What Do You Have In Your Hands Africa? Arise! Dhamir Ramz.

Dhamir Ramz is a young African leader who was born and bred in Zanzibar, a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania in East Africa. I always get in to holiday mood when I think of the beautiful Coastal Zanzibar.

When I met him at YALI, I was impressed by his gift of storytelling, passion in governance and the love of physical exercise. He started a morning aerobics class and would ensure that every one was participating. And when he was not facilitating the aerobics, he was praying outside our accommodation facility alone at four in the morning!

I tried to run away from his daily cardio trainings as much as possible because I am used to working out three times a week but brother was not having it. He instead encouraged me to wake up daily at four in the morning for his classes.

I must confess I did not attend all the classes but at least I joined seven or eight of them, maybe four or five.… Here I thought I was an exercise freak! Clearly not.

Dhamir whose name means heart conscience grew up in a farm as the 10^th child of Bi Mau, his mother of African and Persian descent. His dream as a child was to become a ship captain or engineer which was inspired by the boats that would dock at Mkoani port where he grew up. He confesses that he had a rough childhood and his family barely afforded two meals a day.

At age five, Ramz was already nurturing his entrepreneurship skills by painting ships that would visit Mkoani and selling the paintings to the captains or tourists. He is grateful to his father who encouraged him, taught him how to draw and was his biggest cheerleader when it came to education.

Upon sitting for his Primary school final exam at Ng’ombeni primary school, Dhamir was one of the two top students who were selected to join and study commerce and book keeping in the special talent class of Utaani Secondary School, Wete Pemba. Dhamir in collaboration with other students in college was the founder of ZIFA Youth Club which had the purpose of supporting the local community.

He was also the member of the cabinet in Zanzibar Institute of Financial Administration Students Organization (ZIFASO) taking the position of the Minister of Communication and Logistics.

He joined the Advanced level class in the School of Business in Zanzibar town. Dhamir later joined Zanzibar Institute of Financial Administration (ZIFA), a government owned college located in Chwaka Zanzibar where he graduated with an Advanced Diploma in Finance.

He has worked as an external auditor in the Audit Department of the Office of the Controller and Auditor General and the statutory Audit Office of the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar.

He is also the founder of a private business in Tours and Travel, which supports a local orphanage with basic needs and educational materials.

When he witnessed the irregular income, bad policy adoption on education and community, economic deterioration of Zanzibar community due to injustices imposed by the Union government to Zanzibaris, he vowed to work hard and be part of changing his community.

Dhamir is a local entrepreneur and has founded Business Consultancy and Marketing Breeze (BST), a company created to offer simplified business solutions through software design to support the private and government organizations. Some of their products currently in the market are Asset Register, MiniBook and AkibaYangu (for SMEs).

The young African leader says he uses strategy to achieve his vision. He says his current involvement in private business is with an aim of attaining sustainability so that he can support children who are unable to access basic needs and education. His main vision is to be directly involved in policy making and decision making in Zanzibar.

There is a lack of commitment by the Tanzanian government in pursuing a true Democracy, in disregarding the rule of law where justice should have been practiced and this includes rigging of elections in Zanzibar in 1995, 2000, 2005 and the nullification of the 2015 general election of Zanzibar for no apparent reasons.

Other reasons are the never ending corruption scandals that have been rocking the Zanzibar and Tanzania Mainland (Richmond in 2009, Escrow in 2014) governments in recent years.

I strive to become a voice that will see off the current Union problems between the two Governments through mediation and reconciliation.

I am driven by the determination to see Zanzibar become economically independent through adoption of the Three Government Union system which will comprise of Zanzibar, Tanganyika and the Union government as a lasting solution to current social and political crisis stimulated by the economic inequality of rights by the partner states. Dhamir said.

Dhamir is grateful for the YALI program and says he is planning to use the information for the benefit of his community and in addressing the political and social problems. To be part of formulating and adopting the policies which have proven successful in other African countries in combating similar issues.

My long time dream is to have a united Africa, where there will be no physical borders and we will all be one. My African Dream is based on our common beliefs, ideologies, social and political issues that are distinctive in our countries. Africa is emerging and is an economic powerhouse.

Just look at the interest other parts of the world have in Africa. Africans must however wake up and know what they have in their hands and I am pretty sure it will shock them. I aim to be among the African Leaders who will make Africa rise again.

To build a house, you need a strong foundation. The same goes into building a strong and a united Africa. We first need to embrace the knowledge of understanding, embrace our differences and then define our objectives and unite them for the execution of our African Dream.

I see myself going to any African state where my origin or nationality will not be a question that lives in the minds of my compatriots.

I always say getting in to politics is a calling from above. The passion that Dhamir exudes for governance is very clear. We wish you the very best Dhamir as you spread your roots deep and soar your wings wide.