Maybe it is the Tunisian/Egyptian/Libyan effect but there are signs in several parts of the world that it is not a good idea to propose new legislation, without proper consultation and to which most people object. Britain has had to make a number of U-turns on policy recently as a result of popular pressure. Now something similar has happened in Tanzania.

A Constitutional Review Commission
After the elections in October 2010, the greatly strengthened Chadema opposition party stated that, because it did not think that the presidential election results were correct and because there were many anomalies in Tanzania’s existing constitution, it wanted a new constitution to be adopted.

The first reactions from the ruling CCM party were not favourable but soon it became apparent that this was a subject of great interest to the people.

President Kikwete responded by setting up a Constitutional Review Commission and gave it instructions to draw up proposals for a draft Bill to be presented to parliament. The commission got to work immediately and in March 2011 presented a draft Bill for consideration by parliament at its next session in August. It was expected to lead to the enactment by 2014 of a constitution which would be an amended version of the existing one. It soon became apparent however that this was not what the people wanted.

Criticism from all sides
The Guardian, the Citizen and most other papers, English and Swahili, gave heavy coverage of the reactions.

Former Prime Minister and retired judge Joseph Warioba praised the government for the goodwill it had shown in establishing a new constitution but faulted the ‘sanctity’ of the three issues that would dilute the whole process. Concerning the powers of the presidency, (which he said were classified as untouchable, in the Draft), were, in a real sense, the real constitution. “How can you refrain from discussing them?” The question of what kind of government they wanted; whether to have one government instead of the current situation where there are two, were among other things which they should be freely allowed to discuss he argued.

He added that Section 9 of the Bill should be amended to give time to discuss the Draft. “Give people freedom to talk about human rights, about equality before the law and due process of the law. Listen to their views on the Union of Tanganyika and Zanzibar, on national unity and peace and let political parties campaign for the type of constitution, which represents the will of the people” he said.

Chadema Secretary General Dr Wilbrood Slaa complained about the excessive powers of the President in the proposed Bill. “The president has powers to appoint the Commission, issue terms of reference, appoint permanent secretaries and receive reports…all these concentrated into the hands of one person.”

Civic United Front (CUF) National Chairman Prof Ibrahim Lipumba recommended the establishment of an independent Commission, a Constitutional Assembly, a National Convention and finally to hold a referendum – Guardian.

Former Chief Justice Barnabas Samatta and the Legal and Human Rights Centre Executive Director urged the government not to restrict people’s involvement in the process of writing the new constitution. It should be clear and transparent and Tanzania should emulate countries that had recently changed their constitutions – Kenya, Ghana and South Africa. They strongly criticised a section of the Bill which prohibited members of the public from discussing issues about the Union, the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar and the Government of National Unity there.

Public hearings
The government organised three public hearings – in Dar, Dodoma and Zanzibar – to give the people a chance to comment. At the parliament building in Dodoma, hundreds of people turned up but many were refused entry because of shortage of space. They then began running battles with the police and started chanting patriotic songs as a way of pressing for their right to be allowed in. According to the Citizen, those
waiting outside the Parliament buildings were people from all walks of life, including officials from civil society organisations and ordinary citizens. The huge turnout had been prompted by announcements popularising the event through the mass media the day before.

Many students gathered in the middle of the road outside the parliament building and announced that they would continue with a separate public hearing of people’s views because the hearings inside ‘were meant for perpetrators of graft and not ordinary Tanzanians.’ When the situation became tense, police began using tear-gas to disperse the students, after some of them had started throwing all sorts of ‘missiles’, including stones, at the police.

In Dar es Salaam another public hearing was temporarily suspended when a crowd of university students argued with an MP representing the CCM. The MP differed with those who questioned the proposed presidential powers in the bill, saying: “You cannot just decide to infringe upon the president’s powers through such a forum, and the Bill is right but…..” The crowd did not give him time to continue and the meeting became uncontrollable, forcing the chairperson to postpone the debate.

At the Zanzibar hearings opposition was very strong. Some government leaders and House of Representatives MP’s had indicated earlier that the Bill could not be taken wholly as it stood. Isles Constitutional Affairs and Justice Minister Abubakar Bakari (supported by other ministers) said the Bill had violated the basic agreement setting up the Union and called on the Speaker to remove the Bill from the table. Anything warranting to be added or removed from ‘matters of the Union’ in the text must be discussed by both parties. Zanzibar had been sidelined right from the start because discussions had started without Zanzibaris being involved.

