UNION AT 50: Reflections by leading clerics
President Jakaya Kikwete inspects a guard of honour on Union Day last year. Today the Union of Tanganyika and Zanzibar clocks 50 years since its inception. PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
- Like other citizens in the country, religious leaders also have their own opinions in relation to issues that affect the nation. Here is what some of them say about the Union...
Dar es Salaam. Yes, there are many achievements resulting from the 50-year old Union of Tanganyika and Zanzibar that the country can boast of, but these should not be used as a cover up to the equally many challenges that the nation faces, said religious leaders last Wednesday in exclusive interviews.
They say the country has made huge strides in development compared to the days before the Union. However, there remains big inequalities in the distribution of national wealth such that the many who languish in poverty. This, they say, renders the Union as being more a political one rather than being there for the people.
Bishop Severine NiweMugizi of Rulenge-Ngara Diocese, who is also the Tanzania Episcopal Conference vice president, told The Citizen on Saturday that the Union has many successes like integrating the people of both sides.
The Bishop also says that the unity of the two sides continues to be a model for other countries both in Africa and other parts of the world.
“We see a lot, in terms of development -- in education, economy, social and even in politics all of which were not there before the Union in 1964.”
The TEC vice president, however, says that the on-going debate on the nature of the Union -- what form of structure to be followed -- testifies to the fact that things have not been rosy. “If the current arrangement had no problems we wouldn’t have this debate,” he says.
Bishop NiweMugizi says because of discontents from both sides it may be the right time to revamp the type of Union and adopt a new one.
“Those who think there is no problem should ask themselves if the current set-up can take us forward,” he says.
Dar es Salaam Chief Sheikh Alhad Musa Salum, for his part, says the country needs to say “thank you” to God for the Union that has lasted for 50 years. He says, achievements and failures have been there in equal measure.
He says no one can easily differentiate a Zanzibari from a Tanzania Mainlander.
“But overall the existing peace and tranquillity make us different as a nation. These are big achievements.”
Sheikh Salum, however, says that calls from Zanzibar that Tanganyika holds them back shows that discontent exists.
“These should be addressed as soon as possible if we want this Union to last longer,” he says.
