Insufficient cash cripples committees

Dodoma. The National Assembly Industries, Trade and Environment Committee yesterday rejected the government’s report on toxic waste from mines, saying the team had not visited mining sites to assess the situation on the ground.

Committee members said they could not corroborate the report because they were yet to make fact-finding tours of the sites due to budgetary constraints the National Assembly was facing.

The report was to have been presented by Deputy Minister in the Vice President’s Office Luhaga Mpina, who was accompanied by Permament Secretary Mbarak Abdul Wakil and experts from the National Environmental Management Council (NEMC).

Before Mr Mpina presented the report, committee deputy chairperson Vicky Kamata (Special Seats-CCM) asked members to air their views, and the first to speak was Mr Khatib Said Haji (Konde-CUF).

Mr Haji asked the committee not to accept the report for discussion, saying the team should not be used as a rubber stamp to endorse something members had not seen for themselves.

“First and foremost, all members of this committee are new in this area. The environment docket was included in the committee only last year. Some of us are seasoned members of this committee, but we are more conversant with the industries and trade area. There is no way we can peruse this report without first being familiar with the situation on the ground.

“Let’s wait until we tour the mining sites and have a firsthand account of the situation before inviting the minister and his delegation to listen what we have to say,” Mr Haji said.

Mr Julius Kalanga (Monduli-Chadema) said the committee was not in a position to discuss the report before tabling it in the House, adding that it was a price the National Assembly had to pay for cutting costs.

“If this what we call cutting expenditure, then these committees will be crippled. This report contains a detailed account of the situation at nine major mines in the country, and yet we haven’t set foot on any of them. There’s no point in us being here,” he said.

Ms Faida Mohammed Bakar (Special Seats-CCM) said if money was the problem, committee members were ready to be paid travelling allowance that was equal to what they received as allowance for attending committee sessions.

Ms Tauhida Nyimbo (Special Seats-CCM) said the committee was not ready to accept or believe a report compiled by bureaucrats, and which could not be verified.

Responding to the views, Mr Mpina said it was not the responsibility of his office to facilitate tours to mining sites or others areas that were under his docket.

“These concerns should have been directed at the office of the Clerk of the National Assembly. I’m surprised to hear that you haven’t visited these sites,” he said.

Committee chairman Dalaly Kafumu later joined the meeting, and confirmed that they had requested for funds to enable them tour the sites.

“We presented our request, but we faced numerous hurdles. The ministry has made the necessary arrangements for the visits, but unfortunately we couldn’t make it. The ministry should see how it can help us. Others ministries are assisting relevant committees with their respective tours,” Dr Kafumu said.

Reached for comment, the Clerk of National Assembly, Dr Thomas Kashillilah, said it was up to committees to prepare budgets according to their schedules and responsibilities.

He added that committees were supposed to seek the Speaker’s intervention if there were any queries.

National Assembly Speaker Job Ndugai told The Citizen by telephone that he did not remember receiving a request from the committee to tour mining sites.

“Even their current schedule doesn’t indicate such tours, so how can they talk about budgetary constraints? I didn’t attend the meeting so I can’t say much. However, we still have four years to go and the committee can receive the report, visit the sites later and then debate contents of the document,” he said.