On the last day of the open hearing in Zanzibar there was some chaos when the Chairman of the Zanzibar Association of Imams tore up the document. People chanted slogans such as: “We do not want the Union.” “No more Tanganyika’s colony.” This caused the session to be halted before its official closing time – Habari Leo.

At the hearings many views were expressed: Many people said that they did not want to be rushed on the issue and were opposed to the idea of taking the Bill to Parliament under a certificate of urgency. Others said that the draft gave too much power to the President; people wanted a new constitution – not amendments to the present one.

A government spokeswoman brought some reality into the debate by pointing out that the Bill was just a draft which was meant to lay down grounds for the constitutional review process; the process itself would facilitate collection of public views on the new constitution,

The Speaker of the National Assembly Anne Makinda accused politicians of creating chaos and disrupting on-going public hearings of the constitutional review, to advance their personal interests.

Speaking in Parliament Chadema National Chairman Freeman Mbowe said his party planned to conduct demonstrations countrywide to press the government to halt the fast tracking approach to the constitutional review process. “If the government suspends endorsement of the Draft, Chadema would also suspend the planned demonstrations, he said. The fate of over 44 million Tanzanians could not be decided by a few people in Zanzibar, Dodoma and Dar es Salaam he added.

The U-turn
The government finally decided to halt the ‘fast tracking’ process toward enactment of a new constitution. The Bill would no longer be presented to the August parliamentary session under a certificate of urgency. Normal channels would be used so as to allow the government to work on the opinions of the people and give more room for discussions.

The increasing corruption in Tanzania, the arrival in parliament of a much larger Chadema opposition party, the continuing popularity of the Chadema candidate for the presidency in the October 2010 elections, and the apparent determination of the Chadema party to continue campaigning at full pace, even though the next election is five years away, seem to have jolted the ruling CCM party into action. From its grassroots up to the top leadership the party is in the process of ‘cleansing itself.’

Evidence of this was the resignation on April 9 of the top decision making body in the party – the Central Committee – including the whole of its secretariat and CCMs Secretary General Yusuf Makamba. National Chairman Kikwete was asked to form a new team aiming at ‘a real transformation of the party, to rectify its low morale and discipline.’

In no time a new Secretariat was installed including former Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Water and Irrigation, Wilson Mukama as party Secretary General. Kikwete then named members of the party’s new Central Committee (CC). These included Abdurrahman Kinana, Zakia Meghji, Abdallah Kigoda, Steven Wassira, Pindi Chana, William Lukuvi and Constancia Buhiye – Uhuru

New leadership –New attack on corruption
A few days after the reshuffles, CCM reaffirmed its commitment to fight corruption, and said that the fight would be won.

The new Secretary General, vowed to act on all corrupt elements within the party and warned that those who continued to engage in corrupt practices would not be tolerated any more. “We wanted to make it clear that all those implicated in big corruption allegations should think of quitting. We want to protect our party’s credibility.” He also said that he would spare no one and was ready to make difficult decisions.

In his first press conference, Nape Nnauye, the newly appointed CCM Publicity Secretary said they were fed up with lingering claims of unethical conduct in the party. “We will ultimately win this war (against corruption). We are determined to win, we have started it and we will sustain it to the end… “ He admitted that the party had massively lost people’s confidence –the Swahili press.

Everyone has been expecting some sparks to fly following the election of a strong opposition in Parliament and they have not been disappointed.

The Arusha riot
After the main elections last year, which were praised for their peaceful nature, there followed various mayoral elections. In the hotly contested one in Arusha on December 18 there were serious disturbances. Chadema leaders claimed that they were not informed of the election and when they arrived at the City Hall, found that it had already been completed, with a CCM candidate elected as Mayor and a TLP candidate as Deputy Mayor. In the resulting fracas the Arusha Urban MP (Chadema ) was injured while being arrested and taken to the police station.

