Your
Excellency Liberata Mulamula, Ambassador of the United Republic of Tanzania to
the United States;
Honourable
Mayors here present;
Distinguished
Honorary Consuls and Honorary Consuls Designate;
Embassy
Officials;
Members
of the Tanzania Community in the USA;
Invited
Guests;
Ladies and Gentlemen.
I sincerely thank
you, Ambassador Liberata Mulamula and the Tanzanian Embassy, for associating me
with this solemn occasion of the consultative meeting between the Embassy of Tanzania
and Honorary Consuls, as well as Honorary Consuls Designate and representatives
of the Tanzania Diaspora in the United States. I am particularly pleased to be
here in Washington D.C. and amongst great friends and partners of Tanzania in
USA.
I am happy to learn
that this meeting is aimed at forging close partnerships and joint strategies
for enhancing working relationship for the mutual benefit of our two countries.
We thank the US Administration and the people of America
for the choice of Tanzania as amongst its important partners and for the existing
bilateral relations.
Honourable
Mayors,
Distinguished
Honorary Consuls and Designates,
Invited
Guests,
Your presence here
today at the Tanzania House speaks volumes about your commitment and dedication
to promoting our existing bilateral relations and friendship to greater heights.
I say thank you for the love of
Tanzania. I understand from your program that you have discussed and
deliberated on the role of Honorary Consuls in representing and promoting
Tanzania in the USA, as a tourist, trade and investment destination of
choice.
I am pleased and proud to boast that Tanzania has continued to enjoy excellent
leadership, peace and economic stability due to good governance practices,
fostering unity and respect of the rule of law, human rights, as required by
our Constitution. As you know, I was the President of the Second Phase
Government after the founding father of our Nation; the late Mwalimu Julius
Nyerere relinquished power voluntarily in 1985. I took over from 1985 to 1995
and governed for two terms, as provided for in our Constitution, and passed
over to my successor, President Banjamin Mkapa, who in turn handed over power
to the incumbent President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete. This has been a smooth and seamless
political process in Tanzania.
As we head towards
the forthcoming General elections in Tanzania, in late October this year and
end of term of President Jakaya Kikwete, I know there are a lot of speculations
and to some extent great apprehensions. Let me assure you that Tanzania will
continue to uphold its well acclaimed good practices of holding free and
peaceful elections, as well as peaceful and harmonious transition.
The Tanzanian economy is on a sound
footing. Indeed, the economic reform
policies that I introduced during my presidency have worked well for us and the
successive phases of Tanzania government have continued to pursue them with
great success. Tanzania, being a pioneer
member of the East African Community (EAC) and Southern African Development
Community (SADC) has a lot to offer in terms of economic undertakings and
investments from the setting of Regional Economic Cooperations (RECs). The
three RECs of EAC, SADC and COMESA have recently concluded negations to
establish the Grand Free Trade Area from Cape to Cairo – Tripartite. The
establishment of the EAC - COMESA – SADC Tripartite will build the largest FTA
in the continent, and marks the beginning of establishment of the Continental
Free Trade Area (CFTA) – as envisaged by the African Union Commission. Tanzania
should thus be promoted as a gateway to the Tripartite and an investment
destination. I have seen in your programme that you covered the tourism sector;
today I will not talk much on the sector, but urge you to foster cooperation
with the tourism representatives here in Washington as well as other
stakeholders of tourism.
It is now established government
policy since the beginning of economic reforms in 1986, that the private sector
is the engine of growth and not the state.
The government is left to perform the primary functions of the state of
governing, maintaining law and creating good environment for the economy to
function properly. Among the important
functions in this regard include that of putting in place sound economic
policies, regulations and allowing the private sector to thrive.
Last but not least, another very
important and primary duty as Tanzania’s Honorary Consuls is to engage the
Tanzania diaspora living here in the United States. I am pleased that you have in your midst
Tanzanians of the Diaspora. Engaging the Tanzanian
diaspora is a major policy of our government.
The Diaspora seem to offer a new alternative that bridges
the gap existing in engaging effectively the American private sector and
linking it to the Tanzanian potential in terms of opportunities and business
partners.
They have the best of two worlds
namely, Tanzania as their country of origin, of kith and kin and United States
as a country of permanent residence or acquired citizenship. Perhaps more
importantly, the diaspora have the exposure, the skills and contacts that help
in promoting development and growth of their homeland.
To my fellow
Tanzanians in diaspora, I urge you, as President Kikwete has repeatedly said to
you, not to forget home. Work with the Honorary Consuls, friends and partners
in the United States to contribute to our nation’s development, bring
investments, technology and skills, as well as contribute to the improvement of
the lives of your kith and kin.
Finally, I wish to
call on you Honorary Consuls to embrace Kiswahili that has made Tanzania to
enjoy unity, peace and stability as a nation. Tanzania is a country consisting
of more than one hundred and twenty (120) tribal languages; though the nation
is diverse, Kiswahili has been utilized as an instrument of unifying the
diverse tribal and ethnical languages. Among the tasks that have brought me
here to Washington DC, is to support the Annual Convention of the Association
of Promoting Kiswahili in the World( CHAUKIDU), which I officiated its opening
yesterday at Howard University. I would like you to take interest in promoting
our countries good culture and “what unites us rather than what divides us”. Kiswahili being an ethnic African language
spoken widely across the world ought to get its right place as other major
languages and efforts to ensure that it becomes an official language of the
United Nations should be spearheaded by speakers and wellwishers.
In closing, I would
like to assure you once again of Tanzania’s continued friendship and partnership.
You can count on the Government of Tanzania unwavering commitment and support.
The Tanzania Embassy embodies that commitment and sustainable relationship.
Should I get the privilege and honor to be invited in your future meetings, I
envisage that the medium of communication will be Kiswahili; a language that
joins you and us as common people. It is now my singular honor and pleasure to
officially declare this meeting closed.
I thank you for listening!
God Bless
Tanzania
God Bless
America
Long live the
friendship between Tanzania and the United States of America
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