As Tanzanians celebrated fifty years of independence on 9th December 2011, they also engaged in an animated national debate over constitutional developments anticipated for 2012 (see TA No 99). This is not for the first time, nor are the basic issues unfamiliar: citizens are concerned to improve democratic structures, protect human rights and clarify the uneasy relationship between the mainland and Zanzibar.

In 1961 the Trust Territory of Tanganyika, to most people’s surprise, overtook its neighbours Kenya and even Uganda in the race to independence but, following the pattern of previous British decolonisation, paradoxically became for the first time part of the dominions of HM Queen Elizabeth II, represented locally by Governor-General Turnbull! (Zambia broke the mould in 1964, when it passed overnight from Protectorate to independent Republic.) Tanganyika also joined the Commonwealth (Nyerere’s ultimatum on apartheid having earlier forced the withdrawal of South Africa, a founder member of the organisation).

More surprises lay ahead. A month later, in a move unique among African nationalist leaders, Prime Minister Nyerere (still awaiting a biographer) resigned, replaced by his loyal deputy, the late Rashidi Kawawa. Nyerere spent much of 1962 as leader of the Tanganyika African National Union (TANU), which dominated Parliament and therefore controlled the Government, visiting local party branches to study and strengthen its democratic structures, based on ten-house cells at village level. Following constitutional amendments, Tanganyika became a Republic on the first anniversary of independence and Nyerere was installed as President, to lead the Government and country for more than 20 years.

Zanzibar gained independence on 9th December 1963; a month later the Sultan and Constitution were overthrown by revolution and the Afro-Shirazi Party (ASP) assumed control. In April 1964 the Articles of Union between Tanganyika and Zanzibar were signed, establishing the United Republic which later adopted the name Tanzania. Thus began a unique and troublesome quasi-federal relationship, which continues to dog national politics.

In 1965, in accordance with a TANU and Government decision and following a draft prepared by a Presidential Commission, the innovative one-party Constitution was adopted (see TA No 4). Redrafted in 1977, when TANU had become Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), it lasted for over 25 years and still casts its shadow. It effectively subordinated national organs like the National Assembly to the primacy of Party organs. At elections voters chose between two TANU candidates selected by primary (party) elections, although in Presidential elections they voted for or against the single candidate nominated by TANU. Uniquely, Tanzania was a one-party state with two ruling parties (CCM on the mainland, ASP in Zanzibar), two Constitutions (Zanzibar adopted its own in 1979), two Presidents, two Parliaments and two governments.

Tanzanian leaders had rejected the inclusion of a justiciable Bill of Rights in the independence Constitution, but to protect citizens the 1965 Constitution adopted a novel form of collegiate `Ombudsman’ – the Permanent Commission of Inquiry, to investigate citizens’ complaints of maladministration. The only other Ombudsman then in the Commonwealth – in New Zealand – provided the model for the law Tanzania adopted. Not until 1984 did Parliament respond to public political pressure and add the Bill of Rights, enforceable by the courts, to the Constitution. The celebrated Arusha Declaration 1967 had constitutional implications, especially in the Leadership Code, as did the elaborate but ill-fated project of decentralised government in the 1970s.

Major constitutional change followed the Nyalali Presidential Commission (1991) (TA 50). This reflected and focussed public opinion in favour of a multi-party system, which was established by constitutional amendments. However, loyalty to the former single party CCM has given it overwhelming Parliamentary majorities at successive General Elections, only slowly eroded by the several opposition parties.

Jim Read

Now, for the latest information on the constitutional debate we are grateful to Frederick Longino who has brought us up to date:

Compiled by Frederick Longino

Few issues in Tanzania recently have attracted the attention given to the first stages of the constitutional review process now under way. Recent debates in parliament have attracted an unusual amount of interest and controversy.

