President Kikwete's Parliamentary Speech in Jamaica

SPEECH BY H.E JAKAYA MRISHO KIKWETE, PRESIDENT
OF THE UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA
AT THE JAMAICAN PARLIAMENT, 25th NOVEMBER, 2009

Honourable Speaker of the House;
Honourable President of the Senate;
Honourable Members of the Two Houses of the Jamaican Parliament;
Ladies and Gentlemen;
I thank you, most sincerely, for affording me this rare opportunity and privilege of visiting with you and addressing both Houses of the esteemed Jamaican Parliament. I thank the Prime Minister and leader of the opposition for the kind words they have spoken about me and my dear country, the United Republic of Tanzania.
Cooperation Between Tanzania and Jamaica

Honourable Speaker;
The people of Jamaica and Tanzania have a long history of friendship and cooperation. The seeds were planted during the days of the Pan African Movement where a Jamaican has Marcus Garvey played a pivotal role. They were nurtured during the independence struggles in Africa where Jamaica played an important parts. The successive generations of leaders in Jamaica and independent Tanzania further nurtured and consolidated this relationship. Indeed, the relations between our two friendly countries are what they are, today, because of this history.

Honourable Speaker;
I have come here to reaffirm my commitment and further consolidate our friendship and cooperation. I am tracing the footsteps of my eminent predecessors in office. Our first, President the late Mwalimu Julius Nyerere pioneered this relationship and developed it. Both the second President His Excellency Ali Hassan Mwinyi and third President His Excellency Benjamin Mkapa helped advance our relations. Mwalimu Julius Nyerere visited Jamaica in September, 1974 and got opportunity to address this august Assembly. He later made a few more trips including the one in 1988 when the Peoples National Party was celebrating its 50th Anniversary. He succeeded in developing friendship and good working relations with many leaders of Jamaica including the late Michael Manley, former Prime Minister of this great nation. Ever since, Jamaican and Tanzanian leaders and governments have been close friends and associates.

Honourable Speaker;
I want to see the relations between Tanzania and Jamaica develop to greater heights in terms of political, economic, social and cultural cooperation. My visit here is precisely about that. So far so good. We are doing very well in the international arena. We have developed good working relations in international fora and on many international agendas. We see eye to eye on many international issues and support each other at the United Nations, the Commonwealth, the Non-Aligned Movement, the Group of 77 and China and many international conferences. Our two countries also subscribe to the ideals of South-South Cooperation.

I want us to increase our cooperation in other aspects of our political life. For example, our Parliaments should develop closer cooperation at the bilateral level besides working together under the auspices of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. I would like to see more exchange of visits between various government ministries and departments of our two countries. I would like as well to see closer cooperation develop between our two business communities and our two peoples. This way we will be able to cement the relations, share experiences, learn from each other and do much more together for our mutual benefit.

On the economic front, I would like to see increased trade and investment. So far, there is nothing of substance to talk about. But, I am confident that our two countries have a lot to benefit from developing closer economic cooperation. You have a vibrant tourism industry which I want Tanzanians to come and learn from your good examples which made you so successful. Tanzania is richly endowed with diverse tourist attractions from serene beaches on the beautiful Zanzibar Island and on the coastline of mainland Tanzania to Mount Kilimanjaro and to world reknown game parks like the Serengeti, the Ngorongoro Crater and several others. Also, Tanzania has many artifacts and historic tourist attractions like the ones related to the East African slave trade and archaeological findings which tell the story about the cradle of mankind. With all these opportunities and much more, tourism in Tanzania could do much more than what it is doing at the moment. I am sure, learning from the Jamaican experience can be very useful in this regard.

Honourable Speaker;
We would like to see Jamaicans and Jamaican businesses come and invest in Tanzania. They could do so in the tourism industry and any other sectors of their choice. There are abundant opportunities in agriculture, manufacturing as well as services like ICT, health, education etc. The investment climate is conducive and all the safeguards for protecting investments do exist. The political environment is permissive too. Tanzania has enjoyed peace and stability throughout the 48 years of her independence. This is no small achievement in a region which has seen an unfair share of violence and conflicts. Tanzania has remained an island of stability in a troubled neighbourhood.

