Former Prime Minister Edward Lowassa says Tanzania has all the resources it needs to be the leading economic giant in East Africa, a dream he would attain if elected president.
But first, he said, he has to convince members of the ruling party, CCM, that he is the best candidate to contest the presidency under the party’s banner and go ahead to defeat the opposition.
He was speaking at Turbo grounds in Njombe Township on Saturday evening as he continues his tour to collect signatures of CCM members to endorse his nomination.
“Our colleagues in Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda are overtaking us yet we have numerous resources. What is bedeviling Tanzania?” queried the former PM in his address to thousands of residents who waited all day fior his arrival.
Mr Lowassa said; “If God allows me, I intend to enable this country to run fast and overtake our counterparts in the EAC. We’ll move with speed and defeat poverty,” he said, repeating his declared war to rid the country of abject poverty. “I hate poverty and it is not something to feel good about after 50 years of our independence,” he said.
The Monduli MP is among 38 CCM presidential aspirants now eying to succeed President Jakaya Kikwete as the party’s chairman and ultimately president should anyone of them go ahead to win the October polls in which they will face a rejuvenated opposition uniting under the Ukawa banner.
He has attracted huge crowds in several towns on his tour that has attracted varied interest within and outside CCM. Thousands of people have come out to sign his forms ahead of the nomination early next month.
Mr Lowassa says the exercise was a litmus test for the ruling party and reiterated his position that he would campaign to unite and lead the party to victory should he be picked its presidential candidate.
He said the rich minerals, wildlife and the strategic location of the country makes it advantaged to compete and grow its economy at a speed fast enough to ensure its people were sufficiently catered for in terms of jobs, social services and prosperity.
Mr Lowassa promised Njombe people that he would take them into modern agriculture by industrializing the sector so that farmers can quickly raise their income. “If the government borrows from farmers it should be able to pay them with interest,” he said.
The Citizen
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