EDITORIAL: Parliament-CAG row needs urgent solution
The brewing conflict between the National Assembly and the Controller and Auditor General, Prof Mussa Assad, is now a matter of public concern, which must be addressed urgently and conclusively.
Parliament and the National Audit Office are key public institutions whose complementary role in ensuring good governance and accountability cannot be overstated. Unfortunately, the rift between the two seems to be widening and festering at a critical moment.
As per tradition, the CAG has submitted the latest national audit report to President John Magufuli, who is expected to give the greenlight for its official launch and subsequent debate by MPs in the National Assembly.
However, this week, some Members of Parliament mainly from the ruling party vowed that they would not work with the Prof Assad. The Parliamentary Priviledges, Ethics and Powers committee accuse the CAG of ‘disrespecting’ the august House, citing the ‘weak’ Parliament remarks he made during an interview with UN Kiswahili Service at the end of last year.
‘Weak Parliament comment’
Responding to the Speaker of Parliament, Mr Job Ndugai’s directive, Prof Assad has since appeared before the committee for grilling over the remarks. He has also explained what he meant by the so-called ‘weak Parliament’ comment during the interview in which he raised concerns over the tendency by the same lawmakers to not work on recommendations contained in audit reports.
However, the committee ruled that the CAG was on the wrong. Despite that, we had hoped that the two sides had resolved their differences on the issue, and that this was water under the bridge. Sadly, that is not the case.
Certainly, that there are so many issues at stake here is a no-brainer. But what is obviously disturbing is the manner in which this conflict has been escalated into another major divisive matter in Parliament -- with opposition legislators on one side and their ruling party counterparts singing a different tune from the other.
There is no common position by the very leaders who should be representing the interests of Tanzanians and working together all the times to serve in the best interest of their people, as opposed to serving partisan interests. This is very unfortunate and mindboggling. What is even more worrying is the fact that a constitutional crisis could be staring at the nation.
Diplomatic approach
That is why we are appealing, once again, for sobriety in how this sensitive matter is handled. Worth considering are suggestions from some quarters for a more diplomatic (as opposed to confrontational and vengeful approaches in resolving the differences and building bridges between the two institutions.
It is very important for Parliament and the National Audit Office to not only win, but also maintain the confidence of all Tanzanians. We do not see this happening when the two sides are not reading from the same page. If anything, the squabbles undermine Parliament’s role in the eyes of the people.
On the critical issue of good governance and accountability, Parliament cannot properly function without the professional respect of each other’s role.
