Ambassador Ombeni Sefue
THE government is preparing a syllabus on ethics and the tenets of societal integrity to be incorporated in the school curriculum from primary level upwards with the view to improve integrity, moral and ethical conduct.
The Chief Secretary, Ambassador Ombeni Sefue, said this on Wednesday when opening a one-day workshop on capacity building in Dar es Salaam.
He said that the national ethics vision will be incorporated in school curricula from lower levels, with the ultimate goals being to impart to children the critical knowledge of moral integrity and societal ethics as they grow up and become adults with full potential.
“The need to instil in children ethical knowledge and integrity should not be left to the government alone.It should be addressed at grassroots level, because this is where we groom the young to become future adults who should have national prosperity at heart,” he said.
He commended the Ethics Committee for organising the meeting that brought together religious leaders, non-governmental officials as well as representatives from civil societies to address the critical ethical issues and moral decay.
He said that if there is a need to have future generations that observe ethics and integrity as they are among the most critical requirements for the national development.
Ambassador Sefue went on to say that lack of integrity has forced some local and foreign investors to be skeptical on employing Tanzanians in some key posts for fear of being let down.
“They have lodged claims that they cannot employ Tanzanians in some posts as they are only good in making dubious deals and cheating. These negative societal aspects are a result of lack of integrity,” he said.
He said that poor ethical conduct and moral decay have cost the country. He added that holders of Tanzanian passports are no longer respected due to the growing menace of illicit narcotic drugs business conducted by locals.
Ambassador Sefue said that he was not against people being rich so long as they acquire their wealth through proper channels. However, he was against the current trend where people get “very rich” although their legal incomes are insignificant.
“Do we question our wives or husbands when they come home with huge amounts of money or posh cars while knowing that the income does not afford ownership of such assets. In most cases we just celebrate.
That is a sign of poor moral and ethical conduct,” he said. Earlier, Ethics Secretariat Commissioner, Judge (rtd) Salome Kaganda, said that the workshop is intended to empower the participants on the public leadership code of ethics, so that they support efforts that seek to ensure that they are adhered to.
