Conference cites qualms among leaders as major threat to peace

Mwalimu Nyerere Foundation Executive Director, Joseph Butiku

Lack of trust, respect, love and collective responsibility among top leaders are key factors contributing to the destabilisation of peace and tranquility in the country, a conference by Mwalimu Nyerere Foundation has said.

 

The foundation’s Executive Director Joseph Butiku revealed this in Dar es Salaam on Wednesday during the closure of a two-day conference that discussed peace, unity and harmony of the country.

The meeting was held to seek solutions to the emerging indicators that might destabilise peace in the country. 

 

It brought together top government officials including retirees as well as retired presidents and prime ministers, political party leaders, religious leaders and elders.

 

“Lack of trust, love and collective responsibility among the top government officials can breach the peace to the nation,” warned Executive Director Butiku.

 

He urged for government and other national leaders to prioritise peace and unity as a right to the citizenry.

 

Apart from the leaders, Butiku said the citizenry also need to know the basis of peace and tranquility and cited that it is the responsibility of the wananchi to hold their leaders accountable.

Some of the resolutions reached include, empowerment of citizenry to have a final say on who leads them.

 

However the conference maintained that this should be done on observance of the rule of law.

 

‘Opinions and general feelings of the citizenry must be respected but so must the law,” he said.

 

Zanzibar first Vice President Seif Sharrif Hamad said so far, Tanzania has been an exemplary as far as peace is concerned, however, he was keen to point out that even in Tanzania, there are key indicators of impeding breach of peace.

 

“We have to take action to maintain the peace and unity that prevails now,” he urged his collegues and national leaders.

 

“What is happening in other nations can also happen in Tanzania” he warned.

“Each and everyone should be an ambassador for peace and unity,” he said.

President of the Tanzania Episcopal Conference (TEC), His Lordship Tarcisius Ngalalekumtwa said peace only prevails where there are equal rights to all people.

 

“No one likes to be discriminated, leaders must cooperate to maintain peace because once we lose it, we will never have it again,” he warned.