Chadema were then given permission to stage a demonstration and hold a public rally on January 5 but the decision on the demonstration was reversed on January 4. Chadema officials and supporters then defied the order concerning the demonstration and marched into the city, until they came up against a contingent of armed riot police blocking their path. There was a violent confrontation. Supporters continued to converge at the site of the planned rally (which had been given permission) but shortly after 1pm, police started firing teargas in an attempt to disperse the crowds.

According to Mwananchi, prior to the demonstration, Chadema bussed hundreds of its young supporters from Kilimanjaro region. Reports say that police were later engaged in running battles with youths in downtown Arusha, and three people died from injuries. A number of policemen were also injured.

On the following day, Mbowe and 40 others were charged with unlawful assembly. They all pleaded “not guilty” and were released on bail.

Archbishop Josephat Lebulu of the Arusha Catholic Archdiocese read a declaration on behalf of the Union of Christian Denominations (representing over 20 denominations) which condemned the use of excessive force and live bullets by the police and called on Prime Minister, Mizengo Pinda to intervene. The church leaders also resolved not to recognise the Mayor nor work with the municipal officials until the controversy was resolved.

On Feb 24th, thousands of protesters again took to the streets when Chadema held a demonstration in Mwanza, but there were no reports of violence (see below). In March prosecutors announced that the case against 10 of those arrested in Arusha had been dropped for lack of evidence and that the trial of 19 other Chadema members (including Mbowe and Slaa) would be postponed until April 29.

The Chadema rallies

Chadema Rally in Mwanza - photo Peter Fabian - newhabari.com

On February 25 the Swahili press gave publicity to the first of a series of big rallies Chadema was organizing. Extract:

‘Tens of thousands of people took to the streets in Mwanza to participate in a rally organised by Chadema. The party’s top leadership called for more accountability by President Kikwete’s government. Led by Chairman Mbowe, and Secretary General, Dr. Wilbroad Slaa, the rally ended up with strong demands including giving the President nine days to act or face mass action as had happened in Egypt and Libya. There were attacks on “Dowans” (see Corruption below) which, it was said, could not be paid from taxpayers’ money because it was an illegal firm…. President Kikwete was aware of all these shoddy deals because they happened during his leadership,” said Dr. Slaa. He named a CCM MP as the man who had manipulated government officials to pressurise them into giving a multi- million contract to the shoddy Richmond firm and wondered why the MP remained untouchable. Mbowe demanded the resignation of two cabinet Ministers, William Ngeleja (Energy and Minerals) and Dr. Hussein Mwinyi (Defence and National Service), since they had openly failed to offer credible leadership in their respective portfolios. But as Mbowe was naming the ministers, the crowd shouted “…and President Kikwete too should resign!” (Mwananchi, Nipashe, Majira, Mtanzania, Tanzania Daima)

Chadema is planning more rallies
CCM reacted angrily. A spokesman said that the government should take legal action against what he described as Chadema’s continued incitement. What Chadema was doing was to instill feelings of hatred between us and the people and thus provoke violence he said – Mwananchi.

On March 3 Minister of State, Presidents’ Office (Social Relations and Co-ordination), Stephen Wassira warned Chadema, that they should blame no one if the government lost patience with them. He blamed the party for inciting people to overthrow their government. “It is not possible…..they don’t have such a mandate… as it is against the constitution” he said. What Chadema was crying out for – an easing of the current high cost of living – was not a problem in Tanzania alone.

Meanwhile, the Chairmen of the Tanzania Labor Party (TLP) and the United Democratic Party (UDP), John Cheyo, have supported President Kikwete’s warning to political parties against plans to destroy the existing peace – Mwananchi, Majira, Habari Leo.

Mbowe names shadow cabinet
Chadema leader Mbowe has named his Shadow Cabinet. He said that, although the official cabinet had a total of 50 ministers and deputies, he had formed a small shadow cabinet of only 29 ministers and three deputies for efficiency. The Finance and Economic Affairs portfolio went to Kigoma North MP Zitto Kabwe who is also Deputy Leader of the Opposition. The Home Affairs shadow ministry will be headed by Godbless Lema (Arusha Urban), while Constitutional Affairs and Justice goes to Tundu Lissu of Singida East, who is the Chief Whip. The Energy and Minerals ministry will be under Ubungo MP John Mnyika – Guardian.

