AfricaPress-Tanzania: TANZANIANS yesterday marked 56th Union Anniversary with Scholars eulogising the exemplary ties between Tanganyika and Zanzibar that have brought positive socio-economic impacts on both sides.
The historic day was marked with no stage event after President John Magufuli cancelled the annual ceremony in response to the Covid-19 outbreak.
Upon shelving the Union ceremony, the Head of State instructed that the budget 500m/- that had been allocated for the event be channeled to Zanzibar to fund the fight against the contagion.
Speaking to the ‘Daily News’ yesterday, former Speaker of the Union Parliament Mr Pius Msekwa commended the two governments for maintaining the Union and making it stronger.
The retired politician expressed hopes that the Union would continuously be cherished for the interest of present and future generations.
Mr Msekwa who witnessed the signing of the law that established the Union, said there is a room for the Union to last forever because the country has committed leaders.
“By that time I was the Clerk of the Parliament so I was the one who took the bill to President Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere for him to sign after it was approved by Parliament, it was signed on my presence and the then Attorney General Mr Roland Brown,” he noted.
The union of Scotland and England has more than 300 years now, so even ours can last longer, I’m sure the coming generation will continue to cooperate with their leaders as it is happening now for the interest of our country and the union itself,” explained the first Secretary General of the ruling party, CCM.
Mr Msekwa, who also served as Vice Chancellor of University of Dar es Salaam, went on to commend government leaders for taking the lead in addressing the Union challenges, saying such efforts have had great impact for the people of both sides.
“I have been lucky to have witnessed all these commemorations of the Union anniversaries; I was there since day one as I was among the team that facilitated it.
Our union is historic and it is going in the right direction,’ he added .
Going forward, the former Speaker reminded Tanzanians to embrace the Union and trust government leaders for the sake of strengthening the Union, saying that spirit should be inherited to all generations to come.
For his part, Prof Gaudence Mpangala, a senior Political Science lecturer at the Ruaha Catholic University (RUCU) said the two governments have done a wonderful job of protecting the Union that was established by the founding fathers of the country, the Late Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere of Tanganyika and the late Sheikh Amri Abeid Karume of Zanzibar.
He was of the view that maintaining a union of two sovereign states for all these years isn’t a minor job, and that the good foundations put by the founding leaders should be cherished by all Tanzanians.
“There are some countries that tried to form a union like ours but they couldn’t last longer, ours is of its own kind, we must be proud of ourselves,” he said in a telephone interview.
He however called on the Union and Isles governments to do whatever it takes to address some challenges that have been raised regarding the Union, for it to run so smoothly.
“The Union began with 11 issues but now there are some 22 issues that are covered by the union, it’s good that our governments have been working on challenges that have been raised and I believe everything will be sorted out,” he noted.
He was seconded by the Assistant Lecturer at the Mzumbe University, Morogoro, Mr Jerlum Kilumile who said the fruits of the Union that Tanzanians are enjoying today are the results of the strong will and good commitment of the founding leaders.
“Also, those leaders who have succeeded the founders have done a wonderful job of ensuring peace and stability in both parts; Mainland and Zanzibar to the extent of making Tanzania a better place and a peaceful country,” he said.
According to him, Tanzania has been lucky to have been ruled by leaders who are committed towards developing the country and protecting the Union.
On celebrating the 56th Anniversary of the Union, President Magufuli granted amnesty to 3,973 prisoners across the country.
With the amnesty, 3,717 inmates have been set free while the remaining 256 in the list had their death sentences commuted.
