Karume record unbeaten, Zanzibaris say

Zanzibar. As the country commemorates the 43th death anniversary of the architect of the Zanzibar Revolution Sheikh Abeid Amani Karume, residents of the clove islands used the eve of the special day occasion to applaud his achievements.

Most of those who spoke with The Citizen said in the eight years of his leadership, a lot of development was attained; a record they said was yet to be broken by any of his successors.

They echoed each other in commending the Founding Father of free Zanzibar, saying he was a most dedicated leader.

The cited his policies on industrial development and improvement in housing for ordinary people, free education, health and water supply services as the most notable achievements he had made.

Mr Said Ali Mohamed, a resident of Michenzani, said Sheikh Karume successfully established centres for taking care of disadvantaged groups including elderly people and orphans in efforts to implement his policy of “quality life for all”.

His other achievements include the construction of double-lane roads that made Zanzibar a pioneer of such infrastructure in the East African region as well as establishing the first colour television station in sub-Saharan Africa.

Another resident of Mkunazini, Mr Suleimani Ali, faulted the post-Sheikh Karume administrations, alleging that they failed to embrace the good policies initiated by the Founding Father of their state.

“Just look now; the successors of Sheikh Karume have allowed all the industries to die due to their myopic views on economic development,” he said, adding:

“We previously had so many factories manufacturing things such as shoes, mattresses, cooking oil, soft drinks, cigarettes, cooking pots, clothes and milk but that is all history now and it is no wonder we have all these unemployed youth.”

They also remembered Sheikh Karume for his effort to fight corruption as well as uniting all the country after the 1964 Revolution.

Ms Mwajuma Juma Suleiman, a resident of Jang’ombe, attributed the successes attained by Sheikh Karume to his genuine commitment to help people as opposed to many leaders of today whom she said were only bent on enriching themselves.

“Sheikh Karume was a patriotic leader who was always mindful of his people in all his endeavours, but things have changed nowadays…for instance, the people who were allocated land by Karume are now being dispossessed by some leaders,” remarked the woman.

Responding to some of the these complaints, the minister of State in the Second Vice President’s Office, Mr Mohamed Aboud, refuted claims that the post-Sheikh Karume leaders are a total disappointment, arguing that they have all done their best.

Mr Aboud said the decline in the economy of the Isles has been a shackle in the efforts to implement development projects. He cited the drop in annual cloves production from the 24,000 tonnes some years back to 3,000 tonnes currently.

According to him, the crop’s price in the world market also declined from $9,000 in 1980s to the current $600, a thing he said has significantly affected the revenue status of the Isles government.

The minister cited shortage of raw materials, markets for locally produced goods and technical-know-how as the reasons behind the current state of the industrial sector.

“The government has adopted a new approach, that is, developing it through investors,” he stated.