Tanzania: More than 9,000 sign petition opposing Parliament’s resolution not to work with the Controller and Auditor General

What you need to know:

  • The petition, which seeks to collect 7,500 signatures, resulted from a decision on Tuesday by the ruling-party-dominated-Parliament to endorse a motion by the Parliamentary Privileges, Ethics and Powers Committee that the legislative body stops working with Prof Assad after it (the committee) convicted him of “disrespecting” Parliament.

Dar es Salaam. More than 9,000 people have signed an online petition launched to pressure Tanzania’s Parliament to rescind its recent resolution against the Controller and Auditor General (CAG), Prof Mussa Assad.

The petition, which initially aimed at collecting 7,500 signatures, resulted from the decision by the ruling-party-dominated-Parliament to endorse a motion by the Parliamentary Privileges, Ethics and Powers Committee to stop working with Prof Assad after it (the Committee) convicted him of “disrespecting” Parliament.

The news has since been received with criticisms from different quarters on social media expressing solidarity with the CAG by launching a #IStandWithCAG hashtag, the top trending hashtag so far in the country.

The online petition was launched on Wednesday, April 3, by a local advocacy group, Change Tanzania, against Parliament’s move, whose director Maria Sarungi-Tsehai says (in Kiswahili) the issue of Parliament to work with the CAG is not an option but rather a constitutional requirement.

The petition, which now aims at 10,000 signatures, reads: “A call for Parliament to rescind its decision not to work with the CAG Prof Assad in order to ensure good governance and accountability, fighting corruption as well as protecting the constitution.”

The petition has attracted support from a wide range of people, including popular politicians like opposition ACT-Wazalendo’s party leader Zitto Kabwe,senior journalists and Tanzanians who work in international organisations.

Those who signed the petition say Parliament must work for the people.
Charles Kimaro wrote: “Parliament should work for the people and not for any political party or some orders from higher ranking offices”.

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