Could Our Leaders In Africa Do A 'Vladimir Putin'?

President of Russia, Vladimir Putin


Is there any real transparency in Africa, legion Transparency committees and Commissions of inquiry notwithstanding?

Russia's President Vladimir Putin has just finished answering live questions from a cross-section of the Russian public.They have been phoning-in and putting their questions to him. The whole thing has gone out live on two major TV channels in the country.

The questions ranged from policy implementation, environmental issues to motley of other issues that need clarification.

This, according to me, is a move that takes courage (and 'loads' of resilience!) and one that no one would attempt if they had anything to hide.

This has me thinking. Is it possible, even in the wildest of situations and imaginations, for our own leaders in Africa to even dream of adopting the Vladimir Putin system?
Methinks this system would save time, money and the citizenry would be better educated on what their government intends to implement and what it is doing on certain fronts, for instance.

Most countries in Africa are known for " unwarranted commissions of inquiry" to find out the "cause of a certain problem and know where to go from here". You should not even mention the "stacks" of dollars that go into these sittings. Incidentally, some of their findings are not made public, leaving questions lingering in the citizens' minds: did the commission pull through (or was there ever commission in the first place)?

We would like to ask our presidents some of these questions and hear them voice their concerns on the same.
"Why?" you may ask.
Well, most of the time we feel we need 'concrete' information (not the pursing of the lips that some of leaders treat us to) and a 'live' word from the president would allay some of our ingrained fears.

Our presidents and leaders have a lot to learn from Vladimir Putin.
My advice to them:
Clean your slate; pull yourself together; have nothing to hide; have a tight grip on the truth and have your people's interest at heart (not just 'lip service' kind of interest).

After all's been said and done, pick up that phone. With an air of confidence, call Vladimir Putin and ask him how the game goes.

Tanzania media: Are We "Wool gathering" the East Africa Federation?

Veteran Journalist Charles Onyango-Obbo's piece in the current The East African (October 23 – 29) struck a cord in me when I read it yesterday. It 'excavated' a touchy issue that has been tugging at my heart of late.

I have tried to 'force' the picture of Tanzania holding 'the federation baby' in its arms, to no avail. The whole shebang just does not jell. It is incongruous, to say the least. And why?

The piece, titled Let's face it, the Tanzania media is not being very neighbourly, divulged that of late there has been a section of the Tanzania media that has been fomenting inimical attitudes towards the East African Community.

Surely, have we come this far (the millions of dollars of East Africans taxpayers money that have been used notwithstanding) just to sacrifice our just-about-to-be-born baby on the altar of misunderstanding and misconstruction? Tumemla ng'ombe mzima, je tushindwe na mkia?

The press, in any country in the world, should know better than to involve itself in hate campaigns against anyone. It should, however, come to clear the air and set the record straight.

A certain Tanzanian website wantonly runs a hate campaign against other East Africans. It impugns other East Africans and pits them against one another. Check the site HERE.


The press should know better than this. Its efforts should gravitate towards empowering its citizenry with the right information that will help guide them on what to think. Furthermore, the press is said to be the watchdog of society so it ought to know better than to take matters personal.

Journalism’s first loyalty is to citizens: always working for the good of the citizens; determined to stand on the roof tops and shout down any manner of moral vice – not trying to glorify the inglorious!
Someone once said: The press is the people’s university.
People of all walks glean snippets of knowledge and information from the press that go a long way in influencing them to form personal judgments and opinions.
Journalists have a specific brief. Why should their special mandate be sacrificed on the altar of compromise and complacency?

When the 'federation story' is viewed against this backdrop, one is left wondering whether the 'vehicles of information in Tanzania' will play to its tune.

East Africans, let's ask ourselves these questions before it is too late:
• Are we wasting our time here?
• Are we wool gathering "the East Africa Federation" into focus or being "insensitively" realistic?

Tougher times doing an advent on Tanzanian soil

This is Mtera dam in Tanzania, one of the dams that was closed due to low water levels




There has been an acute shortage of electricity for most of this year in Tanzania. This has seen the economy in the country plummet as industries and workplaces remain dark and 'powerless' during the day.

Walking around Dar es Salaam at night, one would be forgiven to think that China has rubbed some of its 'anointing' on Tanzania. What with most industries and 'businesses' (barbers, tailors etc) working round the clock to take advantage of the electricity-at-night-only scheme! Ofcourse, this is not to mean that China has a similar load shedding. Don't quote me wrong. (Give guys in 'blogoshere' a yard and you are sure they will extend it to a mile.)

The Tanzanian Electricity Supply Company (TANESCO) has given the reason for this electricity 'inconsistency' as the lack of enough water in the major dams that 'fuel' electricity in the country.

