Dr Wilbroad Slaa

CHADEMA has no plans of teaming up with Civic United Front in a parliamentary opposition camp, Secretary General Dr Wilbroad Slaa has stressed.

Addressing a press conference in Dar es Salaam yesterday, Dr Slaa said CUF has already formed a unity government CCM in Zanzibar, noting that working with it will not strengthen the opposition in parliament but rather weaken it.

“CUF will be working to please their Zanzibar government of national unity. Our party national executive committee (NEC) met in the city at the weekend and agreed that the party should not form a camp with CUF because it is a partner of CCM in Zanzibar,” said Dr Slaa.

Dr Slaa said Chadema executive committee has advised the leader of opposition in parliament, Freeman Mbowe to form a Shadow cabinet with Chadema members only.

Former leader of opposition in the parliament Hamad Rashid Mohamed was recently quoted as saying CUF wrote to Chadema asking for the dissolution of the current opposition camp in parliament, saying his party wants to work with CHADEMA and other opposition parties in parliament for the betterment of the country.

In the interview Rashid said his party realised that opposition parties will find working in parliament very difficult if they remain divided.

He also declared that his party was not interested to have a leadership post in the camp which will be made by all parliamentary opposition parties.

He also expressed disappointment at the recent remarks by some political leaders encouraging religious divisions in the country without considering the risk to country’s peace and stability.

In another development Dr Slaa said his party plans a peaceful demonstration in Mwanza on February 24 to protest against payment of 94bn/- to Dowans Company as compensation and the recent power tariff hike and gas price hike.

The party also blamed the poor Form Four examination results on government failure to implement universally accepted methods of education.

Slaa said his party was disappointed that despite calls to change its education approach, the government was still providing quantitative rather than qualitative education.