Arusha — President Samia Suluhu Hassan on Sunday hinted that the government was willing to drop all cases facing former Arusha urban Member of Parliament, Godbless Lema.
While commending the firebrand politician for his recent return to the country, Dr Samia disclosed that the government was looking forward to drop matters lodged against the Chadema member.
"I commend him for his choice of returning to the country, that's the beauty of Tanzanian politics," Dr Samia, at USA River area en route Kilimanjaro International Airport.
Dr Samia revealed before cheering crowd who lined up the Arusha-Moshi highway to send her off, that Mr Lema had pleaded with her for his return to the country and to have his cases dropped in the courts of law.
"Ours is a matured democracy, we might differ in opinions but that doesn't make us enemies,"she said.
According to Dr Samia, the opposition existed to compliment the good work done by the ruling party.
Dr Samia's gesture is part of her 4Rs philosophy, particularly Reconciliation.
Speaking in her meeting with 19 political outfits early this year, the CCM Chairperson insisted that reconciliation was the prerequisite building block towards Resiliency, hinting that the government was currently engaging the opposition on a number of dialogues.
The outspoken politician returned back to Tanzania after spending three years in exile in Canada.
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He was greeted to a cheering crowd upon his return last Wednesday.
His return comes a month after another opposition stalwart Tundu Lissu arrived back in his homeland after spending most of the past five years in exile following an assassination attempt.
In another development, the President said the government had paid 11bn/- as compensation on KIA residents who had encroached part of the airport by establishing their settlements in the area.
The intruders have trespassed KIA and established permanent structures.
"They are still intruders even though they have put their homes, but we have compensated them already," she added.
For his part, Minister for Agriculture Hussein Bashe assured over 500 former employees of Kiliflora farm in Nduruma of resolving their grievances.
The workers of the Horticultural farm are owed by the company, some 3.4bn/-, after being removed from the farms.
The beleaguered company has been in a sorry state for quite some time now having been liquidated, two years ago.
"Their grievances are being worked on and hopefully the matter will be resolved this month," the Minister explained.
Plans are underway for two major horticulture farms in the region to restart operations as five others have a pending case in court, according to Mr Bashe.
He added that the government has secured some 3,000 acres of land in a bid to start horticulture production through block farming.
The President left the city on Sunday, after spending for days, where she also officiated and closed a three-day consultative seminar and retreat for top government officials midweek.