Key posts all go to the opposition
MP’s have elected chairpersons for the three key parliamentary oversight committees. John Cheyo (UDP) was re-elected as chairman of the sensitive Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Zitto Kabwe (Chadema) also retained his position as the chairman of the Public Organisations Accounts Committee (Poac), while Augustine Mrema (TLP) was elected the new chairman of the Local Authorities Accounts Committee (LAAC). Thus, although Chadema was disappointed in not obtaining all three posts, Tanzania sets a good example in choosing as Chairs, members of the opposition parties.

Change of rules
On February 10 CCM joined with all the small opposition parties in parliament to ‘clarify earlier rules’ to prevent Chadema from becoming the sole official Opposition in Parliament. The rules were changed so that the official opposition now comprises all the opposition parties. Chadema MP’s walked of the House in protest. Relations between Chadema and the second opposition party CUF remained cold – Guardian.

Cartoon by Gado (Godfrey Mwampembwa) which appeared in the local press

THE EMERGENCE OF A REAL OPPOSITION
In Tanzania’s elections on 31 October 2010, for the first time since independence, an opposition party made significant gains in votes and seats in Tanzania’s National Assembly. The ruling CCM party’s presidential candidate Jakaya Kikwete saw his vote drop to 61% compared with 80% in 2005. Leading opposition CHADEMA presidential candidate Dr Wilbroad Slaa got 26% and the presidential candidate for the Civic United Front (CUF) (whose main strength is in Zanzibar) Professor Ibrahim Lipumba was in the third position with 8% of the vote.

The ruling CCM party lost 55 seats in parliament while the CHADEMA party increased its seats from 5 to 24. Thus, Tanzania now has a viable opposition party in parliament and observers are anticipating lively debates.

TANZANIA SHOWERED WITH PRAISE

Tanzania was showered with praise on its conduct of the elections from the large contingent of foreign observers in the country and by heads of state and leaders of international organisations.

The elections passed largely peacefully although there were many minor incidents in individual constituencies before the elections when CCM was involved in often passionate debates on the selection of its parliamentary candidates and during the counting of the votes when there were complaints about the delay in publishing some results.

BUT THE OPPOSTITION PROTESTS
CHADEMA, while accepting the validity of the parliamentary elections, and after an apparently heated internal debate on what to do, refused to recognise the re-elected President Kikwete because it believed that the published results of the presidential election had not been correct. The Party’s MP’s then walked out when the President began his inaugural speech to the new parliament.

CHADEMA leader Freeman Mbowe said that their aim was to pressurise the government into changing the constitution so that future elections would be free and fair. He said that his party was not satisfied with the way the presidential votes had been counted and the results announced.

He pointed out that the law and did not allow anyone to question the presidential election results yet it was possible to question the outcome of parliamentary and civic polls. The law had been drawn up during the period of the one-party state and was now obsolete. CHADEMA would press for the formation of an independent commission to examine the presidential poll results and to make proposals on the preparation of a new constitution.

Asked if CHADEMA’s readiness to meet the government was not against their stand not to recognise President Kikwete, Mbowe explained that they acknowledged the presence of the head of state though they were not in agreement with the way he was elected.

CCM REACTIONS
CCM Publicity Secretary John Chiligati said that what CHADEMA MPs had done was an ‘act of treason against democracy.’ He said the elections were endorsed by local and foreign observers who said it was free and fair. What CHADEMA was doing was ‘incitement to violence.’

The Citizen quoted Prime Minister Pindo as saying that CHADEMA MP’s had shown weaknesses in handling issues and its MPs had proved to be still very young democratically. Mr Pinda said he had been ready to meet with CHADEMA and discuss their problems but they had decided to take another measure which was not helpful in building the country’s democracy and bringing development.

President Kikwete told parliament that there was no way for any person to avoid CCM’s government. “People will come and go but this is the CCM government and it will remain in power whether they like it or not. I am the President and they will end up bringing their problems to me,” he said.

In the following weeks the demands for a new constitution grew amongst wide sections of the population.

