Local News

Case for rewriting national anthem

SOME residents here have called for the re-writing of the national anthem and upholding of the principles of the Arusha Declaration.

A Nyengedi resident in Lindi Rural District suggested that the national anthem should be re-written to do away with verses that praise "bad leaders and thieves."Mr Omari Kunami told the Constitutional Review Commission (CRC) over the weekend that the lines that pray leaders be blessed by Almighty God should be deleted.

Mr Kunami said that the war on graft must be taken seriously as opposed to the half measures currently being implemented by the government."There should be a special court for corrupt people and those convicted should go to jail for life or 30 years like rapists," he said.

He said that the new constitution should increase opportunities for Tanzanian youths in terms of education, vocational training and jobs.Mr Misilo William said that the Arusha Declaration should feature prominently in the country's Constitution.

"The nation must have a code of conduct and leaders must behave in an acceptable manner as the Arusha Declaration is still relevant," said Mr Misilo William at a meeting with members of the Constitution Review Commission at Kilwa Masoko.
Mr Halfan Said told CRC members that the government should have zero tolerance on those who embezzle or steal public property.

"Thieves of public property must be hanged in public or face the firing squad. This will make theft in public offices history," Mr Said stressed.Mr Ali Abdallah Kidole said Swahili should be the medium of instruction at all levels of education. "Our children want education but they fail to cope in secondary schools and universities because everything there is in English," he said.

Mr Kidole was against the review of presidential powers, saying the president derives his or her authority from the people. "The president has the trust of the people. Let him work," he said.Some speakers demanded that the constitution should clearly make the position of the president rotational  between Zanzibar and the Mainland.It was pointed out that since President Ali Hassan Mwinyi left office in 1995, his successors were from the Mainland.