President, Barack Obama has saluted his Tanzanian counterpart, Jakaya Kikwete on the way he has been handling the reconciliation process in Zanzibar. In his special message delivered to President Kikwete by the US Ambassador in Tanzania, Mr Alfonso E. Lenhardt in Dar es Salaam on Tuesday, the US president said that President Kikwete’s efforts culminated in the successful holding of the referendum on the Government of National Unity (GNU) in Zanzibar. “On behalf of the American people, I am congratulating you personally, Zanzibar leaders and the people as well as all Tanzanians for holding a peaceful referendum on the formation of a GNU held on July 31”, President Obama said in the message. He added that President Kikwete was a man who lived by his word, recalling their talks at the White House in the US on May 21, last year, when he (Kikwete) expressed his desire for reconciliation among the warring Zanzibar politicians. “It's my pleasure indeed that in a very short period of time, your able leadership, the resolve by the Zanzibar Electoral Commission (ZEC), non-governmental organizations, religious institutions and political parties have all helped to make a notable step in bringing about lasting peace which was demonstrated in the referendum”, he said. During their talks at the White House, President Kikwete promised his counterpart that his government would deploy every effort towards ending the political tension in Zanzibar peacefully. However, President Obama said there are still challenges as the general elections in October approach. But he said he was optimistic about the government’s desire to elect their leaders peacefully. “Through your visionary leadership, I can see a ray of hope and I am hopeful we will continue working together for the good of our great countries,” President Obama said in the message to President Kikwete.
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