Majaliwa reiterates new constitution ‘not a priority’
What you need to know:
Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa said on Thursday November 9, 2017 that the constitution-writing process required billions of money and the government was not ready to use such money on the process instead of serving taxpayers.
Dodoma. The government has ruled out a possibility of resuming a constitution-writing process in the near future, saying the fifth phase government’s main focus is on the provision of social services and the industrial economy.
Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa said on Thursday November 9, 2017 that the constitution-writing process required billions of money and the government was not ready to use such money on the process instead of serving taxpayers.
He revealed the government’s stand, when responding to Mr Abdallah Mtolea (CUF-Temeke), who wanted to know the government’s plan to revive the constitution-writing process.
“The fourth phase government used billions of money to finance the constitution-writing process after establishing a need for promoting human rights, protection of the country’s resources, accountability and transparency among top leaders,” Mr Mtolea said.
“It’s almost two years since the fifth phase government came to power, but it seems the fifth phase government is unwilling and not interested in resuming the constitution-writing process. Why has the government been dillydallying to revive the process? When will the government resume with this vital process?” he queried.
Responding, Mr Majaliwa said the government was aware of the importance of having a good Constitution.
“It doesn’t mean that we don’t understand the importance of having a good Constitution, but our priority is to improve the welfare of Tanzanians by assuring them of the provision of health services - education, water and other key social services - to allow them to engage in income generating activities effectively and thus improve the economy,” he said.
He said the fifth phase government had improved to collect domestic revenue and it continued uplifting people’s livelihood to stabilise the country’s economy.
“After satisfying ourselves that the economy has been stabilised and the provision of social services is good enough across the country, especially in rural areas, we will then start reviving the constitution-writing process,” he noted.
He added that presently, the government would continue using the current Constitution since it had key directives on how the country should be managed.
“It doesn’t mean that the current Constitution is useless. The major issue is just to improve some areas and set some new provisions for the management of our country. Let’s continue using it. We will work on it in the future,” he insisted.
In another development, the government yesterday said it was finalising talks with several countries for a wide market for tobacco from Tanzania.
Mr Majaliwa yesterday told the Parliament that the government was determined to improve the cultivation of tobacco in the country. “We are in talks with Indonesia, China, Egypt and Iran to persuade them to start buying our tobacco and the talks are in good progress,” he said, when responding to Special Seats MP Munde Tambwe.
