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On Criticism of HakiRasilimali and ACT-Wazalendo

October 8, 2019, 5:35 am
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Why criticism of HakiRasilimali and ACT-Wazalendo doesn’t hold up

Thabit Jacob

Dastan Kweka published an interesting piece yesterday on the recent deal reached between the Government of Tanzania and Barrick Gold over the Acacia saga. Just to remind readers that the agreement was reached after Acacia shareholders accepted a second bumper offer presented by Barrick in July 2019. The offer valued Acacia at $1.2 billion, a huge improvement on the original offer of May 2019, which valued Acacia at $787 million but was turned down. The $1.2 billion offer was great for Acacia, and as I mentioned at the time, its minority shareholders are the biggest winners. 

Now back to Dastan’s piece. I know Dastan, who not only writes as a keen observer of the extractive sector, but brings in his personal experience of policy engagements with civil society and other actors in the sector. In his insightful piece, which offers great background to the saga for those who have not been following it closely, among other things, he takes issue with the civil-society network HakiRasilimali and the opposition political party, ACT-Wazalendo, which have concluded that the recent deal is bad for Tanzania. Dastan concludes by asserting that "To be able to say, with certainty, whether this was a bad deal or not, one will have to model the results, or wait for clues in EITI reports."
Dastan’s conclusion is built around the notion that it is difficult to reach a conclusion over whether the current deal is good or bad for the country based on the presently available information. This is a valid concern: I’m currently involved in a separate research project on the politics of oil governance in Africa, where, among other things, we are investigating how national oil companies make deals with international oil companies, and we have been grappling with questions like when is a deal good or bad for a country, and whether in this case the good deal is the one on paper (i.e. has been negotiated) or the one operating on the ground. As Dastan suggests, financial modelling is one of many ways of establishing this. However, the big question, based on the available information related to the recent Tanzania–Barrick settlement, is whether we really need modelling to know whether the deal is good or bad. The answer is that we don’t. Dastan’s criticism of Hakirasilimali and ACT-Wazalendo is, therefore, misplaced: the deal is indeed not good, and we don’t need fiscal models to tell us that. Here’s why. 

First, as many recall, in a highly anticipated meeting between President John Magufuli and Barrick chairman John Thornton Thorton at State House in October 2017, a much-celebrated resolution was reached in which the government’s chief negotiator, Professor Palamagamba Kabudi, emphasized that Tanzania’s total share of mineral wealth will be over 60 percent as a result of 50/50 profit-sharing, plus an additional 16% government shareholding. In a joint televised interview with Thornton, President Magufuli hailed the deal as historic and said Barrick were no longer thieves and that the two sides can now sit together to resolve outstanding issues as genuine partners. Among key issues agreed on that day, October 19, 2019, were (1) 50/50 profit-sharing, (2) a sixteen percent government stake in a new company to be headquartered in the mineral-rich Mwanza region, (3) Barrick to build a smelter in Tanzania to boost value addition, (4) Barrick to make a one-off payment of $300 million, (5) Settling disputes within Tanzania, (6) all Acacia’s banking transactions to use Tanzanian banks, (7) Improving the conditions of local communities adjacent to gold-mining areas and (8) the work and safety conditions of mine workers to be improved, among other provisions. 
In the most recent deal, the government has made a dramatic U-turn, which, among other things, includes: (1) providing Barrick with access to international arbitration in Singapore, (2) no longer forcing Barrick to build a smelter, (3) the ban on copper concentrates to be lifted once the deal is finalized, (4) requirement for public listing potentially to be waived, (5) transactions with foreign banks to be allowed, and (6) the promised $300 million one-off payment to be paid in seven instalments. One wonders what happened to the famous 2017 deal, which was celebrated across the country and in other parts of Africa! In short, recent concessions in the latest deal clearly show that it is not as good as Tanzania’s citizens expected on the basis of the 2017 euphoria. 

As HakiRasilimali’s analysis indicates, the Tanzania–Barrick settlement also shows the current deal making a sharp divergence from the strict intentions stated by the government through legislation passed in 2017, which were hailed across Africa as a radical transformation of the sector, although some of us have argued that these reforms were also motivated by the increasing electoral threat and Magufuli’s quest for legitimacy. Again, HakiRasimali’s analysis confirms what many observers in the sector already knew, namely that the outcome of the current deal represents a legislative dilemma by rendering some sections of various pieces of legislation useless. ACT-Wazalendo were also right to say the deal was bad, and the government wanted the details to be kept secret, but thanks to stock market regulations, Barrick had no option but to make the agreement public.
While I agree with Dastan that the next EITI report may offer more insights into the nature of the deal, we already know that it is not good for the country based on its divergence from the existing legal framework and the complete U-turn from the initial ’good’ deal agreed in 2017. Finally, while a lot of attention has focused on the deal’s fiscal aspects, stakeholders should take time to discuss its implications beyond taxes and revenues and focus more on other critical areas, such as human rights and environmental issues, which have received less attention recently. This is important bearing in mind the abuses that local communities have suffered in the past, an issue that Acacia has acknowledged before, and given also that most recent research shows communities still being troubled by abuses and concerns over pollution.
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Book Bazaar at Soma Book Cafe: 26 October 2019

October 19, 2019, 6:19 am
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Public Lecture on Producing the Entrepreneur

November 8, 2019, 9:20 am
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Public Talk on Producing African Entrepreneurs

November 15, 2019, 7:01 am
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Whither Transparency in Extractive Industries?

November 25, 2019, 10:01 am
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Tanzania`s EITI agenda is stuck, and faces a bleak future

Dastan Kweka

Earlier this month, the Deputy Minister for Minerals – Hon. Stanslaus Nyongo – informed a diverse audience attending HakiRasilimali`s“Jukwaa la Uziduaji” (Extractive Industries Conference) in Dodoma, that the government was finalizing preparations for disclosing Beneficial Ownership information, stressing that there was a need to “educate the public” before such information is released. A Beneficial Owner is the true owner of an investment – one that, ultimately, benefits from the proceeds. The disclosure of such information is one of the key Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative's (EITI) requirements. The latest Tanzania Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative's (TEITI) implementation report corroborates with what the Deputy Minister said, and notes that the government is working on an integrated public registry (online portal) that will host the information.