President Kikwete on the campaign trail in Dodoma (photo Issah Michuzi)

President Kikwete garnered 5.2 million votes or 61% of the 8,626,283 ballots cast, followed by CHADEMA’s Dr Willbroad Slaa, with 2.2 million votes or 26%. The new Vice President is the prominent Zanzibar leader Dr Gharib Billal, who was not voted for being part of President Kikwete’s ticket.

After seven by-elections were held in seats where there had not been enough ballot papers, the final result of the parliamentary elections for the 239 elected seats in the Union National Assembly (when special nominated seats for groups such as women and youth are added the total is 358 MP’s) was as follows: CCM 188. CHADEMA 24, CUF 21, NCCR-Mageuzi 4, United Democratic Party (UPDP) 1 and Tanzania Labour Party (TLP) 1.

By comparison the 2005 results were as follows: Kikwete 80% and out of 232 elected seats: CCM 206, CUF 22, CHADEMA 5, TLP 5, UDP 2 . Five seats were vacant at the time.

The number of MPs increases to more than 350 compared with 323 following the demarcation of new constituencies. The President also appointed additional MP’s representing special interests such as women and youth. After these appointments the number of opposition MP’s in the National Assembly was as follows: CHADEMA 45, CUF 34, NCCR 4, TLP 1 and UPDP 1 – Guardian.

In Zanzibar President Shein appointed a number of Special Seat MP’s making the composition of the House of Representatives CCM 28 and CUF 22.

REGIONAL DIFFERENCES AND PERSONALITIES
There were differences in regional voting patterns. CCM remained very strong in all the coastal regions and strong in most other areas. CHADEMA gained votes and seats in urban centres and, in particular in the Kilimanjaro, Arusha, Mbeya and Kigoma regions. Opposition parties in Klimanjaro Region won four seats – three CHADEMA and one TLP.

In Lindi the CCM candidate made some derogatory remarks about the CUF candidate. He advised voters that his opponent ‘suffered from albinism’ and should be avoided by voters who should … keep their distance from him because albinism was a curse. But the Albino is the new MP for Lindi.

The result in the constituency of former Prime Minister Edward Lowassa, who had been alleged to be involved in corruption, caused surprise in some circles. His electorate showed that they had not lost confidence in him by giving him an overwhelming majority.

Former prominent minister and MP Augustine Mrema is back in the forefront of Tanzanian politics after his success in the elections in Moshi. He himself became MP for Vunjo and his TLP party did well in the civic elections.

Former Speaker of the National Assembly Samwel Sitta said that in his new position as Minister for East African Cooperation, he would continue advocating ethical and transparent leadership as he had done when he was Speaker. During his heyday he had given government leaders a tough time by allowing fiery debates that led to the resignation of the then Prime Minister Edward Lowassa – Mwananchi.

The new Speaker is Anne Makinda, Njombe South MP (CCM), the first woman in the country’s history to be elected to this post. She brings a wealth of experience having been an MP for 35 years, and having been the deputy Speaker for five years.

Speaker Anne Makinda at the opening of parliament - photo Aron Msigwa and Anna Itenda

CHADEMA won its first seat in Manyara region when its candidate Mustapha Akunaay, the outspoken executive secretary of the Tanzania Association of Tour Operators, defeated veteran CCM Minister Phillip Marmo by a margin of over 20,000 votes.

In the Arusha council elections a CHADEMA Rastafarian was elected: The Citizen wrote: ‘Donning his characteristic curled hair and a green-and- yellow cap associated with the culture, astounded some of his political rivals. During the campaign he was perceived by his rivals as a marijuana smoker unfit for leadership because of his behaviour which ‘resembled that of some famous Rastafarians in the Caribbean.’ However he insisted that he had ‘never ever’ smoked bhang or any other narcotic drug and did not plan to do so. CHADEMA had advised him to remove his Rastafarian attire “But I told them that I had better leave politics than remove my Rasta fashion. Since then nobody has ever discussed this matter with me again “ he said.

Another of the new MPs is rapper and Bongo Flava artist Sugu (Joseph Mbilinyi) who won the Mbeya Mjini seat for CHADEMA. He defeated the incumbent CCM candidate Benson Mpesya by 46,411 votes as against 24,236. Sugu’s campaign had the theme “Tumaini Jipya kwa Maendeleo ya Wote” “New Hope for Development for All”. In an interview Sugu said “It pains seeing many musicians in the country failing to pay for a bus fare, while someone somewhere is eating the sweat of musicians.” Fellow musician Afande Sele says that he hopes Sugu will be able to reduce the problems Tanzanian musicians face due to widespread piracy of their work.

