| Karatu: A hard nut to crack for CCM | Send to a friend |
| Tuesday, 31 August 2010 15:50 |
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By Frank Kimboy Of all constituencies in the country, Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) has always been struggling to wrestle Karatu from the clutches of the opposition Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (Chadema). Since Tanzania re-adopted the multiparty political system in 1995, Karatu has been Chadema’s fort. In previous elections CCM bigwigs went to Karatu to try and persuade people to cast their votes in their favour. But on both occasions, CCM has been defeated by the immediate former MP, Dr Wilbrod Slaa. This time around, however, it will not be Dr Slaa that CCM will be facing in the constituency since he has opted to run for the country’s top office, the presidency. The CCM candidate, Dr Wilbard Slaa Lorri, will be facing Chadema’s Reverend Israeli Yohana Natse who replaces Dr Slaa. It is the first time that both candidates are trying their luck to enter the august parliament. Dr Lorri garnered 10,685 votes to defeat his opponent, Mr Sixbert Hhami who got 4,893 votes. Dr Lorri’s nemesis, Rev Natse was nominated after an assessment by Chadema’s Karatu district leaders, together with Dr Slaa’s, of those who sought to become Karatu’s second MP since the re-adoption of multi-party system. Eventually, they found out that he was the right person for the position. However, one thing is clear to both of them: Regardless of who will win the election, he/she will be heading for a very tough task of trying to fit into the shoes of Dr Slaa, both in the constituency and in parliament. Dr Slaa was a darling of Karatu people after distinguishing himself as a fearless MP who defended the interests of his people. The fact that most Chadema supporters in Karatu were disappointed by his decision to run for the presidency rather than becoming their MP for the fourth time in a row, tells how much he meant to them. When he decided to run for the presidency, Dr Slaa assured Karatu people that he would make sure his replacement replicates him or becomes a better MP than him in both the constituency and parliament. However, though he admitted that he has a big challenge ahead of him should he win the election, Rev Natse was positive that he would fill the gap created by Dr Slaa. He said since he was Dr Slaa’s right hand man he was sure that he would carry on what was started by his predecessor. “The only thing I can assure you is that I will fit in Dr Slaa’s shoes, or even do better than what he did, since I know the needs of Karatu people,” Rev Natse, who is also the head of the Lutheran church in Karatu District, told a crowd of Chadema supporters when he was introduced to them. But CCM has always been playing down the economic development that Chadema claims it has brought to Karatu people. When seeking his party nomination Dr Lorry urged CCM members in Karatu to make sure that CCM wins the election in order to bring economic development to the constituency. “Our rivals have failed to bring about development in the past 15 years that they have been in power. So it is very important that we reclaim Karatu so that we can develop the constituency,” Dr Lorry said. Just like in previous elections this one is destined to be a battle between CCM and Chadema national leaders rather than between the two contestants. However, Karatu residents would like to see an MP who will work hard in dealing with three major problems that have been facing them. These are lack of enough health centers, lack of school teachers and poor infrastructure, especially roads. “Previously we experienced a shortage of water, but thanks to our district council and the people of The Netherlands, the problem is now history. To say the truth lack of health centers, teachers and poor roads has still been haunting Karatu residents,” Mr Andrew Akonay, who also hails from Karatu, said. He added that Karatu residents will judge their coming MP not only by the way he/she matches Dr Slaa, but also how he/she will deal with the three major problems that they have been facing. Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites           |
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