THE Tanzania deputy minister for Science&Tech, January Makamba, left many in stitches. He’s quoted as espousing dictatorship as the only means to eradicate endemic graft… That Tanzanians need a dictator to end corruption!
“One way to end graft is visible heavy punishment,” he said. That’s why dictators execute people in public, to show that those who try to overthrow them will face a firing squad. “The aim is to induce fear,” Makamba argued.
Wow! My foot…! Who wants a tyrant in these times of democracy, accountability and pursuit of human rights?
Makamba needs help to understand the dynamics of top leadership.
However, there’s no need to be shocked by such remarks from a guy who prides himself as an elite youth. Methinks Makamba’s suffering from ‘Chronic Political Monopoly Syndrome (CPMS), having been born and bred under tactful dictatorship whereby his political party has bulldozed the led for generations!
Let’s face it. Without his father’s name, Yusuf, what does January have to deserve being where he’s today?
Does he think we’ve forgotten that his father once said that his son would be appointed a Govt. minister? Lo and behold: he was so-appointed! Is this the style he wants us to accept –to our peril? No, Sir; go tell it the birds!
Who wants a dictator in multi-party politics? The likes of January are pulling us back to tyranny with the miseries currently evidenced! We need ‘clean’ leaders with vision and love of their country, not dictators. We need a ‘clean’ Constitution stipulating how to deal with venal leaders.
Why doesn’t January underscore the fact that, under Benny’s dictatorship, Tanzania was wantonly turned into a private estate to benefit him, his family and friends? Why doesn’t January appreciate the fact that Benny got away with it all because another dictator protected him?
The time for dictatorship is long gone and whoever seeks to rejuvenate same must be feared like Ebola, HIV and leprosy, so to speak!
We need leaders who uphold democracy, human rights, accountability; who have what it takes to deliver our people from poverty and tyranny, instead of using them to mint money for themselves!
Ironically, January attacked his government that seeks to to enact a corrupt Constitution aimed at entrenching the status quo which unduly benefits those in power.
However, the man’s entitled to his views. Indeed, we need to do away with graft. But, we can’t do this by installing self-seeking dictators as advocated by him. We need leaders who can apply law equitably and judiciously, not dictators whose personal dictates become law!
We need leaders who’ll use the Constitution to lead judiciously, not rulers who abuse it. We need leaders who abhor graft; who act sanely and responsibly; leaders who aren’t in cahoots with corrupt elements; who condone and protect criminals.
We need leaders whom criminals’ will fear and respect, not ones they can use wantonly…
I’m aware that January undertook Conflict Resolution studies,
an academic field seeking to alleviate – and, possibly, put a stop to — conflicts whose ‘good’ source is poor leadership, dictatorship!
January accuses the extant system of embedding leaders obtained through corruption. If he seriously means what he says, shouldn’t he be first to resign from that system?
Suffice it to say that Tanzanians must beware of his likes, some of whom have plundered our resources and positions.
In a nutshell, January is politically bankrupt, daydreaming of sending us back to the old dark days of tin-pot dictators..