DR SHEIN WARNS CLOVE SMUGGLERS

Dr Ali Mohamed who is the president of Zanzibar has reminded the government officials in Pemba to avoid engaging in smuggling of cloves, assisting that his government wouldn’t accommodate anyone involved in such dealings.

Shein said yesterday during a meeting with government leaders including heads of the revolutionary government, regional and district commissioners, regional and district administrative officers at Makonyo Hall in Chake Chake, Pemba.

Dr Shein who is in Pemba for a five-day working tour said clove was the nation;s economic lifeline, stressing that his government would soon launch intensive efforts to curb smuggling of the crop–calling for joint efforts from all stakeholders to curb smuggling.

“The objective is to curb smuggling of clove by unscrupulous people … so we all need to work together and step-up the fight,” he noted. Speaking on government clove plantations, Dr Shein said there were a few workers in “the responsible ministry” involved in the sale of clove farms, noting that they already have been identified and that stern measures would be taken against them.

He stressed the importance of the leaders to stand firm on the public service management Act of 2011 which provides guidelines on obligations in their respective positions.

He also urged the leaders to take their time in the issue of devolution to local government, in which the central government had since initiated such moves within the education, health and agriculture sectors.

Dr Shein also urged government leaders to work closely with the public, including communities that could help identify key challenges and solutions instead of sitting in their offices. He also encouraged the officials to work with journalists and avail reports for the benefit of the public.