Kessy stirs CA with remarks on Zanzibar

Ally Kessy ilikuwa atupwe nje na Sitta kama huyo mwendawazimu wa hapa juu?

BY FELISTER PETER

Heated debate rocked the House yesterday following remarks by a member of the Constituent Assembly (CA), Ally Kessy insinuating that Zanzibar is benefiting from the Union but doesn’t contribute to it.

Citing the four per cent share entitled to the Isles in the national budget, Kessy claimed that Zanzibar is financially benefiting from the Union but the island does not offer any contribution in return.

To back up his claim, Kessy said the Governor of the Bank of Tanzania (BoT), Benno Ndulu, and Treasury Permanent Secretaries from both mainland and Zanzibar told members of CA Committee number one that Zanzibar is not contributing anything towards operations of the Union government.

“Sometimes the Union government is forced to pay salaries of Zanzibar civil servants…why should the Union government carry such a burden?” queried Kessy saying the funds could have instead been used to improve social services.

As such, he maintained that, it is wrong for the CA to continue with any other deliberations before debating Chapter One and Six on the structure of the Union government.

“What we have skipped to debate is the heart of the constitution,” he argued.
This despite the fact that the CA resolved to suspend debates on Chapter One and Six of the draft constitution in April this year because of controversies to which no consensus was reached.

Provoked by his allegations, CA members from Zanzibar threatened to attack him and CA Chairman Samwel Sitta ordered Kessy to withdraw his statements.
In defense of the Isles, Mahmoud Thabit Kombo, a CA member from Zanzibar, said Zanzibar makes great contribution to the Union.

“Our contribution to the Union is immense…we deserve respect because, apart from surrendering our sovereignty, we also agreed to lose our international identity as an independent nation,” he said.

Minister of State, President’s Office (Policy and Coordination), Steven Wasira said the 4 per cent share in the national budget given to Zanzibar is from donor funds provided through the Union government.

He explained that there were a lot of benefits realized by both sides of the Union including peace, tranquility and successful economic integration.
In her comment, Speaker of the National Assembly, Anna Makinda, called upon CA members to ‘ignore petty issues and continue with matters of national interest.’

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN NEWSPAPER