Tanzania Labour Party (TLP) national chairman Augustine Mrema

Tanzania Labour Party (TLP) national chairman Augustine Mrema said yesterday that he had no plan to step down as chairman of the opposition party despite mounting pressure from a section of party members.

The TLP leader, who is also chairman of the parliamentary Local Authority Accounts Committee (LAAC), told journalists here that claims of embezzlement levelled against him by some members of his party were 'unrealistic'.

He said it wasn’t possible for him to embezzle funds of the party while he was the only legislator contributing to it.

“Our party has only one MP (him) who enables it to get government subsidy. Actually, I am the one providing financial support to the party during our national meetings,” Mrema said, stressing that he had never misused party funds.

Meanwhile, Mrema said his party conducted a countrywide research to find out reasons for its poor performance in the last year’s general elections.

He said that TLP vice-chairman Alhaji Hamad Mkada chaired a special committee that conducted the study, whose report was released on May 24, this year.

The report, Mrema said, had recommended that ten top officials of the party, who were members of the TLP secretariat and the central committee should resign due to failure to supervise campaigns and other activities during the elections.

He said those named include TLP secretary general Jessey Makundi and deputy secretary general Ramadhan Tao. Mrema accused Tao of inciting misunderstandings within the party.

“There is no conflicts at TLP, we are in a process of cleaning and strengthening our party,” he said.