Allowance cut to Sh10,000 per day

Arusha. A sitting allowance standoff for councillors, pitting mainly the government and the city council run by the opposition, continues after the local authorities were ordered to pay only Sh10,000 per day for each civic leader and the payment will be forfeited once the councillors boycott sessions.

The order was made on Friday by regional commissioner Mrisho Gambo and district commissioner Gabriel Daqqaro during a regional consultation council session.

Until recently the councillors were getting Sh60,000 per day for each session to cover transport and miscellaneous expenses and enable them to attend council meetings. A reduction in the sitting allowance has led to a standoff between the regional and district government authorities and the main opposition party, Chadema, which won 24 out of the 25 council seats during last year’s General Election. The ruling CCM has only one councillor.

This has degenerated into a conflict between Arusha Urban MP Godbless Lema (Chadema) and RC Gambo from the moment the latter was appointed the district commissioner in June and then made the RC two months later.

Besides cutting down the sitting allowance, Arusha councillors have been ordered to refund Sh150,000 they have been paid each month to cover their communication costs. This translates into Sh40.8 million. Mr Gambo warned on Friday that failing to refund the money voluntarily would lead to a deduction of Sh50,000 from their monthly allowance.