Ujumbe wa Eid el-Fitr kutoka kwa Balozi wa Marekani

30 Agosti, 2011

Mwezi Mtukufu wa Ramadhani ni muda ambao Waislamu duniani kote wanafunga, wanaswali na kufanya matendo mema. Aidha, ni wakati wa kutafakari na kuimarisha imani zao, kutenda mema, kuwasaidia wenye shida na kuwa na huruma. Kwa niaba ya Watu wa Marekani, ninapenda kuwatakia Waislamu wote wa Tanzania Eid el-Fitr njema. 

Sherehe hizi zinahitimisha kipindi cha mwezi mzima wa kujitafakari na kutukumbusha kuwa maadili ya Uislamu - wema, kujali wengine, kuhudumia jamii, ushirikiano na huruma ni amali ambazo sisi kama Wamarekani tunazithamini sana na ambazo kwa hakika zimechangia sana katika tamaduni nyingi duniani kote.

Kama alivyosema Rais Barack Obama hapo tarehe 11 Agosti mwaka huu katika hafla ya Iftar iliyofanyika katika Ikulu ya Marekani, wakati wote Uislamu umekuwa sehemu ya familia ya Marekani na kwa muda mrefu mamilioni ya Wamarekani Waislamu wamekuwa wakichangia katika kuimarisha nchi yetu katika nyanja zote za maisha.  

 Balozi wa kwanza Muislamu nchini Marekani ambaye alikuwa akitoka Tunisia alialikwa na Rais Thomas Jefferson, ambaye aliandaa chakula cha jioni kwa wageni wake wakati wa magharibi kwa sababu kipindi hicho kilikuwa ni cha Ramadhani - na kufanya tukio hilo kuwa Iftar ya kwanza kuandaliwa na Ikulu ya Marekani - hiyo ilikuwa zaidi ya miaka 200 iliyopita. 

Jengo la kumbukubu ya Rais Thomas Jefferson katika jengo la Bunge la Marekani kuna bango liitwalo “Maelewano ya Binadamu” ambalo linauenzi Uislamu kama mambo makuu yaliyowezesha ustaarabu wa Marekani, hususan katika nyanja ya fizikia.

Marekani na Tanzania zinachangia utajiri mkubwa wa kuwa na watu wa dini na makabila mbalimbali. Katika ziara zangu kutembelea maeneo mbalimbali ya nchi hii nzuri ya Tanzania nimepata heshima kubwa ya kutembelea Misikiti, kukutana na viongozi wa kidini na waumini wa Kiislamu ili kukuza urafiki na ushirikiano wetu. 

Wakati Ramadhani ikielekea ukingoni, tudumishe moyo huo wa kushirikiana na kusaidiana kama jamii moja ili watoto wetu, bila kujali wamezaliwa wapi na wanaabudu vipi waweze kupata fursa ya kuwa vile walivyopangiwa kuwa kwa jina la Mwenyezi Mungu, na katika kuimarisha utu wetu.
Eid Mubarak.

Alfonso E. Lenhardt ni Balozi wa Marekani katika Jamhuri ya Muungano waTanzania

August 30, 2011

Eid el-Fitr Message

The Holy Month of Ramadan is a time when Muslims around the world fast, pray, and do good deeds.  It is also a time for personal reflection and introspection, for charity, and for compassion. On behalf of the American People, I would like to wish all Muslims in Tanzania a happy Eid el-Fitr.   

This celebration ends a month-long time of self-reflection and reminds us that the values of Islam – charity, community, cooperation, compassion – are values which we also hold dear as Americans and which have contributed so much to cultures around the world.
As President Barack Obama said during the White House Iftar dinner on August 11 of this year, Islam has always been part of our American family, and millions of Muslim Americans have long contributed to the strength and character of our country, in all walks of life.  

The first Muslim ambassador to the United States, from Tunisia, was hosted by President Thomas Jefferson, who arranged a sunset dinner for his guest because it was Ramadan - making it the first known Iftar at the White House, more than 200 years ago.  

The Thomas Jefferson building at the U.S. Capitol has a mural titled "Human Understanding," where Islam is honored as one of the twelve greatest influences on American civilization, especially in the area of physics.

