Mwinyi: Embrace harmony, reconciliation

ZANZIBAR President Dr Hussein Mwinyi on Tuesday challenged politicians in the isles to unreservedly embrace harmony and reconciliation for the country’s social and economic prosperity.

President Mwinyi cited trust, tolerance, good intention and compromise on division of duties as the cornerstones of the lasting true accord and reconciliation.

“We cannot harness harmony if instead of cooperating in fixing the emerging faults, we are busy looking for excuses to blame each other,” Dr Mwinyi told the historical multiparty democracy stakeholders’ meeting here.

He said the true reconciliation starts with burying the past, “True reconciliation cannot thrive if we daily remind ourselves of the past. The centre of reconciliation and harmony is to get rid of the past; a reopened sore will never heal.”

President Mwinyi underscored the need for all multiparty democracy stakeholders to build trust in each other, saying: “True harmony thrives on trust. There is no harmony under a situation where every day we look for reasons to blame each other and expose faults in the government.”

The president reiterated his administration’s commitment to nurture unity and solidarity in the country, challenging all stakeholders to have a common understanding on the best way to manage political, social and economic issues in the country.

Dr Mwinyi touted peace as the top priority, with differences in political ideologies never allowed to interfere with “Our brotherhood, unity and solidarity.”

President Mwinyi told a well-attended meeting, “Once we intensify reconciliation and harmony in our societies, we will see more of good than bad things for our people.”

He noted with concern that Zanzibar has been haunted by volatility challenges since the reintroduction of multiparty politics in 1992, challenging stakeholders to deliberate and propose strategies to address the problem, “We cannot allow our country to forever go through turbulence every time we have general elections.”

Addressing the conference, Registrar of Political Parties Justice Francis Mutungi said the three-day meeting focuses on special democratic issues that affect Zanzibar.

He commended the islanders for their unity in issues of national interest, citing the attendance of all 19 political parties with permanent registration as a lesson worthy emulated by the other side of the union.

“We have been organising political stakeholders’ meetings but we have never recorded 100 per cent attendance by political parties…there had always been excuses,” said the chief overseer of political parties in the country.

State University of Zanzibar (SUZA) Vice-Chancellor Professor Mohammed Makame Haji, in his paper on the history of multiparty democracy in Zanzibar, said divisive politics in the islands is rooted to the British colonial system of divide and rule.

He said historically Zanzibaris are generous and welcome to all people.

Discussing the paper, Ambassador Amina Ali said history is a key ingredient in politics but warned against islanders embracing the history of hatred.

“It’s unfortunate that our history has remained glued on us—the history of turbulent elections, political discord and mistrust,” she said.

She enumerated the foundations of a firm government of national unity (GNU) as joint decisions based on detailed discussions; national interest at heart; patriotism; people-centred politics; and government efficiency self-evaluation.

She reminded politicians of the fact that reconciliation comes with gains and losses. “If you want a cake, you must break the egg,” advised Ambassador Amina, a former minister of trade and industry in the seventh-phase government under Dr Ali Mohammed Shein.

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