| Will MPs snub Kikwete? | Send to a friend |
| Saturday, 04 February 2012 21:26 |
 By Lucas LigangaThe Citizen Chief Reporter Dodoma. President Jakaya Kikwete is scheduled to meet a five-member delegation of CCM MPs in Mwanza today amid hints that their talks will address a reported split among legislators of the ruling party over how the constitutional review process is being handled. It is speculated, too, that confusion over the much-discussed increase in MPs’ daily sitting allowance from Sh70,000 to Sh200,000 will be another major discussion point. The President, who is also the CCM national chairman is likely to be put on the spotlight because of indications that his handling of both issues has upset some of the legislators.One CCM camp is said to be aggrieved because it feels that their boss had not consulted the party he leads on amendments for the Constitutional Review Act 2011 adequately, before their scheduled submission to the House in Dodoma tomorrow. Insiders say their bitterness is aggravated by indications that Mr Kikwete had favoured the main opposition party Chadema, some of whose proposals have been embraced, as an outcome of meetings he had with them at State House recently. The President’s scheduled meeting with all CCM legislators in Dodoma on Friday was reportedly put off to avoid embarrassment, in the wake of a planned snub by members of the aggrieved camp, to protest his presumed betrayal. It was moreover reckoned that, the purpose of the two camps putting their points across would be served more effectively through a small group on which both would be represented. On the allowance, Chama Cha Mapinduzi MPs – but on an issue that covers all legislators irrespective of party affiliation – are upset over the conflicting signals from different wings of the Executive, on whether or not the President endorsed the increase. Sources within CCM confided that the Mwanza meeting was at the request of President Kikwete, who will be in the lake side city for the party’s 35th anniversary celebrations. Insiders said the five-member delegation was picked during a party caucus meeting in Dodoma on Friday night, which was chaired by Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda. In addition to the Mwanza meeting being seen as a crisis resolution move following the planned snub if Chairman Kikwete had met CCM legislators as a team, it is intended to diffuse declarations by some of them to shoot down the constitution review bill if it were tabled tomorrow in its current form. However, some voices in Parliament and outside the National Assembly yesterday dared the MPs to block the amendments, warning that such a move could be costly to the ruling party and the country at large. The bill on the amendment of the Constitutional Review Act, 2011 incorporates proposals by the opposition Chama Cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (Chadema). They told The Citizen On Sunday here that the CCM legislators should stop politicising the constitutional review process for the good of the nation. According to MPs privy to the Friday meeting, one of the reasons that CCM MPs were protesting was that the government had sidelined them when accommodating the amendments. Our sources said the second reason was that the ruling party MPs felt that the amendments have greatly favoured the opposition, mainly Chadema. The sources added that Pinda explained to the MPs that President Kikwete had asked to meet with them for talks on various issues, including the planned amendments. “But we turned down the request by the President to meet us because he should have done so before the proposed amendments were introduced,” said one source who preferred to remain anonymous fearing reprimand. Assistant press secretary to the Prime Minister, Ms Irene Bwire, could not confirm the meeting saying she was bedridden referring this reporter to the PM’s press secretary, Mr Said Nguba. When contacted, Mr Nguba said: “I am not aware of such a meeting because I am outside Dodoma.” But the sources said during the meeting they resolved that the Bill should not be tabled in Parliament tomorrow as scheduled and proposed that it should be tabled on Friday instead, because most of them would be away from Dodoma for the CCM commemorative celebrations. When asked whether the Bill on the amendment of the Constitutional Review Act, 2011 will not be tabled tomorrow as scheduled, the Clerk of the National Assembly, Dr Thomas Kashililah, said: “Call me at 7pm. (yesterday). I will let you know if there are any changes.” Reacting to the reported boycott by CCM legislators, who are the majority in the House, the Chadema deputy secretary general, Mr Zitto Kabwe, urged them to respect President Kikwete. “Any attempt to opportunistically shoot down the Bill will derail the process and even cause chaos in the country,” he said in a telephone interview. He said the opposition party did not also get everything it wanted. “We have to give the President flexibility to allow the process of rewriting the constitution to start. We must treat this matter as a national issue and not a partisan one.” “I understand misgivings by CCM MPs, but the nation is larger than our parties and that is why some of us went against our party’s normal line of protest and took personal efforts to reach a consensus,” he said. A political scientist with the University of Dar es Salaam, Dr Benson Bana, said the gesture by President Kikwete to meet with leaders was good and should be appreciated. Dr Bana said since people were already discontented with the MPs’ increased allowances, boycotting the Bill would add fuel to fire. “If they want to create chaos they are welcome to do so but they will regret in future. They should refrain from taking such action,” cautioned the political scientist. Contacted by phone for comment, CCM secretary general Wilson Mukama could neither confirm nor deny the intended boycott of the Bill by the party’s legislators, saying: “Dealing on speculative notions is very difficult. Let’s wait. I will give you my response when the time is right.” He said personally he did not think that the party caucus had reached some decisions, adding, however, that politicians looked at permanent interests but they have neither permanent friends nor permanent enemies. However, Mr Mukama admitted that the wording in English and Kiswahili in some areas of the Constitutional Review Act 2011 differed. Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites           |
| Last Updated on Monday, 06 February 2012 10:31 |
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