Tanzania Vice-President, Dr. Mohammed Shein
In order to accomplish with these tasks, the government has developed a tendency of organizing each year a week long public show in order to showcase its activities to the general public. A week long exhibitions which is organized by the President’s Office, Public Service Management, gives an opportunity to various ministries and government agencies including institutional sectors to advertise themselves. These events normally takes place at Mnazi Mmoja grounds in Dar es Salaam. In this year’s occasion, a total of 115 government ministries including agencies participated in the show.
Ms. Hawa Ghasia, the Minister opf State in President's Office responsible for Public Service Management
This is a memorable occasion indeed as every individual was allowed to enter freely. Ms. Hawa Ghasia, the Minister of State in the President’s Office responsible for Public Service Management opened the show on 16th June 2008 and was closed by Vice-President Dr. Mohammed Shein I had enough time to visit the area to see for myself what was going on and here is my perspective.
As I entered to the show ground which is located at the heart of the Dar es Salaam city center, I came across a broad placard made of a linen that carried the message to would be show-goers highlighting was it is all about. There were few petty traders who had flocked at the entrance of the gate entering the show ground busy selling soft drinks and ice-creams in packet which they carried on moving bicycles.
My first glimpse as I entered in, I came across few groups of people who had clustered at a pavilion that belonged to President’s office, Public Service Management, the chief organizer of the event. It’s here whereby people received all the information about the show itself and the activities inside the ground. A broad sign board was placed over the stand written in Kiswahili language which literally means, The United Republic of Tanzania, President’s Office, Public Service Management. In commemoration of the week of public service, Date: 16-23 June 2008. Theme: To effectively consolidate workers’ performance which cares for the accountability in public service.
As I went round, I noticed the show ground was planned in such a manner that, the pavilions were built in the form of humans settlements like houses arranged in lines like street thoroughfares and these pavilions were partitioned and placed in a good order leaving a space in between for passers by. They were decorated with a national flags every where within the compound. National flags were hoisted over the poles which were scattered almost everywhere. A stranger would automatically knew something important to do with the government was going on.
I began walking round each pavilion after the other and see what the participants had prepared for their show-goers. I actually drew my intention to some but a few pavilions which I had decided to highlight to you here. I visited the Vice-President’s pavilion to see activities undertaken together with those of the union between Tanganyika and Zanzibar. This is where the Minister for State in Vice-President’s office Mr. Seif Khatibu is in-charge of the union matters. I saw photos of the past Presidents of the Revolutionary government of Zanzibar including that one of the first President, Mr. Abeid Aman Karume who ruled the Isles government between 1964-1972 when he was assassinated, and his position was overtaken by Aboud Jumbe from 1972-1983, then Mr. Ally Hassan Mwinyi took over the control shortly before he was elected in a countrywide general election to become the second phase President of the United Republic in 1985. Mr. Mwinyi handed over the Presidency of the Zanzibar to the late Abdul Wakil who when his term ended in 1990, Dr. Salmir Amour took over. Mr. Wakil died of the heart complications eight years later. Dr. Salmir Amour ruled the Island in two terms exclusively up to 2000 and handed the power to the current President Aman Abeid Karume, the son of the first President of Zanzibar who completes his term in 2010. At the pavilion also were the photos of our country’s President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete and that of his predecessor Benjamin Mkapa. People at the pavilion had enough time to review the past documents that included the past newspapers published way back in 1960s and other things which of course were beneficial to the current generation to know. People were asking questions in order to know the inside of the union between our two states, how it was formed and what were the agreements in general. Actually there were strong arguments which came from the show-goers, whereupon little and unsatisfactory answers were given by the attendants most of whom seemed to know little about the union. Generally they couldn’t be in a position to say enough how the union came into being and instead left their men puzzled.
From there, I visited the Ministry of Agriculture whereby I saw various modern agricultural implements including modern machines such as tractors which were brought for display. It’s very unfortunate that, the sector is composed of local farmers whose working implements are still primitive. The sector seems to have not yet been modernized as many poor farmers in the country depends on their olds working tools. The majority of farmers in Tanzania are still using poor agricultural implements an aspect that the sector accounts for low productivity. It actually needs modernization. Tractors were displayed but their presence were nothing less as most farmers in the country are unable to afford their prices due to financial constraints.
The government is actually trying with all its impunity to let the sector grow despite of a number of hindrances and increase the output as it is still the mainstay of the country’s economic development. One person remarked that, as the poverty stricken situation is still growing up among the poor families in rural Tanzania, this is a nightmare.
The National Institute for Livestock Research (NILR) which is under the ministry had brought a he goat weighing over 100 kilograms. A goat became an attraction to show-goers as this photo shows above.
