| Table statement on doctors’ strike, govt asked | Send to a friend |
| Thursday, 02 February 2012 22:51 |
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The Citizen Chief Reporter  Dodoma. The government was yesterday asked to give an immediate official statement on the ongoing strike by doctors of public hospitals, which has critically paralysed medical services countrywide.The request was made by the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, Mr Job Ndugai, after a private motion by another MP asking Parliament to suspend its scheduled routine business and discuss the crisis instead, was turned down. Mr John Mnyika (Ubungo - Chadema) had tabled the motion earlier yesterday, but it didn’t sail through, for lack of sufficient backing from legislators as the regulations require.Mr Mnyika’s motion was technically a follow-up on a similar one that his Chadema colleague, Mr Zitto Kabwe, who also doubles as the acting leader of official Opposition in the Parliament, had tabled in the House on Tuesday. The Speaker, Ms Anne Makinda, had turned down the motion, saying that the government was preparing a detailed statement which it had said it would table in the Parliament on Tuesday. While adjourning the morning parliamentary session, Mr Ndugai said a good number of MPs, including Mr.Kabwe (Kigoma North), Mr. Mnyika, and Rashid Hamad Mohamed (Wawi-CUF) had asked Parliament to discuss the matter on an emergency basis. Mr Ndugai said that since the government had not fulfilled its promise to issue the statement in question on Tuesday, Parliament would be forced to keep other issues pending and focus on the medical crisis, if an immediate government response wasn’t forthcoming. The deputy speaker explained that one of the major responsibilities of parliaments all over the world was to address critical issues that arise in particular countries, citing the example of Wednesday’s soccer riots in Egypt that left 74 fans dead. “The Egyptian Parliament was in recess but following the tragedy, the Parliament met today (yesterday) to address the issue,” Mr Ndugai noted. The Prime Minister, Mr Mizengo Pinda, told The Citizen on Tuesday that the ministry of Health and Social Welfare was preparing the statement that would be tabled in Parliament. He had hinted that the statement would be ready any time from Wednesday. Mr Ndugai’s remarks came amid mounting pressure from a cross-section of the public, who have accused the legislative wing of the State of not giving the doctors’ strike the seriousness it warrants, and indifference to pressure the government to resolve it. Speaking to The Citizen, various wananchi, MPs and civil society activists, faulted Parliament for not being sufficiently assertive on the issue. Commenting on the matter yesterday Mr Kabwe said by not discussing the medical crisis, Parliament had projected itself as an organ that was not sufficiently sensitive to problems that had adverse consequences on people’s lives. “We were told that the government was preparing a report, but when the parliamentary leadership committee asked for the report, the government failed to release it,” he lamented. On Mr Ndugai’s decision, Mr Kabwe said: “I think Honourable Ndugai would have used wisdom to allow the debate on this issue because it is very crucial for wananchi. It is obvious that Parliament no longer cares about wananchi; it is out of touch, and this is dangerous because wananchi may decide to do anything.” Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites           |
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