Tanzanians have been urged to concentrate on matters which are of national interest instead of twisting the new constitution for their own benefit.
Kingunge Ngombale Mwiru
This was said in Dar es Salaam by veteran politician, Kingunge Ngombale Mwiru when he was airing his opinion on the draft constitution.
He said that Tanzania’s history goes a long way back to people who sacrificed their lives for the sovereignty of the country, and said that a few individuals should not take the initiative of messing with what was fought for.
He added that while the country is on the verge of implementing a new constitution, there are some individuals who want to hijack the whole process, saying that this is brought about by power struggles within party systems.
Mr Kingunge also took time to point out irregularities in the new constitution, which has a clause where Tanzanians can be able to apply for dual citizenship.
He said that the country needs patriots who will uphold the ideals of those who fought for independence and made the country into a sovereign state, saying that the issue of dual citizenship is a very sensitive issue which requires the involvement of all Tanzanians.
“I am surprised by the people who took their time and included that section; I really believe that these people have serious mental problems, because it should have been discussed extensively by all Tanzanians before being included in the new constitution,” he said.
The veteran CCM cadre said that for all these years he has been in active politics, there was no time they even thought of discussing something as sensitive as dual citizenship, because they knew it was not ideal for the country.
He said that Tanzania as compared to other countries like Ghana, Nigeria and Kenya, has very few people who live abroad, and was surprised why the country needs dual citizenship in the first place.
Mr Kingunge said that the government can never stop anyone who decides to change citizenship, saying that there are some people who have done that already, but said that those who are fighting for dual citizenship are people who want to benefit from both sides.
On the other hand, Mr Kingunge said that for 50 years, the country has been running a successful union government, adding that the problems which arose were caused by leaders who were not ready to tackle them.
He said that Tanzania is a country where leaders like to postpone issues, saying that if they had instead dealt with the union matters effectively and on time, very few of the problems would be remaining.
He cited the example of Mwalimu Nyerere, who believed that what can be done today should not wait for tomorrow, and added that this system worked effectively. He said that the idea of having three governments is not right for the country, saying that this might create other problems which did not exist.
By ANTHONY TAMBWE, Tanzania Daily News