EITI has set a deadline of 2020 for member countries to ensure all companies that apply or hold participating interest in oil, gas and mining sectors disclose Beneficial Owners information. Will Tanzania honor this deadline? In my opinion, this is unlikely, given that the government is already advancing preemptive excuses in terms of the “need to educate the public” before disclosure takes effect. This familiar talking point has been used before to ward off demands for contract disclosure, and has since become a favored argument – one that has replaced “commercial sensitivity”. It is also quite unlikely given that the information will inevitably uncover the identities and interests of local politicians and prominent businesspeople – a potential mine field that any political establishment would seek to avoid, especially in the period leading to a general election.
There are more fundamental questions surrounding the future of TEITI. While the introduction of the Tanzania Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative Act (TEITA) in 2015 was seen as a positive step towards institutionalizing transparency and accountability in the sector, the country has seen multiple recent signs that point to a decline in government commitment. The first and most (symbolically) significant sign was the government`s decision to withdraw from the Open Government Partnership (OGP) in 2017. When the Permanent Secretary from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Dr. Aziz Mlima - was interviewed about the position, he said at the time that the decision was a “temporary move because the government wanted to reassess the OGP” and find out “if it is in line with national interests.” This points to a certain level of suspicion that has for a long time been associated with initiatives that are considered “foreign”, especially in the extractives sector. A recent study attributes that suspicion to the legacy of Ujamaa – a socialist experiment that the country attempted in the 1970s, and which was predominantly against private, profit-oriented and (local or) foreign backed or owned initiatives.
The said suspicion has now been heightened by the fifth phase government`s growing emphasis on homegrown solutions. It is reiterated that “we must face our own realities, no imported solutions can resolve Africa’s challenges sustainably.” After all, we are reminded, “Watanzania Tunaweza”/Tanzanians are capable – and “mabeberu siyo wajomba zetu"/imperialists are not our uncles”. This clarion call is, in essence, a call for the country to devise solutions to its own problems, instead of relying on “imported” ideas. EITI is, of course, one of them.
There is another critical concern about the potential for institutionalizing transparency in the extractive industries sector, and thus the success of TEITI. It continues to be seen as a “project” for improving transparency in the government - one that will end at some point. This means that it remains peripheral in government plans, and when reforms are undertaken, such as we have seen recently, they are not necessarily informed, at least in part, by the desire to enhance its effectiveness. Reforms (2017/2018) in the extractives sector have shown us that the fifth phase government is more interested in (and willing to explore) government-centred (horizontal) accountability. Hence,  there has been a limited effort to establish a balance between internal checks and balances, on the one hand, and citizen-led initiatives, on the other hand. This is despite the fact that, through the Minister for Minerals - Hon. Doto Biteko -  the government issued TEITA's regulations in early 2019.
The preference for government-centred accountability, especially in the extractives sector, is embodied by the recent provision that “allows” the Parliament to review extractive industry contracts. After all, the ruling party has the majority in Parliament.
Ironically, implementation has stalled, but probably not for lack of a good reason! Those against the parliamentary review of contracts point to the doctrine of “separation of powers”. Their key argument is that the parliament has to exercise oversight and thus, if it involved itself in review and approval of contracts, it would be less independent in questioning and holding the government to account. One government lawyer offered to simplify it by saying, “Ni kama mlaji ambaye ameamua kupika. Chakula kikiharibika atamlalamikia nani”? (It`s like a customer who has decided to cook. If the food is messed up, who then will he lodge complaints to?) There are other concerns around “politicization” of issues, and the capability of parliamentarians to fully comprehend the contents. There is also a view that some agreements involve a huge deal of “balancing”, some of which may be hard to make the Parliament grasp.

The financing of TEITI is another area that raises questions about its future – if there is any! The initiative remains heavily reliant on “development partners” – the likes of Canada, European Union, and the World Bank. Its implementation reports show that government contribution has often hovered around 10% to 20% of annual budgets, and at times limited funding has led to significant delays in publication of reconciliation reports. One can easily tell what a government priority is, by looking at where its money goes.

Tanzania`s EITI agenda is struggling to transition from token disclosures to meaningful institutionalization, in spite of genuine and sustained efforts by civil society organizations, progressive media and extractive industry activists. Recent reforms have shown that the government doesn`t view limited transparency as a primary problem or central part of it`s quest to capture a fair share of benefits from the sector. There is a possibility that even notable achievements that have been seen to date may be reversed. Most importantly, the government is interested more in domestic solutions. 
Probably it is time for stakeholders to start exploring alternative options, in case the undesirable happens. For now, the potential for TEITI to make a significant contribution to improving accountability in the sector seems quite limited. This reality makes its future quite uncertain.
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African Technocrats: Rats or Real Cats?

November 28, 2019, 7:22 am
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African Technocrats: Rats or Real Cats at the Global Scale?

By Evans Rubara 
@e_rubara

Africa will not advance towards the long talked about unity, any time soon. 

This week has been an eye opener to the seeming ‘aimless’ traveler. Aimless, as the whole purpose and eagerness to reach the destination and interact with great African minds at a global scale, on matters of environmental integrity and human health, is thwarted by small minds dressed in expensive suits and flamboyant diction. 

In a city that has the towering 39 feet broken leg chair amounting 5.5 tons of timber, so is the image presented by the African technocrats. They stand high, and most of them from the government, fed by the tax-payers’ hard-earned money, as large and heavier than the 100 kilograms of sand. 
With such similarity, there is also a comparative contrast that can be drawn between the three-and-a-half-legged chair and the technocrats from Africa. The former symbolizes “opposition to land mines and cluster bombs”. The latter, only carry with them the weight of power from the countries of origin but with a seeming little palatable intellectual muscle to effectively and convincingly contribute to the discussion on the table.

Reading this, you realize that the traveler is not at all impressed by the African technocrats who travel heavily, giving hope to sending countries that they would deliver. Only to become beggars at the discursive platform and a lot that fight for leadership opportunities that would allow them to travel outside their countries. 

The Conference of the Parties
The Third Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Convention on Mercury (COP3) that commenced in Geneva on November 25 and will run until November 29, 2019 brought together high-level stakeholders from all-over the world. The meeting and the deliberations here are meant to discuss the well-being of our planet, including persons who come in contact with mercury during their lifetime.

According to the Minamata Convention, “mercury is a chemical of global concern owing to its long-range atmospheric transport, its persistence in the environment once anthropogenically introduced, its ability to bioaccumulate in ecosystems and its significant negative effects on human health and the environment” is unmatched. 

But it does not end there. The Convention expressly states that mercury produce “significant adverse neurological and other health effects […] on infants and unborn children”. With such hazardous and long-term life-threatening impacts, on February 20, 2009, the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) initiated an “international action to manage mercury in an efficient, effective and coherent manner”. 

Artisanal and Small-scale Gold Mining and Mercury Contamination
The proceedings of the meeting revealed that Artisanal and Small-scale Gold Mining (ASGM) is the largest consumer of mercury. The prevalence of the use of mercury is in the developing economies in the global South. In the presented statistics, about 1,200 tons of mercury sediments already emitted on land and water comes from the ASGM sector activities. This is staggeringly shocking. 

