MAONI YANGU KWA KATIBA MPYA

Kwanza: Katiba mpya itaje nchi zilizoungana: Tanganyika na Zanzibar. Isiwe kama ilivyo sasa. Isomeke: Tanzania ni Jamhuri ya Muungano wa nchi mbili Tanganyika na Zanzibar.

Pili: Serikali iongozwe na Waziri Mkuu na Rais awe ni wa Heshima tu. Hii ni kuepusha mtu mmoja kumiliki madaraka yote ya nchi ni pia kuongeza uwajibikaji.

Tatu: Kuwe na mfumo wa majimbo ili kila mkoa ujiendeleze wenyewe isiwe kama sasa bajeti ya ujenzi inajengwa Kigamboni tu; watu wa Kigoma wanafaidika nini?

Nne: Kuwe na kikomo cha ubunge isiwe zaidi ya vipindiviwili au vitatu. Hii itamaanisha wabunge watilie mkazo kuleta maendeleo na sio kujibakisha madarakani.

Tano: Wagombea binafsi waruhusiwe wananci wasiwe watumwa wa vyama. Vyama vingine hata ni milki ya watu wachache. Hii itaondosha uwezekano wa watu waxhaxhe kumiliki siasa za nchi au kulazimiki kuabudu watu wengine ili wapate nafasi ya kugombea. Tanzania zio mali ya watu wachache.

Sita: Wananchi wawe na uwezo wa kumuondoa mbunge madarakani endapo hawana imani nae tena.

Saba: Katiba ipige marufuku mtumishi wa serikali asiekuwa raisi kutumia gari la umma nje ya wakati wa kazi. Kuna baadhi ya wizara hutenga fedha za kuendeshea magari nyingi zaidi ya fedha za kutoa huduma kwa umma.

Nane: Kiongozi anaekumbwa na kashfa asimamishwe kazi kupisha uchunguzi. Aidha polisi wawe na wajibu wa kuwachunguza watu wote wanaotuhumiwa bila ya kusubiri idhini ya raisi. Kamanda atakeshindwa kuchunguza tuhuma zilizoenea mtaani ashitakiwe.

Tisa: Mawaziri wasiwe wabunge ili kutoa mwanya wa kuteuwa watu wenye sifa zaidi. Pia kuwapa wabunge uweo wa kuhoji bila ya tama ya uwaziri.

Kumi: Katiba ipitishe makundi yote yaliyo nyma kimaendeleo yawekewe mikakati maalum ya kuyaendeleza.

Kumi na moja: Katika miiko ya uongozi kiongozi asiwe mbaguzi wala mchafu wa maadili. Mtu anaetembea na watoto wa shule apoteze sifa ya kuwa kiongozi.

Kumi na mbili: Kuhusu Muungano, muungano lazima uonyeshe nia njema. Hivi sasa mambo yote ya kiuchumi yameingizwa ndani ya muungano na kuifanya Zanzibar kama nchi iliyowekewa vikwazo; sasa mambo yote ya muungano yapitiwe na baraza la wawakilishi.

Kuonesha kwamba hakuna nia njema, mafuta na gesi ni mambo ya muungano, mbona almasi na dhahamu na makaa ya mawe sio ya muungano. Na hata hiyo gesi mbona Zanzibar haipewi fungu lake? Ikiwa dhahabu na almasi haviwezi kuwa vya muungano basin a mafuta yatolewe.

Kwa nini kuwe na kodi mara mbili kwa nchi moja na mkusanyaji mmoja. TRA hukuzanya kodi bandarini Zanzibar halafu bidhaa hiyo hiyo watadai kodi bandarini Dar es Salaam. Hali hii ilipelekea kiwanda cha sigara kuhamishswa kutoka Zanzibar kwa sababu ilizuiliwa kupata soko Tanzania bara.

Kwa vile hakuna nia njema. sasa muungano uwe wa mamlaka tatu. Serikali ya Zanzibar, Serikali ya Tanganyika na mamlaka ya muungao ambayo si lazima iwe na marais. iwe ni mkamishna tu watakaoongozwa ama na Rais wa Zanzibar au wa Tanzania Bara kwa mpishano.

Aidha kura ya maoni ipigwe iwapo wazanzibari au watanganyika wanataka kuendelea na muungano. Muungano ni mtukufu lakini watu ni watukufu zaidi wasilazimishwe kuungana kama wamechoka.

Aidha kwa kuwa watu ni watukufu zaidi ya Muungano waruhusiwe kujadili Muunga wakati wowote bila ya vikwazo.

Kumi na tatu: Tukiendelea na mfumo uliopo basi Rais iwe kwa zamu. Mara Zanzibar na mara nyengine atoke bara. Zanziba tusiwe wadandiaji tu.

