NGOs cast doubt on Constitutional Review Bill

By Elias Mhegera

WHILE Tanzanians are still collecting views on the proposed Bill for the Constitutional Review many are casting doubt whether the amended changes will suffice the expected aspirations.

Meeting at the Dar es Salaam International Conference Centre on Tuesday this week was a convention of NGOs dealing with civic education, human rights and the media.

The conference was organized by the Tanzania Development Initiative Programme (TADIP), in collaboration with the Konrad Adenaeur Stiftung (KAS). A range of issues were discussed on the efficacy of the amendments to be done.

The main presenters were Prof Chris Maina and Bashiru Ally from the University of Dar es Salaam, Steven Mmbogo programme manager TADIP, while the chairperson of the event was Ms Rose Mwakitwange.

                                                              

The theme of the discussion was “Will the Constitution Review Reflect and Deliver up to the Will of the People?” the general consensus was that the process has started with a wrong approach hence wrong conclusion.

Presenting his paper Prof Maina said it was true that there is a need to enact a new Constitution but the way the Bill has been presented reflects that the Government is ushering for constitutional amendments.

Elaborating further he said calls for a new Constitution have been taking new turns from time to time. For instance it was more pronounced in 1965 after this country was turned into a single party state under the leadership of the founding father Mwalimu Julius Nyerere.

He further reminds that the call subsided for sometime just to resurface in 1984 but the whole movement collapsed after it was again quashed. This wave was to resurface from early 90s after the collapse of the former USSR and its satellite states.

Prof Maina says the global transition to multiparty politics swept Tanzania as well to the extent that it reintroduced political pluralism in 1992 but retaining the Government machinery and Constitution that made the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi to enjoy supremacy above all other institutions.

He therefore challenges that such a political legacy cannot be left to go on unchanged in the current situation. He also mentions that the fact that Zanzibar has a new Constitution under the structure of a Government of National Unity (GNU), which has automatically ousted the Revolutionary Governemnt of Zanzibar which is recognized in the Union Constitution.

On his part Mmbogo said the Bill is unfriendly and could spell doom the fate of constitutional formation taking into consideration that it has been challenged almost everywhere when people discuss it.

Contributing to the debate the Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (CHADEMA) Secretary General, Dr Willibrod Slaa said due to the sensitivity of the debate public hearings could have been extended in many other parts of this country than conducting its in three stations of Dar es Salaam, Dodoma and        Zanzibar. 

This view was shared by the National Convention for Construction and Reforms (NCCR), Secretary General Sam Ruhuza who said the Bill indicates that the process will not deliver what people were expecting therefore it should be returned to the people. 

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