When listening to the arguments and presentations, even though the different presentations revealed that between 2010 and 2015 most of the mercury emissions were recorded in Asia, West and sub-Saharan African populace is in great danger. According to UNEP’s Global Mercury Assessment for the year 2018, “…Artisanal and Small-scale Gold Mining (ASGM) accounts for about 70% and up to 80% of the emissions from South America and Sub-Saharan Africa, respectively”.

A report by the International Institute for Sustainable Development, released in 2018, on the Global Trends in Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (ASM), shows an increase in numbers of people working in the ASM sector from 6,000,000 in 1993 to 40,500,000 in 2017 worldwide. But the same report also suggests that “Some sources estimate a much higher number – up to 100 million ASM operators – compared to seven million people working in industrial mining”.

Let’s bring this closer, home. A recent mapping activity carried out by the International Peace Information Service (IPIS), indicates that, in Tanzania alone, not even the whole country but in the north of the country, covering Mara, Geita and Shinyanga Regions, there are a total of a total of 337 ASGM operators. 
The majority of these operators have not yet started adopting the use of mercury-free processing of gold. They are still using the traditional mercury amalgamation. Let me not get started talking about the careless manner in which this hazardous substance is handled due to lack of proper structures that follow known Occupational/Environmental, Health and Safety principles.

In a nutshell, even though mercury is a global environmental and human health threat, the burden of its impacts is heavily borne by the end users in developing countries. The countries where ASGM activities are increasingly relevant for survival. Not by the producing countries.
Leadership and African Representation
Interestingly, the leadership in the processes that would create a safer environment for us all, especially for those who come from the ASGM operations intensive regions, come from Africa. This goes hand-in-hand with the Regional leadership from all the Parties. African Region is well presented. 

The most surprising thing is that sitting at the Regional Sessions for Africa, the discussions are not substantially focusing on the substantive issues that would come out with cohesive strategies that aim at minimizing the use of mercury use starting in the year 2020. 

This lot of persons from Africa appointed to lead in the processes that would contribute to the global strategies are busy fighting and conniving on who should be elected or re-elected into positions. Critical and constructive voices are swallowed in the majority of different Regional Economic Communities (REC’s) within the African Continent seeking these positions – for financial gain.

Looking around, the room is also attended by others from the donor countries that are reported to have contributed heavily to facilitate the development of the National Action Plan (NAP) for the mitigation of the use, and subsequently the impacts of mercury emission from the past, present and future activities. 

Unfortunately, my country of birth, the country I so love, a country where a lot of ASGM activities occur using mercury, is neither a party to the Minamata Convention – yet, nor sent a representation to these crucial deliberations. 
But by way of absence or obscene desire to be the ones who get the hefty DSA’s, adding non-performing accolades on resumes, and being received back home as a victor from a war, African leaders have disappointingly represented itself in these deliberations. Africa is continuing to shoot itself on the foot. The hopes of a United Africa is smoked into the abyss as long as this destructive thought and compartmentalization continues.
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About the Author: Evans Rubara is stakeholder and policy engagement professional with an extensive experience working on cross-cutting natural resource-based development discourses and practices including global environmental politics. The writer can be reached through: erubara@outlook.com.

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Adieu Ali A. Mufuruki (1958 - 2019)

December 8, 2019, 6:57 am
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Kwaheri Kavazi

December 11, 2019, 2:39 am
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Call for Women Visual Artists+Creative Writers

December 12, 2019, 2:42 am
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Mkapa: A “humble” and pragmatic reformer?

December 12, 2019, 9:56 am
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Mkapa: A “humble” and pragmatic reformer?

Dastan Kweka
@KwekaKweka

“My Life, My Purpose: A Tanzanian President Remembers” is an account of what former President Benjamin William Mkapa (1995 – 2005) considers to be his legacy. It brings together a fairly linear but eventful journey of his life as a student, civil servant, diplomat, politician and President of the country. The memoirs focuses, to a large extent, on highlighting the rationale as well as the constraints associated with the actions that he (as President) took, or did not, whether he harbors any regrets, and his assessment of the trends and practices that have come to dominate politics and public service today. 

This review focuses on at least six major, and recurring themes in the book – early life (and his personality), race and ethnicity, ideology, (economic) reform, role of institutions and his relationship with the opposition.

Mkapa grew up in poverty, a common reality for most Africans who lived under the colonial rule, and was raised by semi-illiterate parents. But he was lucky to have had a father who worked for missionaries. This was an important connection at the time, given that the (Catholic) Church owned and ran vital institutions such as schools and hospitals. The former President does not say whether this connection influenced, in any way, his selection to join Ndanda Secondary School, a mission school, in late 1940’s. However, he notes that his two elder brothers – Blasius and Bernard – had also gone to the same school.

The author did well at school, and went all the way to Makerere, which was then the most revered higher education institution in East Africa. He also writes that he was two years ahead of the renowned Kenyan literary giant - Ngugi wa Thiong’o - at the University. One gets an impression that Mkapa`s favorite authors were, and still are predominantly western - the likes of Shakespeare, Dickens and Agatha Christie.  Could this be the impact of a highly skewed colonial curriculum? It is unclear how this preference may have affected the development of the arts sector during his time in office. His decision to write the memoirs in English, instead of Swahili, is also another issue of interest. While English makes the book accessible to billions of people across the world, the language excludes majority of those that voted for him twice. The publisher – Mkuki na Nyota– has not announced plans for producing a Swahili version.
Regarding his personality, the author informs his readers that he is shy and reserved, and that it took a while for him to become comfortable in facing a huge crowd during the Presidential campaigns in 1995. During his school days, he was always the youngest and smallest, and struggled to identify a role in sports. While at Ndanda, he washed dishes because cooking wasn`t fit for him. Throughout the book, the author contends with accusations of arrogance and aloofness. He quotes even his own mentor – Julius Nyerere – describing him as “intellectually-arrogant.” In 2015, Mkapa referred to those opposing the ruling party as “fools and loafers” and repeated the statement in 2017. The book does not reflect on this statement, or the potential influence of the authors’ stature as well as his school experience in shaping his leadership style.

In terms of racial relations, the author describes what he calls “subtle differentiation” in Tanganyika where, for instance, a European would be served first in shops, and contrasts it with blatant discrimination in Kenya. He observed such differentiation at Ndanda as well, while a multi-racial class at Makerere showed him the potential for co-existence. Mkapa writes that racial awareness was central in shaping his political awakening, as well as his eventual decision to join the struggle against colonialism. However, the readers gets an impression that the author`s personal experience of racial “differences” was mild, and possibly not sufficient to have had the effect he seems to describe. The author does not reflect on the wave of “racial populism” that was championed by the (late) Reverend Christopher Mtikila during his first term, and which, according to some researchers, appealed to some prominent members within the fast growing opposition party – CHADEMA.