The United States and Tanzania share a rich religious and ethnic diversity.  I have been honored during my travels throughout this great nation of Tanzania to visit mosques, Muslim religious leaders, and communities to expand our friendship and cooperation.   

As Ramadan draws to a close, let us hold on to that spirit of community, so that all our children, regardless of where they were born or how they worship, can have that opportunity to become all that they are meant to be in the name of the Almighty, and in the furtherance of our common humanity.
Eid Mubarak.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________Alfonso E. Lenhardt is the U.S. Ambassador to Tanzania

Viridis Africa conference to be held in Johannesburg, South Africa

ON the 17th and 18th of October 2011 the Viridis Africa conference is to be held in Johannesburg, South Africa. 
The event is dedicated to the introduction of clean technologies and associated business/investment opportunities.
The intention of Viridis Africa is to bring together investors and entrepreneurs from Africa and rest of the world, to jointly explore commercial initiatives in green technologies.
The program includes presentation of specific projects or business initiatives, ranging in size and scope and encompassing most of the priority areas such as bio energy, hydro, wind power, green chemistry, recycling, water treatment, desalination, amongst others.
According to conference organiser, Suza Adam, managing member of Spindle Communications, “principals who would present their business opportunities at this event would have the audience of numerous local and foreign investors. Investors would include venture capital, private equity, project and corporate finance outfits and others dedicated to the clean tech sector. Also included are major companies who seek strategic alliance and acquisitions.”
Among the projects being presented is a bio ethanol and a biomass production project in Mozambique, a bio gas project in Kwa-Zulu Natal, 15 MW hydro projects in Kenya, a biofuel project in Malawi and RD Congo, and a plastic recycling operation in Nigeria.
Other projects to be confirmed in the program line-up include solar, energy projects, waste management and water treatment innovative solutions.
New technologies currently being developed by academic and research institutions will also have their opportunity so as to introduce potential business opportunities through the commercialization of the above.
The event will have amongst its presenters leading financial institutions including the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa, Investec Limited, Nedbank, Threelawscapital, Lereko Metier, Inspired Evolution, as well as leading utilities in energy (Eskom) and water.
“Additional business proposals are invited from clean tech sub-sectors including clean energy generation (wind, solar, hydro, bio fuels, geothermal, clean coal technologies), storage (fuel cells, advanced batteries, hybrid systems), efficiency (smart grids, waste heat recovery), water & waste water (water treatment, water conservation, waste water treatment, desalination) and recycling and waste (recycling, waste treatment, organic matter, plastics) etc.” says Adam.
The event will also introduce parties with complimentary technologies and business models to one another in order to explore mutually beneficial opportunities.
“In the main the conference and its exhibition will endeavour to bring about a vibrant market trading place for entrepreneurs and corporates to propose and conclude investment deals with funders”, concludes Adam.
Although the event is to be held once a year, it is designed to give the participants long term continuity vis a vis the provision of web-based interaction platforms, inducing social networks.
For more information about the conference: please see www.viridisafrica.com

Libyan envoy summons to the ministry of Foreign Affairs over rebel flag

MINISTER of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Mr. Bernard Membe yesterday summoned Libyan Ambassador to Tanzania, Prof Ahmed El Ash’ab, for raising the rebel National Transition Council (NTC) flag without prior consultations.

The envoy was seen at the Foreign Ministry’s office with minister Membe, indicating that the minister had fulfilled his promise he made before journalists on Sunday that he would summon the ambassador to explain why he had raised the flag of a rebel government without notifying his hosts.

No details were available yesterday over the meeting between the envoy and the minister.

The minister said on Sunday that he was aware that the embassy had raised the flag of the Libyan rebels.

“It’s wrong. There are rules and regulations to follow for the government to recognise the existing government. They have not followed them,” said Membe.

The minister also said that Tanzania would not recognise the Libyan transitional government formed by the rebels until its true architects were known and the government was satisfied that ordinary Libyans were fully involved in its formation.

“We in Tanzania will not recognise the transitional government led by the rebels, until we are sure of the participation of Libyans in its formation and the officials leading it,” Membe maintained.

