Dar es Salaam. Former
presidents, Ali Hassan Mwinyi and Benjamin Mkapa, have showered praise
on the ‘immense investments’ by the Agha Khan Development Network (AKDN)
saying its operations cross national and religious boundaries.
The second and third phase government presidents
respectively were speaking in Dar es Salaam at an exhibition dubbed
‘Rays of Light’ which depicts a life of 49th Imam of Ismalis, His
Highness Prince Shah Karim Agha Khan IV.
The exhibition was meant to give a glimpse of what
Imam Agha Khan IV has done to support the people across the world
through AKDN, 50 years after he became Imam of Shia religion in July,
1957.
Several high profile figures and Dar es Salaam
residents visited the Diamond Jubilee Hall in the city last week for the
exhibition, where through pictures on display one could see how the
Prince Aga Khan IV engaged in different activities in serving the people
as Imam.
During his visit on Thursday, Mr Mkapa told
visiting envoys that the exhibition depicted a really good part of the
life of Imam Agha Khan IV. “Personally I had opportunity to meet the
Agha Khan when I was minister...If he were to exhibit all he did, a
larger exhibition would be needed,” he said.
He recalled that in 1991, the country made a
cooperation agreement with AKDN, and noted that he was aware of its
future immense investments in the country.
Mr Mwinyi, who visited the exhibition on
Wednesday, said: “I had personally met Imam Agha Khan, and I could sense
his feelings of love for Tanzania and its people.”
He said His Highness Agha Khan always carefully considered interests of Tanzanians for their benefits.
“We should learn to love each other irrespective of our differences in religion and other matters,” he urged.
He said Imam Agha Khan IV has helped Tanzanians, particularly in education and health services.
“This is due to the fact that its not only the
government that has the duty to develop education and health services,
private stakeholders also should come in,” he said.
For his part, the country resident representative
of AKDN, Mr Amin Kurji, described the life of His Highness Agha Khan as
“a fabric of our life and the World.”
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