The author worked for the party and government newspapers at different periods, not long after he left Makerere, and used these outlets to popularize government policies, and educate the public about socialist ideals. He explains that he was part of the process that led to the adoption of the Arusha Declaration (1967), and implies that these experiences were helpful in cementing his understanding of (socialist) ideology. Ironically, Mkapa’s views about the country`s “socialist heritage” are quite negative. He writes that the country was seen as socialist “but was not delivering socialist benefits” and associates the entire opposition to his privatization agenda to a “socialist outlook.” It is important to highlight the fact that a significant section of the elite opposed the approach –  what to privatize, the nature of the arrangement, potential benefits, ultimate beneficiaries – and not necessarily the agenda (privatization).
Available records indicate that there was advice to slow down the pace of privatization, and make the process more transparent and inclusive. However, the administration ignored such voices, some of which were coming from the Parliament, and proceeded with its agenda.  Between 1992 and 2002, more than 150 public parastatals were privatized, most of them under Mkapa (1995 onwards). This is an average of 15 per year, even though there had not been adequate prior preparations. The full consequences of this approach, in terms of public and individual losses have not been established.

Mkapa describes Mwalimu as a “pragmatist” in part because he supported his reform agenda. The label is probably more appropriate to the author, based on what seems to be his hushed aversion to socialism, and almost radical embrace of capitalism. While “pragmatism” often implies lack of a firm commitment to an ideology, and willingness to accept what is practical (and realistic), the book suggests that the author was (and still is) highly committed to neo-liberalism.

Towards the end of the book, the author admits that his reform agenda lacked an overarching ideological clarity, and regrets not having had time to work on this during his time in office. He writes about persistent poverty, and the fact that inequality is growing, and points to the need to ensure there is a better distribution of benefits. The world is now well aware that inequality is a known limitation of capitalism. Surprisingly, the author maintains his (probably long-held) belief that capitalism is (also) capable of “fairness and equality”.
One has to credit retired President Mkapa for paying a particular attention to the role of institutions, and undertaking extensive work to establish them. It is hard to think of any single regulatory or accountability institution that exists today which isn`t part of his legacy. In early 2000’s, he established the Prevention of Corruption Bureau (now PCCB). This institution later initiated a case against one of his former ambassadors – Professor Costa Mahalu, and in 2012, he had to appear in court to defend his former appointee. This was the first time a former President had appeared in court. Mkapa believes that a former President should not be taken to court for the purpose of preserving the integrity of the office of President. Unfortunately, this position contradicts his belief in the rule of law. No one should be allowed to be above the law – not even the President. Presidents need not have lifetime immunity. There should be a way of holding them accountable, especially after they have left office. This is a fundamental deterrence.

The author believes opposition political parties need to be able to operate freely, and that there should not be too many restrictions on their ability to operate. This is an important point, and very relevant, especially now, because of the existing extrajudicial ban on political rallies. But has he given this advice to the current President? In his book, Mkapa describes the opposition as weak and its leaders shallow, but also blames them for some of the goals that he wasn’t able to achieve – a contradiction? It is worth noting that the opposition is amongst very few actors that the book is scathingly critical of. The author praises even his one time Minister of Education, Joseph Mungai, even though he was in charge of a controversial (and wrong) decision, taken in 2004, to discontinue competitive sports (UMITASHUMTA) and the teaching of business studies in primary and secondary schools, respectively. A Minister under President Kikwete`s administration – Ms. Margaret Sitta - reversed this decision.
President Mkapa gives his readers a glimpse of the worries that beset a leader who is about to leave office. He writes about having to take a loan from the National Bank of Commerce (NBC) to purchase a rental property that would serve as a source of steady income, and indeed a lifeline, in case a successive government decided to adjust retired President`s emoluments. Analysts have often reasoned that worries such as these tend to condition how retiring leaders handle the process of selecting their successors. Unfortunately, the memoirs do not offer useful insights on this aspect.

My Life, My Purpose is a well written book, but one that, to a large extent, toes the line. Mkapa describes the late Oscar Kambona as opportunistic, and his actions “treacherous”, and does not credit him for anything. This assessment isn’t backed up by any sufficient background and seems to be in line with the official desire to always paint Kambona as a villain. Also, the author writes that the Arusha Declaration is still somehow relevant, and that it shouldn`t be reduced to a mere leadership code. It’s clear that it has become a norm to acknowledge its importance, and not take any meaningful steps thereafter. The book excludes controversial issues, such as the recent conviction of two former senior Ministers that were in Mkapa`s Cabinet – Basil Mramba, and Daniel Yona.
 
Mkapa has offered his account – one that Honorable Zitto Kabwe has described as “honest, if not fully transparent.” It is hard for me to be so certain, given the amount of “balancing” that political figures have to do to safeguard their future, if any, or that of their offspring as well as allies. The sons and daughters of this nation would benefit a lot if his main election opponents - Augustino Lyatonga Mrema and Professor Ibrahim Lipumba could also share their views - a counter-narrative. It’s unfortunate that this may never happen.
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Farewell Kavazi: COSTECH's Quest for Hard Science!

