DEOGRATIAS MUSHI
ON Wednesday this week, I read an article by one of the senior journalists I respect in this country, Mr Johnson Mbwambo who writes for a weekly tabloid, Raia Mwema.
In its March 5-11, 2014 edition this year, Mr Mbwambo published an analysis entitled Ridhiwani, Mgimwa na ujio wa ‘nepotism’ (loosely translated ‘Ridhiwani, Mgimwa and the advent of ‘nepotism’’). In his article, Mr Mbwambo clearly stated that he was not doubting Ridhiwani’s ability to leadership, but he was only afraid that Kikwete’ family was now creating political dynasty.
Briefly, Mr Mbwambo wanted to say that the influence of Ridhiwani’s father could push voters to elect him the new Chalinze member of Parliament. Mr Ridhiwani is a mature Tanzanian and lawyer who has the right just like any other citizen of this country.
If elected, Ridhiwani will go to Parliament to do what other Members of Parliament do. Apart from passing laws for good governance in the National Assembly, Mr Ridhiwani shall represent people of Chalinze in the Parliament. He shall also steer development activities in his constituency, including water projects, schools, health centres, hospitals and roads rehabilitations.
Mr Mbwambo had doubted the reasons that Ridhiwani has given to contest the seat, that he wants to fulfill his father’s aspirations in the constituency. Even before he became the president, Ridhiwani’s father Jakaya Kikwete did a remarkable job in Chalinze as an MP.
He built schools and health centres, water projects included. Is Ridhiwani, or any son or daughter of a senior politician in this country for that matter, has the qualifications to contest for any key post in this country?
Simple answer is ‘yes’, because the constitution clearly states that each citizen has the right to elect and be elected provided he or she meets what the constitution demands.
Ridhiwani is not the only son of a politician to contest for parliamentary seat in this country. We have a myriad of precedents in this issue. For starters, a son of Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, Makongoro, was Arusha Urban MP in 1995, son of retired president Ali Hassan Mwinyi, Dr Hussein Mwinyi, is Kwahani MP and a cabinet minister. Others are Vita Kawawa, Zainabu Kawawa, Adam Malima.
All of them exercised their democratic rights. What’s more, former Zanzibar president, Amaan Abeid Karume is the son of the first president of the Isles, Sheikh Abeid Amani Karume. And the precedents are not limited to Tanzania. Across the border, the sitting Kenyan President, Uhuru, is the son of Kenya’s first president, Jomo Kamau Kenyetta. What about President Ian Khama of Botswana?
Is he not the son of the former Botswana president Seretse Khama? Even beyond the continent, in the United States of America where we are told to adapt their kind of democracy, they had a president named George Bush and later on they had another George Bush and to distinguish betwen the two Bush(es) the latter was called George bush junior because he was the son of the first George Bush.
The term nepotism originates from the assignment of nephews to cardinal positions by Catholic popes and bishops. Nepotism is normally favouritism granted in politics or business to relatives. Nepotism is defined as a common accusation in politics, when the relative of a powerful figure ascends to similar power without appropriate qualifications.
By definition, then, there is no nepotism if Ridhiwani vies for Chalinze constituency, as Mr Mbwambo alleges, because he has the necessary required qualifications and suitable experience. Ridhiwani is following the laid down procedures as outlined by the Electoral Commission of Tanzania.
Had President Jakaya Kikwete imposed his son Ridhiwani as new Chalinze MP without regard to what the law says, then that would have been nepotism. Let us look at some examples of nepotism in the world. In Australia, Anna Bligh, who won the 2009 Queensland State election, was accused of nepotism by giving her husband Greg Withers a position as the Office of Climate Change head.
Also in Australia, shortly after his appointment as the Anglican Archbishop of Sydney in 2001, Peter Jensen was accused of nepotism after nominating his brother Phillip Jensen as Dean of Sydney and appointing his wife Christine Jensen to an official position in the Sydney diocese.
Over the past decade in Belgium, criticism has been growing over the creation of political dynasties in Belgium, in which all of the traditional political parties have been involved. This phenomenon has been explained by the fact that prominent party members control the ranking of candidates on party lists for elections and a candidate’s place on a list determines whether or not he or she is elected.
Another justification for the phenomenon is the importance of name recognition for collecting votes. Claims of nepotism have also been made against Bruno Tobback, the son of senator and former minister Louis Tobback, a member of the Flemish socialists, who became the Belgian federal government’s minister for the pensions and environment at 35 in 2005.
Alexander De Croo, the son of former speaker of the Belgian parliament Herman De Croo, ran for the leadership of his father’s party Open VLD at age 33. In Cambodia, Prime Minister Hun Sen and senior members of Parliament, are also known for their hand in getting family members into government positions.
In the 2013 Cambodian parliamentary elections, at least eight candidates standing in the upcoming July election were sons of high-ranking Cambodian People’s Party officials. All ruling party sons lost, but were appointed into high government positions. In China, for about 3,000 years, nepotism was common in China’s clan and extended family based culture. Confucius wrote about the importance of balancing “filial piety with merit”.
The clan-based feudal system collapsed during Confucius’ lifetime, yet nepotism has continued through the modern age. In France, in October 2009, Jean Sarkozy was poised to become EPAD’s director despite lacking a diploma and professional experience.
He was voted regional councillor of Neuilly-sur-Seine in 2008. Pierre Sarkozy, first son of then President Nicolas Sarkozy, asked SCPP for financial help in September 2009 of around 10,000 euro towards an 80,000 euro artistic project. Because he was not a SCPP member, the request was automatically rejected.
Sarkozy then went to the Élysée which lead to an Élysée counsel contacting the SCPP, and SCPP president Marc Guez assuring the issue would soon be favourably resolved.
In Spain, there is Juan Antonio Samaranch, president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) from 1980 to 2001: his son, Juan Antonio Samaranch Salisachs, has been a member of the International Olympic Committee since 2001, while his daughter, Maria Teresa Samaranch Salisachs, has been president of the Spanish Federation of Sports on Ice since 2005.
Nepotism occurred in Spanish Colonial America when offices were given to family members. Mahinda Rajapaksa has been accused of nepotism, appointing three brothers to run important ministries and other political positions for relatives, regardless of their merit.
The Rajapaksa family hold the ministries of finance, defence, ports and aviation, highways and road development. In Venezuela, nepotism is known to be practiced by President of the Venezuela National Assembly, Cilia Flores. Nine positions in the National Assembly were filled by Flores’ family members, including a mother-in-law, aunt, 3 siblings, a cousin and his mother, and 2 nephews.
In 2005, Councillor Ann Reid of York city arranged for all nine sets of traffic lights on her daughter Hannah’s wedding route through York to be switched to green for the five-car convoy. As a result, the wedding party took only 10 minutes to pass through the city.
North Yorkshire Police’s Chief Constable Grahame Maxwell was disciplined by the IPCC in 2011, but refused to resign, after admitting that he assisted a relative through the first stages of a recruitment process. In Northern Ireland, 19 elected politicians of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) directly employed family members and relatives constituted 27 of its 136 staff.
In the United States, around 30 family members or relatives of President Ulysses S. Grant prospered financially in some way from either government appointments or employment. John F. Kennedy made his brother-in law, Seargent Shriver, the first director of the Peace Corps and his brother, Robert F. Kennedy, Attorney General.
The above examples, therefore, show that applying the word ‘nepotism’ to Ridhiwani’s wishes to contest the Chalinze Parliamentary seat is wrong, because the young man is following the right procedures as outlined in the Electoral Commission.
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