Chwaka Bay is a large indentation in the central east coast of the Tanzanian island of Unguja - the largest island of the Zanzibar Archipelago. The bay contains several small islands, and the towns of Chwaka and Kae are situated on its coast. The southwest corner of the bay forms part of the Jozani-Chwaka Bay National Park
Source: Trek Earth.
The President of Tanzania's semi-autonomous Zanzibar islands backed a power-sharing deal with the opposition to end years of political turmoil.
"We cannot continue in crisis because we have gained nothing out of it in the past years," Amani Karume said on Thursday as he opened a renovated stadium.
"Britain recently had elections and had to form a coalition government. We must also learn from others to have smooth and stable democracy," added Amani of the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM - Revolutionary Party).
Zanzibar -- made up of Unguja and Pemba isles -- united with mainland Tanganyika in 1964 to form Tanzania.
It has been dogged by political crises ever since and these worsened with the restoration of multi-party politics in 1992.
Election disputes between CCM and the main opposition group, Civic United Front (CUF), have often resulted in bloody violence.
Last year Karume and CUF leader Seif Sharif Hamad opened talks to resolve the crisis and have agreed to hold a referendum on power-sharing on July 31.
Under the agreement, Zanzibar will have a president and two vice-presidents: A first deputy president from the party which comes second in the polls and the second from the winning party.
Ministries will be allocated on a proportional basis.
Tanzania is to hold general elections on October 31.
Geographically, Zanzibar archipelago comprises three isles, but the third, Mafia, falls under the mainland administratively.
The Indian Ocean archipelago, with palm-fringed beaches and historic sites, is a famous travel destination and tourism is its mainstay.
Source: LIVE
When Britain granted independence to the majority of its African colonies in the 1950s and 1960s, it attempted to hand down Westminster's parliamentary system as an institutional legacy. Today, the Westminster model in most of these colonies has all but disappeared. As Britain haggles over the prospect of reforms to its political system, there is room for dialogue with former African colonies about how to improve government models.
One of Britain's justifications for colonialism in Africa was that it sought to "civilise the natives" by preparing them for democratic government based on the Westminster model. At independence Ghana, Somalia, Cameroon, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, Zanzibar, Zambia, Malawi, Gambia, Lesotho, Botswana, Swaziland and Zimbabwe had as one of their institutional legacies this model.
However, institutionalising our parliamentary system among the "natives" had not been a dominant pursuit throughout colonialism. British colonial government had been undemocratic. As Barry Munslow writes, "from 1910 to 1948 Sir Roger Furse controlled all applications to civil service posts. He went to Eton and Balliol College (Oxford) but confessed that he owed his success more to his training as a cavalry officer. After the first world war, new recruits to the colonial service tended to be ex-officers and later were drawn from the public schools and Oxbridge. The result was that the ethos of a ruling class, that in Britain was fast losing its exclusive claim, became the ethos of the colonial service".
The Westminster model was, with the exception of Ghana, belatedly transplanted during rapid decolonisation processes in Africa. Britain did not consider that it could not be handed down to African colonies regardless of historical, cultural and education contexts. Transplanting the Westminster model also meant that there was no real ownership of the system in African colonies. There was no emphasis on the necessity of having a significant transition period during which it might have taken root in Africa.
In view of this, it is unsurprising that the imported political system collapsed in the vast majority of former British colonies in Africa. Single-party rule and military coup d'états became the norm. The blame was often directed at the Africans. The British model was not the problem: Africans were not ready for democracy. It is, however, more accurate to say that the system of the colonisers was unworkable in many former African colonies for the reasons outlined above. And despite ongoing problems, parts of Africa have democratised considerably since decolonisation.
Most former British colonies in Africa now have presidential systems of government. The presidential system has its merits: presidents are elected directly by the people and it offers stable and decisive government. Nonetheless, concentration of excessive powers in the presidency has caused dictatorship, and is a hindrance to leadership change. Democracy activists have worked hard for the introduction of presidential term limits. They continue to work towards the reduction of presidential powers.
When Britain promotes government models in Africa, it is prone to assuming that its system is better. This is not to say African systems are of a higher standard. However, the flawed nature of the British political system, which became most evident in the 2010 elections, behoves us to be less paternalistic. It is fitting that we seek dialogue on political system reforms – as equals – with former African colonies. There is much we may learn from their experiences, just as they can learn from the British system's current problems.
Source:Guardian
Stone Town, Zanzibar - The semi-autonomous African archipelago of Zanzibar will hold a July vote on whether to change its constitution to allow rival parties to form coalition governments, after a decade of bitter party politics.
The July 31 ballot is aimed at ending recurring bouts of political violence that have marred elections since the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party won a fiercely disputed poll in 2000. Reconciliation talks have faltered several times.
But a gradual rapprochement between the CCM and its once bitter rival, the opposition Civic United Front (CUF), late last year has led to talk from both about a cross-party government.
The constitution of Zanzibar, an island group in the Indian Ocean off Africa's east coast that is a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania, has no provisions for a power-sharing agreement and would have to be changed to allow a cross-party government.
"The electoral commission will take a leading role in reaching out to voters for this new concept to be understood," Khatib Mwinyichande, chairman of the Zanzibar Electoral Commission, told reporters.
Polls on the palm-fringed islands off Tanzania were tainted by bloodshed and allegations of vote rigging in 2000 and 2005, and three sets of reconciliation talks between the two main political parties had previously stalled.
Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete has described the archipelago as the "Achilles' heel" of the otherwise peaceful country of 40 million people.
If the referendum is passed then the constitution would be amended in time for October's presidential and parliamentary votes in both Zanzibar and Tanzania.
The leaders of both the CCM and CUF have urged their supporters to vote 'yes' in the referendum although a right wing section of the ruling party is spearheading a 'no' campaign.
Voter registration on Zanzibar ended earlier this month.
During the process the ZEC reported clear cases of fraud with voters registering two or three times in different places. The opposition has claimed thousands of its members were unable to register.
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