The Secretary General of the Civic United Front (CUF), Mr Seif Sharif Hamad, has asked the party members and fans not to be misled by speculations that CUF has formed an alliance with Chadema and NCCR.
Secretary General of the Civic United Front (CUF), Mr Seif Sharif Hamad
“Our current relations involve a struggle for democracy particularly, making sure that we have a constitution accepted by most Tanzanians.
You should ignore rumours that we have merged our parties unofficially,” Hamad said in Pemba.
Maalim Seif, who is also Zanzibar’s First Vice-President, said that his party will continue working with Chadema and NCCR for the benefit of the people, “but each party has its own manifesto, vision and objectives.”
During a rally at Jadida Grounds in Wete, Pemba, Hamad also appealed to farmers in the Islands to avoid smuggling cloves. He said that the cloves should only be sold to the government through the Zanzibar State Trade Corporation (ZSTC).
He said that selling cloves to unauthorised business people will deny the government millions of shillings in taxes needed for development.
More than 75 per cent of the cloves produced in Zanzibar come from Pemba. Meanwhile, the acting deputy Secretary General, Mr Hamad Masoud, has threatened to sue community leaders involved in denying Zanzibaris their identity cards.
“We have been receiving complaints from our members who claim that they have not been given ZanIDs even with all the required documents including birth certificates at hand.
We are now consulting our lawyer so that we take to court all leaders who deliberately refuse to process ZanIDs,” Masoud said.
CUF has, for long, been complaining that some people, especially those believed to favour the party, are not given the Ids, which is numberone requirement for anyone to register as a voter in future elections.
The government, through its ministers, has on several occasions dismissed the accusation, saying that people’s ignorance is to blame for not meeting the required conditions for the ZanIDs.
By ISSA YUSSUF, Tanzania Daily News
