Hit at heart of corruption,
Church in Dar urges Government
2007-12-25 10:11:21
By Rose Mwalongo
The Dar es Salaam archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church has advised the government to stop dealing with ``old ghosts of corruption`` and instead seek to strike at the very core of the vice.
The archdiocese´s Auxiliary Bishop, Method Kilaini, gave the advice in an inclusive interview with this paper in the city on Saturday ahead of today´s celebration of Christmas.
In his remarks, the bishop expressed deep concern over the recent wave of allegations of grand corruption levelled against a number of cabinet ministers and other senior public officials.
He said: "The ever-rising rate at which the charges have been made has shocked us all. We need to fight it as fiercely as we can or we will not make any forward movement".
We should stop planning to deal with the old ghosts of corruption, but rather take the war from where we are if we are to succeed in curbing this vice.
Bishop Kilaini also remarked on problems relating to the way the economic and other problems facing Tanzania have been addressed, making specific reference to some decisions that he said have cost the nation dearly.
The wrong decisions include those relating to commissioning of Independent Power Tanzania Ltd (IPTL) and the controversial purchase of the radar systems.
Had we been more careful, the amount of money involved could have excellently catered for our needs in education and other social services and perhaps we wouldn´t be running around begging for funds for the purpose, he added.
The bishop called on government and other public servants to be close to the citizenry and join hands with them in fighting all forms of corruption, noting that it would be wrong for Tanzania to continue being a place with a few haves and a majority with nothing.
He underlined the need for the government to enter into only those contracts with the nation´s interests at heart and therefore guaranteeing improvements in the lives of the people.
Commenting on the state of the national economy, Bishop Kilaini said 2007 has been generally good and promising although the income poverty level is still unnervingly high among the bulk of the population.
On a more positive note, he said the government had made commendable efforts towards improving education which is the key to the nation´s future.
``Educating people is always an empowering and liberating move. Life without education is unacceptable because it carries the danger of making us increasingly dependent on foreigners, as we remain casual labourers,`` he observed.
The bishop said there was an urgent need for Tanzanians to get more aggressive and competitive ``as demanded by globalisation``, and urged the government to continue making Tanzanians ``the centre and focus of all its development policies and strategies``.
He elaborated: ``It is incumbent upon every one of us to work hard and ensure we are more aggressive in whatever we do.
However, that striving for development should not be at the expense of the love, harmony, unity and cooperation that have all along combined to make our nation tick.``
- SOURCE: Guardian
Photo and link by http://watanzaniaoslo.blogspot.com
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