaliti kwa vile nafsini na akilini mwao wanafahamu bayana kuwa namna pekee ya kumaliza suala hilo ilikuwa kwa wahusika kuwajibishwa.Madhara ya muda mrefu ya usaliti huo ni uwezekano wa kusambaa kwa virusi vya ufisadi ambavyo vinatambua bayana kuwa vina ulinzi wa kutosha kutoka chama tawala.

Kulikuwa na ugumu gani kuagiza suala hilo lipelekwe mahakamani ili kama wahusika walionewa basi iwe hivyo,na kama waliliingiza "mkenge" taifa basi wavune walichopanda?Hizi siasa za kulindana zitaendelea mpaka lini?CCM wanasahau kwamba hiki ni kipindi cha mpito tu,watafanya maamuzi ya kulindana mpaka wachoke,lakini siku ya siku watajilaumu kwa uzembe wao katika maamuzi.

Na kama kuna wa kusutwa basi na wale waliokuwa wakipata huku na kule wakijitambulisha kuwa ni "makamanda wa vita ya ufisadi".Nimeshaandika mara kadhaa kuhusu tunavyodanganyika kirahisi kila tunapowasikia akina Sitta wakidai "wanahujumiwa kwa vile wamesimama kidete kwenye mapambano dhidi ya ufisadi".Kwanini mapambano hayo yabaki ya kihisia/kufikirika zaidi kuliko vitendo?I just hope kwamba uamuzi wa kuzika hoja ya Richmond utajumuisha pia kuzikwa kwa kundi la wanafiki wajiitao "makamanda wa vita ya ufisadi".Kama ni makamanda basi ni wa mbao (wooden soldiers).

Lakini wenye uchungu wa dhati na nchi yetu bado wana fursa kubwa tu ya kutoa hukumu yao hapo Oktoba mwaka huu.Naendelea kuamini kuwa njia pekee ya kuikomboa Tanzania kutoka kwenye lindi na umasikini na bahari ya ufisadi ni kwa kuiondoa CCM madarakani.Tusitarajie lolote jipya kutoka kwa chama hicho kilichochoka kimawazo na kilichoishiwa na uwezo wa kutawala.Kuendelea kukiweka madarakani ni kukionea tu kwa vile kimeshatuthibitishia vipaumbele vyake.

Akina Muro wakituhumiwa rushwa basi hata kichanga kilichozaliwa jioni hii kitatambua namna dola "inavyowajibika".Yakija masuala ya akina Lowassa,Chenge,Kamragi,Msabaha na watuhumiwa wengine basi zinaanza ngonjera moja baada ya nyingine.Sasa kama walikuwa wanajua hatma ya mazingaombwe haya ni hii basi kulikuwa na haja gani ya kutuzingua kila kilipojiri kikao cha bunge?Na kama kawaida ya mengi ya magazeti yetu,danganya toto kuwa "bungeni hapatakalika kwa mjadala wa Richmond,Kiwira,TICTS,nk" ziliendelea kutawala vichwa vya habari.

Sababu nyingine ya ziada ya kuinyima CCM kura yako hapo Oktoba.

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WANAUME WA "KIZUNGU" NI BORA ZAIDI YA WA "KIBONGO"?

Naomba kujadili mada ambayo imekuwa ikijirudia mara kwa mara kuhusu “wanaume wa kibongo”.Nikiri kuwa sina hakika neno “wanaume wa kibongo” linamaanisha Watanzania pekee au Waafrika kwa ujumla au Weusi (Blacks) wote.Ila kwa madhumuni ya mjadala huu,nitayumkinisha kuwa walengwa ni wanaume wa Kitanzania.

Pengine mtazamo wangu unaweza kuathiriwa na ukweli kuwa nami ni “mwanaume wa Kibongo” (Mtanzania).Hata hivyo,nitajitahidi kuepuka kujipendelea (subjectivity).

Kama nilivyopata utata kwenye neno “wanaume wa kibongo” (na hivyo kutumia dhana ya Watanzania) najikuta kwenye utata mwingine kuhusu neno “wanaume wa Kizungu”.Je linamaanisha watu weupe (Whites)?Au watu wa “dunia ya kwanza”/nchi za Magharibi ikijumuisha na weusi/non-Whites waliozaliwa huku?Je “wazungu” hao wanajumuisha pia wale wanaotoka “Ulaya iliyochoka” kwa mfano Ulaya Mashariki-ambapo baadhi yao wanalazimika kuja kutafuta maisha bora Ulaya Magharibi na kwingineko?

