PRESIDENT Samia Suluhu Hassan has issued a firm warning to foreign actors against attempting to dictate how Tanzania manages its domestic affairs, insisting that the country will chart its own course regardless of external pressure or limited aid.

Addressing the nation via a public meeting with the Dar es Salaam Council of Elders, President Samia said Tanzania would not be intimidated by directives from development partners following the dispute on the violence around the general election.

“Some are telling us Tanzania must do this or that. Who are you? Do you think you are our masters? Is it because of the small amounts of money you give us?” she demanded,  underlining that the funds that some foreign actors claim to be providing are far lower than it was the case earlier and cannot be used as leverage over the country’s governance.

“The money is not there. It is too little. We are now talking about doing business so that while they benefit, we also benefit,” she explained, asserting that some of the pressure comes from groups coordinated from outside.

The government will not allow religious sects or their followers to destabilize the country, she further stated, urging religious leaders to live according to the teachings of their faiths, stand firm and not disrupt the nation.

She was explicit that the government is aware of plans for additional demonstrations, warning that security organs are fully prepared to respond to any such provocations, with a view to protecting the country and its people.

Reiterating the wish to set up a commission to examine how reconciliation can be attained before the country embarks on the process towards a new constitution, she said the country’s laws cannot be amended in a divisive environment.

Salum Matimbwa, the chairman of the city elders, said the elders were deeply shocked by the violent incidents of October 29, resulting in the loss of life, destruction of property and damaging vital public infrastructure.

He lauded the president for swift condemnation of the violence and pledging to restore peace and stability. Drawing comparisons with the colonial-era poll tax, he said that although the levy was highly unpopular and movement was restricted without paying it, the people did not take to the streets. 

“Instead, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere led national dialogue until reforms were reached. This is why we are bewildered by the current situation,” he said, wishing that Tanzania retains its long-standing reputation as an island of peace and expressing confidence that it would remain so under the president’s leadership.

“We elders are very pleased with your decision to establish a dedicated Ministry for Youth, who form the nation’s essential workforce,” the elder stated, hinting at the wish to help guiding and advising young people as part of parental responsibility.

He was also positive on the president’s promise to deliver universal health insurance within the first 100 days in office, similarly urging that allowances for advisers serving on elders’ councils be improved to ease frequent transportation needs and other auxiliaries in the course of performing their duties.