Former Prime Minister Edward Lowassa
Lowassa, who recently decamped from the ruling CCM to leading
opposition party Chadema, made the pledge when speaking at a campaign
rally held at Bariadi District Council grounds in Simiyu Region.
The area is the stronghold of the ruling CCM for the past 20 years.
UKAWA is made up with four parties—Chadema, Civic United Front (CUF), NCCR-Mageuzi and National League for Democracy (NLD).
Lowassa said it is shame to see Tanzania with countless resources overwhelmed with hefty national debt.
“We’re going to make Tanzania, which is free from debts to make people enjoy being Tanzanians,” said Lowassa.
Right now, national debts is nearly 30trilion/-, by calculation
every Tanzanian was supposed to re-pay 800,000/- irrespective of his or
her age.
Apart from revamping health service delivery in the Lake zone
region, Lowassa pledged to modernise cotton farming in the area as part
of retrieving farmers from poverty trap.
He implored the need for farmers to enjoy the benefit of cotton farming by establishing clothes’ making industries in the area.
According to Lowassa, livestock keepers will be served as similar to farmers in other parts of the country.
He also asked people in the area to vote for him in the next month
General Election so that he can supply them with clean and safe water
from Lake Victoria—the Africa’s largest basin lake.
Lowassa who held a series of campaign rallies in Maswa, Bariadi and
Lamadi, Simiyu Region also vowed to set up hides and skin processing
factory in the region.
Former Prime Minister Frederick Sumaye also used the platform to
lure votes from the area by pledging that once UKAWA gets into power,
they will make sure that health service deliveries were easily accessed
and free.
He also said corrupt people will look for places to go as Tanzania
will become free from corruption, a menace that denies people from
accessing public services.
Sumaye who is among the former CCM high-ranking officials who
defected the party to join the opposition said when UKAWA government
gets into power all people who were affected with the anti-poaching
campaign executed by the central government dubbed: ‘Operation Tokomeza’
will be compensated for what happened in the exercise.
He said the campaign ended up killing and injuring innocent people in their respective areas.
Chadema senior official and renowned lawyer, Tundu Lissu described
Lowassa as Mwai Kibaki, Prof George Saitoti and Bakili Muluzi, urging
Tanzanians to vote for him, because of his competence and experiences.
“Tanzania has been sick, people have been tormented for the past 54
years; it is high time now we vote out CCM from power,” Lissu told the
gathering.
He however urged people from parties forming UKAWA to respect
agreement reached by top decision making bodies on division of
parliamentary seats.
Lissu was referring to two candidates from Chadema and CUF who are
contesting for the same Itilima constitueny, saying: “Under the
agreement, Kisesa, Maswa, Itilima and Bariadi East and West
parliamentary seats are for Chadema. I don’t see the reason as why
people continue fighting for the seats, when rules and regulations were
clear.”
He said UKAWA wasn’t formed by mistake. It was meant to root-out
CCM from power; “that’s why it is imperative to remain as one team.”
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