Tukiweka kando utata huo wa maana inayokusudiwa, kuna suala jingine ambalo ni muhimu kuliweka wazi.Nilipokuja Ulaya mara ya kwanza, nilikuwa na picha ya “wamisionari” –watu walioacha “raha” za kwao kwenda kuishi maeneo magumu kabisa kwao.Na nilikuwa na picha ya watu wenye upendo,huruma na wanaoguswa mno na shida zetu za kimwili na kiroho.

Lakini haikunichukua hata mwezi kugundua kuwa Ulaya nilokuwa naifikiria awali ina viumbe wa aina tofauti kama ilivyo huko nyumbani.Kuna wenye upendo na wenye chuki,kuna wenye busara na majuha,kuna wenye akili na machizi,nk.La kwanza nililobaini ni UBAGUZI.Sio tu wa rangi bali hata wa kipato.Wakati kimsingi jamii nyingi za kiafrika zimejengwa katika misingi ya ushirikiano,usawa na utu, kwa hawa wenzetu “ubinafsi” ( individuality, katika hisia chanya na hasi) una nafasi muhimu katika mafanikio au kufeli kwa mtu.Jitihada za mtu binafsi zina umuhimu mkubwa zaidi kuliko za ushirika/ujamaa.Hilo linaweza kuwa na uzuri wake lakini pia kuna suala la madaraja (classes) ambayo mfumo wa kibepari umeyaimarisha vizuri.

Na hili la madaraja ni muhimu sana katika kuzielewa jamii hizi.Kuna wale walioelimika na kuielewa dunia, na wengi wao-japo si wote- wanafahamu kwanini Afrika au Waafrika tuko jinsi tulivyo.Lakini kwa wale “waliokwepa umande”- japo si wote-kwao Afrika na Waafrika ni vitu vilivyopo duniani kimakosa.Ni katika kundi hili la pili ndipo kuna uwezekano mkubwa wa kukutana na “wapuuzi” wanaoamini kuwa Waafrika tunaishi maporini au kwenye miti huku tukizungukwa na nzi,tukijisaidia popote,na upuuzi mwingine kama huo.Kwa takriban mwongo mmoja niliokaa hapa Uingereza nimeshakutana na watu wa aina hiyo mara kadhaa na majibu yangu huwa “kama sie tunaishi kwenye miti je balozi wenu huko kwetu naye anamudu vipi kuishi kwenye mti?”.Ila mara nyingi huwa naishia kuwatukana tu.

Kuna suala la ubaguzi.Kwa hapa Uingereza,baadhi ya Waingereza wanakiri bayana kwamba “ubaguzi ni sehemu ya utamaduni wa baadhi yao...na ndio maana unaona Wakatoliki na Waprotestanti wanaendelea kupingana huko Ireland ya Kaskazini”.Wengine wanakwenda mbali zaidi na kueleza imani yao kuwa hisia hizo za kibaguzi zilichangia sana ukoloni wa dunia “ya watu wasiostaarabika”.Ni muhimu hapa kukumbushia angalizo kuwa wakoloni walikuwa haohao “wazungu walio bora kuliko Wabongo” japo hilo ni suala la kihistoria zaidi kuliko malavidavi.

Kwahiyo dada zangu wanaoamini kuwa “wanaume wa kizungu ni bora zaidi kuliko wa kibongo” wanapaswa kufahamu kwamba miongoni mwa “wazungu” hao kuna wanaompinga Obama, si kwa vile hajatimiza ahadi zake bali tatizo ni weusi wake,kuna wafuasi wa British National Party (BNP),kuna neo-Nazis (vijukuu vya Hitler) na wengineo wenye “chuki binafsi” wakiamini kuwa vyanzo vya matatizo ya nchi zao sio Weusi tu bali Waasia na wageni wengineo.Nasisitiza,NI BAADHI.Miongoni mwa "wazungu" hao ni MAKABURU,wanaharamu waliowabagua wasio-weupe hususan Weusi huko Afrika Kusini kwa vile tu waliamini kuwa asili yao ni bora zaidi.Miongoni mwao pia ni wenye mtazamo wa akina James Watson mwanataaluma mahiri kwa madai yake kuwa Waafrika wana akili pungufu kulinganisha wa "wazungu".

