Africa-Press – Tanzania. THE government yesterday assured that the country was safe and allayed fears over security threats. It also encouraged Tanzanians to celebrate New Year 2021 peacefully.
Home Affairs Minister George Simbachawene made a statement during a live interview aired on TBC from the capital city of Dodoma.
He utilised the occasion to clarify his ban on public gatherings on open grounds on New Year Eve.
In his directive issued on Wednesday, the minister said his ministry had decided to ban such gatherings as a precaution against disasters that might happen during big gatherings.
He said rallies, which involved people of different faiths and ages, including children and elders, were sometimes sources of deaths and injuries due to stampedes.
“These gatherings are widespread and if any calamity occurs it is me and my ministry, who will be accountable… and, of course, we have learnt from past experiences. We have decided to take precautions, instead of waiting for any disaster to happen,” he stated.
The minister explained that if there was any necessity of holding religious gatherings on open grounds they should be held in the afternoon from 6am to 6pm,” he elaborated.
He emphasised that the government had decided to ban New Year gatherings on open grounds in good faith.
“It’s normal that we should maintain peace and security for our people and their properties. I assure Tanzanians that there is no security scare, the country is safe, every corner of the country is safe, so Tanzanians should celebrate New Year without fear,” he insisted, as he allayed fears on social media that the government had banned those gatherings due to terror threats.
He said in the past such gatherings were only held at Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam, but nowadays believers in different faiths, almost across the country, wanted to organise such events, something which had to be controlled.
