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Dar es Salaam. President John Magufuli yesterday warned leaders of opposition parties to recover if they did not want to go to jail.
Already, a number of opposition politicians have appeared in court in recent years, charged, among other offenses, with sedition, illegal assembly and incitement to hatred.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the $ 41 million state-of-the-art library (University of Dar es Salaam), President Magufuli urged opposition leaders to emulate Edward Lowassa , former prime minister and presidential candidate of 2015 Chadema, to maintain his composure despite his loss (Mr. Magufuli) in the last general election.
Mr. Lowassa went from the CCM to power in opposition and went to the presidency against his former party.
"I congratulate you (Lowassa). This is the kind of Tanzania we want to build. Political parties should not be vectors of division, but catalysts for development.
"I say it with all due respect so that you (Lowassa) can go and advise the people under your command, otherwise they will end up in prison," warned Dr. Magufuli.
He also said that the government would continue to seek support from the Chinese government for financing development projects, saying that Asian economic power has favorable conditions for loans and grants compared to other development partners.
President Magufuli said that China's financial support to Tanzania over the years has stimulated socio-economic transformation.
He added that China has long been providing loans and grants on favorable terms to Tanzania and that this support is proof of a genuine partnership between the two countries.
"I would like to thank the Chinese government for granting us a grant of more than 90 billion shillings for the construction of the library we are opening today," he said.
William Anangisye, Vice Chancellor of the UDSM, said the construction of the library, which covers a total of 20, 000 square meters, began in December 2015.
The facility can accommodate 2,100 students at the same time, along with other services, including a conference room that can accommodate 600 people and 160 computers connected to the Internet.
According to Professor Anangisye, an amount of 1.7 billion shillings was reserved for the purchase of books for the library during the 2017/18 fiscal year. During the current fiscal year, some 1.1 billion shillings have been earmarked for the same purpose.
President Magufuli has asked the university administration to ensure that the library, with a storage capacity of 800,000 books, is filled with materials that will benefit not only UDSM students, but also those of other universities.
"This library should be a source of knowledge and, ultimately, a catalyst for improving the quality of education," said the head of state.
Wang Ke, Chinese Ambassador to Tanzania, said the library should serve as a catalyst for the production of skilled and innovative Tanzanians.
"It is the largest and most modern library built by China in Africa. I think students and other stakeholders will use the knowledge gained in this library to stimulate industrialization, "she said.
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