After months of consultation, meetings of legislative committees, and waiting, a Bill allowing for the establishment of a Constitutional Review Body was read for the first time in the National Assembly on 18th April 2011. Following many complaints it was then amended and presented again.

A Tanganyika Law Society (TLS) press release stated that the Bill didn’t accurately reflect the will of the people. Many Zanzibaris in particular were unhappy. Many people wanted a new, rather than a ‘rewritten’ constitution, and the removal of inviolability clauses to ensure greater representation on the proposed Constituent Assembly. The Guardian reported ‘Constitutional Review Bill still drawing fire’. Suggestions came from human rights groups like TAMWA, The Legal and Human Rights centre, the Tanzania Retired Judges Association, the Trade Union of Tanzania, the University of Dar es Salaam academic staff assembly, the Centre for Democracy and the opposition parties. Consequently, the Citizen wrote that ‘elders should step in and rescue the Bill.’

In November, the government continued to solicit last minute consultations with constitutional experts from the University of Dar es Salaam and ex-prime ministers including Joseph Warioba and Salim Ahmed Salim.

This last minute opposition by activists, academics and civil societies didn’t diminish the government’s determination to take the Bill to parliament in Dodoma for the second reading in November. The main object of the Bill was to set in motion the process of collecting people’s views and re-writing the country’s basic law.

In the debates in parliament, MPs gathered amidst half a dozen media cameras. CCM MPs cheered wildly when anything was said to ridicule the opposition Chadema and NCCR-Mageuzi MPs.

Walkout
There was a walkout after Chadema’s Tundu Lissu MP had read an alternative draft Bill and rejected the government Bill. He objected that the Bill did not contain the various recommendations made by parliament when the first draft was rejected in April 2011. However both the government and Speaker refused to withdraw the Bill on the grounds that Tanzanians had been consulted and all legal processes had been followed. Chadema argued that the proposed Bill had given super powers to the President, including him being the only appointment authority of the constitutional commission, the qualifications of the constitutional commissioners, timescales for both debating the Bill and the proposed completion time. Eventually Chadema and NCCR-Mageuzi MPs boycotted the session by walking out prompting wild boos and cheers from CCM MPs (Mwananchi).

No volume of cheering CCM MPs could drown out the technical mistakes that afflicted the Bill but it was finally endorsed by parliamentarians on 17th November 2011. Retired Justice Khamis Msumi said that: ‘The terms of reference of the people who will draw up the constitution are the heart of the matter because they are the ones which lead the commission…the consequences of having bad terms will be the forming of a bad constitution’ – The Citizen.

When the opposition parties and civil societies came out in protest, even after parliamentary approval, the sealed Bill had already become an Act. The Minister’s envelope resembled a Christmas party gift on Christmas Day. The Bill was immediately dispatched to the State House for President Kikwete to assent, as explained when all local newspapers featured the story on 19th November.

At the last parliamentary debate arguments by both CCM and opposition MPs made MPs seem like a ‘grade-school talent pageant’. It is unfortunate that the few MPs from the opposition could not block the motion going through against the majority CCM MPs. The home audience following the debate through Star TV and TBC1 would have been baffled by what they saw – Mtanzania, Majira and The Citizen reported on 15th November that ‘the road to the new constitution will be very bumpy’.

Immediately after walking out, MPs from Chadema and NCCR-Mageuzi indicated that they no longer wanted to participate in the debate and the passing of the Bill, but preferred to speak directly to Tanzanians nationwide. The Guardian reported this on 16th Nov, but the Police immediately banned all political rallies.

Chadema meets the President

Chadema leadership meet with President Kikwete

Earlier Chadema had requested to meet President Kikwete to discuss the Act. Chadema claimed that the President had been misinformed of their party’s views. The two met in talks described as fruitful and apparently agreed that there was a need for the government and other stakeholders to hold constant meetings and consultations, for the purpose of soliciting a national consensus. But government believed that the bill was perfect and the day after the President met Chadema he signed the Constitution Bill. The President made it clear that he would continue to receive views from stakeholders on how to best to improve the situation. Chadema then indicated that they would be boycotting the entire process of constitutional review, according to The Citizen on 30th November.

