Then President Jakaya Kikwete greets Trade Union Congress of Tanzania (Tucta) secretary-general Nicholas Mgaya upon Mr Kikwete’s arrival in Tanga on April 30, 2012. PHOTO | FILE
Dar es Salaam. Nicholas Mgaya is not a new name in Tanzania’s trade union stakes, as many would recall former President Jakaya Kikwete’s popular quote: ‘Akili za Mgaya changanya na zako.’ Mr Mgaya articulated this in an exclusive interview with The Citizen.
Mr Mgaya - who once worked as secretary general of the Trade Union Congress of Tanzania (Tucta) - said that the Kikwete saying, which roughly implies that ‘Don’t regard Mgaya’s assertion as gospel truth,’ was the culmination of years of negotiations between the government and trade unions.
It was during the countdown to the 2010 General Election when President Kikwete found himself on the wrong side of voters when he reacted to workers’ threat to strike if the government failed to meet their demands on wage increases and better working conditions.
In response to the threats, Mr Kikwete issued a strongly-worded reaction, saying if workers were planning to use their vote as a bargaining chip in their demands, he would be ready to lose their vote as he would be elected by other people.
The statement earned Mr Kikwete and his political party Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), a backlash from workers, activists and opposition politicians, some of whom appealing to workers for their votes “which had been rejected by Mr Kikwete.”
Mr Mgaya was at one point quoted as saying: “You can’t force a person who has rejected our votes to accept now... Rather, we have to give our votes to the one who needs them. Therefore, Tucta will decide which presidential candidate to support”.
No comments :
Post a Comment