He said out of 54 African states only 14 have recognised the transitional government.

“TNC has not been able to convince Tanzania to recognise the government. We are not ready to make hasty decisions over something we hardly know,” said Membe.

“We do not know who the members of the rebel movement are, how many they are and whether they are Libyans or foreigners,” he stressed.

Membe said Tanzania would recognise the new Libyan government only if all stakeholders of the country, including citizens and all political parties, participate in the formation of the transitional government, which would prepare for elections.

Some of the countries that have already recognised the rebel-led Libyan transitional government are Kenya, Rwanda, Gabon, Nigeria, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Tunisia, Senegal, Burkinafaso and Botswana.

Membe also said Tanzania joins AU in calling on the three sides in the Libyan conflict, namely NATO, Col. Gaddafi’s army and the rebels to end the fighting so as to save the lives of people in Libya and give the country a chance to form its own government.

He added that Tanzania and AU had agreed that Gaddafi’s leadership in Libya had come to an end, and that what was urgently needed was to ensure that the country returned to normality as soon as possible.

Wako: The day I escaped in Kikwete's car

Outgoing Attorney General Amos Wako, has for the first time, lifted the lid on some of the deep Government and personal secrets he has guarded jealously over the last two decades he has served as chief legal advisor to Presidents Moi and Kibaki.
In a candid interview with The Standard On Sunday, two days before he leaves office, Wako talks on his association and deals with Moi and Kibaki, frustrations under Kanu hawks of the 1990s.