For the huge majority of people abroad and in Tanzania it appeared that Chadema had not been much involved in deciding the contents of the Bill.

The Constitutional Review Act 2011 stipulates that ‘politicians including MPs, councillors, security organs, officers or anyone charged in court with offenses related to ethics and losing trust, will not be nominated to the Commission’ and that the Constitutional Assembly would comprise all union MPs, all members of the House of Representatives, ministers responsible for the constitution and justice from the Union and Zanzibar and Chief Justices from both sides of the Union. In addition, there will be 116 members who will be selected from NGOs, religious organisations, political parties, higher learning institutions and groups of people with special needs. The Bill stipulates in section 27 (1) that the Tanzania Electoral Commission in collaboration with the Zanzibar Electoral Commission would supervise a referendum to decide whether the country should have the new constitution or not.

However, Tanzania Daima reported on 12th November that Zanzibaris wanted the new union constitution to recognise Zanzibar’s status as a country. It is currently ‘seen’ as one of the regions of the United Republic of Tanzania. There were threats of demonstrations to make their voices heard, Nipashe reported.

If there is to be a moment of anxiety for Tanzanians it would probably be during this period until the review is completed. The government said it is very much committed to a ‘new’ or ‘lipsticked’ constitution. But, to fill time, the government has fulfilled its duty to present the Bill in parliament for debate.

The constitution, to Tanzanians, is the mother of other laws that all Tanzanians need to adore, and they could do a lot of good with it for their future. When the new constitution is ready Tanzania will be brighter. However, the ‘lipsticked’ constitution will certainly be unfit for the forthcoming challenges in the ever-changing Tanzania, Zitto Kabwe an MP for Chadema, writes in his facebook.

Frederick Longino is a PhD student at York University studying the Interplay between Childrens Welfare and African Pentecostal Belief and Practice. Earlier he worked on Good Governance in the President’s Office in Dar es Salaam.

Newly elected MP Peter Kafuma (CCM) is held aloft by his supporters

The Igunga district in Tabora Region might have become prominent in the history of Tanzania if, in the recent by-election there, Tanzania’s main opposition party Chadema had wrested the seat from the ruling CCM party. Both parties made tremendous efforts to win in some of the most active political campaigning Tanzania has ever seen. But Chadema lost and Igunga will now presumably return to its previous political obscurity.

Former President of Tanzania Benjamin Mkapa was chosen by CCM to lead its campaign. In his opening speech he slammed the opposition parties for trying to persuade the public that CCM had done nothing since independence. He said that during his term in office he worked closely with the existing Igunga MP, Rostam Aziz, (a prominent figure in the CCM leadership) to bring development to the area. “Such cooperation had made Igunga one of the most exemplary districts in Tanzania in terms of social development” he said.

The ruling CCM won the by-election by a narrow margin over the opposition party. Dr Peter Kafumu of CCM got 26,484 votes while Chadema’s Peter Kashindye got 23,260. Leopold Mahona from the Civic United Front (CUF), who was earlier considered a threat to CCM although the party’s main strength is in Zanzibar, was far behind with only 2,104 votes – Majira.

It was a highly eventful by-election in which all three main candidates used helicopters. Among the incidents reported in the press:

– the CUF candidate exchanged blows with Field Force Police after he was forced down from a podium. The police discovered that CUF had organized a meeting in an area already designated for Chadema.

– former President Benjamin Mkapa asked voters to choose CCM and not ‘childish’ political parties – Mwananchi.

– all parties fielded many of their top people including Chadema chairman Freeman Mbowe, Secretary General Dr. Wilbroad Slaa and youthful and charismatic MPs like Zitto Kabwe, Joseph Mbilinyi, Halima Mdee and John Mnyika.