Honourable Speaker;
I would like also, to see close cultural cooperation between Jamaica and Tanzania. We need to cooperate in education and research. I was very impressed with what I saw and heard at Borders Research Institute. I believe there is a lot of benefit for us to share and work together. Let us develop cooperation in music and sports. Jamaica is the cradle and home of reggae music and Tanzania has many fans of this music, particularly its icon the late Bob Marley. He is a household name and he has a sizeable following including many Rastafarians influenced by him. In sports, particularly, in short distance races, Jamaica has the fastest men and women on this planet past and present. You had McKenly now Usain Bolt. Learning from your example and getting athletics coaches from Jamaica to help develop the talents of our boys and girls is Tanzania's desire.
Cooperation with Africa

Honourable Speaker;
The other important thing, I would like to talk about today is the promotion of good relations between Africa and Jamaica and all countries of the Caribbean where Jamaica is the pivotal factor. Please come and work with us for our mutual benefit.

I know when I say "please come to Africa, work with us and do business with us", the esteemed Parliamentarians gathered here may be having many questions that preoccupy their minds. I presume that the first question that comes to your mind is about which Africa am I talking about? This is an honest question because Africa as presented by the media particularly Western media, for someone who does not know the whole truth, appears to be a very inhospitable place. Africa is depicted as a continent characterized by all the bad things that should make one shy away from going to or even think of dealing with Africans even from a distance.

There are many good things happening in Africa, therefore depicting the whole of Africa as being a gloomy and hopeless case is not only incorrect but unfair too. The other unfortunate misrepresentation of the image of Africa is the portrayal of problems in one African country or even a community in one country as being representative of the situation in all countries in our dear continent.

Honourable Speaker;
Africa is a huge continent with a total area of close to 40 million square kilometers divided among 54 countries. It is wrong to imply that the conflict in Darfur or the fighting in Somalia or the problems in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo or anywhere else makes every country on the continent as being unsafe. Again, this is a gross misconception and an affront to the many countries in Africa that are doing well and are at peace with themselves with their neighbours and all countries on this planet.
Democracy is Taking Roots

Honourable Speaker;
Democracy is taking roots in Africa and so is good governance. In the first three decades of independence most African governments were at best governed through single party regimes or at worst through military dictatorships. Today the political landscape is completely changed. Multiparty political dispensation is the norm in almost all countries on the continent. Incidences of undemocratic seizure of power through military coups or other means have become very rare.

The good news is that Africa has taken a strong stance against unconstitutional changes of government. It is enshrined in the Constitutive Act of the African Union that such governments will not be recognized by all members of African Union. Furthermore, they will be suspended from the African Union until democratic rule is restored. This rule is effectively being enforced.

The only misgiving we have is lack of good cooperation and support by the international community. Some countries and international institutions have dared extend recognition and support to putchists thus weakening Africa's position. We applaud the position taken by the United Nations General Assembly in September, 2009 in support of Africa regarding the unconstitutional change of government in Madagascar. We see this as a new dawn and a step in the right direction. It gives hope that Africa's hand will be strengthened. We pray for formal adoption of this position to be the official position of the United Nations with regard to unconstitutional changes of government anywhere in the world.

Mr. Speaker;
Democratic governance is still a recent development in Africa. Much more needs to be done to advance its gains and improve democracy qualitatively and quantitatively. Consolidation of democracy in Africa, entails taking effective measures to ensure, among other things, that:
(a) There is respect for human rights and the rule of law, and basic freedoms such as freedom of expression and freedom of association are observed;
(b) There is transparency and accountability in the conduct and management of affairs of the state;
(c) The judiciary is independent and well functioning;
(d) The principle of separation of powers is well understood and observed to ensure checks and balance in governance; and
(e) Speedy resolution of conflicts through dialogue wherever they occur.