OPPOSITION CAMPAIGN

Dr Slaa addresses a crowd in Zanzibar - photo Emmanuel Herman

The CHADEMA presidential candidate Dr Wilbroad Slaa attracted massive crowds during the election campaign wherever he appeared. As an example, on September 19, the Guardian reported that business in Arusha came to a standstill for four hours as thousands of its residents rushed to welcome him. His decision to vie for the presidency ‘had changed the political wind in the country.’ A convoy of hundreds of vehicles accompanied the candidate to the rally grounds. Security officers were almost overwhelmed….Finally came the moment when Dr Slaa stood to address the crowd. “We have not ferried you from your homes to this place with lorries or buses…Neither did we give you free T-shirts nor khangas plus money to solicit you to come here….Your massive attendance is a demonstration that you are fully committed to change” he said.

Slaa said it was a shame that people from a nation endowed with abundant natural resources such as minerals and wildlife led a miserable life while countries with minimal or no resources such as Kenya were now offering education for free. He said Tanzanians, for a long time, had been victims of poor government policies, corruption and embezzlement of public funds. He added that CHADEMA would raise money to finance education and heath care services by cutting down public spending through reducing the size of the cabinet to not more than 20 seats, slashing MPs’ emoluments, abolishing some government posts, such as the post of district commissioner, and reducing procurement of government vehicles. He said other money would be generated after overhauling mining contracts. Slaa maintained that a CHADEMA government would waive all taxes on construction materials to enable people to construct decent houses.

CHADEMA’s founder, former Finance Minister Edwin Mtei, who also attended the rally, questioned the new culture in which those accused of corruption were being protected by the ruling party. This, according to Mtei, was the beginning of the downfall of Africa’s oldest ruling party – the CCM – Guardian

During the election campaign at a big rally in Lindi, CUF leader Professor Ibrahim Lipumba was quoted in Majira as saying that his party would like to see the country being run as it used to be under colonial authority which had been better than the present CCM government. He said despite the problems of colonialism, the suffering people now underwent was worse. In those days the current spiralling cost of living was unknown, while the poor people were now burdened with education fees he said. Lipumba claimed. “If it were not for the free education I got I would be in my village corralling cattle.”

Needless to say, with its vast financial resources the CCM also put on a well organised campaign and President Kikwete’s numerous rallies attracted huge audiences many draped in the party colours.

THE PRESIDENT’S INAUGURAL ADDRESS
Undeterred by the unprecedented walk out by CHADEMA MPs, the President continued with his inaugural speech to Parliament and emphasised the need to build a middle-class economy and empower small-scale and medium entrepreneurs, farmers, pastoralists and fishermen.

He outlined 13 priority areas, which his administration would concentrate on in the next five years.
He called for speedy healing of rifts created in the run-up to and during the elections to forge national unity.
He said the government would continue to equip the Tanzania People’s Defence Forces (TPDF) and the Police Force to safeguard the country’s borders, and protect the people and their properties.

He said he had noted religious incitement during the campaigns, which had fuelled rifts that could jeopardise national unity. “The elections are over. We must now concentrate on building our country,” he said, stressing his willingness to work with fellow politicians and religious leaders to end the rifts.

The government would also attract investment in new industries and revive the defunct ones. Efforts would also be made to ensure reliable power supply and infrastructure for factories. “We will establish and strengthen the Tanzania Investment Bank to lend to entrepreneurs. We will also strengthen SIDO to serve more Tanzanians,” he said.

In the past five years, he said, the country had reviewed contracts with major mining firms, some of which had started to pay taxes. A new mining policy as well as legislation had been enacted to boost local participation in the sector. More than $4.7 billion was earned from minerals. The government would now acquire shares in major mining firms. He said there were plans to establish and attract agro-processing industries as well as local processing of minerals such as gold and tanzanite.