– the media were there in strength. One journalist wrote how a CCM leader had been found in bed with another man’s wife but had escaped being beaten (Tanzania Daima). Later, CCM was reported to be buying up all newspapers in Igunga to bury the scandal – Mtanzania.

– Chadema supporters temporarily arrested the Igunga District Commissioner, who was said to be addressing an ‘illegal party meeting’ and the police then arrested two Chadema MPs said to have been involved.

How did CCM win?
The answer to this question (CCM had to defeat seven other candidates) was given by Ray Naluyaga in the Citizen. He summed it up as CCM’s clear message delivery, a well-coordinated party network, its campaign strategies and its long experience in local politics.

Admission by CCM that the national cake was small and that it must prioritise on what it does with it, made people understand why Igunga lacked bridges and roads, he explained. While Chadema enjoys immense support among the youth, CCM has women as permanent voters.

A PhD student was quoted as saying: “I attended Chadema’s campaign closing rally. It was the largest compared to those of CCM and CUF, but the crowd comprised mostly youths between 15 and 17 years of age who were not registered as voters…. “

CCM’s decision to use Rostam Aziz at its opening ceremony (after he had resigned from the party) restored the lost confidence among some voters who had started to see it as a party marred by internal conflicts. As for Chadema, he said it failed to give its candidate enough time to campaign. At the first rally party chairman Freeman Mbowe spent most of the time faulting President Kikwete, a thing that was not a priority for Igunga voters. The Chadema candidate was given only three minutes, though most people wanted to hear from the person seeking to be their MP. At other villages the candidate spoke for only five minutes. Chadema’s defeat was also blamed on the party’s failure to localise its campaign. Chadema used people from outside Igunga such as its MPs and other party officials while CCM relied heavily on locals. Wherever CCM held a rally, people close to Dr Kafumu, who were Igungans and spoke the local dialect, remained behind and chatted with the people face to face about their candidate and the party. This is something that Chadema did not do.

The Tanzanian government (and many of the Tanzanians who have commented) have made their views on what happened recently in Libya very clear. They were opposed to the NATO intervention (which was said to be designed to prevent the rebels in Benghazi from probable killing by Gaddafi forces); they objected to the involvement of Britain and France, especially as they considered that these countries were exceeding the UN and Arab League mandates for action. They then (in common with most of Africa) refused to recognise the rebels as a legitimate transitional government of Libya and expressed horror at the brutal way Colonel Gaddafi had been killed in the final days of the insurrection.

Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Minister Bernard Membe said that that the Colonel did not have to die, as his pursuers had ‘seized him alive.’

According to the Minister, those who boast of being pioneers of human rights and justice should have arrested him and allowed him to be tried in court instead of killing him point blank. “The killing of the Libyan leader might trigger an endless war since there are many people in that country who have lost beloved ones and could be keen on revenge…. experience shows that an undemocratic regime leads to insecurity.”

Some people however felt that Gaddafi’s demise should act as a lesson to other leaders across the world and that the desire of the majority was more powerful than any individual. Others said: “Gaddafi was a brutal fascist dictator who mixed elements of Islamic religious fanaticism with Arabic nationalism and who put up a pretence of being a Pan Africanist.”

Others accused the African Union of not acting while a member state was being attacked.

Tanzania decided not to recognize the new Libyan government because it believed that international laws were violated in the overthrowing of Colonel Gaddafi. Tanzania did not allow the Libyan embassy staff in Dar to fly the new Libyan flag. The influential African magazine ‘New African’ wrote of what it described as ‘the new British/French colony’ that had been established in North Africa.

