Africa-Press – Tanzania. EARLY this year, President Samia Suluhu Hassan at State House Chamwino in Dodoma swore in new Regional Administrative Secretaries (RAS) and Police Officers, among others with a strong call that ‘you go and serve the citizens, not otherwise.’
Her statement was clear and to the point that as public leaders, they are expected to address problems (like land disputes), which cause unnecessary disputes, and see into it that government projects are implemented to the expectations of the general public.
The Head of State again made it clear to them, including the Regional Commissioners (RCs) that they are the government eyes in the regions and appointed on merit, not on gender, political connection, adding that they will be answerable to any mismanagement and abuse of office.
This should be reemphasized that RCs and RAS fall in the group of leaders, who play a pivotal role in the country’s governance. They are simply considered to be the representatives of the president in their areas.
They are responsible for addressing common problems ranging from solving disputes be it on land, squabbles in public offices to preaching peace and patriotism.
It is good that President Samia did not mince words and reminded them not to behave as demigods or Biblical Ahab and Jezebel to terrorize, rob and fleece the vulnerable people in the areas, because they represent the government.
Since leadership means showing the way, we expect RCs and other public leaders to serve the public in their areas with diligence, because the whole country (read world, because of modern social media) is watching, what’ve they are doing.
In that sense, we don’t expect to see any regional commissioner, regional administrative secretary, district commissioner, or police head becoming the source of conflicts, instead we want to see them spearheading the country’s development agenda.
With this background, the ongoing land dispute in Kifuru/Kinyerezi area against the Municipal should be fast addressed to give the nationals a peace of mind and ample time to concentrate on development, instead of taking sleepless nights lamenting that they were swindled.
If it is true that there was a monkey business in the Municipal, where some dishonest civil servants saw a loophole to enrich themselves with taxpayers’ money and tarnish the image of the government as the residents allege, the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB) must take them to the task.