December 16, 2019, 8:06 pm
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COSTECH AND THE QUEST FOR MAKING HARD SCIENCE GREAT AGAIN
#MakeHardScienceGreatAgain #FarewellKavazi
Jasper Kido
The rays of the sun meant business. With sheer vigor they expressed their frustration on man’s conduct against nature. So it is said, “nature is generous when preserved and often revengeful when destroyed”. What a way to communicate such vengeance as the heat intensified with every tick of the clock on that fateful Thursday afternoon of the 12th of December 2019.
It was another Kavazi day, but unlike the five years experience of its existence as the Nyerere Resource Centre (NRC), this time around the day lacked that sense of excitement. The mood was not entirely jovial to most of us. The happy faces were now in grief. The lively tones were now in somber. We walked into the gates of the Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH) with our heads down. Awkwardly, even Vitali Maembe’s vibrant songs that spoke truth to power in many Kavazi events were a nuisance to our ears. We had nothing to celebrate about, how could we as we were bound to bid farewell to our once upon a time home of ideas.
The long awaited moment arrived. Prof. Shivji, in a derailed manner, had that last Kavazi walk on to the podium. His peers, Prof. Saida Yahya-Othman and Dr. Ng’wanza Kamata looked upon him in despair. That was the ambiance all over as if served by Happiness George at the reception desk, together with the pack of groundnuts, bottle of water and soda. Microphone checked, throat cleared, specs well placed, he, Prof. Shivji, glanced at the audience and sighed before uttering the first words on Kavazi’s eulogy.
Throughout the moment, his voice was mournful as he walked us through Kavazi’s journey, remarking its milestone achievements. Like in a funeral mass, the subject matter dictated utmost silence amongst the audience. The good deeds of KAVAZI, the semi-autonomous unit of COSTECH, were spelled. Amongst others, in the course of KAVAZI’s five years there were 4 Nyerere lectures, 9 occasional papers, 4 training courses, special publications, outreach programs and so forth. But none of these thrilled the audience in distraught.
We were all wondering, with all these accolades mentioned and many others spared, how come KAVAZI ‘s life was shortened? It was until Prof. Shivji read us the autopsy report from the coroner, the current Director of COSTECH, Dr. Amos Nungu, that we understood why its life was cut short. He pronounced that COSTECH was no longer relevant to host the Nyerere Resource Center (KAVAZI). Absurd as it may seem, YES! The Director expressed, and as evidenced on paper, said that KAVAZI is not relevant to COSTECH.
With my nerves gutted and every sense in me being irked by such ridiculous statement, I then recalled his words, whereas in his welcoming address, “Dr. Relevance” said, upon his appointment as the Director, he found it difficult to define KAVAZI’s position in COSTECH as COSTECH is the home of HARD SCIENCE. Point of note, this term HARD SCIENCE, he mentioned it with pride, LOL! That earlier statement, corroborated with the reason offered in the termination letter of KAVAZI’s doing at COSTECH, definitely expound on the naivety and ignorance one may have, even though being “A Doctor”.
When queries were issued on the relevance of KAVAZI and COSTECH, this same “Doctor Relevance” just found the need to stand again and prove his ignorance once again by lecturing “KAVAZI’s Soft Scientists” that it is not the question of RELEVANCE PER SE that pronounced KAVAZI’s death, but rather the RELEVANCE OF COSTECH HOSTING KAVAZI. Lol! How would he dare try to hide behind the meaning of words with all the linguists and people who are enthused with words and phrasing present? Yooh! The dialectical relationship between KAVAZI and COSTECH foremost needed KAVAZI to be declared irrelevant to COSTECH for it not to be hosted by COSTECH. And it does not need some laboratory experiments or a HARD SCIENTIST, but a person with mere common sense, to know that you cannot host something that is not relevant to you.
There are definitely floodgates of questions and queries that could flow to "Dr. Relevance’s" thinking: How did the prior director, Dr. Hassan Mshinda, find KAVAZI relevant? How comes there is a social science unit in COSTECH and still KAVAZI is not being relevant? Is the social science unit irrelevant to COSTECH too? Or is COSTECH not relevant to critical thinking – KAVAZI’s trait?
If I, like the wise Dr. Kamata who pleaded of COSTECH’s generosity, try to ignore my conspiracy theories that probably the ultimate move came from an ultra power, yes that one, then I too am bound to believe that Dr. Hassan Mshinda made the Hard Scientists outcasts in their own home and allowed the continued trespass of the soft scientists, for about five years, in the house of real science. It is thus definitely obvious "Dr. Relevance" intends to reclaim that space for some actual science. In a nutshell, he is desirous to #MakeHardScienceGreatAgain. 
And we cannot diss, hate and envy the move as the doctor gotta do what he got to do – if you know what I mean. J Until another KAVAZI replica, I dedicate to you Wiz Khalifa’s (featuring Charlie Puth) – See You Again. Cheers.
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Mahaba Usongani: Rafiki Kipenzi Niliyempenda

December 30, 2019, 9:50 am
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Kipenzi Niliyempenda

Mwanahamisi 'Mishy' Singano
@MSalimu

Yarabi huu mwaka na uishe, uishe na shari zake. Mwaka gani huu uliojaa chuki, maumivu, uzandiki, udhalimu, fitna na kila aina ya dhulma? Yailai, mwaka huu nimepata wahaka wa roho, dhoruba ya nafsi na gagasuko la akili. Ama kweli walijisemea wazigua “Mwaka wako humpi mwenzako” !
 Hakika huu ulikuwa mwaka wangu, kila janga lililotakiwa kutokea lilitokea.Ila Alhamdulillah nimekuzwa kuamini kuwa lisiloniua litanitia adabu, si haba nimeshika adabu yangu, tena mkononi. Nimewajua walimwengu kwa mapana na marefu, ama kweli viumbe wazito. 
Haiyumkini kwenye kila kubwa kuna kubwa zaidi, rafiki yangu mie, tena hatukukutana barabarani, wa miaka nenda rudi, hatukuwa mashost wa kupigiana simu kila dakika na kuulizana hali kila saa ila najua yeye alikuwa mtu wangu, wa usongani, wa mabuku na faraja, leo hii kaninunia only God’s knows why, as if I don’t have enough problems already– huu mwaka huu, hakuna rangi sijaona walai. 
Natamani ningekuwa na uwezo wa kumpotezea, ila siwezi jamani, naumia. Labda kinachoniumiza zaidi ni kutojua what happened! Najiuliza nimemkosea kikubwa kipi mpaka akanichunia to that extent?  Namjua ni mwingi wa staha, busara, uvumilivu na asiyependa makuu, sasa mpaka imefikia hatua ya kuni-delete mazima bila hata kunipa haki yangu ya kujieleza lazima nimemuumiza vibaya na naumia kwa kutokujua ni nini hasa nilichofanya. Natamani angeniambia, nikajua, nikajifunza na nikatubu, lakini wapi, nimeachwa nalo jaramba la mwahako nihangaike nalo.
Kibinadamu niliamini ananiamini, anajua what am capable of and what am not, labda naumia kwa kuwa sijawahi kuwa na dhamira ya kukutendea baya, labda naumia kwa kuwa, I honestly care na labla naumia kwa kuwa sikutarajia hili kutokea, of all people!  Not you rafiki. 
Najua sina njia tena ya kukwambia ninayotaka kukwambia, matumaini yangu pekee ni kuwa huu waraka utakufikia. Nikuhakikishie tu naheshimu mawazo na maamuzi yako, najua kila chenye mwanzo hakikosi kuwa na mwisho labda huu ndio mwisho wetu. Wanasema wenye busara zao, kuwa muda mwingine kumuachia aende ndiyo mapenzi makuu na la kuvunda halina ubani. 
Rafiki yangu niliyekupenda, nenda tu… japo nafsi yangu i dhoofu lhali, nikikumbuka how you made me better as a person and writer.
2019, nimekuchoka, 2020 uwe na ahueni tafadhali. 
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The Curious Case of Tanzania’s Digital Efficiency

