Well, CCM needs a baptism of fire

Former President Jakaya Kikwete has peacefully handed over CCM chairmanship to incumbent John Magufuli. The new leader of the party has accepted the position with a vivid request for prayers that he be given at least a small portion of JK’s gift of “tolerance”. JPM says, for him this value is hard to adhere to. He simply is a man of action and will not tolerate mediocrity.

I think JK is by no means relieved. Yes, he is no longer feeling distressed or anxious. He is at last reassured and I think it should have been very tough for him, especially during the final lap of his leadership. This was all clear in his over two-hour long hand over speech in Dodoma last week.

Kikwete sounded and looked as if he was keen for this day to come! He observed that some members had lost the sense of direction and were destined to meander in the maze of mediocrity. His main insistence being – party must regain its moral integrity. He was, for example concerned, by members of the party who for so long acted like chickens who try to discourage the eagle from flying. Shockingly, he was even more open to categorically indicate that some of his close allies and friends came to the point of not helping him, but rather wanted him to fail.

This was not good news to CCM. If its fabrics were so fragmented, polarized and therefore weak and ineffective, it would in turn affect the quality of democracy. As always, citizens shall continue to expect the ruling party and other national political actors to decide on their demands and expectations.

For the public to regain its confidence in CCM, the party must live within the boundaries of ethics of responsibility and adhere to requirements of accountability in and for democracy. Without this quality, whatever shall be done by CCM shall remain meaningless and irrelevant.

CCM leaders should bear in mind that they found it very difficult to retain the so-called loyal voters especially in the 2015 elections. This was mainly due to the drop in the overall trust level of the population, especially among the young.

CCM lost votes even to small or newer protest parties all due to the loss of moral footing. The party had lost sense of touch with the ordinary citizens. The public was suspicious as to whether CCM was still capable of meeting the expectations and demands of the people. What prevailed was the general loss of confidence in CCM!

The question is; will the new chairman and his team make sure that CCM becomes a new party, which is ready to move beyond theory and talk? Will it become a trusted ruling party characterised by collaborative action and commitment towards the nation building agenda? Will its members join the new leader to “Approve the things that are excellent - Philippians 1:10”? CCM shall need to help its leaders and members at large to be aware of their ethical responsibilities and that they should be prepared to act as ethical leaders and members. From what we know, the public expects nothing less.

You cannot be the ruling party which is not willing to call out wrongdoing on the part of your own members. You should indicate that you are aware of areas where improvements could be made and the profile of ethical standards raised within you. So, good luck JPM. I hope you will increase your vigilance and watch out all those in your party who would want to continue behaving in ways that fall short of the standards expected of them, the stakes have to be higher.

My prayers to you and your team is that you may not lose heart but rather be encouraged to stand firm and ensure that ethical issues in your party are under even greater scrutiny during your term of leadership.

Dr Sebahene is a lecturer at St John’s University of Tanzania, Dodoma.