According to the Daily News, the Party Chairman, Mwalimu Nyerere, stated at a meeting in Ngorongoro as recently as August 5th 1987 that it will be the task of the National Party Congress to be held in Dodoma In the second half of October this year to decide whether he should continue to be the C.C.M. Party Chairman or whether the President of the United Republic of Tanzania should become the Chairman, Mwalimu has also indicated however, at several other meetings that he believes that the two posts should be held by the same person.

Mwalimu Nyerere was answering a question at Ngorongoro from a Party member who wanted to know how the nation would benefit from his ideas if he decided to step down in October when elections of Party national leaders would be conducted. The member proposed that Mwalimu should become an adviser to the Party and Government because of his rich experience in leadership.

A little while earlier however, on July 20 1987, Britain’s Daily Telegraph, quoting from the Party newspaper Uhuru, stated that Mwalimu would definitely quit as Chairman in October. The Telegraph went on to say that this news had come as a big relief to the reformers who now lead the Tanzanian Government.

This Bulletin believes that Mwalimu is likely to stand down in October unless there is a mass movement in the Party resulting in an appeal to him to change his mind and continue in office.
Editor