On railways, President Kikwete conceded that the government did not handle the area well in the past five years, but said that had been a good lesson to the government. “Our efforts to improve railways failed. But we are determined that in the next five years, we will take the correct steps because we have learnt our lessons,” Tazara and the Central Line would be rehabilitated to standard gauge level from Dar es Salaam to Mwanza and Kigoma and a new railway from Isaka to Kigali, Rwanda and Bujumbura, Burundi built.

The construction of Dodoma University would be completed to pave the way for work on the Mwalimu Nyerere University in Butiama and the Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences. The Mbeya Institute of Technology would be upgraded to a full university.

The government, he added, would continue to reduce dependence on hydropower generation. He said emphasis would be put on power production from natural gas, coal, wind and solar power.
“We plan to add 640MW to the national grid. We will increase the number or Tanzanians who get power from the current 14 per cent of the population to 30 per cent,” he said – Citizen

THE SURPRISINGLY LOW TURNOUT
Many observers were surprised when it was revealed that, of the 20,137,303 registered voters, only 8,626,283 or 42% voted, making it the lowest turnout since the restoration of multi-party democracy in 1992. In 2005, when Mr Kikwete was first elected President, the turnout was 72% of the 9.1 million voters. In the 1995 and 2000 General Elections, 76% and 84% of the registered voters cast their ballots, respectively. In the 2010 election 2.64% of votes were spoilt.

Following a Royal African Society/BTS meeting on the elections on November 9 in London, Ron Fennell summarised the views expressed on this rather disturbing aspect of the results. He listed the factors:
• ‘Voter indifference about the outcome – it would not change the existing system in which a privileged group received the benefits of economic growth;
• A defective electoral registration process – many people disenfranchised, some because they had no ID cards;
• Fear that the ballot papers were not anonymous and that there could be victimisation of anti government voters;
• Fear of intimidation by the security forces;
• A significant number of CCM incumbents failed to be re-nominated for the election – 83 out of 232. John Malecela and other old timers and power brokers lost their seats;
• The absence of realistic manifestos – for example CHADEMA proposed a national non-contributory pension system. The perception is that the President campaigned more on promises than on policies;
• Regionalist tendencies which could undermine the unity of the nation seemed to be on the increase. Warning signals of future discord from personal allegations of cultural divides; for e.g CHADEMA Christian and Chagga; CUF Islamic;
• CCM candidates boycotted the TV debates. Opposition candidates had found it difficult to get air time in previous elections;
• Public funding was biased in favour of the ruling party which also had access to government transport, security, buildings, and helicopters. According to the East African, government financial support for the election campaigns of the different parties (based on the results of the previous election) was as follows: CCM $1.5 million, CHADEMA $500,000, CUF $100,000.

THE NEW UNION CABINET
President Kikwete’s previous government had 60 ministers who were reduced to 47 in February 2008 following the Richmond scandal, which led to resignation of the then prime minister Edward Lowassa and two cabinet ministers. The President’s new government comprises 50 ministers – 29 in the cabinet and 21 deputies. There are three new ministerial positions and 24 new faces. 15 full ministers from the previous cabinet have been retained and the number of women remains at seven. The previous cabinet had 26 full ministers and 21 deputies adding up to 47:

Finance – Mustafa Mkulo (no change).
Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation – Bernard Membe (no change)
Home Affairs – Shamsi Vuai Nahodha (former Chief Minister of Zanzibar)
Energy and Minerals – William Ngeleja (no change)
Constitutional Affairs & Justice – Ms Celina Kombani (formerly Minister for Regional Administration and Local Government)
Regional Administration & Local Govt – George Huruma Mkuchika
Infrastructure Development has been split into two ministries:
Works – Dr John Pombe Magufuli; and, Transportation – Omari Nundu
Natural Resources & Tourism – Ezekiel Maige
Health & Social Welfare – Dr Haji Hussein Mponda
Lands, Housing and Human Settlements – Prof Anna Tibaijuka
Livestock Development & Fisheries – Dr David Mathayo
Communications, Science & Technology – Prof Makame Mnyaa Mbarawa;
Education & Vocational Training – Dr Shukuru Kawambwa
Labour & Employment – Philipo Mulugo
Community Development, Gender & Children – Ms Sophia Simba
East African Co-operation – Samwel John Sitta
Agriculture, Food Security & Cooperatives – Prof Jumanne Maghembe
Water – Prof Mark Mwandosya (Irrigation has been moved to the Ministry of Agriculture).

