May Day

So, tommorow is May Day. Public holiday for us, and a big one too because We Appreciate Our Workers like any good Socialist Country does. The Trade Unions Confederation of Tanzania (TUCTA) is revving up their loudspeakers. They just changed the theme last minute to something about redistributing the wealth. "We want a bigger slice of the pie" or some such. Fisadis: Message! Prior to that, the motto was going to be: "A Tanzania Without Poverty: It is Possible" (loose translation), which is one of the Party's many lines. Doesn't sound to me like TUCTA and the Party are quite as tight as they were in the glorious past. Heh.

Mr. President was planning to be there with his people at the nation-wide celebration until his Office announced early in the week that he wouldn't be able to make it, so sorry, next time. Might be jet-lag, who knows, but at last year's event the outspoken TUCTA head honcho Nestory Ngulla read out a speech about minimum wages that overshadowed the President's weak remarks quite badly. This year, the fractious teacher's union has called off a planned strike over wages which is good, though the new TUCTA theme does not bode well for the government. Who knows what Mr. Ngulla is going to have to say this time around? Prudent indeed to watch from afar. Workers of the World, Unite!