ACT promises to form Government of National Unity in Zanzibar
Zanzibar’s ACT-Wazalendo presidential candidate Seif Shariff Hamad during the launch of the party’s election manifesto for the 2020 polls. PHOTO | courtesy
What you need to know:
GNU was formed involving the ruling CCM, Alliance for Democratic Change (ADC) and Ada-Tadea after the 2015 General Election that was rejected by CUF.
Unguja. The ACT-Wazalendo political party yesterday pledged to form a Government of National Unity (GNU) comprising all political parties, a move that would strengthen national unity and cohesion in Zanzibar.
GNU was formed involving the ruling CCM, Alliance for Democratic Change (ADC) and Ada-Tadea after the 2015 General Election that was rejected by CUF.
Presenting the party’s 2020-2025election manifesto in Unguja yesterday, a manifesto committee member, Mr Othman Masoud Othman, said the former GNU ignored provisions of the Zanzibar constitution, which requires that a political party should garner at least 10 percent of the presidential votes in order to be involved in the GNU.
“ADC and Ada-Tadea - which were in the GNU - didn’t meet this constitutional demand, neither did they have a member in the House of Representatives, therefore their involvement in the GNU contravened the Zanzibar constitution,” he said.
“Article 91 (2)(f) of the Zanzibar constitution requires that under those circumstances, the Zanzibar President was supposed to dissolve the House of Representative and declare fresh polls .”
He said ACT-Wazalendo would address all challenges recorded in the last five years if elected to form the government for citizens to enjoy the benefits of the 1964 revolution.
Speaking during the event, the committee’s chairman, Mr Nassor Ahmed Mazrui, said despite touring various countries in order to learn how efficient the GNU functions, proposals submitted before the government under former President Amaan Abeid Karume were neglected.
“During the learning tour, we were advised that CCM and CUF election manifestos should be merged in order to jointly implement development issues for the interests of the Zanzibaris, but it was shelved by government, therefore hindering implementation of various issues of party’s interests,” he said.
Apart from issues of the GNU, the opposition party’s manifesto also highlights intended reforms in the union between Tanganyika and Zanzibar aiming to make the Isles fully autonomous, excluding oil and gas in the list of union matters and reforming the Zanzibar Electoral Commission (ZEC).
Mr Othman, who is a former Zanzibar Attorney General, said the move aims at revitalising the United Republic’s envisaged new constitution writing process, and ensuring immediate implementation of the Joint Financial Commission recommendation on the establishment of a Joint Financial Account.
(JFA) and resume the Zanzibar’s status of surety and decision making in financial matters.
This includes cooperating with the union government in enabling Zanzibar to cooperate with domestic and international financial institutions in order to reap economic benefits for the peoples of Zanzibar, according to him.
He said the manifesto pledges to ensure 11.5 percent of the Zanzibar’s share in the defunct East Africa Currency Board that was taken by the union government as well as 4.5 percent recommended by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to be paid to Zanzibar from all foreign aids are remitted to Zanzibar.
“We will also uphold and promote good governance, justice and equality and undertake major reforms in the systems of justice provision for the benefit of the Zanzibaris,” he said.
Regarding oil and gas exploration and extraction on the Indian Ocean territorial waters, Mr Othman said it was the position of Zanzibar that these activities should not be part of the union matters.
“Demarcation should be made on the Indian Ocean to identify boundaries with the natural resources for both the Isles and Tanzania Mainland,” he said.
He said the manifesto pledges major reforms to the system administration that would see ZEC promotes justice during the elections.
Launching the 2020-2025 elections manifesto, party’s presidential candidate Seif Shariff Hamad said the ACT-Wazalendo manifesto would bring citizens hope to reality
Other issues promised to be reformed include; infrastructures, economy, employment, lands, agriculture, livestock and fisheries.
Others are judicial system, social services, business, marketing, financial systems, investment, tourism, good leadership, justice and equality.