Attorney General Amos Wako

And, most recently, on the day he fled from hostile parliamentary colleagues by sneaking into a visiting Head of State’s car.
"I did not want to engage in arguments with them. I got out of Kikwete’s car at the airport, from where I called my driver to come and pick me up."
"Kikwete was the first to leave, and I could not wait for my car."
But it is the bullying at the hands of President Jakaya Kikwete and former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, following the botched 2007 presidential election, that remains etched in the mind of one of the continent’s most decorated lawyers.
As the country burnt, leaving about 1,200 people dead and thousands more maimed and homeless, four men gathered at the President’s Harambee House office agonising over how to end the mayhem and resolve the political stalemate.
Searching for ‘the truth’The man who celebrated his 66th birthday last month recalls being herded into a tension-packed room and bombarded with questions.
Of course, he had been in this room countless times in the course of duty, but this day it was different.
Four men – Mwai Kibaki, Raila Odinga, Kikwete and Annan were peering at him, searching for ‘the truth’. The talks had hit a deadlock with neither Kibaki nor Raila giving in to the demands of the other. Nonetheless, a few generalities had been agreed upon, including formation of a shared Government. Even then the two leaders could not agree on how to operationalise the deal legally.
"Kikwete and Annan wanted my legal advice on whether an Act of Parliament was enough to underpin the MoU into the Constitution," recalls Wako.
Not sure of the President’s stand on the matter, the AG sought a moment to whisper with his boss. But Kikwete and Annan rejected the idea, demanding he speaks his mind before them.
Feeling harassed, Wako tried to shoot a few leading questions to everybody, hopping President Kibaki would pick the signal by giving a leading response.
"You see, I was in a fix and I needed to gauge his take on the matter, before giving my honest opinion. But the Tanzanian President would hear none of this. He ordered that I give them a straight answer," recounts Wako.
The AG gave his boss one lengthy look and on reading his body language, advised accordingly.
The National Accord needed to be entrenched into the Constitution, and not as an Act of Parliament.
"There was a sigh of relief in the room as those present had probably expected me to blindly take the rigid position that had been publicly espoused by PNU allied legislators, who wanted to hear nothing of the power-sharing deal," says Wako.
With Wako giving the pact a nod, the deal was as good as sealed. Raila’s legal advisor, James Orengo, was not expected to give a contrary opinion. This is because Raila’s ODM was by this time outside Government and trying to get in following Kibaki’s announcement of the initial half Cabinet.
Orengo was called in immediately after Wako and on agreeing with the AG, the two were tasked to draw up the relevant legislation within three hours.
But for his role in persuading Kibaki to append his signature to the document, the AG was considered a pariah by the PNU brigade, who gathered at Harambee House for the historic breakthrough announcement by President Kikwete and Dr Annan.
To avoid the hostility and questioning from embittered colleagues, particularly from members of the President’s party, who represented his side at the Serena Hotel talks, Wako jumped into Kikwete’s official car as he left for the airport back to Dar es Salaam. He needed to cool off.
Asked why the President’s men and women were baying for his blood yet ODM loyalists and constitutional experts have pointed out that Raila’s party was shortchanged in the deal, Wako blames it on the Orange team.
"I have been blamed for allegedly playing mischief in ensuring President Kibaki’s retention of executive authority. That was for ODM to ensure a better deal at the bargaining table, otherwise my business was to entrench, appropriately, the agreed deal between the two into our Constitution," he reacts.
As the interview proceeds on a settee in his office, one of the AG’s phones rings. And although he has been ignoring all calls, including beeps, he returns to his desk. It turns out it is the hotline – a direct line from one of the principals.
Non-judgmental characterAfter the brief chat, which from the mention of ‘files’, ‘Bills’, ‘Parliament’, I gather it is about the Constitution implementation. Indeed, Wako is so engrossed in the exercise even in his last hours at Sheria House.
After a spirited chase of over three months for this interview, we got it on Friday– at 7am. Even then, from the look in his eyes, it seems he wants to discontinue it for "other pressing matters".
"That was the PM – my brother – and I am just reminded, I have to leave soon for Parliament," he announces.
"Is that so? Please allow a few more minutes. Otherwise, why do you refer to the PM as your brother?" "I mean he is much closer to me, by biological age, among the two principals. And of course that makes me freer with him than the President," he explains. And prodded over his working relations with President Kibaki, the outgoing AG says Kibaki is probably the most misunderstood politician.
"I regard and refer to him as ‘Kibaki the intellectual’. It is always an illuminating experience interacting with the President privately," says Wako.
The President, he observes, is an alert and a calculating politician, who knows what he wants.
This observation of Kibaki is indeed curious, as there has been the notion that the President is a laidback politician. Apparently that is the faÁade he wants to project and one that gets his opponents underestimating him.
And on Vice-President, Kalonzo Musyoka, Wako describes him as a professional colleague whom he has known for a long time.
"He did his pupilage at Kaplan and Stratton law firm where I was a senior partner."
Separately, Wako describes retired President Moi as a pleasurable boss he loved working with. Describing him as a man "who kept his word", Wako says he and Moi had a few deals they kept under wraps.
One such moment was in 1991 when Moi called him at a location, which he won’t disclose, on the eve of the Kakamega Agricultural Show of Kenya and advised him to prepare a legislation repealing section 2A of the Constitution.
Even as Kanu operatives spoke against multi-party democracy at rallies, Wako and Moi cheered on. And when, later that year, he declared the return to multi-party politics during Kanu delegates’ conference at Kasarani Gymnasium, there were protests and disbelief by some diehard supporters.
But the smiling Wako, who sat pensively in the crowd, was ready with the relevant Bill, which he presented to the House the following week.
Indeed Wako had a curious relationship with Moi.
To him, he says, the President was a father figure. His appointment was even more dramatic. It came through while he was en route to Brussels from Kinshasa, Zaire, on a United Nations assignment.
He was investigating the Lubumbashi mass killings.
"I was not consulted about the job. My initial thought was to decline, since I was climbing fast within the United Nations establishment. I knew it was going to interfere with my international progression," he says.
Besides, he had to make a major financial sacrifice – in terms of remuneration as opposed to the high-profile UN engagements. On second thought, however, he grabbed the opportunity to make a contribution to his country.
But soon, Wako would encounter the marauding all-powerful Kanu party hawks, most of who regarded him disdainfully as a Kanu employee, and publicly contradicted his positions on issues.
The parliamentary group was particularly notorious as it often rejected Bills he had prepared at public rallies and during press conferences.
Initially, he could not bear the frustrating moments and wanted to quit. This was after one Bill he had worked so hard on was mutilated by MPs.
The last that remained of it was trashed by the Kanu parliamentary group, which ordered him to withdraw it.
The outgoing AG also remembers a second case, while working on the Constitution of Kenya Review Act, July 1997. He invited two representatives from each parliamentary political party at County Hall, only for Kanu Cabinet ministers to force the AG to call it off.
The other incident involves the President’s New Year message in January 2002 in Nakuru where he announced the Government’s plan to appoint external experts to help draft of a new Constitution. But an excited Wako danced himself lame before the main dance.
He embarked on a globe trotting assignment, which took him to Europe to scout for the best legal minds. When he returned, Kanu operatives told him Kenya was not in a constitutional crisis. The idea was shelved and Wako had to leak his wounds in the eyes of international peers.
When it became impossible to overhaul the entire Constitution, Wako embarked on discreet measures of realising his dream through piecemeal amendments. This worked momentarily and he even succeeded to sneak in a pro-poor clause requiring that the poor be offered free legal aid.
He further set up 17 task forces but even these were frustrated when a Cabinet colleague claimed President Museveni’s intelligence team had penetrated the committees. Soon the Finance PS was asked to stop funding the committees. Still, Wako says he smiled on. But come 2007 and he was decided on resigning after the General Election.
For a soft landing, Wako had successfully staged a fruitful campaign and gotten elected as member of the United Nations’ International Law Commission – one of the only five UN top organs. But the bloody events of 2007, he says, meant he stays on.

