Within four days of the passage into law of the legislation governing Tanzania’s new Multi-party system on July 1 1992, some 36 sets of application forms to be registered as political parties had been applied for.
On July 28th the first six parties were registered:
NATIONAL LEAGUE FOR DEMOCRACY (NLD) Interim leader – Emmanuel Makaidi
CHAMA CHA DEMOKRASIA NA MAENDELEO (CHADEMA) former Finance Minister Edwin Mtei and former Junior Minister Edward Barongo.
UNION FOR MULTI-PARTY DEMOCRACY (UMD) Chief Abdullah Fundikira and Christopher Kasanga Tumbo
PRAGMATIC DEMOCRATIC ALLIANCE (PDA) Nicholas Munuo Ng’uni
NATIONAL CONVENTION FOR CONSTRUCTION AND REFORM (NCCR-Mageuzi) Dar es Salaam lawyer Mabere Marando and Prince Bagenda.
LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY (LDP) Hillary Mapunda
Radio Tanzania announced the names of six more registered parties as we were going to press; details are not available:
SEPT – Leader said to be Mahenda
TDP – Magesa
CHAMATA – Semiono
CCD – Kaoneka
TPP – Dr Chemponda
UPDP – Dadi (Headquarters in Zanzibar)
In introducing before Parliament the Bill for the Eighth Constitutional Amendment in Dodoma on April 30 1992, Prime Minister and First Vice-President John Malecela, stated that the Government would be presenting a series of Bills in the future to implement several of the recommendations of the Nyalali Presidential Commission (Bulletin No 42) but it did not accept all of them. The Commission had proposed, for example, a new form of federation with separate governments for the Federation, the mainland and Zanzibar. The Government did not accept this proposal because, although there were problems between the present Union Government and Zanzibar (in the areas of citizenship, exchange control, division of customs revenue, and the financing of the Union) the solution did not lie in setting up a Federation which would weaken the solidarity of the nation. The present constitutional set up would continue for the time being.
POLITICAL GATHERINGS – LEGAL AND ILLEGAL
Addressing thousands of people who turned up at the Mnazi Mmoja grounds on August 7th the Chairman of CHADEMA, Mr Edwin Mtei promised to promote local industry and cut down the importation of raw materials which should be obtained from within the country.
The Interim Chairman on UMB, Chief Fundikira, speaking at his party’s first rally, called for multi-party elections within the next twelve months. The Government has announced that the elections will be in 1995.
PDA Interim Chairman Nicholas Munuo blamed Socialism and Self Reliance for Tanzania’s present woes at his first rally.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Dodoma branch of the unregistered Democratic Party, Rev Christopher Mtikila and nine others, have been arrested for holding an illegal meeting.
The constitutional debate has already brought to the fore a number of
other significant issues (in addition to the perennial debate about the
position of Zanzibar in the Union):
INDIGENISATION OR ‘ECONOMIC MAGEUZI’
“Who is handling the Bureau de Change” asked Member of Parliament for Makete during an interview in the Dar es Salaam Express. “The black people of Tanzania are not handling them because they don’t have the money to establish such activities.” But, as an Asian businessman, quoted in the same paper said “I may be of Asian origin, but as far as I’m concerned I am a Tanzanian.” So has begun what is being called the debate on Indigenisation or ‘Economic Mageuzi’. Some political parties are beginning to raise the issue.
THE RELIGIOUS TIMEBOMB
The Business Times, in an article under this heading, quoted Professor Jamanne Wagao, the Economic Advisor to Mwalimu Nyerere, as stating that the fall of the Ujamaa ideology was the man cause of the recent growth of religious militancy in Tanzania. People were searching for alternative ideologies. Sheikh Kassim bin Jima bin Khamis was quoted as called upon the government to create special seats in the legislature for representatives of religious communities as the checks and balances under a one-party state might not be there within a multi-party system. Christian militants were said to be accusing President Mwinyi of failing to take stern measures against fellow Muslims who were preaching against and insulting the Bible.