CUF’s Seif speaks out on draft

Dar/Zanzibar. Civic United Front (CUF) secretary-general Seif Shariff Hamad said yesterday he was not satisfied with proposals made in the draft constitution to leave key issues such as defence and security, the currency and central bank and foreign affairs and political parties in the union docket.

Commenting for the first time on the draft, Mr Hamad, who is also the first vice president of the government of National Unity in Zanzibar, told hundreds of supporters at the Tundangaya Matemwe at Kaskazini ”A’ District that he had expected that the issues would be separated from the Union to give Zanzibar full autonomy.

“But we have formed a panel of experts to go through the draft article by article to advise us on the way forward. We are not satisfied with proposals to leave key issues in the union docket. This is despite the views of many Zanzibaris asking for more autonomy,” he said.

Former National Assembly Speaker Pius Msekwa, for his part, said the draft constitution should be understood in the context of the East African Community integration.

In a letter he wrote to The Citizen yesterday (to be published tomorrow), Mr Msekwa said the draft union constitution should be considered as an interim measure pending the arrival of the East Africa federation.

Quoting Mwalimu Julius Nyerere as he was seconding the articles of the union of Tanganyika and Zanzibar for ratification in Parliament on April 25, 1964 Mr Msekwa noted: “My assumption is that the United Republic of Tanzania would cease to exist upon our entry into the East African federation for it is unlikely that the Tanzanian federation, which has been proposed in [Judge Joseph] Warioba commission will continue to exist in the larger federation of East Africa.” One possible scenario is that the government of Tanzania Mainland being proposed by the Warioba commission and the existing government of Zanzibar would each want to join the EA Federation separately, Mr Msekwa said.

Meanwhile, Executive Director of Centre for Economic Prosperity Thomas Maqway has said the autonomy of the Central Bank of the United Republic of Tanzania is not well explained in the draft constitution.

“The draft constitution falls short in four folds; It is silent on the appointment and removal of the Governor, the appointment and removal of the Board of Directors, where should the Central Bank of the United Republic of Tanzania be accountable to and how to finance the Central Bank’s administration,” Mr Maqway told The Citizen.

Additional reporting by Mauwa Mussa in Zanzibar