Dr Wilbrod Slaa (Secretary General of Chadema)

A Synovate opinion poll taken in May and reported in the Citizen on August 4 provided some revealing insights into what Tanzanians were then thinking about the leadership of their country. According to the poll (based on only 1,994 respondents), if an election were held in 2011, with President Kikwete not allowed to stand (because he would have completed his second term), Dr Wilbrod Slaa of the opposition Chadema party would be the clear winner with 42% of the vote. Professor Ibrahim Lipumba, Chairman of the opposition CUF party would get 14%. If the ruling CCM party should select Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda as its candidate, the figure for him would be 12%. This must have been bad news for the CCM.

Other questions revealed however that 51% of the respondents said that they supported CCM, 35% backed Chadema and 10% CUF.

In the 2010 general elections, CCM’s Jakaya Kikwete won the presidency with 61% of the vote, followed by Dr Slaa with 26% and Prof Lipumba with 8%.

Citizen Chief Reporter Lucas Liganga has been reflecting on what has been happening in Britain. Extracts:
‘The youth-engineered riots rocking some of the UK’s major cities have been described as a lesson for Tanzania to wake up, think and act. Political and social analysts have said that the riots in the UK are an indication that all is not well in our societies, adding that the line between peace and chaos is very thin indeed.’

Rakesh Rajani, the head of ‘Twaweza East Africa’, an initiative that promotes transparency and accountability in the region, said that Tanzania’s leadership and its professional classes should get their act together and focus on the frustrations facing the youth. “I was in London only one week ago,” he said, “and everything looked sunny and peaceful. A few days later some of these same places are in flames, and many people are hurt, angry, confused. For Tanzania, it should be the time to wake up, think and act about, for instance, the condition of the schools, the treatment of street hawkers and the dearth of opportunity for the young in the rural areas.”

Chadema Chairman Freedman Mbowe said the government’s policies should take into account the interests of the youth who comprise Tanzania’s majority. “The lesson we get from what is happening in the UK is that if there are no deliberate policies to address critical issues concerning the youth, we should expect such riots,” he said.

Executive Secretary of the Media Council of Tanzania, Kajubi Mukajanga, said that leaders should understand the reality that the young generation, who had a lot of expectations, was now starting to lose hope. He said the youth get frustrated when they see the country’s abundant natural resources benefiting only a handful of people, leaving the majority of them in poverty.

Zanzibar House of Representatives MP Ismail Jussa Ladhu (CUF), said most of the youth in the country were frustrated and a small event could trigger… riots across the country. He said: “We have natural resources but these are not used to uplift the youth. Only the few are enjoying these resources. They feel excluded and frustrated.”

For the last few years Tanzanian Affairs has been explaining the extent of corruption in Tanzania while, at the same time, noting the actions of the government and especially the very free Tanzanian media, in exposing it. TA has also described the many corruption cases brought before the courts. It has recalled how the whole cabinet was removed at one stage and how many government ministers and senior officials (about 20) have been charged in court and/or lost their jobs.

This corruption has resulted in some donor agencies threatening to limit aid to the country. There has been no lack of preaching by non-Tanzanians on how Tanzanians should do better.

In the last few weeks however, the situation has changed as explained in a report by ‘Transparency International’ under the heading ‘Is Britain more corrupt than it thinks?’. The report has been reproduced in the Citizen. Extracts:

Lecturing the world
‘Britons love to lecture the world about integrity and the rule of law, but the ‘News of the World’ phone hacking scandal has laid bare a web of collusion between money, power, the media and the police. Far from the innocent, upright democracy of its self-image, Britain is showing a seamy side that anti-corruption campaigners say is getting worse, and may be politically explosive, as society becomes more unequal due to the financial and economic crises.

‘Behind a facade of probity, London offers a haven for oligarchs and despots, a place where foreign media magnates have bought access to and influence over the government. The scandal engulfing Rupert Murdoch’s media empire has already destroyed a newspaper, cost two top police officers their jobs, seen the arrest of powerful media figures and embarrassed the Prime Minister and political elite.

