Tulia recalls tough moments in Bunge

Dar es Salaam. Dr Tulia Ackson says ordering MPs out of the debating chamber was among the most difficult decisions she made during her time as deputy speaker of the 11th Parliament.

However, she had to take such measures in line with Parliamentary Standing Orders, Dr Ackson told Mwananchi Communications Limited (MCL) yesterday. “It was hard to order a representative of citizens out of the debating chamber because under normal circumstances you want all MPs to participate fully in deliberations for which they were elected as people’s representatives,” Dr Ackson said in an online interview that was broadcast live on Mwananchi Digital.

She said she was only being compelled to order some MPs out of the debating chamber as custodian of the Parliamentary Standing Orders.“But the challenge comes when you are compelled to make a decision,” she said.

Dr Ackson said going by the Parliamentary Standing Orders, some decisions have to be made by Parliament while others by the Speaker, including his assistants. She said ordering a lawmaker out of the Parliament debating chamber was not good because, perhaps, his/her contribution on the matter in debate would be useful.

Asked on whether a decision to remove MP out of a debating chamber had adverse effect in their relations, she said outside Parliament most relations remained the same. “In most cases our relations out-side there remained normal. It is not that we don’t greet each other because of what happened in the House,” she said. “In some few cases, we fall into minor misunderstandings and as a leader what you have to do is just to make him or her understand,” she said.

Dr Ackson came into the ‘black book’ of some lawmakers mostly during the debate that saw the legislative body endorsing President John Magufuli’s first budget during the 2016/17 financial year. She presided almost entirely during the debates, which resulted in the endorsement of Tanzania’s Sh29.5 trillion revenue and expenditure plan for the 2016/2017 financial year in June 2016. She presided on a budget session that saw all Opposition MPs walking out of the debating chamber each time when Dr Ackson chaired the sessions.

The bone of contention between Dr Ackson and the Opposition bench started in May 2016 when she thwarted a plea from opposition MPs to deliberate on the expulsion from studies of about 8,000 University of Dodoma’s students as a matter of urgency. Her refusal to have the issue debated saw Opposition MPs causing chaos in the debating chamber, hence being ordered out. Opinions remained divided.

While the Opposition believed that Dr Ackson was out to frustrate them, the latter believed that some lawmakers had no proper grasp of the standing orders. But Dr Ackson said there was nothing personal. “I once found myself in a scenario where I made a decision in Parlia-ment and after the parliamentary session, the affected MP (whose name I would wish not to mention so that he doesn’t lose votes in Octo-ber General Election), seemed to not want to greet me,” she said. But she insisted on greeting him. “I kept greeting him until he realized that there was nothing personal between us.

That it was only about adhering to the Parliamentary Standing Orders…..We sorted out our differences. We are now on good terms,” said Dr Ackon.Speaking about her journey into politics, Dr Ackson said as an academic, she never had a dream of becoming a politician until when she was involved in the Constituent Assembly.

She said the manifestation of her confidence in politics emerged when she desired to become the Speaker of the National Assembly. The dream was rekindled with her appointment by President John Magufuli to become a legislator. With the position for the Speaker going to Mr Job Ndugai, Dr Ackson decided to go for the Deputy Speaker’s position which she finally secured. 2020 plans Dr Ackson insisted that she will be vying for a parliamentary seat in the upcoming General Election but refrained from mentioning her targeted constituency. “I will announce the constituency on July 14, 2020 when picking my nomination forms. As you well know, the ruling party prohibits its members from naming their preferred constituencies prematurely,” she said. Dr Ackson said she was currently focusing on vying for a parliamentary seat and that what happens there-after would be decided with time.