Tanzania: Legislator Nape Nnauye resigns as chairman of Parliamentary committee

Dar es Salaam. The chairman of the Parliamentary Lands, Natural Resources and Tourism committee Mr Nape Nnauye has resigned from the position.

The decision comes just within hours before the committee tables a report on its activities in the National Assembly on Tuesday, February 05, 2019.

Mr Nnauye wrote a resignation letter on Monday, February 04, 2019 to the Speaker of the National Assembly, Mr Job Ndugai, in which he said he requires more time to concentrate on issues affecting his constituency.

The Clerk of the National Assembly Stephen Kagaigai confirmed to have received the letter from the Mtama MP (CCM) saying ‘he wants to concentrate on his roles as MP.”

Mr Nnauye is the second chairperson to resign from the chairmanship of a parliamentary committee in a period of six months.

On August 28, 2018, Ms Hawa Ghasia and Mr Jituson Patel resigned from the positions of chairperson and deputy chairman respectively of a Parliamentary Budget Committee.

Both Mr Nnauye and Ms Ghasia formed part of the team that pressed the government to delete a section of the Finance Bill, 2018 that dealt with the handling of cashew nut export levy.

However, presenting the Finance Bill, 2018 in Parliament in June, the Finance and Planning Minister, Dr Phillip Mpango said the government would go ahead and amend the Cashewnut Industry Act (Cap, 203) - through the Finance Bill 2018 - with a view to ensuring that export levies were collected in the consolidated fund.

The changes meant that 65 per cent of the crop export levy would be remitted to farmers through the cashew nut fund and the remaining 35 per cent would be directed to the government's consolidated fund.

After a heated debate, the government carried the day and the controversial amendment went as proposed by the government.