Kumi na nne: Uongozi wa vyombo vya Muungano kama vile Baraza la Mitihani, Jeshi la Wananchi na jeshi la Polisi uwe kwa uwiano wa sawa kwa sawa.

Kumi na tano: Bunge la Jamhuri lisijadili mambo ya bara. Wakati wa kujadili mambo ya Tanzania bara wawe wabara peke yao. Yaani watanganyika wawe na Bunge lao na Zanzibar lao. Halafu kuwe na Bunge la Muungano

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Solution to road transport problems in Dar es Salaam

Recent announcement by the Ministry of construction of Tanzania to commence construction of overhead routes is a good decision. Road transport in Dar has become not only economic but a serious social problem. Economically many working hours of individuals and public officers are lost in road congestion. I am sure if we calculate the loss is enormous.

Socially, congestion affects the life styles of people in many negative ways. For example an employed person who leaves home at 5.00 in the morning and reach back home at 10.00 pm. They have no enough time to look after their children or their partners at all. That means releasing of family ties which may lead to moral erosion.

Some families both partners are employed and can not go back home until late evening. This means the maids and the garden boys or ‘someone else’ may illegally occupy their roles and manipulate their children the way they want. This also leads to moral erosion. Mothers should see their children leaving to schools and at least receiving them when they come back. The family leaders now do not share the home prepared food. They take lunch at work places because they are sure they will be backing home very late.

Of course there are so many reasons for the government to take efforts to solve the transport problem. There was a plan to execute express large busses but I was always wondering where the roads which can be accessed by those busses were. I believed that the project is just a dream. Now the construction of overhead routes has been announced. This is only one way to solve the problem. Other measures to be taken could be:

i)                    Increasing the number of roads which remove vehicles from the town centre. Two more routes are needed which would reduce the number of vehicles which use the present routes.

ii)                   Those busses which travel between Mwenge and Tandika, Temeke, Mbagala and Gongo la Mboto should not allowed to cross the town centre. They must use the route outside the Town. I mean when some one want to go to Mbagala must either go to the main terminal at Kariakoo or must go to Mwenge or Ubungo or somewhere else out side the City.

I hope the government will give the overhead route project its priority and will not be delayed like the express busses project.

Zanzibar Educational Challenges

Many things have been said about the quality of Zanzibar education. Of course the recent cheating scandal exposed by the National Examination Council of Tanzania is the most alarming. Thousands of students including entire schools results have been disqualified for cheating. Concerning the ways of improving I have been thinking that it is important to understand the current problems or let’s say challenges facing education in Zanzibar.

In this April I visited one school and talked to the school head. He told me that he has a large group of form one students who can neither read nor write. He said that they are plan to establish a special class for them. Embarrassing, but who is responsible for this? Do the teachers failed to teach because of idle content knowledge? Or because of poor teaching techniques? It may be; is the result of teachers’ shortage or large classrooms. We have to find the correct answer, of course.

For a long time Zanzibar students had no text books. Recently, the Government of Zanzibar has succeeded to provide text books to nearly every student in all subjects. Despite of the fact, one volunteer teacher from Dar es Salaam claimed that it seems Zanzibar students have no text books. I was very astonished as I know that each student has got almost all textbooks. I have discovered that most teachers and students in Zanzibar do not use the textbooks. Some of the teachers claim that the books are shallow. Is that enough reason for the abandonment of the books? I know that when I returned form my studies I saw many textbooks of my kids in my cupboard and still are there. I have noticed that many secondary students do not take the books from the school store at all. I wonder if the teachers use the textbooks or even if they do; do they know how to use them properly? And what is the best way of using them? This is my first area of interest.

Most of the teachers use ‘notes translation’ method. The teachers write notes on the board then read and translate them. When the reading is completed, the teaching is over – the end of the lesson. I have never used this technique accept when I go to the classroom and see a lot of notes on the chalk board which I can not rub. I believe this is not a good method of teaching. It does not develop learners thinking and therefore undermines their minds capacity. How ever I believe this is one of the methods which suits with our environments. We use English as the medium of instruction but even the teachers’ English competence or performance is poor. Perhaps all methods suggested for using in the classrooms are not ideal for second language users with poor language performance. In my opinion, ‘notes translation’ must be accepted as a proper teaching method but studies must be made to find ways of improving it. For example, Teaches must not use the whole chalk board for notes; there must be place for demonstrations and students activities.

Never the less the most fatal problem is the fact that teachers give very few exercises to the students. The methods we use, the time limitation, heavy teaching load, crowdy classrooms and poor preparation have killed the teaching culture of asking students questions at the end of the lesson. Even the tasks assigned to the students sometimes are not challenging enough to prepare the students for the national examinations.

My friend Said (AKU cohort 2010) commented that mow in Zanzibar teaching has been privatized. Every one acts by his own.