JUST days after the government lifted the ban on political rallies, the National Chairperson of the ruling party CCM, President Samia Suluhu Hassan, has urged the youth wing of the party, UVCCM, to respond temperately to all issues to be raised by their counterparts from other parties.
"You should make best use of the political rallies to tell the people what the government has done by providing evidence and data," Dr Samia said yesterday at the climax of 'Mapinduzi Walk' which was organised by UVCCM as part of events ahead of the 59th Zanzibar Revolution to be marked tomorrow.
The 'Mapinduzi Walk', which is held every year as part of celebrations to mark the revolution, was inaugurated last week by President and Chairman of the Revolutionary Council of Zanzibar, Dr Hussein Ali Mwinyi at Mapinduzi Square.
At the climax of the walk yesterday, President Samia reminded the youth that the government has now embarked on 4Rs which advocates for reconciliation, resilience, reforms and rebuilding towards uniting the country.
Dr Samia stressed that the new philosophy is not only of national interest, but can be incorporated within the party and its wings.
"With the opening of the political space, there are some people who will come up with combative criticisms but I urge you to respond soberly based on evidence and statistics of what the government has done," President Samia told the mammoth crowd of youth at Paje village in Unguja South Region.
President Samia emphasised to the youth wing of CCM to embrace political tolerance and refrain from confrontational politics, when faced with any form of criticisms from their opponents.
"Our party is well organised but there are some people out there who will come up and challenge us; let us take the constructive criticisms and work on them by addressing the hurdles.
"However, we should also respond in a civilised manner to all forms of false accusations to be raised by our opponents during the political rallies," President Samia counselled the youth.
Dr Samia noted further that the CCM manifesto of 2020-2025 has some tangible issues which have been implemented such as construction of schools, health facilities in addition to roads, bridges as well as other development projects.
"However, the manifesto has also made some directives on some issues which are not tangible such as preservation of peace and harmony. It is our duty to continue preserving peace and harmony that our country enjoys," Dr Samia told the youth.
President Samia further stated that the days for animosity in politics are over and every Tanzanian should, henceforth, embrace political tolerance for the betterment of the country.
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"We should thus be tolerant towards each other so that we can build a new Tanzania and strengthen the union between Tanzania Mainland and Zanzibar," she urged.
Dr Samia also urged the youth wing of the ruling party to recruit more young pioneers in order to build a strong foundation of the ruling party from the grassroots level.
Equally, she called for unity within the party and warned members of the youth wing to avoid being used as stepping stones for politicians vying for various positions during elections.
Dr Samia also warned against infighting within the party and urged the youth go prepare themselves ahead of local government elections which are scheduled for next year.
"As a ruling party we should lead by example by showing others the way forward, we should be united and rebuild our party," Ms Samia urged the youth.
Dr Samia was highly optimistic that other parties which are bent on quarrelsome politics will refrain from doing so if they are ignored by members of the ruling party.