December 31, 2019, 4:29 pm
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Ten for Twenty? Diamond Platnumz’s 10th and 2020

January 2, 2020, 6:19 pm
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Ten for twenty? Diamond Platnumz’s 10th anniversary in the game was all about 2020, after all

Muhidin Shangwe
@ShangweliBeria

That’s right. 
It may sound as a conspiracy theory even for the one writing this piece, and more so for our smarty analysts who cannot draw conclusions, unless something has been proven beyond reasonable doubt. But conspiracy theories are not easy to manufacture, or else everyone would have been good at that. So, while I understand the daunting challenge of conjuring one, I will take my chances. It is my new year’s resolution to take chances, anyway.
For the past two weeks or so, 10 and 20 must have been the most seen numbers for Tanzanians, especially those who have made it a habit of spending a big chunk of their time on TV screens and social media.
Here is why.
We know 2019 was coming to an end, it was only right that 2020 was everyone’s anticipation. That alone is two 20’s already. But it takes two 10’s to get 20, no? Thus, 2020 is essentially four 10’s put together. Caveat: this is not your textbook mathematics. It is an arithmetic license I believe I have earned over the years of being in social sciences. Am I not a proud ngwini? 
But the point is, Tanzania’s most decorated Afrobeat singer, Diamond Platnumz, was marking his 10th anniversary in the business and he decided to do it in pomp and style. The advertisement for the event only went with a catchphrase Diamond Platnumz 10, appearing repeatedly on social media platforms and Diamond’s own TV Station – Wasafi TV.
For those who haven’t been keeping tabs, Diamond took a train ride from Dar es Salaam to Kigoma – apparently his hometown – where he would stage a concert worth of a genius who has dominated music charts for a decade. I say apparently because, Diamond is not known for, to use the Hip Hop language, representing Kigoma. His parents may have come from there, but he was born and grown in Tandale, Dar es Salaam. His last album “A Boy from Tandale” sums it all. Tandale is his hood.
However, in 2012 Diamond was among various artists who performed “Leka Dutigite,” a song for Kigoma, by the sons and daughters of Kigoma. As such, his decision to mark the 10th anniversary in Kigoma can still be rationalized. Besides, it was probably a purely business decision. But wait.
As we rationalize, a little bit of profiling would put matters into perspective. Kigoma has long been regarded as one of the most marginalized regions in Tanzania, despite the fact that it sits on the shores of Lake Tanganyika, the world’s deepest. Historical grievances have made the region a hotbed of opposition politics since the multiparty system was reintroduced in 1992. It is home to Zitto Kabwe, a firebrand opposition figure, leader of the ACT – an opposition party which is on the rise. He also serves as a Member of Parliament for the urban constituency where Diamond was to stage the concert. See?
Now back to the matter at hand.  
During the Dar-Kigoma trip, Diamond had a good company of fellow artists and socialites in their dozens, purely for entertainment reasons in the 24-hour ride. One of the train coaches was transformed into a dance hall with active DJs. Everything, including travel and accommodation for the entire group, was apparently paid for by Diamond himself, a show of force rarely seen in the country’s modest showbiz. Add the fact that the concert in Kigoma’s Lake Tanganyika stadium would be free entrance! 
En route, the train was delayed in several occasions as thousands of adoring fans flocked train stations to get a glimpse of their adorned star. They were not disappointed. It was both a colossus buildup and a strong statement to his rivals in the business. The expectation was high and, for one good reason, I strongly urge that music fans in Kigoma should be forgiven for thinking they were in for a strictly musical treatment. That reason is the wisdom we find in the saying hindsight is 20/20.
 At the concert, Diamond performed his major hits to an ecstatic crowd. Then came the eyebrow-raiser as he started to sing praises for the ruling party - CCM. 
“CCM Oyee!,” screamed Diamond with total disregard of a portion of the crowd who only turned  up for the music, and who might as well harbor political views critical of the ruling party. But it was his night and he was determined to own it. At one point he hit the overdrive announcing that CCM will record a landslide victory in the 2020 general elections! Such was the level of disregard. 
Barely two months ago, Professor Jay, arguably Tanzania’s best rapper of all time, now an opposition Member of Parliament performed at Wasafi Festival, a concert organized by WCB, Diamond’s record label. Imagine if the rapper greeted the crowd with the victory sign, a trademark hand gesture for CHADEMA– the main opposition party. Such would be the equivalent of Diamond’s partisan performance. But even in his Wasafi Festival performance, Diamond stuck to music, not politics in the sense of explicitly expressing his political affiliation. It begs the question, what happened in Kigoma?
In Kigoma, the singer went on to squash the notion that life has gotten harder under President Magufuli’s tenure, flaunting his success as proof to that. He announced his riches and dismissed doubters as haters. In a way it was part of the ongoing rejoinder to ACT's motto of Kazi na Bata (Work and Enjoyment) that seems to be a critical response of CCM's motto of Hapa Kazi Tu (Here Just Work). Those who expected a different reaction from the crowd must have been disappointed as Mr. Diamond’s ‘motivational speech’ was met with deafening cheers.
Diamond’s ‘keynote address’ received a boost when President Magufuli called in. The microphone was placed on the singer’s mobile phone as the president was heard lauding Diamond, even saying the singer was a real man for what he has accomplished! Is it not that real men are successful? Our society equates masculinity with bravery and success, a fitting praise for the singer who has reached stardom from very humble beginnings. 
Mkubwa Fella, one of Diamond’s managers who is also a councilor and CCM cadre, along with the party’s Ideology and Publicity Secretary, Humphrey Polepole, were all present on stage as the phone call was made, beaming with smiles, urging the crowd to applaud. The president had one message for the people of Kigoma - he was not going to let them down. And he had a small token for them as well, pledging his government will pave the notorious Kigoma-Nyakanazi road, much to the joy of a gleeful crowd. For a moment the entire concert resembled a big election campaign launch.
Now that we know the drill, rumor has it that Diamond is being prepared to replace Zitto Kabwe as an MP for the Kigoma Urban constituency. It’s not farfetched if one takes into account that Harmonize, another famous singer and Diamond’s protégé who recently came out with a song entitled Magufuli, was a few months ago endorsed by President Magufuli to become an MP for Tandahimba. Conspiracy theory? 
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Dear God

January 3, 2020, 2:37 am
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Dear God

God they say you are everywhere
And yet you are only one
You can be in heaven or on earth
Under the sea or in the sky
All at once and yet you are only one

God before they brought you to us
What, some centuries ago?
We had our Gods here, so many of them
There was no shortage of Gods

God you must have lived in Europa and Arabia
Coz you came from there, and when you got here
Our Gods were condemned
They were Gods of evil and Gods of darkness

But look God, these Gods would give us food amidst famine
They would give us rain amidst drought
They would heal our ailments and restore our health
They would give us peace, love and harmony
What new did you bring us?