Kutoka Hotuba ya Waziri Mkuu Mizengo Pinda (26.08.2011) 'Makampuni yanayoogoza kwa kulipa kodi Tanzania'

Mr Mizengo Pinda, the primer minister of Tanzania

Among the leading taxpayers companies in the country, only one mining company (the smallest ino Resolute T), and only one telecom company.
Banks lead, household names like MeTL, Bakhresa, IPP, VodaCom, Barrick, AngloGold Ashanti are not seen in the list, why? No body knows for sure.

One can conclude that, Tanzania Breweries Limited (TBL) is the most profitable company in Tanzania while National Micro-finance Bank (NMB0 is said to be the most profitable Bank in the country.

Mheshimiwa Spika,

1---Nitumie nafasi hii kuwapongeza baadhi ya Walipakodi Wakubwa kwa Serikali na ambao wamefanya vizuri kati ya kipindi cha mwaka 2005 na 2011. Kwa kipindi hicho, Makampuni yaliyoongoza kwa kulipa kodi ni pamoja na:

 i.  dTanzania Breweries Ltd. (Shilingi Bilioni 165.4);

 ii.  National Microfinance Bank (Shilingi Bilioni 108.6);

 iii. Tanzania Cigarette Company (Shilingi Bilioni 92.1);

 iv.  National Bank of Commerce (Shilingi Bilioni 89.9);

 v.   CRDB Bank Ltd. (Shilingi Bilioni 79.2);

 vi.  Tanzania Ports Authority (Shilingi Bilioni 76.8);

 vii. Tanzania Portland Cement (Shilingi Bilioni 73.4);

 viii. Airtel (T) Ltd. (Shilingi Bilioni 63.6);

 ix.   Tanga Cement Company Ltd. (Shilingi Bilioni 43.6);

 x.    Standard Chartered Bank Ltd. (Shilingi Bilioni 40.0);

xi.   Citibank (T) Ltd. (Shilingi Bilioni 35.7);

xii.  Resolute (T) Ltd. (Shilingi Bilioni 32.1);

 xiii. Tanzania International Container Terminal Services (Shilingi Bilioni 25.9);

 xiv. Tanzania Distillers Ltd. (Shilingi Bilioni 13.4); na

 xv.  Group Five International (PTY) Ltd. (Shilingi Bilioni 9.5).

 

2. --- Napenda kutoa rai kwa Makampuni yote Nchini kuiga mfano huu mzuri. 

