EDITORIAL: Cecafa should shift focus on youth championships

The British tactician looks for a strong Azam comeback

>After endorsing the 2015/2016 Budget, Parliament yesterday continued with its marathon sitting to pass all crucial pending bills before dissolution of Parliament by President Jakaya Kikwete on July 9.

The week-on-week turnover at the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE) extended its falling spree last week as investors start shifting their focus to year-end and new-year budgets.

Despite politically motivated rhetoric that Tanzania’s economy is growing at a significant pace, the number of youth without jobs is still alarming. By 2011, the unemployment rate was at 10.7 per cent, a slight drop from 11.7 per cent in 2007. A survey by an NGO, Restless Development, also reveals that only 14 per cent of over 1,000 youth in Tanzania have wages to speak of.

>It is now certain that the new constitution we are writing will not last at least 50 years for lack of political legitimacy.

According to the National Examination Council (NECTA), of the 40,753 who sat their A-Levels last May, 38,853 passed, which is equivalent to 98.87 per cent.

With the General Election approaching fast, the national focus is not only on political parties and the candidates, but also on the conduct of the key bodies overseeing this vital national exercise.

>Is politics a dirty game by its very nature? Our answer is a categorical “No.” In a truly civilised society, politics is a good thing, for it is through it that a state can be properly governed.

>A sense of pride and revelry is overtaking Tanzania as the nation readies to host the 2015 East and Central Africa Club Championship. Dubbed Cecafa Kagame Cup, the tournament kicks off today at the National Stadium in Dar es Salaam, It has brought together 13 teams.