Among other changes:
Youth Affairs has been moved from Labour to the Information & Sports ministry. This led to an increase of the three positions. The President said the additional positions were needed to have ministers of state overseeing Coordination as well as Planning.

Under the Prime Minister’s Office, a new position focusing on investment promotion and economic empowerment has been created. The President appointed two ministers of state under his office – Mathias Chikawe for Good Governance and Stephen Wassira for Relationships & Co-ordination. Ms Hawa Ghasia retained her previous position as Minister of State, Public Service Management.

There are ministers of state for Union Affairs and the Environment in the Vice President’s Office.

CHADEMA supporters and police before the violence in Arusha on Jan 5th

As this issue goes to the press, there are reports that three people were killed by police during a demonstration organised by CHADEMA in central Arusha on Jan 5th. The CHADEMA leadership were arrested and held overnight before being released on bail. We will include more details in the next issue of Tanzanian Affairs.

The radar case and WikiLeaks
The case related to the purchase by Tanzania of an air traffic control system (RADAR) from Britain’s BAE Systems in 2001 for £28million reached apparent finality in London in December. After an unexpected reversal by the High Court in London of a previously agreed plea bargain arrangement under which BAE would compensate Tanzania, new information came from the publication by the London Guardian of dispatches from the American Ambassador in Dar es Salaam revealed by WikiLeaks. In its comments the Guardian wrote: ‘Every individual involved in the BAE scandal in Britain and Tanzania has escaped prosecution. BAE had agreed with the UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO) to pay £30m in corporate reparations and fines, provided the word “corruption” did not appear on the indictment. The Head of Tanzania’s Anti Corruption Bureau had alleged that his life might be in danger on this matter and that senior politicians in his country were ‘untouchable’….

In what appeared to be the end of the matter, as far as Britain is concerned, the Southwark Crown Court in London ruled that BAE would pay a fine of £500,000 for ‘failing to keep proper accounting records,’ £225,000 in legal costs and the remainder of the penalty of £30 million to the people of Tanzania as restitution. The court criticised BAE for concealing the purpose of nearly £8 million in payments made to Shailesh Vithlani, its marketing advisor in Tanzania at the time. (Thank you Elsbeth Court and John Sankey for helping on this story – Editor).

The Richmond Saga
On November 15 the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) ordered the Tanzania Electricity Supply Company (Tanesco) to pay Dowans Holdings SA and Dowans Tanzania Limited a sum of Shs106 billion for breach of a power contract. The two companies inherited the project from the controversial Richmond Development Company of the USA’s Shs152 million-a-day emergence power supply contract, which was also the cause of the resignation of three ministers including the Prime Minister in February 2008. The two parties in the case were also instructed to pay fees and expenses of the arbitrators and the ICC administrative expenses amounting to $750,000 equally. Tanesco had moved to the High Court to restrain Dowans from disposing of its turbines. Dowans wanted to sell the turbines after the government had terminated power production and purchase agreements between Tanesco and Dowans on grounds of underperformance. The plan to sell the turbines had been a source of public debate throughout 2010 with some people proposing that the government should nationalise the plants after the company had allegedly failed to honour its agreement. There were varying reactions in Tanzania on whether the country should pay such a large sum to Dowans. Several leaders said that Tanzania should not pay.

Before this court decision the Government had increased the supply of heavy fuel to Dowan’s firm – Independent Power Tanzania Ltd (IPTL) – enabling it to pump more electricity into the national grid to ease the ongoing power rationing – Majira.

The ‘Twin Towers’ case
In September the Bank of Tanzania’s former Director Amatus Liyumba was sentenced by the Kisutu Resident Magistrate’s Court to two years in jail after he was found guilty of abuse of office during the construction of the Bank of Tanzania’s ‘Twin Towers’ project. His lawyers immediately filed an appeal. The change of scope of the work being done had been under the supervision of the Bank’s former Governor the late Dr Daudi Balali, who was in charge, they claimed. They further submitted that the court erred when it dismissed the appellant’s defence and his witness, former BoT secretary Bosco Kimela, on grounds that they had cooked their testimony because they were locked in the same remand prison – Guardian.