Wito wangu kwa makampuni, wafanyabiashara wakubwa kwa wadogo na wananchi wote ni kuongeza juhudi katika kufanya biashara zao ili zizalishe kwa wingi na kupata faida kubwa zaidi. Faida kubwa itachangia katika kuongeza mapato ya serikali kwa njia ya kodi na hivyo kusaidia kukuza uchumi, kuongeza pato la taifa na la mwananchi mmoja mmoja na kuondoa umaskini. Niwadhihirishieni kwamba, serikali inatambua umuhimu wao kwa maendeleo ya nchi yetu na itahakikisha inaongeza juhudi zake za kuweka mazingira wezeshi kwa makampuni hayo kufanya shughuli zao vizuri ili kuwezesha kulipa kodi kwa mujibu wa sheria.

NATO ATTACK ON LIBYA IS ALSO AN ATTACK ON THE AFRICAN CONTINENT

THE sovereign government of Libya have been overthrown in a blatant Western armed, sponsored and supported coup by the striking arm of the new imperialism- NATO [North Atlantic Treaty Organization.]
Some six months ago, the French and British governments frantically sponsored a United Nations resolution to so called 'protect the civilians of Libya from its own government.'
Never mind that this sovereign government was facing an armed revolt by a dissident region of the country; never mind that these “rebels” had no legitimacy whatsoever; never mind that the so-called “democratic protesters” were responsible for the deaths of hundreds of black Africans in xenophobic racist pogroms in the year 2000.
None of this mattered. What mattered was that in the turmoil of the so-called “Arab Spring” a heaven-sent opportunity presented itself to the West to get rid of a political thorn in its side, one that was leading the African Continent dangerously close to realizing a greater deal of autonomy than had been afforded under the pretence of Western “aid,” economic advice and structural development.
Gaddafi, his personal flamboyance notwithstanding, has consistently sought to involve his country in unity with first the Arabs and then the Africans.
When Gaddafi proposed pan-Arab unity, he was scoffed at, ridiculed as an ambitious madman and insulted and ignored by the Arabs. He finally and sensibly gave up and turned his eyes to Africa, believing that Africa held out more hope for unity.
While under sanctions by the West, the Africans unswervingly supported Gaddafi. Neslon Mandela upon his release from apartheid’s prisons defied Western sanctions and went overland to visit and thank Colonel Gaddafi for his moral and financial support during the long struggle against apartheid.
Other African leaders followed and regular visits with Gaddafi made the sanctions totally irrelevant.
After the Iraqi war of aggression by the Bush administration broke out, Gaddafi cut a deal with the West, relinquishing his weapons programs, which included nuclear weapons, for re-inclusion in the global economic system.
Still Gaddafi sought to develop African unity and to this end relieved Africa of the burden of paying for satellite usage $500 million annually to Europe.
At his encouragement Africa bought its own satellites and now the continent communicates without relying on Europe. Gaddafi also proposed a single African currency backed by gold which would have sounded the death-knell for the CFA and removed much of France’s influence and power in Africa.
An African Monetary Fund was also in the works, which would have further set Africa on the road to true economic and political independence.
Then there was the Libyan leader’s mooting of a million-man African army.
This was the red line where the West decided to checkmate Libya.
Events surrounding the so-called “Arab Spring” seemed tailor-made for Western plans. Overnight, armed groups showed up in Benghazi and an organized pattern emerged for the overthrow of Gaddafi.
First there was the “concern” for civilian life, always a good tear-jerker [never mind that in Syria Bashar el Assad was openly killing his own citizens], then the French and British stepped in forcing a UN Security Council vote.
Despite senior officials in the US administration dismissing Libya’s strategic importance to US interests, the Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton, pushed her hawkish agenda and dragged the US president on board for this war of blatant aggression.
The coup was underway. The “rebels,” a motley band of weekend thugs were no match for the Libyan army which legally was bound to defend itself against armed insurrection, so Nato [the new nailed fist of 21st century neo-imperialism] unleashed its aerial might, special forces [French Foreign legion commandos, SAS and US Seals] against the legitimate government of Libya.
It was inevitable that sooner or later this lopsided military power would take its toll as Nato bombed Tripoli and other parts of Libya on a daily basis.
When this conflict was forced on the Libyan people, the African Union insisted that there must not be any military intervention, but was soon sidelined and completely ignored by the coup-makers and a compliant Western press.
While a sovereign nation, a member of the AU was being attacked, African efforts to find a mediated solution were completely ignored and ridiculed.
The leaders of Africa who should have denounced with one voice the aggression against an African country cravenly acquiesced with the Nato war, making lame token protests.
What happens in Libya is a harbinger of what the West has in store for Africa. True independence and African unity will not be tolerated.
Africa is too rich in resources that the world needs to be allowed to control its own destiny. This war is not just about Gaddafi. It is an opening salvo in a war to reclaim the continent for foreign interests, just as it was in 1896 in the 'Scramble for Africa.'
African leaders lack faith in their own abilities and in the power of their people. Libya could have been saved, had Africans united and spoken resoundingly to the world, voicing their opposition to this war of aggression.
The AU could have called for the expulsion of diplomats from the Nato countries taking part in the war, they could have urged their citizens into the streets to demonstrate for “hands off Libya.” The oil-producing countries could have slowed down their oil taps, driving up the price of gasoline, they could have protested more loudly.