If you want us to love each other
Why don’t you love your fellow Gods?
If you want us to live in harmony
Why do you despise your fellow Gods?

You gave us dominion over all things
You gave us minds, intellect, and reason
But hate it when we question you
Displeased with our arguing and reasoning with you

God you are the fairest of all, they say
But how can you be so to both
My foe and myself?
We both pray to you, don’t we?
Whose prayer goes through dear God?
I always wonder how you handle dilemma

You brought us your only son Jesus
I wonder who I am to you then
Anyway, your only son came for our salvation
But God your son is abused, he is the reason we are fooled
We are drunk with his blood, guess we’ve had too much of it 
No more do we see, hear, think, or feel

@Warumu, 
Dar es Salaam
03/01/2020
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The God of the Oppressor, please save us …

January 3, 2020, 3:17 am
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The God of the Oppressor, please save us …

Mwanahamisi 'Mishy' Singano



“Mungu atatenda muujiza Eric”

“Erick nakuweka kwenye maombi”

“Erick Mungu akutie nguvu kwenye kipindi hiki kigumu”

“Kwa neema ya mungu kila kitu kitapita Eric”

“Eric anahitaji maombi yenu”

“Today I keep praying for you Eric”

“Eric, the Lord your God is with you wherever you go”

These and many more messages like these are all over social media since the beginning of the week following the passing of Erick Kabendera's mother, the late Verdiana Mujwahuzi. The pouring of thoughtful spiritual messages either intends to comfort Erick (who unfortunately can’t read them) and/or makes us feel better about ourselves, that we have done all we could to support him by putting him on able and safer hands of God! #PrayForErick

As far as I can recall, this is not new, we prayed for him when he was kidnapped/caught, we prayed even harder when we knew the charges he had to face, but he is still in custody, still his mother died, and still he was denied his right to bury his mother. I know this will sound like I have lost faith in GOD! Please hear me out, I am not questioning the power of your and my God, but am questioning how we are misusing the power granted to us by “GOD” as we chose to stay passive and lazy and, worse, to have the audacity of asking him to fix things which she/he has already given us capabilities and abilities to fix them ourselves, Isn’t she/he (GOD) who made us superior compared to other creatures? I am telling you, lions, snakes and even bees would not tolerate this shit! 

If I would be GOD I would be mad, frankly I assume she/he is! That’s why we are still here, our pain getting worse and our oppressor getting stronger… Imagine, you have nurtured this son of yours and train him to do everything, just to find him screaming and begging you to feed and bath him at the age of 30 just because you are his parents? Are you not gonna be mad? I would. Isn’t the same GOD who told us, ‘jisaidie nami nitakusaidia’? Or 'munkari uondoe kwa mkono wako, ulimi wako au uchikie kwa moyo wako'? 

As I sit here, hopelessly, miles away, unable to even attend the funeral service of Erick's mother, these social media messages reminded me why religion was the necessary tool to facilitate colonialism and centuries of oppression and exploitation. If anything, religion and belief in GOD takes agency, power and control from us, especially when we are oppressed. What a clever and effective ways to make all of us dormant, passive and inactive social actors? 

What is striking similar during the colonial era and now is how the oppressors are praying the loudest, and how they create and use the entire governing system to be machinery of oppression, I mean, they don’t just sit and pray, they have the judiciary, legislative organs, police, bureaucrats and even religion itself to facilitate inhumane acts of injustice and oppression. And here we are; the oppressed praying for God’s grace in the comfort of our keyboards, hoping for miracles! 

NO, we are praying for tolerance of injustice. 

We know nothing will change if we won’t act. 

We know we are too cowardly lazy to act.

We know the only option we have in our cowardly laziness is to pray for ‘comfort’ in our pain and ‘acceptance’ our oppression, after all, 'kila jema na baya la toka kwa Mungu', right?

To be fair, there is a difference between then (colonial era) and now. Then, prayers were left for the “converted”, our freedom fighters did what needed to be done to unchain us from the oppressors who brought us their GOD. Today, thanks to the hegemony of religion, our politicians, activists, and everyone else have turned to prayer warriors, they are no longer stopping injustice the way they should, instead they lead us to prayers…. “Erick needs your prayers, pray for him” really? What would Bishop Bagonza do then? 

Given I too belong to the group of ‘converted’, I guess I should as well offer my prayer… Erick, brother, I wish you Subra, It’s a long shot but we have no choice than waiting for the God of the oppressor to save you and us all… Ameeen.
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A Love Letter to My Friend

January 5, 2020, 8:41 pm
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A Love Letter to My Friend

By Zahara Tunda

I guess I must write something or else I will suffocate with what I feel inside my heart.

I didn’t know our bond and connection is heartly rooted until you told me “I miss you so much”. It struck me differently.

I cried and my heart broke into pieces. The moments and memories that we shared together keeps coming up in my mind.

Will you be okay? Will your smile be the same? These questions keep knocking my fragile brain, and are weakening my already crippled soul.

I hope you won’t forget about me and our memories together. I promise to never forget about you, and I will always keep praying that you are safe, and you will one day be free and join us, your friends, and family.

When I visit and see you behind bars, I keep smiling---not because am happy, it is because I want you to feel that we are strong even though deep down am not okay.

I miss everything we did together, I miss your calls, I miss your smile, I miss your laugh, I miss how it feels to have someone you can talk to.

But I hope you’re strong enough to handle what you feel, truth is you will be fine and one day we will have our little conversation.

This time I will pay for the date, I will pay for transport to make up from the time you did it for me.

My friend, know that I love you and it won’t change, I will still be here any time you need me.

I hope you will keep that beautiful smile of yours. I hope next time I see you, you will be here so I can give you the hug you deserve.

Please be strong for us, know that we are suffering not because we lack anything, but because we don’t have you.

I love you 💕
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Dunia Uwanja wa Fujo, Buriani Profesa Kezilahabi

January 9, 2020, 5:15 am
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Employability: A ‘subliminal role’ of Education?

January 10, 2020, 8:13 am
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Employability:A ‘Subliminal Role’ of our Education System?

By Ronald B. Ndesanjo

It all started with my late-night tweet “It is sad that our education system has been degraded to a subliminal role: employability”. A couple of responses poured in hours later, one of them particularly interesting to me. One gentleman commented that “Without trying, in the least bit, to sound ironic but: that’s really not what ‘subliminal’ means”. 

