EDITORIAL: WE ACCLAIM MWINYI’S PROGRESSIVE INITIATIVES
Today – Sunday, February 7, 2021 – the eighth President of Zanzibar, Dr Hussein Ali Mwinyi, completes 97 days since he was sworn into Office on November 2, 2020.
President Mwinyi has demonstrated exemplary leadership in his first 100 days, stressing hard work, accountability and unity.
Unity is crucial to effective, meaningful, all-inclusive and sustainable socio-econo-political development and general good governance for each and both constituent parts of the United Republic of Tanzania.
This is especially considering that, for example, Zanzibar has for far too long been split asunder politically, with the veteran ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) and the opposition involved in seemingly endless internecine political conflicts.
It, therefore, came as a relief when the new government of President Mwinyi prudently respected the dictations of the Zanzibar Consitution and hence accommodated the main political opposition, the ACT-Wazalendo, in a Government of National Unity (GNU) by appointing its national chairman Seif Sharif Hamad First Vice President on December 6, 2020.
The opposition ACT-Wazalendo presidential candidate for the October 28, 2020 General Election, Seif, could only garner 19.87 percent of the total valid presidential votes cast, while Dr Mwinyi scooped a relatively whopping 76.27 percent of the votes.
If nothing else, for President Mwinyi to appoint his leading political rival as his First Vice President as provided for in the Zanzibar Constitution – is ample testimony to his intension to pacify Zanzibar politics, and concentrate on all-inclusive national development.
Cementing national unity, blue economy
For good measure, President Mwinyi also appointed two political opposition (Act-Wazalendo) members, Nassor Ahmed Mazrui and Omar Said Shabaab, to the Zanzibar House of Representatives – saying that “it is only through reconciliation that we will build a united and prosperous Zanzibar.”
Political reconciliation aside, President Mwinyi government has also embarked upon positively transforming the Zanzibar economy. For starters, he seeks to pursue a ‘Blue Economy:’ a fast-emerging concept which calls for better stewardship of a country’s ‘blue’ resources.
‘Blue Economy’ is a term in Economics which the European Commission defines “as all economic activities related to oceans, seas and coasts. It covers a wide range of interlinked established and emerging sectors.” [The 2018 Annual Economic Report on EU Blue Economy, European Union: 5. 2018].
To that noble end, the Zanzibar government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Wednesday with the Madrid-based Intertorco Group, in the presence of President Mwinyi.
On Thursday, we reported that the Spanish entrepreneur has committed to invest a goodly $6.4 billion (roughly Sh14.72 trillion) in the construction of modern fishing facilities in Unguja and Pemba; factories for fish fillet processing and for manufacturing fishing nets and related equipment; an international fish auction market; fish storage facilities – and a fishing and seafaring university.
The Spanish investor will also finance the construction of small fishing boats in Zanzibar, as well as the purchase of deep-sea fishing vessels for the Spice Islands.
Oh, there are more such transformative socio-econo-political development initiatives by Dr Mwinyi in his first 100 days as Zanzibar President – and for which we heartily salute him, wishing him all the best.