Kama ambavyo huko nyumbani kuna wacha Mungu na washirikina,ndivyo ilivyo kwa “wazungu” pia. Kuna wanaoangalia upendo,haiba,urembo na sifa nyinginezo za kibinadamu badala ya rangi ya binti,lakini pia kuna akina Nick Griffin,Jean-Marie Le Pen,nk ambao kwao rangi ya mtu ni kigezo muhimu cha utu/ “ushenzi” wake.

Labda swali naloweza kuwauliza dada zangu wanaohitimisha kuwa “wanaume wa kizungu ni bora kuliko wa kibongo” ni hili: je mama zetu waliolewa na wazungu kiasi cha kututengenezea familia bora zilizotufikisha tulipo sasa?Au je takwimu zinasemaje kuhusu idadi ya waume katika ndoa nyingi “zenye furaha” huko nyumbani?Japo nahofia kutoa takwimu pasipo utafiti lakini yayumkinika kusema takriban asilimia 90 ya waume kwenye ndoa “zilizotulia” huko nyumbani bado ni wanaume wa kibongo.Hapa simaanishi kuwa walioolewa na wasio “wabongo” hawana furaha na ndoa zao bali nasisitiza hoja kuwa kama mama zetu walikuwa kwenye furaha katika ndoa na baba zetu wabongo,sasa hoja ya “wanaume wa kibongo kutokuwa mwafaka kwenye ndoa” inatoka wapi?

Hivi wakati dada zetu wanaponyoosha vidole kuwashutumu wanaume wa kibongo wanajaribu japo kiduchu kujiangalia na wao wenyewe?Mbona hata huku kuna hadithi nyingi tu za watu kusaliti ndoa zao/mahusiano yao?Je Bill Clinton alipomsaliti Hillary kwa Monica Lewinsky alikuwa Mndengereko?Vipi kuhusu John Terry au seneta Edward Kennedy?

Katika sosholojia kuna theme inayohusu deviance (kwenye kinyume na taratibu zilizokubalika katika jamii husika).Hapo,baadhi ya wanasosholojia wanaamini kuwa umalaya ni uvumbuzi,yaani kwa mfano mwanamke mrembo anajua “anatakwa” na kuna walio tayari kutoa fedha kumpata kwa hiyo “anajipeleka sokoni,mwenye kiku kikali ale nyama”.Kuna wanaofanya hivyo kwa vile hali ya uchumi inawasukuma kufanya hivyo,na kuna wale wanaofanya hivyo kutokana na kufata mkumbo,huku wengine wakifanya hivyo kutumia uhuru wao wa kupenda chochote watakacho ikiwa ni pamoja na ngono.

Malezi,imani ya kidini na mchango wa wanaotuzunguka ni miongoni mwa mambo muhimu sana katika kutengeneza tabia ya mtu.Baadhi ya wansayansi ya jamii wanabashiri kuwa mtoto anayekulia familia ya mzazi mmoja (single parent) ana uwezekano wa kuwa single parent ukubwani kwa vile “kama baba/mama aliweza kunilea peke yake kwanini kie nishindwe?” (socialisation).Wapo pia wanaoamini kuwa mtoto anayekulia familia inayothamini umuhimu wa ndoa anaweza kuiga mfano wa wazazi wake na hivyo “kutulia” ukubwani.

Mwisho,naomba kuhitimisha kwa kusema kwamba ni mambo machache sana duniani ambayo yanatokea tu pasipo sababu. Kama kila mume/boyfriend wa kibongo “anakukimbia” pengine tatizo ni wewe na sio wao,hasa ikizingatiwa kuwa wao si mapacha.Lakini na muhimu zaidi ni la kiroho.Kwa sie tunaoamini Mungu,hakuna liwezekanalo kwa mwanadamu pasipo baraka za Mungu.Pengine kabla ya kukimbilia kulaumu “wanaume wa kibongo” ni muhimu kwa walalamikaji kutazama upya mahusiano yao na Muumba.Kuna ishu inayonong’onwa na baadhi ya wanaume (hususan walio nje ya Tanzania) kwamba dada zetu wa kibongo wanaondekeza tamaa za makaratasi na kubabaika lakini naomba nisiligusie kwa vile,again,tamaa kwa Wakatoliki ni mzizi wa dhambi.Kwa aliyemshika Mungu na kisha kupatiwa chaguo lake,chochote atachopewa kitakuwa ni mapenzi ya Mungu,hivyo masuala ya tamaa yatakuwa hayana nafasi.

