Greetings.

This information may be useful for some of us reflecting on the meaning of the African independence.

It is when the members of the African intelligentsia direct their attention to a critical thinking to find a meaningful pathway to true independence with development, the progress of Africa will rest on the generosity of other nations.

PEACE

KOFI

Keep your aid, we keep our Independence

US WITHDRAWS AID TO TANZANIA

TANZANIA DISMISSES THE BIG STICK USED FOR WHIPPING AFRICAN NATIONS NOT BEHAVING AS DIRECTED.

Dear Concerned and Conscientious Stakeholders:

There comes a time for soul examination. Subsequent generations want to believe that African nations gained independence; not mere emancipation, which is a fancier way of saying nominal independence and indirect rule by "donors."

The thought of donors using aid as carrot or stick does not bode well for an Africa that is supposed to be driven by her citizens, much less becoming an influential player in the international area.

It is cognitive dissonance (believing in one thing and doing the opposite) for some countries to actually depend on foreign aid packages in order to conduct elections to self develop. The donor has never paid the piper and the recipient African nations danced independently to a different tune. That is grand illusion. Whose interests, then, will the leaders be serving? Is there something like free and fair elections to elect leaders who serve at the satisfaction, defined cultures and values of the foreign benefactor?

Some shiver at the perilous position that undermines the Africa We Want. This story highlights the morale, which has set tongues waging anew. Foreign aid or chain?

Evelyn Joe

Dr. John Magafuli, elected President of the Republic of Tanzania

The United States said it has suspended a $472.8 million energy grant for Tanzania after the re-run of elections in Zanzibar and the passing of cyber crime law. The mission of the agency, Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC, ) states that it assists developing countries to meet standards of democracy and basic rights. The first round funded water, roads and power projects.

In January 2016, the US scolded Tanzania for rescheduling election in Zanzibar without multi-party consensus.

It issued a statement:"The United States regretted the decision of the Zanzibar Electoral Commission to announce a date for a new election on Zanzibar without achieving an inclusive, negotiated agreement on the way forward."

Well, the US Congress is notoriously divided and when paralyzed, it shuts down the federal government and becomes tone deaf to the welfare of constituents. It does not sound like the preacher is on reflective grounds in delivering the sermon.

Obama and other presidents resort to Executive Actions (ruling by decrees, not consensus) as the other party cries foul, vowing to undo the edict at the slightest chance. That is not a picture of inclusiveness in governance. The president has been extra-legislatively blocked; it is anyone's guess if his nominee for the highest court will get a hearing. The action goes against the expression of the electorate. Even learned people may differ whether this is democracy and human rights. In the basic human rights, health care is considered no right in free market economy and babies do not deserve free lunch.

Voter suppression is still part of the lamentation in US election. Violence has erupted. A leading candidate openly called for a non-supporter to be thrown out and his property confiscated. In fact, his campaign manager was arrested with charges filed for rough handling a reporter. He promises violence if not elected. Big money is a type of democracy where you cannot run if you have none. These spectacles and plutocracy have left the rest of the world gasping to make sense of the ethnocentric values that other independent countries may not find repulsive.

Given the above and more, many wonder how the US can educate Tanzania on "inclusiveness" "negotiated," "political settlement."

President John Magufuli responded and calls on Tanzanians to rely less on foreign aid

According to a statement from the President Magufuli's office, he said that it was time for the country to wean itself off foreign aid "which comes with strings attached."

He has called on citizens to lessen their dependence on donations made by foreign entities. He made his plea during an Easter mass held in the capital of Dar Es Salaam on Sunday. "Tanzanians can stop relying on conditional loans from foreign donors if they cultivate a culture of working hard," he was quoted as saying.

"We need to stand on our own! If you are a farmer, you need to farm hard, if you are a fisherman, fish hard or if you are employed anywhere then work hard so that Tanzania [and] Tanzanians can get rid of donor dependence." President Magufuli.

The Minister for Finance and Planning, Dr Philip Mpango, told The Guardian that the MCC aid freeze was not likely to affect the national budget for this year. The Minister said the government hadn't made any provisions in its upcoming 2016/17 fiscal year budget for the MCC program support due to its unpredictability.

"We saw it coming, so we made our preparations," Minister Mpango said when asked how the MCC aid freeze might affect the implementation of the Magufuli administration's maiden budget. "We did not include the expected MCC funds in our financial plans," the minister stated.

Since he took office in November 2015, President Magufuli has taken a number of austerity measures that have earned him acclaims. Along with his cost-cutting measures, he has also spawned his own hashtag #WhatWouldMagufuliDo, sending social media users into a frenzy over his unorthodox style of governance.

