| MPs explain ‘rebellion’ | Send to a friend |
| Saturday, 11 February 2012 23:56 |
 By Lucas LigangaThe Citizen Chief Reporter Dodoma.The uncharacteristic recent move by ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi MPs to side with opposition camp rivals to defeat two government-sponsored bills was reportedly an expression of frustrations over presumed bad handling of national affairs. Sources have hinted to The Citizen on Sunday that during nearly three-hour-long party caucus discussions between the President and CCM MPs, the latter – mostly in the back-bench ‑ told their national chairman point-blank that they were displeased with the current state of affairs. They confided to this reporter, however, that the frank, yet simultaneously charged encounter, helped to soften the MPs – a significant development, as it comes ahead of meetings of the party’s top decision-making organs that were scheduled to start at the ‘White House’ here yesterday. Some MPs feel that their leader hasn’t been sufficiently supportive of CCM interests, which is why, they say, they sided with the opposition to shoot down the two bills, as a gesture of protest. The bills, tabled during the two-week parliamentary session that ended on Friday, were tabled by Finance minister Mustafa Mkulo and the Attorney General Frederick Werema.Mr Mkulo’s proposal to reduce the tariff on bottled and packed water to enable poor consumers afford the commodity was rejected at the end of the morning session. It was a repeat outcome for the Written Laws (Miscellaneous Amendments (No 2) Act of 2011 that Mr Werema tabled, which the legislators faulted on the grounds that it had many weaknesses, especially regarding loans for students in institutions of higher learning. In a rare show of unity, MPs from the ruling party and the opposition blocked a government move to reduce the cost of bottled and packed water. The sources said the CCM MPs had also readied themselves to reject the Constitutional Review 2011 Act Amendment Bill but reversed that move after President Kikwete had given them the option to either support or reject it. Two days before the Bill was tabled in Parliament, a seven-member delegation of CCM MPs held talks with President Kikwete on the issue, their main complaint reportedly being that the opposition, especially Chadema, had been favoured in terms of many of its inputs being accommodated in the document. The President had told them ‑ and through the emissaries, the broader bloc ‑ to respond in whichever manner they felt appropriate, counselling them, however, to subordinate party politics to national interests. However, the House approved the Bill on Friday after two days of heated debate that pitted CCM MPs against their opposition rivals. Our sources further hinted that from discussing party issues, the talks were also centred on the running of the government with most of the MPs expressing frustrations over “the way things were being done.” According to our sources, the MPs appealed to President Kikwete to act tough against Cabinet ministers, who they accused of underperforming and not being sufficiently responsive. The sources said the MPs felt that poor disbursement of budgets for executing development projects in district councils were signs of bad things to come. “From July 2011 (when the government unveiled its 2011/2012 budget) most district councils have been allocated only 20 per cent of the budget, making it impossible to undertake development projects,” said one of the sources. The MPs felt that as the annual budget has passed the halfway mark, disbursements should have been over 70 per cent of the budget. The sources said the MPs likened the government’s approach to giving the public a rope with which to hang the ruling party MPs at the expense of a resurgent opposition. The sources said on the issue of newly proposed sitting allowances for MPs that have been increased from Sh70,000 to Sh200,000 daily pending authorization by the President, the MPs reportedly suggested that if the new allowances are not effected, the government should explore alternative sources of repackaging payments for legislators. On the political front, the sources said the MPs loudly protested against some impending changes in the CCM constitution, including election of MPs to the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) being done from district level instead of from regional level. “There was confusion among MPs who thought that the changes have already being approved but they are subject to discussion by NEC,” said the sources. The sources said the party’s Central Committee (CC) was expected to meet yesterday under the chair of President Kikwete to discuss various issues, including looming changes in its constitution, the Arumeru parliamentary by-elections following the recent death of the area MP, Mr Jeremiah Sumari, and the participation of the ruling party in the constitutional review process. The the party’s NEC meets here today to approve resolutions by the CC. Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites           |
| Last Updated on Monday, 13 February 2012 11:02 |
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