Wednesday, March 12, 2008

I Told You So…

Let me just admit to the fact that I am not a genius by any imagination. As a matter of fact, I goof just like the rest of humanity. I err just like all of us. Nonetheless, once in a while I get things right. And that makes me feel justified in calling out the doubters of this blog – I told you so!

I have been accused on leaning towards the negative side of the Tanzanian experience. I understand that and I am doing that deliberately. But, boy, it feels so great to “dunk” on my “enemies” and wag a finger like Mutombo Dikembe (in case you have not seen Mutombo do that, please consult any NBA nut head).

So what is this fuss or junk I am writing about? I will tell you.

Once upon a time when Tanzania faced drought which led to power problems, the then elected Mr. President contended that power problems were not to be blamed on anybody in particular, as this was an act of negligence, but a test from God. In case you forgot the story, just revisit my original reflection right here.

Little did I know that almost one year and a half later; I would be proven to be right on the money. In case you didn’t have time to revisit my reflection, let me fill you in. In a nutshell, I bored a hole in Mr. JMK’s argument that electricity problems in Tanzania were not to be attributed to negligence. I provided the fact that Tanzania Meteorological Agency is charged with weather trends observation and prediction. I also pointed out the fact that TMA actually predicted rain deficiencies and that data was available – on the TMA’s website!

Guess what? Recently, Raia Mwema reported that Dr. Mohammed Mhita, TMA’s director general, confirmed that the agency do produce weather reports that are disseminated to, among other places, the State House and TANESCO!

So who is still doubting the fact that Mr. JMK is a goofball and that Tanzania will NEVER go anywhere (except backward) with him as the president? In case you are wondering why I think so, just revisit many of my past reflections, some of which dissected the president’s thinking. Honestly, I don’t think we have the greatest critical thinker in the president. But that is just me.

But re-dissecting the Prez wasn’t my main point though. I just wanted to let know how great it feels to say “I told you so!”

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Photo Credit: NBA

3 comments:

Simon Kitururu said...

U were right on this one Metty:-)It is sad that data availability does not play crucial role in a lot of decision making done in TZ.

I just saw in Mjengwa's blog that even choosing where to build kiosks in Ipogolo, the population distribution data was never taken into consideration. Kiosks were built where people arent.

Well, arent We TZnians popular for stoping reading books and....after we complete school?May be that is why we overlook the important decision making data because it comes in written form:-(

Jaduong Metty said...

@Simon,
I'm glad your back. I strongly believe that this, plus the Ipogolo case, presents classic cases of how bad the decision-making process in Tanzania is.

That to me, is tied to what I have been preaching all along, unless Tanzanians change their mindset and attitudes,nothing will move.

Sadly, I hardly hear or read the media picking and drumming up such examples of president and other politicians' lapse in judgment.

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