· Honorable Minster of Finance, Saada Mkuya Salum
· Honorable Ministers and Deputy Ministers from Tanzania, Uganda, Lesotho, Afghanistan
· Principle Secretaries from Tanzania and Kenya
· UN Resident Coordinador
· Senior colleagues from UNICEF Headquarters in New York and UNICEF Regional Office in Nairobi
· Resource persons
· Participants
Ladies and Gentlemen
Three days have gone by quickly. This was time well spent. I have learned a lot about Social Protection and hope that you have learned as much as I did. I have answers to the questions I asked at the beginning of the conference. Therefore, I won’t read my poem again but wish to remind all of us that we have responsibities to tell others what Social Protection in.
I was thinking last night about what to say during the final session of the conference. I decided to do two things. First, I will borrow a leaf from Mwalimu Nyerere, Baba wa Taifa, a man who declared a war on poverty, disease and ignorance and decolonization of Africa. On 4th November 1985, Mwalimu gave his farewell speech after serving as a president of the republic for over 20 years.
On this historical moment, naturally Mwalimu had a lot on his mind. He was a speaker who could talk about many topic with confidence and charisma, topics such as imperialism, self-reliance, and tribalism. Yet, the farewell speech of this honest, innovative and charismatic leader and teacher was a humble one.
He said:
“Today, in my last speech as the President of the United Republic, I have only one extra thing to say. To every one of you individually (, to all people organized together in villages, in cooperatives, in professions, in voluntary organization contributing to our development, to all honest workers in Government and Parastatals – to everybody –) I say thank you very much.”
I am not a President; just a proud father of two girls and a son. But I have a lot of ideas floating in my mind after three days Arusha with senior government leaders from Tanzania, Uganda, Lesotho, Kenya and Afghanistan; after hearing many exciting presentations; and after watching the work of able chairmen and women and an excellent conference organizing and support team and a hospitable team.
I have only extra thing to say. Thank you. Thank you to the Ministry of Finance, our hosting institution, thank you to the other ministries from Tanzania and Zanzibar, neighbors and speakers who share experience. Thank you to all of you for your contributions to this successful conference. We now know that Tanzania is on the right track.
Mwalimu Nyerere’s farewell speech gave me another idea. To give credit to whom credit is due.
I quote…
“We have built a nation together. The Angle Gabriel could not have built Tanzania alone. Still less a fallible human being like myself. Even if the Angle Gabriel had been assisted by ministers and public servants, made up of other angles, he still could not have built Tanzania. You, the people of Tanzania, acting together and individually, have built Tanzania into what it is today – a proud, united and self-confident nations. I thank you very much.”
Shifting attention to Social Protection, I commend Tanzanians for building the elements of the Social Protection system which we have in the country – the insurance, the pension fund, the assistance to vulnerable groups like TASAF, etc. Looking forward, the people of Tanzania can turn the various interventions into a solid, effective and comprehensive Social Protection System - acting together and and working individually.
The burden is heavy and other stakeholders are not off the hook. In his farewell speech, Mwalimu reminded us of the importance of rallying behind people who are given the responsibility to lead.
In rallying support for those entrusted with responsibility, Mwalimu said:
“I am grateful to you for choosing Ndugu Ali Hassan Mwinyi to receive the honor and to bear the burden of the Presidency. I thank you very much. Now, let us help him.’
To the developmental partners, to the UN family, to researches and academics, let’s remember Mwalumu’s message - “Now, let us help Tanzania”. The UN family is with you.
My second and final point is about national anthems and what they say about targeting.
Some anthems talk of landscapes, fertile soil, price, sun, wisdom, rocks, pebbles, and moss. Some talk of tyranny, slaves, soldiers, blood, guns, rockets, arms and fire. Some talk of kings, queens, and heros.
The Tanzania anthem is different from other national anthems. It talks about its people - the women, men, and children. It talks about the people of Africa although Tanzania has beautiful and breathtaking landscape, fauna and flora; Kilimanjaro, Serengeti, Islands of Spice, Arusha and so on. It is the only anthem I know that blesses children. Children, as Alexandra Yuster said, is disproportionately represented among the poor (33% of the world’s population and 47% of the poorest population).
This is the last part of the anthem:
Mungu ibariki Tanzania
Dumisha uhuru na umoja
Wake kwa waume na watoto
Mungu ibariki Tanzania na watu wake
Ibariki Tanzania; ibariki Tanzania
Tubariki watoto waa Tanzania.
I have good news for the delegates from other parts of Africa. You are covered under the blessings in the national anthem of Tanzania.
I kindly ask the Tanzania’s in the hall to lead us in a rendition of this powerful anthem so that our guess can here the wishes of Tanzania for children and people of Africa.
Thank you everyone.
0 comments:
Post a Comment