‘But it points to a bigger problem in British society – overly cozy relationships among elites that are ethically dangerous, even when they do not involve outright criminality. Britain says it has been bolstering its legal and regulatory system. Just this month a new law on bribery, tightening rules for UK firms operating abroad, entered into force…..’

They just will not go!
Citizen reporter Florence Mugarula raised the issue on many peoples’ lips in an article on July 29. She wrote: ‘In developed nations, leaders leave voluntarily when their governments run into trouble. In Tanzania, those responsible just will not go, even in the face of a crisis under their watch.

One exception to this rule has been former President Ali Hassan Mwinyi who in 1976, as a Minister, stepped down following the deaths in Shinyanga of people on remand, who were being investigated over the killing of witchcraft suspects.

The reporter went on to wonder why this President’s son, Dr Hussein Mwinyi continued to hold on to his position as Defence Minister despite the recent bomb explosions at army bases in Dar es Salaam. Why had Energy Minister William Ngeleja remained in office in view of the serious power rationing ?

By contrast, back in 1996, the then Finance Minister, Prof Simon Mbilinyi resigned over corruption allegations and, five years later, Minister of Industry and Commerce Iddi Simba resigned over an issue of sugar imports licensing.

The BAE Saga
No scandal in Tanzania has received as much attention as the BAE Radar case, both in Tanzania and in Britain. As this issue of TA is going to press Tanzania has still not received the £29.5 million which the British Senior Fraud Office had decided BAE should pay to Tanzania for the supply of an air traffic control system in 1999. The background has been explained in numerous earlier issues of Tanzanian Affairs. The sale provoked outrage at the time and BAE agreed finally, in February 2011, to pay back the £29.5 million to Tanzania.

In November 2010 the UK’s Department for International Development and the Tanzanian government drew up plans on how to spend the money. They agreed that it should be invested in education – £4.4m for school textbooks plus 192,000 desks, 1,196 teachers’ houses and 2,900 pit latrines. However, BAE then attached conditions before it would pay.

Both parliaments become involved. In Tanzania, MPs were angered by this and sent a delegation to UK in July 2011 to find out what was happening. One of the MPs said: “Every hour the money is sitting in the BAE bank account, is an hour preventing the children of Tanzania, from enjoying what is theirs. The kids are sitting on the floor; the teachers are sharing houses, the desks, the books, seven people using one photocopied book …..”

Meanwhile BAE indicated that it wanted to be involved in deciding how the money should be spent, and that it had appointed Lord Cairns to head an Advisory Board that would ‘guide the company as to the optimum means of applying the £29.5m for the benefit of the people of Tanzania in accordance with all applicable company policies.’ There were proposals that British NGOs might supervise the use of the money.

The Tanzanian response was swift. Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Minister Bernard Mwembe said that Tanzania would not allow British NGOs, commissioned by BAE Systems, to operate in the country.

In the British House of Commons the Overseas Development Committee strongly criticised BAE for dragging its feet. It urged the company to pay the amount in full and raised the possibility of taking the matter back to court if the payment wasn’t made.

It questioned the right of the company to set up its own advisory board to decide on how the money should be spent – rather than give the money directly to the government of Tanzania, as Tanzanian MPs had requested.

Committee Chairman Malcolm Bruce MP asked whether it was not “offensive” for the company to suggest it knew better how to spend the money than the government of Tanzania. He advised BAE to hand over the money “as soon as possible”.

EPA Scandal – the latest
According to the Citizen on Sunday, in July, foreign donors started pressing the government to fully disclose the outcome of investigations into the TShs 133 billion External Payment Arrears (EPA) account scandal and prosecute all culprits. (Details in earlier editions of TA).

The donors included the African Development Bank, Canada, Denmark, the EU, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Norway, Sweden, UK and the World Bank, which are together providing some $450 million (TShs 678 billion) in budget support to Tanzania this financial year.

