The Civic United Front (CUF) is among the three political parties that have started their election campaigns on time early this month. It has joined Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) and Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (CHADEMA) cris crossing the country marketing their parties’ manifestos in a bid to lore the electorate to vote them into office.
As CCM and CHADEMA are applying both ground and sky forces, CUF has stood by its words-‘no helicopters’ and instead they are applying-‘ground force movement’ as announced early last month. The Party’s presidential candidate, Prof Ibrahim Lipumba has taken southern route, believed to be the party’s stronghold while his running mate, Mr Juma Duni Haji has started in the Lake Zone and, according to the party’s campaign the timetable, the two will exchange.
The ‘Daily News’ has so far been privileged to be in the team of Mr Haji in the Lake Zone where it is also believed to be the potential zone because of its high population and hence a home of majority electorate. For all this time, people have been eager to attended campaign rallies held in Kagera, Mwanza and Musoma Regions so far and as days go by the number of people attending campaign rallies are on increase which is a good sign that people are ready to listen and, hopefully, make right decisions at the voting date on December 31.
Led by economist professor, the party is known for its emphasis on economic revolution in the country and has in almost all its campaigns since 1995, being elaborating on what the party will do to change the country’s economy for better if elected into power. Wherever Mr Haji’s convoy stopped in the Lake zone, he talked on the country’s economy, saying
that the situation has worsen during the past five years under the government led by President Jakaya Kikwete who is also vying for the second and last five-year term in office.
“It is not by the will of God that you people are poor, this is the result of poor economic policies that have failed to improve the country’s economy,” said Mr Haji in almost all the rallies that he has conducted in the area. In a way to justify his arguments, Mr Haji has been moving around the campaign trail with list of food prices as were in 2005 compared to current price in this year, a case study of Dar es Salaam.
“I want to share with you these food prices and from them you can see where the President Kikwete’snew zeal, new speed and new vigor have taken us in the past five years. When he came into power a kilogramme of sugar was sold at 550/- but it is now sold at 1600/-, wheat flower was sold at 300/- but now is sold at 1000/-per kilogramme, a 50kilogramme of cement was sold at 6500/- but it is now sold at 11,500/-,” he told the rallies wherever he went.
The party’s manifesto promises an economic growth of 10 per cent and reduced inflation rates to 4.5 per cent if elected to lead the country for the next five years. Mr Haji said the government, to be led by CUF, will raise funds through increased taxes of major business activities and put in place a strict supervision to ensure that all revenues collected reach the government coffers.
According to him, CUF government will connect the country with railways network to ensure easy transportation of raw materials to industries and that it will also construct small fruit and farm products processing factories in rural areas in order to create employment opportunities and establish social services that will motivate young people to remain in rural areas. In most of the villages where his convoy passed, he heard farmers’ major problem including low price of their products that they have claimed as being demoralizing.
In Kagera region, most farmers said that they were not happy with the coffee prices as the crop itself was expensive to maintain. Mr Haji said that his party has learnt that all the major economic crops in several regions in the country were now in danger of disappearing as farmers have started losing hope and that they (CUF) were planning to revive the sector by promising farmers better prices.
CUF’s government would not put limitations to farmers’ freedom to sell their products where they feel they are comfortable. The CUF government would like to see independent farmers’ cooperative unions with zero interference from the government. While in Kagera, Mr Haji noted that in the past three decades the people from the region were respected by fellow Tanzanians because of the power of coffee, adding that his party’s government would like to see the status been regained.
“Warehouse Receipt System that is being used by the government today it is nothing but a monopoly to farmers. Our government will create a competitive environment to farmers and we will not forbid you from selling crops in any market that you find profitable,” he told farmers in Bukoba rural constituency. Mr Haji who through, the party’s slogan; ‘ground force movement,’ has been curious to learn people’s problems especially those related to ignorance and poverty. “How many of you here have reached form four?”
This is one of the common questions that he asked in his campaign rallies or stopped to great ‘Wananchi’ who wanted to hear what the party would do if voted into power. It is, however, important to note that it is only two to three people who would raise their hands to declare that they have at least reached form four. Majority, especially in rural areas, said they had only completed Standard Seven and others said that they had not gone to school at all. Mr Haji said that the situation was worrying and that there was no one else to blame but the government for not offering free education service to all.
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