Isles’ Mansoor decamps to CUF

Zanzibar. A former minister in the Zanzibar government, Mr Mansoor Yussuf Himid (pictured), yesterday announced he was decamping to the opposition party- Civic United Front (CUF).

Mr Himid who is a fiery politician and had been an active CCM leader before his dramatic fallout with the party bosses announced his move yesterday during a public rally in the Isles to show early allignments ahead of general elections next year.

A son of one of the 1964 Zanzibar’s revolutionaries, Yusuf Himid Maftah, the former minister said he has chosen CUF as his political home, saying the party stood and practised what he now believed in.

Mr Himid who was expelled from the ruling party explained why he took the decision and said that the current Union structure between Tanganyika and Zanzibar was irrelevant and was not beneficial to the people of Zanzibar. He was stripped of his CCM membership following accusations that he had taken a radical stand against the Union structure, which is viewed as going against the party’s stand ahead of the constitution writing process. He gave the stand during a public rally held at Vuga in Zanzibar which was attended by CUF leaders.

“My decision was made due to CUF’s leaders, especially Secretary General Maalim Seif Sharif Hamad’s good stand; they are willing to openly fight for the interests and nationality of Zanzibaris,” said Mr Himid. He emphasised that the Union between Tanganyika and Zanzibar had failed Zanzibaris for 50 years since it occurred on April 26, 1964.

“I want all of you to know that I am a follower of Maalim Seif. I respect him; I appreciate his courage to fight for Zanzibar, and because of that I will be with him shoulder to shoulder until he enters the palace in 2015. I like a leader who cares for his people,” said Mr Himid.

Reacting to the move, Mr Ismail Jussa told The Citizen yesterdfay his party was quite sure that the entry of Mr Himid will help it in strengthening its youth wing. “Himid knows how to deal with the youth, he is an icon among many youth. Now that he has joined our party it means that more youth will join our party,” he said. He added that his party would attract more youth by using the presence of Mr Himid.

, “according to the 2012 national census, it is predicted that during the coming (2015) general elections, more than 70 per cent of the voters in Zanzibar will be youth, and by the coming of Mr Himid all this population will vote for us,” he noted.

He also said that for his capacity, Mr Himid knows all Zanzibar’s politics, as such he is an asset when it comes to handling the Isles political matters.

Mr Himid said that he has been saddened by the new Political style which uses uncivilized languages and the taarab (mipasho), while other Politicians are being driven by race, colour, origin, tribal and religion.

“I want to tell you brethren, I like the politics where we use arguments insults, jeers and ridicule, I don’t believe that the politics of religion, racism and ethnicity will help Zanzibar in any way, we must join together to defend our country and not aspire divisions among us” said Himid, who once served as a Minister in the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar.

In addition he said that Zanzibar will not make any progress in develop basing on the current the tax system which gave birth to influx of several tax collecting institutions citing on the example of TRA, ZRB, ADC while all Regional Commissioners and District Commissioners also look on the same source.

Additional reporting by Alex Bitekeye, Dar es Salaam.