The lost sum was apparently siphoned out of the EPA account, which was under the watch of the Bank of Tanzania (BoT). It was fraudulently paid to 22 companies during the 2005/6 financial year. Fifteen people had been charged in court so far…….

The government has also been hard-pressed to explain why all those involved in the scam had not been prosecuted and to provide proof of the TShs 60 billion it said had been surrendered by suspects.

The Richmond case
The Citizen has reported the latest news on this case. In a surprising decision, the only person arraigned over the Richmond power scandal, which led to the resignation of the then Prime Minister, has been acquitted of forgery. It was alleged that in June 2006 a Mr Naem Gire forged documents that misled TANESCO’s Tender Board into believing that Richmond had the capability to produce 100MW of electricity.

This court decision has embarrassed the prosecution which had failed to prove that Mr Gire had a case to answer. The magistrate said she had evaluated each piece of evidence by the prosecution but found that everything regarding the documents was done by a Mr Mohamed Gire, a brother of the accused.

The Meremeta Company
Another issue worrying some MPs is the Meremeta Company. They have asked the government to tell the truth on the alleged billions of money lost. Chadema Shadow Minister for Defence and Security, Joseph Selasini, said a Select Committee should be formed to find out the truth, commenting “The opposition camp has been trying for the last five years to find out about the ownership of the Meremeta Company and we have received no satisfactory answers”. The Premier had once told the nation that this was a military company so no more details would be revealed – Nipashe.

The Opposition camp in the National Assembly also queried the decision by the Tanzania People’s Defence Force (TPDF) to sign a contract with Jeetu Patel, one of the key accused in the Bank of Tanzania EPA scandal. The contract was for importing power tillers from India for agricultural improvement in the country.

MP for Same South, Anne Kilango Malecela (CCM) asks a question in Parliament to January Makamba (Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Energy and Minerals) about the fuel problems.

Some observers see the latest developments in the National Assembly, where some opposition MPs are creating something like mayhem at times, as a healthy sign that Tanzanian democracy is now working as it should be, and that an active and lively opposition is an important element of any such democracy. Parliament was no longer a mere rubber stamp. The current vibrancy of the House was similar to that of parliaments in established democracies the world over.

Other observers, quoted in the Citizen, accustomed to the more genteel behaviour of MPs during the period of one-party government, accused some of the new MPs of ‘gross misconduct.’ Chrisant Mzindakaya, who was an MP for 40 years before stepping down in 2010, said booing, heckling and engaging the Speaker in shouting matches were ‘unpatriotic and cheap politics’. Similar concerns were raised by former Prime Ministers Salim Ahmed Salim and Joseph Warioba, who said blatant violation of the rules in Parliament should not be tolerated. Others said that lawmakers might soon be exchanging blows if the situation was not checked. Deputy Speaker Job Ndugai said the chaotic scenes were a sign of declining morals among leaders, who would stop at nothing to make political capital.

Budget estimates
Several ministers had a rough time in defending their budget estimates this year. Those for the Ministry of Energy and Minerals had to be withdrawn after Prime Minister Pinda intervened following what the Daily News described as a heated, emotion-charged debate to ask parliamentarians for another chance to work on them. The MPs agreed unanimously that they would be tabled again after three weeks. For further details see ‘Business & the Economy’ section below.

MPs accuse Energy Minister of laxity

Minister of Energy & Minerals, William Ngeleja.

Speaking at a seminar for MPs organised by Energy Minister Ngeleja, several MPs accused him of what they termed ‘empty promises and lame excuses’ for the longstanding power problems hitting the country. Attacking TANESCO representatives, one MP said: “We’re not interested in your PowerPoint presentations or grand-sounding plans. What we want is electricity and we want it now! Your expertise or your education is useless to us if you cannot find ways to solve the power problems once and for all.” David Kafulila (Kigoma South-NCCR-Mageuzi) advised the government to revise power purchase agreements. Augustine Mrema (Vunjo-TLP) wanted to know why the government had agreed to buy electricity generated by the Dowans plant which had been bought by Symbion, while the same government refused to allow TANESCO to buy the generators – Mwananchi.