The same forces which broke Sudan in half are continuing the process of fragmenting Africa into even more manageable, weaker pieces. What will happen after Gaddafi is overthrown? All progressive programmes that he had initiated will be dismantled and the idea of Africa unity repudiated as the dreams of madman.

Foreign economic interests will come in to carve up the pie, instability will take root as in Iraq under the guise of multi-party democracy [which should be anathema to Africans since it has brought more chaos than comfort in its wake] the West will set up permanent military bases to control the Mediterranean Sea and a bridgehead for the re-conquest of Africa will have been established.

This is no fantasy. The West is not prepared to relinquish its hegemony and go quietly into the night. The neo-colonializing of Africa had begun immediately after ‘independence’ with aid programs that created dependencies,  French military bases that never closed, structural adjustments, missionaries dividing and spiritually confusing the people, dumping of toxic waste and the signing and enforcement of economic agreements that were never in the interests of the African peoples.
Many African leaders for selfish, mostly pecuniary reasons collaborated with this plunder of Africa, ignoring the will of its peoples. Gaddafi’s removal from power should not be anything to celebrate for Africans, but to mourn, for we are being thrown back into eras when we were truly without freedom.
As this neo-imperialism and neo-colonialism intensifies, it would be ironic if twenty years from now Africans would have to fight all over again the bitter revolutionary wars that ostensibly brought them freedom.

MEMBE SAYS: BIG 'NO' TO WESTERN PUPPET GROUP 'NTC' IN LIBYA

 Mr Bernard Membe, the Tanzania's foreign minister and International Cooperation

THE foreign affairs and international cooperation minister Mr Bernard Membe has categorically stated that Tanzania does not recognise the administration of Libya’s rebel-led National Transitional Council (NTC).
He said this when addressing members of the press in Dar es Salaam yesterday.
But, said Mr Membe, Tanzania would only recognise the group if it takes over the government and establishes the necessary organs that respect the division of power between the executive, legislature and the judiciary.
Apart from that, the minister said, there should be elections through which the people of Libya would choose the leaders they want.
With this stand, Tanzania becomes one of the 41 African Union member states that have declined to recognise the western allies created group the NTC.
Some 11 African countries have so far recognised the NTC, namely, Botswana, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Tunisia, Senegal, Gabon, Burkina Faso, Benin, Kenya and Djibouti. 
Over the weekend, the Libyan interim administration released names of members of its governing council for the first time and promised to increase its roster rapidly to provide representation to the newly liberated parts of the country.
But, Mr Membe said, it was not yet clear whether the rebel group has taken over the country.
“The issue of Libya is like a bunch of spiralling worms in a can, whose heads and tails you cannot see and whose number or sizes you can’t determine,” he said.
He said what Tanzania and the African Union (AU) see as an important step now was the restoration of peace in order to safeguard lives of innocent people in the country engulfed in sporadic fighting.
“Our concern is not whether Gaddafi remains in power or not. We’re concerned about the future of the country and prosperity of its people,” he argued.
Reports from Libya yesterday indicated that the rebels closed in on Colonel Gaddafi’s hometown of Sirte from both east and west.
A senior military commander said, as the insurgents also scrambled to get Tripoli back on its feet.

