My ups and downs as CCM secretary general - Kinana
Speaking
to reporters here, Kinana said after having been a stolid CCM member
for more than a quarter of a century, he never considered himself a
candidate for the post of secretary general until he was approached by
other distinguished party leaders including the chairman (then president
Jakaya Kikwete) to accept the position and help build the party ahead
of the 2015 general elections.
“I never liked the position but - by bad luck - I was called by respected countrymen and CCM leaders who convinced me to take it, as part of a bid to streamline the party. I accepted but with conditions,” the first Speaker of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) said.
According to Kinana who was speaking after conducting a tour of the Dodoma Convention Centre where CCM is to hold its national congress this week, the agreement was that he helps strengthen the party, assists the chairman in getting the right successor candidate, helps in running the presidential election campaign…and then leaves after the elections.
He asserted that he has done what was asked of him, and now it is time for others - especially the young generation of CCM cadres - to lift the party up to another level.
But he was at pains to emphasize that his tenure as chief executive officer of one of the oldest ruling political parties in the continent has not been as smooth as people might think.
In his three and a half years as CCM secretary general, he said, he had to put up with much resistance from communities which were openly hostile to CCM.
He said he was even warned in some cases not to venture into certain areas of the country considered particularly dangerous ‘anti-CCM’ zones.
But he said he never shied away and pushed on – despite being called all sorts of rude names along the way - with the hard work of trying to promote a party that was increasingly losing popularity among wananchi.
According to Kinana, right from the beginning of his tenure he realized that the ruling party was tearing apart and its top leaders were no longer representative of the poor wananchi, no longer close to the electorate, and not really interested in implementing the CCM manifesto.
He described the task he was given as to restore unity among party leaders and members, and party dignity among voters. And according to him, he succeeded.
He mentioned other serious issues that he had to deal with as restoring accountability among CCM leaders and fighting corruption and embezzlement of party funds.
Kinana said he traversed the nation, held public meetings in all constituencies, and visited all regional and district party branches, as well as several ward offices.
It was during these tours that he said he encountered strong resistance from some local government and community leaders, some of whom reported him to the president for allegedly breaching security details.
“At one point the party chairman (then-President Kikwete) wrote a long text message warning me to heed local security warnings in my quest to bring revolution to the party,” he recalled.
According to Kinana, part of the message read: “A good revolutionist can only achieve his goals when he is alive”. This came after he apparently defied warnings from Coast regional leaders not to travel from Nyamisaki to Mafia by boat.
Another incident he recalled was when Mbeya regional authorities warned him against travelling from Nyasa to Kyela through Bamba Bay, saying the boat had developed a mechanical problem.
But he sought help from the then works minister, Harrison Mwakyembe, who reportedly sent experts to confirm that the boat was in fact in good condition.
Only strong-headed people could have overcome such obstacles, he said, praising his aides for their support during his tenure.
On party ‘rebels’ before and after last year’s general election, Kinana said some had been dealt with at district and regional levels, but those at national level would probably get their due punishment after the national congress.
Asked whether he would accept continuing as secretary general if requested by the next party chairman, he said there were still some conditions that would have to be met.
He said he has been quiet of late because the current government is already implementing most of the things he used to push for.
“I never liked the position but - by bad luck - I was called by respected countrymen and CCM leaders who convinced me to take it, as part of a bid to streamline the party. I accepted but with conditions,” the first Speaker of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) said.
According to Kinana who was speaking after conducting a tour of the Dodoma Convention Centre where CCM is to hold its national congress this week, the agreement was that he helps strengthen the party, assists the chairman in getting the right successor candidate, helps in running the presidential election campaign…and then leaves after the elections.
He asserted that he has done what was asked of him, and now it is time for others - especially the young generation of CCM cadres - to lift the party up to another level.
But he was at pains to emphasize that his tenure as chief executive officer of one of the oldest ruling political parties in the continent has not been as smooth as people might think.
In his three and a half years as CCM secretary general, he said, he had to put up with much resistance from communities which were openly hostile to CCM.
He said he was even warned in some cases not to venture into certain areas of the country considered particularly dangerous ‘anti-CCM’ zones.
But he said he never shied away and pushed on – despite being called all sorts of rude names along the way - with the hard work of trying to promote a party that was increasingly losing popularity among wananchi.
According to Kinana, right from the beginning of his tenure he realized that the ruling party was tearing apart and its top leaders were no longer representative of the poor wananchi, no longer close to the electorate, and not really interested in implementing the CCM manifesto.
He described the task he was given as to restore unity among party leaders and members, and party dignity among voters. And according to him, he succeeded.
He mentioned other serious issues that he had to deal with as restoring accountability among CCM leaders and fighting corruption and embezzlement of party funds.
Kinana said he traversed the nation, held public meetings in all constituencies, and visited all regional and district party branches, as well as several ward offices.
It was during these tours that he said he encountered strong resistance from some local government and community leaders, some of whom reported him to the president for allegedly breaching security details.
“At one point the party chairman (then-President Kikwete) wrote a long text message warning me to heed local security warnings in my quest to bring revolution to the party,” he recalled.
According to Kinana, part of the message read: “A good revolutionist can only achieve his goals when he is alive”. This came after he apparently defied warnings from Coast regional leaders not to travel from Nyamisaki to Mafia by boat.
Another incident he recalled was when Mbeya regional authorities warned him against travelling from Nyasa to Kyela through Bamba Bay, saying the boat had developed a mechanical problem.
But he sought help from the then works minister, Harrison Mwakyembe, who reportedly sent experts to confirm that the boat was in fact in good condition.
Only strong-headed people could have overcome such obstacles, he said, praising his aides for their support during his tenure.
On party ‘rebels’ before and after last year’s general election, Kinana said some had been dealt with at district and regional levels, but those at national level would probably get their due punishment after the national congress.
Asked whether he would accept continuing as secretary general if requested by the next party chairman, he said there were still some conditions that would have to be met.
He said he has been quiet of late because the current government is already implementing most of the things he used to push for.
Chapisha Maoni