Naweza kuwa siko sahihi lakini huo ndio mtazamo wangu.

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HOLD A TRUE FRIEND AND NEVER LET GO

In case you don’t know, I’m a smoker. I plan to quit though. I know it’s a bad habit, and I should have avoided it in the first place. However, it’s always better late than never.

One thing I have learnt from smoking is the kind of friendship smokers develop, at least back home in Tanzania. A smoker would always think their fellow smokers would have a cigarette to spare in times of scarcity. For a smoker, they would rather have no bus fare to go to work than have no money to buy a pack of cigs.

They say it’s normally hard to please a fellow smoker when they are broke. Thing is, when broke, a smoker always expects to be rescued by their “partners in bad habit” (i.e. fellow smokers). Unfortunately, you may buy a pack to your smoker friend today, but when they ask for another the following day, and you tell them that you don’t have any, it becomes like a proclamation of the third world war. It simply won’t get into their mind that if they are broke, you could be too!

It a similar situation with people who seek help when they have problems. You help them once, and they expect you to keep on helping them whenever they run into problems. But that shouldn’t be a problem in itself if one could afford to give help whenever they are asked to.

The worst thing about helping some people, no matter how minority they are in numbers, is a tendency to forget that at certain times they were stuck in muds, and you rescued them. It’s really painful when you see a person you once helped forgets completely what you did to them in the past. It’s even more painful when you recall how they sounded too helpless to be ignored.

And when you remind them that you did something for them when they were desperately in need for your help, they would normally tell you that you were not held at a gun point to force you to offer support. In other words, they are telling you were too stupid to help them. Others would go as far as telling you that what you gave them is almost nothing to be remembered at all. And it’s not uncommon to hear something like “you are holding me at ransom for your shilingi laki kadhaa!? Thank God it was not a million because you would have made me feel like I’m serving a life sentence...” and stuffs like that.

It’s even worse for those who have been helped so many times by different people. They tend to overlook what you did for them just because there were others who gave more than you did. What they forget is, what matters most is not how much one gives but rather the fact that they give what they could have otherwise use to fulfil their own needs. If it’s money, then we all know that there’s no money that not needed for one thing or another. For that matter, their decision to part with their money to help meant they had to overlook their own needs-regardless of how big or small the need was- in order to help you.

I have in several occasions been helped by relatives or friends. And I would never ever forget these people. They say a friend in need is a friend indeed. You would always have people around to have fun with, but it’s really hard to find ones who would be there for you when you’re in need of something. Even when these good people did something to hurt me, the best I would do is speak politely to them because I strongly believe that they loved me in the first place before hurting me. I always look at them as people with good hearts but, occasionally, they happen to have bad mouths as well. These, after all, are human beings, and they are likely to err in one way or another.

Let’s remind ourselves that the world is always in short supply of people who would think of others’ needs. Once we find them, we really have to keep them even when they occasionally hurt us. That’s not being enslaved to them but rather having a useful set of companions whose CVs prove that they had already rescued us in the past. It’s like having a life insurance, you never certainly know when it would come to rescue you.

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KELVINGROVE ART GALLERY & MUSEUM, GLASGOW

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SOPHIA: A DOWN-TO-EARTH CELEBRITY

More than a decade ago, I happened to share a flat with a Tanzanian High Court judge’s son. Knowing how publicity-shy he is, I better keep his name to myself. Call me 'old-fashioned' who’s never had  opportunity to mingle with the famous. You could be right, but I always believe in a saying that “beauty should never be imprisoned”, meaning that we should never fail to acknowledge some of  good experiences we come across in others, especially when “others” stands for the famous, celebrities and the likes.

Recently, I have had a similar experience, though not of sharing same flat with someone who’s famous. On my usual “visits” to Facebook, I met Sophia Kessy, a Clouds FM radio presenter. We had never chatted before although she had been my Facebook friend for quite a while. Chatting to her, I could not resist admiring how down to earth she was. Of course, you wouldn’t fail to notice how wise and intelligent she is if you pay close attention to her educational and motivational quotes on her Facebook wall.