The electricity company has spelled out tougher times by closing Mtera and Kidatu dams and announcing the imminent closure of yet another dam, Kihansi dam. This, surely, is a beacon of tougher times; times that the average person, especially one who depends on electricity to survive, will find hard to bear.

The government should come up with 'tangible' ways to thwart the imminent tragedy that is staring Tanzanians in the eye. Millions of Tanzanians' hearts are palpitating and waiting for their government to act.

English or no English we are one people

I am still smarting from the heavy barrage of words that has been bandied between Tanzanians and Kenyans about who's better than the other.

Kenyans pride (read gloat!) themselves as having a better grip on the Queen's language than their Tanzanian counterparts.
(Mind you, the English are still learning English. So really, there is no reason to walk with your shoulders held up high just because you can make one or two flawless sentences in English). Or is there?

Now I know you want to know my nationality. I am a Kenyan through and through: blood, bones and mentality. Even then, I think and decide with my mind and not my heart.

You would ask, "What business do I have 'defending' Tanzanians?" Well, the reason is simple and clear: the brass tacks. I value unity and oneness (semantically speaking). In addition to that, the value of a man doesn't lie in the language he speaks (or doesn't speak well!) but in the sheer fact that he/she is a human being.

That, above all, is what we should look at before we get embroiled in matters that are out to create rifts in our midst.

We should glory, instead, in what we as East Africans uniquely possess and endeavor to better our relationships by sharing our unique possessions to make East Africa and, in essence, Africa and the world a more people-friendly environment.

Let's stop this braggadocio (talking too proudly about oneself) we have taken up of late:
• Kenyans say, "We know more English than you (so we are better off). We are better educated than you guys and laziness is not a 'sport' we excel at."
• Tanzanians say, "Our Kiswahili is the real thing. You Kenyans continue clamoring and paying allegiance to the colonial language you are very proud of and let's see how far you go."

Surely, such kind of exchanges with our neighbours does not portend the healthiest of situations. Your neighbour is one you should be quick to cover the weaknesses of. Why? It is him you'll run to, incline your head on his shoulder, look into his eyes and ask for help.

Kikwete, the face of East Africa?

Having taken to reading The East African of late,I couldn't help noticing something that has graced the front pages of the said newspaper in the past four or so issues.

If you are an ardent reader of the same, you may have noticed it too. The main picture on the front pages in these issues shows a 'quixotic' East African president with different people in each issue. This president is in the person of Mr. Kikwete of Tanzania.

In the September 11 – 17 issue, the picture is that of President Kikwete congratulating President Pierre Nkurunziza of Burundi after signing of a full ceasefire agreement with Palipehutu-FNL in Dar es Salaam.

In the next issue (September 18 – 24), the picture is that of Kikwete arriving from Havana, Cuba, after attending the 14th summit of the Non-Aligned movement.

In the September 25th – October 1st issue, the picture is that of Presidents Kikwete and Bush at a New York hotel.

The picture that graces the front page of the current issue of the newspaper is that of (you guessed it right!) President Kikwete with United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan when they met in New York.

This being a Regional paper, then the East African presidents should be given equal 'front page experience'. However, as it is now, it seems the other two Presidents in the Region have done nothing of import, in the last four weeks or so, to humour the 'paper' into warranting them front page treatment.

Anyway, truth be told. Mr. Kikwete is a man of action and a person who is out to effect changes in the country the Tanzanian electorate served him on a silver plate.

Yesterday, he called a Press conference that was televised on leading channels in Tanzania. In the conference he answered questions posed to him by journalists. Even the Kenyan “political instability” chit-chat he had with President George Bush was quizzed by a journalist. But he answered it tactfully, making sure he doesn’t open a can of worms. He said Bush just asked, in passing, about the “political instability” in Kenya (a friend to the USA, as Kikwete put it) and that there was no cause for worry. Time will tell whether there is anything to worry about or not(Click here Bush/Kikwete chit-chat.)

I doubt whether the other two presidents in East Africa can call a Press conference and encourage journalists to ask them questions they feel like asking in full public view (Television) without fear of retribution and scathing, scalding criticism. I dare them to take up the challenge. We, the electorate, need to ask questions of public interest and get answers to quell the building pressure in our bowels. Messrs. Emilio Mwai Kibaki and Kaguta Museveni, are we, the people who voted you to office, asking for too much here?

Anyway, if only his contemporaries in the region would take the cue from him (President Kikwete), then, maybe, the eye of The East African might be caught and they may be accorded 'front page treatment' to break the four-week monotony.