| The life and times of Sir George Kahama |
It’s very rare for politicians to admit their blunders. But it has been different for the long serving public servant Sir George Kahama. Sir Kahama has admitted his political blunders recently through a book, titled ‘Sir George A thematic history of Tanzania through fifty years of public service’, on his carrier which has been authored by his son, Joseph. Things which Sir George Kahama said he could not accomplish include failure to run Zanzibar into a hub of economic activities in the East African region. The lagging upgrading to Dodoma as capital so that the government could shift its seat from Dar es Salaam is another target that Sir Kahama lefty office without accomplishing. The third issue is on the formation of a national cooperative bank. In an interview with this paper recently, Joseph Kulwa Kahama, who authored the book, said he was moved to publish the book as a way of appreciating his father’s contribution to the nation which dates back since before independence. According to available records, Sir Kahama started to serve the country in 1957. “I am sure that the book will be interesting reading to many Tanzanians with quest to know what former leaders did. There are a lot of things which people can learn from this book with regards to ways in which he (Sir Kahama) deftly and faithfully served his country,” the author noted. Mr Joseph said another reason which pushed him to author the book is his quest to keeping the history of the nation. He believes that the nation’s history is owned by its people and what happens within a nation becomes history but if it is not documented there is danger that it can lost with deaths of those who accomplished what shaped the nation. “The service and the decisions made by my father in the various positions he occupied while serving our Tanzanian government for over 50 years is an essential part of our nation’s history,” Mr Joseph maintained. Elaborating on the content of the book, the author said the book documents the economic relationship between Tanzania and that of friendly and more economically developed countries like China. “The book focuses on improved strategies in Tanzania’s mission for economic growth by interacting closer with nations such as China. By understanding their economic development strategies we can properly and careful utilize our natural resources and lead the country becoming middle income country in the next five to ten years,” the author said. But Sir Kahama himself says such a plan looks like a dream but in a way he believes that dreams can be turned into reality. For one thing he hopes his three failed dreams will be executed one day. He compared his dreams with that of Frederick Douglas and Martin Luther King on their predictions of black American people will sit on the same table with children of the while people in America. “I wanted Zanzibar to be like Hong Kong as a channel through which to tap foreign investments and spark of an era of economic revolution…. my deep understanding of both China and Zanzibar inspired that dream in me which I called the Zanzibar dream,” he said. On his other two dreams, Sir Kahama said during his tenure he was determined to form a cooperative bank which would work together with all SACCOS organisations in the country as shareholders. “It’s my hope and wish that Tanzania’s cooperative organisations still see the importance and the necessity to form such a bank which would provide an excellent banking framework for their financial operations,” Sir Kahama said. Mr Joseph started writing the book since 2006 believing that it will be completed and launched before this eyar. He little know about the by global economic recession which affected his work. The main financier of the project is the family foundation - ‘Kahama Foundation’, which was not spared by the economic crisis. “Kahama Foundation decided to apply its own resources without seeking financial aid to write this… it has been our belief that we should try to avoid sponsorship basing on an English proverb that ‘he who pays the piper, calls the tune,” Joseph said. The author could not forget to acknowledge some key players in his work that includes Kgalema Motlanthe the South Africa vice president, Prof Ted Maliyamkono, ambassador Juma Mwapachu and advocate Nyaga Mawalla. He said Mr Motlanthe read and reviewed the entire manuscript of the book and graced it by writing a recommendation for the book. Prof Maliyamkono was the key researcher and consultant behind the manuscript. In an interview with this paper a co-writer, Advocate Nyaga Mawalla, said the book is well researched that would leave a reader satisfied with the detailed report. Mr Mawalla said he has bought 200 copies of the books which will be distributed to Universities and some schools which are under Mawalla Trust Sponsorship. Mr Mawalla said the book has been written in English but they are in final processes to translate it into Kiswahili. The Kiswahili version of the will hit the markets later this month. Translation has been tasked to Fr Stefano Kaombe of Visiga Seminary. In his remarks during the launch President Jakaya Kikwete hailed what Kahama Foundation has done. He said that was noble undertaking as it is time now for other people to write books on how former leaders served the country. This is fourth book on lives of former leaders that President Kikwete has launched since he became president four years ago. Other books include that which talks about Mzee Rashid Mfaume Kawawa, Sir Andy Chande, and the Karimjee’s family. |
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