“Talk to people you have never talked to before, and actually listen. Hold your head up because you have every right to. Tell yourself you are a great individual and believe in yourself, for if you don't believe in yourself, no one else will believe in you either. You can make of your life anything you wish. Create your own life and then go out and live it”. That was her latest quote posted on her wall a few minutes ago before I decided that I should write something about her. I would definitely put my money on her had there been a competition in Facebook on who writes “most sensible stuffs” on their walls.

What Sophia proves is, being a celebrity should not necessarily mean being big-headed, pompous, unapproachable or inaccessible to the normal people. Some celebrities tend to forget that their fame is a product of the same people they avoid or ignore. The good thing about mingling with the “normal people” is not only creating a solid and true fan base but also learning from them. As we know, sometimes fame forces people to act- smiling when they are not happy or crying when they not sorry-especially when the camera is around. For that matter, being surrounded with fellow celebrities or famous people make it hard for one to sincerely know if all is what it seems.

Big up &Keep it up, Sophia. And let’s hope our ever growing army of celebrities will take a leaf from your sensible, charming and down-to-earth personality.

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KUONGEZA MAJIMBO SI KIPAUMBELE

Hivi karibuni Tume ya Uchaguzi ilieleza kwamba inaangalia uwezekano wa kuongeza idadi ya majimbo ya uchaguzi.Niende moja kwa moja kwenye hoja yangu: ni rahisi kwa Tume hiyo kuwa na wazo kama hilo kwa vile halina athari zozote kwenye mishahara au posho zao.Kinyume chake,tunaambiwa zoezi la tathmini linatarajiwa kugharimu mabilioni ya shilingi.Unadhani zinakwenda wapi hizo kama si kwa haohao wanaokuja na wazo la kuongeza majimbo?

Mzazi mwenye busara hawezi katu kufikiri kuongeza idadi ya watoto wakati hao alionao sasa "wanampelekesha" linapokuja suala la kumudu gharama za matundo/malezi.Ni katika mantiki hiyohiyo,Tume ya Uchaguzi,ilipaswa kutambua kuwa uwezo wetu kiuchumi hauwezi kumudu majimbo zaidi ya hayo tuliyonayo sasa.

Lakini jingine lililo muhimu zaidi ni kuangalia ufanisi wa wawakilishi tulionao sasa.Naamini wengi tutaafikiana kwamba idadi kubwa ya wabunge hadi sasa haijasaidia kumkomboa Mtanzania kutka kwenye lindi la umasikini wa kutupwa.Tunashuhudia jinsi Bunge na Serikali wanavyotunishiana misuli kuhusu mazingaombwe ya Richmond,Kiwira,nk.Je kuongeza idadi ya wabunge kutaongeza "misuli zaidi" kwa Bunge.Jibu la haraka ni HAPANA.

Wengi wa wabunge wetu ni wabinafsi wanaoangalia maslahi yao binafsi.Umuhimu wa wapiga kura wao na majimbo wanayowakilisha unakuja pale tu kunapojiri uchaguzi.Wabunge,hususan wa CCM,wameweka mbele maslahi ya Chama kuliko wananchi wanaowawakilisha.Hilo lisingekuwa tatizo kama CCM ingekuwa chama kinachowajali wananchi badala ya mafisadi.

Na kwanini wazo la majimbo mapya lije mwaka huu tunapotarajia uchaguzi mkuu?Kwanini sio mwaka jana,juzi au 2007?Jibu jepesi ni kwamba wazo la majimbo mapya halina uhusiano na kukuza demokrasia au kuongeza uwakilishi bali ni kuwatafutia ulaji vigogo wanaonyemelea ubunge au wale ambao ubunge wao uko hatarini kutokana na upinzani kwa wanaotaka nafasi hiyo.

Nihitimishe kwa kueleza kuwa kuongeza idadi ya majimbo si moja ya vipaumbele vyetu kwa sasa.Pengine badala ya wazo hilo la kuwatengenezea watu ulaji,Tume ingetafakari ni namna gani wapiga kura watawezeshwa kuwabana wawakilishi wasiotekeleza wajibu wao majimboni.Tume pia inapaswa kuelewa kwamba wabunge watakaoongezwa pindi wazo la majimbo mapya likikamilika watapaswa kuongoza watu "hai",na ili "uhai" wa watu hao uwe na uhakika wa kuwepo ni muhimu kuhakikisha hatua za haraka zinachukuliwa kurekebisha hali ya uchumi wetu,sambamba na kuwabana mchwa (mafisadi) wanaotafuna kila kidogo tulichonacho.

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