Highs and lows of Parliament in Tanzania’s democracy journey

What you need to know:

The constitutional amendments of 1992 removed the Parliament’s status as a committee of the ruling
CCM and sought to establish the National Assembly as one of the pillars of the State

Dodoma. As an important institution in the practical expression of democracy in Tanzania, the Parliament has had its fair share of highs and lows in the 30 years of political plurality.
The constitutional amendments of 1992 removed the Parliament’s status as a committee of the ruling CCM and sought to establish the National Assembly’s constitutional right as a pillar of the State.
Opposition MPs entered Parliament through the 1995 General Election and they helped push the august House into fulfilling its pivotal constitutional role of oversight. Some of these fiery MPs included Dr Masumbuko Lamwai (Ubungo, NCCR-Mageuzi); Mabere Marando (Rorya, NCCR-Mageuzi); James Mbatia (Vunjo, NCCR-Mageuzi); and Ndimara Tegambwage (Muleba north, NCCR-Mageuzi). Later in 1996 Augustine Mrema (Temeke, NCCR-Mageuzi) entered Parliament through a by-election.
This key group of smart, outspoken opposition MPs helped increase people’s interest and confidence in the Parliament, which in some ways increased its legitimacy among the people. They also led the pack in challenging the executive on various policy and political issues of the day. But the legislature’s Standing Orders, which were a relic of the previous single-party system as well as partisanship of the majority CCM members meant that the minority opposition MPs only had the say while the ruling party MPs had the sway.
Things started to change when Samuel Sitta became Speaker in 2005. Under Sitta’s leadership the Parliament asserted its oversight and checks and balances function. Analysts characterize this period as the high point of the Tanzanian unicameral Parliament.

Standing Orders reforms
Sitta, who died in 2016, overhauled the parliamentary Standing Orders in 2007 to enable more vibrant discussion and debate. Among other things these orders enabled the Speaker to appoint select committees for scrutiny and investigation of any controversial issues. This gave the Parliament the teeth it always longed for. Committee investigations enabled the Parliament to take the government to task on various issues, the most important being the Richmond scandal. Subsequent investigation led to the resignation of Prime Minister Edward Lowassa and several other ministers.
During the one-party system, presidential commissions and committees performed this role. But recommendations produced in these reports were not always implemented. The parliamentary ad hoc committees did not replace presidential commissions as President Jakaya Kikwete continued to appoint them. But the Parliament’s capacity to form its own investigation committees changed the rules of engagement and the balance of power in Tanzania for a few years at least.
Standing Orders also introduced the Questions to the Prime Minister session. This provided the opportunity to MPs to quiz the government and get responses on sensitive issues of the day.
Reforms of Standing Orders and the political sophistication of Speaker Sitta created a spirit of real democracy in Parliament that enabled opposition MPs, through their Official Opposition Camp, to adequately play their roles. This was a period when speeches tabled in Parliament by chairpersons of parliamentary standing committees and by shadow ministers carried enough weight to warrant significant changes of Bills and ministerial budgets tabled by Cabinet Ministers.
In fact some of the ministers’ budget proposals were rejected at the committee level, before even reaching the Parliament, which forced the government to go back to the drawing board. The quality of the oversight role of parliamentary standing committees reached its peak during this time. The democratic atmosphere created by Speaker Sitta tenure meant that MPs from both the ruling party and the Opposition could close ranks when dealing with important issues of national interest were at stake. This came to fore especially during the Escrow account scandal of 2014 that led to the resignation of several ministers.
The establishment of the Parliament’s own budgetary vote in 2007 was, after concerted efforts by Speaker Sitta, an achievement that gave the legislature sizable financial independence. Previously budget allocations for the Parliament were being done through the Prime Minister office’s vote. This meant that the Prime Minister’s office could control disbursements of budgetary funds to the Parliament.
The Prime Minister’s Office or other government departments could issue circulars to control expenditures by the Parliament.
“These circulars were binding... In that sense, MPs were treated as civil servants – the clerk would say: ‘Sorry, this year the budget is small therefore we cannot employ new staff.’ I found this to be nonsensical because you can’t treat MPs as employees. They are not employees of the government,” Sitta said in a report entitled Bunge Lenye Meno – A Parliament with Teeth for Tanzania.
To further increase the financial independence of the august House external donors were permitted to give money directly to the legislature. Previously donor money to the Parliament had to pass through the Executive.
Sitta also set up additional standing committees to increase oversight of the legislature over financial and economic management of the Executive. Previously there were only the Public Account Committee (headed by the Opposition) and the Finance and Economy Committee. But Sitta added the Local Authorities Accounts Committee, the Public Investments Committee, and the Public Organisations Accounts Committee. These were headed by the opposition. In later years the Budget Committee was also formed.
A two day debate of the report of the Controller and Auditor General was also initiated. Previously no debate time was allocated.
Sitta’s efforts to reform the Parliament succeeded partly because the number of opposition MPs had reached a significant number of 55. Despite the fact that they were still a minority against 274 of CCM they, however, made their presence felt. The fact that parliamentary sessions were televised live made their presence in Parliament felt beyond Dodoma to the electorate. It re-energized their base and led to a significant increase of MPs elected to 88 in 2010 from 32 in 2005. In 2015 the number of elected Opposition MPs reached 115. The ruling party, however, “struck back” and reversed much of democratic reforms inside and outside of Parliament. This led to a near complete wipe out of the Opposition in Parliament in the 2020 General Election.

The real reversal of fortunes
The government started taking steps to reverse democratic gains in Parliament soon after the 2015 General Election. They received a ready supporter through Speaker Job Ndugai. Live television broadcasts of parliament sessions were dropped. Opposition shadow ministers’ speeches were routinely rejected or highly rejected. Gag rules were adopted by the Speaker that included forcefully removing Opposition MPs from the Parliament floor as well as suspending them from attending parliamentary sessions.
A wave of Opposition MPs decamping to the ruling party gained speed, through an allegedly well financed campaign. They were then fielded by the ruling party as candidates in the same constituencies during subsequent by-elections.
The toxic atmosphere was capped by the near fatal shooting of the outspoken MP Tundu Lissu in September 2017. The shooting increased the climate of fear in the august House and widened the partisan divisions that had narrowed so much under Speaker Sitta.
It was for this reason that the resignation of Speaker Ndugai was received in some quarters as an opportunity to apply brakes on the downward spiral of democratic reforms in the National Assembly as the country marks 30 years of multiparty democracy.