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Chadema, UDP oppose CUF monopoly
2005-12-30 09:53:46
By Bilal Abdul-Aziz, Dodoma
Chadema and UDP legislators have teamed up to oppose CUF’s controversial move to form official opposition in Parliament without involving other parties in the opposition camp.
Addressing a press conference in Dodoma yesterday, the Chairman of the alliance, CHADEMA’s Wilbroad Slaa, said they wanted the Office of the Speaker to stop CUF’s move until the matter was clarified.
The alliance also wants a Parliament regulation providing for the main opposition to form official opposition in isolation reviewed before the leader of opposition and respective ’’shadow cabinet’’ become official.
In a surprise move, CUF MPs who constitutes the largest opposition party in Parliament, met on Wednesday and formed an opposition bloc in the House, sidelining other opposition parties.
It formed its own cabinet of shadow ministers and went on to appoint Hamad Rashid Mohamed, the Wawi MP as the leader of opposition in Parliament.
CUF, which has 31 seats, capitalised on a Parliament regulation (Section 11, Sub-section 1 to 4), which gives powers an opposition party in the House with over 30 seats to appoint the leader of opposition in Parliament.
Apart from CUF, other opposition parties with seats in Parliament are Chadema with 11 seats, UDP and TLP each with one seat each.
ON Wednesday the CHADEMA-UDP alliance wrote a letter to the Clerk of Parliament, Damian Fokka, informing him of the alliance and their concerns, outlining reasons that prompted them to oppose the CUF decision.
Explaining, the Alliance’s Vice-Chairman, John Cheyo of UDP, said it was unfair for the main opposition in the Union parliament, which mainly discusses matters for the Mainland to be dominated by legislators from Zanzibar.
’’If we allow CUF to get away with the move, it will mean that there will be no official speakers for the opposition from the Mainland in Parliament, which will be very bad for us, because the Union House mainly deals with matters from this part of the Union,’’ cautioned Cheyo.
He reminded that Parliament was the only place to shape government ideas and proposals and it is essential to have legislators who really know the issues.
’’We are raising our voices so that the electorate can hear…how is it possible for a legislator from Pemba to speak or discuss a biting issue on cotton or coffee?’’ he queried.
According to Cheyo, efforts to convince CUF to rethink its decision had proved futile. The only TLP legislator was asked to come aboard, but the party rejected the proposal, he added.
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