AL QUDS DAY OBSERVED IN DAR ES SALAAM

MUSLIM clerics have called on Tanzanian Muslims to come forward and join their fellow Muslims in the world that will be showing their solidarity with the oppressed people of Palestine and other suffering people in the world.
The call to that effect was made in Dar es Salaam on..... (Friday) by the Dar es Salaam region Chief Sheikh of Supreme Council of Tanzania Muslims (BAKWATA) Sheikh Al Hady Musa Salum at a one day symposium aimed at showing solidarity with Palestinians.
The annual event held on the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadhan, better known as Al Quds Day, was organised jointly by BAKWATA, the Association of Tanzania Muslims and Iranian Cultural Centre of the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran at Mtoro Mosque, Kariakoo in Dar es Salaam.
Speaking to thousands of Muslims who gathered there, Sheikh al Hady said the Qur’an has highlighted the racist, genetic concepts of Israel and the rise, the arrogance and the fall of Jewish power.
He admonished Muslim Ummah for marginalizing the central issue of Palestine, which is under constant repression and occupation of Israeli forces while the international community stands idle as mere spectators.
"We cannot allow colonialism to continue flourishing in the Muslim heartland unabated and as Muslims, we are bound to take immediate steps to contain the sityuation," he said.
He added that by cooperating with and by assimilating into the contexts and framework of Zionism and Imperialism, Muslims are committing sin that is to associate others (the Jews) with the power of Allah.
The major powers, including the US, are openly supporting Israeli aggression against Gaza and the people of Palestine who are daily witnessing long distance Israeli rocket attacks and bombings meant to terrorize the entire population.
On his part, Sheikh Murtadha Allidina, Imam of Shia Mosque said Al Quds Day was thirty years ago proclaimed by Imam Khomeini, who called for the establishment of Quds Day on last Friday of the month of Ramadhan.
The month of Ramadhan is a time of spiritual improvement for the individual as well as the community.
"Echoing this month-long improvement, Quds Day is another step in improving our connections with rest of the world-wide community and our connection to the Creator’s command to stand with the oppressed against the oppressors," he said.
The word "Quds" is Arabic for "the holy place" and is the Arabic name for Jerusalem and the surrounding lands.
He said Quds Day is an opportunity for participants to proclaim support for a Holy Land free from the oppression and injustice wrought by Zionism.
He added that it is a day to reinvigorate our support for our brothers and sisters who are struggling to live in dignity.
Sheikh Ali Basaleh, the grand Imam of Idrisa Mosque in Kariakoo began by establishing that from a Jewish perspective rooted in the Torah, the entire existence of Israel is illegal.
He said Zionist ideology that led to its creation is also the root cause of every drop of blood in Palestine.
He urged the world powers to ensure that Jews and Palestinians live in peace and harmony with one another.
"The creation of the State of Israel," he mentioned, "marks the Zionist attempt to transform Judaism from a spiritual religion to a political and nationalistic one."
He castigated the belief that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is based on religious differences between Muslims and Jews, and not the politics of oppression and usurpation of resources.
He said the symposium aims at bringing awareness to their cause, and is a perfect example of the creativity that can be employed. This approach is necessary because, despite the deaths that have occurred on both sides, the playing field between Isrealis and Palestinians is not equal.
He urged the audience to be with those who are oppressed while justice cannot be served.
"Until we find that our brothers and sisters in Palestine have a safe, decent, hopeful future we cannot do otherwise except to stand with them," he said.
He said one example of this inequality and oppression is the security wall, which the cleric said is designed for a land grab, to control the water, the movement of people, and that is apartheid, and there’s no other way to cut it.
As for the settlements, he said: "We have to continue to resist settlements being placed on Palestinian territory. These settlements are against international law, moral law, and the law of God. Stand up and continue the resistance."
He said wisdom, experience and encouragement were all offere in the struggle to remember and support our brothers and sisters in Palestine is not adquate enough.
Aside from this outstanding panel of speakers, there was another source of encouragement and inspiration which was the crowd itself which was filled with young Muslims who never knew the length of the Palestine-Israel conflict, but the seed for peace through justice is firmly planted in this youngest generation.

'IRAN IN DAR INVITES JOURNALISTS FOR IFTAR'