LIVE: President Magufuli adresses Parliament on final day

Dar es Salaam. President John Magufuli is today dissolving the 11th parliament, paving the way for the October general election, before kicking off the 12th parliament in November.

Pundits will be comparing their notes against what the President said as he inaugurated the 11th Parliament in Dodoma in November 2015.

During that day, President Magufuli drew the line for his new administration in a one-and-half-hour long speech, sending out a strong statement that it would not be business as usual under his leadership.

He told the House in November 2015 that it would be the time for Tanzanians to walk the talk in the resolve to confront vices that he said were holding the nation back in uplifting millions from abject poverty.

He enumerated some of the drawbacks that are involved as includinb - but are NOT limited to - mega corruption, embezzlement of funds within local government, poor management and sheer waste of public resources, including natural wealth and bureaucracy in government offices.

Others were negative political competition, neglect of strategic infrastructural investments and a culture that encouraged laziness or did not reward hard work.

He began by practicing just what he had told to MPs.

He made a sudden unannounced visit to the Ministry of Finance on his first day as president.

He later pulled funds intended for Independence Day celebrations and redirected them to other important issues.

He began a shake-up of the Tanzania Port Authority (TPA), and extended it to the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) as he launched a tax collection drive.

His directives for the auditing of the public payroll led to , and resulted in, the removal of “ghost workers”.

From there it quickly became apparent that he was genuinely waging war on corruption in the Tanzanian state.

Meanwhile, the Parliament yesterday came up with new standing orders which shifted the name of the Opposition camp in parliament to the camp of minorities in parliament.

The parliament also classified indiscipline into three groups of indiscipline, major indiscipline and extreme indiscipline.

Announcing the changes, Deputy Speaker, Dr Tulia Ackson said minor indiscipline will involve parliamentarian use of force against another MP inside the debating chamber, during committee meeting, or when he/she defies the Speaker’s guidance or other conditions contained in the Parliamentary Standing Orders that, according to the Speaker, would be described as indiscipline.

MPs falling under this category would be expelled from the august debating chamber - and also barred from attending not more than ten (10) seatings.

Major indiscipline will involve violating Speaker’s directives or causing any chaos as the parliamentary activities continue, committing an offense that punishes the said MP in accordance with Regulation 73 and casting more than one vote.

Others are refusing to make clarification or withdrawing words that are not accepted, refusing to beg for forgiveness, committing indiscipline before an invited guest and attacking, abusing or uttering insults against another MP or any other person inside the parliament.