AfricaPress-Tanzania: “TANZANIA will never allow anyone to use aid or assistance to undermine our dignity and sovereignty”, Minister for Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation, Prof Palamagamba Kabudi made it clear on Saturday in Dodoma.
Addressing his ministry workers hardly five days after being sworn in to head the foreign affairs docket for the second time, Prof Kabudi said the government is ready to work with all nations that share the same values.
“We are ready to work with nations that share our values, nations that respect equality, sovereignty and embrace human dignity and respect of all human kind, and we will never ever allow anyone to use aid or assistance to undermine our sovereignty, never” he stated emphatically.
The minister reminded the public that: “Tanzania has never knelt before any nation, poor as we are. That did not happen during the time of Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, and it will never happen now.”
Prof Kabudi gave an example when the late Mwalimu Julius Nyerere decided not only to close embassies of some nations during his era, but also to reimburse the aid assistance they had given to Tanzania after imposing some restrictions.
He told the ministry’s staff that they should be guided by the 2020 CCM election manifesto as it entails all what is needed for a sovereign state, thus they should not be distracted by noises from outside.
“Argue not shout, give facts and figures to prove our case” he stressed before the ministry’s employees who came from both Mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar.
He insisted that the government is ready for constructive engagement with any nation based on the principles of mutual respect which recognises Tanzania as a sovereign state.
“Any nation that would like to have constructive engagement with Tanzania must respect the fact that we are equal, and as humans, we have our dignity, and on matters of principle, we will not compromise,” he said.
Moreover, Prof Kabudi said Tanzania, just like any other nation in the world, has the duty to work with other nations in discharging some international responsibilities, such as peacekeeping, security, climate change and environmental protection matters.
“Tanzania has all along been hosting refugees from war ravaged countries all over the world because it is a haven of peace, and we will continue doing so,” he committed.
He insisted: “We are the nation that preserves peace and stability in this region, and we know our destiny and we will continue to work with all nations that respect and recognise that we are a sovereign state”.
He expressed the government’s commitment to constructively engage with open minded people wherever they come from, be it Africa, Asia or Europe.
He assured the country’s traditional and historical friends that Tanzania is the same country they knew in the past, and will continue to remain the same in future, as a principled country.
“In matters of principle, we will never compromise, in the matters of mutual respect, matters of mutual assistance, Tanzania is a credible partner, we are ready to play our part” said the Foreign Minister.
Speaking on the just ended October general elections which some countries are crying foul, Prof Kabudi noted “nobody in this world has ever conducted a perfect election, there is no country in the world which has conducted perfect elections, perfect election is conducted only in heaven,” he said.
The rest, he said, must tell the world and they must know that fact, stating, “ours were free, fair and peaceful elections”.
He handed over working tools to the head of departments, which included a 303-page election manifesto, telling them that they will convene within a month to see how best they are going to implement it.
Prof Kabudi said embassies must be key partners in economic revolution as they engage the public as part and parcel of the whole process.
The employees, he said, must be guided by high discipline, hard work, confidence, and constructive attempts because they must play the role of advisors, facilitators and implementers at different occasions.
Prof Kabudi said all ambassadors must be served with an electronic copy of the election manifesto before the hard copy reaches them so that together they can all speak the same language as far as economic, social, political and investment aspects are concerned.