My first reaction was this gentleman could be right and I could be wrong. I am saying this because before tweeting I quickly looked for some words on an online dictionary and subliminal sounded like the right one. Some of you do that as well, don’t you? Another reason could be my poor command of English vocabulary in particular and the language in general. 

I took up the challenge and looked the word up in my dictionary, this time a real one, not those on the internet. I started with ‘sublime’, assuming that this must be a root word. The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (7th Edition) provides two meanings of the word: (1) “of a very high quality and causing great admiration”. This is not what I intended to say in the tweet! I read on, meaning (2) “(formal, often disapproving) (of a person’s behaviour or attitudes) extreme, especially in a way that shows they are not aware of what they are doing or are not concerned about what happens because of it”. I was relieved, at least this relates to what I meant to say in the tweet. 

My worry was maybe I went overboard and used a human trait to describe a non-human aspect, ‘education’. So, subliminal, an adjective, is “affecting your mind even though you are not aware of it”. For most of us, education is directly proportional to employment (employability). I attempt to explain what I meant to say in that tweet here. 
Over the years I have noted with concern that the quality of education in Tanzania is deteriorating. This is based on how ‘some’ people (including myself) perceive what high-quality education is. During my primary school days between the late 1980s and early to mid-1990s, the educational journey ending at standard seven was deemed fine, at least in the community I grew up. Yes, parents and pupils would like one to proceed with secondary school, but it wasn’t the end of the world if they didn’t. 

In my opinion, standard seven leavers then could just do fine after school. You could tell that a person had learnt ’substantially’ just by looking at the transformations they brought with them from school. If it were farming, theirs was exemplary. If it were collective ‘development’ activities, these standard seven leavers were a beacon. 
So, I always tend to think that we had a superior education curriculum then, one that ‘nurtured’ pupils’ natural abilities to master their environment. Then came the mid to late 1990s (the turning point) when things began going awry in our education system. Standard seven education was nothing now. Parents strived for their children to go at least up to form four (Ordinary Level Secondary Education/O-Level). At that time going to high school (Advanced Level Secondary Education/A-Level) was still a big deal. Form Six leavers were rare gems in our neighbourhoods. I am not sure whether it was due to my limitation(s) in terms of how I looked at the world then (and reflecting now) or that a Form Six leaver of 1995 was far better than that of 2019. 

To cut a long story short, now you are nothing, unless you have a Ph.D.! Yes, a Ph.D. A good number of people are obsessed with this thing and I have no slightest clue why. Worse enough, many don’t even have a career in academia and/or research that would necessitate a Ph.D. 
Come to think of it, I only see one possible explanation: ‘employability’ or at least remaining relevant in the ‘labour market’. It is common to encounter a person who did their Bachelor’s degree in education, taught for a while before embarking onto a Master’s degree in ‘Monitoring and Evaluation (M & E)‘ before realizing a Ph.D. in ‘Climate Change‘ is what matters now and decide to enroll for one. 

We have reached a point, as a country, where the ultimate purpose of education is for one to get employment or employ themselves. I think this (being employed) should rather be the primary goal, maybe second to basic literacy. ‘Educating’ people for ‘employment’ is not an evil thing, not at all. 
Of course, we need people to be ‘educated’ for ‘our development’ and nation-building. My problem is when education is just that, and nothing more. So, when you encounter people wishing to ‘burn’ their certificates because they don’t have a job you know what I am trying to say. The worst thing is we don’t seem to realize that this is happening. We seem to accept it as the norm. This was my reflection when I tweeted. 
Then there was another response to the tweet, “what do you think should be done as a solution?” I don’t think I know or can propose one. Maybe some raw thoughts on how to improve our education system. I will use accountancy, accountants, and technological innovations (advances) as hypothetical examples in my illustration.

Think of accountancy as a practice of keeping or checking financial accounts. For a long time, this has been regarded as one of the most lucrative professions, praise to its proximity to where the money is. We should not be surprised to learn one day (and very soon) that accountancy is an obsolete profession as we have traditionally known it. Human accountants (we may have machine accountants) will cease to exist one day. 
If I am to start a start-up, an accountant will be the least of my worries. Technology can do most of the financial accounting stuff nowadays. I guess there are plenty of applications on Google Play or App Store let alone custom-made accounting packages that any computer literate person can learn and execute. Guess who I might hire first: a graphic designer (or a creative artist), maybe an IT person if it happens I need a lot of that serious computing stuff, and a sales psychologist (as a consultant, to start with). 

So, what will my accountant friend do? Enroll for a Ph.D. because his/her Certified Public Accountant (CPA) expertise can no longer match up with tech innovations in Information Communication Technologies (ICT) or Artificial Intelligence (AI)? The challenge (in this case to our educationists) is how do we come up with educational curricula that tap on and nurture human imagination and creativity (we are all born with these) to conquer the world and not just accountancy that can go extinct with a single brilliant innovation by a 25-year-old in Silicon Dar or one of these tech hubs in the region. 
I am one of those people who ‘think’ that humans are perfectly designed to conquer their environment. Education systems were just created to ‘organise’ this ability mainly for utility purposes. Are we comfortable with the fact that our education system remains a mere factory of producing salespersons to merchandise Coca Cola from Atlanta, Georgia or Heineken Beer from Amsterdam and get frustrated one day when AI takes over from our young women and men (unemployment of ‘the educated’)? Or do we choose to have an education system that will nurture our young people’s natural abilities so they are ever dynamic, adaptive and resilient?
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THANK YOU FOR YOUR LETTER MY LOVE

January 14, 2020, 6:14 pm
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THANK YOU FOR YOUR LETTER MY LOVE

By Muhanyi Nkoroko

From deep down my heart where feelings about you are made, truly you are my one only one who I can treasure, cherish and remember as we are heartily rooted; for sure, I miss you, I miss you dearly.

Dear, don’t cry anymore, be strong and have courage; our love is like a tree with deep roots where it cannot be shaken by drought.

Well, I am okay, both my mind and soul, just have patience, the time will come when we will be joined together heart to heart; there will be no more tears, no more cries, no more sorrows, our love will be rejuvenated. 

Surely, I won’t forget you, as you cross my mind every time, every minute of my life and, frankly, I put you on my prayers and when I return back, we will become everything you have dreamed of; however, until I come, keep pursuing your dreams and stay connected to God.

Here, behind bars, I am fully okay, I keep smiling, happy as I know your love is still there regardless of this tragedy; everything may be too slow on me or everything may be too fast on me, but, honestly, I will be holding on until my time comes.

Please don’t be impatient, the time will come, we will talk, make calls, laugh and even walk and eat our dinner together; Life is full of surprises and you never know what the next moment has in store for you - for us.

 It’s me, your love.
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