jk apewa shavu

JAKAYA KIKWETE:-THE HOPE OF AFRICA.

The appointment of the Tanzanian Hon Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation The Hon.Asha-Rose Migiro, 50, a position hitherto held for over ten years by His Excellency President Jakaya Kikwete himself, by the Secretary-General of The United Nations Ban Ki-Moon as his number two is widely perceived as a fulfillment of a promise he made to appoint a woman to that covetous position.

It is also perceived by keen political observers of Tanzania and Africa as a deserved recognition of the politics and policies of a man whose rise to power and performance ever since brings hope to a troubled continent perceived by many as a Gulliver in captivity.

Hon. Asha-Rose Migiro replaces Mr Mark Malloch of Britain.
When Mrisho Jakaya Kikwete was propelled to power not long ago, beating talented political heavy weights like Professor Ibrahim Lipumba of the Civic United Front,the fiery veteran Augustine Mrema of the Tanzania Labour Party,the very youthful and promising Freeman Mbowe he promptly appointed Hon Asha-Rose Migiro and several very talented women to key positions in his cabinet. These include, Finance, Justice and Constitutional Affairs and several more in the civil service and provincial administration.

If the number two UN appointment is deemed to be in recognition of the current trend in world politics where humanity is turning to women for leadership in a world where men obsessed with power are consistently steering the ship of world affairs towards war and destruction, Jakaya Kikwete is a first in a class of world leaders to have identified and recognized the leadership and contribution of women in the politics of peace and development; a sine qua non for a new world social order which he himself symbolizes.

The many women in his cabinet are elsewhere in Africa fondly called “Kikwete babes”.

Kikwete is also a first in many other domains. He does not pay lip service to the fight against corruption, poverty, disease and many other ills that brutal dictators in most of Africa have plunged the continent nor does he politicize it. His first visits as president to a public service was to a prison, a hospital, a market and other places that unmistakably pointed to the fact that he intended to make the people, real people and their wellbeing the cornerstone of his administration.

And when he took up the file on corruption which is the bane of most African regimes, he did so in a manner that was applauded by the citizenry; friends as well as adversaries, to the admiration of most foreign observers.

He promptly took measures pointing to the guarantee and the protection of the economic interest of his country men and women in the tourism and mining sectors while encouraging foreign investments; an act hardly seen elsewhere in Africa.

His influence in Africa and the world surged after his well received and highly applauded UN address in which from the podium he spoke for the vast majority on the planet by calling for an end to war, poverty and disease and advocating a new world social order and a new humanity in which all will live in peace , progress and prosperity.

For once an African leader was at last speaking for a continent and most of the world in a new and original tone that reflected the hope and aspirations of real humans. For once an African leader delivered a message full of meaning, hope and respect for humanity irrespective of colour, race and religion.

Arusha Tanzania, in deference to this great and visionary leader, an astute student of the colossus Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere and his peace loving and friendly people, has been transformed into a mini African and World capital by the sheer number of conferences that take place there through out the year.

It is also an ideal pilgrim’s paradise for those who aspire to have a taste of yet unadulterated natural environment, peace and development that eludes an afflicted continent torn by endless strife incited by a predatory neo-colonial ruling class. Kikwete is indeed the hope that Africa has sought for so long.

He is the first among emerging African leaders whose originality and simplicity elicits hope for a better Africa after the “big men’ shall leave the stage. And this will be very soon indeed.

Written by Chief Charle. A.Taku a International Lawyer, Writer and Pan-Africanist is currently an assigned lead counsel at the ICTR and the Special Court for Sierra Leone and a distinguished counsel at the ICC.