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Govt laughs off calls for new constitution
2008-01-14 09:09:47
By Pastory Nguvu
The government has laughed off demands for what the opposition calls a new and more people-friendly Constitution for Tanzania, saying such a drastic change was uncalled-for and not in public interest.
Constitutional Affairs and Justice minister Mary Nagu gave the stand in a recent exclusive interview in which this paper sought to know the government`s position on the opposition camp`s New Year call to that end.
She said the government was fully convinced that the Constitution as it stands is good enough for the needs of Tanzanians and there are no major or compelling reasons ``at the moment`` to warrant initiatives bent on overhauling it.
The minister explained that there have been five versions of the Constitution – first at independence on December 9, 1961 and then exactly a year later when the country became a republic.
There was also an interim Constitution of the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar 1964, the Interim Constitution of 1965, and the permanent Union Constitution of 1977, she said.
She noted that the government saw no major circumstances, events or developments that could necessitate the overhaul of the Constitution, adding: ``I believe that the current Constitution meets our people`s need. It provides for checks and balances among all the three pillars of the State.``
Nagu made an impassioned call to Tanzanians to cooperate and concentrate on ``more pressing national issues and challenges like the war on poverty``.
``We must all remember that the unity and solidarity we are enjoying came into being thanks to the Constitution now in use, which has undergone several amendments. We have the liberty to continue making amendments to it, depending on the needs of our people,`` she said.
But Hamad Rashid Mohamed, leader of the official opposition in the National Assembly, said time was long ripe for the Constitution to be subjected to ``major surgery to get rid of longstanding problems``.
He stated that the opposition would continue sensitising people on the importance of pressing for a new Constitution until that dream was realised.
``It is not true that the current Constitution fully meets the needs of the Tanzanian people, otherwise why has there been a committee formed by the Speaker of the National Assembly to review it?
The committee discerned a lot of weaknesses in the Constitution, which is reason enough for an overhauling of this crucial piece of legislation,`` observed the legislator.
He said an array of experts, including eminent scholars, have previously detected deficiencies in the Constitution and recommended that it be overhauled so that it becomes more people-oriented and serves the people better.
``The Constitution now in use is still suffering from a hangover drawn from the single-party regime hangover and ought to have been overhauled soon after the re-introduction of multiparty politics in Tanzania in 1992,`` noted Mohamed.
He recalled having pointed out recently that the demand for a new Constitution was one of six critical issues the opposition camp had lined up for implementation in their 2005-2010 ``action plan``.
``The demands for a new Constitution originate from the people because they want laws that are in consonance with the needs, demands and aspirations of the multiparty political system now at play.
The other issues we have placed on our list of priorities include pressing for then formation of an independent national electoral commission,`` the legislator pointed out.
``The opposition looks at this year as a right time for the implementation of far-reaching constitutional changes in our country. The idea of drawing up a national constitution out to serve the interests of only one party is bad and unacceptable,`` he added.
Mohamed described the agenda of major constitutional changes as unavoidable and stressed that there were plans to ensure that opposition parties forged closer links to benefit from the opportunities that 2008 would offer.
``We will go to the people and make them understand that the national can only economy if the government is truly responsible to the people and responsive to their needs and demands. We will tell them that the best way of getting there is having a new, more people-friendly Constitution,`` he said.
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