I moved on my left hand side and came into contact with a pavilion belonging to a recently established surface and Marine Transport Agency (SUMATRA). This is the new government agency that is responsible for regulating all transport activities in the country. The agency has been in the forefront to fight with the irregular increase of the transport fare being practiced by transporters in the country. Mr. Nicodemus Odhiambo, the firms’ Communications Public Affairs Officer was in a good position to tell people all about the agency as he is seen in the photo giving instructions to the people on how the agency currently undertakes their activities in the country and how they deal with cruel transporters when they visited the pavilion.
Tanzania Building Agency (TBA) was not left behind in this occasion, this is also another agency formed in the country following an Act of Parliament which was established in 1997. The firm was formed six years ago for the purpose of building government’s houses for civil servants at a low cost. The agency also builds high cost houses for senior government officials like Ministers. Since the agency was formed, six years ago, it has managed to construct fine State lodges in all the regional headquarters in the country. This is a great achievement indeed since independence. Apart from this, its vision has focused to ensure that all public servants in the country gets housing facilities at a low cost level.
The Dar es Salaam Water Sanitation Authority (DAWASA) also took part, and you can see people who had thronged at the pavilion probably to get information on how the authority tackles a long standing water problem facing residents of Dar es Salaam city and what strategies are there being undertaken in order to remedy the situation. The firm is now faced with lots of activities including the rehabilitation of old underground water pipe infrastructure which were laid long time ago during colonial times in the city of Dar es Salaam. Water supply had been unreliable in most parts of city’s suburbs, an aspect that some parts have not been receiving water regularly. About 40 percent of the Dar es Salaam cit residents benefits from the DAWASA water supply. However, the firm is struggling to extend its services to the neighboring suburbs and to other remote areas.
Mr. Alisante Temba of National Housing Building Research Agency (NHBRA) is demonstrating how the brick making machine for low cost housing is used at the agency’s pavilion. The agency manufactures bricks for the construction of low-cost housing schemes only.
This is a pavilion of the institute responsible for curbing and preventing corruption practices in the country, the firm is popularly known as ‘TAKUKURU’ as expressed in its abbreviation form in Kiswahili language, which stands for, the National Institute for Curbing and Preventing Corruption in the country. It’s a newly formed institute which came into being eight months ago. It had replaced the former Corruption and Prevention Bureau (PCB). The firm has become a great annoyance to the general public for its poor performance, it has failed to fight corruption malpractices which is rampatly growing in the country. Despite of the recent increased rate of corruption malpractices including the grand corruption involving the bigwigs in the country, these seems to be going on without being tackled and the institute seems to have turned a blind eye to these controversial scandals. It is in this pavilion when I arrived I found people who had gathered with anxiousness to actually know the development of the on-going serious financial scandals in the country such as that of the EPA and the Richmond Saga together with others. But to the great dismay, people were not satisfied by the whole work performance of the firm despite of an inscription put ahead of their pavilion written in Kiswahili language to mean “Stop taking bribe, maintain good work performance that yields good results”.
This is a pavilion of DART agency (Dar es Salaam Rapid Transport), the agency has been given a mandate to deal with the upcoming project that would woe the transport problem in the city of Dar es Salaam. The project that is still under research would be effectively expected to start in 2010 by constructing designated roads through which the buses would be passing along within the city. In these routes, long buses would be used to carry city commuters. An attendant at the pavilion is seen showing people how a sketch map of the designated routes would be. Dar es Salaam, a home of four (4) million people, lacks reliable transport system. The operation is currently being provided by private operators in the city. Citing high operation costs fuelled by high prices at local and international markets, transporters want the government to allow them to raise the fares an aspect that is intervened by SUMATRA.
This is the pavilion of the Ministry of Land and Human Settlements who showed their skills on the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). An attendant is showing the people how the names of the people who owns plots of land have been put in an up to date record of the ministry’s main computer at the head office. This is a computer system, the first to be established by the Ministry in order to keep up their details. Apart from this, the ministry has a website www.ardhi.go.tz . The Ministry has also formed a network and all the details can be downloaded from their website from far a distance.
Actually the pavilion was an attraction to the people who wanted exactly to know how the land disputes are solved by the ministry. According to the attendants, the disputes are solved by looking at the master plan out on their system. All surveyed lands plots in the country have been recorded in their computers.
This is the Government Chemist Laboratory Agency’s pavilion. In this pavilion, people saw various activities the firm is doing. The most attractive feature in this pavilion is where people were amazed when they were informed on the use of DNA and all the characteristics it compounds on various aspects, like how it detects human bones, how it detects drug users and parents especially men who refuses their children after birth. According to one expert, Ms. Gloria Tom Machuve, with the use of Buccal Swab found on somebody’s neck, the detection by DNA is easier. The firm that is specialized in drug detections, also uses DNA to detect criminals and the type of a weapon that might have been used in a criminal act such as knives, machetes and even guns. The agency has also specialized in food, in this it detects the food that is poisonous and the types of drinks or cosmetics for that matter to establish whether these products conform to the required standard and are fit for human consumption.
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