BY SYLIVESTER DOMASA
3rd January 2014
It will save costs, strengthen Union peace and security
CRC Chairman Justice (rtd) Joseph Warioba told editors conference yesterday in Dar es Salaam that the structure proposed in the second constitution draft is meant to reduce administrative costs and problems facing the Union today.
He was reacting to arguments by various people that the proposed government structure was against the desire of the Union’s founding fathers, the late Presidents Nyerere and Abeid Amani Karume who created the two-tier government structure.
“Before we raise questions on the administrative costs of the three-tier government structure, we should answer the question of costs of increasing villages, districts and regions,” said Warioba, adding: “…this is how administrative costs increase. However it is clear that three ministries (Home Affairs, Foreign Affairs and Defence and Security) will remain unchanged,” he stated.
Justice Warioba noted that apart from saving costs, the decision to have the three ministries under the union government will also strengthen the Union’s peace and security.
Given that the three tier government is the best solution for the Union problems, it is also will help to reduce costs.
On the claim that the government structure is against what the former presidents envisioned, Justice Warioba maintained that the changes were a result of sociological changes happening in the society today.
He said: “We should not be afraid, since Mwalimu (the former president) also acknowledged the inevitability of change.”
He pointed out that Mwalimu for example accepted changes in the country’s political sphere after the Nyalali Commission had recommended a multiparty system.
“Initially, the president (Mwalimu) believed in a single party rule, but after a section of not more than 20 percent population recommended for multipartism, he agreed to change. In addition, Mwalimu also for years had resisted the introduction of the Bill of Rights on grounds that the country was not stable, but fortunately he signed the legislation in 1984,” said Warioba.
He stressed that the proposed constitution cannot be used during the forthcoming General Election, unless the constitution for Tanganyika is written.
Justice Warioba was quick to add that writing the constitution of Tanganyika should not take long since most of the opinions are already available.
“What is required is the structure for the state pillars and the local government,” he said adding: “If not the requirement of establishing another National Electoral Commission (NEC), the entire process can be completed in seven months.”
He said there would be no need to spend more money collecting views as the CRC had already collected these. He said it’s time that the Commission that will be charged with preparing the Tanganyika constitution absorbs all the information from CRC archives.
Warioba said most of the views for the Tanganyika constitution are already given and that, he did not believe there would be changes especially on Human rights, vision, leaders’ ethics, citizenship, …to name but a few.
Meanwhile Warioba stressed that the proposed constitution draft was constructed based on majority people’s views and that the CRC commissioners did not include their personal views and interests.
“Our approach was to preserve the national interests not group or personal interests,” he said in response to concern that Justice Warioba was the architect of the three-tier government structure proposed in the constitution.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN
No comments :
Post a Comment