The Minister said that electricity rationing would soon cease when Independent Power Tanzania Limited (IPTL) started supplying an additional 90MW into the national grid. Mr Ngeleja appealed to MPs to forget the Dowans issue, saying it was “mired in politics….”

Permanent Secretary in trouble
A letter addressed to unnamed ministry officials by the Ministry of Energy’s Permanent Secretary, David Jairo, was released in which he had apparently asked for donations of TShs 50,000 each to ‘make the presentation of his budget estimates a success.’ The Prime Minister quickly reacted and said that this was punishable, unbecoming conduct and he was as angry about it as MPs were. The PM was quoted in the Daily News as saying that he felt like sacking the offending Permanent Secretary immediately but could not do so because he had no mandate. It was President Kikwete who could discipline him. A CCM MP said that he would not support the Minister in his budget proposals. “We virtually live in the dark. The officials who cast us into this predicament are well known. Their heads should roll,” he said.

Health budget
Kigoma-South MP (NCCR-Mageuzi) David Kafulila provoked heated exchanges during the debate on the budget estimates for the Ministry of Health & Social Welfare. The legislator caused confrontations between opposition and ruling party MPs after alleging that the government had spent millions of money for treatments abroad of minister’s family members and that it was sluggish in collection of taxes. This made ruling party (CCM) MPs very annoyed and Kafulila was asked by the Acting Speaker to withdraw his statement. But Kafulila substantiated his claims with a quotation from the late Mwalimu Nyerere, and the atmosphere in the House became so hot that the chairperson had to adjourn the session seven minutes before the official closing time – Mwananchi.

Four MPs ordered out

Chadema MPs Tundu Lissu (right), Pastor Peter Msigwa (left) and Godbless Lema being escorted out of the parliament

The atmosphere in the House was not improved when the Speaker ordered four Chadema MPs to leave the chamber for what was described as ‘violating parliamentary standing orders.’ One was charged with failing to sit down when told to do so and the others had apparently switched on their microphones to speak without permission.

“Jeopardising stability”
Government Chief Whip William Lukuvi said that a speech by Mr Lema, the Chadema Shadow Minister for Home Affairs, aimed at inciting people against their government and was jeopardising the country’s stability. Mr Lukuvi identified the offending words as: “It is better we fight, rather than live peacefully while we are denied our rights. Peace is not the absence of war but the presence of justice”.

Rostam Aziz resigns
Parliament was shaken again when the prominent and influential CCM MP for Igunga, a member of the Party’s Central Committee and head of President Kikwete’s presidential election campaign in 2010, Rostam Aziz, suddenly resigned from his parliamentary seat. In his resignation speech he referred to what he called “gutter politics” as the reason behind his departure. He also indicated that he might not give any support to his party to retain the constituency.

In accepting the resignation, the CCM Ideology and Publicity Secretary, who is bringing considerable energy into his job of ‘cleansing’ the party, said that Aziz had responded to the Party’s plea that some of its members should take such action. “We are grateful that he (Rostam) has responded to the call” – Daily News.

Chadema lost no time in launching a special operation, christened “Operation Chukua Igunga” designed to take the seat from CCM.

MP’s expenses
This very hot issue in the UK has now arrived in Tanzania’s parliament. Chadema’s Zitto Kabwe has proposed the scrapping of the TShs 70,000 subsistence allowances and TShs 80,000 sitting allowances paid to each MP daily and to use the money saved for the development of MP’s constituencies.

Prime Minister Pinda said that this was a misinterpretation of the law. It was a constitutional matter. “There is no way the government can act without following due procedures … It can take a long time,” he said. In a popular move Kabwe then forfeited his entire allowances for the period of the lengthy budget debate – Mwananchi.