Friends and readers,
I must start by apologizing. It is my goal to share my fresh thoughts on a regular, timely basis. Nonetheless, life throws challenges our way. I had to face some life adjustments in the past week that kept me away from this little “cubicle” of mine. But guess what? I am back!
Man, there are plenty of things to talk about and reflect on when it comes to life in Bongoland. One of the major issues, obviously, is the fact that RDC has failed to deliver electricity on time. That is not from me, but from Bongoland news all over the mtandao thing. Of course the reason is incompetent (the Company’s resume does not indicate any experience in power supply), but they have come up with plenty of excuses. Wasanii ni wasanii tu, ngojera lazima watatunga .
But I wouldn’t blame RDC. They did what they had to do in a broken system. The blame goes right back at the dude in Ikulu. Well, one would ask why Mr. JK should be blamed. The answer to that is very simple – he appointed these suckers called Mawaziri and Manaibu, whatever their titles are. I mean, Mr. JK got played straight up by Dr. Msabaha and Masha, but what did he do? He recycled them. What the heck is that?
That, in itself, is a problem. Nonetheless, there is more that troubles me. One of them is that inability to enforce contracts that we have entered into with other parties. In an ideal situation, one would expect that all contractual terms with RDC are clear, and that remedies to the government and penalties to for failure to perform are all stipulated. Then what is this thing about extending the time for RDC to deliver? Honestly, that is stupid. That is crazy.
I am not a law scholar, but this is the little I know. By verbally extending the time for RDC to deliver, the government just entered into a modified contract with RDC. If the new verbal terms are accepted by RDC, then we have an implied contract (law scholars, please correct me if I am wrong). But why go through all of this, while the Tanzanian economy is continuing to sink because of some incompetent company? Why not just go ahead and choke their necks for failing to honor the contract?
It stinks and it stings.
I understand that Mr. JK came up with this “kasi mpya” mantra when he took charge of Ikulu. This is my word for his Excellency: those who travel faster, travel lighter. Right now, it appears you ain’t traveling faster. If you can’t solve the simplest things as ensuring steady power supply, how are you going to create the promised 1,000, 000 jobs? (Or didn’t you know that job creation is indirectly linked to increased production, which is highly dependent on steady power supply? I hope I didn’t confuse you there Mr. President)
So if you want to live up to the kasi mpya song, please get rid of the junk that is hanging all over your back. Try trimming down incompetent folks in your cabinet as a starting point. The longer you keep the junk, the slower you will become. Read my lips - or my blog.
But the simplest, but important question that I have for you is this: do you know where Tanzania is going or you are just fumbling your way through? Seriously, I can’t tell if you have any idea. The fact that your own PM thinks power problem is a Third Phase government's issue shows that you folks have no idea.
Before you kill me though, check out what my favorite columnist, Mr. Lusekelo, had to say about the RDC issue.
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16 comments:
Metty,
Whatever life huddles dealt you, we are glad you are up and running, and it is my sincere hope that you are intack in every possible manner.
Once Martin Luther said" You can only see the stars when there is total darkness", what did he mean by that? He plainly meant that whenever hope is lost and the going gets tough or rough, it can as well as be likened to total darkeness, but wait, if you lift your eyes to the dark sky, you will definetely see bright stars shinning back to you, and that is the best time to see those stars shining from a distance and not in a broad daylight. It means there's somehow, even remote, though to speak, slightest rays of hope which keeps you going. this is when you give faith a fighting chance. But not with Tanesco....
And definetely not with "Kasi Mpya", I hope Mr President gets this straight the way it is. Once Chinua Achebe said "you can not kill a person who says nothing" but how do you apply that to a silent striken president in the midst of these chaotic blackouts? To me it appears as though the president is not even tickled with current happenings between Tanesco, Richmond and the prolonged cries of the common Mwananchi whose fate lies in the hands of incompetent public servants.
Why waste time, money and resources travelling abroad woeing investors to Tanzania when you can not clean up your own act Mr President and Prime Minister? the truth is, no investor will step into unknown territory without seekeng a second opinion or even doing their homework, and guess what, internet and a word of mouth are the best resources for investors information. How could even Mr Lowassa waste his time in Canada promising investors a conducive business atmosphere which in really sense has nothing left to be desired? My point is Mr Lowassa can't even comprehend the magnitude of the power issue. Well Mr Lowassa, power problem does not belong to the long gone third phase administration which if my memory serves me better you were part of it!
What really beats my understanding here, is when minister for Energy and Minerals, Nazir Karamagi, extend the contractual terms verbally to Richmond to February 4. and as to add insult to injury, minister clearly stipulates that, Richmond, if defaults the new deadline, then it risks facing legal
Metty,
Whatever life's twists and turns dealt you, we are glad you are up and running, and it is my sincere hope that you are intack in every possible manner.
