CAF snub: Another reminder of the level of refereeing in Tanzania

According to a list of referees and assistant referees released by CAF last week, no Tanzanian referee or assistant referee was deemed good enough to make the final list of match officials for the forthcoming Africa Cup of Nations for home-based players in Rwanda.
The development will come as a further black eye for Tanzanian referees, who continue to suffer criticism at home for their poor handling of matches in the domestic competitions.
To observers of Tanzanian domestic football competitions, there is no surprise in the CAF snub. It is still fresh in the minds of many who saw being robbed of victory in the ongoing Mapinduzi Cup in Zanzibar.
Mtibwa Sugar were undone by match officials against Azam FC after a dubious and controversial call from match official denied them a second goal.
It was a decision that angered even the neutrals and left Azam FC officials feeling embarrassed.
Rather than shifting the blame to CAF and other political reasons, our officials should take continuous snub from CAF and FIFA points to a big problem that need to be solved.
We do not need CAF and FIFA to tell us that our refereeing standards are a nothing but a big joke. Even without the two powerful football bodies confirmation, we have seen enough evidence to eliminate any doubts that our referees are not credible is the very reason why they are not just overlooked but ignored.
Lack of credibility among our referees comes in many packages: Match fixing, corruption, insincerity, favouritism.
I was reliably informed that the snub is an effect of match fixing scandal that unfortunately was not dealt with. The authority chose to bury the case rather than solve it.
Corruption in our football is a vice that has been mentioned before even some of us were born. It is used as rallying whenever there is a football election. But is still a big problem according to many insiders.
Referees were once poorly paid but even now with the increased payment cases of officials being paid to influence a certain outcomes in a match are still being whispered in all corners.
Incompetency is the most worrisome factor contributing to Tanzanian referees being overlooked and ignored in major competitions. Sometimes innocent referees are guilty of making wrong calls out of sheer incompetency.
Due to incompetency, our referees struggle to apply the law despite knowing the applicable laws of the game. They do well in training and are awarded the FIFA badges but find it hard to graduate into the elite category.
Most referees who officiate in major competitions belong to the elite class. Unfortunately, Tanzania only has one elite referee despite boasting a number of referees with FIFA badges. Even that single elite referee is an assistant, and I am told he is in his sunset years. Bleak future.
Let the concerned authorities take this latest snub as a wakeup call. Something needs to be done. It takes long time to right a wrong but efforts should not be spared. If there is a wholehearted willingness I believe this problem can be solved.