It is heartwarming indeed, to note that, with exception of very few cases, this is the trend all over the continent. There is greater awareness among the political class on the importance of observance of all the basics of democratic governance, including the fight against corruption. There is ample evidence of commitment by African leaders to take all necessary measures to advance and consolidate democracy in their countries. There is evidence of success being made though varying from country to country. There are fewer conflicts today than a decade ago and solutions are homegrown. However, much more needs to be done. There should be no reason for complacency.

Honourable Speaker;
Consolidation of democracy in Africa, like everywhere else, will be reinforced by gains in advancing the material welbeing of the people. Unfortunately, Africa is the poorest continent in the global with 34 of the 49 least developed countries. Against all odds Africa has made tremendous progress over the past decades in terms of promoting growth and fighting poverty and underdevelopment. Over the last decade African economies have shown strong macroeconomic perfomance with commendable results. This has been made possible by, among other things, the design and implementation of good economic policies. In the last five years, for example, Sub-Saharan Africa recorded a growth rate of more than 6% and inflation of below 10%. Tanzania, like many other countries in Sub Saharan Africa can take pride in having attained macro-economic stability. For example, in the past decade our economy grew by 7.2% per annum on average. Last year we recorded a 7.4 percent growth and our plan for this year was 8 percent. However, due to global economic downturn, we have unfortunately experienced serious setback, so much so that we had to revise our growth projection downwards to 5 percent, if we are lucky. The Sub-Saharan economy which was growing at 6 percent is projected to a mere 1.5 percent in 2009. That is why we keep on praying hard for the global recession to end soon so that we don't get further reversals. I know these are the prayers of the people of this great country as well.

Despite the challenges of economic downturn, African states are taking serious measures, to protect and revitalize their economies to get back to vibrant past.

Diaspora
Honourable Speaker;
This is the first time I visit Jamaica but the number of people of African descent I saw since arrival in this beautiful archipelago reinforces my message. Indeed, I felt like being in many places in Tanzania or in any African country in Sub-Saharan Africa.

They are an integral part of the African diaspora which we in Africa are quite eager to work with. To underscore this quest, the Diaspora Region has been created in the structures of the African Union. Usually in the African Union there are five geographical regions, that is Eastern Africa, Southern Africa, Central Africa, Western Africa and Northern Africa. These are the age old regions created in 1963 when the Organisation of African Unity, the predecessor organization to the African Union.

The Diaspora Region was created in recognition of the significance of African diaspora constituency living outside the continent. Africa would like to work together with its kith and kin wherever they are to promote growth and development on the continent. We know our brothers and sisters in the diaspora can make significant contributions in fight against poverty and backwardness in the motherland.

Africa needs investments which brothers and sister in the diaspora can contribute. Africa needs skilled manpower particularly in the technical fields, the African diaspora can really help with that. There are competent doctors, engineers, teachers, etc., to help in this regard. Africa needs to get access to modern technology but it has not been easy. We believe the African Diaspora can help overcome or ease the intensity of the problem.

Unfortunately, the Diaspora seat at the African Union is still empty. Please get organized and fill it. May be Jamaica could take the lead. I made a similar call during my visit with members of the Congressional Black Caucus in the United States last year. I would like to repeat here today. I appeal to our brothers and sisters in the Diaspora to organize themselves and claim their seat - and indeed assume their rightful role in shaping the future of our motherland.

Mr. Speaker, Members of Parliament and Ladies and Gentlemen;
May I conclude my speech by thanking you personally for inviting me into this august House to speak to this distinguished audience. It is my sincere hope and aspiration that the co-operation of our governments, our parliaments and our people will be advanced to high levels. I pledge Tanzania's and my personal commitment to this noble cause.
I salute you all. I salute the Jamaican People. Long live the co-operation between Jamaica and Tanzania.

Thank you for your attention