Once Martin Luther said" You can only see the stars when there is total darkness", what did he mean by that? He plainly meant that whenever hope is lost and the going gets tough or rough, it can as well as be likened to total darkeness, but wait, if you lift your eyes to the dark sky heavenlyward, you will definetely see bright stars shinning back to you, and that is the best time to see those stars shining from a distance and not in a broad daylight. It means there's somehow, even remote, though to speak, slightest rays of hope which keeps you going. this is when you give faith a fighting chance. But not with Tanesco....
And definetely not with "Kasi Mpya", I hope Mr President gets this straight the way it is. Once Chinua Achebe said "you can not kill a person who says nothing" but how do you apply that to a silent striken president in the midst of these chaotic blackouts? To me it appears as though the president is not even tickled with current happenings between Tanesco, Richmond and the prolonged cries of the common Mwananchi whose fate lies in the hands of incompetent public servants.
Why waste time, money and resources travelling abroad woeing investors to Tanzania when you can not clean up your own act at your court yard Mr President and Prime Minister? the truth is, no investor will step into unknown territory without seeking a second opinion or even doing extensive homework, and guess what, internet and a word of mouth are the best resources for investors information. How do you explain then to investors about power issues? How could even Mr Lowassa waste his time in Canada promising investors a conducive business atmosphere which in really sense has nothing left to be desired? My point is Mr Lowassa can't even comprehend the magnitude of the power issue. Well Mr Lowassa, power problem does not belong to the long gone third phase administration which if my memory serves me better you were part of it!
What really beats my understanding here, is when minister for Energy and Minerals, Nazir Karamagi, extend the contractual terms verbally to Richmond to February 4. and as to add insult to injury, minister clearly stipulates that, Richmond, if defaults the new deadline, then it risks facing legal actions. How could you take them to court when you are not even part of the contract? well if you have powers to push them to legal liabilities, then why not enforce even a minor part of the contract right now? do you really set up your own house in fire in the hope of collecting insurance compensation at the end? The painful truth is Minister Karamagi, February 4th will come and go!
Well Minister Karamagi, did you even take time to reflect and refresh your memories as to what transpired with your predecessors? Do you even have a clue about IPTL? the company that had similar contractual agreements with Tanesco and never delivered, did the international court help in any way? And when is it that Tanesco is gonna learn from these grossy mistakes, repeating mistakes prove to us that Tanesco has no clue as to what is best for them and the general public. You really do not need to be an Oxford graduate to put two and two together! a street wise Machinga can figure this out!
I think Tanesco is talking to the wrong people here, they should be talking to Richmond and not the press. There is no discipline in Tanesco, from the lowest level of operation to the top, let alone accountability and responsibility. So how do we expect Tanesco to be responsible at the end ot the day with the contracts they sign if they have never experienced accountability in their own court or at their own end of the bargain?
Was Tanesco held responsible with the defunct fallen contracts with IPTL? How many contracts does Tanesco need to be wise? Numerous times Tanesco has given the public empty promises of delivery which have breached service level agreements with individual customers. The lowest level Tanesco employees have no fear collecting extra cash from customers while tampering with billing systems or Luku units (prepaid), when they know at the back of their minds that they have no obligations to the big performance picture of the company. This happens simply because no one trusts any one in Tanesco with their dealings. Word is out that high level employees benefit more through their positions.
It is no wonder that the public will never take Tanesco words as a firm order of confirmation to services agreed upon. Tanesco has never faced legal repurcussions despite regular cut offs, bogus contracts and uncertainity of power. We can never go on blaming the acts of God for issues that could have been averted with excellent strategic planning. After the Richmond saga, does Tanesco have short and long term plans that will never blame the acts of God in there part of responsibility? Does Tanesco have contigent plans that overlap through their short and long terms plans?
Metty and Readers,
Please disregard the first comment I posted, I was still writing and editing my thoughts when I accidentally clicked to publish. If there is any way you can delete it, I will much appreciated, but definetelly I have learn something here with this age of click click and click....hope Tanesco does too!
sam
Surely this one sucks! are we really going back to the crap contracts!!? I think it's wrong. We embraced a new slogan of Mr JK, Kasi mpya....(whatever it says), but his battle in those fake old contracts is just a danganya toto if this one (RDC) which archtectured in the first year of his very "holy" regime will not be trumped.
JK should restore the tradition of bringing excutives to justice or at least reassign their positions, and not recycling them.
By the way visingizio about gas don't make a point at all, what about the other companies which use the same gas to supply power?
I will remain critic in this matter until the hopes come into being.
@Sam and Anony,
I feel your pain. I feel your frustrations. I must agree that Mr. JMK started well, compared to his predecessor. I almost bought into this “kasi mpya” thing. Honestly, the guy was impressive the first days. Acting on a commission’s report? That was unheard of in modern Tanzania!
But I guess unbeknownst to all of us, the stinky CCM system was about to operate…silently.
See, the recycling of incompetent leaders was just a clear indication that Tanzanians are in for a long, rough ride. I mean, haven’t we seen that before? Wasn’t that an indication that the new guy isn’t any different from Mr. BWM apart from a pretty face? It gave the indication that Mr. JMK is just following a CCM script. Obviously, the script has blessed him with the presidency, but at the same time has been a stumbling block for any meaningful progress. Kasi mpya? Yeah right.
