Amendments to new Katiba is a must: ACT
Some of the participants in the ACT-Wazalendo held in Dar es Salaam at the weekend (from left) Anna Mghwira (chairperson) Zitto Kabwe (party leader) and Kenya’s Labour Party leader PHOTO | ERICKY BONIPHACE
What you need to know:
- The decision was made during the party’s meeting dubbed ‘first democratic meeting’ which was held on Saturday.
Dar es Salaam. The Alliance for Change and Transparency (ACT)-Wazalendo has vowed to oppose the proposed constitution if the government will table it for referendum without amendments.
The decision was made during the party’s meeting dubbed ‘first democratic meeting’ which was held on Saturday.
In a statement released to the media, ACT-Wazalendo proposes that the process should be revived from a draft of a new constitution proposed by the Judge (retired) Joseph Warioba-led Constitution Review Commission.
The party also wants the government to amend the referendum Act. In the statement, which was released by ACT-Wazalendo information officer Mr Abdallah Hamis, the party also wants the government to convene a constitutional assembly.
“President John Magufuli should form a team of experts who will review the constitution draft written by the Constitution Review Commission (CRC) and then convene a National Constitutional Conference to endorse the proposed constitution before presenting it to the citizens during the referendum,” reads a statement in part.
“ACT-Wazalendo will campaign for a NO vote should the government take the present proposed constitution for referendum without amending it first,” adds the statement. In another development, participants of the meeting directed Kigoma Urban MP Zitto Kabwe, who is also the party’s leader, to table a private motion in the Parliament to amend the country’s constitution aimed at removing oil and gas from the list of union matters.
The move would enable Zanzibar, which is part of the union, to freely conduct oil and gas exploration after the House of Representatives passed a legislation which would allow the Isles to independently conduct gas and oil explorations.
According to the statement, ACT-Wazalendo has also resolved to hold the Golden Jubilee in February for the Arusha Declaration.
The jubilee will be at the same venue where the Tanganyika African National Union (Tanu) convened its National Executive Committee (Nec) meeting on February 5, 1967.
Political stakeholders from inside and outside the country are expected to attend the event, according to the statement.
During the event, participants will discuss successes and challenges that the country encountered in the implementation of the Arusha Declaration and the impacts the nation suffered since 1992 when the declaration was abandoned.
