By The Citizen
The General Election is just around the corner,
so it is no wonder campaigns are already underway despite the warning by
supreme organs of political parties that everybody should wait for the
whistle before anyone starts canvassing for votes. The polls are
slated for October, so there are only eight months to go before
Tanzanians pick who they want for councillor, MP and president.
Many aspirants are doing poorly concealed
campaigns with every one striving to outsmart the other with juicy
promises: tarmac roads in areas that don’t even have passable earthen
roads yet, laptops in schools that don’t even have electricity, colleges
where primary schoolpupils study seated on the floor!
This is a season of promises, most of which are
pure lies. However, given the gift of garb that is the hallmark of any
true politician, many people, including those who had been lied to in
past elections, will have forgotten, so they will end up returning to
power the non-delivering politicos.
What politicians forget, however, is that while
one can fool people for some time, you cannot fool the people—the whole
lot of them—all the time. Today’s Tanzanian is smarter, a far cry from
his predecessor of the one-party era, thanks to awareness campaigns,
thanks to civic society organisations and freer media that avails room
for criticism that is awakening the masses.
We consider apt the caution issued recently by the
Bishop of the Dar es Salaam Diocese, Dr Valentino Mokiwa, who urged the
youth to refuse being used by politicians.
Young people can be vulnerable due to their
inexperience and the uncertainty they face with regard to their future.
Anybody, however dubious, who promises jobs or funds for establishing
businesses, is likely to win the hearts of the youth.
We call upon well-meaning organisations and
religious leaders to play a bigger role in making sure crooked
politician don’t win votes come October.
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