Many presidents across the continent have been urged to follow the Tanzanian leader's example.

Tanzanian President John Magufuli collecting rubbish off the streets after cancelling Independence Day celebrations for a national clean-up. Dozens of fishermen joined in the clean-up with their president, who shoveled leaves and plastic rubbish close to a fish market near the presidential palace as a crowd of hundreds looked on, an AFP reporter at the scene said.

"Let us work together to keep our country, cities, homes and workplaces clean, safe and healthy," the smiling Magufuli said, as he picked up litter with his hands. Tanzania is also struggling to stem a major cholera outbreak, which health officials said last month had infected nearly 10,000 people and killed 150. These are priorities.

After the clean-up exercise, the president was seen riding off on a bicycle to State House to cut the cost of fuel used by the presidential convoy.

Excerpt of an article by By Abdallah Liwaka

America's MCC decision a reward to Magufuli

The United States has announced that it is suspending partnership with Tanzania on the Millennium Challenge Account's new Compact development supposedly because of the election in Zanzibar and the application of the Cyber Crimes Act.

For a start, this decision was expected. Those of us in diplomatic circles have long been privy to the US Ambassador's constant complaints and badmouthing the government about things mundane and substantive.

We knew the type of Ambassador he was going to be, coming straight out of the West Wing, a high-minded and moralist liberal with direct line to key decision-makers in Washington.

This was supposed to be a blessing for Tanzania. Unfortunately, with transition of administrations here in Tanzania, his vision of a powerful US ambassadorship in Tanzania never materialized. Enter Dr. John Pombe Magufuli. And the United States was treated like any other country. And this is what this thing is all about.

The American decision is not about democracy. Why? Because Tanzania had already gone through all the rigorous criteria, including democratic governance, and qualified. The decision moves the goalpost, making the whole MCC approval process a joke. The decision is not about the election in Zanzibar, and it is not about some legislation, which has not put anyone in jail.

In January this year, the Saudis beheaded Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, a prominent Shiite cleric, simply for stating his mind. And what does the United States plan to do about it? Award Saudi Arabia with Obama visit in April.

The Americans have been part of messing Zanzibar up in the Cold War plays and the historical electoral challenges should be very familiar to them. But what calls for indignation is the arrogance, the holier-than-thou attitude that is embedded in the structure of some development partnerships.

God made human in His image. America wants Tanzanian democracy in its image. Would you accept MCC money for a democracy that elevates and celebrates Donald Trump? Would you accept MCC money for a democracy with laws such as the Patriots Act? Would you accept MCC money for a democracy that tortures war captives, that spies on its people and foreign allies, that hold people without trial? Perhaps the appropriate stance, a moral position, would be for us to ask the United States to keep its money, and its mouth shut, until Guantanamo Bay prison is closed, until NSA stops spying on the Americans and foreign leaders, until torture by its jail-masters is ended, until drone killings are stopped, until its complicity (by silence and military aid to Israel) in the annexation and annihilation of Palestine is ended.

But the basic point here, without going into details of explaining the Zanzibar election, is that partnership, a term used by the Americans in describing the MCC suspension, should be equally fulfilling and beneficial.

And, if, as indeed MCC apparently is, the partnership is structured to correct bad behaviors, the correction should be both ways. So, how does MCC partnership correct Americans' behavior? It does not.

It is simply a doormat to rub the big feet of America, with blood stains from trampling over small people around the world, to cleanse its conscious, before it enters the house of family of nations.

The cheer that this decision has met from the unthinking section of our intelligentsia is pathetic and sickening.

Colonialism of the mind has been extremely powerful and everlasting such that our elites' yearning to be positioned close to, and to think like, and to speak as, the Americans has been the greatest threat to our pride and emancipation as Tanzanians and Africans in general.

What we should be proud as Tanzanians is that the basic trajectory of our democracy is a positive one. Tanzania is one of the freest countries in the world and we continue to build our young democracy.

There's vibrant civil society and press, people can write anything, can insult political leaders, without the slightest fear of reprisal. We didn't do this because of America's pressure or demands. They found us already a peaceful and democratic society. They should let us be.

As President Magufuli works to build a new and better society, as he has shown complete independence of mind as to treat the US Ambassador just like any other diplomat, he is bound to be punished.

Perhaps he should take this as a reward. The path to independence is hard and painful. The Americans have reminded us that we are not there yet. We have our own flag and national anthem. Time to capture our own sovereignty.