Mbowe faults govt for ‘poor diplomacy’

In Summary

The Northern Zone AGM attracted Chadema lawmakers and party’s district and regional chairpersons from Arusha, Manyara, Kilimanjaro and Tanga regions.

Arusha. Chadema national chairman Freeman Mbowe has accused the government of making what he termed as ‘cosmetic decisions’ on matters pertaining to diplomatic relations with neighbouring countries.

Mr Mbowe blamed the government for what he said “employing a quarrelsome approach to hide its weaknesses, and by so doing damaging the country’s relations with its neighbours.”

“The ruling party leaders were politicking even where politics was not required at all,” alleged Mr Mbowe, claiming that the formation of the ‘Coalition of the Willing’ involving Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda was in part contributed by Tanzania’s failure to decide on its own destiny.

“We are witnessing today Tanzania quarrelling with her neighbours including Malawi, Rwanda and Kenya,” said Mr Mbowe when presiding over Chadema’s Northern Zone Annual General Meeting in Arusha at the weekend.

The Northern Zone AGM attracted Chadema lawmakers and party’s district and regional chairpersons from Arusha, Manyara, Kilimanjaro and Tanga regions.

Poking holes in the newly launched education policy, Mr Mbowe said the government had compromised the quality of education, making the country trail behind Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda.

He claimed that the government often dragged its feet on important decisions regarding the East African Community integration; as a result of Tanzania’s education system producing incompetent professionals.

The new education policy has proposed abolishment of national examinations for Standard Seven pupils and extension of basic education to secondary education level.

The policy also makes a shift from English that dominated the country’s education system from secondary to tertiary level for decades, to Kiswahili as the medium of instruction from primary school to university level. “All what our education system has successfully done is reducing illiteracy rate,” he added.