Youths role highlighted as TZ marks 61st Uhuru anniversary
AS Tanzania marks its 61st Independence anniversary, youths in the country have been urged to be patriotic and contribute to the nation building efforts.
The call was made on Friday by the Mozambique-Tanzania Centre for Foreign Relations (CFR) Lecturer, Mr Dennis Konga during a dialogue on opportunities available for youths as the nation marked independence celebrations.
Mr Konga said youths ought to be more active and at the forefront in matters concerning the development of the nation emulating the founding father of the nation Julius Nyerere and others like former Prime Minister Salim Ahmed Salim.
In the dialogue, the don encouraged the youth not to shy away or feel like they are not eligible to be at the forefront of matters concerning the nation.
“As we are all aware that Mwalimu Nyerere (Julius, Father of the nation) commenced the struggle for independence at the age of 37, also Ambassador Salim (Ahmed Salim) was appointed to the post at the age of 22, which means youths should contribute to the country’s development regardless of their age,” he noted.
Mr Konga went on to add that Mwalimu Nyerere attained higher positions at that particular age due to his courage and patriotism that he managed to enter the Legislative Assembly, saying that should be seen as a motivation to the youths of today.
He also added that Mwalimu Nyerere announced the famous Arusha Declaration on 5 February 1967, concentrating on social economic development when he was 45 years of age.
On the other hand, Ms Esther Holela, a third-year student at CFR said after 61 years of independence Tanzania still maintains its relationship with other countries in the world on the foundation laid by Mwalimu Nyerere.
“It was stated that soon after the independence, the priority of the country under Mwalimu Nyerere was to take to the next level the relationships with other countries worldwide by appointing ambassadors to represent the nation in the United Kingdom and the United Nations,” she said.
As the country marks 61 years of independence, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and East Africa Cooperation report of 2021 Tanzania has a total of 45 Embassies globally and Tanzania is hosting 62 embassies and 30 International Institutions.
Reminiscing on achievements recorded by Tanzania in the past 61 years the dialogue highlighted that the nation had contributed to resurrecting the East African Community (EAC), and also it participated in the transformation of the Organisation of African Union (OAU) into the African Union (AU) in 2001.
Additionally, it contributed to the process of building the head office of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in Gaborone, Botswana.