As you pointed out, it doesn’t make sense for the President and the PM to waste our money, going all over the world to hawk investment opportunities in Tanzania, while they are not trying hard enough to make sure electricity is flowing steadily. The worst part, I guess, is the fact that this leadership has embarked on a blame game. It goes like this: shift the blame on the previous leadership and our problems will go away. Really?
The problem is this for JKM and EL: Mr. BWM didn’t sign a contract with RDC. The contract was signed by the current administration. The previous administration didn’t come up with a stupid strategy like inviting rainmakers from Thailand to solve power problems. So in essence, Mr. EL has just coined the most stupid excuse a leader of his position can come up with. But again, can any good come out of CCM? I don’t think. I need proof. I need conviction to change my mind. So far, none.
It is almost sickening to think of my fellow Tanzanians who are being duped on a daily basis. It is maddening to know that plenty of incompetents are walking around in the streets of Dar Es Salaam as some Waziri and Naibu. But may be I am too sensitive and fired up.
Metty,
The truth is, your are not fired up. A rose is a rose by any other name, and in this case, you will definetely loose all your tempers towards the current administration wether you live in Tanzania or not. I feel you Metty and I still will understand you, even if you loose all patience and sanity. No one can tolerate this kind of incompetence if you really know what is proactive and reactive metrics. JK goverment is proving to be more on the reactive sense which in other words is tactical and not strategical planner.
What Tanesco and JK government need to do is to come up with a clear strategical solution rather than simply shouting empty deadlines to the press.
sam
Metty,
The founder of kasi mpya and CCM will never change our lives as long as they continue to rule unchallenged. The opposition parties stand behind CCM as a statue doing absolutely nothing. Judging from the current power crisis, one will assume the opposition parties will mobilize maandamano and start to poke holes on the ruling party. To my surprise, they are as quiet as JK.
Mashala
Leadership crisis in all senses. What a disgrace!
@Sam, Mashala and Anony
I think asking for Tanesco to come up with a strategy is a waste of time. Those guys have to clue. Mr. JMK has no clue either.
As Anony pointed out - the issue is very clear: lack of true leadership.
This is my conviction - at some point we will have to claim our country back from people who have failed to run it successfully. I think that the revolution is coming pretty soon.
Metty i support you 100%.But Mett i have a serious problem,when are we going to stop blaming and start acting.Remember what the late Bob Marley said(all they do is asking and blaming no one is trying to find the cure).Metty i think we are the ones to be blamed,the president cant do everying,it is us to help him.Now how are we going to help the president and that is one step forward if we can think of finding away.MAISHA BORA KWA KILA MTANZANIA UNAKUMBUKA?
@Luihamu,
I gree with you. Nonetheless, I think we have different callings. I can be the best writer whose "assignment" is just to motivate people. Others could be the ones to stand on podiums to campaign against evil.
Why do you think most repressive governments are against free media? It is because they are afraid of free exchange of information. Thanks to the technology, CCM can not shut my mind.
I just hope that what I highlight will help, first and foremost, transform the minds of Tanzanians. You and I could be enlightened, but I am sure there are more than 25 million brothers and sisters in Tanzania who cannot even comprehend an iota of what my blogs are all about.
So I will keep on writing, but I seriously take your challenge. Hopefully, I can find the appropriate way of actively participating in the liberation of my fellow Tanzanians. The situation really stinks, and something has to change.
Many youths do not have employment and do not know what their future is in the Bongo Land. Are you guys going back to create employment and rebuild the Unified but Heart Broken Nation?
Many teachers and doctors live in poverty!
Do what you love, and do your best.
Any comments about the movie the pursuit of happiness?
@Anony 12:27
Coming home and recreating hope for my fellow Tanzanians is definitely a dream that I have.
Nonetheless, I think one must have to be prepared - mostly mentally. The rules of engagement, for instance, in the US are quite different from the ones you will encounter in Bongoland.
Kuingia kichwa kichwa could result in those folks I intend to help losing and I losing. That would be a tragedy. But I believe that Tanzanians are realizing that something has to change.
@Anony 12:33
I have not watched the movie "Pursuit of Happiness", but given the movie is based on a true story, it should be a great watch.
The theme of survival and success really depicts our condition in Bongoland. The only difference being that there are plenty of obstacles in pursuing one's happiness.
I can tell you this: if it wasn't for a strong social structure, most Bongolanders would have been long gone due to depression attacks.
Do you know what % of Tanzanians have access to clean water and electricity supply? It is depressing. How many Ministerial expensive cars do you think are required to build a hand water pump for a village?
From reading all the posts in here it is quiet obvious that people in Tanzania need to get mobilized and form a true oppositional party. How would it sound having a party like CCD, Chama Cha Demokrasia, CCW Chama Cha Wazalendo Wakweli. It is a constitutional right to rule and to form parties. Politics is the right of every citizen. What`s broken can be fixed, so people don`t lose hope we have young blood with a lot of vision.
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